Asher My fingers brushed through my hair as I rounded a corner. There was silence, but the silence was broken by a faint rustling sound. I froze, my senses sharpening. “Malia?” I called, my voice low. No response. “No... don't tell me that Brooke has gotten to her already,” I thought to myself as I quickened my pace, following the sound until I reached a dimly lit hallway. A piece of paper lay on the floor, its edges curling slightly. My stomach churned as I picked it up. You can’t protect her forever. I’ll take her from you, Asher. Just like I’ve taken everything else.” This was the exact thing I heard in my head! How is this possible? Could it be that she's using magic again? I turned to the note. It was unsigned, but I didn’t need a signature to know who it was from. It was my mother, Brooke. I crushed the paper in my hand, my pulse pounding in my ears. I tried all ways possible to rest that night but I couldn't. something just kept telling me to be on hig
MaliaI woke early, the first rays of dawn peeking through the curtains. The air was still, heavy with the remnants of last night's celebration. Asher’s steady breathing filled the room, grounding me for a moment before my restless thoughts took over. It was strange, I had never felt anything like this before, but I got a gut feeling that Brooke was up to something. I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake him, and dressed quietly. If she was going to come after me to hurt Asher, I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. I needed to be ready for whatever was coming. “Where are you going?” he asked, still sounding half asleep. “I want to join Nina and Amara for Training. It's okay. I'll be safe with them, just go back to bed,” I whispered and he closed his eyes. By the time I reached the training grounds, Nina and Amara were already there, sparring in the crisp morning air. Nina’s movements were sharp, calculated, while Amara’s were more fluid, almost like she was dancing. I wat
AsherAfter the meeting, the man who attacked Malia was tied to a chair in the middle of the room, his head hanging low, a bruise blooming on his temple from where Amara had struck him. I stood before him, my arms crossed, every muscle in my body wound tight. Malia’s attack replayed in my mind, each frame filling me with a rage I could barely contain. He looked up slowly, his lips curling into a smirk. “Your mate’s alive, isn’t she? Then what are you so angry about, Lycan King?” “Start talking,” I growled, stepping closer. “Who sent you?” “You already know the answer,” he said, his voice low and mocking. I clenched my fists. “I want to hear you say it.” His smirk widened. “Your mother.” The words hit me like a blow. I’d known it, but hearing it confirmed sent a chill down my spine. Brooke wasn’t wasting time. “What does she want?” I demanded. He chuckled, a hollow, humorless sound. “You think she hasn’t planned for this? For you turning against her? She expected your b
Asher Two days had passed since Brooke's first attempt at taking Malia's life. The camp was shrouded in an unsettling silence, the air heavy with foreboding, and even the wind seemed reluctant to stir. I stood before the growing crowd, my arms crossed as I scanned the faces before me—wolves, Lycans, and hybrids alike. Allies on paper, maybe, but united in spirit? Not even close. My voice cut through the low murmurs. “People of Lycone, Range pack, Sky Pack and Storm pack, I'm glad that you all are present at this meeting I'm making.” I started. ”You all hated me because you found out the kind of person I was—and my identity. I am grateful that the moon goddess, showed her kindness to me and showed you my innocence.” My statement was met with murmuring but I continued. “Even though Brooke is my mother, we are not the same people. I do not seek to make hybrids the rulers of all.” “But you are a hybrid and you rule us!” someone yelled from the crowd. “And you have set up a meetin
Asher“Are you okay?” I asked, gripping Malia's shoulders. She nodded, but her eyes were wide with fear. “Asher… this isn’t going to stop, is it?” I didn’t have an answer for her for her at first, but later I took a deep breath and said, “Malia…I need you to know something.”Her lips parted slightly, but she didn’t speak, waiting for me to continue. “I will always protect you,” I said, my voice steady, a promise etched into every word. “No matter what happens, no matter what she tries, I won’t let any harm come to you.”Her eyes shimmered, but she blinked back the tears, nodding quickly. “I know,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “But what if—”I cut her off, pulling her into my arms. “There are no 'what ifs,' Malia. Not for us. Brooke won’t win. Not while I’m breathing.”She sank into my embrace, her arms wrapping tightly around my waist. For a moment, the world felt still, the chaos muted by the strength of the promise I’d made. Later, I sought out Jude. He was standing n
AsherLycone was burning with chaos. Not from fire or claws, but from people—my people—torn apart by something far more dangerous than battle: hatred.From the moment we crossed into the city, the noise was deafening. Shouts echoed through the streets, a mix of angry roars and impassioned pleas. I could smell the tension, thick and bitter like smoke. Lycans and wolves were fighting—not with fists or fangs just yet, but with words.“It’s worse than I thought,” I muttered under my breath as we paused at the city square.Nina and Amara stood beside me, their eyes sharp as they surveyed the streets.“What do you want us to do?” Nina asked, her voice low but steady.I turned to Jamie and Corey, who were both hovering protectively near Malia. I didn’t need to say it—Jamie was already rolling his eyes.“I know, I know,” he said, throwing up his hands. “Take Malia inside, watch over her like she’s the freaking crown jewels.”“Exactly,” I replied, my tone firm. “Don’t leave her alone for even
AsherThe crowd buzzed with murmurs, their eyes locked on me as I stood in the center of their circle. Avan’s challenge had been thrown, and I had accepted. There wasn’t any hesitation in my mind—if they wanted proof, I’d give it to them. But just as I was about to speak, a voice cut through the tension like a blade. “No.”The crowd shifted, parting to reveal the source of the voice. My heart clenched when I saw him: Jude.“You won’t do it, Asher,” he said, his voice calm but unyielding as he stepped into the circle. “Jude,” I began, but he silenced me with a raised hand. “I’ll take your place,” he said, his gaze never wavering. The crowd murmured louder, confusion and skepticism rippling through them. “And who are you to make that decision?” Avan asked, his tone sharp and filled with suspicion. Jude’s expression didn’t falter. “I am Asher’s father,” he said simply, the words ringing out clearly. The crowd froze. A man scoffed loudly. “His father? You mean to say you’
AsherThe water in the bowl shimmered ominously, reflecting the crowd's expectant faces. I stared down at it, my resolve unshaken but my heart was pounding like a war drum. Wolfsbane water. Its potency alone could bring even the strongest wolf to their knees. Now, I was about to test not just my strength but the worthiness of my very existence as their king. I took a breath, steadying myself as Alpha Trent stood across from me, watching with a smug sense of satisfaction. “Are you ready, Asher?” Jude’s voice was low but steady at my side. “I’ve been ready my whole life,” I replied, keeping my gaze locked on the bowl. Without another word, I plunged my hand into the shimmering liquid. The pain hit instantly, like fire coursing through my veins, eating away at my skin and sinking into my bones. My breath caught, and for a moment, my vision blurred from the sheer intensity. But I gritted my teeth, locking my jaw as I focused on the faces in the crowd. Their judgment. Their doubt
AsherThe sun began to rise.The golden light washed over the field like a mercy none of us deserved. It touched the broken, the bloodied, and the dead. Too many. Faces I’d known. Names I’d grown up with.The Reece mages dropped one by one, barely able to stand. Their magic was gone—sacrificed to stop one man.Rhedd clutched her stomach, pale and shaking, her magic burned out like a candle in wind.The wolves—those still standing—shifted back. Naked, bruised, and dazed. They looked at me like they didn’t know what to feel.And then I turned and saw him.Ronin.He was bloodied, bruised, still limping from what Jude had done to him. But his eyes were sharp. Watchful.He walked toward me, the others parting in his path.He stopped a few feet away, lifting his chin.“So,” he said, voice raw. “Now what?”I didn’t answer right away.“I know what you think of me,” he continued. “And I don’t blame you. But I pledged because it was the only way to win. That doesn’t mean I—” He hesitated, jaw c
AsherJude was just a man. Twisted, obsessed, and broken. A shell of the force that had terrified every wolf and Lycan under the moon. And I wasn’t sure killing him would be victory… or vengeance.Should I kill him? Is that the answer?Behind me, I heard Rhedd cry out, pulling me out of my thoughts.“Keep him still!” one of the Reece mages shouted.They circled Malia where she lay floating in the air and then slowly brought her to the ground. They were unraveling the last of the threads Jude had embedded inside her. Magic that pulsed and bucked like it didn’t want to let go.“He used her like a damn conduit,” Rhedd muttered. “If we don’t cut it clean—”“He’ll pull her soul out with it,” another finished.I didn’t take my eyes off Jude. His breath hitched. His gaze was unfocused, but when it landed on me, I saw something strange flicker behind his eyes.Fear.Not because he was about to die.But because he wasn’t in control anymore.“You think this fixes anything?” he rasped, coughing
AsherWhile everyone else was unable to move. Ronin had it worse. His bones cracked—loud enough that even the stunned silence couldn’t hide the sound. I watched him fall to his knees, coughing up blood. His spine jerked one way, then the other, like it was trying to twist him into something unrecognizable. Something wrong.“Damn you,” Ronin hissed through clenched teeth. “I’ll kill you… I swear, I’ll—”But Jude just smiled and raised two fingers. Another wave of agony surged through Ronin, folding his body like a puppet whose strings had snapped.No one moved.Corey. Jamie. Rhedd. Everyone stood frozen in place, either physically or emotionally. Shock. Despair. Fear.Except me. I didn’t flinch and unlike everyone else, I wasn't unable to move. I just stood still because… well… I was stunned by all that had happened. But for some reason, Jude's magic wasn't working on me.Jude turned to me slowly, his eyes glowing like coals.“You’re quiet,” he said. “But you always were a little slowe
AsherI felt it before I saw it.A deep hum tore through the battlefield like a pulse from the earth’s core. The ground cracked beneath us, vibrating with something ancient and wrong. My body stilled, instincts taking over. Every wolf on our side growled low, confused. Even Ronin, standing opposite me with blood on his hands and a twisted glare in his eyes, paused mid-strike.And then it happened.The earth opened up and Jude rose from it, Malia by his side.He wasn’t walking.He was floating—levitating above the dirt like he belonged to another realm. Malia hovered next to him, limp but breathing, her hair weightless in the still air. Streams of energy—magic—flowed from her into his hands like threads being woven. Her face looked drained, pale, as though the life was being siphoned out of her bit by bit.I froze.This couldn’t be real. I heard he was confined and starving in the same cell that I had been locked in. But he was here.And he wasn’t just alive—he was drawing magic from
AsherThe moon was full and heavy in the sky, throwing pale light over the open field ahead. My boots pressed into the soft earth as I looked over the line of soldiers behind me—my father’s secret elite, all in wolf form, silent and still. Every one of them had trained for this night, and still, we were outnumbered.Four packs stood against us—Sky, Storm, Range, and Lycone. Wolves I had once thought would always be loyal to me. Jamie and Corey - Brothers I had fought with. Now they stood across from me with their teeth bared and claws ready, all of them backing the one who took what was mine.Ronin.He stood on the ridge ahead of us, arms folded, his wolf just beneath the surface because he wouldn't turn. He didn't need to. He was a Lycan. Day or night didn't matter for Lycans to shift. He didn’t look tense. He looked smug, like he already believed this battle was over. I mean, with me being outnumbered, he was probably right.I exhaled through my nose. My heartbeat was steady. I did
MaliaI didn’t breathe.Not for a full minute after Ronin said those words.Asher Mendoza is alive.I stood there, frozen beneath the branches of the old silverwood tree. Just moments ago, I’d been smiling faintly at the way Ronin had grumbled about paperwork. Just hours ago, I’d kissed him without shame in front of his guards.And now, my world has split in half.He was alive.My Asher.The one I had mourned in silence. The one I had cursed the stars for taking too soon. The one whose name I had stopped speaking, not because I forgot—but because remembering hurt too much.I had let him go.And now he was back.Ronin didn’t look at me. His entire body was taut, rage pouring off of him in waves as he crumpled the letter in his fist.“He dares to ask me to step down,” he growled, pacing. “After everything I’ve done—after the unity I’ve forged? The peace I’ve built? He wants to come back from the dead and reclaim what he abandoned?”His eyes flicked toward me at last. And the moment he s
MaliaIt had been almost a year.A full cycle of moons since I stood before the altar in a dress that felt like a cage and pledged myself to a man I did not love. A year of silent dinners, of shared quarters and unshared sheets. A year of waking up beside someone who looked at me like I was a world he couldn’t touch.Ronin had not once tried.He had kissed my cheek in public, taken my hand at royal events, and always ensured I had a personal guard at my side. He gave me space. Respect. But not once had he laid a single finger on me—not without my permission.And that restraint… it had become unbearable.Tonight, the weight of it collapsed on me.I sat on the edge of our bed, staring at the hearth’s dying flames. My nightgown clung to my skin in the low firelight, and my chest ached with something I hadn’t let myself name in months.“Just accept it, Malia,” Rhedd had told me only hours ago, his voice quiet but final. “He’s not coming back. If Asher was alive, he would’ve come by now.”
AsherThe moon was high the night I met with Nina’s parents. I had to meet them since I now knew the truth. They were the only ones I could trust. We gathered in the ruins of the old Northern chapel, a place sacred enough to keep secrets buried but strong enough to host rebellion. I didn’t ask how they got in contact with me—they always had a way to do things discreetly. Nina’s father, Nathan, regarded me with the tired eyes of a man who had carried the truth for too long.“He told us this day would come,” he said. “Ian prepared. We kept his will safe. And we kept his soldiers even safer.”From the shadows, they stepped forward—silent, deadly, focused. Wolves in human skin. Elite. Trained in secret under Ian’s orders for the day I would reclaim the crown.I couldn't believe my eyes. How did Ian think of this? How was he able to predict that I may not get any support unless he provides one for me?I was relieved that I had been given a head start, but it wasn’t enough. Not for a war.
AsherMy thumb hovered over the next page for longer than I cared to admit. The leather binding creaked softly beneath my grip, like it too feared what lay ahead. But I couldn’t stop now. I needed to know it all—no matter how much it hurt and no matter how much I wanted to stop, I turned the page.‘Brooke and Renah began their affair not out of love, not truly—not at first. Brooke wanted affection. She wanted to be wanted. Renah… he was a convenient escape. They were discreet. Not for my sake. For hers. Always for hers. She didn't want to ruin her reputation.’I leaned back, jaw tightening.So it was true.I watched them once. They didn’t see me. Her smile was real. His was reverent. That was the moment I knew—Renah loved her more. Brooke? She simply needed to be adored.It painted such a different picture of my mother than the one I’d held growing up. She had always seemed powerful, poised, in control of every room she walked into. I never imagined her desperate. Or fragile. But with