Moon Blind

Emberlyn's account

"Run, Emberlyn ! Run and don't look back!"

Those were my mother's last words before she was brutally killed by lycan wolves. But foolish as I was, I didn't listen. Her pain-filled cries pierced the air, and despite her warning, I turned to see the horror unfolding.

Biggest mistake of my life.

That image is like a parasite etched into my memory, feeding off me, pulling me into a dark abyss.

I can still see it:

Chaos reigned. Huts were on fire, people screamed, and blood flowed like a river over the rocky path. I froze, unable to move as the world collapsed around me. Not even the people running past could shake me from the nightmare. I stood paralyzed, watching as my mother's golden hair was smashed against a rock with brutal force.

Tears streamed down my face as I screamed her name. My voice echoed, unleashing a surge of energy I never knew I possessed. It was like being inside a storm, with me as the thundercloud.

I kept screaming, even as my eyes ached and blood trickled down my cheeks like tears. Those around me suffered too. The lycans attacking our village fell to the ground, clutching their ears in vain. Their ears bled, and even the fleeing villagers weren't spared. My power affected them all, but it wasn't enough to save my mother.

Then, through the smoke and debris, a figure emerged-no, not a man, but a demon.

I paid him no mind at first, a decision I soon regretted.

If I had looked closer, I would have recognized him as Thane Valtor , the Lycan King and Alpha, the most brutal ruler to ever walk the earth. A god of fear, though few had ever seen him.

He was half-shifted, with a lycan's lower body and a human upper half. His piercing midnight black eyes locked onto mine, trapping me in a trance. I kept screaming, but it felt like my voice was underwater. Thane approached me, standing directly in front of me. He pressed his thumb against my forehead, and everything went black.

After that, it was nothing but darkness.

When I woke up, I was blind and captured, imprisoned in a dungeon owned by the Lycan King. From that day forward, I was made a slave-the most maltreated of all.

That was eight years ago. I was ten then; today, I turn eighteen.

Nothing has changed. I am still blind, still a slave to Thane Valtor .

But now, I know something that could cost me my life.

"He is the one, I'm sure of it," my wolf insists repeatedly.

I swallow hard, trying to push down the rising fear. My wolf came to me when I turned fifteen, and in all these years, she has never been as persistent as she is now.

I've kept her existence a secret from my captors. They believe I am a cursed were-witch, unable to shift or perform magic. To them, I am a useless, disabled slave that their king keeps for reasons only he knows.

But they are wrong. I am not a were-witch-I am a were-dragon. And the only person who knows this is my mate, Alpha King Thane Valtor . Yes, my captor is my mate. The goddess couldn't have been crueler.

I've known for a year, but I've kept it to myself, hoping to avoid the inevitable drama. My wolf, however, won't have it. Like a shameless flirt, she acts irrationally, especially when we're near Thane. I've had to fight her countless times to suppress the primal instinct to claim him as ours. It's the hardest thing I've ever done, especially since I am Thane's royal food taster. I am always by his side during meals.