The Mortal Realm

/ ABBY /

There was complete darkness before my consciousness came back. I slowly opened my eyes and was greeted with a blinding light. It took me a second to realize the light came with a loud sound, unfamiliar to my ears. Then suddenly, when my vision cleared, I saw that the light came from something big with wheels moving towards my direction, its sound blaring as if a warning.

Panic rushed to my blood as I quickly moved to the side to let it pass.

“GET OFF THE ROAD, YOU WHORE!” shouted the man who was driving the big thing with wheels.

I was lost. My mind was in complete chaos. Nothing around me registered familiar. Absolutely nothing at all. I couldn’t remember anything - I didn’t know who I was, where I came from, and how did I get here. 

Suddenly, another thing with wheels, a little smaller than the first one, stopped in front of me, its bright light shining upon my face. I squinted and tried to focus when two older people, a couple perhaps, got out of the thing with wheels and walked towards me.

“Are you alright, sweet heart? Do you need help?” the woman asked, looking at me with worry.

I was shivering from the cold. It was dark when I looked around and I realized I was at lying at the side of what seemed to be a road.

“She looks completely fazed, Honey. We should take her to the car,” the woman said again, talking to the man.

“Don’t be stupid, we don’t even know who she is!” the man answered.

“But Honey, look at her! She needs our help!”

“This is absurd, Melinda! If we don’t keep moving, the storm will catch us and we’ll be stranded.”

“But if we leave her here in this weather, she’ll die!”

The man groaned in frustration. “Alright, get her inside.”

“Thank you.”

The woman helped me on my feet. She took me inside the thing with wheels which I learned was a car. She made me sit down at the back seat and wrapped a blanket around my shivering body. And the car started off. I sat there, looking so confused, unable to process what was going on.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” the woman asked, looking back at me from the front seat.

My name….. I didn’t know my name. So instead of answering, I shook my head and cried.

‘’What’s wrong, sweetie? Did someone hurt you? What happened? Why are you in the road alone in this storm?”

Still, I didn’t know how to answer that.

“Stop asking her questions, Melinda. She’s traumatized. Must be a rape victim,” the man snapped as he continued driving.

“We should take her to the police, Alejandro.”

“We have no time to spare. Don’t you see? There’s nothing in this road but barren fields and snow. We’ve been driving for hours but we haven’t found a house in sight. Don’t you get it? Well, I think she was dumped on this road from a car. We’ll bring her to the authorities once we get to the city.”

“Okay,” the woman said sadly, and the rest of the journey was followed with silence.

They didn’t, however brought me to the authorities. They had better ideas. We drove to a town and parked in front of a house.

“This will be your new home, dear,” the old woman told me, and later did I know I would be calling her ‘mom’.

“You’re home now, Abby,” she repeated and embraced me like how a mother embraced a child.

***

FOUR YEARS LATER

/Zhask’s POV/

I followed a man in the streets whom I suspected as one of the rogues who were behind the kidnapping of my mate. It had been four long years but we I still couldn’t find the people who were behind the attack at the Hunting Ceremony.  But I was able to trace one of them yesterday because someone who were there at the ceremony was able to recognize his face. And this was the man we were following.

One of my trusted guard, Lylion, was behind me, keeping me safe all the time since I just sneaked out of the palace in disguise. The scent of the man who was no longer in our sight led me to a narrow corner and into a narrow empty alley.

“He’s no longer here, Your Highness,” Lylion informed me but I interrupted him.

“He’s hiding here, I can smell his scent,” I replied. It was midnight and the moon was shining brilliantly in the sky which meant I could feel my werewolf strength resurfacing once again.

The scent became heavier, I knew the rogue was near, probably watching us in the dark.

Lylion, even though his claws were out, still raised his sword for my safety and kept watched of the surroundings.

“Your Highness, I hope you know that there’s a lot of rogues in this part of the city,” he said, watching in full alert.

“I know, but I’m not scared. I’m so close to finding my beloved Greya. I can’t give up now,” I replied.

It’s true, what I said. I’ve been looking for her for the past four years, refusing to find another mate because I love her more than anything in the world. The Council gave me five years to find a mate since my father died, because they agreed in the rule that I wouldn’t be able to ascend the throne and become the next Alpha King if I still didn’t have a mate.

Suddenly, I heard noises. I looked back and Lylion raised his sword, ready in case an enemy charged at us.

The scent got heavier and the next thing I knew, a big black wolf charged at me with its sharp claws. I got pinned to the ground but Lylion was able to pierce its hand with his sword.

“Die, you scumbag!” Lylion shouted but the wolf was bigger than him and with its paw, he was sent into the air, his back landing against the wall.

It made me mad, so I shifted into my wolf form as well. The Rogue was still bigger than me, but he lacked strength. I had the perfect training in my pack so I was able to push his heavy body from me, and now we’re on our four feet, growling and facing each other.

He charged at me, I charged at him too. I sharpened my claws and scratched his back. He was able to scratch mine too but his was bigger damage. He growled again, his eyes looking so devious, ready to charge at me again. But before he could do it, Lylion, in his wolf form too, jumped at him and bit his neck. I joined the fight and together, we bit and scratched the Rogue until his fur was covered in blood.

When he could no longer fight back, Lylion and I shifted back to our own human forms, and the Rogue had no choice but to do the same. But he was too weak to move now, he was just lying on the ground, covered in wounds.

I took Lylion’s sword who had fallen at the ground and pointed it at him. “Tell me where she is!” I demanded, feeling the rage in my heart again. “Now!”

But, despite his wounded body, the Rogue still managed to smile deviously at me.

“You think this is funny, huh? Tell me where you took her or I’ll end your life right here!” I told him, anger filled my whole body.

“You will never be able to find her,” he said, still grinning.

I was about to struck him with my sword but Lylion stopped me.

“Your Highness,...” he said while holding my hand. “Don’t.”

“H-he’s not saying anything,” I replied. I didn’t realized I was crying now.

“We need him. Let’s take him to the palace and interrogate him. Answers will come if we try too hard, but for now, we must go. This place will be swarming with Rogues soon enough.”

Despite my strong desire to kill him right there, I agreed with Lylion. We picked up the Rogue’s body, he was too weak to fight, and we carried him to our small carriage I stole from my uncle’s property. We went back to the palace and ask the healers to heal and bind the Rogue so he wouldn’t escape.

It was almost dawn and I didn’t feel the need to sleep anymore. In my chambers, I looked up at the portrait of me and my mate Greya on the wall, and felt a sudden sadness in my heart. It was desperation even more. The portrait was of us, when we were mated. We were so in love and happy and I missed her even more.

“I’ll see you soon, my love.” I whispered at her in the portrait, feeling some sense of hope in my bones that I would be able to find her again.

The sun came up and it was time to fulfil my duty again. I showed my face to The Council in the throne room where we gathered to discuss the issues and concerns of the kingdom. The Council was made up of pack leaders or Alphas and Lunas from the most prestigious packs in the Kingdom, elders, seers, and any other important people. The throne was always empty for the past four years but the seats next to it on either side were occupied by Beta Caden, my cousin and second in line to the throne, and Omega Leo, my uncle and third in line to the throne. The Sentinels stood watched at either side of the throne between the seats of Beta Caden and Omega Leo. I, however, had to sit among the other pack leaders facing the high seats because as they said, I had no titles yet, because I was mateless. Everyone in the Council had mates except me.

“Prince Zhask,” Beta Caden said. That’s what they all called me for now. A prince without a mate. “Are you aware that you are running out of time?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m very much aware, thank you for reminding me for the million times,” I replied at him sarcastically. He always wanted the throne and he despised me for being the heir.

“The Kingdom is struggling,” he continued. “More Rogues are committing crimes everywhere. They should be banished but they refused to do so. But what this Kingdom really needs is a competent Alpha King who will tame those rogues or send them away.”

“As if I didn’t know that,” I said, mocking him.

“ENOUGH!” one of the sentinels spoke. Since the position of the Alpha King was empty for now, all commands start from them, the Sentinels that my father had trusted. They had full authority of the council and of the kingdom. Their voices were always followed and their decisions respected.

“Beta Caden, your time is yet to come. Zhask had one year left to find a mate.”

“If he should just find a mate anywhere else, then all problems will be solved,” Beta Caden retorted.

“Finding a mate is a sacred tradition. You don’t just get mated to someone you don’t even love!” I objected.

“Your mate is dead, but you still can’t accept that!”

“What did you say?!” That was all it took for me to charge at him with my sharpened claws. “MY MATE IS NOT DEAD!”

A lot of commotion happened for this day’s throne room discussion which I started, and they had no choice but to kick me out of there.

I was angry and infuriated. “CURSE YOU ALL, YOU STUPID SHIT!” I was shouting outside then suddenly, one of the Healers came to me.

“Your Highness, someone wants to see you,” he said.

I followed him to the room where we kept the Rogue from last night. He was bind to a chair and an older man in a blue robe stood in front of him.

But when the man turned around, I recognized his face. He was the Seer of the Blue Moon Pack, the pack where my mate belonged. It wasn’t often to find him here.

“Your Highness,” he said, bowing in courtesy. “I came here to tell you that I solved the puzzle. I know where Luna Greya is.”

My heart started beating so fast. I knew that he had been looking for her too as instructed by her father, the Alpha of their pack.

“W-where?” I asked, almost couldn’t find my voice.

“She’s in the Mortal Realm.”