The Silver Lycan Queen

⚠️THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS VIOLENCE. I glance at the clock on the wall, and it’s 9 p.m. My parents and most people have already retired to bed. This is the east, where the sun rises, so it’s already dark by 9 p.m. The sky is beautifully lit; the stars are shining brightly as if they are calling out to me, making me itch to go out even more. Deciding I can’t take it anymore, I kick off the sheets and jump to my feet. I slip out of my pajama bottoms and put on my black leggings, oversized black hoodie, black beanie, and finally, my black sneakers. I’m trying to be as invisible as possible. I open my window and check to ensure the coast is clear, which it is. My room is on the fifth floor, but I’m not climbing to the first floor. I only descend two floors and jump from there—perks of being a werewolf. This is the only time I can step into human territory with no consequences, and the only time I can escape from my security detail. I walk through the gardens and finally reach the wall. This side isn’t highly guarded since there’s a super-high cliff on the other side. There’s no way someone can climb and enter without getting caught, as it would take time. The only creature that can do so is a bloodsucker, from what I’ve heard. Thank Goddess; they were exiled long before I was born. The only thing that saddens me is the loss of the mate bond that resulted from their exile. It sounds beautiful from what I’ve heard, and I would have loved to experience that kind of love. But then again, there’s no guarantee my fiancé would have been my mate. Decades ago, vampires and wolves coexisted. King Aldridge, the vampire king, and King Silver III established a peace treaty. It was the first time such a thing was heard of, and many were skeptical, even revolting against it. However, the two kings were determined to make it work. They weren’t backing down, not until they had achieved their vision. Our king exiled those who rebelled against them, and legend has it that the vampire king burned those who rose against him. They were taken out in the night and tied to poles, bound by magic spells that stripped them of their strength. In the morning, the sun would rise and feast on their flesh, turning them to ash. Eventually, it became quiet. Everybody accepted the treaty. Those who were cross-mated were the happiest because they no longer had to fear for their mates’ lives. There was harmony in the land for a while until strange patterns developed, and the irregularities led to questions being asked. The number of vampires who were mated to female wolves increased drastically. Wolves who were mated to vampires gave birth to hybrids—powerful creatures with the strength of both species. However, even though they had the blood of both creatures running through their veins, they were loyal to their vampire side. Their vampire side dominated their wolf side so much that if a time ever came when they had to choose, they would choose the vampires. This gave the vampires an advantage over us. Vampires used to get mated to humans the most, but suddenly, things changed. Human mates decreased, while wolf mates increased. After King Silver investigated, he discovered vampires had found a way to turn wolves who weren’t their mates by biting them before their wolves awakened, causing them to recognize the vampires as their mates when they came of age and their wolves awoke. When our king presented his findings to the vampire king, the latter didn’t want to hear about them. He stood by his people and found the accusations offensive. A war, which nearly left the kingdom in ruins, broke out. Despite having the advantage, the vampire king and his people were eventually defeated. However, a new problem arose soon after. All those they had turned continued to fight for them, even after it was clear they had lost the battle. This prompted the king to order their execution. Stories say it was the hardest decision he had ever made, but he knew it had to be done; otherwise, everything would have been undone. It was a gruesome sight—the streets were littered with bodies and flooded with blood. Once the dust had settled, everyone awoke to a horrific new reality. The mate bond was no more. No one could ever find their mate again. Even those who had already found theirs couldn’t feel the bond anymore. The bond had vanished, at least for the wolves. No one knew if the same applied to the vampires until six months later. Emelina, the king’s sorceress, revealed to the king that this was indeed the case. The gods were enraged by the bloodshed and cursed us all as punishment. • • I successfully make it over the wall without being caught and begin walking towards the southern part of it. Walking out here and gazing down the cliff was something I always loved to do. One day, while doing so, I decided to rest and lean against the wall. To my surprise, the stones on the wall shifted and revealed an opening. Assuming it was a pathway leading back inside, I entered, and I was right. However, the passage leading inward wasn’t the only thing I discovered. Another passage emerged one that led elsewhere. Out of curiosity, I followed it, and it led me to a cave concealed behind a waterfall. I felt cautious, but I pressed on and climbed out of it, regardless. Before I knew it, I found myself in the forbidden part of the forest—the human territory. I don’t know what it is, but ever since I found it, I haven’t been able to stop coming here. It’s like something’s calling out to us. Even Carla agrees. • • I’ve now successfully navigated through the cave, and I’m on dry land. My parents would freak out if they knew about this, but I can’t help myself. Besides the feeling that this place gives me, I need this time alone. Living in the royal mansion means being surrounded by people all the time. One would think I’d be used to it considering that’s how I grew up, but sometimes it becomes too much. Sometimes I wish I could simply stroll down the street without having to dodge reporters and bodyguards. A month ago, I turned eighteen, and in six months, I’ll be moving into new territory, and things will only get more serious from there. I’m betrothed to Kellan Hagen, and we’ll be tying the knot in six months. Kellan is the Lord of Brakendel. It is the largest kingdom of the eight kingdoms under our Lycan King, King Silver IV. Their pack, the Blood Fury Pack, also has no rival. It is the strongest of the twenty packs. We are to start our training as soon as we get married, so we may be ready to take over from his parents in three years as king and queen. My marriage to Kellan is not out of love and is not my choice either, but I have accepted it. My kingdom, the Novah Kingdom, is the smallest of the eight kingdoms, and the union will benefit my people. It will strengthen our kingdom by giving us more power and influence. My father, Duncan Kane, is the king of Novah, and I’m the only child, so all the responsibility falls on me, and I’m ready to take it on. Our marriage was also arranged a long time ago, so we kind of grew up knowing what was expected of us. I’m still walking to the spot where I hide my clothes when my wolf starts pacing up and down in my head, restless. I ask her what’s wrong, and she says we need to stop and go back. She starts to panic, and I’m still trying to calm her down when, all of a sudden, I feel this chill run down my spine. What the hell? My wolf says someone is here and starts growling. I ask if it’s humans, knowing full well that there’s no way it could be humans. Humans don’t give me chills. She replies, snarling, and just then I hear heartbeats right behind me. I slowly turn around to be met with six smirking faces, and my breath gets stuck in my throat as I gasp in pure horror. It’s six guys who look to be in their twenties, but what causes me to stop breathing isn’t their looks or sickening smirks, but what they hold in their hands. They are all carrying crossbows, and they are pointed at me. They also have backpacks with more weapons sticking out of them, and they are all dressed army-style. They even have night-vision goggles on. I swallow hard, involuntarily taking a step back, my brain unable to comprehend what’s happening. They look like hunters, but it’s impossible. There haven’t been hunters for decades. I have never seen a real-life hunter in my life. I only know about them from stories I’ve been told and movies, just like vampires, witches, and fairies. “Are you lost, honey?” One of them taunts. “What is a pretty young thing like yourself doing out here this time of the night, all by yourself?” He adds, and I look at them, unable to reply, as I try to calm myself and find my voice. I didn’t even hear them come up behind me or catch their scent. In the stories, I was told a hunter’s scent differs from that of a human. My heart is beating like it’s about to leap out of my chest, and my wolf is snarling loudly in my head. I try to act as calmly as I can and pretend to be human, desperately praying they don’t recognize me. “I’m waiting for someone. He—” I finally manage to speak, but one of them cuts me off. “Who?” he asks, the disgusting smirk on his face widening. “Your wolf?” he adds, and my eyes widen in surprise. So they know I’m a werewolf? How? “What... wolf?” I ask, still trying to act clueless, but I can see they are not buying it. My wolf thinks we should attack first, but I’m not sure about that. These are hunters pointing out weapons that are fatal to us, and there are six of them. I don’t run from a fight, but right now, all the odds are against us. I can’t attack and disarm all of them at once, no matter how I look at it. “Cut it out, beast! We know you’re not human. Only your head’s making it out of this forest tonight,” the one in the middle spits, his voice laced with disgust. They c**k their guns, and I take that as my cue. It’s fight or flight. I could outrun them and risk taking a few arrows. Maybe only the first round of shots would get me, and I might still get away, but where would I run? I couldn’t risk exposing my pack. So I decide on the latter, feeling the former is just too risky. I charge at them still in my human form, and they deploy their arrows, but I dodge them. With a quick knee slide, I reach them and effortlessly sweep five of them off their feet, using my legs, but not before feeling a stinging sensation as one arrow grazes my shoulder. With a quick rolling back-and-forth motion on the ground, I make the one still standing miss with all the arrows he continues to deploy. I immediately grab a big log and throw it at him, sending him flying a few meters away from the others. That second was all I needed, and I’m up on my feet again. The wind whistles as a couple of arrows head my way, and the four that I knocked down are up on their feet again as well. I leap up before doubling over in mid-air and launching myself at them and I evade the arrows successfully before shifting to my wolf, still airborne. I land right on top of them and take them down and I rip one’s head off before feeling something pierce my left hind leg, my flank, and my nape. A whimper escapes me as I stagger before the whimper turns into a vicious growl, the one continuing to fire at me. I charge at him before leaping up and knocking his head cleanly off his shoulders. The arrows are raining down on me at this point, but I charge back at the four. It’s obvious we’re dying here tonight, but I’ll take as many as I can with me. I’ve been training all my life. I’m a formidable fighter, but I was never prepared for anything like this. I can feel the silver infusing into my blood, but the adrenaline pumping in me right now is too much. It’s not allowing me to process what my body is going through. There’s no time for that. I’m ready to fight until my last breath, and my wolf and I are one, both ready to meet the gods tonight. She’s growling fiercely. She’s an Alpha and will die an Alpha death. I land on my third target, clawing him in the face, causing him to fall on his back with me right on top of him. He screams in agony, but his screams are cut short as I slice his throat open with one s***h, causing his blood to spray my face and go into my eyes. Moments ago, I didn’t think I stood a chance, but now I do. With that thought in mind, I leap up again, my sights set on my next target, but my eyes widen when something comes over me. Suddenly, a net is thrown over me, causing me to fall miserably on my side. The arrows embedded in my right side sink deeper as they break in half, and I howl in pain. I try to claw at it and break free, but they pull it down, lifting me into the air. The net is laced with silver and wolfsbane, and I groan in agony as it drains my strength and burns my flesh. The realization that there’s nothing more I can do hits me hard, and panic compels me to shift involuntarily, reverting to my human form. I watch as they check on their dead and tend to their wounds before returning their attention to me. My breath is ragged as I struggle to inhale, feeling my body slowly shut down. My wolf is desperately trying to heal us, but she’s fighting a losing battle against the silver and wolfsbane within us. It’s only a matter of minutes now. I can feel it. “I’m sorry, Carla,” I whisper to her, feeling responsible for our suffering. I did this to us. I caused our demise. If I hadn’t kept coming here, we would be safe at home right now. “Finish it!” one of the men shouts, and my eyes shift to the right to see another man aiming for my head. They don’t seem willing to take any chances. I close my eyes, having accepted our fate, but the arrow never comes. Instead, I hear a whooshing sound and a loud groan. Slowly, my eyes open to find a fourth man lying dead on the ground, his head decapitated. Another sound of bones breaking is followed by a groan, and blood splatters everywhere, some of it landing on me. A fifth man now falls to the ground with a hole in his chest. Our wolf vision allows us to see fast-moving objects that regular human eyes couldn’t catch, but this is something much faster. A scream pierces the air before something slams hard against the tree beneath me. I follow the sound and find a headless body torn in half. The body hits the tree and collapses to the ground, and there he stands. The lifeless body lies next to his feet, with guts spilling out and blood still spraying from the decapitated head’s former location. He’s standing there, half-naked, wearing only jeans and boots. And he’s rigid, his gaze fixed on the thrashing body. Is he hissing? I struggle against the net, unsure of how I’m able to move, as I couldn’t just a moment ago. However, death is no longer my fear. What terrifies me is the fire that’s ignited within my soul—a soul that felt like it was leaving my body just minutes before. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end as a blood-curdling chill runs down my spine, curling my toes. Tears stream down my face as I exhale, and it’s as if I’ve taken my first breath after years of suffocation. The energy emanating from him is dark and thick. It should be making me want to close my eyes and pray for a swift death, but it’s not. My heart is racing so fast that it feels like it might burst from my chest. It’s screaming, desperate. And a loud whimper escapes my mouth as my mind, heart, and soul battle for control, making me feel as though I’m losing my sanity. Slowly, he turns to face me, still clutching the dead man’s heart, which is still beating and dripping blood. Our eyes lock, his pitch black with no trace of white, and everything stops. The world fades into the background as Carla whispers the one word I never thought I’d hear in this lifetime. Mate. My eyes roll to the back of my head, and darkness consumes me entirely. • • ⚠️ BEFORE YOU START WITH THE STORY, PLEASE BE AWARE OF A FEW THINGS: 1. THE WEREWOLVES AND VAMPIRES IN THIS BOOK MIGHT NOT BEHAVE EXACTLY LIKE OTHERS IN OTHER BOOKS. 2. THIS IS NOT A FLUFF ROMANCE, BUT A ROMANTIC SUSPENSE BOOK. IT WILL TAKE YOU ON A ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTIONS, SO IF YOU KNOW YOUR HEART CAN’T TAKE IT, BE WARNED. 3. THE STORY HAS MULTIPLE POVS. THEY DON’T REPEAT THE SAME THING, BUT IF YOU DON’T LIKE MULTIPLE POVS, THIS STORY IS NOT FOR YOU.