Death Princess

Prologue

"But as the sun refused to shine that day,
So as the moon hid her face away.
A chosen girl shall come of age,
Closing the book's final page."

Reese had one foot dabbing on the floor and one hand tapping on the smooth edges of the mahogany table. Looking down, he could see the stacks of untouched paperwork. His mind knew that he needed to sort these before Ryker could checked on him, but it was only the least of his problems.

Brushing the aged edges, his fingers wanted to crumple such an important scroll. He resisted the urge to just tear it into pieces and throw it on the bin. Such an ancient item wasn't trash. It was the answer-- the key to end the never ending war of his world.

"How long will this Millennium last? 1000 years have already passed," he said exasperated. A cigar in his mouth, he sucked and inhaled only to notice that it was unlit. He chewed on it in frustration.

The Millennium. From the name itself, a thousand. A thousand years of wars. Wars against the other clans who lived alongside the human world. Wars against the other sons and daughters of the moon goddess.

Through the years, they battled. Armies of the four great clans faced each other in a showdown to death.

"Why?!" His hand stomped loudly on the table. His voice loud on the quiet room. The end would have been death. Death should have been the leverage to culmination. But it was always the same. It was a battle of numerous cycles instead of a battle to end the war. What's worse was that as each battle ends, all clans return to their respective territories and continued with their lives as if the battle never existed.

Although each battle may have varying initiators, the ending would still the same.

No one left unscathed. No one emerged victorious.

Reese drew a heavy breath. Even through reading the pieces of what was left by his predecessor, he had never been able to decipher the prophecy completely because some crucial parts of the scroll was missing. But a prophecy will always be a prophecy and in time, it shall be fulfilled.

Wiping the cigar off his mouth, his hand closed into fists, crushing the cigar in his hands. Amidst his chagrin and anger was worry and distress, not for his life but for his clan.

As a leader of the Lycan clan, his only wish was the security and peace of his pack and the never ending war was the opposite of what he'd wished for.

"I don't have enough time left," he said. Throwing the cigar to the bin, he wiped the sweat on his forehead.

He knew that he had little time left but another problem had appeared in front of him. His son was not yet ready to take his position. Lyon had left the clan for personal dilemma. In all his years, he had never met a wolf as irresponsible just as his son was.

Werewolves were said to be a clan who couldn't stand alone. They always had a mate, blessed by the moon goddess who was the other half of their soul. Having someone to cherish and protect would always be considered a profound strength in the werewolf community. But adding the fact that his son hasn't found his mate yet to the ordeal hadn't helped anything in their situation.

A sudden knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts. Knowing it was his beta, he fixed to a degree his messed up table. Stuffing the papers to the cabinet by his side, he left the scroll on top of his desk. When he was sure that his desk was somewhat clean, he took a sit on his chair, coughed one hesitant breath.

"Come in," he said. He turned to his back and placed one hand by the window pane.

"Alpha." A man in his forties stepped inside and bowed his head in respect. It was indeed his trusted beta. Ryker, of the same age as Reese had been by his side since infancy. Amidst his rough look persona, Ryker was a splendid man who had experience many wars with him. He was a scarred man with brown hair in buzz cut and hazel eyes which never expresses his emotions outright. He does his job efficiently befitting as the second-in-command of the clan. But there was something with his body movements that told Reese what his beta was about to say was not good news.

"What seems to be the problem, Beta?" he asked.

"The nymphs plan to start a war. Their queen had recently died. Our spies have found out that a large number of nymphs are on the stage of hibernation," the man said, his eyes brimming with unspoken danger.

It was enough to caught Reese's attention. Nymphs undergoing hibernation was nothing but ordinary. It would always come in pairs of ten families at most. Truly a rising number of hibernating nymphs would be alarming, with number comes power. Newly reborn Nymphs are very strong and wild, a beast wilder than that of inside them. Surely with their new profound strength and powers, they will be a force to be reckoned with especially when war would be upon them.

But it would not present a problem for their clan. In rival with the nymphs inhuman strength and power was the Lycan's fire. The nymphs would be dealt easily when the problem arises.

But what causes utter concern was the fact that throughout the history of the Millennium, the nymphs never started a war. Their participation in the previous wars branched out from two reasons only. It was either they were forced to participate in it or the clan's safety was harmed. The nymphs active participation could only mean one thing: the second part of the prophecy once told by an ancient was starting to come to pass.

"Tell our pack to prepare, tighten our defense and tell Ian to force my son to come back here." Although there was a high chance that the results would still be the same, all the more was needed to prepare. Reese's wolf certainly agreed with the idea.

"Alpha, please forgive me when I shall present this problem, but my son hasn't returned yet." Ryker said somewhat annoyed.

"Since when?"

"Three days."

"Why?"

"He was scheduled to meet with your son last Thursday. Today is Sunday. It has been three days but no report about my son has been given to me."

"Do you have any idea as to where they are as of the moment?" Reese inquired.

"I'm not sure sir, But I have one guess." With that, the man approached the map of their territory that was framed and nailed on the wall. Lifting his hand, he pointed his finger on the place. The place where he lost his Aria, Lyon's mother.

Sighing in defeat, Reese made his decision.

"Well then, tell our troops to stand down until our sons come home. The time has come for us to let go of our positions. It doesn't matter whether they are ready or not. I know in time, they will be. As the saying goes, time and experience will always be the best teachers," Reese concluded.

"Understood." Ryker bowed his head before exiting the door. As Ryker had said those words, Reese could see a ghost of a smile in the man's face yet, his eyes bore the same sadness Reese had in his.

Getting the picture frame and holding it in his hand, he looked at the picture of his wife. The emotions he had were all mixed up but he knew his fate.

"The time is nigh."