In ancient times, their world lived in harmony
with each other. Darkling, Changeling,
Witchling and Vampire alike strove for peace amongst all Everlastings.
One little girl’s prophecy changes the
course of their world…
In ancient Mesopotamia, a young witch
predicted that a hybrid would destroy what was.
The implications of that moment have plagued Arwi-a since her utterance
of those words.
Hunted.
One couple will sacrifice everything for the life of their child…
Cecily’s village had thrived in relative
peace, despite the number of hybrids within the village, including Cecily, a
Witchling and Changeling hybrid. That
all changed when she scents her mate—Nicholas.
Nicolas is a vampire and darkling hybrid
on the run from those who wish to eradicate all hybrids. Guilt follows him for surviving the
decimation of his village.
Now they must make a choice—Risk their
child or sacrifice themselves and ensure her safety?
Now forbidden love will forever change
the game…
When vampire Prince Matthew sees
Abigail, the alpha Changelings daughter, he is immediately smitten.
Abigail knows that Matthew is her mate,
but how can this love work if it is forbidden?
Their world has been unsettled for
centuries…
With love as the catalyst, the
Everlastings will enter a State of Unrest.
Chapter 1
“I’m
not a rule breaker. I always follow the
rules and enjoy doing so. It is in my
nature to never question those in authority.
Oftentimes it is thought that I have no mind of my own. That simply isn’t the case. I have a mind, one that is exercised to its
fullest. Of course, they’ll never know,
because I crave the simplicity of order, despite how wrong I may believe that
order. The way things are, is simply,
the way things are. Do I dream of a time
when my private thoughts and beliefs are considered important and the given
order of things? No, for I simply have
no reason to wish these things were so.”
Journal of Abigail Belamy
January 5, 1900
Summer 1900
Rural area surrounding Memphis, TN
Abigail Belamy was furious. From
the moment of her birth to this moment, she had been the perfect princess to
her father’s Alpha status. When he said
jump, she jumped. When he was going to
marry her off to that slimy Wolf Changeling Milo Erickson, she had agreed.
Thankfully, Milo found another specimen to set his sights on. Apparently, straight-laced and meek Abigail
posed no challenge for him, so he set his sights on more feral pastures. However, this so-called diplomatic endeavor
was an insult. It put her in precarious
position to maintain the fragile peace between Changelings and Vampires. Her father did not want peace, and never had. Abigail knew her father’s hatred ran very
deep. She never truly understood why he
despised Vampires and Darklings so much.
Sure, from her birth it had been the way of things not to intermingle
within the species. There were no
explanations for the reasoning of such a radical law. It may not be in any law book or legislature
from any of the species, but it was enforced – swiftly and without mercy.
It was rumored one of the pack females scented a darkling and she
instantly became enamored of him.
Apparently, he was her destined mate.
She could not fight nature, so they became a mated couple. Of course, it was a rumor so the validity of
it was beyond Abigail’s reach. However,
if it were true, then the given legislature of mixing between species was as
cruel as it was unfounded.
Everyone knew that mating was a powerful bond, reaching within each
other’s souls and tying them together for their existence. It was considered predestined by those who
controlled the universe that these two people should meet and be together. It was a bond so strong that upon the
destruction of one of the pair, the other slowly died his or her soul no longer
whole. Yet when meeting your fated
companion if you were to deny what fate had deemed so then you would slowly
become mad, no longer a functioning member of society. Abigail was not especially knowledgeable
about mates, having never felt that urge to make someone completely hers, but
she had heard rumors of other members of the packs going mad from denying their
potential mate. Abigail could only think
of one reason why they would deny their mates – it was forbidden.
Abigail threw her dresses in the trunk, her mind a whirl of thoughts,
most of which she would never reveal.
Abigail took a deep breath and released her tension as she had always
done. This technique was probably the
reason she was such an obedient daughter.
Being exactly what her father decided she should. She walked to the window, overlooking the
small village her father preferred to stay rather than the large house allotted
the Alpha of all the wolf packs. The new
moon bathed the night’s darkness in dim light, creating an eerie setting to the
usually lighted hillside. Shadows played
on the windowpane from the candles that glowed on her desk. Abigail leaned her forehead against the
glass, her breath causing it to fog. Her
perfect, ordered existence was ending.
Her eyes a bright green color reflecting on the glass was an affirmation
that her animal side agreed.
Abigail’s life revolved around her father’s status as Alpha, his power
not just for that of the wolf changelings, but his elected status as King of
the Changelings. This position ensured
that her upbringing was under the watch of all the species. Her brief fifty years spent being the perfect
daughter. Attending all the functions
and behaving properly. Giving up a
normal existence for that of a figurine, something to be looked at, never
spoken to, and never befriended.
A tear spilled down her cheek, as she released her pent up breath. It was time to become what her father deemed
necessary for the changelings. She knew
this move for what it was, despite her father reassuring her that she was the
obvious choice. Despite beliefs she held
near to her heart, the world saw females as second class, nothing more than
slaves in some instances. Her father
sending her as the diplomat in this last ditch effort to save the fragile peace
was a slap in the face to the other diplomats.
She knew it and so did her father who vehemently denied such a
tactic.
***
Summer 1900
New York, NY
Matthew was not happy about being the one chosen to represent the Vampire’s
royal family, but he understood his father’s decision. He was going to be the Ruler of the Vampires
one day, so he had to begin learning sometime.
At a young age for a vampire, his 200 years seemed to weigh heavily upon
his shoulders. He looked in the mirror,
wondering at the youthful face that stared back at him. He had always wondered how the humans dealt
with losing their youth, slowly withering away and turning to dust in the blink
of an eye. He pitied the mortals that
surrounded them, seemingly content with their shortened lives.
Maybe though, they were the ones who had it right. The farmer his father bought food from was
married and had several children. He had
lived so much in his mere twenty-seven years.
What did Matthew have to show for his 200 years?
Nothing.
He was without a mate and still living with his parents. While expected of the royal family, it still
did not feel right. Lately he had felt
as if something were missing, as if a piece of himself were lost and waiting
for him to find it. He laughed aloud at
his ridiculousness. His mother walking
into the parlor pulled him from his wayward musings.
“What has you so upset, my child?” her melodic voice echoed in the
mostly empty room. He looked into the
face, so young and wondered what his mother would look like if she aged. He shook his head, clearing those odd
thoughts from his mind.
“I am assuming you mean my unnaturally somber mood.”
She smiled and nodded. So, he
was being noticeably melancholy. He did
not know what to tell his mother. He was
not sure what was making him melancholy in the first place. “Maybe it is just thoughts of me as a
diplomat. You of all people know that
I’m not very diplomatic.”
She laughed her tiny fangs the only outward sign that she was not as
human as she appeared. “Matthew, if
there is one thing I have no doubt of it is your ability to be diplomatic. Son, you have more charm in your baby toe,
than most people I know. Don’t
worry. I can feel that this will be a
great moment for you. Now quit moping
about and get ready for your departure,” she reassured him as she leaned down
and kissed his cheek. His mother’s
confidence in him made that sickening feeling in his stomach lessen. If she believed he would do well, then he
believed that also.
***
Summer 1900
Outskirts of New Orleans, LA
Arwi-a placed the stone tablets within the trunk to safely hide away
things she knew that she shouldn’t take out for prying eyes. Her eyes strayed to the text as the memories
assaulted her senses. Suddenly she was
back, a child only nine years of age floating above those around her. She could feel the heat emanating from her
skin burning her like hot coals from a fire.
Her vocal cords strained from the deep voice pouring out of her
mouth. She could see her mother’s shared
horror and pride. Her daughter had such
power, but with that power unspeakable pain.
The piercing pain behind her eyes as the future played out, her voice
rising above the murmurs...
“In this hour it shall be known, that what once was will crumble. In its place ashes as the hybrid destroys
what was….”
The words stopped her vocal cords too fragile to handle the strain the
channeling had placed upon them. She
dropped to the floor, her small frame crumbling under the impact.
What was worse was the knowledge of what was trapped inside…That which
she never could speak of, because every time she tried it was as if a veil
covered her mind. The veil mad it
impossible to remember the most important parts of the prophecy that each
Everlastings now held close to their hearts.
No hybrids, for they were an abomination. They would destroy what was.
Arwi-a fainted as her mind went blank with the truth tickling at the
edge of her mind. When she crawled back
to consciousness, the sun had set and the truth was a blur. She sensed that despite the precautions they
were taking to ensure no hybrids existed.
She had seen some of the eradications herself, within her dreams. The children that died barely old enough to
hold their heads up. Some days the guilt
consumed her, but she knew she couldn’t end her existence. The one who would unleash the truth would
come one day and when they did, Arwi-a could finally release the truth.
A burden such as this should never be the burden of a child to bear,
but bear it she did.
Arwi-a moaned as her unconsciousness and the memories faded away. She crawled to her feet and descended the
stairs the small house closing in on her, bringing to the forefront how lonely
she had become.
Her life was not here, not in this era, but in the sands of time. She could have chosen to end her existence,
but something kept her from doing so.
Although she wandered aimlessly through the present, she looked forward
to a future that included an explanation for the reason she had been so
alone. The reason she couldn’t remember
what seemed so important.
Witches were said to be incomplete until they found their match, what
changelings called their mate and what vampires and darklings considered their
bound. Arwi-a lamented her lonely
existence having not found her match because she was alone in a world in which
she did not belong. However, no relationship, even fated would work in her
current guilt ridden condition.
Therefore, she waited for a time when that which she had wrought would
end.
Destroy what was…
NOTE: This book will be the prequel of the series.
