NORA POV
I got home, feeling devastated at what happened. I thought he was different from all the others. My heart bleeding in undeniable pain, I dragged my broken soul inside. I was about to push the door open when I heard whispers from my parents. A word penetrated into my ears, my hand on the door growing stiff. “ Do we tell her that she isn't our daughter? She is human. She would never get a wolf. I feel for how she is trying to be what she can never be," that was my dad's voice. “ I forbid it, Nathan. No one will tell my daughter anything. She is my child and I will protect her at all cost," my mother said, with finality in it. I wasn't too sure I heard it right, yet I wasn't ready to let it go. So, I pushed open the door as my heart prayed I heard wrongly. They couldn't be talking about me, right? “ Mum, dad… what's going on?” I asked, my eyes fighting off the wetness around it. As I watched the faces staring at me in shock and guilt, a pang of pain shot through my already damaged heart. I heard it right. “ Nora, when did you get here?" That was my dad's shaky voice, unable to shake off whatever truth they just blurted out. I couldn't speak anymore. I blinked my eyes while biting hard on my lips. I couldn't believe I just had my heart shattered twice tonight. “ Nora…” " I-am I your daughter?” I managed to blurt out. " Nora, you are our precious daughter and-” " Daughter?” I asked, letting out a bitter chuckle. My mom took a step towards me but I shook my head, moving two steps back. " Nora-” " It's no wonder he rejected me. He was right. I was just a pathetic human!” I screamed, bursting into fresh tears. " He rejected you? Who is that bastard that dares hurt my daughter!” My father sprang out. I could feel his protective stance yet I suddenly felt hollow. “ Does it matter, dad? I am never going to be one of you! Never! I will forever remain a lazy, pathetic human. How do I continue living like this?" I was beginning to lose all my bottled up emotions. “ Nora, please-" “ I am not one of you and I can never be!" I needed to leave, away from everyone. I wanted to be gone from the lives of everyone. If I was gone, Carlos would be free of the pain of rejection. My parents would be free from the shame of a disgrace like me. And my brother would stop fighting people who mocked me. Yes, that was the right decision. Without another thought, I ran away from the house as the voices of my parents echoed behind me. I was going to end all of these miseries! *** I found myself running back to the hill, where Carlos rejected me. Maybe I wanted to have a glimpse of him. Or I wished he could just tell me he was joking. Maybe I could stay if he accepts me. I stood at the edge of the cliff, looking around. I hoped I could catch just one glimpse of him. Sadly, the darkness was all I could see and the cold wind rustling over the tree leaves was all I could hear. He wasn't coming. With a resigned heart, I shut my eyes tightly. I think it would be best to just kill myself by jumping off the cliff. Once I was dead, everyone would be at peace. Images of his handsome face kept replaying all over again. I shook away the thought of death. I still have my parents to think about. How heartbroken they would be. Just then I perceived a familiar scent and I became happy. It seems Carlos still cares for me. He was back to accept me. Maybe he was just fighting to accept the truth. “ Carlos, you came back!" Feeling happy, I turned around only to see two guards walking toward my direction. I squinted my eyes. They looked familiar and at a closer look, I recognized them as Carlos personal guards. Where was Carlos? I thought he was here. “ How dare a filthy human like you call our Alpha by his name!" One of the guard bellowed, giving me a disgusting stare while the other spat on the ground. I clenched my fist tightly while my eyes searched for Carlos. I can't believe he sent his guards to insult me. I was sure they were acting on their own will. “ Where is Car-" I couldn't finish my words as I felt a piercing pain on my cheek. “ I warned you, didn't I? A flea like you have no right calling the Alpha's name-" “ Let's not waste time anymore and deal with this bitch as the Alpha instructed," the second guard cuts in, taking slow steps toward me. I took another step backwards, afraid of their advances. What did Carlos tell them to do? “ What are you trying to do?" I asked, trying to calm my frightened mind. “ Get rid of you of course! Alpha Carlos sent us to grant your wish of dying," the first guard responded. Did they say Carlos wants me dead? That was impossible. Even if he doesn't want me as his mate, he would never want me dead! “ Lies! You are lying!" “ Lies? Do you think we would have the guts?" He asked, chuckling. That's true. I have been in this pack for the past years yet no one made an attempt to kill me. Unless they were sent by someone powerful, they would never dare. “ Still in disbelief? What about this?" I raised my head to see the guard holding an emerald pendant. This was the pendant I gave to Carlos on his eighteenth year birthday when he got his wolf. It was truly my mate. He wanted me dead and gone. But I wasn't going to give him that satisfaction, or so I thought. The guards surrounded me as I tried to escape. They suddenly changed into their wolf form and the next thing I know was a sharp pain in my stomach and another tearing in one of my arms as I fell down the cliff. I shut my eyes, welcoming the death that was inevitable. My heart filled with hatred and revenge. If only I was human. If only the goddess could give me a second chance in life! Those were my thoughts as my back hit the hard waters and all consciousness was lost. I wallowed in endless dark abyss, awaiting to meet the Moon goddess.Nora’s POVI stood at the center of the council chamber, heart pounding but voice steady. The air was thick with tension, and every pair of eyes rested on me. Erebus sat across from me, flanked by his usual followers, stoic, silent, but brimming with defiance. Behind me stood Carlos, August, and the Eagle pack warriors who had pledged their loyalty. The Lycan guard formed a strong line, shoulders squared.I took a deep breath and raised my voice.“You’ve been working against me,” I said, locking my gaze on Erebus. “Sabotaging the orb’s balance. Undermining the keepers. Aligning with Griffin. I won’t stay silent anymore.”A murmur ran through the chamber.Erebus’s lips curled into a cold smile. “You speak boldly, Nora. But accusation without proof is nothing but noise.”“I have proof,” I replied. I pulled out the worn scroll I had found, the one that spoke of the breath between realms. “You and your followers have been plotting to let Griffin gain access to the orb’s core. This scrol,
Nora’s POVThe cold air carried a tension that clung to every breath as I entered the ancient hall. It wasn’t just a place for discussion anymore. It had become a battleground of ideologies. The council chamber, nestled at the heart of the Elder Grove, once felt like a sanctuary of wisdom. Today, it felt like a trap.The long, curved table sat in the center, surrounded by seats carved for each Ancient keeper. As I took my place, I felt dozens of eyes on me — some heavy with support, others laced with suspicion. Erebus sat with his usual calm, arms folded, the corner of his mouth twitching with a smugness I had come to recognize. His allies flanked him like silent shadows.Elder Silvarum cleared his throat, rising to open the meeting. “This gathering,” he said, voice steady, “is in response to growing unrest, and the concern raised by Luna Nora on the presence of traitors among us.”I stood when the attention shifted to me. My heart was steady, but every word I planned to say burned ag
Nora’s POV I could barely sit up on the fourth morning.My body burned from within, and my throat felt like it had swallowed fire. Elder Silvarum stood by the window, pouring a thick blue liquid into a clay bowl. The scent of crushed leaves and burnt ash filled the room. I had been drinking his brews for three days, and each sip had dragged me deeper into pain.“Almost done,” he murmured, turning toward me. “Today, the blood either bends… or breaks.”I nodded, even though my vision blurred. My body trembled. Every part of me felt like it had been beaten from the inside, like my bones were trying to shift into something new.Carlos had tried to stay, but I’d asked him to leave. I didn’t want him to see me like that—sweaty, gasping, screaming. This wasn’t a battle of swords or claws. It was a battle inside my blood.The Blue Blood.A dormant power that lived in me for years, quiet but present. The bloodline of an ancient warrior clan—fierce, magical, feared.And now… awakened.I cried
Third povDeep beneath the Keeper’s sacred chambers, Erebus gathered his most trusted followers in the gloom of an abandoned sanctuary. The once-hallowed space, now forgotten and thick with damp air, flickered with unstable candlelight. A circle of ashes had been drawn across the floor, its center marked by a jagged shard—a sliver once part of the orb itself, stolen during the first wave of betrayal.“This is the moment,” Erebus said, his voice low and sharp. “We do not strike her blade to blade—we turn her own gift against her.”One of the traitors, a man named Malric, knelt before the shard and began chanting. The air twisted. A strange vibration surged across the room, as though something ancient had awakened. A black mist coiled above the shard, writhing like it breathed.“The spell must unravel her hold,” Erebus added, stepping forward. “It will not destroy her. At least, not yet. But it will shake her spirit. Once she begins to doubt the orb, she weakens. And when she weakens…”
Third povGriffin sat alone in the quiet chamber he had claimed as his own, staring at the dim glow pulsing from the crystal he kept hidden beneath the floorboard. The crystal, stolen from one of Sorcerer Elena’s secret vaults before her death, still retained traces of her dark magic. It hummed faintly now, reacting to Griffin’s growing hunger for more.The orb haunted his thoughts... its glow, its pull, its raw power. It called to him in ways no other source of magic ever had. He remembered watching Nora command it during battle, the way her hands trembled just slightly when it flared bright. She was still learning to control it.And she wasn’t moving fast enough.“That orb should be mine,” he muttered to himself, tightening his fists.He had once admired Nora, once loved her, in some foolish, idealistic way. But that was long buried. The Griffin who sat here now was not the same man. The tinted blood in his veins had reshaped him. Sorcerer Elena’s magic had awakened something in him
Nora’s POVThe early morning air felt heavy as I stepped into the keepers’ quarters. Most of them were already awake, going about their routines with forced normalcy—too forced, like a stage performance. That alone was enough to raise suspicion.I didn’t speak much as I passed them, just watched, and observed.It had become my daily ritual now to quietly checking their behavior, listening more than talking. I watched how they interacted with each other, who avoided my gaze, who suddenly turned quiet when I entered the room.The orb’s energy had been restless lately. Some nights I could barely sleep, and when I did, I woke up with my heart racing. I couldn’t help the growing feeling that something was slipping through my fingers.August had warned me: “They’ve learned to wear loyalty like a second skin. Don’t expect them to act like villains.”He was right. The traitors weren’t making mistakes. Not yet. But I could feel the tension, growing like a splinter buried deep.I started with t