1 THE ROYAL KNIGHT I

UNEDITED

My heart pounded in my chest as I ran through the forest, to my sister. I dodged branches and jumped over fallen lodges. My legs burned as I ran, pain coursing through my body. The thing that I was trying to protect my sibling from, grew larger as I got closer.

The mist

No one knew what had caused this deadly fog. It wasn't like the usual, harmless fogs caused by water droplets. This one was lethal. When it engulfs you, a burning sensation spreads through your body like fire. I've encountered it once before, it came to pack and destroyed everything and everyone within the pack.

The beasts who were engulfed by it never live to tell the tale, and the environment, including trees and houses, suffers greatly as a result. After everyone was gone the thing left leaving behind was clear land. No trees, houses, nothing just dust.

My nose twitched as a scent hit my nose. My beast howled inside me, taking in more of the scent. I didn't know what was producing this scent but it smelt amazing and made me relax as if a piece of myself had finally been awakened.

I ignored the sensation, getting distracted by the amazing scent. My skin began to burn just from being this close to the mist. Relief spread through my body when I spotted my sister. She was on the floor, her face hidden by her small hands and legs tucked beneath her body. I heard her whimpers and it made my heart clench in sadness.

The mist was spreading fast, almost reaching where she was. I pushed my legs to move faster, using all the power left in me. I fell on my knees when I got to her side and used my body as a shield, blocking it from coming in contact with her skin. The mist swallowed us whole, burning the skin on my back. I screamed in agony.

It felt like the skin on my back was being ripped off by something. I closed my eyes in pain and pulled my sister closer. She stopped crying and tried to look up at me but I stopped her. She began to struggle against me, wanting to be let out but I held my ground.

My head and body hurt like hell. My vision became blurry and black dots appeared. As my brain shut down and death began to pull me down into the darkness, I saw something. It was a hand. The hand was covered in a white cloth and shined bright almost blinding me.

I slowly reached for the hand but before I could grip the hand, I fell.

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'My father burst into my room, startling me. He leaped onto my bed and crept behind me. I looked at my father, perplexed, expecting him to say something, but all he did was press his finger against his lips, signalling me to be quiet.

"What?" I inquired, ignoring him. Before he could reply my door flew open once more, but this time it was opened by my mother. She glared at my father with a frying pan in her hand. She yelled at him to stop acting like a child and just do what she wanted.

Behind me, my father laughed and refused her request. I stood there, amused by their interaction.'

I fixed my gaze on the scene in front of me.

I recall that day. It was my and Aden's first day of high school, and my father refused to leave the house, so my pregnant mother chased him around the house with a frying pan. That day was so amusing that I thought I might die from laughter. I smiled at the beautiful memory.

The scenes abruptly changed, but this time it was that day. The day the mist destroyed my pack.

'While I and Aden were watching Emily at home, my parents were out, taking a walk around the pack with some other pack members. We were playing when someone barged in and ordered us to leave. We had no idea what was going on, so we did as we were told.'

Tears streamed down my cheeks, as I stared at myself running with my siblings

'My parents weren't there. We hadn't even crossed the border when we realized we were the only ones running'

I sobbed uncontrollably as I watched that day unfold before my eyes. I'd left them. I was a coward. I simply left, not knowing anything...

'I turned around to see my parents and some other pack members running towards us.' I smiled, relieved that they were safe, but something was following them, spreading quickly.

My eyes widened as I noticed what it was.

It was the mist.

Sounds of screaming and trees falling, even houses crumbling was heard. I panicked and told my parents to hurry up, but something unexpected happened.' I collapsed on my knees, unable to watch any longer. It was far too painful to go through again.

'She'll never forgive you, my lord,' I overheard

My lord?

Wait, that wasn't in my memory. I looked up but could no longer see anything. I was surrounded by darkness.

'I did not solicit your opinion.' A deep voice growled, clearly irritated. I attempted to move my body, but it felt heavy as if I were attempting to lift a house.

'I sincerely apologize, my lord.'

I tried again and again until my body moved and my eyes opened unexpectedly.

White light.

I shut my eyes, blocking out the white light that almost blinded me. I groaned in pain. I heard shuffling, then movement, and finally a click.

'You can now open your eyes, milady.' When I opened my eyes a little, the bright light was off. I sighed in relief before fully opening my eyes and taking in my surroundings. I was in a white room, lying on a bed and something was in my hand.

I looked at it to see what looked like an injection plastered to my hand. An annoying beeping sound was heard coming from a machine beside me. I groaned again before turning my attention to the two people in front of me. One is male, while the other is female.

When my gaze moved to the male figure, his size made it difficult for him to be ignored. Something spread through my body, causing my heart to race and the annoying beeping sound to intensify. The other figure approached me, checking me before speaking.

"Her heart is racing, Milord." My gaze remained fixed on the man. He was beautiful. Everything about him was both beautiful and strange. He had red eyes that stared back at me as if he was looking deep into my soul.

His jaw was clenched so tightly that I was concerned he might injure himself. His hair was jet black and long. It appeared to be natural and packed behind his head. He had a piercing in his right ear, which gave him a bad-boy look.

My gaze moved involuntarily to his body and I gulped. He was dressed in a black shirt and black shorts. I suddenly felt compelled to rip his shirt off and mark his body. I gasped at the thought and finally turned away from him after taking him in one more time. I turned to face the female figure, who was smiling at me.

My eyes widened when I realized Aden and Emily were not present in the room. I tried to speak, but my throat felt extremely dry, causing me to cough. The female quickly reached for the glass of water beside her and handed it to me. I drank it greedily, finishing it in less than a second. She handed me another and I gulped it down.

"Where are they?" The female looked at me confused "My siblings, where are they?" I asked my gaze remaining on the female because I didn't think I'd be able to look away from the man if I looked at him again.

She looked at the man, then back at me but didn't say anything. The room was silent only the sound of the machine being heard. I continued to stare at the woman, my patience running thin until it was completely gone.

I yanked the stupid thing out of my hand and threw my legs off the bed. My legs gave out the moment I put all my weight on them. She rushed towards me and tried to help me. I growled at her, stopping her from touching me. Right now, the worst thing for anyone to do is touch me.

I felt dizzy and nauseous but pushed the sensation away. I took slow steps past her and towards the window beside the room. I opened it and peered outside. I sighed internally when I saw the room wasn't all that far from the ground. If I shift in mid-air, I should be able to land safely.

"This is the last time I'll ask you…. where are my siblings?" I asked again, irritated. The female appeared to want to say something but didn't, which irritated me even more. Her gaze alternated between me and the male again.

I let out a sigh and jumped out the window. I transformed into my black wolf in mid-air and began sniffing my surroundings for their scent immediately my paws hit the ground. My beast growled angrily and struggled for dominance. She wanted me to go back into the room and stay there.

I growled back, annoyed by her behaviour. Is she unconcerned about her siblings? She stopped fighting for control after I gave her a piece of my mind, which is also her mind, but that's beside the point.

I picked up a scent; it was very faint but enough for me to track. it led to the woods, so I followed it without hesitation. Breeze hit my face as I ran through the unfamiliar woods, dodging branches. I sped up as I heard paws hitting the ground behind me. My beast was now back to her senses, and we pushed on, worrying more and more about our siblings.

I ran deeper into the seemingly endless forest, making sharp turns when needed. I came to a halt when I noticed that at least three beasts were blocking my path. I was about to turn around and start running again when I noticed more behind me. Shit. They had me surrounded.

They stalked towards me, growling at me, warning me not to move. I retaliated with a growl of my own that was louder than theirs. I looked around the foresting, thinking of how to get away from them and find my siblings.

I looked up and noticed something. The trees were really tall and it looked like the branches were strong enough to carry a person.

Bingo

An amazing feature of my beast is that I can jump pretty high even in human form. I can even use the trees as a trampoline to speed up.

Perks of being a tracker wolf

I shifted back into my skin, which caused some of them to stop growling and frown at me. I squatted down, like a compressed spring. When they realized what I was going to do, their eyes widened and they lunged at me, but it was too late; I was already in the air. I landed on a tree, not as gracefully as I had planned but balanced myself.

Following the scent, I began jumping from branch to branch, tree to tree. I was led to a clearing by the scent. I came to a halt at the last tree and looked around. There was something tall at the centre of the clearing.

I noticed some beasts walking around it. To see further, I squinted my eyes. One disadvantage of being a tracker wolf is that my vision is inferior to my hearing and smell. Then I spotted them. My siblings. They were between the beasts.

They were chained to the bottom of the tall thing with chains on their hands and legs, preventing them from moving. As I saw their pained expressions, rage began to fill my veins.

I leaped from the tree, shifted back into my fur, and ran towards them. When the beasts saw me, they began to change into their fur.

"Charlie," my little sister yelled, her tiny voice sounding pained, escalating my rage. I sped up, getting closer to them. The beasts from before had arrived in the clearing and were now following me.

Beasts were both ahead of me and on my tail. Shit.

I was so enraged that I let my beast take control, and now we were running to our deaths. I jumped over the beasts in front of me and landed in front of my siblings, shielding them from those jerks.

My beast growled, exposing her canines. I'm pretty sure we appeared insane to them. When one of them took another step forward, I growled again, warning them not to come any further. They returned to their skin and held their hands in the air.

"Hey, hey, relax, we're not going to do anything," he explained as he took another step forward. "OK, relax," he said. I glared at him before seizing command of my beast. She trashed against me, but I was able to subdue her and shift back, but not before turning around and clawing the chains off of my siblings.

The chain burned my skin and I winced in pain. I knelt and wrapped my arms around them, ignoring the pain. I drew them into a hug, relieved that they were okay and they returned my hug.

"Charlie," Emily sobbed. I'm not sure if it was fear or pain, but it enraged me even more. When I let go of Aden, who looked relieved, I held her small body closer to mine.

"I'm sorry, em," I comforted her as she sobbed angrily into my chest. She was far too young for all of this. I drew back and handed her to Aden. She was initially hesitant, but soon relaxed when she realized it was Aden.

My attention was drawn to their hands. The chains had burned their skin and left an unsightly red mark. Emily's sobbing became more intense as I ran my finger over her injured hands. When I looked at Aden's face, I noticed that he had a bruise on the right side of his face.

It appeared to be excruciatingly painful. Their beasts were incapable of healing them due to lack of energy. My beast lost it within me, scratching and clawing at the back of my mind, desperate to be let out so she could rip out all those bastards' throats.

"Are you able to speak?" I inquired, resting my palm on his bruised cheek. He shook his head and winced in pain. He lifted his head, exposing his bruised neck. That was the final straw.

Before I knew it, my beast had escaped the imaginary chain around her neck and was on her way to the bastard whose scent was on the chains. She pushed the person to the ground and began punching him. The individual was taken off guard and unable to defend themselves.

I growled as I delivered each punch, the force increasing with each one.

"How" punch "dare" punch "you," I said. My voice does not sound normal. I thought

Someone tried to pry me away from the person, but I just growled, gripping their hand and yanking them off me, causing them to whimper in pain as they landed on their back.

"Don't touch me," I yelled at the person before returning my focus to the jerk beneath me. They whimpered beneath me, pleading with me to stop, but it only enraged me more.

My siblings were probably crying in agony as they were chained to the ground. My claws elongated and were about to reach for their chest when someone spoke up.

"Enough," Someone exclaimed. All my rage evaporated from my body, leaving behind a cool feeling. My vision returned to me as I blinked. I gasped as I looked at the person beneath me. They looked horrible as if they had been run over numerous times. They couldn't be identified.

The individual attempted to move but was unable to do so and whimpered. As I stared at the individual, I covered my mouth in shock.

'You must learn to control your anger or you risk tearing someone apart.' As he carried the boy I had just beaten up, my father said. He was one of Aden's bullies, and he had injured him in front of me this time. I tackled him, and I don't remember what happened after that.

The person had begun to heal, so they appeared better than 30 seconds ago, but still, someone carried me off of them, and the person was quickly carried to what I assume was the infirmary. I stood there feeling extremely guilty and ashamed as they carried the person away.

'I looked around at the other beasts, and they all took a step back, afraid I'd pounce on them.' They looked at me as if I were the bad guy, but I wasn't. For some reason, the way they looked at me bothered me a lot.

"Leave us," said the person who was holding me. I didn't even have the strength to fight this person. "Bring them along," he said. I tensed up.

"No!" I yelled as I saw the beasts approaching my siblings. They came to a halt and took a step back from me.

My beast whimpered a little bit.

"Relax, they're going to the infirmary," he said, his lips pressing against my ear. My body relaxed and sank into him. The beasts appeared hesitant at first, then moved closer to them. Aden looked at me with concern, not wanting to abandon me with this man who appeared to have some control over me...

"She's fine. "Go to the infirmary and have your wounds examined," he advised. Aden's eyes shifted to his, and he nodded before following the beast with Emily in his arms. When they got into the forest, the man turned around and dipped his head into my neck.

"That was unexpected," he sniffed me. My beast howled within me, her tail wagging joyfully behind her.

I couldn't understand why she was so happy around this man, especially since we had only recently met. I felt so relaxed and comfortable around him like he was my teddy bear and I was a five-year-old child. It's almost frightening how a stranger can have so much power over us.

My beast growled at me in defence of the man. I growled back, curious as to why she was acting so strangely. She didn't say anything, just sat in my mind and watched. I exhaled a sigh.

"What are you thinking?"

"My beast is acting fun-" I slapped my hand over my mouth, stopping myself from finishing my sentence. I moved away from him, perplexed. I hadn't even realized I was speaking. He locked his gaze on me before smirking and taking a step closer.

"Earlier, I thought you were acting. You really don't know who I am?" he asked the question with his perfect brow raised.

My hands dropped to my sides from my mouth, and I shook my head no.

"Well, love, I'm known as the Royal Knight." My eyes widened.

The Royal Knight.

The beast was only a royal family knight but managed to overpower them all and seize the throne. The cursed knight who took over the kingdom despite not being of royal blood. He changed so many things and made so many enemies, but no one could ever defeat him. The man who can annihilate an entire pack in his skin.

"Yay, you know who I am," he said childishly and smiling devilishly, flashing his pearly whites. I took more steps back, wanting to get as far away from it as possible.

"What do you want from us?" I inquired, referring to my siblings and myself. I'm not sure why we're here. I have no ancestors of royal blood.

At my confusion, his mood seemed to brighten, and he took steps towards me, forcing me to back up until my back touched the cold wall. I gasped when he invaded my personal space. My face collided with his rock-hard body, which was pressed against my soft one. He towered over me, making me almost cower in fear...

Keyword: Almost

I was not afraid of this man for some reason. I'd heard stories about him; he was as bad as the fog, if not worse, but I wasn't afraid of him; instead, I felt angry....at him.

He leaned in, his gaze level with mine. My heart beat faster as he moved his face closer to mine, his nose brushing against mine. When his gaze darted from mine to my lips, my legs almost buckled.

His stare made me uncomfortable and insecure. My tongue brushed against my lower lip, then my upper lip, before returning to its cave. His gaze followed the movement before returning to mine, his smile still on his face.

"A king needs his queen" confusion "As powerful as I may be, I need someone to share this power with, someone to share my pain, joy, sadness, and anger with. I need my queen." He stated, all playfulness gone. I gulped and averted my gaze from his, unable to maintain eye contact.

"Well, go find her and stop bothering innocent people."

"After what you just did, innocent is not the right word for you," he chuckled. "And I've already found her, and from what I've seen, she's quite the character."

I glared at him. I felt a sting in my chest for some reason from his words but ignored it.

"Well, I don't think she'd appreciate you harassing you."

"Harassing you, that's not right how about.........admiring you?" he suggested.

"Excuse me?" I was utterly confused. What a scumbag he is, admiring someone else while his queen was away.

"I'm admiring what's mine. You" he said as he ran his hand down my cheek. That's when I noticed the sparks. I was intense, like fireworks on my cheek, spreading like a virus across my face.

I was intense, like fireworks on my cheek, spreading like a virus across my face.

I couldn't say anything. The man in front of me cannot be who he claims to be...he cannot be my mate. He chuckled again, and the sound sent a pleasant feeling down my spine.

"Welcome my Queen."

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