SKYLA Aleric and I both turn sharply. My stomach does a flip when I spot him. There he stands, the Solaris Sword of the king, in the hands of the Solaris King himself. There’s my man. My Reign. My Alpha. My Fucking King. He’s wearing a white formal shirt that hugs his muscles and grey pants. A murmur ripples through the room as a sharp wind blows around him and he strides across the hall, cutting through the crowds as he reaches the dais. A few witches jump forward, but his shield of violent wind is impenetrable. “Royce!” Aleric snarls, raising his hand, flames rippling around his hand. Royce doesn’t reply as he steps onto the dais, skipping the three steps and reaching me in seconds. His arm snakes around my waist, and he yanks me against him, making me gasp. My heart pounding, as every ridge of his body moulds against mine. Oh so perfectly… “ROYCE!” Aleric thunders. Royce simply raises his sword, forcing him to keep his distance, his eyes on me. ‘One night without you

SKYLA. Aleric makes the first move, sending a blazing ball of fire right at Royce, who instantly blocks it with his own flames, clearly making Aleric angrier. The witches begin chanting, their voices getting louder, their power rising and it’s becoming suffocating. “Those who cannot fight, fall back!” Dad’s command rushes through the room. ‘Three serpents have appeared, and they are huge.’ Dante’s voice comes. ‘Make that seven…’ ‘You can see them?’ Dad asks him sharply. ‘Yes… we’re handling them. Another two,’ Dante says, sounding as relaxed as ever. ‘Leo’s going all out. I can assure you, Dad, if your pack and his pack went to battle… we’d lose.’ ‘That much confidence in your brother?’ ‘Absolutely.’ Dante replies. ‘We’ll have reinforcements sent.’ Dad says. ‘Anyone on the outer perimeter, assist with the serpents. Use the coloured smoke bombs to help make them visible!’ A flurry of replies come in and I look at Royce. For now, he’s got this… I should be out there. The groun

A/N: Contains slightly dark content. RAIHANA. It is a trap, the poison in the air, the side of the building caving in to trap us here. The only thing that she isn’t counting on, is the fact that I'm not alone. Aunty Red had seen us duelling and came to my assistance. Just as Sephora brought down the wall trying to trap me alone, Aunty Red had managed to jump in before the walls came down. Sephora now stands there, magic tingling at her fingertips, a smirk of confidence on her face. “You heard the High Witch Magdalene! Raihana is your new leader.” Scarlett warns, her voice a menacing snarl as she clutches her waist. Sephora sent several shards of crystal at her when the wall came down, simultaneously releasing a wolfsbane poison in the air. If it wasn’t for her rapid healing ability, Aunty Red wouldn’t have even been able to stand after that crystal shard pierced through her hip. Sephora is here to win, not to play, and she is proving that through her merciless attacks. If it w

SKYLA. Here goes nothing... I jump up, feeling the power within me surfacing. My Lycan’s dominant power, embodying it fully, I channel everything I have. ‘You will never win! I destroyed her and her kind a long time ago! A mere wolf is weaker than a tiger! Do you really think you can win?!’ His chilling voice wraps around me as the darkness begins spreading along the ground. The snake and I block and attack one another. He’s trying to get those teeth into me. I can see the poison in them. The darkness around me is also trying to pull me down into that smoking abyss of the ground beneath us. ‘True, in a one-on-one battle, a wolf would lose to a tiger… but that’s the difference between the two species.’ I begin grunting as I manage to slash into his side again. He hisses, as he spins around and lunges at me. I can smell blood in the air, the hissing and shouting of the wolves battling the serpents. People are dying. I hear the shouts as Mama is trying her best to heal. I block b

ROYCE. The only way to end this… is his death. The moment is before me as he lays there bleeding out, and it hurts. Despite everything he has done and I know he deserves what is coming, but… he is still my brother. I look at her as I pass her the sword, hiding the pain in my chest. For her, I need to stay strong. You’ve hidden your emotions for years, Royce. What are a few more moments? I look into her eyes, which are now green, but they remain cat-like. “Let’s do this.” I say. I look at Aleric as he lays there on the floor, trying to get up when he sees us approaching, but he is beyond the point of recovering, and it’s clear Apophis is focusing on the barrier… The darkness that is pushing against the barrier is spreading from Aleric. “Break his tie from this world and it will weaken him.” Skyla murmurs. “For the Gods,” I say quietly as I place my hand over hers. We raise the sword as one and I look down at him. Our eyes meet and I remember the little boy who once played b