AsherLater that day, after much deliberation, I found myself back in the priest’s quarters. The weight of his earlier words hadn’t left me, and though I felt a flicker of determination to face the moon goddess and make things right, I needed to know more. “I’ll do it,” I said finally, meeting the priest’s gaze with firm resolve. “I’ll go to her.”The priest’s expression softened into something almost like pride, but his next words caught me off guard. “You cannot go immediately, Asher. The gateway to the moon goddess’s realm only opens once every three months. Until then, you must wait.”I frowned. “Three months? Are you serious? You just told me she’s displeased with me. How am I supposed to sit on that for months?”“This is not a matter of impatience,” he said calmly. “Preparation is key. The journey to her realm is not like any physical travel you’ve ever done. It is spiritual, dangerous. You must be physically strong, but also mentally and emotionally prepared. If you go to her
Asher It was well past midnight by the time I finally stepped into my room. My body ached from the endless meeting with the council and various pack leaders. Every bone in me screamed for rest, but my mind wouldn’t let up. I was always thinking ahead—plans, threats, alliances. And now, with Malia on my mind, my thoughts were heavier than ever. The room was dark except for the faint glow of the moonlight filtering through the curtains. I sighed, loosening the collar of my shirt as I moved toward the bed. That’s when I saw her—Malia.She was thrashing, tangled in the sheets, her body drenched in sweat. Her breaths came out in ragged gasps, and soft whimpers escaped her lips. I froze, my pulse spiking. "Malia?" I called gently, stepping closer.She didn’t respond, still caught in the grips of whatever nightmare was tormenting her. Her hands clenched into fists, nails digging into her palms as her body trembled violently. My stomach twisted at the sight. I had seen warriors broken by f
AsherThe next day, I was summoned to the main hall where council members were gathered. The scent of oakwood and ceremonial incense clung to the room as sunlight streamed through the high arched windows. My footsteps echoed off the stone floor as I approached the large round table where the council sat waiting.The head elder, a stern-faced Lycan with silver streaks in his hair, cleared his throat. “Alpha Asher it is time to select a new Lycan beta. As you are aware, Banes has been missing for several weeks now. We must appoint a strong, capable leader to assist you.”I nodded, though the mention of Banes left a bitter taste in my mouth. His sudden disappearance after Brooke's defeat had been suspicious, but without any trail, we had no choice but to move forward.Several young Lycan men, all dressed in formal attire, stood to the side, their expressions a mix of nervousness and pride. They were the strongest warriors from noble Lycan families, each vying for the prestigious role of
Asher I frowned as I stared at Nina, her green eyes burning with intensity in a way I haven't seen in a while. "What about Malia?"Nina's gaze was steady, unyielding. "Are you sure about making her your Luna?"Her question left me stunned. "What kind of question is that?" I demanded, my voice hardening. "Of course I'm sure. I wouldn't have made the announcement if I wasn't."Nina's jaw tightened. "Look, I'm not saying Malia isn't strong or capable. She's proven herself more than once. But being Luna isn't just about standing by your side during battles. It's about leading the pack, making tough decisions, and gaining the respect of everyone—including the council. Malia's still finding her footing here."I folded my arms across my chest, my voice edged with frustration. "You think she can't handle it?""It's not about what I think," she said carefully. "It's about what the pack thinks. People are already whispering, wondering if she's strong enough, if she's experienced enough. And if
AsherI was going to wait for a meeting with the council members, I was not at peace. The thought of Malia being hurt or worse dead kept eating me up so I called the guard back, "What about Malia? Is she okay?" "I don't know if Malia or her parents made it out," he said, sounding nervous.A cold wave washed over me, numbing everything but the fire of panic in my chest. I shot up from my chair, already moving toward the door. "Forget the council meeting. Find Jamie and Corey. I want them ready to leave with me," I ordered as I grabbed my coat. The scout hesitated. "They're not here, Your Majesty." I froze mid-step. "What do you mean they're not here?" "They left for Storm Pack yesterday. I think there's a party there ." I cursed under my breath. "Then get Nina." "She's handling negotiations at the western border," he said nervously. My pulse quickened. "Amara?" "Gone for a patrol check in the southern region." For a moment, the weight of the situation pressed heav
Asher I stormed through the southern training grounds, my rage simmering just beneath the surface. Every Lycan I passed instinctively moved out of my way, sensing the danger in my stride. The Glenn twins were supposed to be some of the most reliable Alphas I had on my side, yet when I needed them most, they were conveniently nowhere to be found. My vision blurred with fury as I spotted them by the sparring circle. Jamie was leaning against a wooden post, arms crossed, while Corey was in the middle of a match, effortlessly dodging the strikes of an opponent twice his size. Both of them looked infuriatingly relaxed. They didn't even notice me approaching until I was right in front of them. "Where the hell were you?" I roared, my voice echoing across the grounds. Jamie blinked in surprise, straightening up. "Asher? What's—" "You were supposed to be here when I called!" I cut him off, my fists clenched. "Do you have any idea what's happened?" Corey stopped his sparring, his o
AsherOrdered to stand down?I narrowed my eyes, heart pounding in my chest. This couldn’t be happening. I didn’t take orders from anyone except for the Moon Goddess, and certainly not from strangers.“Excuse me?” I shot back, fury rising within me. “What do you mean stand down?”“We have our orders,” the man continued, his eyes cold, unreadable. “From the council. You are no longer in charge of this mission. You’re to return to your seat and allow us to take over the search.”My blood boiled at the very thought. I didn’t care who they were, I wasn’t going to let some council men swoop in and take charge of this. Not when Malia was still missing.Another man at the front of the group, his posture rigid and formal, didn’t even flinch under my gaze. “What he is trying to say is that the council voted,” he said, his words clipped, “For your protection, Lycan King Asher. It is for your own safety that we’ve been assigned to ensure you remain inside the palace. Orders have been given for y
MaliaEverything was cold, damp, and disorienting. I woke up with dirt pressed to my skin, my body trembling like I'd just been dropped into an ice bath. My head throbbed, the echoes of something dark and fractured lingering at the edge of my memory—blood, snarling teeth, and shadows closing in. I forced myself to sit up, gritting my teeth against the dizziness. I was naked, completely exposed, and the sharp air stung my skin. My breaths came fast and shallow, panic clawing at my chest as I tried to make sense of where I was or how I’d gotten here. Footsteps pounded through the woods, heavy and purposeful. A voice cut through the night like a blade. “There she is!” Instinct took over. I shot to my feet, my body tense and ready for a fight. A growl tore from my throat as my claws extended. My vision was a blur, but I could see enough—figures moving toward me fast, shadows closing in. I didn't wait. I crouched, ready to strike, every fiber of me pulsing with raw energy. Whoeve
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