My Prince, My mate

Prologue

In the olden days, shapeshifters, engkantos, and deities freely roamed the earth. They lived with humans in perfect harmony. Humans and supernatural beings shared ideas openly and made life prosperous.

The earth provided everything. Fruits, vegetables, and cattle were abundant. People need not travel far from their homes, as their plants could sustain them throughout the year. Engkantos would protect the plants, trees, and living creatures from evil men. Deities would harness their elemental powers to help sustain the crops planted by humans.

Shapeshifters, like werewolves, would claim vast lands of forest and live there, nurturing the flora and fauna while living in packs. Dragons, on the other hand, would find solace in mountains and caves. Werecats were mostly found in drylands.

The ocean had its own set of shapeshifters. Kataws (mermaids) would rule the seas along with sirena, sireno and siyokoys. Everyone had their own place to call home. All of them had a purpose and were content with what Mother Nature could offer.

For a couple of millennia, things were peaceful. It was until a powerful engkanto started attacking humans one day. Several children were gone from different places. Humans, werewolves, kataws, and all other beings would cry for help as their son or daughter went missing. They searched far and wide, but not one child was seen again. For decades, this happened like a plague.

In order to protect their own kind, werewolves hid in the forest, protecting their pups. They established their own kingdoms and built fortresses around them.

Their kind forbids interracial marriages. They cast those who did not follow the rules and married their human mates out of the packs. It caused the werewolf genes in interracial children to be recessive since their wolves lost touch with their connection to their packs. The third and succeeding generations never received their wolves and only learned of their lineage through stories from their grandparents.

Kataws went back into hiding under the sea, never to set foot on shore again. Just like werewolves, they resented the other races and married their own.

Engkantos started to disperse into smaller groups. Living among nature, away from human settlements. They placed barriers to ward off uninvited guests.

The deities went into slumber, occasionally mingling with human affairs. Yet they never stayed for too long. They left their sons and daughters in the care of humans.

Lastly, humans grew stronger. The population rose, but their knowledge of other beings became legends and myths only to be found in books. They expanded their territories, conquering new lands while fighting off the constant threat to their kids. Their knowledge helped them create weapons of mass destruction that led to several wars in different places.

Supernaturals became territorial, and resources became scarce. The need for survival became the top priority. Clans go to war against each other. Families were separated due to the ongoing wars between supernaturals. Now, supernaturals were on the brink of extinction in some places due to the greed of their rulers. The few kingdoms left around the world were forced to hide their identities and assume human personas to hide in plain sight.