Share
NINETY-SIX | THE SPIRIT OF THE WOLF
As we neared the river, I saw something that I’d missed before. Tucked into the flowers was a small statuette, with a white pillar candle held in its centre. Beside it was a small, wrapped parcel of something; it looked like a collection of herbs, bound together in white twine.
“The final trial is known only to those who have undergone it as the Spirit of the Wolf. It is a right of passage, as well as an indicator of your nature – it will guide you through your choice, and it will allocate your tribe for you,” explained Luna Carla.
“What are they? What are they for?” I asked, my questions tumbling from my lips in quick succession.
She smiled, and then led me over to the small gathering of items on the grass. “This is called the Candle Dragon. It is an ancient rite in our pack. The Candle Dragon is used for guidance. It is, however, not to be used lightly. It has been with the Lap
Related chapters
The Beta's Daughter NINETY-SEVEN | WITHIN
My vision blurred as I followed the flickering of the candle’s flame. Then I felt as though I was being pulled forwards, and I let myself tumble into the darkness.I felt myself roll over, and then I scrabbled with claw-like hands to right myself. I stumbled onto my feet, and stared into oblivion. There was nothing for me to catch sight of; there was no way for me to orient myself. It was just… black.I span around, searching desperately for anything. The emptiness was vast, and then my vision began to blur once more. I felt compelled to sit down, and I crossed my legs as I had done before. I let my hands come to rest in my lap, and I stared forwards. There was a sound. It was like the beating of a heart, growing gradually louder with each breath that I took. I didn’t know where it was coming from, and then I realised: it was coming from within me.My eyes flickered, and the candle was back. The Candle Dragon had disappeared, and the rest of the space was still black. I rocked forward
The Beta's Daughter NINETY-EIGHT | BEYOND
Samyak was waiting for me outside the pack house, and his eyebrows shot up as I neared him.The walk back from the river field had been slow and arduous, and each step had felt as though I was heaving lead bricks through the grass. I’d felt the familiar heat of tears prickling at my eyes, and my throat had formed a lump that became impossible to swallow.I’d initially been elated, after discovering that I was, indeed, a Pronghorn. I’d been filled with a surging kind of pride; one that had created delicate tingles in the tips of my fingers. But once I’d turned away from the Candle Dragon, the nightmarish visions I’d experienced came flooding back.If that was what was within me, there was no way to escape it. I wondered if everyone’s fifth trial had been so brutal, though I knew instinctively that they had not. Mine had been flooded with dark imagery, and seething words of promises long
The Beta's Daughter NINETY-NINE | BENEATH THE STARS
“Wait! No, no, no,” Samyak chanted. My arm froze in mid-air, ready to push the kitchen door open fully.“What?” I frowned. I couldn’t smell anything; I’d assumed he was cooking us dinner, but the usual scent of fried onion and garlic wasn’t seeping through the air as it so often did.“Wait there. Sorry,” he added, poking his head through the crack in the doorway. He smiled dopily at me, and I cocked my head at him with a smile.“I thought you were calling me because it was ready?”“I was. But I just need you to grab me something from the bedroom. Then stand outside, right by the front door. Okay?”“Okay,” I nodded, the bridge of my nose crinkling with confusion. “What do you need me to get?”“Could you get me something warm – a big jumper will do
The Beta's Daughter ONE HUNDRED | LUNA LAPIS
“I’ve set up a meeting with the rogue pack’s Alpha.” Ace sounded calm, but his eyes were wide and dilated. They were childlike, but not playful as they so often were; today, they were scared.We were stood uncomfortably in Alpha Felix’s office. There was a coiled tension in the air, like the wound neck of a python ready to spring. My body felt mechanical, like an automaton on autopilot, as Ace spoke.I felt the same fear reflected within myself. There was an undeniable pit, and I felt my sanity drop into it at his words. I inhaled, one single, shuddering breath, and then I straightened my back out, and stood a little taller.“When is it?” Alpha Felix asked.“Tomorrow. They said they wanted to hear what we had to say. But there’s one condition.”“Well?” Alpha Felix pounded his fist down onto the desk, so hard that his mug of coffee rattled. The liquid inside splashed, and a single drop slid down the ceramic. “What is it?” He barked.His temper had been short lately, particularly where A
The Beta's Daughter 101 | DOUBLE-SOUL
“Arienne–“ Samyak said, his tone startled. His eyes no longer looked black; now they were a bright, translucent brown, like a crisp, autumnal leaf held up to the sun.“Why didn’t you want me to take this book, Samyak?” I asked. My own voice was devoid of emotion, and I could hear a sharp inflection to each word that I had not intended to use.He looked as though he’d been slapped. Outside, the sky began to darken with thick, oppressive clouds.“I – I don’t mind. I just didn’t think you’d want it,” he stammered. “That’s why I put it down.”“Okay,” I said, my eyes narrowed. I clutched the book close to my chest, and looked away from him, my nose and chin hoisted into the air.“Ari…” he trailed off. From the corner of my eye I saw him exhale heav
The Beta's Daughter 102 | THE GREAT TYNUN
My heart shattered as Samyak pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. I could feel the force of his love behind it, of his fear and his regret and his guilt and his worry, all bundled up into one brief touching of lips to my skin.After a while the tears stopped, and I sat blankly, my eyes staring at nothing, as Samyak whispered in my ear.I shrugged him off, and turned to face him with flaming, dark eyes. He gaped at me, a fish with flapping gills, as I met his gaze.He looked soft. I felt hard, impenetrable. But he was made of curves, of pillows and cushions, of comfortable blankets and a thick duvet on a winter morning. I was the bitter chill that clung to the air like frostbite.“What’s the Great Tnyun?” I asked. My voice sounded cold, too.Samyak pulled back, and looked at me quizzically. “An old legend of our pack. Why?”&
The Beta's Daughter 103 | AUTUMN
I found myself thinking about everything but the notes in front of me as we drove to the meeting point. I missed my truck; Samyak’s car was too sleek, too comfortable. I realised that made no sense, but I stuck my nose into the air as I thought it. Yes, his car was too comfortable.I settled myself back on the too-comfortable seat and stared resolutely out the window. The trees were thick with orange leaves, save for the evergreens rocking gently in the light breeze behind them. The curved edge of the road was littered with a myriad of brightly coloured leaves, in bold reds, ochre yellows, and wilted browns, that had been discarded by the gnarled branches above. Some of them looked damp and crumpled, sodden where they had been trampled into the tarmac.Samyak had not spoken a word to me all morning. There was an uncomfortable tension in the air, and it existed within our mate bond, too. I was not used to feeling nothing from h
The Beta's Daughter 104 | WHISPERS
With my hand on the car door, I turned to Samyak. His eyes looked withered, and unnaturally old before their time. There were wrinkles lining his forehead, and dark bruises were stamped beneath his eyes onto his usually flawless brown skin.“Samyak?”“Yeah?” He sounded hopeful, and I smiled at him softly.“I love you.”“I love you too, Ari. Be safe.”I closed the car door quietly. I held my small notepad in my fingers, and the starchy paper rubbed against my palms. There was no sound as I stepped into the forest, save for the crunch of twigs beneath my feet. There were no warbling birds, no scurrying footsteps of small creatures, and no hum of insects. It was eerie, and the arching boughs of the trees surrounded me. I swallowed thickly, suddenly finding that my mouth was parched. My bone-dry tongue ran across the back of my bo
Latest chapter
- The Beta's Daughter 122 | EPILOGUE
- The Beta's Daughter 121 | AIRINI
- The Beta's Daughter 120 | NIGHT
- The Beta's Daughter 119 | BATTLE
- The Beta's Daughter 118 | THE DARKNESS OF THE DAWN
- The Beta's Daughter 117 | AURAS
- The Beta's Daughter 116 | ORB
- The Beta's Daughter 115 | BLOOD
- The Beta's Daughter 114 | SILVER CRESCENT
