I paced the edge of the clearing, my hands curled into tight fists. The calm breeze did nothing to warm the tension sitting heavy on my chest. The air around me crackled.. not with anger, but with frustration so thick it could choke.“We don’t have time for this, Odessa,” I snapped, whirling to face her. “You’re leading the search party now? Really? You should go back to your daughter.. and if she has any sense left, she should bring Kira out before this turns into a war!”Silence followed, sharp and heavy. Then... movement.Dante had said nothing as he walked past her and past me. He didn’t even look up at any of us.. He just moved to the edge of the clearing and crouched again, his fingertips brushing the earth like he was feeling something no one else could sense. His eyes were distant, unreadable, as if the world around him had faded into a background noise and it made my frustration increase.I couldn't take his silence anymore so I finally scoffed. “Is he seriously squatting rig
'Run, my little one,' Athena cried out. 'Don't stop running.'Branches clawed at my face as I ran through the underbush, my lungs burning, my legs begging and screaming for mercy. But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. The sound of snapping twigs behind me was too close... closer than it should have been.He was gaining in on me."Mistress" he called out again "I'm going to get you.. Mistress, all you have to do is call my name but then again what wolf doesn't like being chased?"I turned around one more time to see if he was close and my foot caught on something and I crashed hard to the ground. Pain went up my side like fire licking bone. The air rushed out from my lungs with a guttural grunt."Ahhh!!" I screamed in pain as the hot tears stood at my eyes, threatening to fall.“Get up!” Athena’s voice snapped through my mind like a whip. “You are not weak, Kira. You are mine. A child born of destiny, and no child of mine is weak so get up and run.”“I.. I can’t.. I really can't...” I
The cold wind of the night felt wrong and It cut across the trees like it was hell bent on hunting me... carrying the scent of blood, moss, and something odd. Something that tasted like memory if you bite down hard enough.Memory of my Kira.I dragged my claws through the dirt again, like if I dig deep enough I’ll find her buried there or anywhere. Like maybe she just fell into the ground, slipped through my fingers and vanished under the weight of everything.“Dante.” Kai slowly spoke, his voice steady. Too steady.“I said stand down.” Kai growled again.. He was my shadow and my conscience, when I’m too far gone to hear my own heartbeat and right now I guess I was about to go far.“I’m fine,” I growled back at him.“You’re not, Dante, you're not fine and I can't believe I'm the one begging you to calm down..” he replied evenly. “Your aura’s flaring up like wildfire.... You're losing your grip. You know what that means.”“Two days,” I say, still staring down the tree line like it in
The wolfsbane in my body felt like it was spreading into every single part of my soul and it hurt so bad. I just wanted the slow creeping pain to end quickly.I slowly opened up my eyes and the world seemed to have blinked with me.As I found myself in a meadow again that seemed to have been stretching around me. Dandelions swayed gently, their golden petals felt soft against the breeze, but they didn’t feel real. Nothing here did. The wind carried no scent. The grass didn’t rustle. The air was too still. like the world was holding on to its breath.I took a step forward and the sky flickered and glitched like an old memory from blue, to red, and then black. Flames bloomed in patches above me, not descending from clouds, but flickering between the spaces in the sky like the world itself was tearing at the seams.Was this limbo? Was I dying?And in the far distance, I sighted them.There were figures, some cloaked in what seemed to be silver light, while the others were wrapped in s
"If any one of you remembers anything... Anything at all, do not hesitate to find me."And then I dismissed the last of the servants with a silent nod, then slowly watched them bow and scatter like autumn leaves in the wind. None dared ask questions. I sat on the edge of the stone hedge in my garden with my hands folded in my lap and my spine painfully straight. The breeze was cool.. too cold for summer and it cruelly bit my skin like it knew the bad and unforgivable things I had done.I could still feel the sting of Mira’s cheek beneath my palm.Goddess please forgive me.I hadn’t meant to raise my hand. But she had said words I couldn't take... and all I saw was red hot anger. That look in her eyes... like she was slipping further away from me, like she enjoyed it. I didn’t know her anymore. Or maybe I never really had.Raymond’s voice echoed in my mind from earlier, right after I had slapped his dear Mira... after he’d pulled me away from her like I was the one losing control
The door creaked again.. this time slowly, deliberately.I didn’t turn around. I didn’t need to.Only one person in this palace had the audacity to enter my chambers without giving a proper knock.. acting like he bloody owned the floor beneath my feet.“Did mother send you to stress me over little miss vanishing green eyed snake?” I called without looking up at him, “Or are you just here to mope at me to tell you what I didn't do right and pretend to be father of the year again?”I heard the door click shut. His footsteps were slow, calm, measured... as always. “You’ve always been dramatic,” he said softly. “But not even you can deny that if the Lycan prince should return without his dear Kira... hell won’t just break loose, it’ll bury us all.”I finally turned to face him, and narrowed my brow. “Really?... And what exactly does that have to do with the innocent me? I mean I'm not the one who lost her. I'm not even with her.”He stepped farther into the room, eyes sweeping across