CHAPTER one: Rejection

Lighting struck across the moonlit sky, followed by a crack of thunder that momentarily made the werewolves surrounding Alpha King Conroy and Amelia Whittaker deaf.

The moon was full, shining brightly as it signified the mating season for the werewolves. Other wolf packs were probably coupling and rejoicing but not the Valerian hybrid werewolves.

The rain splattering down on the muddy ground splashed dirt onto Amelia’s frilled, flowing, virginal-white gown while sweat mixed with dirt dripped down Alpha King Conroy’s shirtless torso to the waistband of his black leather pants that tightly hugged his muscular thighs.

“You can’t do it… Please, Amelia.” He protested. Everyone in his pack was present, his cousin Arian who is his beta and second-in-command included. An Alpha wasn’t allowed to be weak not in front of the people he was meant to protect, but Conroy was close to breaking.

“Watch me, you bastard! She snarled.

“Your parents weren’t innocent, they kidnapped wolves from my pack, they…” His voice choked on the last word.

“I don’t fucking care! You fucking killed them!” she pounded her fists on his chest, her blows felt like feathers tickling his shoulders.

His cousin, Beta Arian in his human form moved towards both of them as though he wanted to intervene, but Alpha Conroy raised a palm, stopping his movements.

“Do what pleases you…Mate.” His voice was thick and gruff with unshed tears as his heart was ripping in two. The pain was horrible and tripled because he could also feel the torment rolling off his mate in waves.

He felt disappointed and angry at himself. He caused this. He had done this to both of them. He had caused this anguish and he would pay the penance.

He could be ruthless sometimes but he was a noble wolf.

“Before the moon goddess, I reject you Alpha Conroy, a fucking murdering scumbag as my mate!”

Alpha Conroy fell to his knees in the sodden earth of the forest and howled.

The other wolves in his pack also knelt and began howling, mourning with their Alpha king.

The pain coursed through him. He wanted to die… He felt as though his heart was being shredded and then stuffed back into the ripped cage on his chest and his lungs struggled to draw in oxygen.

He, Alpha King Lucas Conroy, had been rejected by a human.

But how did he get here?

How was the powerful king reduced to a gasping and hurting mess of an Alpha?

1500: The beginning

It was during the medieval times when humans waged wars against each other, trying to forcefully take control of their lands due to their insatiable greed, creating swords and arrows to harm one of their own. And the supernatural ones watched from their own kingdoms which were segregated from human life until they couldn’t take it anymore. They couldn’t keep watching those fools harming and betraying their own species.

So one beautiful morning, the human species woke up to a new rule, a new regime led by the supernatural. Before then, the humans never believed in the existence of witches or werewolves and vampires but they had to submit to their newly enforced leadership or be killed.

Few decades later, the humans got used to serving their new werewolf kings.

While the Valerian kingdom was ruled by werewolves, there was a small village named Chorleywood ruled by a human. The human leader, Alan Whittaker, had a small family comprising of a baby girl, Amelia and his wife, Catriona.

The cottages in the Chorleywood village snuggled under deep covering of fog, with only their roofs left visible. Peat-smoke rose from small chimneys to merge with the crisp wind.

The village went berserk with terror one cold evening and a little girl stood mouth agape in a silent scream as she saw her father torn apart by normal looking people who had shifted to big blood hounds right in front of her innocent eyes.

Her mother weeping bitterly had stowed her away behind their mud house when their village was invaded but that didn’t stop the curious little girl from leaving that spot to inspect the commotion and source of the shrill screams. Another loud, earth-shattering scream rends the air and the girl whimpered in fright as big tears plopped down from her eyes, watching her father bleeding to his own death while her mother’s mangled and bloodied body laid still on the floor in a heap of blood and bones.

Swallowing hard, the brave young girl took a step forward to confront the terrifying looking animals but a hand wrapped around her mouth and the other snaked around her waist lifting her up.

She tried to scream but the sound was muffled by the palm covering her small mouth, she kicked and struggled trying to get out of the grasp of the stranger holding her tightly to no avail.

All the little girl could do was to wail soundlessly as the stranger carried her away, walking out of her village.

The last thing her young eyes saw before everything went black was the golden eyes of the wolf chasing the stranger who carried her through the forest of her village.

A man ran and ran with all his might carrying the little girl in his arms, his path drifting away from the Chorleywood village towards the derelict woods.

His breathing came out in labored puffs as he picked up speed, sending heaps of dirt and mud flying into the air.

But he was of no comparison to the animal following closely behind him, almost catching up to him.

He knew the werewolves wanted to exterminate every last of those villagers.

But he couldn’t allow them kill this little one, because if they did it’ll be the end of them all. The human race will end once and forever. He trusted and believed in the prophecy.

Her mother even sacrificed her life to save her child. She had granted him her trust that he would keep her safe no matter what. A mother’s intuition was powerful; she had known Chorleywood didn’t have much longer.

With a strong will and determination ripped from the bottom of his heart, the man halted in his steps. Glancing over his shoulders, he found the wolf still hot on his chase. But he had time. The wolf was far enough for him to try this last scheme and run away for good.

With one last look thrown over his shoulder, the man climbed the top of a tree and tested each of the branches till he found a sturdy one and then he gently placed the unconscious girl carefully on the branch, hiding her body with leaves and then quickly climbed down from the tree.

He prayed to the gods to keep her safe and hoped she wouldn’t fall from the tree.

The crunch of dried leaves he heard from a distance alerted him.

He spared a single glance at the small girl lying unconscious on the tree and felt a stab of pain.

He felt horrible for leaving her behind. But he had to do this so as to lead the wolf away to save her. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the gold amulet that her mother had handed to him and threw it into the sky and it landed on a leave right beside her head. Her mother had said that it was an heirloom of the family she really belonged to and the man hadn’t really understood then or even now.

With a whispered, “take care, young warrior.”

He ran off yelling on top of his voice, so as to lead the wolves to him, far away from the little girl.

The man, Wiley, was able to lead the wolves away but he was unconscious of the other figure in a black cloak that had been tailing him.

As soon as the coast was clear, the figure appeared and climbed the tree, gingerly lifting the girl into his arms. His name was Graeme and he was the leader of the Creed Assassins. No one had ever seen his face and he had killed more people that he could keep a number on. He pulled his heavy cloak lower to swathe his face.

A dark smile crossed his lips as his charcoal black eyes flashed, “Savyor huh?” he muttered as he removed the heirloom from the branch and wore it around the girl’s neck. “You would be my greatest weapon and I would rule the earth!”

His black boots thudded on the dry path of the forest as he walked away from the woods. He had also heard of the prophecy, he knew of what importance the girl was.