Brought to his knees before the kingdom after ten years of hiding, Kyros believed that he would be sentenced to death for the murder of his pack. His sentence would mean the end of it all - his torment, his abuse, his turmoil.
But his destiny change...
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Asheria stood upon the balcony of the third floor of her palace. She studied her kingdom, the way the mountains in the distance rose and fell. Covered in snow from their high elevations yet touched by the warm rays of the sun.
Speckled below the mountains was the forest. The deep green forest that housed healthy, ancient trees that whispered the tales of time and held secrets of their own. They brought forth life from their depths and carried the wind from far away lands upon their branches.
She felt beckoned to the outdoors, and she carefully made her way down the stairs and to the place she called home.
In her own garden, life thrived. The ponds in which the weeping willow trees hung over the surface of the waters were aged. How the willow trees, strong and graceful, seemed to mourn and weep their faded green branches forth. The leaves spilled over the trunks like tears frozen in time. They undulated in the wind and housed birds of all kinds.
And the tree's marred, distorted reflection stared back at it in the dark waters of the pond which held large, colorful koi fish. The scales of the animals were lavished in sparkling colors of gold, black, and white. They seemed to glitter in the sun and spill light into the dark depths of their home.
The grass that blanketed her gardens were clipped short. They were soft to the touch beneath her bare feet and it felt cool and fresh.
She approached the edge of the pond, watching as the koi fish swam up to the surface to greet her. Well, not exactly greet her, but to beg for food as they had always done.
She sighed and squatted down on the grass, and dipped her fingers in the cool waters. She was lost in her mind and she wished to bury all of her thoughts, all of her worries, and leave them behind. Where could she run? Where could she escape?
She couldn't. And she felt deep regret for what was being done. She had never felt so torn in her life. Which side could she claim as hers? Who could she pick? What could she do?
It was a deep, heavy feeling within her that wouldn't part from her. It wouldn't flee nor would it surrender.
It stayed.
It latched onto her and called her home.
It was nothing more than a parasite, feeding off her emotions and thriving on a system that wasn't its own.
She didn't care what people thought of her, she just wanted to do the right thing for herself and her kingdom. But how could she do that with the situation she was in?
She groaned in frustration and dug her fingers into the dirt and sighed. "Things will work out," She told herself aloud, "They have to."
The breeze blew her hair, and the strands tickled her cheeks. The scent of flowers in bloom wafted through the air, and though the place was a peaceful, scenic one, she could feel nothing of the sort.
