Chapter 1
Nysandra was panting as she lay on the grassed training field catching her breathe after being thrown to the ground... Again. Eiden had knocked her on her ass for the 15th time during training this morning.
“And you’re dead.” Eiden said holding his sword at her throat. “Again.” He added with a grin.
Nysandra rolled her eyes and shoved his blade away from her throat with the back of her hand.
“Can’t we be done?” She breathlessly asked. She felt every muscle pull in protest as she got to her feet. Eiden scoffed, as he spun the blade is his tanned veined hand.
“We still have 15 minutes Nysandra.”
She stood their heaving over her legs attempting to catch her breath.
“Humans.” He sighed, “so fragile and weak.” She stood straight and glared at the werewolf smirking in front of her.
“Werewolves. So arrogant.” She said snatching the sword from his grip.
Eiden and Nysandra circled each other, bending her legs she crouched in the defence position her brothers had drilled into her, as they stepped carefully in a circle waiting for the other to strike, sizing up any weakness the opponent gave away. They had trained together for years, knew how the other worked, what their weaknesses were, she knew Eiden only for a split second would leave his left side open, she had never been fast enough to take advantage of that weakness, but she noticed it nevertheless. Eiden was 100 years older than her giving him the upper hand in ability and experience. But she memorised his weaknesses, he also knew hers, but now was not the time to think of that, ’any doubt in your mind could become a weakness against an enemy’ her training had taught her, so she ignored it.
Eiden barrelled towards her, she spun out of his way only seconds before he would have collided with her.
“Good. Remember that speed if you are ever up against an enemy, you live in a world where everyone will think your slower and weaker. Let them doubt you, let them think you’re weak, then show them you are just as fast and strong.”
She launched her sword at him, feeling her muscles ache from the previous two hours of training. He blocked with his but returned with an attack, he went to swipe her legs out from underneath her body, but she predicted the move and jumped before his leg made contact.
“Good.” He said before he brought his sword down above her head, she blocked it and spun out of the way, he however predicted this move and before she could anticipate another attack he moved as fast as a shadow until her back slammed into his chest, he may as well have been made of brick with how steady he stood when they made contact. He brought his sword to her throat and held it there.
“Good, but not good enough,” He said, his tanned scared hand holding the sword to her throat, the blade just touching the skin.
“Next time, I’ll best you.” She said breathlessly, and his chuckle ran over his chest.
“We will see little sister.” He said into her ear and lowered his sword.
“Are we done now?” She asked still trying to catch her breath, Eiden tilted his head back and let out a small laugh.
“Sure.” He smiled shaking his head.
“If you were anyone else Nys, I’d kick your ass for even asking.” He said as they grabbed their gear and walked together back to the pack house.
“But I’m not anyone else, I’m your favourite so here we are.” She grinned.
“Here we are.” He said as they walked along the cobblestoned road from the training oval, the stones tapping under their training boots. In front of them was their home the pack house, or as Nysandra called it, the pack palace. The building was made from limestone and had green olive coloured vines climbing up the large building, there were pained windows spaced evenly on every surface, it was a medieval looking castle but was wonderfully modern on the inside, the fortress housed over 150 people, all the werewolves who had yet to find their mate or had just stepped into adolescence, the mated pairs with or without children lived in the town, their homes were all generous sizes, some had multiple stories some were small cottages, whatever the mated couple believed was suitable for them and the family they hoped to have. The pack house was on the outskirts of the main square, which accommodated the shopping centres which had everything the pack needed to survive, food, markets which sold literally everything from jewellery to witches’ potions and an endless amount of clothing. Most wolves didn’t bother to change before they shifted, so clothing was needed especially, not that nudity was frowned upon, it was a common sight among the wolves, but that didn’t mean they had to be nude all day every day, much to her brother Nathaniel’s protesting. The Lupis Mountains sat behind the palace the mountains had a pathway of caves that would lead to the other side where the White Claw Pack was situated, her mothers original pack. The mountains weren’t too far away from the palace itself, it wasn’t a far walk to reach them and made a smart defensive tool against any enemy, if you hadn’t spent your life running through them, training in them you would lose your way or go mad from the never-ending dead ends.
“Are you looking forward to the full moon party tonight?” Nysandra asked her eldest brother, she was never able to go to attend one, being the only human in the pack, her parents worried it would be unsafe, all the wolves eventually shifted in their boozy state and it ended up becoming one giant orgy as her brothers had described.
“Should be fun, I’ll be able to wind down with the other warriors for once.” Nysandra chuckled at his answer.
“What?” He questioned furrowing his eyebrows.
“For once? You have this party every moon cycle.”
“And a lot happens in that moon cycle, do you think the rouges and vampires stay out of our territory themselves. Nah that’s all me baby.” He grinned again.
“Sure, it is. All you, the mighty rogue killing Eiden.” She mockinglysaid with a playful bow.
He slightly shoved her to the edge of the cobblestoned pavement.
“That’s right and don’t you forget it.”
“You couldn’t pin a rogue by yourself if it was laying on its back offering itself to you.” Nathaniel said as he appeared from nowhere walking next to them taking a bite from hisapple.
“Nate, how do you always do that, every time I never hear you?” Nysandra questioned looking in every direction to how he could have snuck up on them without being heard.
“Magic.” Nate said waving his hand in a mystical mocking manner, before taking another bite from his apple.
“You should have been able to hear him Nys, I did.” Eiden said.
“Sure, you did.” Nate answered rolling his eyes.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Eiden asked.
“Nope nowhere at all.” Nate replied, Nysandracouldn’t help but grin at her brothers. Nate was younger but taller and slightly was no more muscled, they shared the same mud brown hair and emerald eyes, but Eiden was smarter and leaner then his brother, not by much if you didn’t compare the two intently or spend every day with them you wouldn’t have been able to tell, but Nysandra did spend every day with her two brothers, the three were inseparable at times.She wasn’t biologically related to her brothers. She had been abandoned as a toddler, their mother found her crying and wondered into their territory from the human realm, she saved her and raised Nysandra as one of their own. If you didn’t know them you could obviously tell that she was human, and they were wolves, but she also looked completely different. She didn’t share their mother’s golden-brown skin or their fathers pine green eyes, she was pale with eyes that gleamed like light on the ocean when the sun hit the surface, and her hair was an ashy blonde like a ripe corn ready to be plucked, she was also considerably smaller than the rest of her family.
“Coming to the party tonight blondie?” Nate asked still eating his apple.
“You know she can’t.” Eiden flatly answered as if he had told Nate this every month, which he did.
“Why? She might have some fun for once, loosen up those itty-bitty human muscles.” Nate said pinching her arm, she snatched her arm away and scowled at him.
“I don’t think you can talk about itty-bitty.” She said looking down towards his general crotch area.
“Oo nice one blondie, I’m proud of you.” He chuckledtussling her braided hair. She pushed his arm away and went to push him away with all her strength when Eiden cleared his throat. “Dads coming.” He whispered and they both halted their play fighting... Well Nate’s play fighting, Nysandra was ready to show him what pain her itty-bitty human muscles could inflict.
They both turned to Alpha Rothemon, their father, walking straight towards them down the cobblestone path, he was a little shorter than his two sons but still tall with the same emerald eyes but had jet black hair and paler skin than his sons.Hewas an intimidating presence to most, except to his children they just saw their loving father, even when his temper would rise to the surface, they knew after he shifted and went to cool off, they still saw him as that, as the Alpha yes, but firstly as their father.
“I bet Nysandra’s, chocolate pudding that one of us isn’t going to the moon party.” Nate said.
“I bet Nate’s chocolate pudding that one of you messed up and is about to get your ass kicked.” Nysandra said.
“I bet both of your puddings that is has something to do with the other packs.” Eiden quickly added before the Alpha was right in front of them.
“Alpha.” They all said in unison.
“Boys, Nys.” He nodded his head in greeting.
“How was training?” He asked.
“Nys is getting good, quicker and stronger. Still can’t beat me, but who can.” Eiden smirked earning a scoff from Nate and an eye roll from Nysandra.
“Not many can match your ego either.” Rothemon answeredflatly, Nysandra looked up at her brother and smirked.
“What’s up Dad?” Nate asked crossing his arms, his leathers not hiding the muscles beneath them.
“We have been asked to host the crescent ball in two weeks.” Rothemon sighed, while Eiden smirked, knowing he was eating three puddings tonight.
“That’s next to no notice.” Nysandra said and Rothemonslightly nodded.
“Unfortunately, with the elders my dear they don’t give us much time to deliberate, we get told and that’s what happens.We have also been informed that each pack will be sending their generals and a few trusted men in advance, to scout and set the area up for their Alphas protection.” He said sternly, obviously unhappy with the decision. The crescent ball was hosted by one of the four packs that occupied the continent Athillisand every five years. The Silver Moon Pack hadn’t hosted a crescent ball here in over thirty years, and that’s how Rothemon and his Luna Mervina had preferred it, ‘the elders favour us’ her mother would say, she wouldn’t be feeling particularly favoured this year.
“I bet Mom’s going crazy already.” Nate sighed.
“I’ve been asked 3 times if I rather sage or olive greens for the napkins. There the same rutting colour” He rolled his eyes.
“Olive.” Nysandraanswered and they all chuckled.
Green was part of the pack’s colours; each pack had a different colour and different Sigel that was created by the six lycan brothers’ eons ago. The Silver Moon pack was created by Alastair the just, the eldest of the brothers. The Crescent Moon pack was Andreas’s pack and he still lived with them unlike Alastair, no one had seen him in over 20 years. Aligned with the Silver Moon pack was also the Moon Stone Pack and the White Claw pack, they didn’t particularly like each other, whenever the packs got together there was always more than likely brawls, but they could fight together in battle and that’s what mattered, as they did during the Crimson war against the other two very powerful packs, The Dark Shadow pack and the cruellest of all the Blood Crescent Pack. The six packs lived in harmony for many millennia until the lycan Nicholai who created the Blood Crescent pack, wanted one ruler over all the packs and started pillaging and murdering his brother packs. The packs all went to war, no one was a victor the Dark Shadow and Blood Crescent Packs just couldn’t afford to fight any longer, so they retreated. They were an abomination to the other packs, they didn’t believe in mates, and if a wolf claimed he had found his mate, or it was suspected, she was murdered in front of the male, weakness was not tolerated in the packs, and love was counted as a weakness. The packs had never been on the same territory since then.
But every five years the Alphas and their ‘courts’ came together to strengthen those binds. Eiden described it as a pissing contest more than anything, but it’s what needed to be done to protect themselves against the other packs.
“Nysandra, run along and help your mother will you, I need to speak with your brothers about a brawl that included Gavin Lurella.” Their father said staring down his sons.
“Of course, father.” She smiled, “I get your pudding tonight Nate.” She whispered earning a scoff from Nate as she walked passed her father, when she was far away enough, she heard her brothers starting to claim their innocence and she threw her head back and laughed.
