It all begins when a silver dagger goes missing.
For her entire life, a human named Cora Gabris has known that lycans were searching for her, as she was born as a Ruby -- a human that, when turned into a lycan, will become much stronger than any of...
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Cora's destiny arrived; the destiny that cursed her eyes at birth, the destiny that forced her parents to flee, the destiny that she always knew she had to face.
Cora had been outside the territory of Reiger for over a day now, making her way to the heart of the pack where the Alpha lived. It surprised her that the Alpha had not come for her already, but she had been told that it was far from customary. Everyone came to him, including her.
The deeper they went into the territory, the more agitated she became. Surely it was normal for to feel restless, right? She was in distant lands, surrounded by a foreign culture.
Destiny was easier to consider when living a boring, secluded life in my cabin.
Craning her neck upward and breathing in the cool air of night, her gaze trailed the rocky walls in front of her until she found the silhouetted edge against the starry sky.
Tall, jagged mountains encompassed the entirety of the Reiger capitol, only accessible via the ocean through a fjord, or a northern and southern plateau where the mountains granted passage.
And here was the formal entry via an extensive, tall tunnel.
Cora lowered her gaze back to the tunnel as they patiently waited for further instructions; they weren't quite certain where to take her, especially since she arrived during the night.
Vast braziers burned brilliantly against the mountains as torches lined the tunnels, and if the entrance was this brightly lit, she couldn't even imagine the details of the capitol.
She shifted her position on her horse, her tailbone and inner thighs sore and raw. She eyed the large, red banners that draped either side of the tunnel's entrance, with a black circle and four black claw marks painted over the circle on the banners.
According to Roman, that was the sigil of Reiger.
She sighed and closed her eyes, bracing herself for what would come next. Cora would probably never step foot outside these lands as a human again.
There was an Alpha waiting for her just beyond that tunnel.
Theran. The name of her future mate,of the male that she would create a family with. She looked down at her hands, dirt still stuck underneath her nails. She was too nervous to pick at them, which made little sense to her, and yet she could only seem to focus on Ben, or staring at the mountains.
Peering down at her brother to refocus herself, she frowned. Her self-pity dissipated like water hitting a scorched rock. Ben was so pathetic underneath his fur blanket that was made of bear hide, cloth covering the left side of his face. The bandages were less bloodied by now, although the wounds were still inflamed, swollen, and hot to the touch. Whatever salve Roman made seemed to keep infections at bay, at the very least.
Ben is so thin now, and we can let his muscles grow weak. Soon, baby brother, you'll awake and realize you're not home. I am sorry for that. Maybe one day I can send you back there.
