Destiny Series: Unlawful Mates

Timidity was a way of life for the No Pack of the city of Selenepolis, keeping their heads down and avoiding the privileged Howls Pack that towers over them. Kaida Pierce is no exception. The rift between their packs has existed for centuries, caused by the arrogant howls who did not accept to share the generous kingdom given to them by the moon goddesses; Selene and Luna. In an act of humble justice, the celestial beings respond by blessing the rejected No Packs with extraordinary supernatural gifts to help alleviate their plight. Kaida's gift was one from a young age. She was blessed with incredible healing and rejuvenating powers linked to the lunar cycles. While this set her apart, her shy nature meant that she deserved little more than uncomfortable tolerance from the disdainful Howls, despite her obvious power. On a fateful summer witching hour, Kaida runs through the winding alleys that separate the great inner sanctuaries of the Howls Territory from the crumbling outer huts of the No Pack. Her stepmother Marya, as pretentious and vapid as any elite wolf, requested a dark medicinal root known for its beautifying properties, gifted at creating herbs for different purposes from different roots and plants. "No less than three bushels, lest you wish these floors to adorn your present ugliness," Marya mocks, pretending to apply another coat of bright makeup to her already heavily powdered features. Kaida shuddered as she remembered the fierce rebuke, even though she knew better than to protest her position. The only place this rare flower grew was a lonely, isolated place, nestled deep within Howl's inner sanctum. Getting in and out without being seen or injured would not be an easy task at that deadly witching hour when wolves can be anything and do anything. This thought makes Kaida tremble the more, unknown to her that she'd also have a spot to perform at this ungodly hour. When she arrived at the desert shadow square, Kaida froze at the shocking scene unfolding before her. A powerfully built being, dressed in the finery of the upper class, lay crumpled in the dirt, his robe disheveled, and his face obscured by a broken clay mask. Two merciless rogues stare at their prey, slashing their claws and trampling the fallen victim. Revulsion twisted Kaida's stomach as she watched. For all the Howlers who describe themselves as brutal towards other people, abandoning one of their own to such a vile fate was unthinkable. She wanted to retreat and ask for help, but she was paralyzed when one of the rogues snatched a shiny pendant from the victim's neck. “Just a puppy playing too far from home,” they sneer, admiring the jeweled emblem that marks the young man as not a mere resident, but as Howl's nobility. “You should bring us a nice bonus, huh, brother?” Before Kaida could reconsider her decision, she ran out of the shadows, raising a shaking hand as the familiar hum of lunar energy coursed through her veins. “S-stop, please!” she shouts in a timid voice that somehow still resonates with an ethereal tone of power. "Leave this place... before there are no more problems!" The rogues race towards her with wild growls, clearly surprised by her boldness and amused at her shy and modest composure. “Well, a little hag from the No Pack,” he sneers at her, dragging the tip of his wickedly serrated dagger across the ground. “You better get under the rock you slip from, before we make you our next trophy.” With her heart pounding in her ears, Kaida raised her chin as tears of defiant frustration welled up in her eyes. Drawing from the moon's strength, she commands the fiery celestial energy within her to blaze around her in a blinding halo of white light that forces the rogues to retreat. ""You…please, I beg you to leave this place. Now,"" she commands in a tremulous and scary but resonant tone of authority that echoes the same whispers of her lunar benefactors. For a long, tense moment, the two laughing rascals seemed to consider testing her further. But this fiery aura surrounding the modest girl unleashes a primal unease that soon has them hiding in the shadows, with bitter curses on their canine tongues. As the otherworldly halo faded, Kaida fell to her knees beside the fallen figure. His condition was truly horrific: patrician features hidden beneath a mask of matted blood and florid bruises, grotesquely distorted ribs on his savage torso. Any normal wolf would have bled to death within moments from such severe wounds. Without missing a beat, Kaida pressed her hands against his tattered robes, pouring every ounce of the regenerative lunar powers pulsing within him to bind his battered flesh... As the minutes pass, the bloody cuts and bruises gradually fade, the bones falling back into place, the sinister bruises turning an angry pink before disappearing completely beneath the soft new growth of his shiny black fur. Only then did the wolf's sharp obsidian eyes widen in shock. Stunned for a moment, the strange young noble simply stared at his timid savior, his expression quickly changing from incomprehension to fear and disbelief. Finally, a serious and curious word escaped his bloody lips: ""... How?" Kaida swallows, unable to hold that piercing gaze as shame blooms on her cheeks. "I... I'm sorry, my lord,"" she stammers, avoiding his questions, already preparing to retreat into the shadows of the alleys. ""Your kind... you shouldn't hang out with people like me. You better go."" But before she could escape, a strong hand grabbed her waist with surprising tenderness and pulled her back with a commanding look of silent determination. Intimidated, Kaida could only gape helplessly as the imposing young noble stood, studying her with an intense but curious obsidian gaze. "Who are you?" His deep voice brooked no objection but held a hint of genuine curiosity rather than contempt. “What… what tribe claims someone who walks with the favor of the goddesses themselves?” His words were like a physical blow, knocking the breath from Kaida's lungs as tears of disbelief stung her eyes. No Wolf had ever acknowledged her sacred gift before her, much less with such obvious awe and respect. Her mouth moved silently as she searched for an answer. Before she could find her voice, his menacing figure had already turned towards her, with an imperious air of silent command. ""Let's go. We'll exchange a few words in private, you and me."" "I cannot. I have duties to perform."" Kaida protested as she looked away from him, positioning herself to walk away from a decision that could affect her tomorrow. The young elite couldn't resist the disheveled beauty in his presence. Further ado, a gifted person who saved his life and healed his wounds, never taking no for an answer, pressed further to spend some time with her. ""My Lady, can you reconsider my request? It would be an honor to have a quality talk with you about yourself. Please give me a chance to get to know you and also thank you properly. Unable to resist, Kaida could only obediently follow the mysterious and noble wolf. That night, it seemed as if the deity she worshiped had irrevocably shifted her world onto a higher path, clearly tied to this magnetic stranger with intense eyes and the secrets he held. "Do you mind if I take you to my home?" He questioned Kaida, unsure of her choices, nervously nodded yes to him, walking hand in hand with the stranger. Whether it was fear, fate, or something else entirely, Kaida knew that her life would never be the same again.