Wolf Unleashed (Hybrid Prophecies Book 1)

by Luna Weathers

  He knew that Atara was not dead. He could still sense that she was alive, and he would be able to sense if she died. He did sense a surge of power that was abnormally strong. Normally he would attribute these surges to Raven but he was beginning to have doubts. What if her twin was still out there? If Atara’s sister was still alive her power would not be stifled by a blood magic ring. With proper training Atara’s missing sister could be one of the most powerful witches in the world.

  What was troubling in Atara’s absence was the absence of knowledge. Normally she would be back within a day or two with a full report of whatever situation she had taken care of. The lack of intelligence provided a blind spot that made Cyrus extremely uncomfortable. Not even his master of spies, Marcus, was feeding him as much information during their daily briefings. The high priestess, Raven, was also suspiciously absent.

  A surge of anxiety went up his back and shot up his neck. Exploding when it reached his skull. What if they are all together? The voice in his head went from cold, bringing on a wave of paranoia. Is this how my predecessor felt before I killed him? That last thought made his thoughts stop immediately. In the calming wake of his panic attack only his madness remained. There were traitors everywhere. Outside his realm, inside his realm, within his ranks, and even within the walls of his compound.

  He then remembered that Xander was once an ally to Michael and Danni before he had them killed. The possibility that he could be harboring their daughter was troubling for Cyrus. If they had Zara in their midst, then she could be honing her witchcraft. They could have possession of an immensely powerful weapon and send her to deal with Cyrus the same way Cyrus had sent Atara to other rivals. If he sent Atara to Xander’s and she was still there and alive that means they are probably conspiring against his rule. Atara could know.

  He stopped pacing and dashed out of his room. Down the halls of the compound trying his best to avoid eye contact with other members of the pack. He was a submissive by nature, but he tried his best to overcompensate with proud displays of power and brutal rule. However, this time he could not call on his own people because any of them could turn and snap his neck. Within his castle he felt the most vulnerable. He was running to his study so he could get help. It was in this run to the study that he started remembering how he became king.

  Cyrus was no stranger to enlisting outside help in the past. During the reign of the past King Cyrus was a submissive. He held a position in the King’s court as an advisor and nothing more. He would see his peers getting respect and adoration while they all ignored him or berated him for his cowardice. His peers were right. Cyrus was a very underwhelming man and wolf. In fights he would get pummeled or torn to shreds. The King only kept him around because of his sense to detect plots against him. It was Cyrus’s paranoid nature that gave him a special nose for sniffing out traitors.

  This role was not enough for him. He would never move ahead or get the respect he felt he deserved. He was walking in the courtyard one day when a Stranger approached him. He wore a beige suit with a black shirt underneath. The Stranger’s face had some stubble, black eyes, and short salt and peppered hair. When he approached Cyrus, he had a slight limp and walked with a cane. He introduced himself as a sorcerer and took pity on Cyrus. The stranger offered Cyrus a deal. The stranger would give Cyrus the strength to win a dominance battle with the king and inherit the kingdom and in return Cyrus would pledge loyalty to him. That was the only name the man would give him. The Sorcerer pulled out a piece of parchment and an obsidian dagger. Cyrus cut open his thumb and signed the contract. After the Stranger healed Cyrus’ finger, Cyrus made his way towards the throne room.

  Cyrus threw open the doors and shouted toward the King demanding a challenge for his position. The entire court erupted into laughter. How could Cowardly Cyrus ever depose anybody let alone the powerful King? During all this and the power of dominance given to him by the sorcerer, Cyrus felt like a God. The King rose from his throne and threw off his robe. He cracked his neck and he turned into a wolf. Cyrus did not turn into a wolf. He was afraid that his wolf would betray him and bow down before the King he had just challenged. The king lunged towards Cyrus, but he avoided the King’s teeth and claws. On the next lunge Cyrus threw a punch and hit the King in the face. For once in his life Cyrus was unafraid. Is this how dominance feels? The King got up and lunged again. Cyrus grabbed him by the neck and began to squeeze. The King’s wolf kicked as Cyrus squeezed harder. Claws scratched his face, but Cyrus was unwavering. He was finally unafraid. He was no longer Cyrus the Coward, and when the wolf in his grasp died, he became King Cyrus.

  Now he needed help. Again. He would not call on the Sorcerer. If the Sorcerer knew he was losing control, then he could make another submissive stand tall against Cyrus. That was not a chance he wanted to take. Cyrus burst into the study and immediately barred the doors. He frantically browsed through books and notes for sigils of things he could summon to his aid. Finally, he found the resource that he could use. He found a book titled The Rites of the Hunter. This book chronicled the history of the Hunters, their bloodlines, and how to summon them. He found the Hunter’s sigil and grabbed a letter opener from the desk. He moved some furniture around to make a big spot on the floor, open enough to perform the ceremony. Then he pricked his finger and drew the Hunter’s sigil on the floor. Now he just had to wait for one to answer the call.

  Chapter Twenty-One: Zara

  Zara decided to train with her magic while Raven was conducting some business with the Coven. She wanted to be ready when the time came, and she had to face off with Cyrus once and for all. She had been dreaming of that day for a long time. The moment where she could finally avenge her parents and bring her realm closer to others. Zara wanted peace within the realms. Especially now when she had her memories back. Her mother would tell her and Atara we will one day unite the realms and make the world a better place.

  As she walked to the area where she trained with Xander, she could not help herself as her mind wandered off to the subject of Tobias. Since the day she met him, she could not get her mind off him. Her soul cried out for him whenever he was around. Her wolf begged her to claim him so the world would see he was theirs, her body ached for him, ached to feel his embrace. Zara felt exhausted whenever he would leave. Keeping her feelings all bottled up within so he could not see just how broken she was because their bond was not completed, was exhausting.

  Werewolves and Shifters were alike when it came to soulmates. Once you lay eyes on your mate, the bond begins to form. Some individuals will court their soulmate, get to know them on a more human level for a few months and then they will complete it through a ceremony. Majority do not see the point and planned the ceremony as soon as they could. Mostly because your inner animal would become agitated and possessive to the point that the male will scare anyone away from his mate until the bond was completed. It all depended on your animal and your personality. Alphas tend to fall into that category. It was bad enough that Alphas had to defend and protect their pack at all costs. Throw in an unmated, soulmated female into the mix and you had a recipe for trouble to the point that you might have to isolate your own Alpha.

  Zara’s wolf was starting to fall into this category. She was an Alpha after all. Her and her wolf were growing impatient, especially since their mate was not always in this realm and not close by. If Tobias did not start showing an indication of him accepting the bond soon, the prophecy will be damned. Zara will have to be locked away until the bond is complete.

  When she reached her destination, Zara meditated before beginning her spell work. She knew she had to be clear headed before she began casting magic since she had not mastered it yet. Her necklace, dangling from her neck was proof enough that she had not mastered it because it felt warm on her skin as it kept her magic under control. Zara often wondered if she was ready and would take it off. That only led to her magic firing out of her and destroying a nearby object.

  Once she felt centered, she r
eached within and found the pull to her magic was not as hard as it used to be, and it welcomed her as she called upon it. She watched as it illuminated her chest and slowly spanned out to her arms and legs. She lifted her hands up and it pooled in her palms. The pearlish color now had a blue hue that matched her wolf's eye color. Why can't I control you unless I am under attack? She asked her magic. Zara was met with silence. Then she sent her magic out as fog on the woods’ floor. It would alert her if someone came close to the area she's training in.

  Zara moved her hands around and her magic obeyed her. At first it would be in spheres for her to throw, next it would be walls she would shift in different directions. She had even made a sphere around herself as she heard a branch snap. It came down toward her head, struck the sphere then slid off.

  Then she heard a twig snap in the distance. The crescent moon on her finger tingled and she could feel his energy as he approached.

  "Well, your highness. I see you are out here where you could easily be assassinated." He said.

  "I beg to differ. I could feel your magical signature as you approached."

  "Wrong." He smirked. That damn smirk. Why does he always have to smirk? "You did not know I was here until that twig snapped."

  Now everything tingled. His mere presence was causing butterflies to erupt with her stomach. His voice washed over her and left tingles across every inch of her body. She ignored his comment. It killed her to turn her back. Her wolf began to surge to the surface. She wanted to claim him; show everyone he was theirs.

  Tobias walked close enough that his scent invaded her nostrils. His hand touched her shoulder and she leaned into him. Zara heard a small sigh escape him as soon as more of her skin was within his hand. “Zara, why do not we train some more?” He said softly. She spun around so fast; he did not have time to move. She pressed herself against his chest and looked up into his green eyes, eyes with specs of honey brown in them. His breath caught in his throat. She could feel him fighting the urge to touch her further or maybe even something more. Zara lifted herself up closer, on her tiptoes, leaving only centimeters between their mouths. His eyes darkened. She knew she was playing with fire by being so bold, not knowing how he would react. Tobias cleared his throat. “What are you doing, Princess?” His voice was shaky. I am getting to him. He needs to admit that I am his and accept this bond! Instead of saying anything, she closed her eyes and leaned toward his lips to close the gap. She was met with a wall of frigid air. So much for being bold.

  She opened her eyes to find Tobias standing ten feet away from her. He was panting as if he’d just been running. Before she could say a word, he began to shimmer and fade away. Oh, hell no! She imagined her magic encasing him in a box. She watched as he turned to walk away, but instead walked into the wall of her magic.

  “You will not walk away from me, Tobias!” Zara shouted.

  He turned to face her, “release me, now.” He was glaring at her.

  “No! You will not walk away from this. Explain yourself, now!”

  “I do not have to explain anything to you, Princess.” He almost spat out his nickname for her.

  “Then it looks like you are staying in this box, Your Highness.” Two can play this game.

  He attempted to throw his own magic at the walls of hers, but it was no use. First it was fireballs, then he tried to call the roots outside of the box to smash against it. The roots would not respond to him from beyond her box, so he almost fell when the roots underneath of him moved under his feet. “You will tell me why you are rejecting this. I can feel it in my soul. You are trying to reject our forming bond. You are acting like that kiss never happened! WHY?” Her voice was stern. She will get answers.

  Tobias looked at her. At first with a glare. Then he reached within himself and felt what she was feeling. Zara could feel him tapping into their bond. He does know that it is there. That hurt her more than she realized. At first, she thought he may not know that there was a bond forming between them since they were from different species. She did not know how an Elemental’s mate bond worked. He was the only Elemental that she knew, so she could not ask anyone for information. There were no books in Xander’s study on Elementals, either. She searched the whole little library he had in his study. But to feel him use the bond to get a read on her emotions… that meant he’s known this whole time but refused to access it and has been rejecting her. Her wolf sang a mournful cry in her mind.

  “Tell me. Why won’t you give us a chance?” Her voice was now shaking and came out of her mouth softer than she had intended.

  “You are not going to like what I say.” His voice was soft and tender.

  “I need to know. My wolf needs to know.” Tears started to pool in her eyes.

  “You have to understand, my Luna. I am to be a King. In the Elemental Realm, there has never been a pairing with another species. My people may not follow me if I mate with a Wolf. If they do not follow me, my realm could crumble. I cannot allow this.”

  “How do you know that they will reject our pairing? Have you asked them?”

  “Why would I ask my counsel this question?”

  “If you do not know what they would say, then how can you reject me? Reject your soulmate.”

  “How can we be sure you are my soulmate?” His tone was serious.

  “How could you possibly ask that? I bear a mark on my finger. It ignites with its own emotion when you are near me. I can cast Elemental magic! Which no witch in existence has ever been able to do!” Now Zara was getting angry. You are going to question that I am even your mate when you looked into our own bond just mere minutes ago!

  “You’ve cast Elemental magic?” He genuinely sounded confused.

  Zara marched over to the box that contained Tobias under her magic and released it. She pulled her magic in her palms as she held them up to them and called the element of fire. Tobias’s eyes widen as he watched her magic go from the pearlish white with the blue hue into fire. Except, the fire mixed with her own magic. Instead of burning orange and yellow, it burned red with her pearl and blue mixed within it. I must get Raven to research more or even call on the Goddess herself to explain why my magic behaves this way. “How can this be?” He asked as his eyes could not leave her hands. “Because the Goddess has a plan. What that plan is, I have no idea. She chose me for you, and you for me. There is a reason. But you are mine. How can you not see that?” she whispered. Her wolf laced her own voice with Zara’s to add emphasis that he was theirs.

  Tobias looked at her once more. His eyes no longer looked hardened and angry. They softened as he watched her own. She knew her eyes were laced with the silver of her magic in them and wondered what he thought of them. They were a few feet apart and Tobias closed the distance. He placed his hands on her face as he pulled her closer to him and they felt warm. Her skin erupted with electricity where his hands were, and it traveled throughout her body. He claimed her lips and they both sighed with content. It felt as though she was weightless but falling at the same time. The feeling of your stomach dropping, but also knowing you were in the arms that you were meant to be in. Tobias’s hands slid from her hips to the middle of her back, tingles traveling with them where his skin touched hers. He deepened their kiss and her knees buckled. He tightened his grip around her to keep her in place. What felt like an eternity was only a few minutes before he broke their kiss. “If I’d known that is how you were going to respond, I would’ve locked you in a magical box when we first met.” She joked. “You do not get to make jokes right now.” He chuckled at her.

  He kept her in the circle of his arms and buried his face into her neck. “I apologize for putting you through agony. I was being selfish.”

  “I am not the Alpha of my people at this time, so I do not know what you are going through. You were putting your people first, like a good king should. However, soulmates are not just mating with someone. We are the other halves of each other’s souls. Your people must understand that this is an eternal love. Not
just you choosing a bride.”

  He pondered on that statement. He nodded in agreement after a few moments. “I will still need to announce this. I will hold a conference with the realm. We can complete the ceremony by the end of the week.” That piqued Zara’s interest. “For someone who was rejecting the idea only moments ago, you are certainly in a hurry to complete the bond.” She laughed at him. He kissed her on the top of her head. “I am going to be apologizing for that for the rest of our lives, aren’t I?” She made a face as if she were thinking about that. “I’m not going to be that subtle.” He slumped, his head falling on her shoulder. “Of course not.”

  With that, he kissed her once more. Her wolf sang and howled with joy as Zara felt the bond within herself that linked her to Tobias strengthening.

  I can finally call him mine.

  Chapter Twenty-Two: Atara

  While Zara was whisked away by Tobias to the Elemental Realm, Xander asked Atara to join him in a training that he had conducted for Zara since she was young. Atara jumped on the opportunity, especially to get one on one time with Xander. After Sophia took care of her when she collapsed, Atara craved the life that Zara has lived with a mother and father figure. Even though Marcus did well with raising Atara, she still tended to drift off into wishing Cyrus would have been a better man so her time with him did not feel worthless. She wanted the same parental figures as her sister.

  Zara had grown into a powerful individual with the help of Xander, Sophia and Raven. Atara also learned that her pack mates, outside of Derek, took time when they could to help train her, play games with her, and run with her as a wolf. Especially Lucus and Deckard. Atara wanted to feel at home here, but it was harder than she had anticipated. Most of the pack did not trust her since she was raised by Cyrus. Apparently, no wolf liked him very much. Cyrus always talked about how his people loved him. He was wrong. The only wolf that did was Derek. Go figure.