Prologue 1
Nyx’s pov
Do not cry over him, he is not worth it! I reminded myself as the images of his betrayal flashed through my head making me remember how worthless he had made me feel, making me remember how his selfish actions had driven me to the brink of lunacy.
My fingers traced the deep cuts on my wrists reminding me yet again of what had happened. They had begun to heal now, they ached less and were beginning to fade but I couldn’t care less as I was used to the pain and the scarring which was evident all over me.
“Mummy, why do you still look sad?” Amara pouted drawing me away from my thoughts, “Are you going to put yourself back to sleep again?” My heart tore at her last question and I could feel my tears welling in my eyes again.
I had been incredibly selfish, not thinking about how she was going to fare while I slit my wrists.
My only thoughts at that moment were getting away from him, away from this terrible pack of people without thinking for once about what was going to happen to her, “No baby, I am not putting myself back to sleep.” I reached out to her and picked her from the ground before pulling her to my lap, “Mummy will always be here with you.” I dropped a kiss on her forehead before smoothing her hair and hugging her tightly, “Always.”
“Always.” She smiled curling her tiny arms around me, I doubt she knew what the word meant but I could tell that in her cute little head it sounded like a pinky promise just as it sounded to me when I was her age.
We stayed in that position for a while, sitting on the grass behind the pack house basking in the soft rays of the sun. I loved this place, it was away from the pack members and from here you could take in the view of the beautiful meadow at the beginning of the forest with butterflies flocking over the flowers that grew in it, “Ooo! Butterflies!” Amara squealed as she caught sight of them, “Can I go play with them? I want to pluck flowers too!” She pleaded as she bounced on my lap while giving me the doe eyes, “Please, mummy, please...”
“Okay baby.” I agreed and lifted her off my lap. She got on her feet immediately, and pressed a kiss to my cheek before running off while swinging fluffy in the air, “Be careful not to fall.” I screamed after her as she reached the low bushes and began to hop after the pretty insects.
“I think our dear king is going to die if you do not forgive him sooner.” I got startled at the voice, jumping up in fright with a gasp escaping my lips, “Well if you ask me, I rather he dies.” I had turned around now to see Xerxes standing with his hands clutching his signature staff and a grim look on his face, “Did I startle you, Luna?”
“No, sorry.” I finally said something before picking at my dress and sitting on the floor again, “I was just hmm...”
“Startled.” He said sitting next to me with his staff laid between us, “How are you?”
“I am fine,” I replied skeptically as I wasn’t used to his company. We hadn’t gotten to talk except on rare occasions, “How are you?” I asked twisting my fingers nervously while gazing at Amara who was still chasing the butterflies.
“She is quite the cheerful child.” Xerxes spoke ignoring my question, his eyes gazing at where Amara was with a smile on his lips, “You have someone to live for.”
“I guess she’s better off without me.” I sighed picking at the grass with my fingers while my head hung low, “Sometimes, I wish I had d...” I couldn’t finish the sentence as I was struck on the head, “Owww.” I yanked my hand off the ground and touched it to the throbbing spot where he had whacked me with his staff, “What was that for?”
“Wishing you had died.” He grunted with a glare, “That child needs you luna, your pack needs you, and sadly does your stupid King.” I laughed at the last part of his statement.
I often wondered how he got around insulting the king freely and then I remembered how he was like a father figure to him and Lycus couldn’t intentionally harm him, “You do need to be strong, Just like she will be.” His gaze was directed on Amara now, “Just like your mother was.” He mumbled softly but I heard it, I heard his words.
My mother, he knew my mother, “You knew my mother.” I gazed at him sternly, “You knew her?”
“I never denied that I didn’t.” He shrugged like he didn’t just drop a bomb, like the piece of information he just revealed wasn’t surprising, as my initial emotion of surprise was unwarranted and would be termed as overreacting.
“You remind me of her.” He continued with his fingers gripping onto his staff, “I knew you had to be hers when you first came but I had my doubts and now I am more than convinced that you are hers.” He said, “The similarities aren’t to be missed.”
“How did you know her?” I asked with the hope that he’d tell me about her as I never had the chance to know her, “Please...”
“We were best friends, a trio, your father included.” He began and at the mention of my father, his face turned sour.“Back at the pack where you had come from, we were an inseparable trio, always hanging around together, always doing things together. And that was till our teenage years when your father began to attribute himself to bad traits. I was all too concerned and as time went on, she was mated to him and that was when I knew I had to leave.” His hand gripped the staff tightly, “I didn’t want her with him cause of his attitude and them being mates was automatically kicking me out, I couldn’t stay back and I had to leave but we still kept in touch till she died.” His tone had a shaky edge now like he was reliving the pain of losing his best friend, my mother, “She never told me that she was pregnant and that was what made me skeptical about you being hers.”
“Why did you leave? You could have found your mate.” He laughed at my statement, his laughter made me feel like I had asked a dumb question, “Did I say anything wrong?”
“No luna, you didn’t.” He smiled placing a hand on my shoulder, “You see, not all wolves are born with the ability to find mates but the few ones without that ability have something called a soul bond.”
“A soul bond?” It sounded weird but I waited on him to finish.
“A soul bond isn’t like when you meet someone and catch the whiff of a unique scent and boom instant attraction!” He explained, “A soul bond happens slowly at first, and then it goes into full-blown attraction followed with the sparks when you touch and that person filling the empty spot in your heart. It sounds like falling in love, but it’s not. Soul bond leaves you empty, so empty that you feel the hollow physically till you find that missing part of you, that soul that compliments yours.”
“Sounds like falling in love to me.” I laughed.
“Oh, it’s not my dear.” He gave me a sad smile, I could see the crinkles at the corners of his eyes, “Only one person can feel it, that physical emptiness you feel can only be sealed by that person, you can’t be with any other person unless your chosen soul bonded person. It isn’t like the mate bond that you can undo and choose someone else and then there is a mark.” He moved his hair at his neck exposing a red crystal marking like a tattoo, “That’s my mark.”
“You had a soul bond?”
“I did but she never loved me back and so I left and took the vow of involuntary celibacy to become a healer.” He sighed, “It was of no use having anything if it wasn’t with her, it was of no use loving someone if it wasn’t her.” He sighed, “It’s not like I had a choice.”
“I am so sorry.” I gave him a weak smile covering his hand with mine.
“I do not think Amara will be as unlucky as I am.”
“What do you mean?” I asked knowing what he was trying to say.
“She can’t have a mate but she can have a soul bond.” He added.
“No!” I almost shrieked, glaring at him, “What do you mean my baby is never going to find love?”
“She will.” He said still looking as calm as ever, “We just have to cross our fingers that he does love her back as she will be the only one to feel it.”
“Is there nothing we can do? How did you know?”
“No Luna, we can’t do anything.” He held my gaze and I saw how sad his eyes were, “I knew from having one too, I can recognize people with one.”
“But she has no mark,” I argued.
“Appears on her 18th birthday.” He shrugged.
“Ooh.” My hands fell to my laps with my heart saddened with sadness at the prospects of my daughter’s future, “Thank you for letting me know.” I said with a small smile, “Do you mind me asking who the person you shared a soul bond with was?”
I never got the chance to get my answer as Lycus came barreling into the fields.
At first, I could smell him, and then the thumping of his feet couldn’t be missed plus the stressed energy radiating off him, Let’s go! As long as I want to be around Spyro, I do not want to be near him! Hera said and she didn’t have to repeat herself. I leaped to my feet, “Amara!” I yelled and almost immediately she turned around racing towards me with fluffy in one hand and the flowers she had picked in the other.
“Your majesty.” Xerxes greeted with a bow, “You are still alive and not dead from heartbreak yet, I see.”
“Xerxes.” Lycus called in acknowledgment with annoyance in his tone, “Nyx.” His voice was softer now and he tried to step toward me.
“Do not come any closer!” I growled. Amara had reached me now and I snatched her up in my arms.
“Flowers? Mummy.” She handed them to me before turning her face towards locus, “No flowers for you, you made mummy cry.” She huffed.
I gave lycus an icy glare before turning on my heels and threading towards the castle. I turned back to see him trying to follow me but Xerxes had stopped him which made me glad. I felt bad for him knowing that he loved someone and he never got to absorb the full feeling as if you have ever had it too? A small voice at the back of my head said.
Xerxes had caught up with me now and we were walking towards the castle together with Lycus staying back where we had left him, “Thank you.” I said to Xerxes as soon as we got in, “Thank you very much.”
“You are welcome, child.” He said placing his hand on my head, “All these trials you shall overcome and become one of the greatest Queens, you just have to be strong.”
“I will be strong,” I mumbled and turned around to leave.
“Nyx.” He called and I turned on my heels, “The person I had the soul bond with was your mother.”
