Phantom Fangs: Prologue (The Lost Princess 0f Howling Sky Book 0.5)
Page 3
“Yeah, because King Philip is a rat.”
I could tell they’d be arguing like this for a while, so I tuned it out. All of it. I tried to get back to modifying my tech field. But I soon found out I couldn’t ignore it. I couldn’t ignore the Lost Princess. I didn’t want to think about things outside of tech. I didn’t know how to relate to things that were alive. I wasn’t sure I related to anything, but I could understand tech. I didn’t understand much of anything else.
But the Lost Princess of Howling Sky held my attention. I knew the legend as well as anyone else. It was impossible not to when Howling Sky was the High Kingdom, literally on top of the world, during a time when tech was practically outlawed worldwide because of the Hellfire Strike. They were physically the most powerful werewolves in existence and had a very special child almost eighteen years ago—eighteen on the first day of spring—just to be blown to hell by vampires who hadn’t completely shunned tech. If the Moonlight Child survived that attack, she must have been like a god because she was a newborn cub when it happened. I didn’t believe in any gods. I didn’t believe in anything that couldn’t be explained with science because everything could be, including a werewolf’s ability to absorb moonlight during a full moon in order to store that energy for later use. It wasn’t magic.
If the rumors were true and the Lost Princess was the Moonlight Child full of untapped power, the Prime War was going to come back in full force. Everyone would want her for one reason or another. Things would get uglier. Many more would die. The Lost Princess would probably put an end to the world once and for all.
I wondered if I hated her for that.
CHAPTER 5
SORISSA
MY POWERFUL BLACK PAWS padded against the forest floor, but the impact hardly registered. This kind of speed with no resistance was like skating on the lake when it was frozen over—except it was much faster with even more force behind it. This was something I could only achieve in my moonlight form, and I got faster each time I tried it. I was so pleased with my progress, I wanted to throw back my head and howl to announce an early victory. However, I didn’t give in to the urge because I needed to focus.
Today, I would escape.
I could see the light, the cracks between the thinning trees showing a hint of the world outside of the woods. This time, I’d beat Babaga. This time, I’d be fast enough.
I was inches away from the light, the door to my freedom, when the woods spun around me. My sensitive ears popped and everything went black for an instant before it all came rushing back and I skidded to a dirt-spraying stop as I dug in my claws. The trees were bigger here. The light was gone. I was back in the center of the woods all within the span of a few stomach-churning seconds. I growled in frustration. Then I threw back my head to howl, not in victory but in a challenge. Babaga twisted into the space in front of me with the same warp magic she used to transport me here.
I let go of my moonlight form in shimmering sparks of blues and shifted back. My midnight-black fur receded, leaving mostly the long curly hair cascading down from my head to keep me warm against the cold. I stood straight on two legs while the witch standing before me was hunched over. It was freezing in this form, my naked skin broke out in goosebumps, and my breasts ached a little, but I didn’t care. I stomped up to the witch so there was only a small space between us. I looked down at her, feeling a false sense of superiority for simply being taller.
“If you faced me fairly, I would have won by now,” I challenged.
“Our strength isn’t of the same make, my sweet Sorissa, and these woods belong to me,” she replied.
“I just want to go outside, Babaga.”
“We’ve been over this. Over it and over it again.”
“But there’s a world out there! Isn’t there? You’ve told me just enough to get me curious, you’ve made me read their fairytales, so when do I get to see it? If you didn’t want me to try this so often, you shouldn’t have fed my curiosity. I don’t want to leave forever. This is my home. You’re my home. You know that, right? You could make it my eighteenth birthday present. It’s only a week away.”
Babaga took off her shawl and wrapped it around my shivering frame. Then she did something unexpected. She hugged me. Babaga wasn’t affectionate. She had hugged me before, but those were rare occasions.
“Babaga?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around her in return. I thought this whole thing, trying to leave and stopping me from leaving, had become a game between us, like Babaga would honor my request if I finally bested her, but now I wasn’t so sure. Was she really that worried about me leaving the woods?
“One day, you might best me, but today isn’t that day,” she said and pushed me away.
Any doubts I had floated away like they never existed. I just tired her out today. That meant I was getting closer. Maybe she’d even give me that birthday present.
“It’s time for supper,” Babaga announced. “Come home and get dressed so you don’t catch pneumonia.”
“Coming.”
I looked at the trees surrounding me, from every angle, a complete rotation, to see if I could find another crack of light from in between the trunks and branches. Nothing. I missed that opportunity. It didn’t matter. I would get out of these woods one day because there was a world waiting for me. I could feel it on the breath of the wind, hear it in its haunting howls.
But I didn’t know just how much would change.
I didn’t know how broken the world outside was. I didn’t know my own legend. I didn’t know about the four werewolves in my future or how my love for them would change everything
Claim the princess, rule the world.
Find out what happens next in Taken by Werewolves.
Prime
World Guide
Gods
Lureine: The werewolf god.
Yessma: The vampire goddess.
Cor: The human god.
Prime: The world.
The Prime War: The world war that has existed since the beginning of time.
The Three Species
Werewolves
Base Form: A werewolf’s human-like body.
Moonlight Form: A werewolf’s wolf-like body.
Wereas: Female werewolves.
Cubs: Werewolf children.
The Mate Claim: The bind that seals a werea to a werewolf.
Maneaters: Werewolves who feed on humans.
Shields: Werewolves who protect humans.
Vampires
Vampyres: Male vampires.
Scamps: Vampire children.
Bloodsuckers: A derogatory term used by all other species.
Humans
Rebels: Humans who still fight.
Agitators: A derogatory term for rebels used by shields and complacents.
Complacents: A derogatory term used by rebels for humans who don’t fight.
Tethered: Humans turned werewolf.
Thralls: Humans turned vampire.
Meat: A derogatory term used by maneaters.
Blood: A derogatory term used by vampires.
The Hellfire Strike: An attack launched by Glory Valley that used planet-destroying tech. It defaced and changed Prime forever.
Goodlands: The small amount of land left untouched by the Hellfire Strike.
Badlands: The large amount of land destroyed by the Hellfire Strike.
Glory Valley: The last human kingdom, responsible for the Hellfire Strike, and consequently destroyed by the kingdoms that remained.
The Tech Ban: Worldwide prohibition of tech after the devastation caused by the Hellfire Strike.
The Reintroduction of Tech: Tech comes back, starting over from the remains of old tech and from scratch.
The High Kingdom: The kingdom that “rules the world.”
The High King: The king of kings.
The High Queen: The queen of queens.
Howling Sky: The once most powerful werewolf kingdom and the High Kingdom that ruled for a time after the Hellfi
re Strike.
The Fall of Howling Sky: When Howling Sky was destroyed by Crimson Caves.
The Moonlight Child/The Lost Princess of Howling Sky: A werea cub blessed and chosen by Lureine. She was presumed lost after the Fall of Howling Sky.
The Standing Kingdoms
Paws Peak: A werewolf kingdom that was always in competition with Howling Sky.
Wolf Bridge: A werewolf kingdom that has stayed mostly neutral in terms of werewolf politics.
Crimson Caves: The last vampire kingdom and the one responsible for the Fall of Howling Sky.
Freedom: The home of the surviving descendants of Glory Valley, and the base of operations for the rebels.
Tech: Technology
The Heart: The source of power for all of Wolf Bridge.
Roaders: Off-road vehicles made for rough terrain.
Pactputers: Portable computers.
Tech Fields: Hotspots that allow communications with the tech inside.
Intelibands: Intelligence bands.
Commsbuds: Communications buds.
Portacomms: Portable communicators.
Lunalite: A mineral that amplifies moonlight and is found only at the bottom of Lake Luminous.
Moonlight: The substance that gives werewolves their power, but it can only be absorbed on a full moon.
Lightning Stones: Stones that store and release electricity.
Witches: Rare beings born with unexplainable power.
Witch Woods: A forest well inside of the badlands, but it is untouched.
The Witch of Witch Woods: The only known witch left. She will grant you anything should you navigate her woods and give up what you value most.
Phantom Fangs: A secretive squad of four unconventional werewolves stationed in Wolf Bridge and the ones credited for killing the last vampyre.
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Adult Books
Marked by the Moon
Book 0: Her True Wolf
Book 1: Her Brave Wolf
Book 2: Her Fierce Wolf
Book 3: Her Wild Wolf
Book 4: Her Noble Owl
Book 5: Her Bad Cat
The Lost Princess of Howling Sky
Prologue: Phantom Fangs
Book 1: Taken by Werewolves
Book 2: Saving the Werewolves
Book 3: Queen of Werewolves
The Holiday Shifter Mates
Book 1: Halloween Werewolf
Book 2: Christmas Polar Bear
Book 3: Valentine's Day Tigers
Young Adult Books
These Immortal Vows
Book 1: Demon Snare
Book 2: Angel Asylum
Book 3: Once Soulmates
Novella: Desire
Short Story: Guardian
Short Story: On the Precipice
The Soul Seer Saga
Book 1: The Wandering Empath
Book 2: The Lonely King
Book 3: The Lost Souls
Book 4: The Beautifully Cursed
Short Story: The Lunar Dancer
Standalone
Novel: Blind to Love
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About the Author
Kestra Pingree is a creative who doesn’t know how to stop. She is first and foremost a writer and storyteller with an endless library of books in her head just waiting to be typed. She is also an artist and animator, as well as a singer, songwriter, and voice actor. One day she swears she’s going to make her own video game, too.
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