Thread: A Tale of Two Lives (BurningWillows & Rskde)

Have you ever seen the stars on a clear summers night? Have you ever heard the wind whistle through fields of grass, or a babbling brook turn into a roaring waterfall? I havent, Kayden Daeryth sighed, flipping the page in her well worn out book, knowing the words by heart after eighteen years. Her books were all she had. There wasnt much for entertainment within the pack. Nothing but her books, the pages worn and tattered, the leather covers starting to crack and fall apart. But they were hers, and she loved them dearly. They had once been her mothers, before she passed away years ago to an unforeseen illness that had swept through the clan, taking many lives. Now they were Kaydens, due to a miracle that neither of her siblings had requested them after their mothers death. Kayden was born to a litter of three two beautiful girls and a boy. Her sister had been born a wolf, a sign of a true Alpha. Her brother had been born human like Kayden, both omegas, but he was the only boy, a son her father had always wanted. And KaydenKayden had no significance to the family, at least in the eyes of her father. He had the son he had hoped for, and the Alpha he needed as a successor. Her mother had been kinder, truly loving all her children equally. She had fought for Kaydens place within their family, refusing to let her be left behind. But once she had passed there was no one protecting her, no one to help her speak up. Kayden had grown into the wallflower she was today, holding her tongue in order to appease her father. And tomorrow would be her eighteenth birthday. Eighteen long, tiring years of living in her familys shadow, practically forgotten by her clan, rarely recognized for the royal blood running through her veins. Her familys bloodline expanded centuries, running back to the start of the first clan. Somehow though, that mattered little when it came to Kayden. Kayden? the soft sound of a knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts and she welcomed the person in, setting her book down on her small nightstand. The carved wooden door creaked open, grinding against the stone ground under it as an elderly woman stepped inside, pushing her white hair behind her ears. She carried within her arms several books and a small wrapped box. Delena, she spoke softly in greeting, getting up to take the books, I thought our lessons were finished till after my birthday? Yes child, they are, Delena smiled warmly, the wrinkles in her face growing as her thin lips stretched out, But I wanted to make sure you were prepared for tomorrow. A princess must know all about her clan and her blood. Ive already studied the history of our clan and my bloodline. Besides, I am no princess, Delena. I am a pawn for my father. Do not speak ill of our Alpha my dear. Your father, Issac, is doing what is best for the clan. By offering me as a mate to Gregory, from the southern pack? By keeping the peace with the other packs so our clan remains united. We do not need a civil war child. Kayden set the books down at her desk, knowing they held the history of their clan and werewolves, dating back many centuries. She recognized the covers and knew every word by heart too, down to the names of every past Alpha. It was essential all royal bloods were educated, even those not in line for the throne. The clan was made up of six packs, and each pack had a leader, known mostly by their names, but considered Betas. The Betas were born Alphas amongst the packs that were not immediate heirs to the throne, instead raised to lead the pack instead of the entire clan. All six packs were run by the Alpha, who watched over and kept the peace amongst the clan. For the last century or so Kaydens father, Issac, had been Alpha. Before that had been her grandfather, and her great grandmother before that. It was why her family was known as royals, almost every Alpha born to her bloodline had become Alpha of the clan at one point or another. Any beta could rise to Alpha too, if they challenged for leadership and had reasonable means to do so. Kaydens sister Katerina - or Nina as she liked to be called - had been running their pack for the past year in training to become the future Alpha. Once their father stepped down, the role of Alpha would pass to her unless someone challenged her. Which was unlikely Katerina was a born leader, of royal blood, and an amazing fighter. No sane Beta would dare challenge her, unless they had a death wish. Tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday and instead of enjoying it, I will be spending it in the throne room, watching men grovel at my sisters feet for her hand. And yet I get no choice in a mate? It is our custom Kayden. The Alphas are allowed to choose their mates. All others in the blood line are arranged in marriage, to the best potential fit. Your sister Katerina must find a mate who will compliment her when she rises to the throne. She is not looking for love tomorrow. But she was. For weeks now Kayden had listened to Nina drool over the men arriving, all seeking her hand. She already had top picks, and questions picked out to needle through them to find who she believed would be the love of her life. Delena saw the look in Kaydens eyes and made a clicking sound with her tongue, scolding her without words. Then she patted her on the cheek and shuffled out, leaving Kayden alone with her thoughts. Delena was one of the Elders, a group of the oldest wolves in the clan that lived apart from any pack and only answered to the Alpha, following wherever he went. She had been living amongst their pack for years now as a guide and educator for Katerina, Kayden, and their brother Christian. Instead of going through the books brought to her, Kayden moved to her small bathroom. Their pack lived underground, inside an immense cavern built into a cliff face. The triplets were born to the Northern pack, or Winter Wolves. Most wolves born to this pack had snowy white fur, thus giving them their winter name. Her mother had been a winter wolf, granted her two daughters the same gorgeous white fur. Christian had been the only one with dark brown fur, like their father, who had been born from the Eastern pack. The Northern pack had lived in this cavern for decades, using its strong stone walls as protection from the harsh world outside. All the walls were grey stone, identical to the floors. Her room was no different, but her bathroom didnt look as dreary with the colorful mural she had painted on one of the walls, and the mirror hanging opposite it. In her bedroom she had a red rug in the center of the floor to add some color, and a few decorative pieces on her walls but not much else. There was a half finished mural on the far wall near her bed, but Kayden had run out of paints and hadnt gotten more since. Her furniture was simply her queen sized mattress on top of an elegantly carved oak frame, a nightstand made from dark wood, and her desk with chair made from the same oak her bed frame was. It seemed simple, but for her people it was luxurious. Picking up her brush she combed through her white locks, staring into her mirror. Alike most in her pack, Kayden had beautiful white hair that matched her wolf fur when she Changed. She had let it grow out down past her breasts, and it normally hung in a braid down her back. Smoky grey eyes stared back through the mirror, watching her movements as she combed the knots out. Striking eyes, long lashes and fine eyebrows stood out against her ivory skin, accentuating her soft jawline and high cheekbones, giving her a stunning yet elegant look. Kayden was a beauty like her mother, only matched by her sister who was identical in comparison. Tomorrow I meet Gregory, she sighed, talking to herself as she brushed, The man Im intended to be withforever. In two days time I will leaving for his pack, never to see mine again. The packs rarely convened and when they did it was only the Betas and the Alpha, meeting at the ancient Oak Tree growing in the middle of the clans land. It was circled by a lazy river like a moat that had grown around it, cutting cleanly through the clans territory, from the north east corner to the southwest. Or so she read. The only positive to leaving her pack was the chance to see outside, to run through the trees like the other wolves. The clans territory spanned many miles, estimated by her sister. Kayden had to be the only werewolf in the entire clan who hadnt explored their territory. She had ventured outside but never strayed far from the caverns entrance. Just because it was their territory didnt guarantee safety, and every wolf had to learn to defend and fight for themselves before they could gander around alone. Unfortunately for Kayden, her father refused to teach her those means, thinking she would be of better use inside the pack walls, learning from the elders. And her siblings were too busy to help. The elders only taught through books, and no one else spoke to her effectively leaving Kayden stuck to the den, and hating every minute of it. Her night went on as expected, reading her books until she fell asleep well into the morning. Kayden normally slept in - it wasnt like anyone would come looking for her but this morning she was woken early by frantic knocking, before her door slammed open and Delena bustled in. Child get up! she snapped, pulling at the covers even as Kayden dragged them further up her neck, not ready to wake. Just because it is my birthday doesnt mean I have to wake early, Kayden groaned, rolling over, Ten more minutes. We dont have ten minutes, she sounded upset, prompting Kayden to open her grey eyes. Whats wrong? Kayden bolted up, seeing Delenas red rimmed eyes and panicked expression, Whats happened? Its your sister Kayden, her voice shook as she spoke, Shes dead. She barely put in the effort to dress, donning on a long black tunic with a collar that dipped low and a leather belt to hold it in place at her waist. Her people did not need to wear elegant clothing or many accessories, the wolf in them saw no value in it. Hair a mess of tangles and knots, Kayden ignored the stares as she ran through the labyrinth of corridors connecting the caverns that made up their den all together. Her bare feet slapped the stone floor as she ran, Delena lagging far behind. Kayden made her way to the throne room, where her father would be. Pressing against the pair of engraved oak doors that led into the throne room, Kayden stepped in and joined the small party gathering around her father. The room itself was a perfect circular cavern, almost like a sphere, with the walls and ceiling carved out of dazzling crystals. The floor was its usual grey stone decorated with a long blood red rug that ran the length of the room from the entrance. It led to the opposite side of the room where a tall throne sat, made purely out of a single redwood tree that had been whittled down and engraved with intricate designs around the trunk making up the base. The trunk split into winding branches that created the back and arms of the throne, stretching high towards the crystals. Every time she stepped into the room she felt her breath fall away at the beauty surrounding her, except for today. Today she struggled not to cry at the news before her. Father, is it true? she spoke softly, stepping further into the room. Her father sat on his throne, looking regal as always. His hair had turned white, although once it had been brown alike his beard. His face showed his age, every wrinkle describing another year he was Alpha, years of war and peace reflected behind those crystal blue eyes. Issac had been on the throne for around a hundred years, and his age extended past that. Werewolves commonly lived a few centuries, unless killed early due to war or illness. Even with this crisis at hand, he took the time to dress in his normal garments, a white tunic and black pants tucked into leather boots that sat mid-calf. He always had a belt around his waist, holding a hunting knife on his hip. Across his left shoulder lay a black sash with golden stitching on it, their coat of arms embroidered into it. Each bloodline within the clan had their own coat of arms, and those ascended to Alpha or Beta wore some form of garment with it displayed. Issac chose a sash, one that her mother had gifted to them long ago. It started with vines that turned into roses. In the middle of the sash two wolves fought, their teeth long and jagged. The wolves had manes like lions, shaggy and wild around their heads. It displayed strength, fierceness, and royalty what her father and her family was best known for. It also resembled the males in bloodline in wolf form the hair around their neck grew longer and thicker, almost mane like. The throne sat on a platform that cut across the end of the circular room, built into the stone so that he sat two steps up from the small crowd standing at his feet. She couldnt really even call them a crowd, there was only five other people. Three of them were Elders like Delena, who counselled the Alpha and joined his every meeting, providing wisdom and advise. Whether her father listened to them was an entirely different matter. The fourth person was Issacs right hand, a warrior from the Eastern Pack and Kaydens uncle, Gareth. The Eastern Pack was the only pack with a singular purpose to raise and train fighters. Her father had come from that pack, as had most of her family from that side. Gareth had dark brown hair like her father, but he was younger so there were few gray hairs. The last crowd member, and probably the most surprising, was her brother Christian. Like Issac and Gareth, his hair was a rich brown, and he had a strong square jawline that made him look angry if he wasnt smiling. Familiar greyish blue eyes gazed at her as she bolted in, a sad smile on his face. Is it true? she turned to him, looking to her older brother for answers, Please tell me this is a cruel joke.