Alastor Ships Novels & Stories

And I didn't know if I was lucky to have made my backpack fall, or unlucky to be still in bad shape. However, my doubts about what the worst fate was had been resolved as soon as Alfa Randall stood up, pulling me abruptly by the collar of my old band shirt. The fabric almost tore. It was made of the most rotten cotton of our plantations and was too worn due to the years of use. Even so, my biggest concern was to notice that the hands in claws continued to hold my shoulder firmly. "We have to take her with us," the Alpha announced, and everyone was silent as if showing indignation. "If the damn witch is right, she can tell other humans where we are and what we have in their interest."

My mother demanded, snapping at the already stressed huntress. "My lady... It's...It's Alpha Silverdawn. The hunters have few alphas and betas in their custody. We assume that one of those alphas to be our alpha's mate for him to make such a wide ranged distress call." And that news hit harder than it should have. 'Anubis and Aziel are both there? But h-how? Who are the other alphas in captivity?' I asked in one go, feeling the growing panic of my wolf, Razna.

I glance away from it to scan the rest of the boats at the port but look back when the letters on the cargo ship come into view. “The Alyssa?” I look at Magnus for confirmation that I’m not going insane, but he exhales deeply and nods, a little painfully. “That’s our ride, Princess.” I gape, ignoring the tug on my arm when one of the guards pulls me out of the way of two huge wolves darting through the crowd, dragging carts loaded to the brim with crates of Goddess knows what. “As in… Zayn’s–” “My wife,” Magnus interrupts, but his gaze falls on the boat, and he gives me his back.

Slowly, the muscles in his jaw tightened, a low, barely audible growl vibrating in the back of his throat. "What is it?" I asked, a sudden, cold prickle of apprehension sliding down my spine. "The western shipping lanes," Silas muttered, handing the parchment to Marcus. "Three merchant vessels carrying the winter grain supplies from the free territories have vanished in the Blackwater Sea. No wreckage, no survivors. The port authority thinks it’s pirates from the outer islands, but the scouts found something else on the shore near the last known coordinates." Marcus looked up from the letter, his expression grim. "They found a fractured hull piece, Alpha. It was scorched with a specialized,

"The‍y co‍n​trol the Mediter​ranean‌ access, C⁠eleste. We can't move our automat⁠ed logis​tics l⁠ine or our tech‍ comp‍one‌nt⁠s into th‌e eastern markets without pa​ssing thro‌ugh those specif‌ic⁠ port⁠s. Ther‌e is no altern‌ative route availabl‌e on th⁠e open marke​t.⁠" "The​re is i⁠f we route through the North Sea," she r‍epl‌ie‍d, a small, t​riumphant smile tou‌ching her lips as she leaned cl‍oser to him. "Thre‌e y‍ears ago, Alistair used a Ha‍rringt​o‌n shell c‌ompany reg‍is⁠tere‌d in P​a​nama to‌ purchase a defunct, heav‌ily fortifie‌d na⁠val shipya​rd just outside of Rott​erdam.‌ I⁠t’s com‌pletely private, e‍ quipped with military-grade⁠ dry docks, an‍d‍ has direct deep-wate​r access‌

"I want the live marrow harvest. We do it right here, in the secondary transport vehicle. Logan, bring the boy." "No!" I screamed, trying to run toward Leo, but Alexander caught me by the waist, pinning me against his side. "Elena, look at the river," Alexander whispered into my ear, his voice so low it was barely a vibration against the wind. From the dark fog covering the canal, three massive, black commercial shipping vessels were silently gliding toward the pier. They didn't have lights on. They didn't have flags. But the deep, rhythmic thrum of their massive diesel engines was vibrating through the concrete beneath our feet.

“You can accept it. I can’t.’ Bash wildly growled and shifted on all fours. He broke out of the constrain Blaze had over him. The beast within him was released. Blaze lost against Bash’s wild side. Enraged, Bash rammed his paws into the ground and ran straight towards Alpha Cole. “I, Alpha Cole Westbrook, banish you, Lilith Venerelli from the Blood Moon pack.” Alpha Cole declared. Bash staggered before stopping all together. He whined and furiously scratched at the ground. He defeatedly shifted back. It was too late. Alpha Cole had already announced her banishment. Lilith stumbled as she felt a jolt in her chest. Her ties within the pack were cut off.

We skipped the slow, heavy dreadnoughts because Kaelen only had about thirty-six hours left before his heart turned to ice. Those bulky ships wouldn’t have been able to navigate the mountain winds quickly enough. Instead, Alaric and Marcus had geared up four small, nimble arcane cutters—basically just engines bolted onto reinforced steel frames, designed for speed. They were risky and a bit unstable, but nothing else in the sky could touch their speed. ​Kaelen insisted on walking up the boarding ramp of the lead cutter. He was fully geared in his dark Alpha armor, his massive broadsword strapped to his back. To any soldier watching from the courtyard, he looked ready for war.

Panni replied, her golden gaze shifting to the sky. Above them, the Vane fleet descended. Massive iron-clad dirigibles, held aloft by heated gas and humming with internal brass rotors, blocked out the moon. The lead ship, the Aurelius, lowered its docking claws. A platform descended, carrying Alistair Vane. He was bleeding from the clockshop explosion, his silk suit ruined, but his eyes were filled with a terrifying, religious fervor.

Not from the predator. It was a hum. A single, resonant, harmonious note. A ship dropped out of a jump directly between us and the void-predator. It was the vessel we had seen once before, the one woven from a basket of light. Elara's ship. But it was not alone. Flanking it were a dozen other vessels—Kael's Stalwart Friend, now scarred and battle-hardened, and others we recognized from the freed worlds. Ships of crystal, of living wood, of solidified sound. The First Chapter.