Chapter 86: Chapter 86

~ Hadeon POV cont. ~

I could feel myself shying away. I was so confident that the high-ranked wolves would go along with the idea, but I was delusional. They were worried not only for my well-being but the well-being of the people they swore to protect.

“For the time being–” he continued in his deep and intimidating tone, the classic sound of Nighttide’s Alpha, “–Hadeon will continue his training to strengthen himself. We will return in a year to examine his progress and to all witness whether an essence of his wolf spirit has sprung up. If it has, the mission to infiltrate the humans will be called off immediately, and his responsibilities will be directed elsewhere. If it hasn’t, we will discuss further action. Do we all agree?”

All the men – responsible for my fate – hummed and grunted in agreement.

So all that was left was for me to wait.

The year went by glacially, and my training continued as usual. I was tired every day, but I kept pushing through because I knew this was what I was meant to do. I was going to protect my werewolf brothers and sisters from any threat that came our way.

I was going to become a legend amongst the werewolves.

In the lead-up to my birthday, I was studying within the witches’ coven that was within Nighttides borders when I heard a couple of training witches gossip.

“What are you both whispering about?” I asked.

They both looked at me, startled. I knew one of the witches – Candace was her name. A flush of pink hit her cheeks after I spoke to her.

“Um…” She placed a hand on her cheek, trying to hide her blush. “We’re not allowed to say.”

Furrowing my brows, I leaned forward and smiled subtly. “Oh, is that so?”

The rosy hue flushed across her face.

Her friend looped her arm with Candace’s and tugged her. “We’ve got to go back to our study group.”

As she was pulled away, Candace looked back at me and offered me a toothy smile before disappearing around the corner.

As I got older, I knew the effect I had on women. I may not have been a werewolf, but I was still a Beta-son and I’d grown into my looks. It didn’t take a genius to piece together that Candace had a crush on me.

So, obviously, I took advantage of that when I bumped into her later that day. For some reason, I was so curious about what they were talking about. I had to know.

I pulled out the Aetos charm, towering over her, inching my face closer to hers as she was pinned against a wall, looking up at me with innocent eyes – even though deep down she revelled in the attention I gave her. Does that ring a bell, Suki? I’m sure my brother did the exact same thing to you.

“So what was all that whispering about earlier? Sounded like trouble…” I questioned her, holding her chin.

Candace bit down on her lower lip, staring at mine. “I-It’s just a silly rumour, nothing to be concerned about.”

I leaned in closer, my lips moving closer to hers, and whispered, “Then what’s the harm in me knowing? I can keep a secret.” I placed my hand on her waist and felt her melt into my touch.

“We shouldn’t,” she whispered. “Werewolves and witches aren’t meant to fraternise romantically…”

A smug grin grew across my face. “Well, it’s a good thing I’m not exactly a werewolf then, isn’t it?” I scooped my hand that was holding her chin behind her neck and hummed, “Is it too much to say I want to know what your lips taste like? I imagine sweet like candy. Maybe that’s what I should call you. Candy…” I trailed off and planted a gentle but firm kiss against her lips.

She was putty in my hands by that point. She placed her on my chest and pulled back slowly. “There’s a rumour,” she breathed out. “A rumour that a witch who lives between Nighttide and Silver Moon – or maybe it was Moonstone–” She shook her head. “Anyways, apparently this witch had a vision that something bad was coming. Something that would destroy all things supernatural, and it would start with the demise of werewolves.”

I blinked and pulled my head back. “What?”

Candace shrugged. “It’s just a silly rumour,” she said, wrapping her arms around me. “It’s not like anything like that would really happen.”

“Right, of course not.” Even though it was only just a rumour at the time, some part of me felt concerned about the supposed vision. The only thing that would want to threaten all that was magical and supernatural was those who do not possess magic of their own – humans.

Perhaps if this rumour was true, it could be my gateway into everything I was training for – my true purpose. By preventing the humans from ever infiltrating the werewolves and saving the magical race.

“You okay?” Candace asked.

My face softened as I looked down at her. “Yeah, everything is perfect…”

The vision was all I thought about in the lead-up to my 17th birthday. There was a strong inkling in me that just knew I was the key to it all, that it was down to me to stop the humans.

It was about a week or so after my birthday when the next meeting about my ordeal was held. The Alphas of the other packs were impressed to see how much stronger I looked, building muscle and holding myself more powerfully than the year prior.

My strength was equal, if not slightly more than a regular human, but in comparison to a werewolf, it was still nothing. So being able to impress all these Alphas was a relief.

They all agreed that, since there was no trace of a wolf spirit within me, my training would continue and the final decision would be made after my 18th birthday, when my wolf and I were meant to connect as one.

It was all looking promising. Until after I turned 18, and everything went downhill.