chapter one

In a dimly lit room, three men and a woman sat around a fire anxiously staring at Elder Silas Orion, the Wizard.

He opened his eyes and the once blazing flame died. The entire structure they were seated in shook with great force.

“What did you see, Orion?” One of the three men asked.

“Bad times are upon us, your majesty,” Orion answered.

“Oh my!” Gasped the woman In their midst sharply.

The man who asked the question immediately wrapped his hands around her shoulder to comfort her.

This was not the time to be emotional, but he let her be.

“Tell us what you saw Orion,” his cold deep voice urged impatiently.

“The number one enemy of your kind is going to get a new force; one so powerful that it would be unaffected by their weakness and be able to kill lycans and werewolves," Orion revealed.

"What I saw showed that if the savior isn’t found soon, this force will destroy your kind and will be the end of all lycans as we know it.”

“I won’t let that happen!” the same deep voice said sharply. “Who is the one who can save us?” he asked.

“Your mate, Alpha,” Orion answered, his tone turning to one of warning. “She is the only one who can save us and I suggest you take finding your mate seriously as the danger looms upon us.”

The man scowled deeply upon hearing what the wizard said. “I am a lycan, Orion and not just any lycan, the supreme one, are you saying that I can't take care of that evil force and protect my people?” he sneered, his blue eyes slowly turning dark.

“Alpha, please calm down,” Orion quickly said when he saw the change in the colour of the man’s eyes.

He could tell that his lycan had been offended by his words and was fighting to come out.

“I am only saying what I saw in my vision. You are a very powerful lycan and there’s no doubt about that but you cannot defeat this force for some reason and I can guarantee you that it’s not because of power,” Alphaeus tried to explain.

The beautiful blue of his eyes turned normal,his Lycan had been appeased.

“Only your mate can stop this force of the rogues from becoming stronger and destroying the pack,” Orion stated.

The man frowned.

Finding a mate was the last thing on his mind

He knew the commitments that came with being mated but that was the least of his problem.

He knew his position came with a cost and that might include his mate, a risk he was not willing to take.

He knew how he would rampage if anything was to happen to his mate.

But, there was a sense of duty before him. It came first.

He was the supreme alpha and his people came first.

At the thought of finding their mate, his lycan started pacing in his head, as he was happy.

“Ok then Orion, I’m going to find my mate,” he finally said.

………………

The road stretched out before her, dark and endless, swallowed by the thick shadows of towering trees and Akira tightened her

She hated traveling, especially at night but she had no choice as she had just received a job offer, one that enabled her to run away from her terrible past.

Howl! A howl pierced the air.

It wasn’t a normal wolf’s cry. It was deeper, rougher, like something twisted and unnatural. Akira’s foot faltered on the gas pedal as her heart slammed against her ribs as that sound was familiar.

It was one that had plagued her nightmare for years. A cold shiver crawled down her spine, and in an instant, she was no longer in her car.

She was twelve again, strapped into the back seat of her parents’ car. The night had been quiet then too—until it wasn’t.

The howls came first. Then the creatures.

They looked like wolves but then again they didn't. Their limbs had been too long, their fur patchy and slick like rotting flesh. Glowing eyes, too intelligent, too cruel. They had moved like nightmares, tearing into metal as though it were paper.

Her mother’s scream.

Her father’s shout.

The sickening crunch of impact.

Then—darkness.

Akira gasped as reality came crashing back. Her vision blurred, breath coming too fast, too shallow. Her hands trembled on the wheel. She couldn’t breathe. The howl had been real. She had heard it.

But that wasn’t possible.

She swallowed hard, forcing air into her lungs, blinking rapidly to clear her head.

No one had ever believed her when she told them what she saw that night. They had called it hallucinations. Possession. A curse. Some blamed her for what happened to her parents, whispering about the bad luck that always seemed to follow her.

And now, hearing that same inhuman howl after all these years, she couldn’t ignore the terrifying thought clawing at the back of her mind.

She felt like she was being watched and.the thought made her gulp and she stepped on the gas pedal itching to get to her destination.

A loud thud shattered the tense silence and something dropped right in front of her car.

Akira’s instincts took over. She jerked the wheel to the side, tires screeching as the car veered off the road. Her heart pounded wildly as she struggled to regain control, the vehicle skidding over gravel before jolting to a stop.

For a moment, she sat frozen, breath ragged, hands shaking against the wheel. Her mind raced—was it an animal? A branch? Or… something else?

The thought made her blood run cold.

Swallowing the fear tightening her throat, she shoved the door open and rushed out. The night air was thick and heavy, pressing against her skin as she took hesitant steps toward whatever had fallen. Her pulse roared in her ears, but she had to know.

Then she saw them.

Her breath caught and the colour drained from her face.

It was them.

The creatures from her nightmares.

The same grotesque, deformed beings that had torn through her parents' car all those years ago. Their limbs were still too long, their skin stretched too thin over unnatural frames. Their eyes gleamed under the moonlight—too bright, too knowing, filled with something far worse than animalistic hunger.

Akira's stomach lurched.

She had spent years convincing herself that maybe—just maybe—everyone had been right. That it had all been some fevered delusion, a child’s fractured mind trying to make sense of tragedy.

But now, as she stood face to face with the monsters she had tried to forget, there was no denying it.

They were real.

They were staring right at her and there was no mistaking that they were out for her blood.

Without thinking, she turned and began to run back to her car.

She was fast, but those bloodthirsty creatures were out for blood and eventually one of them caught up with her and with one wave of hands….paws she was up in the air, her feet dangling from the air as she struggled to breath.

She wanted to scream for help but who would hear her?.

No one cared,no one knew about her whereabouts. She was all alone in this cruel world.

She surrendered there and then, she was not going to fight the darkness.

To Akira all hope was lost, that was till she heard the roar that startled the monsters that held her into letting her go.

Before her stood one of the most beautiful creatures she'd ever seen

Before her stood the most beautiful creatures she had ever seen since these monsters.

It was Massive, muscular, and powerful, with a thick, dark gray coat and piercing yellow eyes.

A monster that she was willing to trust.

His broad shoulders, sharp claws, and razor-sharp teeth exuded such dominance and strength that had the creatures that were attacking her run for their lives.

It became clear to her that she did not want to die.