"Claire, do you want to know where your mother and brother are?" A woman's voice asked me. I could hear her well but I couldn't see her.
There was a wisp of light in the center of the dark - this dark place to which I assume was a room. There were no walls, ceilings, nor floors. It was plain darkness tinted by one single light coming from the small wisp like a candle flame at the center.
"Yes. Please tell me where they are," I responded. Unexpectedly, my voice sounded calmer than I thought it would be.
I remember making a huge scene earlier, after all. My emotions were all over the place and my fear for my family's lives made me even more anxious. I couldn't help but lose my sanity and myself back then.
"They are in a safe place, Claire. But I am afraid to tell you, you can no longer see them in the world you're living in," the voice continued to explain to me.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"They are not dead, but they aren't alive either," the woman replied vaguely.
I frowned, feeling something was wrong. I swallowed down my fears and bravely asked, "What's the cause of this? And what should I do to see them again?"
It didn't matter what the future held or what the things I would need to do were. If it meant being able to see my mother and brother―my only family members left―then I was more than willing to sell my own soul to the devil. Or whatever creature it was I was talking to.
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you more than this as fate dictated you're already bound to know it all yourself. But as for the reason, I can tell you some things. I believe it is a curse, a dark spell given to your race after experiencing a rejection."
"A rejection?" I couldn't help but feel my body turned cold. Rejection? Why would I suffer from a rejection? From all I know, only mates could do something such as this rejection. And it was a painful process too.
"Your mate is an alpha," the woman said, making my eyes wide in surprise. "Unfortunately, your mate rejected you. And as a consequence, your mother and brother disappeared..."
"What did you say...?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Both my mother and brother... disappeared... because of me?
"It is something beyond your control, Claire," she said with a gentler voice, "A witch cursed your family race a long time ago. If one of you gets rejected by his or her fated mate, one or more of the other living family members and his or her mate's family members, will vanish. They or they may not continue to live in another world, lifetime, or timeline, as completely different people."
"What does that even mean..." I muttered between my breaths. I couldn't decipher what she was saying at all. Mates, rejection, living in another world...
In the first place, wouldn't this happen at all if not due to me and my recklessness? Just who was it that was rejected and caused the entire family's demise?
It was me. I was the one who caused it. All because I was rejected.
But by who? Who was my mate and why did he reject me? Was it because I was an omega? But how did he know? And when did he reject me? Didn't they say only after being confessed to about fated pairing and mating, could a werewolf "reject" his or her mate?
When did I ever confess my feelings to? And who was it that rejected me?
As I began to ask more questions in my head, the small wisp of flame before me began to disintegrate with the dark and slowly, I felt my eyes open. An unfamiliar white ceiling immediately welcomed me, paired with the soft fabric beneath my body.
Almost dying out of dehydration, I began to open my lips. My weak hearing that resembled an ordinary human failed to notice another person was, in actuality, in the same room I was in.
It was only after a while when I regained some more senses and strength to move my fingers that I realized the other person's presence. It was Ajax.
And he was sleeping right next to me.
With surprised eyes, my heart began to pound loud in confusion, anxiety, and fear. What was I doing in Ajax's bedroom?
From what I knew, this was the concrete house of the Larwoods family near the city. It resembled the ones being used by humans of high statuses like Alphas did in our pack. I had only been here for a couple of times and they were only whenever I and my family were asked to lend a hand in cleaning and doing some maintenance to this house. After all, such a huge house was ever barely used by the Larwoods family. As per tradition and origin, they still preferred to live near the Northern woods where their real territory was located.
Suddenly going to this mansion... Why was Ajax doing this? Didn't he hate this mansion?
I remembered it clearly. It was only an accident but I once heard Ajax arguing with his father. As it turned out, Ajax refused to stay in this mansion as he didn't want to live near creatures such as humans. He hated them for some reason.
But then again, after hearing his words earlier while I was begging to look for my family, it might be that I was wrong again.
Perhaps, Ajax hated us omegas more than he had hated humans.
Just thinking about this possibility made a twinge in my heart. I couldn't believe I was too blind to see for myself. Ajax clearly didn't like us, omegas, not even a bit...
So that led to the question―why did he bring me here? And why was I in his bedroom?
A thought began to cross my mind. An extremely ridiculous one.
With a heart almost jumping out of my throat, I slowly looked down at my body, beneath the white covers. My face almost fell and my whole world stopped as I found out―I was naked.
And when I glanced over Ajax, I found out that he, too, didn't wear any single clothing...
Alarmed, I tried to move slowly, eager to leave. But before I could produce any sound or make a move, Ajax's eyes opened. Blazing, deep blue eyes stared right back at mine as he slowly parted his lips.
"Where do you think you're going?"
My mind was too hazy and I could feel my bones tightening against my skin. Just how did I end up here? Who brought me here? Ajax―why in the world would he...?To my surprise, Ajax, with his magnetic and low voice, asked, "Where do you think you're going?"I almost jumped out of shock. "Y-You're awake?""The entire time," he said. His tone was serious and held no humor in it. Slowly, he got up, revealing his naked chest and six pack abs.I hesitantly looked away, covering my own self with some apprehension. With my chest pounding a little louder than before, I asked, "Why... am I here?" What did the Alpha Prince want me, a mere omega, here for?I did not want to see his expression so I remained looking far and away from him. I could feel he was already standing and in the middle of getting changed. His movements didn't comfort me nor made me think I was safe.In a while, I heard him finally respond.With an icy tone,
In the South Eastern woods, near the river that connected the two biggest lakes in the world, lived the Thornwheel Clan―or in the wolf term, the Crescent River Pack.Just like Larwoods family or the Crescent Glacier Pack, Ajax's clan in the North, Elias Thornwheel was a part of the Thornwheel Clan occupying the largest area in the South Eastern Woods they had claimed as their territory. Elias, similar to Ajax, was also someone next to the throne and was prophecied to become the next Alpha King. Both Elias and Ajax were responsible to rule, especially when the Alpha King suddenly went missing.Just as what was currently happening.I later found out that the Alpha King Thomas disappeared after battling a group of humans with lethal weapons while trying to scout the barriers of the place where everyone in the pack resided. According to Kid, the beta and right hand of our Alpha King Thomas Larwoods, the humans tried to use their bullets and s
The surroundings became hazy and my mind paused from thinking countless things, including my current position.I couldn't see the expression on Ajax's face but I could feel his anger as in a swift movement, he appeared to my side and grabbed my arm. He probably was furious for seeing such a scene caused by an omega... Especially with the fact that there were two visitors, too...Unexpectedly, I didn't hear any word from Ajax after that as he only seemed to have stared at me and my body, as if checking something from head to toe which I couldn't comprehend, before releasing me from his hold. Immediately, I was escorted by two omegas, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, back to the room I woke up in earlier.While on our way, I heard the omegas whispering behind my back."Is she really the one...?" One of them asked."Sshh, we're not allowed to talk about her. You already know that," another said.Two were female omegas I h
I met Ajax when I was six years old. He was seven that time but among all the other alphas born, he was the smallest and weakest in looks. Naturally, even betas began to question whether he was a real alpha or not.During those times, I still didn't know the line between alphas and omegas. All I knew was I was a kid and he was a kid. And no kids deserved to be treated harshly, whether by actions or words.When the kids went away and all that was left was Ajax, I hid myself from one of the trees, peeking and waiting for him to get mad or cry after being bullied. I waited and waited, but the birds flew and the clouds changed their colors, yet Ajax remained silent.I realized he wasn't the type to cry nor get mad easily.Even when people began questioning his abilities when he turned sixteen and transformed, Ajax only silently listened to them. On the day of the annual battle training, he defeated the same people who had doubted his s
"No."In the midst of almost being controlled by whatever it was that enveloped me in this dark place, I clenched my fists. My desire of wanting to know more lessen as my mind kept going back to Ajax's eyes that stared at me with warmth.No matter how little, no matter how absurd, I must cling onto it and not let it fade."Claire...!" The voice called me once more.But I remained unbothered. How can I listen to these voices when I didn't even know them? What if they were only lying and trying to control me?I wasn't born to be someone to let that happen.More than anything and anyone, I knew myself and understood what I wanted.And right now, I chose and want to understand Ajax.With a resolute mind, the voice of Ursula who claimed to be a witch and member of the Jaderoot Order, slowly faded. In another second, my eyes opened."Ah, you're awake!"A voice of a young w
As Ether stared at me with a pair of raging, desperate eyes, my heart pounded loudly at the thought of the person mentioned and I found myself glancing over the past.Ajax.He was the one who treated me fairly when everyone did the opposite. Even knowing he was an alpha and I was an omega, he never made me feel there was a line between us, that we were from different worlds, that there were no possibilities of living in peace together regardless of our races. When I reached the age where I began to understand my position and his position, I began to treat him with so much, more respect, than ever, and even tried to distance myself so as not to cross the line."You can still call me by my name," he had replied then. The mahogany trees around us had dried leaves dancing as they fell to the ground, the wind humid and my eyes couldn't help but feel enthralled by the image of a handsome boy. From a certain point, he looked like a live painting, and I, his
The strong scent of sandalwood and rain came, filling up my senses.I could feel the ground colder than the days the North experienced a heavy pour of snow and ice. Those days weren't the darkest ones but they hid the sun enough to make our pack live more carefully in every hunt.The hunters.Whenever they went out of our main village where everyone in the Crescent Glacier Pack resided, I would try to catch a glimpse of them and watched how they showed how mighty and brave they were from head to toe.Navi had always talked about them before going to sleep and in every word he uttered about them, I began to feel a deep sense of excitement inside me. I couldn't help but compare the hunters to those knights and soldiers in the story book I had read. For me, their job was the most amazing in the pack. Exploring the outside world and gathering food for everyone... Just how great and fun would that be?"You want to be a hunt
"I heard you in your sleep. You're calling someone named Ursula. Ursula is a witch from hundred years ago. She's supposed to be dead, yet, you were able to talk to her. Being able to talk to witches... My grandmother once told me such power exists. I dare not believe it until you, Luna Claire, did it. Whether you're this pack's Luna or some other pack's future Luna, the fact that you possess such great power makes you special, Claire."Feeling my chest twinge at the word 'special', I sighed. "I'm not special, Shila..."There was a pause before she replied. "You are, Claire."Then another voice came, "Can you stop exchanging cheesy words for a while?""Ether!" Shila called out. "What about the betas guarding the hallway?""I took care of it. Anyway, Claire, the ritual is going to be over tomorrow. If we're going to escape, we have to do it as early as now," Ether exclaimed, loudly whispering through my door.I could already