The plan was to run from him. But no one can outrun destiny. "I'm mated to the twin alphas of Bloodmoon. Your moon goddess must be wrong to think I'd want a third mate. Nevertheless, a cursed king." *** Avalyn Drakara became a fugitive taboo the moment she was born. Children born from the combination of two shifters never survive. The struggle of dominance from each gene would never allow that, but she did, fulfilling the prophecy of the flame reborn. Amidst various sacrifices to hide her identity, she finds herself living as a human runt in a cruel hierarchical werewolf pack where she's mated to the twin alphas. Fate is cruel, and decides being a pet to one more alpha is the price she'd pay for the power she was never meant to have. But he isn't just any alpha. He's Alpha Kael Draven, the cursed lycan of the north and a descendant of the royal family. She isn't his first, but she is the key to breaking his curse. But when you've spent years bound to what you know, leaving it becomes difficult. Ava has no idea about who she truly is. Kael doesn't care; all he wants is to break free. Yet with a prophecy that ties both together, a gruesome, inevitable love is bound to happen. It's either them, or their entire world.
View More"Born of dragon fire and witch's blood, the girl shall awaken with power that cuts across realms to save... or destroy."
It should've been just a prophecy...
But I should've known... god, I should've known...
****
AVA
You've probably heard about the shifter's tale.
For me, it was a bedtime story...
Until it became my reality.
"Listen, Ava-" My mother would start once my father left to scout the area where we had decided to lay our heads for the night.
Not that we were poor. No.
We were camping. Or so I thought.
"There are vampires. There are wolves. There are fairies, bear shifters, witches and many others. But the greatest amongst them all are the dragons."
I'd heard tales from my friends about tales their parents told them on camp trips, so to me, this was something to brag about.
Also, anything was better than staring into the night while trying not to starve to death.
The first few nights, I had listened with wide-eyed wonder, pelting questions at her.
Honestly, I was fascinated.
We were merely humans. Like most people, a small family of three.
Although I was the only child, I grew up knowing so much love and care, I had no idea what loneliness was.
I lived as a disciplined child who attended a super expensive school on weekdays and a spoilt child who got whatever she wanted on the weekends.
But Sundays were different-
Bad different.
We were atheists, yet my parents made sure we regularly attended the first church mass. I mean, it was obvious they had no idea what they were doing.
Still, it was a ritual.
My mother would stare at me with some sort of longing, tears spilling from her eyes as she desperately prayed.
Why was Mum crying? Why won't they tell me what's going on?
I wondered as I clutched my father's hand harder. My face scrunched up, with a sad pout on my lips, watching him mirror her worry.
He was a strong and hard man, yet he'd stand still, glaring at the giant statue like he was threatening Him to give answers to his greatest desires.
Back then, I had no suspicions. I could only see a mixture of what I'd come to understand as desperation and fear in their eyes.
But now, I was sure of one thing:
Whatever they were scared of-
It had begun.
By the fourth day, the magic of the storytelling had begun to fade.
I no longer cared about the details of shifting forms and heightened senses. They blurred with the lines of familiarity.
Each day, my responses became shorter, and sometimes I even found myself mouthing the words along.
So it wasn't a surprise when her misty eyes met mine on the seventh day.
"Today, Ava, I'm going to tell you something different. It's about hybrids. The powerful ones formed from the combination of two or more supernaturals."
Tuning her voice out, my gaze drifted to the forest lines beyond the firelight. Once again, my father had left hours ago, and he was yet to return.
Since it was her only cue to end this torture, I knew we'd be going at it for a while.
"These hybrids are stronger than normal supernaturals..." she continued. "...wanted by both the humans and shifters. The last one was born a thousand years ago, and it nearly destroyed an entire continent. Ava, are you listening?"
I jerked at the sound of my name.
"Please..." she said softly. "Please listen attentively."
How could I?
I was tired. Fed up with whatever this was.
A week ago, I had fallen asleep with a smile on my face, replaying the expensive ninth birthday party they had thrown me.
I was going to bask in its glory the next day at school, but it was snatched away with just five words:
"Wake up, baby. We're leaving."
I just wanted to return home... to where it was comfortable... to my fr-
"Ava, are you listening to me?" My mother's desperate voice snapped me out of my thoughts again. "The prophecy says, another would be born, but powers like that should stay hidden. For the betterment of everyone. Don't you think?"
I couldn't suppress my yawn as I asked instead.
"Mum, isn't Dad coming back?"
He never stayed this long.
She paused, glancing in the opposite direction before pulling on a tight smile.
"Soon. He went to get us something to...
To what?
I waited.
"Mu-"
"Shh!"
Her gaze became distant, her lips moving silently... rapidly. I couldn't hear what it was.
It wasn't until a deer sprinted by a few seconds later that her shoulders relaxed, and if I noticed the way her eyes glazed over from a bright blue to their usual brown,
I didn't say a word.
Like I also never questioned why my father returned every night, with freshly roasted meat and the metallic stench of blood reeking all over him.
I was trying to be patient, but I couldn't ignore the overpowering chill that gripped my heart every time her lips began to move and the colour of her eyes changed.
Do they think I do not notice?
How she does this everytime we settle for the night, and as soon as we pack up the next morning?
I was a child, not a fool.
Even I knew it was absurd to leave a perfectly fine and luxurious life in the city only to start living like fugitives in the woods.
Yet, I never said a word.
After a while, she breathed deeply, then turned to me.
"Did you feel that too?"
There was hope in her eyes. Another thing she did that confused me.
Apart from being bored and tired, I didn't understand what exactly I was to feel, but she had said those words to me more times than I could count since we left home.
Her eyes would sparkle with excitement and fear... like she was waiting for something good... something new. A piece of news that would make her happy, but destroy her entire world at the same time.
Still, my reply was always no.
And as usual, my lips parted to crush her hope when I felt it-
A surge of unexplainable heat... spread through my veins, burning me up from inside. It shouldn't be a surprise.
I was always warm despite living in Australia's coldest parts.
But this was different.
I yanked off my jacket, wanting relief from the cool air.
"Ava?"
Was this what she meant? What she expected me to feel?
Before I could ask, swirls of different colours burst into the air, branching into a thousand emotions. I gasped as they hit me all at once, clutching at my chest.
What was this? What is wrong with me?
The rush... Grief. Anger. Joy. They felt ancient... foreign... random. It was like a bunch of people were talking in my head all at once.
Were they all mine?
Meeting my mother's worried gaze. I realised:
No. They weren't. At least not most of them.
The lines of disappointment... I could see them wound tightly around her.
She already concluded it was the same.
"It's okay, baby. Give it some more time. It will come."
More time for what?
Her heart was racing, pounding dramatically against her chest. A big contrast to the calmness on her face. I could taste her fear in the air.
"Mum... are you alright?"
It skipped a beat. She glanced away for a second, then,
"Yes, baby. Why won't I be?"
Lie.
"And Dad?" I pressed.
"He went to get us food. He'd be back soon."
Another lie.
I didn't notice how anxious she was.
What was really happening?
Most importantly, how am I able to know this?
My eyes flickered to the subtle tremor in her hands. The way her voice catches slightly when she speaks. The unnatural brightness of her eyes, which I didn't see before.
My god.
It wasn't just fear. It was terror.
Her heart was screaming at me. Begging me to be safe.
But from what?
I shouldn't have asked. Because at that precise moment, the air shifted.
And this time, I was the first to freeze.
Her lips began to move again as her eyes frantically darted around. Unlike the previous times, I could hear the words...
No. Not words.
A chant in a foreign language, yet I recognised it.
Protection.
What?
The forest was getting darker.
Protection.
Whatever was out there, it wasn't a deer.
Protection.
I could smell the stench of death.
Protec-
"Protection from what?" I yelled in confusion, unable to hold back my curiosity.
My mother's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. "You... You... you heard me?"
I gasped in disbelief. "That was you?"
The trees around began to rustle. Leaves began to rise... I could feel the ground shaking. As well as my courage.
My lips quivered, "Mum, what's happening?"
"You're fine, Ava. Just... Sh*t. Where's Timothy? I can't... I can't do this alone..."
She was fighting back tears just like I was.
And as if hearing my father's name was the trigger, my breath hitched.
"He's... here." I choked out. My eyes were trained on the sight a hundred yards away from us.
He was fast. His gaze, wild. And he was getting closer at a maddening speed.
But there was something else.
Something he didn't need to say because I saw them in his rabid eyes.
Yet, in a low, shaky voice, he whispered,
"Run."
AVAA low growl was the first thing I heard when I came to, and the first thing I saw was darkness.Pure and undiluted.My eyes refused to open. I couldn't tell where I was, but from the suffocating smell of disinfectant, my guess was the pack clinic. The room felt eerily quiet, yet somehow I knew whoever had growled wasn't the only one here with me.My body ached all over. The intense, terrible pain I'd passed out from had reduced to a dull throb wrapped in the tight pressure of the bandage around my arm. Fighting the fogginess in my head, I inhaled deeply, willing my eyes open when someone spoke."They saw her."Dax?The anger in his tone sent chills down my spine."They saw the mark." He growled. "What do we do? What do we tell them?""I don't know," another voice replied.Damon."You don't know?" Dax snapped. "Am I supposed to tell the Alphas waiting in the hall—the Lycan Kings expecting me in an hour—that? You should've listened to me!""And what? Your plan was more reckless than
AVAI remember asking a vital question on the third day of training. I'd just fallen for the tenth time as I covered the second mile when I looked up at my trainer."I keep falling... what if, what if I'm caught? What do I do then?"Boredly picking at her nails, she tilted her head in my direction with a tired sigh."If you do, just surrender."Unfortunately, that was one piece of advice that I couldn't put to use.How do you surrender to someone who refuses to let you yield?I shouldn't have talked back. I should've played along. No. I shouldn't have opened my mouth at all. Horrified, I stumbled back as Astrid landed on all fours, baring her fangs at me.Half our audience leapt to their feet, the suspense unbearable. They all wanted to know what triggered the shift since most of our conversation went unheard due to our distance from the benches."Astrid, stand down, or you'll be disqualified." Delta, Raph warned, the veins in his neck protruding in frustration.She ignored him and in
AVA"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about."Astrid squinted at me, "Are you playing dumb right now?" She frowned, her gaze questioning if I was acting or just plain stupid. But I couldn't think of anything else to say."You know, I was right about you. You've been unusually bright. I knew something was up. I bet you thought that you could actually win this. Don't tell me you really believe that you outran five of our best wolves?"I swallowed hard.No, I didn't.I knew it was strange. However, though it was just for a fleeting moment, I wanted to think so. Eyeing her jeering form, it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't spotted her all through the chase; I was too occupied to ponder on it."Unlike the rest," Her voice went even lower. "I wasn't after winning this stupid chase. You were mine from the very beginning. I just had to get the rest out of the game."Wait, what?A cold wave of shock washed over me. My head whipped in the direction of the forest opening as a chilling rea
AVAOne advantage, perhaps the only one, that came from my trainer being changed was that despite her loathing, like the rest, she actually trained me."Look," She had spat with disdain during our first session, "We both know all odds are against you. You've never worked out, and you're... human. My only advice to you is to run. And that's all I'll be teaching you how to do."So as soon as the shot went off, I took to my heels. Trying my best to implement each of the notable corrections she made as I encountered them."Don't ever run in a single straight line. You'll be caught."I dashed into the forest, my legs turning away from the clear path. My pulse raced, skyrocketing at the stomping of feet as they closed in on me.I stormed past the wet trees, drops of water from the leaves splashing on my face and clothes... the wetness stuck to my skin, extremely cold yet I continued.Not for a millisecond did I stop to peer at my pursuers. The fact that they still hadn't caught me meant they
AVAI must've misheard. My feet, which were about to descend the last step of the podium, halted at his words and met the ground in a shaky landing.If I ever had doubts about Dax being a good actor, then this has cleared it all. With everything he had done since I walked in here, no one would ever suspect him to be my mate. But this would be taking things too far. I'm sure he didn't mean it. Drawing in a shaky breath, I took a tentative step, heading towards the exit when he spoke again,"So alphas, what do you say?"Unable to control myself, my head snapped in the direction of his voice to see a practiced smile on his face as a chorus of hums of agreement erupted in the room."That won't be bad." One of the lycan Kings, I wasn't sure which, commented. "We're done here anyway." My eyes bulged at his words. I knew the quietness of the past week was a ruse. I was paying for it all. In that moment, I'd never wished for anything more as I prayed to vanish into thin air. With all th
Nobody dared to move.Well, nobody but Ava. Like a prisoner who knew her fate had been sealed, her palm flew to her lips in horror as she watched the hot liquid splash all over the seated alphaForget being recognised, there was no running from this.Kael didn't flinch as the visible part of his skin began to turn an ugly shade of red. He didn't even wince; his fingers remained in the pool of scalding brownness. His gaze didn't leave Ava's trembling form as he cocked his head to the side, studying her intensely. "Oh my god... Alpha Draven." A muffled sob escaped her throat, and tears welled in her eyes. She immediately understood what those girls meant when they said his wolf had gone rabid. Usually, most alphas' eyes flashed a bright yellow when their wolves surfaced, but his kept floating between its normal brown and a black shade, darker than the night itself.god... the end had really come.Dax was the first one to break the silence as he jumped to his feet."Ava! You should've be
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