Something is masking her presence

It was the man I had run into earlier with the king. “Oh, if it isn’t the young lady I had the honor of meeting earlier. What a pleasant surprise it is. Are you done visiting the king, or are you going to stay for a while?”The man (if I recall correctly, the name the king called him was Lord Matthias) approached me as though we were acquaintances. He walked up to me and spoke in a familiar tone that could mislead others into thinking we were close and well acquainted.When my maids saw who it was, they quickly greeted him as "Lord Matthias." However, I couldn't help but notice that when they saw him, they all trembled slightly.I became suspicious of him. Not only from their reaction toward him, but also from how the king acted toward him. The king had kept my identity from him and was being cautious with him despite being his uncle. There must be a reason for that. A reason that I’m yet to know about.Hence, it wasn’t a bad idea to take note of these and be cautious of him. There

She is strong, son

Mother stood up and walked up to me. She reached for my right hand, placed it between her palms with mine falling upward, and gently rubbed the inner part in a circular, soothing way. Growing up, she always did this as an act of calming me. Which works most of the time.“I traced his life force. Though it is a bit faint and barely spotted, it is not yet extinguished.” I quickly grabbed her hands in mine. “You located him.”“I located a trace of him,” she corrected. “His energy flickers near the eastern border… beyond the Blackwater cliffs.”My eyes darkened. “Blackwater cliffs?” As far as I can remember, there is nothing there. It was just a vast wasteland that had remained unclaimed for ages.“Yes, Blackwater Cliff, and I wonder why. That place has been nothing but unclaimed, forgotten, and secluded territory, which made me wonder why his energy flickers there," she said.My mind was already racing at the thought. A light of hope ignited within me. “If Lee is truly around there, then

It's finally happening…

Divya’s povFor days following my encounter with the queen and Lord Matthias, I've been feeling an unfamiliar sense of restlessness. I had initially brushed it off as a side effect of being in a new environment and the training I was currently undergoing, but I thought that with time it would stop. Yet as time went on, the restless feeling intensified, making me edgy.I didn’t know what was causing my restlessness, but I had tried several times to sort out my feelings and had done everything I could to make it go away. But no matter what I did, the feeling didn’t subside. Unbeknownst to me, Cassius had noticed my unusual behavior and reported it to the king, who in turn summoned me to his office.As soon as I entered his office, the king walked up to me and held my hands. “Child, I heard that you have been feeling restless for a while now. You need to brace yourself. You are about to experience your first change. The restlessness you have been feeling is the first stage of the chang

I was not given a choice

My features started to blur and shift, as though my face had forgotten what shape it was supposed to hold. My skin ripples like water disturbed by a stone. Fingers lengthen or shorten. Cheekbones sharpen or soften. My hair gradually changed from black to golden-chestnut, with a lustrous, silky sheen. My voice sounded cracked and distorted, slipping between tones that are not quite my own. I could barely recognize it.And when I thought it was almost over, I lost control over my body.I began to shift through several painful, incomplete forms, a different face, and a different body shape; sometimes my body even went as far as mimicking the appearance of those I had recently crossed paths with. The king first, then Lee, Cassius, the queen, my maids, and everyone who had been a meter away from me these past few days.I had been terrified when I first changed to the king, but surprisingly, everyone in the room with me was not surprised by it. It was as though they had expected it.Each c

Make it stop! Make it stop! Please, I'm begging.

The pain was so severe that I shook violently on the bed and landed flat on my face. The needle that was attached to my left hand snapped in two, and blood gushed out from where it was connected to my skin. I could hear the king shout in shock and footsteps hurrying to my side. Voices filled with confusion echoed around me, and I sensed someone holding my body tightly.Everything happened in the blink of an eye, but the funniest thing was that everything that was happening around me felt distant. Like it wasn't happening to me.I was numb to it all except for the pain that was tearing me apart from within. I was terrified, not knowing what was happening to me or what triggered this heart-wrenching pain within me.It felt as though something was shredding my body from within me and wanted to come out.The pain was unbearably intense, frightening, and overwhelming. Heat spreads through my veins like wildfire, making me feel as though my blood were burning.I let out another scream a

My wolf? Is this what I think it is?

Uh, who was that? Was there someone else in the room with me?I steadied myself on my feet and looked around.It was empty. No one else was here.I probably heard wrong.‘No, you didn’t hear wrong,' the voice spoke again. Startled, I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off. ‘You don’t need to be afraid; I'm Anya, your wolf.’My wolf? Is this what I think it is?"Yes, Divya, it is. We can finally talk to each other. You don’t know how long I've waited for this. Like, seriously, I thought we would never meet again. Not after everything you’ve been through and with how your bloodline is so strange and and…”Wow, take it easy there.I chuckled in amazement at her chatter. She definitely was the talking type. But to agree with her, I was also glad and relieved that this finally happened. I had given up all hope of ever going through my first change. So the feelings were mutual.‘Okay, okay, I will stop my rambling. But you do know that we have a lot of catching up to do.’ I smiled at th