Prologue

PROLOGUE

Kane

Memories of the Great War 1000 A.D.

Scandinavia

I stand before King Amir's throne with my brother Levi, our newly appointed alpha, as he kneels and admits our failure. We lost the Great War against the humans, largely due to the betrayal of the Bailey Witches.

King Amir summoned us from Kenya to aid in the fight. Those witches, falling for humans they aren't even destined to mate with, defied our Goddess Fate's law. They are our eternal enemies now. King Amir sits motionless, his golden eyes distant.

Born in the Mesopotamian era, of the Bailey witch bloodline, his age is a mystery. He warned us, before retreating to the mountains from Egypt, that a curse would fall upon us if we lost the war. A curse that would doom all supernaturals to purgatory. He planned this war for thousands of years, hoping Fate would favor us. Yet, here we stand, defeated.

“House of Zorah, and all packs, clans, prides, and covens before me, it is with great regret that we have failed to defeat the humans. The curse is upon us, and we must endure,” King Amir says in a low tone, his mind seemingly elsewhere.

Levi rises first, and we follow. The rest of the court lifts their heads. King Amir's face is stone-like, a rare sight.

“Forgive me, my Lord, but what does this mean for us?” Levi asks, eyes fixed on the floor, avoiding the king's gaze. The palace is thick with fear and curiosity, but King Amir's scent is different—it's pain, agony.

King Amir stands, and the room falls silent. His brown fingers touch his lips, his sharp, translucent nails brushing over them as he ponders.

“We must endure the shadows. It will feel as if time has stopped. The Bailey Witches' curse will trap us in a timeless purgatory, defying our Goddess Fate's laws. But know this: the curse will run its course. Our destiny to rule this earth as true leaders is set. The prophecy has begun.” He removes his crown, causing gasps and whispers to ripple through the enormous room.

“Now, I understand, my youngling, why I’ve birthed her. I thought this was punishment for turning a witch, a law I’ve broken by Fate, but now I see it was necessary. You will all go into the shadows, out of humanity’s sight until the curse is lifted. I do not know the day or the year, but I do know you will be set free and paired with your fated mates. For now, they are lost to you, as mine is lost to me.” With that, King Amir bows his head before us, an act of true submission as a leader, and then he turns away, leaving us to our thoughts.

I won't know what it feels like to have a mate? This is what I was born for, to be paired with a woman destined for me to serve, protect, provide for, and love. I won't get to know what it feels like to have children, small pups of my own? I won't get to enjoy the warmth of her and love her the way my parents did?

I've already lost so much in this war. My parents are dead, the majority of my pack is gone, leaving just me and my brothers. At this moment, I wish I had died in battle. This sentence is far worse than death. I don't want to live on like this. Levi turns to us, and I can see the hurt in his eyes. King Amir doesn’t have to stay to explain; we all know the prophecy he’s told us for centuries. I'm three hundred years old and I won’t age anymore until I’m paired with my fated mate.

I don’t understand this curse. Fate, our Goddess, why can’t she help us right now? My heart feels like it's going to burst at the thought of not having my woman—my rib, the one who gives my life meaning. She’s just been taken from me.

Human men are to blame for this. These blasted witches have taken away my reason for living. I’ve lost the one thing that made me keep pushing through this existence.

My mate. My hope. My everything.

“House of Zorah,” Levi announces, and I immediately stand at attention, tears welling in my eyes, but I don’t let them fall. I can see the pain in my brother’s eyes, the hurt of losing our parents, the majority of our pack, and now our true happiness—our mates. Yet he finds a way to stand strong. A true Alpha, he will forever have my respect and honor for this .

“We will follow our king's orders. We will endure.” With his words, I fall to my knees in submission to him; the word of my Alpha is law. Levi draws in a breath as we separate, tribes no longer one. The packs, prides, clans, and covens all retreat from the throne, disappearing into the purgatory that begins now.

Why is Fate punishing us? What did we do? We’ve honored her laws, kept to the best of our abilities. Why is she leaving us to rot like this? I rise when my brother, my alpha, raises his hand, standing side by side with Gabriel and Micah, my two other brothers who are also doing their best to hold it together.

“We will survive this, I promise you,” Levi assures us, his voice firm and resolute. When Levi takes a step, we move aside, opening a pathway for him to lead the way.

He leads us out of the palace and immediately shifts into his wolf form—a large, black wolf with silver eyes. My brothers and I follow, transforming into our wolves as well. Levi's wolf takes the lead, and we sprint from the palace into the depths of the forest. I know his plan: find a temporary spot to stay until we decide our next move. We're nomads now, with no place to call home.

Without our fated mates, we have no true home. We just exist. As we move deeper into the forest, my wolf stops, drawn to the full moon lighting up the sky. He howls, pleading for Fate’s mercy. It’s pointless; we can’t change this. This is Fate's decision. She hasn’t intervened. We have to endure.

So, we will.