Page 55 of Caged Between the Beta & Alpha
“Zidane Malone,” Delsanra said, “Endora regretted losing him, saying he was the perfect depiction of darkness.” Shit. Liam’s granddad…
Liam was looking down. I didn’t miss the way he swallowed before looking at them smoothly.
“Night. Thanks for your time.”
“Goodnight, nice seeing you, Raven,” Rayhan said.
“You, too. Night guys,” I said as Delsanra gave me a small wave before Liam cut the call.
“Liam…”
“Don’t,” he said, standing up and running his fingers through his hair. “I don’t fucking get it… Zidane was from the Asheton line... but he was still my blood. The book she gave me is about the Deimos line... is it a coincidence that we both drew the same card? Because I wouldn’t ever want to be referred to as similar to him. That bastard was sick.”
“You are not him, Liam,” I said, standing up and walking over to him. He looked at me, his eyes flashing magnetic blue.
“How can you be so sure, Raven?” The uncertainty in his eyes that he tried to hide made my heart clench. I shook my head. I believed that Liam could never be darkness.
“I won’t believe that, Liam. You have always been so caring, loving, and-”
“Used to be. I no longer am,” he said coldly, turning away from me. “That book mentioned the prophecy of light and dark and a curse… I guess it could have the answers.” He grabbed the book, but I could feel his anger and irritation rise.
“Hey, we’ll look together. Relax,” I said softly. There was something else worrying him, I could see it in his eyes. “Liam... What is it? There’s something else that’s eating up at you,” I asked, cupping his face. He wouldn’tlook in my eyes. His heart was racing, and his aura was swirling around him.
“She wasn’t wrong, Raven... there is something dark inside of me. There are times I just want to destroy everything, an anger that I want to unleash upon everything and everyone.” His words were quiet and icy, sending worry coursing through me. “There is a darkness inside of me, Raven, and I can’t deny that because I feel like I’m always battling to reign it in,” he said, his voice so hushed and icy that it sent a chill through me, yet it wasn’t his sentence that made my blood run cold... it was the dark navy of his eyes that bore into mine…
Despite my beating heart, I cupped his face, feeling those sparks course through me at our touch.
“Then, I’m going to be right by your side. We are going to figure this out. I’m sure Grandma Amelia gave you that book for a reason,” I said softly yet firmly, biting my lip when he grabbed my hips and yanked me against him. His eyes returned to normal as he frowned deeply.
“You’re probably right,” he said quietly. Letting go of me, he grabbed the book and was about to read it when he swore. “Fuck, I got to go...” he said, standing up.
“What is it?” I asked nervously. Was it another killing?
“Zack may have found something. Stay here; I’ll be back.”
“Okay, I’ll read the book until you come back. See if I can figure something out,” I replied.
“Sure.” He leaned down, placing a chaste kiss on my forehead, just the way he used to years ago. Our eyes met, and my heart skipped a beat as he gave me a smirk. “You’re gorgeous. Have I ever told you that?” My mind was blank, not expecting that. My stomach was a mess of butterflies. He chuckled before walking to the window. “And fucking cute.”
With that, he was gone. I pouted. I hated it when I got tongue-tied. I huffed, scooting back on the bed and resting my back against the headboard. I flipped the book open, becoming serious.
Grandma Amelia never did something without reason. This book had to be the answer. I flipped through it, skimming through it to start with, refreshing my mind on the different wolves’ heritages and the original families. Of course, we all kind of come from these lines, but as time passed, many were mated to humans. Hence how the lines expanded and became weaker, and only certain wolf lines came from the original lineages. Each of the four lines had special abilities; the Volkovs were the most different. They were the first of the Lycans. It is said a Lycan is born every few centuries, and only one at a time would ever exist. Then we had the Asheton line, which had the gift of healing that sometimes popped up throughout history, but they were rare. Then there was the Solaris, who could control nature, creating more fertile lands and, at times, even command nature; they were the least known. The final one was the Deimos, who had the ability of speed, a sixth sense and the ability to foresee the future, abilities that both Kiara and Dante had inherited. The Deimos curse...
I slipped into the sheets as I began reading the origin of the curse. The original Deimos wolves, like the Solaris and Asheton, were arrogant, powerful, and gifted. They were seen as gods by the werewolf kind. Back when the gods walked the earth, there was a certain Deimos prince who upset Helios, the god of the sun, after challenging him to a match, not knowing that he was talking to a god. After being made a mockery of, Helios told the Deimos wolf, Andronikos that he would make sure that the Deimos line perished and yielded to the darkness that would one day destroy them. Andronikos simply laughed at him, saying they were far too strong to ever be destroyed completely. However, Helios stayed true to his word, and the Deimos powers began to diminish.
Andronikos’ sons and grandsons did not hold anything special in comparison to him. However, of course, Selene, too, held power, and so she countered Helios’ curse with her own decree. She declared that when one of the original lines was mated with a Deimos, their offspring would be able to channel their Deimos blood and, in this way, preserve the Deimos’ power. I looked up, mulling over what I had read. Kiara. This all pointed to Kiara. What I didn’t get was how this came to Liam. How did it involve him?
I took a handful of gummy bears, eating them slowly as I continued to read. Helios vowed to Selene that his curse was not so easily broken, that there would be repercussions for such an act. Selene loved her wolves dearly, and so she sought a way to break the curse. That leads us to the birth of the prophecy of light and darkness.
I rubbed my head. It was a lot to take in, and the worst thing was that some of the words and story were missing. I was getting a headache from scrutinising the faded pages. Liam wasn’t even back yet… two hours had passed, and it was pouring down outside. Turning the page, I looked at the paragraph before me – the prophecy itself.
When the promise of the sun and the wish of the moon clash,
As different as day and night itself, the birth of the two shall weaken the curse,
From light and darkness itself,
The blessed wolf and the royal prince.
