CHAPTER 5: ZANE
1061 Words
Immediately after Zane spoke, a young man stepped forward.
He was striking—his gray hair fell loosely over sharp features, his brown eyes steady and unreadable. His body was heavily built, muscles defined and tense beneath his skin. He wore nothing but a pair of trousers—no shoes, no shirt—yet he carried himself with quiet authority. He was a guard. A high-ranked guard.
Zane’s gaze hardened instantly.
A low growl rumbled from his chest as he stepped forward, grabbing the man by the throat.
“Why are you here?” he snarled, his voice laced with raw fury.
“My prince,” the guard said nervously, “I bear a message. I'm sent by Ziel—your stepbrother.”
“Do I look like a kid that needs a watchdog?!” Zane roared.
His grip tightened, and in a flash of uncontrollable rage, he hurled the guard aside. The impact was brutal. The man crashed to the ground, groaning in pain.
Zane’s strength was monstrous—far beyond what his appearance suggested. It was as though the force of a god lived within him, something wild and untamed… something that refused to be restrained.
The guard struggled to breathe. He held his neck and gasped for air.
Zane turned back to the guard, his eyes blazing.
“If you have nothing useful to say,” he growled coldly, “leave. And if I ever see you near me again… I will kill you.”
The guard did not flinch. Instead, he bowed slightly.
“You are to find the bride,” he said calmly.
Zane scoffed, irritation flashing across his face.
“The Luna goddess,” the man added, his voice steady. “She bears a mark—a small one, barely noticeable. A water lily, etched like a tattoo on her back. That is how you will recognize her.”
Silence followed.
Zane stared at him, unimpressed.
“That’s your message?” he said, his tone dripping with disbelief. “A tiny flower on someone’s back? Am I supposed to start inspecting every woman I see?”
The young man gave no reply.
He simply bowed once more… and vanished as quietly as he had appeared.
Zane exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
“What kind of useless clue is that?” he muttered.
Shaking his head, he turned and walked back to the kitten. He heard the footsteps of some students approaching, and he quickly wore his glasses. His thoughts were in chaos. A bride. A mark. A goddess.
None of it made sense.
Miles away, beneath a darkened sky, another scene unfolded.
The same young man stumbled into a vast hall, his body battered and bleeding from Zane’s single attack.
He collapsed to one knee.
Before him sat Ziel—the Alpha King of the werewolves.
Ziel’s eyes narrowed as he observed the state of the man.
“What happened to you?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous.
The young man lowered his head.
“Zane,” he answered simply.
A deep, furious growl escaped Ziel.
“That insolent bastard,” he spat. “Always so proud… so arrogant.”
His fists clenched at his sides.
Zane.
The one who was always stronger.
The one who was always better.
“Leave,” Ziel ordered coldly.
The young man did not hesitate. He rose unsteadily and disappeared from the hall.
The moment he was gone, the shadows shifted.
Two figures emerged.
The first was the witch doctor—silent, watchful, his presence unsettling.
The second was a woman of striking authority.
Aliska. Ziel's mother.
A slow, calculating smile curved her lips.
“It won’t be long now,” she said softly.
Ziel turned to her.
“Once he finds the bride,” she continued, her voice dripping with quiet malice, “we will take her.”
The witch doctor nodded.
“And when that happens,” Aliska added, her eyes gleaming, “Zane will die.”
Ziel’s lips curled into a dark smile.
They all knew the truth.
Zane must never regain his memories.
Because if he did… everything would be lost.
Aliska stepped closer to her son, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Soon,” she said, her voice almost soothing, “you will become unstoppable. The power of the werewolf… combined with that of the Luna goddess…”
Her smile widened.
“You will be the strongest in the land.”
Ziel exhaled slowly, his gaze darkening with ambition.
Because despite everything—
Zane was still stronger than him.
And that truth burned.
Zane. The outcast.
Born of two worlds—half werewolf, half demon.
His father, the feared demon king.
His mother, Alya… a weak omega, shunned and mocked by her own kind.
She had been nothing in the eyes of the pack.
An embarrassment.
And when she bore a child from another breed, it became a scandal—a taboo that stained her name forever.
Zane grew up surrounded by whispers, by judgment… by hatred.
But power does not ask for permission. It simply exists. And Zane’s power was limitless.
When the time came for the rites, when the next Alpha was to be chosen…
It was him.
There was no contest.
No one could stand against him.
The pack protested. They rejected him.
An outcast. A mistake. A taboo.
But none of them could defeat him. Not even Ziel. And so, they turned to deception.
To poison.
To betrayal.
Aliska.
Ziel.
They made their move in silence.
Alya was killed… slowly, painfully.
And to seal their crime, they forged a letter.
A final message.
A lie.
In it, she claimed she regretted ever giving birth to Zane.
That she could not live with the shame.
That she chose death.
Zane believed it.
The grief shattered him.
The rage disappeared.
The fire within him… died.
And just like that—
He gave up everything.
The title.
The power.
The throne.
He walked away from the position of Alpha… and handed it to Ziel.
From that day forward, Zane became a shadow of who he once was.
Broken.
Silent.
Unaware that the truth had been stolen from him.
And now…
The past was beginning to stir.
The bride.
The mark.
The Luna goddess.
Whether he knew it or not—
Zane’s fate was already unfolding.
- Writer
