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Click here"Why does that thing keep following me? What does it actually want? Is us going north so important to that thing, that I had to lose an arm over it? No... Fuck that monster..." Aster pulled away from the wolf suddenly, and stood as quickly as he could, still very off balance, but managing all the same. The boy took two fumbling steps towards the mountain to the north, and cursed the demon as loud as he could, shouting out in bubbling rage as more tears fell from his eyes.
"FUCK YOU! JUST LEAVE US ALONE... Just leave us alone... Why can't everything just leave us alone... Why, Stahl?" Aster turned towards his beast, the tears rolling down his flushed face in streams. The boy was genuinely asking, seeking some sort of hope left for some possibility of reprieve.
"Why does everything always have to go to shit? Why does every damned good thing that we get a taste of have to rot? Why... Why do we have to keep losing? WHY THE FUCK DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE US THAT GETS SHIT ON? WHY THE FUCK DON'T WE DESERVE SOME KIND OF FUCKING VICTORY? Aster fell to his knees as he screamed out, finally letting all of the loss consume him. As his eyes clenched tightly, they released even more tears. The boy's voice fell back to a lower tone, raspy and hoarse from the screaming.
"Why did my life have to be the cursed one? Is it the blood magic? Is that the wickedness placed on me? To keep destruction and loss following me wherever I go? To constantly harm the ones I care so deeply for? Mollis said it was a magic humans could use... Was I just a weapon of my people? A cursed prince who would bring chaos and destruction to the beast kingdom that had wronged them? Will... Will I have to watch you die as well, Stahl?" Aster partially opened his eyes as he finally looked back to his wolf with that last sentence. The human was legitimately asking the question in that moment... And it chilled the beast to his very core.
Stahl was nearly petrified, he had never known Aster to be the one to wallow in such despair like that. Through those fatigued, golden eyes, Stahl could truly see no trace of that usual shine. Only defeat, helplessness, and surrender... Stahl had no idea that this was only the beginning of the monster coming for his mate. Aster was too tired to shine anymore. Aster was falling into an angry depression. Aster stood, and turned to gaze north one final time before he whispered out his decision, bitter hatred the driving force behind the words.
"I know where I'm going... I'm going to see what that monster wants to show me so badly, and when it shows its face, I'll either put the damned thing down permanently, or die trying this time... I'm tired of these games, Stahl..." Aster tightened his left fist, and turned back towards his wolf. The king asked his final question to his knight just as the last traces of the sun faded away.
"Are you with me?" The noble wolf only drew the same sword he had used to take his mate's arm, and knelt, planting the tip into the earth below, just before his knee. The ashen beast bowed his head as he gazed up into Aster's eyes, and gave his answer affirmatively.
"Always, my king." For the first time, Aster Venatus was thankful for his knight using that title.
===
Sorry for the delay. Had quite a medical crisis in my own house. Lets just say Stahl's anxiety about waiting for his partner to wake up may have had some firsthand inspiration. Still, hard to believe it's been a month since my last chapter. I do apologize for worrying any of you, but I don't think there's much that could make me ever quit this story.
Sometimes it does feel like I have like 5 readers left though, so if you have enjoyed some of what you've read, I'd love to hear a little of that feedback. Even something as simple as scrolling down a hair and leaving a rating goes a long way for me, and takes seconds.
Hope you enjoy what comes next! We may get another chapter before you see the first of many reveals, but the dominos will start falling shortly. Answers to the main plot that stretches across all the books in this story stands at the center of those dominos. Bear with me a bit longer, because we really are almost there. Thank you for reading my story.
~PupBayou
- COMMENTS
Ragii4 months agovery nice chapter, seeing the dark side, the doubts, the faint glimmers of hope they have, really makes the characters touching and endearing.
Azalieas318 months agoFantastic. Binged from the 00 to this chapter in one day. Can't wait to see where they go from here.
PupBayou10 months agoAuthorThanks aragon! Glad you enjoy my worldbuilding!
And I also always appreciate hearing from a reader that has binged up to wherever im at. Thrilled you enjoyed it Colandra, and I hope you continue to. Many of my earlier chapters suffer from poor execution and punctuation, an unfotunate trait of mine when I go so long without really writing, but I 100% plan to give it all a heavy edit and rework when I wrap up this first book.
Regardless, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy what comes after!
Colandra10 months agoI’ve really enjoyed the world building and the unique characters! Can’t wait to see what’s next and really was on the edge of my seat all the way through. One critique: I’d suggest an editor. The all caps and formatting choices distract from the great story. Additionally, there are parts that I skimmed that I felt could be shortened/omitted for better flow for the reader that an editor might be able to help with. Looking forward to the next chap!
Aragonight10 months agoI love how this story keeps building. Great character development. More! More!
