Callista.I wake up in an office room with a moan.“Oh, Goddess…” My head throbs so much and my mouth is dry as parchment. I try to move my limbs but to no avail. My whole body feels heavy yet floating at the same time, a common feeling after regaining consciousness. This is not a new experience to me by now, given how many times I’ve been knocked out over the past few months, but I’m getting really tired of it.As my vision focuses on my surroundings, I realize that I’m in a rather nice office. There’s a plush carpet under my feet, and a sturdy desk in front of a large book cupboard that covers an entire wall. The books are neatly lined behind the glass panels of the cupboard. I sit in front of this desk.I try to move my legs, but I cannot. I look down, the inclination makes my head hurt more.I’m bound to the chair.“What the hell…” I mutter.Memories come back to me, and I remember how three men chased me through the city. I remember separating from Jenny and toppling a bookrack i

Callista.The phantoms accompany me as Edwin carries me through the foliage. My head falls off his shoulder, limp, and my blurry sight upside down. I see other white-clad youths walk behind us. Edwin leads this lethal parade. The whole forest is bathed in moonlight, and my scattered mind travels back to my own coming of age ceremony.The phantom of Farris walks nearest to me, dressed in the same way I last saw him. Seeing him makes me feel strangely nostalgic. Back then, things weren’t this bad.“My, my Callista,” He muses in a reverberating voice, walking next to me leisurely. “What happened to you?”Theon appears next to him, his face frozen in an expression of rage and pompous glory.“Serves her right. I gave you all the luxuries you ever wanted, but you couldn’t agree to the one simple thing I asked of you. And then you made me out to be the villain for trying to follow our agreement!” He decides to add his two cents.“You killed me to get him,” Ruelle walks next to the other phan

Theon.The coming-of-age ceremony of the werebears forbids anyone except the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and the young ones from stepping into the ritual grounds. It is a tradition that is commonplace for every werebear pack out here, and I’ve learned of it from the special lesson I’d gotten on diplomacy back when I was a child, the spare to the heir who was my brother. Even though I hadn’t thought that I’d ever get to exercise that knowledge back then, I’d listened to every lesson diligently, wanting to know more about the society that we inhabited.After I became Alpha King, I knew that I’d have to deal with other were-species when the time came, but never did I think my first encounter with werebears would be like this.Upon seeing their Alpha fall, the Beta and Gamma of the Brekett pack round up the young bears to retreat. They don’t look all that keen to leave, rather, they are all brimming with the need to fight, I can tell. But they listen to their superiors, who are obviously aware th

Theon. I sit next to Callista with a heart heavier than a ton of iron, watching her chest rise and fall slowly. Various wires are hooked onto her, reading her vitals, her blood pressure, and other things I don't know. She looks more like a machine than a woman, except for all the uncovered, abused skin peeking out from her hospital gown. The carvings on her body are still bright red, but I know those scars will fade soon, leaving her skin as pristine as before. We are werewolves, and we only get scars if the weapons are laced with hefty amounts of silver, or other poisonous materials. I feel guilty for wanting her to heal quickly, because every time I look at her injuries, all I can think of is how much I failed her. My mind flashes back to the time I found her on the slab. At first, when I saw her open, unmoving eyes, I’d thought that was it. I’d been too late to save yet another woman in my life. But this time, it was a woman, a girl, who I condemned to her fate. I don’t know how

Callista.At first, there is nothing.I float in empty space, trying to make sense of it all. There’s darkness all around me, although it’s not the oppressive kind I’m used to in my nightmares. No, but there is serenity in it. Something tells me that the moment darkness disappears to give way to light, my little resting time would be over.And I don’t want that. My memories are hazy, and I have no idea where I am at the moment, but one thing is certain, I am tired. I’ve been feeling tired for so long, and needed a rest. But more than that, I have been craving safety. Now, in the darkness where I am weightless, I have both.But of course, like all good things, it had to come to an end.I don’t know how it starts, but one moment I am happy and floating, but the next I’m being dragged down by a force strong enough to rival gravity. I scream my reluctance into the void, but there is nothing to help me.As I get dragged down, I start to gain a semblance of self, along with memories. I lear