The house was small, much smaller than the room she used to live in in the castle. Filled with a few odds and ends, Laurel had been a young woman living on the edge of poverty. Did she have no skills or was she simply in a pack that frowned upon female wolves doing much outside the house?
The old woman sat at the small table with a smile as Laurel looked around for something to give her. She found a basket with a few fruits inside and offered it to the woman. “As thanks.”The old woman shook her head, pushing the basket back towards her. “You are too thin as it is! You should eat more.”Laurel smiled as her heart clenched with warmth. The old woman was strange, but she cared for Laurel. The old woman shook her head and stood. “Come for dinner sometimes, hm?” She said and stood. “I should head back before I am missed.”Laurel walked her to the door, “Thank you. I will repay you someday.”The old woman waved her hand dismissively, “Don’t be ridiculous, Laurel.”She left and Laurel closed the door behind her with a little chuckle. She turned back to the small house and walked to the window looking to the backyard. Flowers grew along the edge of the garden, fragrant blooms that filled the air with a gentle scent. She smiled, amused at the laurel growing beside the small vegetable patch. The house was neat and seemed to only house her and her father, yet it seemed he had not been home in quite some time. She wondered when in time she had been returned and how long the war with the vampires had been going on this time. She shook her head. The vampires, the war, and all the happenings of the court were no longer her concern. She was Laurel, not Laura Hamiltion, the former luna. The thought comforted her as she crossed the small room to the table to straighten the pile of papers. She didn’t recognize the handwriting, but they were mostly from a Jack Miller. *Dearest Daughter…* Laurel smiled and took the pages to the table to read. Jack Miller was her father’s name, making her Laurel Miller. There were at least twenty letters in the pile asking after Laurel’s health and her daily life. Her eyes burned at the warmth of his words. *I wish more than anything that I wasn’t on the front lines. As soon as the vampires are subdued, I’ll teach you how to hunt, just as I promise. In the meantime, I’ve asked Amanda to look after you. Try not to cause her too much grief, my little mischief-maker.*Laurel figured the old woman was Amanda and she chuckled. She wondered what sort of mischief Laurel made. His tone seemed teasing rather than scolding, so perhaps he was joking. She really didn’t know how to read it. Laura’s father had been cold and distant since she manifested, but perhaps, she would learn more if she read the rest of the letters.*Be safe, my darling daughter. I pray every night for your safety. A young woman without her father must look after herself with great care. There is no telling what trouble could befall you.Do not fear Lucas. You have my blessing to marry whomever you wish. Lucas may be the next alpha of the pack, but he is a coward and a deserter. When I return, I will straighten him out for harassing you like this. Go stay with Amanda if you feel that he is a great threat to you. Even he has some respect for the elderly*. She sniffled, touched and awed by Jack and his relationship with his daughter. The guilt of knowing that his Laurel was gone from this world stung. Her parents had arranged her marriage for power and money regardless of Laura’s happiness. They did not need to marry her off in such a way except to sate their greed, but Jack, a man living on the very border of the kingdom seemingly with very little to his name, was allowing her to marry as she wished!Her awe and envy warred within her before she set the letters aside. Jack’s Laurel was dead, but she would be Laurel, take care of Jack in her stead, and enjoy the chance she had been given. She folded the letters carefully and put them away before heading back into the forest to hunt. The young woman who had died in the forest had not learned to hunt, but Laura had mastered hunting before she died. She ran through the forest with Alice, laughing as she ran through the forest as a brilliant white wolf and caught a few rabbits to cook and eat with some vegetables from the patch behind the house. Sated and happy, she curled up in her little bed and thanked the goddess for her new life before slipping into a peaceful sleep.*******
The days in the small village were peaceful. She learned that the village was that of the Sapphire Lake Pack, named for the lake near the village that was as blue and as clear as a finely mined sapphire. It was a remote village. The nearest town was a few miles away and it was at least a week’s ride from the Imperial City, but it was beautiful, nestled in the shadow of two great mountains and settled at the bottom of the valley. It was nothing like the Emerald Twilight Pack’s town, and Laurel was grateful for it. Like most packs on the border, most of the young men had joined the war efforts. The women took care of the children and the transportation of food and supplies. After checking and rechecking her message, Laurel delivered her letter to the village postman. He looked troubled as he looked down at the letter. “Is everything okay?”“Of course,” he said and placed the letter in his bag. “I just… haven’t heard from that rascal in a while.”Laurel’s jaw trembled at the jolt of terror, but he smiled and waved his hand dismissively. “I’m sure he’s fine. Probably just busy giving those fanged bastards hell! You’ll see. The war will be over soon with King Adolph the Invincible leading them!”*King Adolph the Invincible…* Laurel nodded and averted her gaze. She remembered that name. She’d married Basil so quickly that the king had not been able to come back for the ceremony. Basil had been so upset about his father’s absence that he had not even spent the night with her to consummate their marriage. The war had seemed to escalate after that, so Laura had never met her father-in-law. She left the postman in much worse spirits than she had come, tracing through her memories of the palace and trying to push them away. She was Laurel Miller now, a seventeen-year-old woman living alone while waiting for her father to return from the front lines, not Laura Hamiltion, former luna and abandoned marked mate of a prince. The Imperial City was so many miles away. Basil and any concerns of the court were a lifetime ago. She needed to focus on her present. She hadn’t run into her mate in the Sapphire Lake Pack, but maybe he was on the battlefield with her father, fighting for their safety. She wondered if he was handsome and brave, rushing into battle with the strength of a great warrior. Maybe he was a general of some sort? An archer? Maybe he was a scout or a spy. Her face warmed as her imagination ran wild and she picked up her pace, whistling into the wind.Who is that? Alice asked. She looked up as she approached her home and stopped. A tall, lanky man stood in front of her front door, holding the extra rabbit she had hunted the day before. She had planned to give it to Amanda as a gift. What right did he have to take her things and who was he?He looked up, seeing her, and lifted the rabbit as he glared at her. His tone was harsh and angry. "Who gave you this?” He hissed, marching towards her. Laurel stumbled back, frightened as he approached her in such a state. She turned, wanting to escape, but he caught her by her arm. She cried out as he jerked closer and shoved the rabbit in her face. “You can't hunt. Someone must have given it to you. How dare you cheat on me with another man!”Cheat on him? She wasn’t courting anyone. Surely, Jack would have mentioned a suitor by name if there was one, but there wasn’t a single mention of one in any of the letters she’d found. Her heart raced, but she lifted her chin, defiantly. If Laurel had been courting such a man, it was for the best that she cut it off now, anyway. *He’s not our mate*, Alice huffed. “What are you talking about?” She pulled free of his grasp, “Who are you?”He sneered at her, “I’m Lucas, your future husband.”*Lucas*, Alice growled in contempt. Laurel’s lips curled in disgust and she sneered at him. This was the coward her father wrote about. Fury filled her. “I would *never* marry you.”Lucas barked a laugh, “Don't be so silly. I’m the best option of the pack! I don’t care that you’re not my mate.”His words struck her in her chest, and for a moment, she saw Basil and Delia, dressed in fine clothing and sneering at her. Her stomach roiled.He smirked, “You’re pretty enough. When I become alpha, you’ll be my luna.”Her nausea heaved and she fought it back with her anger. Who the hell did he think he was? Who the hell had Basil thought he was? Prince or not, he was an arrogant, stupid man. Lucas was nowhere near as attractive, influential, or important.She bared her teeth, “No one wants to be your damn luna!”Lucas licked his lips, his eyes turned heated as he dragged his gaze over her body, sending a fresh wave of nausea through her. “It’s not something you really have to worry about.
Silver Blade was packed with people chattering excitedly, but it didn’t seem they had come too late as the main road was still lined with people and the crowd was growing. The village was bigger than Sapphire Lake and there seemed to be more men there. Had their men come back earlier, or had they simply had enough to keep some to protect the village still? Were they all cowards like Lucas?Laurel scanned the crowd to find a way to get closer to the main road, but there was barely enough space between people to see through, let alone squeeze through. Mothers with their children on their shoulders and at their sides crowded together with their elders. Young men and women chattered and struggled to get closer. She caught the scent of someone’s perfume and shook her head. Carefully, she lowered Amanda to the ground as others from Sapphire Lake arrived. “Thank you, dear,” Amanda said, patting her back as she panted and bent over, struggling to catch her breath now that she wasn’t just ca
Adolph Raymond breathed in the scent of his kingdom’s lands with great relief. There was no blood, no pain or darkness: no fear. He smiled, guiding his horse in line with the procession as he breathed in the scent of the metalworks that Silver Blade was known for. It was sweeter than he thought it should be. Almost creamy like milk and honey warmed by the sun, sweet and tantalizing. He shook his head. That scent wasn’t the metalworks. Adam growled with contentment. Adolf’s wolf had never felt so at ease. He cast his gaze around searching for the source of the scent.“Your Majesty?”Soon, he found the source of the scent. A young woman, likely younger than his son, was balanced carefully on a tree overlooking the procession. her long black hair gleamed in the sunlight like silk and the hem of her skirt revealing her plain shoes and pale ankles. His lips twitched at her reckless bravery. It could not have been easy to get up there in such a dress, let alone getting down. His heart cl
Laurel felt the tears welling up and spilling down her face before she had fully realized what he said. Her father? Dead? There had to be a mistake. She shook her head, “N-No. you must be mistaken, Your Majesty. I have written him many letters--”“I know,” he said and gestured behind him as he kept his voice calm. “We have kept your letters along with his belongings.”Laurel shook her head as a soldier came forward and offered her a bundle. She recognized her father’s cloak and shoes along with the neatly bound letters she’d written him. Blood stained the cloak still faintly smelling of fire. She knew from her past life that every wolf killed by a vampire was burned to keep them from becoming vampires, yet the absence of his body only made the ache worse.“No…” Her legs gave out and she sank to the ground, staring at the bundle as she tried to hold in her sobbing. “No!”Adolph’s scent enveloped her as his arms pulled her close, stroking her hair. She leaned into him, sobbing as he
Adolph watched her silently. Laurel appreciated the lack of pressure, but his tone and the confidence he wore so boldly grated her nerves. It was like looking at Basil's arrogant face without his smugness. She almost hated him, but it fizzled out as their bond pulsed warm and soothing. “Think on it,” he said after a moment, inclining his head and withdrawing his hand. Alice howled in protest and Laurel barely managed to hold herself in place when Adolph turned to leave. She didn’t watch him, but she listened to every step he took further and further away from her. When she could no longer pick out his footsteps, she went inside and collapsed into a chair, exhausted and anxious. She had planned to live with Jack after the war and enjoy her new life thinking one day she might meet her mate. With his death and meeting Adolph, she didn’t know what to do. Going back to the Imperial City meant going back to dealing with the nobles, Basil, and Delia…But it also meant she may have a cha
When she was Laura, she had only been to the Emerald Twilight Pack’s village and the Imperial City. Traveling with the army’s procession led her through most of the border cities where the schools and hospitals she’s ordered to be built were doing a great amount of good. It warmed her heart, but the whispers among the knights concerned her. “Who knew Adolph the Invincible could be like this?”A knight laughed, “He is only a man.”“Then he should understand why I want to go home as soon as possible!” The man huffed. “A full day’s delay will end up being a near week before I see my wife again.”“Better a week’s delay than never knowing if we would come back…”Laurel frowned. Why had they been delayed? They had lost more and more troops as they went through the towns. The sights of soldiers greeting their loved ones had warmed her heart and she grieved as Adolph delivered parcels of the fallen warriors to each family personally.She gasped as Adolph gave a young wife her husband’s parce
The army traveled at a decent speed towards the Imperial City. As they neared the next city, Laurel realized there was something different about this one, something familiar. The sign declared the next city to be the city of the Golden River Pack, named after the river that seemed to glow gold in the setting sun thanks to the golden silt that formed the river bed. She remembered for her life as Laura that it was one of the kingdom’s most prosperous trading cities as it was the perfect midpoint between the border and the Imperial City. “Look ahead!” Someone near the front called. People were gathered along the sides of the road and a vaguely familiar man stood in front of them all with a large smile that did not reach his eyes. It reminded Laurel of the nobles of the Imperial City.The closer they grew, the more she recognized him. He was the alpha of the Golden River Pack, Daniel. Alpha Daniel greeted them warmly, “Welcome and hail to your victory! A feast is to be held in your hon
Laurel returned to her tent and got ready for bed, but her mind wouldn’t rest. The scent of blood was still lingering in the air. The bonfire had burned out, but the fear the display had evoked in the soldiers remained. She didn’t hear anything outside of her tent beyond the quiet footsteps of the patrol. Her mind kept turning over what she knew, trying to make sense of it. Adolph’s gentle smile and warm words didn’t match the cold fury she’d seen in his eyes. How could he embrace her so gently and use those same hands to kill a vampire slave so quickly and brutally? How could his sweet voice that made her swoon order Daniel’s fingers to be cut off? From fury to tenderness and ruthlessness to tenderness: what made him change for her? Being his mate couldn’t be enough. Was it a real change or just a mask to keep her at his side? How long would it last?Those beautiful women were dragged out of the camp so roughly by the soldiers, the same way that Sarah had been at Basil’s order. She