House of Blood and Beasts

1. Forced Submission

    Scenery flew by as Sarai jogged down the street, her smoky black ponytail sticking to her damp neck. She wrinkled her nose and pried it loose, but didn't slow her pace. Lunathion was always warm, especially in the summer. It was autumn now, but that did little to quell the heat that plagued Valbara's southeastern coast.

    Lunathion, or Crescent City, as it was occasionally called, was built on a peninsula, and always bore the brunt of storms, heat, and everything else that came with coastal living. Sarai didn't mind the heat, although the occasional showers of rain were a welcome reprieve. She'd grown up in this city. All she'd ever known was heat, sweat, bloody fights, and loud parties. Being a Wolf afforded her those things; some, not by choice.

    Sarai had been privileged to be born a Wolf. She'd grown up in their prosperous district of Lunathion, Moonwood. She was an undisputed member of the House of Earth and Blood, one of the four Houses all Vanir were sorted into. She was Second in her pack, the Blood Moon Wolf Pack. But all of those things had been forced upon her. She had not chosen them for herself.

    If she had been allowed to choose, she would live near the Old Square, the central part of Crescent City. It was a poor and rough section of town, as mostly half-breeds lived there, but it was very touristic. Sarai had visited the area many times while accompanied by her friends, and she'd loved the Square since she first set foot in it.

    As for her House, she still would've chosen to be a part of the House of Earth and Blood. That was one premade decision she was happy with. After all, why would a powerful Wolf want to be a part of the House of Sky and Breath? Who wanted snotty Fae and pretentious Angels constantly looking down on them?

    The House of Many Waters was out of the question. Sarai wasn't cut out to live among Mer, and most of them were very prejudiced against land-dwellers anyway. The members of the fourth house, the House of Flame and Shadow, were unnatural beings that Sarai usually tried to avoid. She wasn't interested in becoming friends with Vampyrs or Draki, and no one in their right mind ever approached a Reaper. No, she was happy in her given House, and that was not about to change.

    Sarai measured her breaths as she rounded a corner. Moonwood's gun range was just up ahead. She was supposed to be there now, training with the rest of her pack, but today, she'd chosen not to give a fuck. Why should she? Her pack didn't want her and she didn't want them. The only reason she was Rafe Fenix's Second was because Sabine Fendyr, Prime Apparent of the Valbaran Wolves, had ordered it.

    Had things gone according to her own plan, Sarai would be a member of Sabine's daughter's pack, the Pack of Devils. Sarai and Danika had been friends for a long time. They trained together, partied together, fought together, and occasionally, almost died together.

    They had been planning for Sarai to join the Pack of Devils since college. Danika had promised to make Sarai her Second, as that was the rank that only a Wolf of her power levels could hold. As soon as Sabine caught wind of their plans, she intervened and stuck Sarai in Blood Moon, successfully separating her from Danika.

    Sarai couldn't blame Sabine for her apparent wariness. Danika was expected to inherit a sea of power greater than her mother's, and already showed the makings of a great leader. Many suspected her grandfather, the Prime of Wolves, would tap her as Prime Apparent and surpass Sabine. As such, it only made sense that Sabine would want to prevent Danika from gaining powerful allies, and Sarai was definitely one of those.

    Sarai jogged past the gun range and turned up the music that was currently blasting through her headphones. Most would say it was stupid to listen to music this loud in any district of Lunathion. There was danger everywhere. Sarai knew that, and if she was running anywhere but Moonwood, she would heed the warning.