AUTHORSeven months later...The storm came in the middle of the night. The pack had never seen anything like it. The breeze threatened to shake down the walls of every standing building, the foundation of several houses were threatened.Mothers kept their children away from the windows, fathers bolted their doors.But in the palace of Stormrider, there was confusion. The Luna queen was in severe pain, screaming at the top of her lungs.Ryker stood barefoot in the corridor outside Elora’s chamber with clenched fists. His chest rose and fell heavily with every breath that he took. His mind couldn't rest. He continued to think of ways he could take away the pain of his beloved. He could hear her from where he stood. The ragged pitch of her cries, the urgency in her voice, the pain in her scream made him more anxious.His closest friends stood by his side, but there wasn'
AUTHORThe sun had never risen brighter over Stormrider. It had been a long time since the kingdom shook with the joy that currently flowed through it. It had been long since there was a king or a queen generous enough to invite every living soul in the pack to the festivities happening in the palace.Not even the wedding of the dead alpha king, Kael Stormrider, had been met with such excitement by the people of Stormrider. They had long prayed for a ruler who cared, who truly saw them, and the goddess had given them Elora Azrion.Yes. The girl known as the mute lady of Valewind was now Luna Elora Azrion. She had taken her father's name after learning the truth. After all, it was only because of him that she got the courage to stand on her own, to fight the forces that had stood against her.The courtyard where blood once soaked the stone was now dressed in woven silk and moonflowers. Golden dr
ELORA The wind blew past my face as I stood there, arms wrapped around me, staring at nothing in particular. The room was smaller than I remembered. Smaller, darker, colder. Standing there felt a lot like the memory of an old wound that was healed over but still sore when one tried to touch it. A lot had change since I last looked out of this tower. It was that fateful night Kael stumbled into my room drunk. It had only been a few months, but it felt like an eternity ago, like I had lived a whole life after that one. The thought of it made me smile sadly. It was a bitter sweet memory, really. I had always longed for the day my life would change, but the change came in such a drastic way that I didn’t think I’ll survive it. But there I was. A survivor. I stood by the arched window, staring out into the vast, trembling world beyond. I could still smell the metallic stench of dried blood on the ground. The wind tugged at the glass, gentle but insistent, and the dry trees bowed w
ELORA Ryker’s hands brushed the skin of my cheek even as I remained glued to his body. I was shaking deep in my bones, and the feeling of victory was…surreal. It had all happened so fast, almost like a fever dream. But it wasn’t. I had lived it. Every single moment of it. I raised my head up to look at him. There was no smile in his eyes, only a forlorn look. I had thought he would be screaming for victory after defeating the people he had longed to for most of his life. “Are you alright?” I found myself asking. Ryker sucked in a deep breath and slowly pulled away. When he looked down at me, there was a gentle smile on his face. “We won,” I continued. “You should be happy.”“Yeah,” his gaze drifted over my head. No doubt to Selene’s dead body and Varek’s. “But at what cost?”When I said nothing, he continued. “They were your family, princess.”Family. The word stabbed me in my stomach. I recounted Varek’s confession. How he had never wanted me, how my being alive was just one
AUTHORThey often said that when one was about to die, it was a rite of passage for their lives to flash before their eyes. Sometimes in flashes, other times, it was in slow pictures. For Elora, it was in flashes. Every moment, for the past twenty years that led her to this very one, she saw it all. All the changes she would make if she ever got a chance to live again, all the places she would go, all the places she wouldn’t. But in all the infinite possibilities she saw in a matter of seconds, there was only one thing she knew she would never trade for anything: the man she fell in love with. And she had made that man promise she would make it out of this war alive. That, she was going to do. She pushed out the pictures in her head and focused on the vile man in front of her. The blade pressed harder against her throat. Varek was intent of killing her, no doubt. But she had a life to live, and she was going to make it out of her no matter what. Elora gritted her teeth, her blood
ELORA I wasn’t done with him yet. Not nearly. I continued to keep my eyes fixed on him. Tall, majestic, still regal despite all the crimes he had committed. I could see why he had deluded himself into thinking he was fit to sit on that throne. With a face like his, and a heart like his, one could do almost anything. Whatever he had decided to do to Kael and Kranos Stormrider were not my business. Not that I didn’t care, I did. Before the last few days of his life, Kael had been nothing but a sweetheart, and I had never much cared for Kranos. But my father…Varek Valewind had just confessed to committing two crimes; the first being the death of my mother, and the second being lying to me all my life. The echoes of Varek’s voice still rang through my skull like a curse I couldn’t shake.“I gave your whore mother the death she deserved.”“You are not my child.” Bastard. The word rang in my head time and time again. It finally made sense why he had treated me the way he had. Perhaps Se