Five years ago, Zephyrine Ashmere gave up everything. Her career, her name, her identity to support her mate. She helped him rise to Alpha, built the pack's success from the shadows, and asked for nothing in return. And what did she get? They called her a...
Chapter 1
Zephyrine
"That's the... bracelet I pleaded with you to get at the Moonlight Trade last week, Nyroth. You're giving it to her?"
When I pushed open the carved ironwood doors of Hue Pack's council chamber without knocking the door, what I found is nothing but my mate slipping a bracelet onto Kaela's wrist.
My sudden appearance brought the room to a halt.
Inside the chamber sat the elders of Hue Pack and two of elders Blackbridge pack. Among them was a female, one I recognized too well.
Kaela！Hailed From Blackbridge Pack.
My Mate's childhood crush. His obsession.
My gaze dropped from Kaela's face to the bracelet in her wrist.
That was my Bracelet, before I lost it.
My mother had gifted it to me a day before they went off to war and never returned.
On the inner band of the bracelet was engraved my name which my mother had lovingly written for me. Zephyr.
But now my mate wanted to give it to his crush?
My heart began to fill with anger, and I stared straight at him.
"Nyroth, I have something must to tell you now."
"If it's about the bracelet, then forget it. Kaela is getting it, Zeph," he snapped, his grey eyes flashing with irritation. Then he shrugged, like he hadn't just chosen her, again.
“Kaela like this bracelet too. It’s the first gift she asked for since her came back from the the Five years serving as envoy. Zeph, she deserves the bracelet, don’t you think so?”
Another chill ran down my spine. I clenched my fists as suppressed thoughts surged through my mind.
Ever since Kaela has returned from her mission as envoy, Nyroth obsession for her had grown and he didn't bother to hide it anymore.
"But I asked for it first, and you promised me, Nyroth," I declared firmly.
To this, Kai, the Beta of Hue Pack and Nyroth's best friend who had stood quietly rolled his eyes.
"We won't be hearing a rogue's nagging now, will we? You heard him. It's just a gift. And it's a stupid bracelet anyway. Why do you care?"
Rogue？
That one word tightened my chest and my wolf stirred within me, but I forced her back. I never told Nyroth that I was from the Ash Pack.
Soldiers from our Ash Pack were called Ashmere, warriors by blood, loyal to death, and respected across the Empire for our unmatched discipline.
When an Ashmere walked onto the battlefield, even king and Alphas held their breath and stood aside.
I am the only daughter of the last Warlord, Vale and War General, Seraphine. Younger sister to the best war strategist, Varyn.
The last battle that sealed the Demon Portal? I led it. I was given a medal, praised as a hero. Earn the title Goddess of war.
But five years ago, I met Nyroth. He was my fated mate, and I had fallen deeply in love with him.
To be with him, and also to keep him away from danger, I abandoned my name, my title, my home, and kept it secret.
Then I disguised myself as a gentle, non-aggressive she-wolf, to get his love. I believed that I can seek peace in his arms.
Yes, I did get everything I wanted, before Kaela came back to him.
Now, I fear I'm losing him.
I stepped forward, seized Kaela's wrist, and coldly snatched the bracelet away.
"This is mine." My voice trembled, yet it carried an unyielding firmness.
"What are you doing?!" she gasped, a flicker of panic flashing in her eyes.
The next second, Nyroth stormed over and shoved me aside, his face dark with anger.
"Are you crazy? You'd really make a scene over something so trivial?" he roared, his accusing gaze cutting into me like a blade.
I clutched the bracelet tightly against my chest, my fingers turning white from the force. I turned my gaze to my mate, who was still staring at me, his jaw clenched tight with impatience.
"What belongs to me, no one will ever take away. But I didn't come here for the bracelet, Nyroth. That's not what I wanted to talk about, I came here for my parents."
"I just received a letter," I said, trying to steady my voice. "It says their wolves have been cremated, and the Moonstone Vessel holding their ashes is ready to be brought home.
Nyroth, I want to take you to meet them tomorrow, just at the border of the empire. Then I want to tell you something about them, and about me."
Silence fell.
Heavy. Crushing.
My Mate looked at me for a long while before he said something.
“Zeph, sorry about the bad news. I did not know it. But your parents already died. You should forget them.
Kaela’s mother invited us to a dinner tomorrow. It’s an important dinner to gather Blackbridge Pack to us. We should...
But never mind. If you don’t want to attend, I can attend alone, and I'll ask my Beta to accompany you to the border of the empire and take your parent’s ashes back.
Don't worry, you'll be safe.”
My heart sank.
This was cruelty. Pure, sharp, deliberate cruelty.
I stared at him, stunned. Confused.
"You're... You mean you'd choose a meal over...”
I can’t believe what I heard from Nyroth.
I slowed down. Waited. Expected, hoped, that Nyroth would say something. Anything but what followed was silence.
The same cold silence he gave when his family bullied me. When his pack members spat at me. When they called me rogue.
I no longer offered any explanations and went alone to the border.
"I, Zephyrine Ashmere, the only daughter of the last warlord, am here for the Moonstone Vessel."
Before the impenetrable walls of Moonveil Fortress, I stood and said those words, allowing the goosebumps to overwhelm my skin and permitting my wolf to awaken inside me.
Chapter 2
Zephyrine
I waited with bated breath, and then the massive gates parted. I stood still in the middle of it all. A place I had left behind for five years. An identity I had shed to fulfill my parents’ greatest wish.
I took a step forward, and as though the fallen warrior heroes themselves were welcoming me, a cold wind swirled around me, blowing my hair backward.
“Zephyr.”
That voice from Moonveil Fortress came and My breath caught.
I would know it anywhere.
Commander Thorn.
I turned slowly to see him emerging from the tent ahead, the Moonstone Vessel in his hands. The one that carried my parents’ ashes. Their remains.
I never expected to feel this emotional. But being here, on the combat ground where I was raised and trained by my parents and others like them… it broke me. Tears welled in my eyes, but I forced them down.
As an Ashmere, we sacrifice many things. Emotion is one of them. We let it go.
“Commander Thorn,” I greeted, bowing my head as he approached.
He stared at me in silence for a long moment, then gave a firm nod, his jaw set.
“It’s good to see you again, Zephyr,” he said at last, blinking. Then he extended the Vessel to me which I received it with a heavy heart.
“I apologize for the delay. The final battle to close the Demon Portal was brutal. By the time we found their wolves, it was already too late. We couldn’t retrieve anything personal. No possessions remained when we arrived. If not for you, who led that charge… we would have all perished.”
I heaved a deep sigh and nodded.
“Thank you, Commander. You did your best.”
He looked relieved at my grace, then his face fell slightly.
“Zephyr… about your brother…”
My heart stopped. My hands tightened on the Vessel.
He paused. Then, carefully,
“We couldn’t find his body. Or his wolf. He wasn’t among the dead. So… maybe your instincts are right. Maybe he is still out there.”
“He is,” I said quietly but with conviction.
Commander Thorn nodded solemnly. After a few seconds in silence, He shifted his gaze around, scanning the area.
“Alpha Nyroth didn’t come with you?”
His question struck something sharp inside me, but I smiled through it.
“He’s preparing for the Blackbridge Festival this weekend. There’s been a lot to plan.”
“That he couldn’t accompany you on such an important occasion?”
Before I could respond, He sighed.
“You’re an adult now, Zephyr. I trust your judgment. But remember this. If you ever wish to return to Moonveil Fortress… this gate will always remain open.”
Return? To this life? To war? To honor?
I looked into his eyes and felt the burn of truth press against my ribs. My days of battle were behind me. I had a new duty now or so I thought.
I stepped back and stood at attention. The soldiers, now gathered under the moonlit sky, and Commander Thorn did the same. In unison, they bowed, not to me, but to my fallen parents, who bled for the empire.
Tears blurred my vision as I turned to leave, clutching the Moonstone Vessel to my chest. I held them again. Even if only in ashes.
It rained that night as I returned from Moonveil Fortress.
I had refused the Beta of Hue Pack’s escort. Since my mate wouldn’t come, I went alone.
Riding into the pack grounds, I stepped out of my carriage, the Moonstone Vessel still clutched tight.
Normally, maids was supposed to cover me with umbrellas. But no one moved. No one cared for a woman who is an orphan. A “rogue.”
I passed the guards and servants in silence and pushed through the door into the living room just in time to overhear Pamela, Nyroth’s mother’s voice.
“That’s the best advice, my son. Don’t you see? If you marry Kaela, not only do you gain her pack’s favor, but also a beautiful, influential woman at your side. She’s a successful hostess. The first female envoy who brought peace into the empire. She could talk her way out of anything. But this barren woman you married has nothing to offer you, Nyroth.”
My feet froze in place. They hadn’t even noticed me.
I watched Nyroth remain silent, not defending me.
“My friend from Blackbridge Pack told me,” Olivia, Nyroth’s younger sister, added, “Kaela’s family is already arranging a marriage for her to another Alpha. If you’re not fast enough, she’ll be gone.”
Jealousy crossed Nyroth’s face instantly. Raw and bitter. He never hid his feelings for her. Not even from me.
Each time he looked at Kaela like that, something inside me withered.
Then came the gasp.
Pamela had finally noticed me. Her face twisted in horror, her eyes fixed on the Moonstone Vessel in my arms.
“And what is that?” she snapped, just as cold as always.
I stepped forward, soaked from the rain, too tired to fight.
“My parents’ remains. I’ve just brought them home from…”
“Bad luck!” Pamela shrieked, and I flinched.
It took everything in me not to react.
Pamela had always been a thorn in my side, never hesitating to call me barren, not knowing her precious son had never once touched me since our private mating ceremony.
“Nyroth,” she said firmly, turning to him, “this is a bad omen. Moon Goddess knows one rogue is bad enough, but now she brings the ashes of two more? She has to leave them outside the pack. Or pour them in the streets.”
My eyes widened. What the…
I turned to Nyroth, waiting, hoping for him to say something, anything. But then… he hesitated.
“Zeph…” he began softly, avoiding my gaze, “I think you should… keep them outside. Just for tonight.”
That was it. The final crack.
“My parents? You think they’re a curse? Bad luck?”
He said nothing. He wouldn’t look into my eyes. And yet again, he wouldn’t defend me.
“Don’t pull that guilt-tripping crap!” Olivia suddenly burst. “Yeah, you’re bad luck, Zeph. You never should’ve been my brother’s mate. You only wormed into my brother’s life because of that mate bond!”
She shoved me. Then Pamela did too and Nyroth stood there. Watching. Silent. As always.
The guards and maids stared. No one moved.
Just then Olivia shoved me again, harder this time, and the Moonstone Vessel slipped from my grasp. Gasps rippled through the chamber, everyone knew a single crack could destroy the relic forever...
Chapter 3
Zephyrine
In a blur, my fingers hooked beneath it before it touched the ground. The weight should have dragged me down, but I spun my wrist, momentum flowing with me instead of against me, and in the next breath, the vessel was cradled back in the crook of my arm, steady and unharmed.
The air shifted with the speed of my movement, rattling the glass lamp above.
A guard muttered under his breath,
“I didn’t even see her bend. She was so fast.”
It was over in a heartbeat, but the silence that followed was heavier than stone.
Pamela’s eyes flickered with confusion, then unease. Wolves weren’t supposed to move like that. Not without years of training.
I straightened slowly, meeting their stares, my voice low and cold.
“Touch this vessel again, and you will answer to me.”
Without waiting for a response, I clutched the vessel tighter, turned on my heel, and walked out into the rain. Into the dark. Alone.
A funeral for fallen Ashmere is sacred. Until the rite can be held, I rented a niche in the Memorial Hall, the Moonstone Vessel placed in a sealed alcove.
My hair dripped, clothes damp, cheeks salted by rain and tears. I knelt to pay my respects; when I straightened, I whispered a vow.
“I promise you, Mom, Dad. I will find Varyn, and when I do, we’ll both return to honor you. Only then will a funeral be held for you both.”
I lingered over the vessel, then locked the chamber and headed for the exit, my heart heavier than stone.
The corridor’s draft drags me into memory.
Five years ago, a new portal yawned open, demons pouring through. Warriors and Ashmere blood was summoned. My parents answered; my brother, Varyn too.
They’d danced the night before for their twenty-fifth anniversary. The next dawn they donned armor, kissed me goodbye, and promised letters when the war was done.
My brother kissed me farewell, and promised a new medal when the war finished.
However, Three weeks later a stamped death scroll lay on my doorstep.
Warlord Vale gone. Commander Seraphine gone. Varyn missing.
That was when my whole world shattered but Grief is a luxury an Ashmere cannot afford.
An imperial command arrived. One last assault to seal the portal. A new commander was needed. I took the mantle, led the charge, and by Moon-goddess grace, I won. The portal closed, but something in me never reopened.
I grieved my family. My loved ones.
During that period of time, beneath full moonlight, I met my mate, Nyroth Hue. He wiped my tears. Proposed and Promised.
He told me that wolf from Hue pack can only have one fated mate all the life, he wold treat me like a treasure. That had clouded me.
I decided to honor my parent greatest wish and that is for me to get married.
I hung up my armor, stamped the retirement scroll and leave everything behind, as well as my old home, which reminded me of a happiness I could never feel again.
I left for Hue Pack, where I backed up Nyroth’s campaign to become Alpha.
Hue Pack was dying when I got there, poor, broken, weak. What did I do?
I poured my parents’ blood-compensation into reviving Hue Pack.
Now it thrives but yet Nyroth dares call me curse, and my parents’ ashes bad luck?
The thought made the hallway tilt. I sagged against the wall, sliding to the floor, breath hitching as my wolf whined. Maybe it’s time to quit. All of it.
We tried. We loved. We supported. We slaved. And in the end, we were cast out.
I stared at the blank space ahead for a long time. Then, slowly, I rose to my feet, surprised at the new strength unfurling in my chest.
I took a step forward—then froze.
A hiss of wind slithered through the corridor, strange and deliberate.
What is that?
My wolf stirred, the hair along my arms rising. My gaze dropped to my hands. My fingers had begun to curl into paws. Only one thing could provoke that reaction. A formidable threat was near.
My legs carried me to the window, where I peered out over the Memorial courtyard. Luxury carriages clustered beneath black umbrellas. New mourners, wealthy and somber. Whose death could draw such opulence?
Just then, a midnight-black warhorse glided in, its breath clouding in the storm. My wolf growled low. Power, ancient and ruthless, poured from the rider.
He dismounted. Black cloak, storm-slick leather boots. Long charcoal hair knotted high, loose strands framing a face carved like a blade. Ancient runes coiled up his throat; two rings through one brow caught the lamplight. Even from here, his pale-gold eyes sliced the night. A raven, pitch-black and sleek, nestled comfortably on his right shoulder. A creature of which the entire empire spoke only in hushed whispers.
Handsome was too small a word. Apex is dangerous artistry, a weapon sculpted to walk.
I recognized him from rare sketches and whispered histories. Not fully wolf, something older. No birth name known. The world called him Apex Blood, heir to the Lycan throne.
Werewolves splintered into packs, each ruled by an Alpha. But Lycans bowed to one king. That king was infamous for brutality, and his heir… cursed, rumor claimed. The heir who never left the obsidian castle and its black tower, yet here he was tonight.
My gaze caught on his, and impossibly, his head lifted. Pale eyes locked on mine across the courtyard. For one suspended heartbeat, the storm held its breath.
Then a mourner’s whisper shattered the spell.
“My goodness… it’s the Lycan prince!”
“Poor soul. His father died this evening. He’s here to cremate the king.”
“Poor soul? Did he look like someone who is mourning? Please.”
Cold shivers raced my spine. The Lycan King dead? That meant Apex Blood would ascend the throne. A cursed, ruthless monarch.
My heart thudded. I watched Apex stride into the lamplight shadows before closing my eyes against the sudden pulse of a mind link. Nyroth. Self-centered. As always.
Where are you, Zeph? Come home. Don’t make it a scandal just because of a little issue. I have something important to tell you.
I opened my eyes and stared into the blank space ahead with a sigh.
Perhaps I, too, had something important to discuss about a five-year mate bond. About us.
أُوكَازيُون
أُوكَازيُون
أُوكَازيُون
أُوكَازيُون
