Zephyrine


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    Ever since I had been visiting Luna Tahlia, I had never once stepped inside her house. But this night, when I knocked at her door, she opened it wider and ushered me in.


    I had just finished a cup of ale, and the drowsiness clung faintly to my senses. Still, I steadied my breath and focus as I walked into the small, cozy living room. It was tidy, warm, and strangely enough, I felt safer here than in my own wide bedchamber.


    “Where’s Young ck?” I asked softly, and she smiled.


    “Sleepyhead’s gone to bed. The maid is with him.”


    ‘Of course. He deserves his rest.”


    ‘Please,e sit,” she said gently. I walked to the chair and lowered myself into it.


    ‘Would you like a drink? Anything?”


    At her offer, I only looked up at her and shook my head. I was already drunk enough, and truth be told, I wouldn’t have epted Jurrek’s ale earlier if I hadn’t already been weighed down.


    Luna Tahlia gave a small smile and sat across from me, her hand resting on the table between us.


    Alpha Zephyrine…”


    Zephyr,” I corrected gently. “Well… whatever you prefer. Those who knew me as a rogue in Hue Pack called me Zeph. Those who knew me here from childhood call me Zephyr. The Lycans call me Zephyrine. Choose whichever fits you best. But I am no Alpha, Luna Tahlia. I failed.”


    After those words, I looked away and sighed, exhausted. Silence filled the room, silence that cut a hollow


    hrough my heart.


    Lycannar had stayed out in the coldst night, unmoving, just to have my audience, and I had denied him. That’s how far he was willing to go for me. That’s how obsessive he was. Only that he won’t be having me. Not after what he’d done, entertaining another woman in his home.


    I was lost in my bitter thoughts when Luna Tahlia’s hand gently took mine, giving it a soft squeeze. Slowly, I turned to her.


    “You are an Alpha, and there’s no other way to address you,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve heard Ka Yadev is set to take over your pack.”


    I swallowed. She’d heard the rumors. But did she believe them?


    “Before anything happens, I’ll make sure you and Young ck are safe. You can live in my…” <fn1d92> Find the newest release on FιndNovel</fn1d92>


    “Nothing bad will happen,” she cut me off gently, her gaze steady on mine. “I have seen you, the best part of you, Alpha Zephyrine. And I know you won’t let evil reign.”


    “Luna Tahlia…”


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    “I grew up hearing the name Ashmere. Their legendary victories. How kind the pack treated its people. The Moon Goddess’s blessing upon them…” she said. “Youmanded thousands. Thergest pack. The most respected. If you ever… if you ever let it fall into Ka Yadev’s hands…”


    Her voice trailed off as she shuddered, disbelief and fear running through her, as though some memory from the past had taken hold.


    “Yadev,” she muttered bitterly. “And that daughter of his… they are destruction. They have no sympathy. Whatever you do… Ka must not take over.”


    The emotion in her eyes now went deeper than just fear. It was memory. Something she had lived.


    I searched her eyes and saw she’d gone pale. She swallowed hard before continuing.


    “Alpha Zephyrine… Ka, whom the shifter empire believed to be the envoy of peace… she never was.”


    I froze. Of course, I’d always known Ka wasn’t an envoy of peace. But there were those missing five years, her so-called mission. If it wasn’t for peace… then what?


    “To trade a life,” Luna Tahlia whispered, as though reading my very thought. The chill of her words pierced through me. Her fingers trembled in mine before she pulled away, rubbing her arms as though to ward off the memory.


    “It was five years ago. I saw it with my own eyes. I read it. And that was the final straw for me.” She shook her head slowly. “You must wonder why I never fought Ka, why I never tried to take back my pack, why I never gave Young ck the glory he was born for. It’s because of that stormy night.”


    My blood went cold.


    “She had been visiting the Imperium Council often, always returning at the darkest hours as though hiding something. One stormy night, I was returningte from my mother’s when I saw her. She rushed in like one chased by the very evil, her gown heavy with blood. She unknowingly dropped what she was holding, a scroll among other things.”


    Luna Tahlia shook her head, shuddering.


    “I picked up the scroll. And I saw it. A transaction, clear as day. A deal between her and Stone of ckwater.”


    Heat crawled into my veins.


    “Ka Yadev exchanged a life. An injured wolf, traded away in return for her stay in ckwater for five years. While the shifter empire believed she was on a mission of peace, she had merely bartered away a life for her survival. I saw it, Alpha Zephyrine. On that scroll. This wolf was said to be a warrior, and she sold him anyway. A woman who can make such a deal with Stone of ckwater, who has such backing…. how can I ever win against her?”


    The air dried from my lungs. Goosebumps pricked my skin. My thoughts went still, my body frozen.


    “Wait. Hold on,” I whispered. “You saw the receipt of this transaction?”


    “Yes,”


    “This person…” my voice cracked, “Is a wounded warrior?”


    “Yes, Alpha Zephyrine. That’s what it said.”


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    My heart twisted painfully. I swallowed, clutching her hand again, praying with everyst ounce of strength that I was wrong.


    “Tell me. That stormy night, five years ago. Around what time was it?”


    She searched my eyes, confused by the urgency in my voice. Then, slowly, her brows furrowed in awe.


    “It was during the first wave battle. The battle of Demons and…” Her words faltered as her eyes locked with minc.


    “The battle of Demons and Ashmeres…” I finished for her.


    My body went cold. My chest seized.


    Varyn.


    Wait.


    The wounded warrior Ka traded, was it Varyn Ashmere?


    7:30 pm