1 - The Fae

MORDECAI

Living amongst the fae was hard for me to get used to. Even after four years I was finding it hard to adjust. I was so used to being a wolf that taming my wilder instincts made it nearly impossible to make friends at first.

The fae were very reserved and proud creatures. Most of them held their noses up at a hybrid like me. Seeing the way that they had all interacted with me and treated my mother made me realize why dad had just simply told me she died. When I showed up on her doorstep after my fourteenth birthday she paled in color and rushed me inside. The woman hadn't seen me since I'd turned one and for good reason.

I'd come to find out she fell under the pressure of her herd to repent for her wrongdoings in falling in love with a wolf and to leave me behind. My father was her mate. An occurrence that didn't happen. Fae and wolves didn't get along. Naturally they should be enemies, but when my father was readying the strike to kill her the bond snapped together. He had shifted back immediately and their romance began. Bad start, right?

Yeah, well it was a good projection of their future. They had nearly nothing in common and constantly fought with one another. Our pack, Silver Paw, had a hard time accepting her to be Luna because of it. An Alpha and Luna were supposed to rule in harmony together. They were just pure chaos. She didn't miss the chance to sneer at my father and oppose his ways of living. Most thought the only reason he kept her around was because she was with pup.

Which was entirely true. By the time I was born she was already sleeping in a different room and my father took on all responsibility of raising me. She apparently was so disgusted by me that she let the omegas do the work for her when my father wasn't around. I wouldn't be surprised if she hadn't held me for a single moment after coming into this world.

My mother had rejected me again when I ended up here in her realm. Making me go stay in the orphanage with the other hybrid bastard children of the fae men and women of this herd. They were the only ones who bothered to talk to me. The only ones that made me feel like I had some semblance of a home left after my father's pack was taken down.

"You're doing it again," Ashton raised his voice next to me, making me jump. He was lazily flipping through a black paged magazine at our shared desk.

I raised up off the bed and groaned as I stretched out my tense muscles. The fae folk don't let me go for runs. Nope, instead they thought that putting silver around my wrists and forbidding me to train would slowly let me 'fit in'. It hadn't. I was like most eighteen-year-old wolves. Packed with muscle I didn't earn and a temper that was hard to keep at bay most of the time. The alpha mark on my ribcage should've given them all the warning they needed.

"Dreaming about a better life won't make this shit hole magickly disappear," Ashton snorted and closed the magazine so he could turn towards me. His father was one of the noble earth fae here and his mother had been a siren. A child of a war affair. Needless to say, his father's family was unhappy to see him return home with a baby. He had done the right thing not leaving him out of the reaches of the frollick. Fae were hunted down for the simple fact their bodies could be used for all sorts of heinous magick. Even a half fae child would suffer this fate if discovered.

I snorted in response," that might be true but who knows... maybe my mom will cut me loose today. I'll be running far away from this place if she does. No way am I joining the army here just because all these assholes think I'm beneath them."

Ashton raised a brow," if you go, I'm going too. I'm not going to work in the shops and watch the rest of my family look down on me like some kind of parasite. Wish my dad just left me with my mom. You got lucky that your mom left you with that pack."

Lucky? How could I be lucky to have a parent willingly abandon me and watch my father die trying to help me escape? I shook my head at Ashton," the elders would greatly disagree with you."

Our door opened and we both looked over to see a golden haired fae standing in the doorway. She had big gold eyes and glowing tanned skin with a white floor length gown that flowed loosely to the ground," Mordecai, your mother is waiting for you." Probably one of my mother's servant girls. She had a different one almost every time I'd seen her.

Ashton gave my shoulder a squeeze as I walked past him and began to follow the fae. The orphanage here wasn't like what I had been used to in the human worlds. We weren't cramped and in squalor. It looked more like a dormitory with lots of windows, plants, and natural light. In a lot of areas in this herd tall trees hung over the place blocking harsh sunrays and the fae flocked to it to laze about the day.

It was like the air became thick when we turned the last corner and my mother's face came into view. As a fire fae she had bright orange eyes, hair so red it looked like flames spilling from her head, and deeply tanned skin that formed a sharp point at the end of her ears. She sat perfectly posed and dressed lavishly like usual in her silks that fit her like a glove and billowed on the floor. Sticking out like a sore thumb against all the children in the place forced to wear earth toned tunics.

My mother drummed her nails against the glass top of the golden legged table as I sat down with her. The servant she'd brought stood to her side with her hands folded in the front.

"Mother," I said as calmly as possible.

"Mordecai," she plastered a perfect white toothed fake smile on her face. "Happy birthday son." She motioned for the girl who quickly bent down and picked up a bag from the floor. The servant sat it gently in front of me atop the table.

I pushed the bag to the side and kept my gaze straight on her," can we just skip the formalities for today? I want to know what you're going to do with me."

My mother's smile faltered a bit and she looked down at her hands. I studied her features while she for some reason had become lost deep in thought. I was glad to have only gotten my orange eyes and deeply tanned skin from her. Anymore likeness would make me sick to my stomach. I'd gotten my build and obsidian hair from my father, along with his features. The longer I stayed in this realm the more my ears had started to point. Something about the food in this realm transformed a person and I hated it.

"You'll be going to the army in two days' time," my mother finally looked up, her orange eyes meeting mine. Her brows knitted together showing something similar to remorse. I scoffed at her words and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Mordecai it's for your own safety that you leave this place as fast as you can," her words were barely above a whisper. She was purposely keeping quiet so that only I could pick it up with my wolf hearing. My senses were dulled by the silver but I could still barely pick it up.

"And why's that?" I shifted uncomfortably. Her words reminded me of one of the last things my father had said to me. Had the same wolves come for me now?

"Lady Ember it's almost time," the servant spoke softly next to her.

My mother nodded and stood up, fixing her clothing," stay safe." They were the last words she offered me. My body chilled the further she walked away. She left me with more questions than answers. Deciding to send me away instead of trying to help me understand the life that had been left for me.

I wish my dad was here. Picturing his smiling face brought a smile to my own and filled me with determination. I needed to get out of this place before a soldier came to collect me.

I swiped the bag off the table and quickly headed back to my room. Ashton was still in the same spot. His eyes locked into the magazine he'd been reading earlier.

"So?" he questioned without looking up.

I stayed quiet as I reached beneath my bed to fetch the old backpack I'd arrived wearing. The wooden end table next to my bed opened with a creak that made Ashton look up from his magazine. I started piling in the papers my father had given to me on his last day. The only reason I'd been able to keep them was because the fae couldn't read the language and deemed it 'stupid wolf stuff'.

"Woah woah. What the hell are you doing?" He spoke as he walked over to me.

"Leaving," I gave a simple reply. What else needed to be said?

I looked up, seeing his face pulled into a big smirk. "What? I stopped what I was doing and raised a brow.

Ashton rolled his eyes and puttered over to his side of the room. I watched with curiosity as he grabbed his schoolbag and started replacing the books with his belongings. "I told you that you aren't leaving without me Feyfyre!" he laughed.

"Ashton," my tone went serious," you've never been outside of this place. How do you expect to survive?"

"You'll be the muscles and I'll be the brains," he flashed me a smile as he packed in record time.

I groaned and sat on my bed," I'm not worth a damn until somebody removes this silver."

"I know somebody who can do it," Ashton’s smile turned into a smirk and my stomach dropped.

"No-" I started but he cut me off.

"Oh, come on! Mira would be happy to see you again!" He laughed loudly. "I'm sure she's forgotten all about your date from hades."

"Somebody doesn't just forget nearly dying," I spat.

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Hallo everybody! This is the second book of the Ash Walker series. It can be completely read as a stand-alone book if wanted. The only thing you might miss is some context with details that won't be explained as quickly. Whereas if you'd read the first book (The Witch's Wolf) you would understand it already. Not to worry though! I won't be including any information without explanation at some point during your read.

Thank you for picking this up! - Insect