PROLOGUE:
A long time ago, in the kingdom of ASHLAVIA, the land of wolves, sat two alphas on the throne.
Alpha/ alpha mating was the norm, encouraged too, to strengthen the bloodlines. Alphas were the most revered, betas falling second in the rank, and omegas the last, whose roles were to be servants of those above them.
Until one day, in the royal court of the mated couple, an omega caught the eye of one of the king alphas. In a passionate and hidden affair, they uncovered rather tragically that they were fated mates and the male omega was carrying a child.
The other king alpha, who was betrayed, found out and declared all omegas to be killed, including the one who now threatened his position at the throne and in the heart of his bonded.
To save his fated one and the one carrying his child, the alpha had to flee his kingdom and evade the wrath of his bonded, which in turn led to a war breaking out in the once-peaceful kingdom. Sides were taken, omegas killed, and those left captured to be slaves in their own home.
A divide was made, those loyal to the runaway king fled and followed him to hide, while the others who remained swore to hunt down and kill the now traitors who had fled. In ASHLAVIA, it was declared that omegas would remain the very prey they are, remaining at the bottom of the food chain, to be owned, used, and discarded.
As generations passed, the divide between the alphas, betas, and omegas grew wider, the alphas being the most important, owning and sentencing those weakest to servitude forever. They also hunted wolves outside their kingdom, those who were rumored to be the descendants of the other alpha, who ran away with the omega, as they were a different race.
ASHLAVIA, once a blessed, strong, and beautiful land, lost its favor with the gods as they were angered by the divide and the blood spilled by their descendants. Slowly, they lost their moon touch. The connection between the wolf and man weakened until they could no longer be who they once were.
Wolves. Powerful. One with nature. Moon touched.
They evolved to be hunters, old families who are traced back to the first descendant and ruler of ASHLAVIA, hunters of the traitorous wolves. Despite not knowing their hatred and why, they still look for others to kill, maim, and destroy.
The other king alpha's generation evolved and learned to live among humans, blend and hide amongst them, all while being one with their moon touched from the first generation to now.
Once in a while, the descendants of the new land of ASHLAVIA will bear an alpha, but he will lack the true nature of his wolf. He will not be one with his inner instinct. And once in a while, too, an omega will be born, god's gift to them, to heal and repair the fracture they have caused and healthier bloodlines.
The gods extend their hand to them, offer them a gift to merge the two races and make them whole as they once were.
But destiny, written by a mortal, tarnishes all; anger running in his veins clouds all.
…..
CHAPTER 1:
"And how does that make you feel?"
Day sighs, feeling over it. Flexing his fingers in front of him, he examines his nails in a bored manner, trying to come up with a good enough answer.
He has to remind himself that to be given what he needs, he has to go through this and get the clearance from the damn therapist.
It was supposed to help that the therapist is the best in the whole country. But all the man can pull out of his shabby coat is asking about feelings.
He probably shouldn't have said anything, because everything he says is used against him. Another thing his mother will weaponize.
But, in a moment of weakness, he let it slip out; not all of it, but the fact that he has been having nightmares more now that he has moved to the city.
Another sigh slips out of his lips, and he crosses his legs, weary in his bones. "anxious. Dreams always leave me anxious."
"But they aren't normal dreams. They are nightmares."
"Yes."
Narrating how he feels like his bones move under his skin in the dreams he usually has, how unafraid he is, but also feels like he isn't himself, is something he will never tell them. The most he can say to appease his mother is that he isn't keeping secrets from her by telling the therapist about his recent dream last night.
Not how he woke up feeling like he was missing something, but the way he felt like he was falling.
Always feels like falling in everyone, but why? Where does it start and when does it end?
Day chooses to think that the current dream they are dissecting is caused by what he found out. Perhaps he should tell.
It would be so simple to tell him he feels like puking and peeling his boyfriend's skin off. How angry he is at the scumbag for cheating on him, even though Day has never loved him.
Probably will never love him now, since the cheater has been in his life since he can remember, and all this time, he has been his intended.
Day hates it, how everything is controlled, but he said yes, if only to be allowed to attend a normal university for once in his life. That's why he is now here, in the city with his so-called cheating, good-for-nothing boyfriend.
Everyone in his life lives while he just…. Decorates space.
Controlled.
A trophy not meant to think or even lift a finger; ask questions, nor have an independent mind. Fragile, sensitive. … all these things that make him want to claw his eyes out, tear his hair off his scalp.
But how is he feeling? Mmh. Let's see….
Can't break up with the cheater, because well, that would mean his mother would drag him back home for good, lock him up, and he would have to forget to ever set foot in the city ever again.
Can't mention it to the cheater, because well, let's face it, they barely talk as it is, and to mention it would mean that day cares, and he really loathes the idea of making him think he cares. To even think of talking it out … it's making his skin crawl.
So, swallow and move on? He has been groomed to be the perfect doll, after all. Always pleasant, despite the churning anger inside him.
Don't forget the emptiness.
So how he feels is-
"The nightmares make me feel like I should hope."
"You have always told me that your dreams are very lifelike, of you always falling. The last one seems to be of you falling off a cliff into the waterfall below… how does that give you hope?"
"I have an affinity with water. It gives me comfort of sorts. So this move could be making me anxious subconsciously, but I have a good support system here who will help me transition well," Day smiles pleasantly to the shrink, fingers linked on top of his crossed legs.
Ever the elegant, poised, well-mannered boy.
"I know you need me to make sure this won't be a heavy thing for you. Your mother worries since you have other conditions too, that this move will make you even more overwhelmed."
"Ah, don't worry, I am sure you will tell her that her support, even from back home, is felt like you have probably seen today."
"Do you feel anxious about starting school? You have been home-schooled your whole life. Barely any outsider has made contact with you. This new adventure is all new to you."
Day sits straighter in his chair, feeling the now familiar stirrings of nervousness in his stomach. Yeah, he is terrified of going to the university in a few days. The best in the whole world, apparently, catered to only the top and brightest minds walking on earth.
He thinks it's all bullshit to just separate the elites from the common folks, put them where they won't ever have to interact or deal with the normal life, keep their luxuries to themselves, but he digresses.
But, even with that, it means that he will be attending school with others. Interact and even make friends. He has never made friends, let alone done anything close to interacting with people his age, always surrounded by his parents and the servants back home.
He knows he is socially crippled, something he is sure his parents wanted. But he has fought day and night for this opportunity. To have a life outside the gilded cage he has grown up in, even though he is still caged, even here in the city.
But it's far from the high walls of home. He has his apartment now, can go to the malls, and he can pretend that he is living his life independently, finally able to start knowing himself, if he doesn't concentrate on all the guards following him and guarding his door.
"It is new, but to be able to be more of what I am now, I have to be able to interact with peers my age. I am doing all of this for mama and papa. I just want to make them proud."
I just want to loosen the noose around my neck.
"Well, we have our bi-weekly sessions to check in and see how everything is going-"
"Oh, I'm sorry, but why bi-weekly? We do this every week," Day wants to frown, but he smiles, tilting his head in confusion but in an endearing way.
It's a skill.
"Your mother is worried about you."
That's all day needs to hear to know that even if his mother said he needed daily therapy sessions, he would have them if he wants to have this new life. It has barely begun, having moved here yesterday, and already he feels like he hasn't moved away from home.
He keeps on waiting to wake up and be back at his childhood home, still within the canopy of his bed, daydreaming of a life he will probably never have. But so far, everything has felt real.
It's a good thing.
The sessions come to an end, and day makes his way out of the office, but he knows he is not allowed to get out of the building.
Someone is coming to pick him up.
The double glass doors open just as he walks into the lobby, two guards tailing him from a distance.
"There you are," a tall blond man with a dimpled smile makes his way to him. "All good?"
"Yeah," day breathes out, as the man hugs him. He has a floral smell that he knows isn't his normal cologne.
Guts churning, he peels himself off the hug, smiling a little. Anything to not make a scene.
None the wiser, Marcus beams at day. "Ready for lunch? I am starving."