Captured By A Ruthless Vampire King
|5|~The Charade of Falling Star's ~

Unedited.

Embry POV.

The night is young.

The big and bright glowing moon hangs beautifully in the dark blue, black, and grey sky.

The pure white snow seems to be deep enough to jump inside and swim. The cool breeze of the fresh and crisp winter air dances throughout my hair. The glowing flame from the bonfire sparks blissful light on this lovely winter night.

I love nature. Nature is a part of me and will always be.

I’m a wolf after all.

My brother is out scouting the village borders. My sister is most likely chasing tail. I haven’t seen the village keeper Koda and even my Lycan guards are out of sight. There is so much going on around me and I probably won’t be able to locate any one of them if I wanted to.

The hunter was right. Uncle Maddox mate Mecca is alive and well. She somehow managed to escape and will be returning home to The Northern Village soon. The news has bought forth tremendous joy throughout the wolf communities. Including, the little village of Quebec, and they are currently hosting a Celebration.

I stand alone, placing as much distance between myself and the festivities.

I can’t replace it in me to celebrate and I feel extremely bad about it.

I should be joining the others, laughing, dancing, drinking and praising my Goddess herself. My chest should be swollen with joy, not inflated with tremendous sorrow.

Now, don’t get me wrong it warms my heart to learn about the Northern Luna safe return. I never met her, but she is my uncle's mate which means she is like an aunt to me. She is a part of the Wilde family. It’s just her homecoming that has officially sealed my fate.

My mating ceremony was originally scheduled for two moons. But, someone came up with a bright idea that my uncle and I ceremony shall be on the same day. He plans to reclaim his Luna and Prince Ethel's plans to place his claim on me. With that being said, we are to return to The Northern Pack territory at once and the moment I step into my uncle's land. I will be claimed before the night’s end.

Ruq advised that the Lycan King and Queen are also on their way to the Northern Pack territory. This will be the first Bonfire that they shall attend in werewolf history.

In conclusion, I’m officially doomed. So the only thing left for me to do is ask my mother for strength and guidance during my journey.

When I was just a pup, my father would tell me many stories about the stars and the moon.

He believed that light from space takes a long time to reach our eyes. He also believed that when you look at a star you are actually looking years into the past. This means that a soul, from the past, may be looking at the same stars that you’re looking at in the same exact moment.

Something similar applies to the moon in his eyes. He explained to me that when you looked at the moon, you are looking one second into the past. If you lived on a distant planet and shined your telescope on earth you would see it how it was hundreds of years ago

This is a strong belief of all Wilde wolves including myself.

I also believe that my ancestor is somewhere in the past, looking at the same exact star and moon that I am currently viewing right now.

In my mind, it is my mother. When I was younger I would sit on the beach and speak to her through the stars and the moon. Praying to the moon Goddess herself would whisper my words inside of my mother’s ear.

I bring myself to my knees, embracing the cool blanket of freezing ice snow, hold my head up towards the sky, and then I pray.

“Luna Goddess, I ask that you listen to my prayer and guide. I ask that you carry my voice throughout the wind into a time long before you blessed me with the gift of life,” I say out loud,” staring directly at the glowing moon.

After a moment of silence, I switch my focus towards the brightest star in the night sky. “Before the end of tomorrow night’s moon, I shall be mated. I shall be mater to Ethel the Lycan Prince.”

“He is everything that a she-wolf would pray that her mate shall be. He is a warrior. He is strong and extremely handsome. He can protect and provide for me. He is a perfect match. The only problem is that he wasn’t created to be the perfect match for me.”

“He is not my mate and I feel afraid. He was not chosen by our Goddess and I can’t help but to feel barbaric. However, I can’t allow our people to suffer due to my selfishness. I was raised better than that. In exchange for my hand, the Lycans will fight alongside of our kind against the vampires.”

“I’ve been told that I should be grateful. Our union will save millions of wolves’ lives. I’ve been told that I should be humble, praise the ground that Prince Ethel walks on and sacrifices my mind, body, and soul to please his inner beast. I’ve been told that I should feel honored.” My voice starts to break.

“But I don’t feel grateful, it’s becoming harder and harder for me to remain humble and where is the honor of giving my body away to a man that I don’t even know? I feel like I am not only betraying my wolf, but I am also betraying my true mate. Tonight, I ask you for a sign. A sign that will indicate that this arranged union is blessed.”

My eyes shift towards the moon, “Or deliver me from this tragic ending.” I pray staring at the moon as fresh tears decides to fall down my face.

“Luna Goddess before you go please aide my direction and I should follow,” says a voice from behind me.

Quickly, wiping my tears I jump and face the intruder.

“I never heard of an easily frightened Wilde,” says the intruder. Surprisingly enough, It is the hunter.

I scramble to my feet in a hurry. “How do you know I’m a Wilde Wolf?”

“You just told me,” he tells the obvious, taking a step forward.

I take a single step back. He eyes me up in down, studying me for a long while. An uncomfortable silence past between us before he just sits on the ground. “I did a life sentence with a wolf who explained a lot of things to me,” He explains out of nowhere. “Would you like to hear all about it,” he asks, inviting me to sit beside him with a single hand gesture.

I take a look around my surroundings. Ruq made it very clear that he doesn’t trust the hunter. Well to be fair, Ruq doesn’t trust anyone, especially an outsider as such as a hunter. But I can’t blame him. We don’t know too much about their kind. I’m not even sure that I can defend myself against him if need be.

“I am not going to bite,” he assures, flashing a dazzling smile. “I am a hunter, more human than animal. If anything I should be the one scared of you.”

“How do you know so much about wolves,” the curious part of me can’t stop myself from asking.

“I already told you. I did a life sentence with a wolf who explained a lot of things to me. It is really an interesting tale,” gloats the hunter. “Come, I tell you all about it.”

I still don’t budge. My wolf is on edge. “Fine, if you want to stand there like a living statue, be my guess.”

“Living statue,” I question him, now that’s something that I never heard of before.

“Yes, a living statue,” he chuckles. “The only thing that you’re missing is some metallic paint.”

The wind picks up and the temperature drops within a second. Thanks to my wolf gene the cold doesn’t bother me too much. The same thing cannot be said about the hunter, who shivers slightly as the wind blows.

He is dressed for the winter wearing a black long sleeve shirt, black jeans, thick heavy black boots and a thick black fur coat to top it off. His facial hair is so thick it can be considered to be another protective barrier against the winter’s harsh weather. Now that he is this close to me. I can see that he is an extremely handsome man and the visible markings on his fingers and his neck tells me that he is a powerful man as well.

His fruity floral scent of peaches, watermelons, and jasmine becomes more potent as the wind continues to blows. I don’t know how I didn’t sense him before.

He shivers again and instantly I feel bad.

“Are you cold,” I ask him a dumb question. Of course, he’s cold! He is shivering every second and he is practically human. “I can start a fire for you. If you like,”

“A fire,” the hunter repeats my offer to himself in disbelief. “You won’t even sit beside me. But you offer to start a fire? What type of wolf offers to start a fire anyway,” laughs the hunter.

“A kind one,” I mumble underneath my breath.

“A kind wolf,” he mocks. “I never heard of such a thing, nor have I encountered a wolf that speaks underneath their breath. Are you sure you’re a wolf?” I swear, I ask myself that question every day.

Another moment of awkward silence passes between us before the hunter decides to speak. “How about you take a seat, and I’ll be more than happy to explain to you how I know so much about your kind.

“Why are you so eager for me to take a seat,” I question.

“Because you seem like you’re in need of a good company and so am I.”

“I thought you were here with a group of hunters,” I question him, leaning my head over towards the side.

“I lied,” he nonchalantly responds.

I take a moment to think over his offer. I know my brother would be pissed if he comes back to replace me alone with the hunter and my inner wolf is not too fond of the idea herself. But, the hunter is right. I’m in need of a good company.

“My brother won’t approve of it,”

“Do you always do what others tell you to do?′ He comments, before I have a chance to further explain. “Is that why you were crying through your wolf prayer for guidance?” Embarrassment swallows me whole. Humiliation at its finest!

“You asked for a sign right,” he questions. “Here it goes. A hunter, far away from his element is practically begging you to have a simple conversation if that’s not a sign I don’t know what is.”

I can’t help but laugh at his words. If you really think about it. He is right.

With that in mind, I hesitantly accept his invitation taking a seat on the blanket of cool snow. The snow is ice cold and the constant blowing of the fresh winter’s air doesn’t make it any better. My wolf purrs within me. She is dying to run wild in this element. I wish the same thing could be said about the hunter, who shivers slightly every time the wind picks up speed.

“I was serious when I offered to start a fire,”

“I’m sure you were, little weird wolf,”

I snort my nose at his response. “Little weird wolf,”

“Yup, as weird as they come,” he terribly jokes.

“I never met a hunter who is aware of a wolf prayer for guidance. So I guess that makes you a weird hunter.”

“I guess so,” he surprisingly agrees. “I have learned a lot about wolves during my sentence. I have also shared a lot of my ways with my cellmate.”

“So it was knowledge in exchange for knowledge type of arrangement.”

“Something like that,” agrees the hunter. “Plus, we found a common enemy.”

“So you basically formed a bond because the both of you, whoever she is have found a common enemy.”

“Precisely,” he tells. Hmm! Whelp it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who that common enemy is.

“Let me guess, the vampires.”

“Precisely,”

“I see,” I say, placing my attention back onto the beautiful blanket of snow. The hunter does the same. We sit in silence for a moment. I decide to speak again. “And I am guessing that your here to meet your friend and possibly join the brewing war that’s on the horizon.”

“Precisely,” he says again, with a shrug. “You don’t seem to please to learn this information,” he says, placing his Irish green eyes onto me. “In fact, you don’t seem to be happy at all. Why aren’t you celebrating with the other wolves? Are you not excited about the upcoming battle?”

“Why would I be excited about blood being spilled?” The words just slip out of my mouth.

“Because you are a wolf, a Wilde wolf at that, I was lead to believe that your kind has always been victorious in battle. I’ve been told that you live for the thrill of the kill.”

“Well, I’m sorry to be the Wilde wolf to disappoint you,” I mumble. “But you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.”

“I see,” he simply states and then here comes an awkward silence. This has to be the strangest conversation I ever had.

“Is that the real reason you wanted to talk to me because you heard the glorious rumors about the famous Wilde wolves.”

“Yup,” the hunter admits. “You are practically legends among your kind. I wanted to see what all the hype was about?”

I don’t respond in all honesty there is nothing else to say. I have become use to the fame that comes along with my family's last name. The hunter is not the first person who wanted to get close to me because of the family and certainly will not be the last.

“Beautiful,” the hunter suddenly tells, pushing my thoughts away.

I lift my head up only to replace a universe of falling stars streaking across the darkened night sky, over top of our heads. They are so low, you can almost touch them. They shine so bright, almost too bright, brighter than the morning sun.

I stare at the sky in complete awe. They are absolutely breathtaking. “You’re right,” I agree. “It’s beautiful.”

“I guess it is safe to safe that werewolves and hunters may have other things in common other than hating vampires,” the hunter points out and I silently agree. At this moment, it is enjoying the gift by the name of Mother Nature.

“Forrest,”

“What,” I question, without taking my eyes off the beautiful sight before my eyes.

“My name is Forrest,” he tells me.

“Embry,” I properly introduce myself.

“Embry Wilde, Your name certainly suits you,” compliments the hunter and I can’t help but to feel the same way as I take a second to look into his intense green eyes.

“Thank you,”

Forrest hearty laughter fills the air. “You really are a weird little wolf. And there goes your sign. I take this as your Goddess honoring your arranged union. It’s fate.”

My mouth goes dry and my stomach twist in knots, “Maybe you’re right,” I force myself to agree. I hate to admit it, but the sudden shower of flying stars cannot be anything other than the sign that I asked for. I have lived for over a century and this is the first and most likely the last parade of shooting stars that I will ever witness. I believe it is safe to say that my call for guidance has been answered. My fate is sealed.

I must accept it.

“Whelp! It was a pleasure to meet you, Embry Wilde,” says Forrest, before he stands to his feet and takes his leave.

“Likewise,” I call out behind him. “Hopefully, I’ll see you again.”

He stops right in his tracks and turns around to face me. “I’ll see you soon, little weird wolf.” He tells me, “Most likely at your mating ceremony,” he advises, making my stomach turn more. On that note, he leaves.

I release another deep sigh and watch him head in the direction of the forest into the sound of his black boots crunching on the snow and his big and black fur jacket fades and disappears altogether.

“I accept your guidance,” I say out loud as I throw my head back in the blanket of snow, even if my heart will never agree with it.

King Cyrus POV.

I stand on top of the hill that sits over one of the little Northern town, watching the haunting flame from their fire, spark light into the night sky.

The sound of dogs howling, mutts laughing, and the entire beast squad, enjoying their miserable lives hits my sensitive ears.

They are having a celebration, which is quite funny when you think about what's to come.

Tonight is the night, that I shall remind the dogs who the fuck I am. If they wanted to get a reaction out of me their mission has been accomplished. These dogs have no idea what they are dealing with.

They have no idea that the payment for their constant disrespect is blood and it all starts here.

“Everything is in place,” reports my Commander. Ravana as she walks up behind me. Commander Ravana is in charge of all my forces. She is the best of the best. Her ability to react quickly is remarkable. Her combat skill when it comes to making the kill is thrilling.

The loyalty she holds for me is unquestionable.

Commander Ravana is a triple threat.

“And, the camp bases?”

“Are set up, loaded with plenty of firepower, and heavily guarded,” she advises before I even have a chance to finish my questions. “I have spelled the barrier. No unwanted animals will be able to slip through undetected.”

In addition, to Ravana's great qualities she has inherited the gift to cast spell, which makes her a very valuable asset. Not too many, people know about Ravana witch ancestry, and not too many people know that she has managed to cast a spell on me.

I have lusted over here since the day I laid eyes on my hazel-eyed beauty.

“Good,” I praise turning around to face her. The night is young and Ravana is so beautiful. Her caramel skin glistens underneath the big and bright glowing moonlight. Ravana long on one side, and short on the other side hair cut gives her delicate facial features the attention it deserves.

I place my hand underneath her smooth chin and she shivers. The reaction I have over her body always makes my penis hard. Ravana heavily pierced ears and the piercing on the right side of her cute pert nose provides aid to the illusion of her being such a badass, and in so many ways she actually is.

But I’ve received the chance to dig a little deeper and underneath her tough-girl facade, lays a sugary sweet immortal.

“Don’t,” she says, taking a single step back.

“Ravana, what happened to us? Why were you so eager to place space between us?”

“Because space is what’s needed,” she admits, and then turns to walk into the wooded clearing, and I follow right after her. Ravana is the only soul on this earth, who has managed to gain an ounce of compassion from me.

I hurt her on too many occasions. I refused to announce her as my queen and continue to dip and dab when I want. Apparently, she has had enough of my playboy nature.

“I miss you. I really do, but I think it’s best to no longer mix business with pleasure,” she admits lifting her head high up in the sky.

I cup her face with my hands. “Our business has always been pleasurable.”

She looks into my eyes, “I need more, Cyrus,” she explains. “I need to know that one day you will be able to give me more.”

I run my finger over her smooth lips. “You know I can’t do that,” I really cant. She looks at me and then stares back into the sky.

“Then, it’s really nothing to discuss. In fact, it is not the time or the place to have this conversation anyway. Your mind needs to be clear and ready for battle.” Ravana speaks with a wise tongue.

Another reason why I’m so attracted to her.

“You know better than anyone that I was born war-ready.” I tease, just to see her smile.

“You were,” she smiles, giving me what I want. “I can all but feel your monster wicked anticipation.”

Suddenly, a collection of falling stars streaks across the darkened night sky, sparking hope into Ravana's eyes. She is a big believer in the stars, moon, and sun speaks the language of love bull shit.

“Make a wish,” she asks me.

“No,” I groan, she knows damn well I don’t believe in this superstitious shit.

“Please,” she pleads, poking out her lips.

I take a look at the shower of falling stars. “I wish by tonight ends, I’ll have the love of my life inside of my bed.”

I take a moment to look into her wide hazel eyes. “Before careful what you wish for, Ruthless King.” I hate when she uses my tittle.

The presence of one of my best men, Marko requesting access to mind-link with me, prevents me from responding. “What is it,” I question him.

“The dog's celebration is over,” he answers, quickly. Great! Now, it’s time for their funerals.

“Attack,” I command, before closing my mind off completely and then I place my now red vision back onto Ravana. “It’s time.”