BOOK 1: Chapter One

BOOK ONE: RISE OF THE LYCANS

Kohl took a slow, deep breath and closed his big hazel eyes wishing to not see the slaughter that lay in front of him.

“This was not the faeries this time, you guys.” Peter murmured in a state of shock as his eyes dimmed from sadness, scanning the area around him.

“Gee, what gave you that idea?” Kohl's eyes snapped open and he whipped his head to face the now annoyed Peter.

“Don't be an ass, Kohl. I know it's hard for you, but maybe give a little effort.” Nora defended, glaring her teary eyes at him.

The small town, more like a village, in the jungles of the a****n, was a town filled with dead, mutilated bodies. The destruction wasn't secluded to adults but to children and from Kohl's line of sight infants as well. Limbs were separated from their bodies and the ground sank in from a flood of blood. Small creatures took no time at all to begin moving in and feasting on the decaying flesh.

The young, beautiful Jen with the long golden blonde hair and intense blue eyes stood away from the others and cried after seeing a dead child roughly the age of two or so.

“Do you think Luka had something to do with this?” Peter questioned not looking to anyone in particular, but like all heavy questions, it was directed to Kohl. The eldest of them all.

“Last time I saw something like this was lycans.” His gaze caught Peter's, who looked a tad bit confused.

“Lycans are extinct. The vampires killed them off centuries ago.” Jen hurried toward them, all filled with anxiety and stress, enough that everyone could feel it. Or perhaps the anxiety and fear she felt was something they all felt on their own. Lycans. Could it really be lycans?

“Yeah, people thought my kind were dead too...Until I was discovered.” Kohl pointed nearly condescending.

“But you are the last one. So...” Nora shrugged. Kohl shook his head in response.

“That isn't something anyone knows for sure. There are more worlds than just this one and there are creatures that build bridges between them. Lycans are not as stupid as other creatures may come to believe; they are extremely intelligent and very clever. It is possible to track down one of those beings that build those bridges and cross between worlds. So, don't discount lycans just because it is believed they are extinct... Many things in this world were thought to be extinct and then they were later discovered.” Kohl explained, looking at the mutilated body of a pregnant woman. He felt the sorrow in his entire body, the unborn child could've been a magnificent person, could have changed the world and before it was even able to breathe the air of the world outside its mother's womb, the life was cut short. He clenched his jaw, trying to hide any emotion he may be feeling, but Nora caught it. She saw the pain in his eyes and the tension in his body, but to not draw attention to him, she said nothing.

The sky was darkening. Turning from the shining blue sky with no clouds in sight to a setting sun shining orange, purple and pink above them. Clouds began to form and were nearly black against the beautiful rainbow sky. The smell of rain began to surround them, and a cool breeze hugged them, making Nora shiver causing goosebumps to cover her dark skin.

“It's going to rain,” Peter announced unnecessarily, “we should get to some shelter. I don't feel like ending the day with rain and freezing wind.”

“I agree,” Nora confirmed and without another word, they began to walk through the trees and vines. The plants that grew high above Kohl's height, he was the tallest 6-foot 4 inches towering over Peter, who stood taller than the others at 5 foot 8 inches. Nora was the smallest, not even reaching 5 foot 3 inches. “Hey, Kohl?”

“What?” He slowed back to allow Nora to catch up to him; the two of them fell behind the others.

“If creatures that are extinct in this world aren't always extinct in the other ones... Why have you not looked for others like you?” She felt a little nervous and guilty about asking, but the curiosity would eat at her until she knew. Her chocolate eyes were glossy from crying when she saw the horrid scene only minutes before. The two of them continued walking following a bit behind the others. Kohl didn't answer for quite a while. Her guilt increased as the moments passed without an answer from him.

“Because... If they are extinct in those worlds, I don't want to hope and end up disappointed.” He had to think about it for a while, trying to search for words that just couldn't be found, so he simplified it.

“What if they are not?”

“Then, I'll run into them at some point in this life.” Kohl never looked at her as they talked, but she couldn't help but look at him to read his emotions. He was disconnecting now from his emotions and she could hear it as he spoke.

“Do you hope to?”

“Stop asking Nora. I don't want to discuss this any further.” He snapped and it made her jump slightly surprised by his reaction. He was usually levelheaded and cool if he wasn't, then his rage would overwhelm him. Nora wasn’t ordinarily easy to scare or startle, but with as brave as she was, Kohl did. He was the most powerful being on earth next to Elizabeth and Luka or knowingly the most powerful, and when his rage took over, no matter how powerful Luka was, he wouldn’t be able to stop him.

Nora was just thankful he was on their side and not Luka’s, every world would be annihilated otherwise.

Kohl could feel there was a part of him missing, something he needed, and he could not even imagine what it could be. He thought friendship until he met Peter, the vampire that become his closest friend and ally, the only person he trusted with his life other than Elizabeth. It wasn’t friendship that was missing, but something he couldn’t bear to lose. Despite his on-again-off-again feelings about Jen and Nora, he included them as friends, to a minor degree knowing they would never betray him. They were all on the same side, dedicated to eliminating the threat to all life, especially the fragile human life.

After Kohl realized it wasn’t friendship, he considered it was companionship, but it was not that either. He’d been in love a few times over some passionate and all-consuming, but it would end and sometimes it hurt and sometimes it didn’t. He could feel the hole but could never bury the feeling of it.

Nora knew he was missing something as well; her intuition was unlike no other. She could see bits and pieces of peoples’ future. Nothing solid and a majority of the time, if it made some sense, she would tell them, but not with what she’d seen for Kohl. And with that intuition, she knew what he was missing, and she would never tell him it would destroy him.

“I have gone against lycans before. They are very hard to kill; silver is not so effective anymore, like a disease they’ve grown immune to the effects. The only way is beheading. Stabbing the heart or removing it is one way, but they have about four inches of breast plate-like cement. Beheading is easier if you have a sharp enough weapon to get through that monstrous neck.” Kohl ducked through the threshold of a small hut. No one was inside, assumingly a victim of the massacre.

Peter sat down to start a fire, mostly for Nora, the only human; she would be affected by the cold, far worse than they would. She curled up next to it, Jen beside her. Kohl sat away from the others and stretched himself out on his back, laying the length of the hut. Peter went to him and sat facing him, raising an eyebrow expecting him to say something. Kohl just rolled his head, looking at Peter then turned away to look at the ceiling of the hut. “What happened to them?”

“With what?” Kohl knew what Peter was asking, but he decided to play ignorant.

“The lycans… You never told me about your history with them.” Peter was kind when he spoke, very soft and sometimes he was worried to offend or hurt feelings, something that made him and Kohl opposites, but it was that reason that made Jen love him so deeply. The two were dedicated to one another.

*****

The dedication and love they had for one another was that of a fairy tale and the story of where and how they met was just like a storybook; damsel in distress and a noble night on a white steed.

In the year 1509, King Henry VIII was known for his wives the abundant numbers and it was not quite as well-known his cruelty to them and to his female subjects. He allowed the men of his army to do as they pleased to any woman of any age to keep them happy; happy soldiers meant loyal soldiers. He was a very paranoid man and was always in fear of someone making an attempt to steal his thrown, to take his power away. Jennifer’s original name was Lavinia. During that time, she was the most beautiful woman in the village and when she killed one of King Henry’s generals in defense of her own body and being taken advantage of, she was taken to a pillory in the middle of the village. When word of her crime spread through the people, no one took the chance to pummel her with anything. No one spat on her name or cursed at her; they felt sadness and honored her and her bravery. Most women in town had at some point or would at some point be victimized by one of the King’s men.

*Author's note:This book contains violence, sexual scenes and talks about rape. Reader discretion is warned. I appreciate all of the support my reader's provide for me and my kids. Please don't forget to give gems and votes and reviews please. Every little bit helps!