"The moon goddess is so cruel." someone whispered.
A piercing howl cut through the night far away in the distant mountains.
The full moon illuminated the room through a small window.
A woman lay in a bed covered with soft black fur. She looked pale and thin, like a ghost already withered away.
"My lady, if we return home, you can be cured, you can be healed," A younger woman, her handmaiden sobbed. " Please let us return home."
The woman moaned in pain but she didn't speak as the younger woman wiped her arm with a piece of cloth soaked in warm water.
She continued to stare up at the ceiling, staring at nothing in particular. Her eyes were hollow and sunken.
"He won't let us go." She finally whispered.
"He's a monster, a beast." The younger woman said.
"Lower your voice Nieyve." The high priestess hushed her with great difficulty.
Nieyve immediately went quiet.
Everyone knew Alpha Alcazar's temper. He was a barbarian Wolf. Cruel, heartless, powerful, unbeatable and unstoppable. He did whatever he wanted and nobody had been able to stop him. Not even when he decided he wanted to forcefully make the high priestess his mate.
The High priestess Erin of the Golden wolf pack was a woman known for her five senses of the art of poisons, the ability to heal and kill wolves and monsters alike.
Alpha Alcazar conquered the remaining twenty-three packs out of the 98 his late father Alpha Belarus had started with before he passed away.
Nobody had been able to stop him. When he drowned the desert clans in their own wells, burned the forest packs alive inside their sacred temples and dragged the last surviving Alphas in chains behind his horse until their bones turned to dust.
And when he came for the last pack, the Golden wolf pack, no one was a match for him either.
The night he took the high priestess, the moon had cried.
Nieyve still remembered it. It had been a year now but still she heard the screams as their entire pack was massacred.
Now in the room that only smelled of sweat, herbs, blood and pain, the Almighty high priestess Erin lay weakly, her fingers twitching against the black fur beneath her.
A low sound slipped past her lips, half breath, half whimper.
Nieyve pressed the damp cloth gently to her arm again.
"Please my lady.. please.." She sniffed, her voice broken. "You won't survive this
The high priestess said nothing, her breathing shallow and uneven.
Three days, three days of labour that had refused to end.
Three days of watching the strongest woman Nieyve had ever known slowly fade into something fragile.
A tear slid down Nieyve's cheek and she quickly wiped it.
"There's nothing left now Nieyve." The high priestess whispered.
"We should have died with the pack," she whispered hoarsely. "At least then you would be free."
Erin's lashes trembled
"No," she breathed, barely a whisper. "Not free."
Her lips parted again but the sound seized the words from her mouth.
Her body arched slightly. A strangled cry escaped from her throat.
Nieyve grabbed her hand quickly. "I'm here. I'm here… please… breathe.. my lady please."
Erin's fingers curled weakly around herself. Cold, so cold.
"The moon goddess is watching." Erin whispered faintly.
A distant door slammed somewhere in the fortress followed by slow, unhurried heavy footsteps.
Nieyve's entire body went rigid. Fear flooded her veins so fast it made her dizzy.
"No…" she breathed.
The footsteps stopped outside the door and thick suffocating silence fell inside the room.
The door opened and Alpha Alcazar stepped inside. The air in the room seemed to shrink around him.
He wore black as always, no ornaments, no crown, no sign of rank. He didn't need one because power clung to him like a living shadow.
His gaze moved across the room and settled on the bed where Erin lay.
His face showed no expression, no anger, no pity, no love.
Nieyve lowered her head immediately, trembling so hard her teeth hurt.
"My Alpha."
He didn't acknowledge her, his eyes remained on Erin.
Three days, three days of watching life and death fight inside her. Still he showed no expression.
Erin forced her eyes open, it took a lot of effort but she looked at him anyway.
"Alcazar…" her voice was barely a whisper.
A flicker passed through his gaze but was gone so quickly, like it was never there.
"You should rest," he said quietly.
The softness of his tone was more terrifying than when he shouted.
Nieyve's fingers tightened around the cloth.
Erin let out a faint, broken laugh that turned into a gasp of pain.
"Rest…" she whispered. " While you wait to kill our child?"
Alcazar's jaw tightened but he said nothing.
"You know why this must be done."
"No," Erin breathed. "You choose this."
His eyes darkened but before he could answer… another presence slipped into the room.
The air turned cold instantly.
Jillena.
She moved like smoke, dressed in black silk, her every step soundless.
Her fake veil framed a face too beautiful to trust and her eyes glittered with something that was not human.
Nieyve instantly felt nausea rise in the pit of her stomach.
Jillena stopped beside Alcazar as if she belonged there. As if she had always belonged there.
"My Alpha," she said softly, her voice as smooth as poison. "Her strength fades. The longer we wait, the harder the ritual will become."
Erin's breathing quickened.
Nieyve shook her head violently. "No…please…she's still fighting…"
Jillena didn't even look at her.
"The child is cursed," she continued calmly. "You have seen the signs. Three nights of labor. No moon blessings, no wolf cry from the womb."
She paused then gently…
"If it is born…it will bring ruin."
Erin's hand tightened weakly over her stomach.
"My child is not cursed…" she whispered. "I have seen her… in my dreams…in light.'
Jillena's lips curved faintly in a wicked way.
"Dreams lie, high priestess."
Alcazar's gaze never left Erin. For a moment…just a moment.. something dangerous flickered beneath his stillness.
it wasn't cruelty, he was conflicted.
"It will not be my downfall," Alcazar said at last, his voice low and final. "Nor the Pack's."
Erin's eyes filled with tears that did not fall.
"We could try again," he added quietly. "As many times as you want."
Nieyve sucked in a broken breath.
Erin went completely still and then..
"Please…" she whispered.
Alcazar's finger twitched at his side and Jillena noticed.
Her hand slowly clenched then unclenched… nails pressing into her palm.
Jealously flashed across her eyes like lightning in darkness.
"The medicine is ready," she said smoothly. "It will hasten the birth. End the suffering… for everyone.".
A long silence fell in the room. Then Alcazar nodded, an irreversible decision already made.
Erin's breath hitched in a quiet sob.
Alcazar turned away before he could see it or before she could see him. Without another word, he walked out.
Jillena lingered a second longer, staring at Erin with open hatred now…no mask, no softness then she followed.
The door closed and Nieyve collapsed beside the bed, trembling.
"My lady…my lady what do we do...what do we do.." she cried softly
Erin stared at the ceiling again but something in her eyes had changed.
Slowly and painfully… She turned her head towards Nieyve.
"We have to leave." She whispered.
Nieyve froze. "What?".
"Tonight."
"You can't even stand…"
"We leave," Erin repeated, a little stronger this time. "Or she dies with me."
Tears streamed down Nieyve's face. "They'll kill us before we reach the gates.."
Erin's lips curved faintly despite the pain.
"They think I am only a healer."
Her fingers trembled as they shifted slightly over the fur.
"But I am still… High priestess… of the Golden Wolf."
A distant howl echoed through the mountains again, closer this time.
And Nieyve shuddered.
"What must I do?" She whispered.
Erin closed her eyes briefly, gathering what little strength she had left.
"Bring me…the blue vial..hidden in your sleeve."
Nieyve's heart pounded in her ears as she pulled the tiny vial out without shaking fingers.
The liquid inside glowed faintly in the moonlight.
"My lady…if you used this…there is no turning back.."
Erin looked towards the window where the full moon watched silently.
"There was never…a way back," she said softly
She gasped as another wave of sudden pain tore through her body.
"There was never… a way back," she repeated softly.