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“Just let her be, Mother,” my sister said on the other side of our enclosed space. “You’ll only make her worse.”
“I shouldn’t be here,” I grumbled. “Why must I be subjected to her ignorance? I have to suffer because she believes I’m not worthy of the field? That’s bullshit. I have every right to be out there, fighting for our freedom, our right to prowl whichever mountain we please.”
“Evie, my love, listen to me.” My mother shifted to kneel in front of me, taking hold of my chin gently so I didn’t avert my gaze as I usually would in these situations. “Your battle lies here within the nests for tonight, not out there.” Her serene voice was laced with both love and caution, gentle eyes softening. “We are all omegas, and our purpose in this world is to cater to the needs of our alphas, to ensure their strength, our kind’s wellbeing.”
My jaw clenched at the repulsive idea. I would not fall subject to these chains brought by our blood. I refused to. We could be so much more than needy little omegas unable to function without an alpha’s bidding. If they’d allow it, we could fight, we could battle, we too could protect. I knew it in me that I didn’t need protection from an alpha. My spirit was just as strong, if not fiercer, than the common alpha’s.
“You’re wrong, Mother.” I frowned, my gaze narrowing. “I have so much more to offer and contribute than what’s between my legs, more than our biology. I will not allow myself to fall subject to these standards.” I placed my hand on my heart. “I have a frost fire within me. I can feel it surrounding my heart, and I will unleash it on this world. Protecting our kind, the nests, is my calling, and I’ll make it my duty. With or without your support, I’ll rise above these expectations, plow through these repulsive limitations placed on me.”
Amara, my older sister, pushed herself off the wall to crouch before my mother. “Let her follow her dreams. It’s not good for her to suppress them, Mother.” Facing me, Amara winked in my direction, and some of the tension within me eased at the sight of her support. My sister, since the beginning, had always backed me up, and I knew I could place my full trust in her, knowing she’d never let me down.
“Evie’s always been special. She’s our blizzard, and it’s best to let her storm, or she’ll toss the avalanche in our direction on the mountain.” She smirked, causing me to crack a smile.
“Thanks, Mara.” I took her into an embrace, causing her to erupt into giggles. My heart warmed at her words, filled with love from the faith in my dreams my older sister held. No one could match her unwavering support, and I’d forever be grateful to have her in my life.
Mother chuckled, running a hand down her face. “I relent.” She tossed her hands up. “My little girls took after their father.” Tears welled in her eyes as she turned to me. “Especially you, my frost dreamer.”
“I miss him too.” My resolve dropped, and I reached out for my mother’s hand.
Father had been killed not too many solstices ago. I’d been a young cub when he was captured by hunters. They sought out our family to exterminate us. Father was strong-willed and never gave us up. He endured horrendous torture before succumbing to the blade. At least that was all our brother told us when he grew into his paws and joined the feline ranks as a beta. He was out there fighting tonight, and I should be alongside him. I owe him my gratitude. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have been allowed to set foot in the courtyard.
As the moon reached its zenith, the tranquility of the heat nests was shattered by the chilling echoes of approaching danger. The sound of a cheetah’s desperate call piercing the scorching air reached the sanctuary, chilling me. Shadows cast by the glowing silver light shuddered in the distance. Whispers broke throughout the nest, followed by an eruption of chaos as it reigned supreme.
A shiver ran down my spine, not solely from the heat trembling my suffering body, but from the foreboding presence that crept closer with every passing moment. I could sense it, an evil force barreling through the jungle. My snow leopard bristled, and I allowed the frosty rage from within to take over even as my mother shouted in my direction to stay with the group. The fight within me held sway over all my senses; my muscles tensed and coiled with the bidding to battle—to protect the helpless.
As I broke through the veil concealing the sanctuary, surrounded by my warrior brethren, horror struck every nerve within me. Hunters, clad in armor adorned with the sinister symbols of the Gladsheim, emerged from the jungle’s edge. They moved with unsettling grace, eyes that held a malevolent fire. Their weapons gleamed with their imbued power, leaving a sinister wake behind their step. It was a mark of damnation, a reminder that their blades were fueled by an unholy source.
Before this night, I’d never been witness to their force as they surrounded every opening, every escape from the nests.
They never should’ve been able to locate, let alone breach, the outer veil surrounding the territory. How did they get in? Who led them to find us? What treacherous—My questions were answered in an instant at the sight of an emerging witch. Her bright light of magic exploded toward the nests, blinding and knocking me back against the veiled wall of the building. Could it be? A traitor amongst us? I didn’t have time to snarl or howl a warning as her light magic reached my skin and took root.
It sizzled as soon as it contacted me, binding around my throat like a noose to bid me into silence. The illusion was much stronger than an alpha’s command. My blood boiled at the attack, fueling my leopard enough to break free.
The few of our forces lingering within the underbrush surrounding the omega nests were greatly outnumbered by the hunters. The clash of steel against flesh echoed through the air, accompanied by the anguished roars and cries of the dying warriors.
As I stood on the precipice of this harrowing spectacle, a mix of terror and resolve coursed through my veins. The warrior spirit within me burned brighter than ever, yearning to be unleashed. I felt the power of my feline essence surging, intertwining with the flames of my determination.
With an inward breath, I launched myself into the fray, my claws extended and my eyes blazed with a fierce determination. The strength and ferocity of the snow leopard within me rushed forward. Predatory instincts merged with my own as a blanket of snowflakes waked my trembling transformation. The hunters would know, even within this darkest hour, there were those who refused to bow down, who refused to let the light within be extinguished.
My muscles tensed beneath my sleek, spotted coat as I leaped into action. I landed with a silent grace; my padded paws found firm purchase on the moist ground. The hunters, momentarily caught off guard by my sudden appearance, turned their attention toward me with sneering smirks. But they underestimated the power that surged through my veins, the primal instincts of a predator fueled by determination.
With lightning-fast reflexes, I lunged toward the nearest adversary, my teeth bared in a fearsome snarl. The snow leopard’s predatory prowess flowed through me, sharpening my senses and honing my focus. My claws extended, glinting like shards of ice in the pale light as I swiped at my foe with calculated ferocity.
The air filled with the clash of steel against flesh as I evaded their strikes, my lithe form twisted and turned with an uncanny agility. I moved like a wisp of smoke, my body a blur of feline elegance. Each movement was calculated, each attack precise, as I danced with lethal grace.
Despite my valiant efforts, the tide of battle turned against me. Overwhelmed by sheer numbers and the relentless aggression of the hunters, I found myself in a precarious position. Their blades slashed through the air with merciless precision, narrowly missing me as I leaped and twisted to evade their lethal strikes.
But as I fought, a sinking feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. Through the chaos and flurry of battle, I caught glimpses of the sanctuary’s defenses crumbling before the hunters’ relentless assault. The once impenetrable barriers shattered like fragile glass, allowing the darkness to seep into the heart of our haven.
I watched in horror as my brethren, their animal forms torn asunder, fell beneath the onslaught. The air was heavy with the scent of fear, mingled together in a bitter symphony. The once tranquil surroundings now bore witness to a macabre scene, a tapestry of violence and despair.
The unfamiliar witch, who I once thought was the light wielder betrothed to the jaguar, unveiled herself to be an ancient witch from a forbidden coven with the Gladsheim. A harbinger of darkness and light, her presence an ethereal slurry of darkness, stood at the forefront of this invasion. Carried over the wind, a chilling incantation that fueled the hunters’ frenzy. Dark tendrils of magic snaked through the air, penetrating the veil in an instant.
My heart pounded with a mixture of dread and despair as I witnessed the hunters breach the sanctuary’s once-thought-impenetrable boundaries. Like a flood, they poured through the weakened defenses, their sinister intent etched upon their faces. Their eyes burned with a twisted pleasure, relishing in the destruction they wrought upon our sacred grounds.
Shifters, the majestic beings that had sought solace and safety within these sacred grounds, were now met with a massacre. Their cries of pain and fear echoed through the sanctuary, intermingling with the grotesque laughter of the hunters. It was a nightmare brought to life, a cruel twist of fate that threatened to extinguish the spark of hope within me.
“Evangeline!” A gut-wrenching cry tore through the chaos, piercing the air with a haunting lament. My blood froze, pinching my nerves as I turned to see my sister, her fur matted with blood, being ensnared by the grip of dark magic. Panic seized me, and I surged forward, desperate to free her from their clutches.
