The Warrior Wolf

A reign of complete darkness overtook the kingdom like a deathly plague. It began with the devious hybrid who usurped the throne from her husband and stole control over many warrior wolf’s minds.

Power, though corrupting, was sought by all, and the only hope for survival. For one poor girl, the rise in power of Queen Aurelia triggered a series of events not even the Gods could foretell.

It was a time of madness. The wolves hunted the fae. The fae hunted the wolves. And those who only wished for peace were forced to hide for precious safety.

Azrael was hunting when they came. It was claimed that her kind were the beasts, the savage monsters compared to the ethereal fae. But that was a lie. A cruel lie.

Hordes of vicious fae marched through the lost barriers without a single qualm at the destruction they caused. They charged through the village of Seneca, dressed in their cloaks that blurred together to create a sea of rich-colored enemy.

The king had been blinded. Something Azrael and the others could have never possibly conceived. By some hybrid slut no less. How could the almighty Alpha King have been so foolish to his queen’s wicked ways? How could she have concealed her magic so skillfully not even the greatest wolf could sense it?

“R-ray, I-I am frightened,” Azrael’s younger sister, Maeve, whimpered as Azrael ducked down behind a wagon. Maeve clutched to her sister’s hand in unadulterated fear.

Maeve was a girl of eleven years, but a pup in a time of war Azrael saw nearing. Her brown locks held securely in wondrous complex braids the other girls had done for her. The blue of her eyes highlighted by the shimmer of her tears. Her short frame stood shivering, frightened, cold from her anxiety.

It was true that wolves were mildly superior in fighting strength to that of the fae, averagely, but this outlying village was rather weak. In fact, they only possessed a couple of fine soldiers, and one of them was Azrael, a young girl of twenty years who was skilled with a hunting knife and her acute tracking skills.

The other by the name of Rowan. He was only a few years her elder. She was rather taken by him, still so even now. They trained together often, ran, hunted. He was her one true friend in Seneca, the only one who understood her and her impulses to fight. The other girls her age would primp themselves and gush over finding their mates. Azrael was hardly that girl, and Rowan didn’t seem to ever judge her for it.

She wished he were her mate. But he was not. He was mated to another, a mild-mannered girl named Seraphina who bode her time braiding her luscious hair and tending to the house they shared. Seraphina was never fond of Azrael; a girl could always sense when someone was after their love. Rowan would never see her that way since he had found his mate. Wolves could still be with other wolves who weren’t their mates, if they never found their destined one. Of course, it was very dangerous as wolves were incredibly possessive. Azrael almost got her eyes poked out of her sockets when Seraphina had discovered her mate had kissed another girl. It was a chaste kiss, young crushes; they were children.

Rowan was also the leader of the village, after his predecessor had died naturally. So many died that way. It had been a peaceful village, where children could play and venture out in their territory alone safely. Not many other places could claim such a thing. In the village lived no threat.

Now their children trembled in trepidation. The sight of the fae had shocked them to their cores. They remained silent, of course. Everyone in the village did so. For they knew not to draw any attention to themselves. Let these disgusting creatures pass without bloodshed on their lands.

“Stay quiet, Maeve. This soon shall pass, and we will return to our normal lives,” Azrael whispered back reassuringly, hugging her sisters side.

In truth, she did not know what chaos was in their future, but she was certain it would wreak havoc on all.

“Where is mama and papa? What if they’re in trouble?” she breathed out, careful to keep her sobbing to a minimum.

“Mama and papa would want us safe. They care about that more than their own security. Stay quiet and close to me.”

Their papa had fallen ill a few years ago, a once harmless disease that had manifested into a serious infection. It had kept him on bedrest. Their mama tended to him, eased his suffering, cared as best she could. While Maeve attended school and played hopscotch in the field with her friends, Azrael hunted for her family, to keep them fed and healthy. It was up to Azrael to provide what she could for the four of them. Long ago, she had lost hope of her father restoring his health. When, and it was a ‘when’, he passed on, she would keep the family afloat. She vowed she would protect them, even if it meant the cost of her own life.

The sound of an enchanted war horn startled the siblings. How Azrael deciphered it was enchanted was the way it drew her people from their locked homes to face the beastly noise. How it beckoned her sister momentarily before Azrael plugged both their ears.

All Azrael and Maeve could do was watch. The elder sibling could not act. The safest position for her sister was with her, and they would stay hidden.

“Mama!” Maeve yelped as she sighted their healthy parent from the crowd.

Azrael’s hand flew with incredible speed over her sister’s mouth. There was nothing they could do. Screaming would not help them in any way. They were merely bystanders, useless.

Into their limited view came a tall man with a scar etched on his cheek and a cunning smirk that pricked one side of his dry cracked lips. Azrael knew what this man was doing. She could see what he was, what was in his heart. Some sort of justice was what he sought, what his group that surrounded her village sought. Justice for what, she had no clue. For none of them had been born in the massacre of their people. Perhaps their ancestors, but surely taking that up with the king would be a better form of justice.

“As some of you may have already discovered, there has been a change in management in this kingdom. Under the orders of Queen Aurelia, wolves no longer reign supreme here. So… we are taking this place and all of you shall be our slaves. Fail to comply and we can have some fun. Enchanting everyone becomes so monotonous and boring. Defiance is a good source of entertainment. Try us. I dare you…” he hissed, his eyes scanning the crowd maliciously, attempting to pluck out a brave foolish soul he could toy with.

“You cannot control us,” a familiar voice declared, revealing himself among the people.

Rowan. Please, don’t.

She knew he would do something so reckless. She knew he wouldn’t stand by while the village he swore to protect was terrorized. She knew that if he did so, it would make it impossible to watch him fall without her fighting by his side first.

“Ro…” she whispered; her expression was pained in her conflict.

She noted Seraphina had merged with the crowd, too cowardly to stand with her mate and her leader. Or perhaps Rowan had instructed her to do this, and she had obeyed as it would fit her personality.

“Oh, look, a champion to defend his people, how gallant!” the fae man mocked viciously, his group chuckling evilly beside him. “What is your name, champion?”

“What’s yours?” Rowan retorted.

“Jasiel, your leader. I suppose you are the former one. I will enjoy torturing you in front of your people, destroying their last hope,” Jasiel taunted, grinning.

She could not stand at the sidelines while her best friend fights for his village. As idiotic as his moves were, the people had no doubt Rowan would defend them to his dying breath. He did not care for his survival if it meant hope for Seneca.

A snap, as though a branch cracked from a gigantic tree, and then an aggrieved groan echoed through the chilling air. Silence erupted, despite the mass of people. Only the swooping of the birds could be heard from their heights.

Azrael covered her mouth before a sob could escape her. Watching Rowan tormented was a stab to her chest. Witnessing Rowan suffering without a hand laid on him awoke something so incredibly impulsive in Azrael.

“Do not move,” she ordered her sister instantly. “Stay hidden and silent, no matter what you see or hear. Do you understand me?” Her tone was dominant and commanding.

“Yes,” Maeve breathed out.

Maeve knew her sister. She knew what Azrael planned to do. She wished she could stop it, but her sister was uncontrollably stubborn and knew her mind. Azrael’s compassion and loyalty to her friend was something all too important; Azrael was much too dutiful for her own good.

Azrael moved cautiously from her hiding place, though this decision was anything but. Her black hair was yanked back violently, and she felt a man’s rancid breath sear her skin.

“Look what we have hear,” the man declared, loud enough for the whole village. His calloused hand gripped her neck as she was pulled back to his chest, her back arched in her struggle.

A growl erupted from her throat, quickly and skillfully quelled by their magic. She found she couldn’t shift. None of them could. She couldn’t access her true strength, and the magic that swarmed the village like fleas on a dirty savage hound was much too powerful for her to overcome.

The man’s other hand carelessly trailed her body from her collarbone, to the valley of her breasts, to cup her right one and squeezed. She gasped and flailed even more fervently, but to no avail.

“Ray,” a strained voice muttered, one that belonged to Rowan.

“Ah, our champion knows the girl,” Jasiel announced, amused by the recent events. “Pretty one. Is she your mate?” No answer came. “Tell me!” he hissed.

“No,” Rowan growled back. “Leave her alone. You have me to torture.”

Azrael couldn’t speak against his statement, not when she was preoccupied with the movements of the disgusting man who held her in his grasps.

“I don’t know what it’s like to be with a wolf girl. So curvaceous. You’d enjoy a good fuck from a fae man, wouldn’t you, bitch?” the man whispered, causing a silent sob to escape her.

“Ezekiel appears to be rather taken with her. She’s another form of entertainment. Have you sampled her? Hmm?” Every malicious word was vile to the village’s ears. These fae were savages, crude wild animals. Yet that was the description they used for the wolves. “You don’t like giving me answers. Answer my question!” Another snap sounded, another growl of torment, another reply of ‘no’.

Azrael was quick to jab her below fiercely into the man’s gut and propel him off of her with significant power. She had finally regained a sense of herself, of who she was triumphing over her fear.

“A raven hair beauty with big green eyes and a ferocious power. I can see why you like her, Ezekiel, and why this one so clearly cares for her. She didn’t even have to enchant him with what’s between her legs for such loyalty,” Jasiel mocked. He stepped away from the champion and stalked toward the warrior girl.

Such strength she possessed in a village so weak and pathetic they stank of failure. Not her though, he thought, how entertaining.

“You don’t have to stay here. You can move on, to somewhere else. Somewhere that’s a challenge for you to conquer. There is nothing for you here,” Azrael remarked confidently, despite her situation.

“I like it here. Less stench of wolves. It will be easier to dominate and settle down. Wolf whores and fae wives. And your village just so happens to brew beer and trade with it. All my people need,” Jasiel replied with a smirk. He finally reached her, his smirk curling cruelly as he assessed her body. “You can be my personal whore. I like them feisty.”

She growled at him as best she could with her wolf suppressed by their magic. She wanted to maul him alive, rip out his filthy tongue first and then savage the rest of him. Feed him to his people. How she desired to make them squirm. She was prepared to do just that, or attempt it at least. That was until…

“Another one hiding!” Ezekiel yelled, catching her attention. In his tight grip was the collar of her sister’s dress. Maeve squealed, her legs dangling freely beneath her as she was held in mid-air.

“Ray!” she yelped, tears streaming down her youthful cheeks.

“Oh, you both know each other. Your sister, Ray?” Jasiel taunted with a devious smile. He didn’t need an answer for he always knew. He loved to tease and goad others. To rile the young hunter up to know end.

“Maeve!” It was a nightmare, truly. Azrael’s family, the only people she could trust in the world, were all in the sights of these treacherous fae. Their mama emerged from the crowd, beckoned by the threat to her youngest daughter. Maeve was a defenseless child.

“A family reunion. How heartwarming it is. An attractive family you have, Ray,” Jasiel whispered to her. “Bedding you, your sister and your mother would be a treat.” It was to invoke a response, which was what exactly happened.

She lashed out like a rabid rogue, her fangs aching to come out and rip the veins from his neck.

“I wouldn’t fight, beautiful girl. We have your sister, your mother, and a man you, for some reason, care enough about to fight for him. I think I can control you entirely with the threat to all three lives.”

She wasn’t blind, nor was she foolish. She knew she was not in a desirable position. Far from it. Her blood was boiling though, her skin burning, eyes piercing into his skin.

“Be a good little whore and submit, and this whole village might be saved.”

“No!” Rowan roared, attacking the closest fae in sight.

Chaos erupted in the village, screeches of children fleeing to a safe hiding place, roars of wolves clawing to be released, tears of skin and blood spewing everywhere. Azrael couldn’t pay any mind to it when she watched them drag her sister away, into the woods where no one could stop them, and Azrael saw blood from the distance as they slaughtered her.

Then, her mother too. So simply. As if life had no meaning. And Azrael could no longer find the meaning to hers now that her sister was gone.

Her cry of mourning ripped through the air. She vowed, once she killed these wretched fiends, she would kill the one who brought such havoc to her life: Queen Aurelia.

A/N I would love some feedback on this first chapter! It follows 'The Fae Wolf' from when Aurelia had been taken over by her dark side and began to rule. The story will soon catch up!

I would really appreciate comments, likes and reviews for my work-in-progress!