You know when you feel so lost that it doesn't matter where you look and there is no way out? That's what I'm feeling. No matter what happened or what I did, everything seemed to lead to the same place. My defeat was inevitable.
The spiral was endless, no matter how many entrances and exits I had, I always ended up falling down, either at the top, at the bottom, and it all started again. I am in the middle of those stairs, with so many paths to follow and yet meeting at some point.
For someone like me, who can see about 40 moves ahead, the chessboard was still the same, with me pushing the king's piece and accepting my fate. The blood dripping down the edges of the board and the faces of those I had killed being placed on the pieces and squares of the board.
<Hope POV - Tuesday afternoon"You never said much about him." Rachel looked at me with raised eyebrows."I don't have much to say. He's stronger than me and most people I've ever lived with. He doesn't care what I am or how I am." I smiled a rather sad corner smile. "But for reasons beyond my own choice, I can't be with him.""Got it. Is he of a different race?" Rachel asked.I shrugged only, that would be my answer. I looked up and arched my left eyebrow watching my recruits fight, the smell of their blood permeating the air, but it wasn't strong enough to make me want to take it.I remained silent, arms crossed, watching my recruits. I could see their every move, see their muscles twitching before an attack or an escape, hear their hearts beating, some faster than others, but there was something about them all. They were enjoying it, the adrenaline of fighting like that, wild and with the only thought of winning.My face remained impassive for most of the moment until I noticed some
Dylan POV - Tuesday AfternoonI know she is like this with me because she needs me and I happened to be the closest person to help her. How can I have any chance of Hope coming to me because she loves me? Sin almost destroyed the fragile relationship I had with her.But how can I deny that the moment she came towards me and kissed me made my heart stop beating for a few seconds and happiness invaded me? I can't.Knowing that she is infertile is like a bucket of cold water, I didn't want children now, but I wanted them in the future, and having Hope as their mother would be my perfection. I know this indifferent thick shell is for outsiders, for her friends and the people she loves Hope gives herself to with passion."Hope... I love you..." I whispered, feeling her scent grow stronger as her body tensed up, but she didn't try to escape."I know..." Her voice is an almost inaudible whisper."I don't love you just because of the bond. It may have started that way, but the more time I spe
Hope POV - Tuesday/afternoonI awoke to a kiss on my temple, feeling the warmth of Dylan's body against mine, his gentle touch making me want to stay like this, as I feel complete. I let out a low sigh, completely relaxed in that position."Come on Hope, Miss Clark's class will be starting soon." Dylan's voice is low and against my ear makes me shudder. "I know you don't want to miss your training. I wanted to stay with you like this longer too, but...""Um..." I can't hold back the urge and turn slightly, meeting his lips. The embrace narrows making my breasts press against his chest, I can feel that Dylan was starting to get aroused just like me.Our lips touch lightly, but before it deepens he pulls away, caressing my face lightly, his eyes d
Hope POV - Tuesday afternoon/eveningWe left the bathroom, there were a few people around, but no one really commented on anything. After all, it was not so unusual for scenes like this to happen, even more so between two destined people.As I accepted the deal with him, I am very close to him, with my head leaning on his shoulder, while his hand entangles me around the waist. We don't need to talk, just feel these moments and delight in them.As we arrive in the classroom, Dylan gives me a light kiss on the lips, then goes to his desk and I go to mine. Everyone was looking at us curiously, but neither he nor I needed to explain our actions.I took my notebook out of my backpack, opened it, and it didn't take a minute for Miss Clark to come in.
Hope POV - Tuesday night / early morning"Really?! And then you said I have a bunch of stories." Samantha smiled, interested."So, we were hunting a Stone Giant Spectre corrupted by Tartarus ash." I started to tell her, closing my eyes, remembering what happened. "Obviously, despite the training in the Northern Kingdom, I hadn't learned that much of a lesson." I laughed low. "He was trying to overcome the barrier between the world above to the Mekai. There is a small gap between the plans, so we were chasing him, and although I heard the order to retreat, I didn't follow it. After all, it was too good a prize for me to pass up.""Okay, I think I know where this is going." Samantha gave a low laugh."So, there are a few levels of depth in this pl
Hope POV - Wednesday early morningI arrived at the arena, it was 20 minutes to 3 a.m., which was the time for my recruits' initial training. Dylan and I sat near the entrance, but Dylan pulled me onto his lap."Hope, you mentioned that one of the reasons was that you are infertile." Dylan started talking to me, "With what Samantha has told us then it's not something we need to worry about. Selene tried to show a new path for the pack, but they failed to go down that path. I'm not going to fight Destiny.""I agree in parts. That takes a good weight off my back." I replied, letting my head rest on his shoulder. "Can you really accept that I can love people other than you? Beyond the bond, beyond that tie that brought us together?""It's not somet
Hope POV - Wednesday/MorningWe entered the training arena on time. Joshua was the one who was there. He separated the group and indicated the way they were going to train, I just stood there waiting for my orders."Hope, besides reading the report, I can feel your aura much stronger. So how about we practice controlling it in combat? I saw that you have already started doing that with Lady Lacroix." Joshua asked me."I'd love to!" I said excitedly. Joshua was one of the few who could defeat me, after all, he was the best warrior in the castle. Kendrick was the best werewolf warrior, but Joshua was the best Lycan, beating even the Princes."Great! Rachel has informed me that you have made good progress in controlling your blasts for defense. Now
Prince Erick POV - Wednesday/afternoonAs soon as I felt a burst of negative, corrupted energy being released, I didn't even need to get the reports to know that Hope was involved.'Hope just destroyed a lower level 5 corrupted'Joshua's voice echoed in my mind, he was shocked.'She's taking a bath. I don't know what to do. She simply destroyed it by tearing it in half. Then she explained to me that it had been a gift from Persephone and Hades. I don't know what to do.'I took a deep breath; what had happened was completely out of line with anything we had expected. Maybe the attack was in retaliation for the missions we had sent. Now, knowing that Hope had destroyed a corrupted without even maki