Lunar Whispers-Born for the Lycan King

Hello, dear readers.

We all love a slow burn, hate-to-love story, right?

What if they are fated mates? But the fate is too twisted for it to be a simple happily ever after.

It is the story of Amara and Alpha Damein, and of the cursed bond they shared.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it.

Please feel free to leave your reviews.

Amara's POV

Love's beauty shines,

a radiant glow

Warming hearts,

and lighting the way to go

But is it all a lie,

a fleeting disguise?

For love can quickly turn,

to an ugly surprise.

'With these bare hands, I am going to twist his head from his neck,'

It was the only thought that rushed through my head as my hands wrapped around the shivering figure of my sister, shuddering in fear.

"No," She said.

"No, please no," She was whimpering.

Erica looked up at me, her eyes filled with tears, "He-He said I am to be there by 8...Amara, I cannot," She cried out.

"I know, my love. You won't have to,"

How can she? Erica hated him. We all hated him. He was a beast. An ugly beast.

She was only 19, while Jacob was in his mid-thirties. The mere idea sent chills down my spine.

He would kill her after using her. He always did that.

The Alpha Jacob of the Seraphic pack was well-hated and well-resented. The alpha was nonetheless famous for the way he treated his pack. Under his rule, Women are not allowed to turn, unless for the first time on their eighteenth birthday, in the close space of their homes. Because turning into a wolf meant power and women...well, they were supposed to be powerless. He would often say in his sermons that fate made a mistake and he was correcting it, and thus women would not and never turn, or they would be killed. He was also famous for killing of older wolves if they shed hair too much or coughed too loud than his liking, and with Red berries being a forbidden fruit, that any wolf dared to eat would be stoned to death. Because only the Alpha could eat it. After all, it was his favorite food. People wished in secret, that the Alpha had died from the overdosing of berries but unfortunately, that had never happened. The Alpha had never found his mate. Probably because the fates had decided a wolf like him did not deserve the sacred bond of love. So, Every once in a while, Alpha Jacob would walk around the city, Choose a she-wolf for himself, and she was obliged by law to spend the night with him. Rejecting the law meant death, and if the Alpha didn't like the woman enough, she would be killed. If the Alpha was bored of her, she would be killed. So, it was a kill-kill situation.

Years of yearning, of pain living under the Alpha, with no help from other packs nor any resilience from inside the pack, It had made us bitter. All the wolves were pathetic, soulless, and honorless, to let a man like Jacob rule over them for years. He was feared. He was to be feared because he was a beast, and that was the thing about beasts. They are ruthless and evil.

We didn't even talk about him in private, fearing he would hear. While we all wished his death in our hearts.

I tried to calm the urge to burn a hole in the dear Alpha's head, squeezing my hands to my side. I grabbed her face, to make her look at me.

"I will not let him get to you, you understand!" I told her, holding her eyes. I knew I won't. I was sure my eyes were bloodshot. She nodded her head.

"Come on, lets talk to father," I told her.

I entered his room. Father, William, was quietly reading a book sitting on his bed. I told him what happened. He was stunned, as if a bucket of cold water splashed on him.

It was a time of misery in the Seraphic Pack, and today the fury had unleashed upon their home.

"I am sorry my child!" Father said patting Erica's head, "I am helpless, I am frail," A tear fell down his cheek.

Father was in his late forties, not too old for a wolf, but the fights had injured and weakened him. He was once, a delta in the pack and protected the north Western borders. His legs were bruised in a fight and running was now a far cry. The day this happened was my birthday. He was removed from his position and now worked as a local sales man for a merchant, in the central market. I sold my paintings to help him financially.

"Father, I won't go," Erica whispered, still horrified, still shaking.

"But Erica...They will kill you," Father replied.

"Dad!" I said, surprised, how can he suggest she go? I know he was scared she would be killed if she denies, but she would be killed either way.

"Death is better, Father!" Erica cried.

"We will leave!" I said, my hands clasped by my side, balling my dress, "We will go rogue,"

"Amara have you lost your mind," Erica whispered, "We will be left homeless, helpless!"

I frowned at her, "Isn't that how we live right now? Homeless and helpless? With no protection what so ever? I don't care! I will not bear that man's tortures anymore!" I cried,

Erica was up on her feet, trying to silence me by putting her hand on my mouth.

"Please Amara, Don't. He would come,"

I jerked away her hand."He is not all hearing, He is not the fates. An Alpha is to protect his pack, to lead his people towards betterment, towards peace, but this excuse of a man, he does not deserve us, does not deserve our loyalty, our serve!"

"But Ama-," Father began but I interrupted him, "Erica does not deserve this Dad! I don't deserve this!"

"But where will we go? That too if we could go! The Deltas would catch us, and we would all be killed," Father said.

"Erica is going to die anyway, won't she? I am willing for the familiar fate too Dad. It's better to die running, than to bear the pain of losing her! It's you who has to make the choice!"

I was too blinded by anger to realize the consequences, to realize that running was never an option and could never be. Going rogue was not an innovative idea in the Seraphic pack. Now and then a few people were hanged in the central market for having too much of the Alpha's tortures, and thus were labeled as traitors.

"Amara, please calm down," Father said, his voice breaking, his heart paining. The realization that both his daughters are going to die, the realization that he failed to protect them as a father, the realization that he failed his mate, his wife.

"Father, I cannot! I have had enough," I whispered. "Every day I see people being killed, being tortured for crimes as normal as coughing,"

I sat down on the bed next to Erica.

"If we won't leave! We put Erica's life and her future at risk, but if we do leave, there is a chance that we can live. And I am going to take that chance. Not everyone trying to run is caught Father, and you know that," I said, indicating to the time when father had set free a few people himself.

He would tell us that when no other delta was with him, or near him, and he would catch people trying to leave, he would let them.

Father sighed loudly, "Fine! We'll leave now."

*****

Chapter no 2-Going Rouge

'No one can reach the threshold of fate

No one can reach, for fate is a powerful magician'

Amara 's POV

It was almost night, the sun had sat for almost an hour now. There was a grey bag waiting on the coffee table in the lounge. We had packed all our life, all our time spent here in these two bags, and had to leave.

I stood outside, by another bag, while Erica helped father pack. I was waiting while roaming over a two week old newspaper.

The news stated that Alpha Jacob had claimed yet another innocent life of a she-wolf after he had spent three days with, and when she tried to run the third day, was declared a traitor and not loyal to the Alpha. Alpha considered this his insult. The girl was beheaded an hour after the running attempt.

I could feel my head spinning reading this. A vision of my father and sister being beheaded. Would I die with a smile on, or am I just like every other coward wolf of the Seraphic pack?

"Let's leave!" Father's voice cut through my thoughts. I picked up the bag and passed it over my shoulder. I was supposed to be the first one to leave, followed by Erica and father.

The streets were as deserted as a ghost town.

With the bag weighing down on my shoulder and my heart thumping loudly against my ribs, I took a step.

Then another

and another,

and soon she was at the end of the street.

Sweat flowed down my temple that had nothing to do with the temperature.

Erica and father were behind me. Quietly walking through the empty streets in the shadows we reached the ends of the territory. It was a small limber forest. It used to be a vast one but was cut down for wood and space for housing. But the forest stretched long further after the border towards thw north.

It was known for the lands of the red berries, the red and blue frogs, and the rare white foxes.

We needed to find a space with no Delta roaming. The border was not more than some dense vines with thorns, twisted together to form a net.

I could see beyond the thorns. We were so close to the freedom.

And sometimes the fates...they tend to be unkind.

A sound hit my ears and made my heart jump. The sound grew. It was the wolves howling and running. The earth making a rhythmic sound when touched by their feet.

So, we ran.

The sounds grew closer and closer.

The fates seem to laugh down at us.

The desperation hit me and so did the tears.

They had found us.

"Father!" I cried his name. He had stopped running to hold his knee, the pain was too much for him.

"Father please, Breathe," Erica yelled, her face covered with tears, as she bent down to her father.

I could see flashes of fire and a group of people at some distance.

"Father!" Erica yelled, as her father pushed her forward.

"Go! Leave now!" The old man yelled with all his might.

We were left stunned. Could I leave my father here, and be so selfish to go forward knowing the death he would suffer?

"For your mother, for the fates, Leave! let me die a peaceful death knowing I protected you!"

"Father we cannot!" I yelled.

"I beg you, kids, I beg you for a peaceful death! Run!"

"Let's go!" I found Erica tugging at my hand, pulling me.

But before I could realize it, I heard a scream near me and Eric waa pulled away from me.

There was a sharp pain in the back of my head, and my vision was blurry, my knees gave up.

*****

A thousand years ago,

The same lands.

She was beautiful. Everyone who met her told her she was the most enchanting sight. She trekked through the dense forest, her feet aching from the long journey. As she rounded a bend, a sudden gust of wind swept her cloak aside, revealing a hidden blade attached to her thigh, over her clothes.

There was a glade, in the center, a magnificent stallion pranced and whinnied, its coat glistening like gold in the sunlight. A figure, cloaked in shadows, stood beside the horse, their face obscured by a hood.

He was examing a now dead deer, that had died by a blade in the heart.

"Do you often steal someone's prey?" Hera said, approached cautiously, sensing an otherworldly aura. The figure turned, revealing piercing blue eyes and chiseled features. -beautiful, the mysterious stranger. He wore a silver brooch with an emblem of a noble family, and his armor seemed to shimmer with an ethereal light.

"You shouldn't be here, milady," Colins said, his voice low and enigmatic. "This is a wild forest, inhabiting wild beasts,"

Hera felt an inexplicable pull, as if the land itself drew her closer, shrinking so they can meet. "The only thing I see, is you," She eyed him, a smile forming on her lips.

He expressions took the same turn. "And your horse, its beautiful,"

The stranger turned to look at his horse.

"And this is my prey," Hera said. He faced her, a little surprised. She was indeed a fiesty woman.

"All yours," He stepped aside, his eyes never leaving hers.

Hera forwarded, getting a cloth from her waist band and grabbing the rabbit, wrapping it inside the clock.

"What are you doing here? This a wild area,"

The stranger laughed.

'Beautiful' Hera thought.

"I came to find a rare herb for my mother's ailment," He looked into her eyes.

"Then thank the fates because I happen to know the way," Hera smiled, holding her eyes to his. Her blue eyes to his brown

*****

My vision was unclear when I opened my eyes. A subtle pain pulsed at the back of my head, and shoulder. I groaned and straightened such that I was now on my back, hearing the rustle of leaves beneath me.

I wiped a hand over my eyes only to get mud in my eyes. I sat up, my eyes watering. The sudden made a sharp pain in my head.

"Shit!" I groaned, looking around with one eye. The memories came flooding back. My heart picked up a rhythm as I looked around again, now looking for my family.

It was still night, but the moon was almost full. I saw a crumpled up figure by a tree.

"Father!" I cried and rushed to him.

Father laid wide eyed, limp on the ground. He was dead. "Father!" My eyes filled with tears again. I could not remember the last time I had cried so much, as I did today. sitting beside my father's lifeless body, cold and rigid.

They took my sister! They left me and my father to die here.

Moving my eyes over my father's body, I found no sign of injury. He probably died with a weak heart. The heart that could not bear the loss of his daughters.

Desperation filled my veins, as I hurried back to the lands. I needed help, anything, anyone to save Erica.

I reached the street to my home and saw people gathered around, stunned at my arrival.

"Where is my sister?" I wanted to confirm my thoughts.

"The Alpha took her, we saw!" A man replied, anger and resentment visible on his face.

I fell to my knees.

"Help me, my people!" I cried, "Help me! I beg each one of you!"

But the people could do nothing! How could they? They were quiet for all the other murders the Alpha committed, How would they find the courage to speak for my sister? Why would they risk their lives?

"But what can we do? He is the Alpha," A woman in the crowd spoke.

"Raid his house, seize him, kill that excuse of an Alpha," I yelled and there was a collective gasp. Killing the Alpha?

"We can! If all of us join, we can take him down!" I said through gritted teeth.

"Please!" Iwhispered, and the crowd began to scatter, saying I had lost my mind. The men had their heads lowered.

It was when I felt an old man crouching in front of me.

"Amara , my dear, get a hold on yourself," His voice low, but affirm.

"If you can, I have a way," He said making me look back at him.

"For what?" I wiped the back of my hand over my eyes.

"To save your sister!" The old wolf replied, "Alpha Damien of the Enigma Pack, The lycan king,"

My eyes widen, and my tears dried. The Enigma pack! The moat strongestpack of the world. The state with the indomitable force and power, bound by the vow to rule, and driven by the unwavering desire for dominance.

The Lycan king was many many years old but still young. He was rumoured to be the most cruel man on this earth, killing his mates for eternal life, not just once but many times.

It was a pack of the north. The stories claimed one wolf of the Northern Enigma was of thrice the power of the Western Seraphic.

"How? Why would he help me?" I wanted to cry out for the fates. The hope that filled me just a second ago, disappeared just as it came.

"He can, and with the right bargain, he would," The men replied.

Seeing the confusion and vexation only grow over my features the old man sighed.

"I was once a wine man to Alpha Jacob, I had been for fifteen years before I was too old for his liking, thankfully I didn't catch a cough, or I would have been dead too," The man began, "Believe me, when I say he will help you, but only with the right Bargain, because he has done that before, many times. Have you never heard the stories? Alpha Damein is the king, a ruthless and cruel king with leading the most strongest pack of our world. I have seen Alpha Jacob quivering at the sight of him,"

"What bargain could I ever do?"

"Fur...of the rare white fox," The man said. "The fox's skin being presented to the Alpha is considered to bring peace and prosperity for the Reign and the pack. White foxes are animals of the south, and they are wild creatures, with sharp nails and teeth,"

"Seeking for his help is better than doing nothing at all. Enigma pack is 168 miles in the north east, If you run now, you can have his help by tomorrow morning, and maybe your sister can be saved if fates are in your favor,"

"I will go!" I said and stood up.

*****

Chapter no 3-The Lycan King

Amara's POV

I ran towards the forest to race against time. It was my only chance to protect Erica.

I walked up to my father's rigid body and looked into his sunken eyes. He had desired a peaceful death, but he didn't get it. The least I can do is avenge him.

With one last glance upon his face, I stood straight and did what I hadn't done for the past three years. I felt my skin grow, and my body turn and twist.

Although it wasn't allowed by Jacob, my sister and I turned into wolves almost three days a week, where our father trained us, in our living room. He believed we should know how to fight.

I ran straight towards the vines, opening my mouth, chopping off the thorny vines, and my mouth got bruised. Tasting blood, I continued, until there was enough path for me to cross. With one quick jump. I was out. Tears strung in my eyes. I was in my freedom.

I hated it!

I needed to find the white fox. They were rare, but if you knew where to look, you could find a couple. Searching for almost two hours, of running forward towards the end of the forest to reach the Enigma pack. My legs were cramping like they never had before. The pain and the cold was too much, but it didn't stop me, not even once. I had sworn to only stop when I reach the gates to the Enigma pack.

It was cold, and I had started to see traces of snow on the land I crossed.

My throat was as dry as the bark of a tree. My head had started to spin when I finally eyed a white fox. I wanted to howl loudly with joy, but instead I leaped at the poor animal. The animal was as wild as they claimed, razor-sharp nails and teeth that were used against me in a good fight. I was cut and injured by the wild animal before I snapped at its neck with one final attack. I saw its blood oozing out and flowing over the white snow.

I shifted to human.

I held the warm dead animal in my hands, drinking the blood from its wounds. My throat soaking in the liquid. I used my hands to remove the skin off of the poor animal, and ate a few pieces. It was then I realized I hadn't eaten anything the entire day.

Holding onto the fur, I wrapped it securely around my neck and shifted again. Then I took off.

It was a distance of five hours that I had completed in three. Tired, weak, and covered in blood, I reached the giant gates of black metal. Unlike the Seraphic pack, whose territories were defined by thorn vines, Enigma had metal walls. It was the biggest land both in population and in area. The men surrounding the gates saw me, a rogue wolf approaching. In front of the gates, I shifted to human form and fell to my knees. My breath was short, as I panted for more air. The cold air of the north had restricted my windpipe.

"What do you want?" A roar hit her ears, deep and strict. I whimpered. The accent they had was very different from mine.

"I present...a gift...to the alpha," I spoke in a loud voice, using up my leftover strength with pauses for breath. The cold air fills my lungs making me shiver. My heart is slamming against my rib cage.

"And why?" The roar comes again.

"I need...help...to save my sister...else she would be killed in the morning," I said loudly. I did not want to appear weak and frail in front of them.

"who are you?"

"I am Amara ...of the Seraphic pack! I need help, in return...I bring peace and prosperity," I lifted up the fox's skin, the white fur glistening in the moonlight.

The man walked in front of me and stood there, looking down at me.

"You think The Alpha is so idle that he would lend you a hand for your trivial matters? He has things to do, a land to run!"

"But I heard The Alpha was Righteous and Impartial. My sister...she did nothing wrong. The men. They want to rape her! and then kill her. I implore to the justice of your Pack to let me meet the Alpha and plead the Alpha for her life and honor! Let him decide if he wants to be just,"

They looked taken aback by my strong words. A guard walked to me and held his hand out for the fur. I hesitantly passed it to him. The man held the skin in his hand and gave it a whiff. He nodded his head once.

"Let me escort you," The man said. I stood up onto my weak legs, blood dried over several wounds on my body. My mouth stained red, from my own blood and the blood of the fox. My clothes torn in some places. I looked wild.

The guard led the way, while I walked behind him. A wolf followed behind us, big and grey. They said that the men in the Enigma pack were larger than those of the other packs, more vigilant, more strong, and had more muscle mass than others. It was their strong genes. I could now see how true it was.

Soon enough, we reached a car. I had only seen such vehicles in the hands of the rich of the Seraphic pack. Four were owned by Alpha Jacob, and seven more were owned by the three rich families of the pack. The man opened the door for me and ushered me to sit inside. I did. And I was thankful for how soft it was. A bliss for my sore body. The vehicle roared and moved forward, and we entered the city.

The road we traveled on was sandwiched between the city and the forest. The road was very big, almost five lanes drawn with paint.

The city was highly modernized. Tall, glass buildings that peeked above the clouds on one side, followed by smaller ones as we reached towards the big road we were traveling on.

The right of the road accompanied a grove which followed a denser forest to its right. A river flowed in the grove, following the path of the road.

It had fresh blue waters. I had read about it. The river was named Niamon. We crossed a large beautiful bridge that connected the city and the jungle, over Niamon.

The car stopped in front of gates bigger than those of the city gates, which slowly opened, and we traveled in. The atmosphere had changed the moment the car moved from the city to the palace gates. Vast lands stretched inside the cemented walls. Gloomy big trees, and long stretched paths on both sides.

My door opened again, and I hurried out, whimpering as my swollen feet touched the ground again.

Big steps lead to a wooden door almost triple my height. They took me inside. It was as dark and gloomy as the outside. Cemented and stone walls, wooden floors, and Grey roofs.

They led me down the hall, and the man knocked on a door. He then went in and came out after five minutes. Meanwhile, I was of the verge of collapse. Would I be able to talk to a man like him? The Alpha Damien of Enigma pack! Just a wall away from me. He could kill me right now, and no one would know or move a muscle. No one would save Erica. Would I be able to plead my case to the most cruel man on earth?

"Alpha is waiting for you," My heart shrank, fluttering like a bird about to die while still entrapped in a small cage. I slide my wet hands on the doorknob and turn it, while my other hand clutches the fur tightly.

I enter the room and immediately feel the tension rising on my shoulders. I take a deep breath, mixed in the scent of cigars and cider.

Slowly, I lifted my eyes and looked straight at him. He stood there. Taller than any man I had ever seen, he a built strong and muscular. A face beautiful and Eerie. Haunting but enchanting at the same time. Something stirred inside me, almost as if my entire world had changed without my permission. My skin burned. My fingers itched, and my mind numbed.

Mate!

The lycan king Damien, of the Enigma pack, was my mate!

My breath got stuck in my throat. My skin burned to touch him.

A loud growl echoed through the entire room.

"Who are you?" A voice hit her ears, loud and rough.

Your mate!

I took a step back at his tone. He was angry, I could tell by his clasped hands and furrowed brows.

Please help me!

"I...I am A...Amara of Seraphic pack," I breathed, gulping in saliva.

Please save my sister!

"Seraphic!" He sneered, looking unimpressed. His whiskey colored eyes glowed in the dark.

"Why do you come...here?" He said, voice deep and rough.

"I bring peace-peace and p-prosperity to you, Alpha," My voice cracking even though I had worked hard not to appear weak. I raised my hands for him to see the fur.

"I ask for your help... My sister, She...They would kill her,"

Alpha Damien raises his brows in question.

"Alpha Jacob, our alpha...of the Seraphic pack. He picks women, and uses them...before killing them. Please save her! I be-beg you!" Tears run down my face. My head spins, but I steady myself.

He showed no emotions. He does not care, nor does he want me! He does not want to be associated with someone from the Seraphic pack. He looks disgusted. Does he not realize how much it will pain me!

"Please, Jacob would kill her tomorrow, he has her now!"

I could not bear the death of the only family left to me. I would die this instant. I fell to my knees, as my head kept spinning and my vision became blurry.

"How can I recognize her?" He said, his eyes reflecting a strange emotion. His hands balled by his side, gripping onto the table till his knuckles turned white.

She raises her head, "She has black hair...and blue eyes. A birthmark on her right arm. She is the only... woman there, he...he killed the rest. He always does that," I whispered the last line.

"Save her," My breathing slowed. I think I fell, because my head was on the floor now. A warm hand on my cheek is all I felt, and darkness consumed me, "Save me, Damien."