The Fae Wolf

AURELIA

Aurelia shot up from her dream state in a cold sweat. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand before scrambling to her feet.

Scanning her surroundings, she came to the realization it was merely a dream. She wasn’t truly in that stranger’s chambers. It was just her wild imagination heightening at the excitement of her birthday.

Twenty. She had turned twenty, like many girls in her village. They had all found their mates within the week. Aurelia could never understand how.

She had no doubt that today would be as every other day panned out. Normal. Mundane. Worthless. She was living a miserable existence filled with the most menial tasks.

Habitually, she left the barn to do her chores with ease, though each and every movement dulled her mind. Boredom overtook her misery with each passing second as she swept the floors.

Her calloused hands gripped the broom firmly and, with her best efforts, she tried to get her chores finished fast. A sense of urgency washed over her that she could not explain.

And something beckoned her. Something pulled her as if she were a moth to a flame, regardless of whether she was burned in the process.

It led her right to the stream. A presence of incertitude lurked like a ghost in the night, stalking its next unsuspecting victim.

Aurelia discarded her auburn cloak over a branch beside her and peered over into the water.

What she watched shoot out of the water should have terrified her. Instead, it fascinated her.

Water nymphs. Friends of the fae. Said to be extinct, lost, and forgotten.

Two of them, clad in green moss that clung to them like clothing. Roots skimming their cheeks and a pale tint to their skin. They were... enchanting.

One cocked her head to the side, examining the young wolf with narrowed eyes.

“You should not be here,” the nymph stated darkly. The harshness of her tone was unexpected.

“Yes, she should,” the other argued. “Naida, she was called here.”

“No, you don’t know that. Her kind is not welcome. Werewolves hunted us, Solandis,” Naida snapped back.

“Yet she was brought here, nonetheless.”

“Why was I called here?” Aurelia asked, breaking up the squabble between the two and turning their attention back toward her.

“A mistake,” Naida answered with fury and frustration.

“No. They don’t make mistakes,” Solandis interrupted.

“They?” Aurelia felt as though there was something she was missing that everyone else knew.

And she was right to feel so. Indeed, Solandis and Naida were merely cohabitants of the woodland this far across the kingdom’s border.

Aurelia had not even realized she had followed the stream to that extent. But across the border was a different story.

The king’s rule did not extend to these parts. It was unknown to most in the kingdom what laid beyond. And who exactly reigned over it.

Of course, Solandis and Naida knew. They served the fae in all their infinite glory. They may have been wiped out or chased away from the kingdom, but they still very much prospered.

“Go home, little wolf,” Naida ordered rather patronizingly. Still, Aurelia obeyed, turning on her heel before Solandis could say anything against it.

Something had pulled her there, however, once she left the kingdom, something was reeling her back. She had inescapable ties there that not even fae magic could fight and overpower.

Once she arrived back at home, two sides of herself were at odds. It punished her greatly, as if she deserved the treatment.

It was as though it was tearing her in half, tugging her at both ends until she could stretch no more.

She gazed up at the sky from her perch on the haystack and a shudder ran through her. One of the darkest nights she had seen.

And everyone knew what came with dark nights... dark events would occur.

Paired with the half-moon, it was an omen of sorts. Aurelia was incredibly superstitious, with the knowledge that receiving an omen foreshadowed a haunting fate.

Was this for her? Dark nights were rare, but the darkest, that was a commodity.

All of a sudden, it was no longer just her howls alone filling the night. Growls, rabid snarling, human form screams blurred into a sea of noise only heightened in her ears by her anxiety.

She raced toward the barrage of sound, back to the center of her village. Colossal wolves pounced on the neighbors she had known since birth, pinning them down and ransacking their homes.

She bore witness to girls her age dragged from the safety of their beds and thrown into streets like old rag dolls.

“You!” Aurelia knew she had been spotted, but she fled before she could even see which direction they were chasing her in.

She had never seen them before, but she knew who they were. They were warrior wolves from the royal army. Thus, death would soon follow.

Crawling into a nook that she hoped would hide her, she quaked profusely, effectively warming her in the night’s frosty breeze.

The plod of heavy footsteps got gradually louder with every second until she realized they were directed her way.

She released a gasp as their eyes connected. He was but a mere soldier, no doubt inferior to many others but he appeared a brute with muscles so daunting.

He grasped her upper arm and sneered at her, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Look who we have here. A little runt who thinks she can hide from me—”

She did not give him the opportunity to finish his smug bragging before her hand touched his skin and her eyes locked deeply with his.

Her power tore through barriers of his hard exterior, breaking through his bravado, inflated sense of self that warded off any sensitive emotions.

Then she forced her way into his mind. All in a matter of a second.

“You will let go of me, forget you saw me, and tell your superiors this area is clear.” She then simply... let go. And he let go. And he left.

She could not hold herself back from using her powers, the powers she swore she would lock away. Tapping into those evil roots, she did so at her own peril.

Carefully, she peered over the wall of her hiding place to observe the brutality before her. In the dead of night, she squinted to search for an escape. She would wait it out if she could.

“Fucking wolves not doing their jobs,” a voice growled from behind her.

A sharp powerful force barreled into her head, and her sight rapidly blurred into darkness.

Groggy and dazed, her eyelids began to lift again, welcoming light with disdain. She moved to rub her face but found her hands bound with layers of rope.

Then, her eyes connected with several others in front and around her, young women from the village, all her age or close. Including Olympia, her sister, bound as they all were. And traveling.

The large wagon sped over many an obstruction in the road, on a journey to the castle, Aurelia suspected.

The tales of the Alpha King did not fail to reach those in the outlying villages of his kingdom. They had all heard of his immense power, dominance, and brutality. And immortality.

Why were they being taken there? What was the purpose of this?

She attempted to speak, but she soon felt the gag as she came around to her senses. Whimpers of frail young women with bruises littering their bodies filled the wagon.

Peeking through a small crack in the wood of the wagon, she noticed an identical one behind, most likely filled with more women.

The wagon came to a grinding halt, and the women were dragged off roughly, each with their own henchman warrior wolf. Aurelia was jolted out last by a grip so tight she was sure it would leave fingertip bruises.

She shot a glare at the wolf, but he didn’t even catch her eyes—not once, not ever. So she was led into a pen along with the other ladies, awaiting... something.

And with all the powers Aurelia possessed, it did not help her now.

Glimpsing around the barred room they were in, she examined each and every part. While the other ladies were sobbing quietly to themselves, Aurelia searched for an escape.

Or... perhaps she wasn’t. Perhaps she had convinced herself she was. All the while, she was simply biding her time until she faced her fate.

She had wanted a way out of that mundane little life she was leading. She desired adventure, craved it.

What was this, if not adventure? What was this if not exciting and different? She wanted to find her place. Perhaps whatever came next was destiny. Even if it was death.

Glancing at the ladies, she knew she should have felt like them. Helpless, afraid, and trying to accept their deadly fate.

But she did not. The women might have sensed that too as they flickered their eyes expectantly at her. These had been the same women who shamed her and cast her out.

The same women who were fearful of her every day of their lives since the incident. Now, they were looking to her to save them. How very twisted.

“You!” a voice boomed, and a woman was dragged away.

Aurelia had not seen Olympia. She had not seen women from the other wagon. She hoped she was still alive, despite the treatment she had received.

One by one, women dropped like flies. Each and every time, their body was dragged across the hall right back across the bars so that they could see the fate that would befall them.

This rattled Aurelia. But why bring them there just to kill them? It made no sense other than another motive.

Her pen had been cleared out until only Aurelia was left. And she had witnessed several girls she had known with their throats slit wide open, so savagely yet swiftly.

Then came her turn. The same wolf who had grabbed her before shoved her along. His expression remained stoic, unchanging as she attempted to use her power. If he would only meet her eyes...

Roughly, she was tossed through wooden doors, falling to her knees, scratching them against the cold hard surface.

The icy wind whistled in the air, but somehow, an irresistible force tugged Aurelia further into the room. Tingles worked their way into her heart, wading through the various exteriors that protected her.

She felt a daze bewilder her and cloud her senses.

“Kneel before your king!” the announcer declared. The fool, couldn’t he see she was already kneeling? However, it did inform her she was in the presence of the king, not that she needed to be told.

Anyone could tell they were in the presence of such a being. His superiority made the air heavy and difficult to breathe. Yet the scent that swarmed the air was undeniably blissful, alluring, enchanting.

“Rise.” His voice sent an electric shock through her system, although it seemed too familiar. She had certainly never met the king before and he had never come close to her village.

Yet that voice... haunted her. Her core uncontrollably leaked at the mere sound of his voice.

She scrambled to her feet with the not so useful help of the warrior wolf who brought her in. Her legs felt as though they were made of ice, stiff and unable to lead her to freedom.

“Come.” So she walked forward obediently, at his beck and call. There could be little fight against an Alpha command. There could be no fight against the Alpha King’s command.

The warrior wolf walked in step with her, his fingers digging into her skin once again. She hissed quietly, rebelling against the urge to scream.

Her eyes could not meet the king’s. She could not even glance at his face for a moment. Keeping her breathing as steady as she could, she calmed down.

Everyone in the giant hall could hear her heartbeat; she did not want to be visibly terrified, too.

She could smell him before she saw him. His scent engulfed her, more so than any other. It buzzed through her, electrifying her with waves of excitement, desire, and serenity all at once.

Then, she looked up. And she could not look away.

Her eyes locked with his piercing gold ones. It was him. How could that be? He was just a dream.

Mate…

She gulped.

The corners of his lips arched upward. His nails grew long.

Then he struck them against a throat.

But not Aurelia’s.

The warrior wolf’s body collapsed with a single thud beside her, blood pooling at her feet.