Half of What I Could Be

Chapter 1

Hi everyone! This story is something I have been working on for years. Since it started when I was nine-teen, I have very much changed as a writer and as a person. My concept of what makes a "Healthy Relationships" has developed. As someone who spent their formative years watching The Vampire Diaries, you can not blame me. There were a lot of scenes in the first draft that I can not stand by or agree with. The main one being Bully to Lover trope. I since changed that, and think made it even better! I loved reading through the draft and seeing so much of my teen self in my eight-teen year old characters. That is something I will not remove! Thank you for reading. 

Half of What I Could Be

400 years ago

I knew my upcoming decision would have consequences. My Mother used to tell me to always think before making a decision. She believed I was too rash, too quick witted. She was the opposite: mild-mannered, patient, never one lash out let alone raise their voice.

Was

She was dead now. No more stern talks about my misguided actions. No more eye rolls when I came back from hunting instead of tending to our ever beloved abode. I will never feel her dainty fingers, always covered in a thin film of flour, entwined in my hair whenever a Bootliker used their words against me. She had a calming presence. She was always noticed, but always for the right reasons.

She was not the only one gone. All of them were. Killed like animals. Taken off this earth so ferociously, so destructive, that I could barely tell which limb belonged to who. Every single one gone: my family, my mate, my pack. My mother is most likely in Elysium right now telling me to turn around. I would not. Like I said, I am nothing like her.

I would not sit on the side lines as the Lycanthrope killed off every last werewolf, and they would. Lycanthropes are stronger, faster, live longer... All around more indestructible. Werewolves had only one weapon on their side: the ability to completely turn into a wolf. Yet, that was not enough. We were like glass while they we

I heard a rumor about a tree that connected this world to the Underworld. Witches used to tell bedtime stories about it. It was the place where people go to make deals with him. To make deals with the Devil. Every story ended with the person regretting their decision or not living long enough to regret it.

The Devil goes by many names. Satan, Lucifer, etc. Yet, in most supernatural communities, he mostly goes by Hades. Greek Mythology was the most common religious practice throughout the supernatural communities. The Gods and Goddesses have entwined themselves in our history since day one. I remember my Grandmother talking about how her Great-Great-Grandfather was one of the soldiers that went on hunts with Artemis. That was before the Great Law of 1401 was passed. This inhibited any Mount Olympus God or Goddess from interacting with the species of Gaia, also known as Earth. The reason why? Some said it was because it was causing too much conflict, others said it was because Zues was worried the God bloodline was becoming too polluted. Who knew?

The Legend of Lycaon, the father of the Lycans and Werewolves, was just one of the many stories I was raised on. As stories have it, Lycaon tried to deceive Zues by feeding him the flesh of his own son. Zues, of course, figured it out, and as a punishment, he turned him into a wolf. The story was mostly right, except for the part about turning into a wolf. Lycaon was actually left as an uncomfortable in between. Only able to partially turn. That was the main difference between Werewolves and Lycans.

It was a three day hike to the tree. The witches called it the "Silver Limb" for reasons past my own intelligence. They said it had something to do with the tree being born from the silver blood of a god. That might just be hearsay. The hike was not something an untrained individual could complete. With loose, yet large boulders littered throughout, large and hungry animals most likely hidden behind them, it was a death trap.