Prologue.

You shouldn't be here.

You're not supposed to be here.

Your being here can get us killed.

But even more so, my absence from this game can get me killed.

What is wrong with you, Paris?!

Paris groaned as he listened to the beast inside of him rave and rant, thrashing about.

Troy, take a rest, for Luna's sake.

From his birth, Paris had always been told that he was an embarrassment to creation. An abomination. And so, he'd been cursed to live in pain and sadness all through his life.

After all, he was a hybrid, born from the union of a lycan and a sea witch.

A high ranking sea witch. Next in line to the Head Witch.

It hadn't been foreseen that there would be someone like him in all the twenty thousand realms. Lycans and witches had never seen eye to eye, but somehow his parents ended up loving each other, and each left their group to meet in the mortal realm, starting a family with him as the seal.

An abominable seed.

It was meant to be a beautiful story, but ended up otherwise. His father was sniffed out by his former pack members on the day of Paris' birth, then killed, and his mother was so broken hearted she made a certain type of poison strong enough to snuff life from fifty hefty men in less than a minute. Then drank the damned potion.

So now, he was in a maternal aunt's house, starring as a male Cinderella with a female Drizella and a male Anastasia. Actual names of his cousins: Bertha and Damon.

His aunt was also a witch, but not part of the highest ranks. Apparently she'd been jealous of his mum since the woman had become the next in line to the title of Head Witch. So she meted all her anger on him.

And despite how much it pained him to admit it, he couldn't do anything about it, because she was the only family he knew.

The only thing he held against her was the fact that she did not use one of her potions to cure that weak body of his.

Oh well. Moving on.

He had first been introduced to his lycan beast- when he clocked eight mortal years. Named him Troy.

Apart from his aunt and cousins, Troy was the only other creature he found a connection that he treasured with, although there were times he'd wish for the darn beast to shut up and stop disrupting his peace.

Like now.

He stood in his "outfit", surveyed the entire court, and swallowed.

Despite being seventeen years, turning eighteen in a couple of months, he was still subjected to constant bullying and teasing. Mainly because health wise, he was weak, to say the least. Allergic to almost everything- dust, numerous kinds of fruits, chicken...he tended to be sick quite a number of times, and as he looked towards the court where footballers would soon assemble, he suspected he'd be sick very very soon.

So why, exactly, had he come, knowing his health was at stake?

To avoid a beating from one of the most popular bullies, Paris accepted a dare to come for the guy's football game in a cheer leading outfit. A female cheer leading outfit.

But that wasn't why Troy was yelling. In a way, Paris' strength was connected to his. Whenever Paris' already weak body became weaker, Troy's strength automatically dropped. If Paris wasn't careful, he could collapse.

But he couldn't risk a beating from Christian Felony. He'd most definitely get an asthma attack just after a thump on the back for sure.

He scanned the surrounding to find the cheerleaders, then jogged to their position. They freaked out when they saw him at first, but when they recognized him, they snickered. Felony's girlfriend, Clarisse took a picture of him and smirked. "That's definitely going onto our school gossip page".

Paris stared at her, not speaking, but with a wistful expression. If only...he was too weak to change into Troy's huge form.

Else, they'd be scared of him for sure.

However, he couldn't expose his little secret.

Even Damon and Bertha were unaware of the fact that their mum- his aunt- was a member of the Highest Group of Witches, so how was he supposed to let them know that he was a hybrid? It'd be unnerving for them.

And, he knew that even though he shifted to Troy, he would be unable to hold that form for long. His weakness was like a burden on him.

At that point in time, he wondered who he'd get married to when he was older- if he ended up growing older. The woman would probably be tired of him after a week.

He should just stay single, he said within him sadly.

'But if I'm to choose a mate for myself: someone kind, loving, that doesn't make me feel like shit', he thought, wistfully.

Someone who wasn't Clarisse, he mused.

A whistle went off in the distance, and all the cheerleaders laughed at him and ran off to start their presentation.

He tried to follow, but as he ran and the dust hit his nose, his chest squeezed and he heaved. Before he knew it he was on the ground, and he frantically searched for his inhaler in his...

He left his inhaler in his pants. In the locker room.

Troy had a very distressed emotion pattern flying through the connection thread.

"Paris..."

"Troy, I'm going to draw from your strength now" Paris said in his subconscious, knowing the beast could still hear him. "I need to get to the locker room..."

"You're very weak. Even if I give you all my strength, it wouldn't move you beyond ten meters".

Inwardly Paris groaned. Just his luck.

And I thought Lycans were one of the strongest creatures in all the realms.

But then...this lycan got stuck with me, and he receives little or no strength. I don't blame him.

His position on the ground attracted people's attention, and some were snickering.

"Oh, it's that guy in class who's always sick".

"We should help him".

"Please. He should just die. At least all his problems would leave".

"Reggie! Don't be heartless!"

"I'm being factual. He should just exit Planet Earth".

Um...Ouch?

Paris knew that the Reggie guy, whoever it was, was perfectly right. But he still clenched his fists and ticked his jaw, praying so terribly not to try and leap so he could hit the heartless fellow repeatedly.

Not that he'd last long doing it.

He heard scuffles, then with his last energy, sighted a redhead in his semi-conscious state running towards him.

"Paris!"

Daphne Stockholm?

Why...

Daphne was one of the leading students in his class, friends with all the popular people. Paris couldn't for the life of him understand why she was screaming his name and running towards him.

He looked at her in bewilderment once more before he allowed darkness embrace him.

***

He unashamedly stared as Daphne gave him his inhaler, then he applied it as instructed. In, out. Hold it in...exhale.

After a while the clogged up feeling in hia chest disappeared, and he sighed. "Thank you", he breathed, genuinely grateful.

She smiled. "You're welcome".

He was about to smile back, then he realized who she was, and his smile turned frozen. "But why...why did you help me?"

Her smile froze too, and her eyes darted about. "We can't talk about it here".

'Here' at that point in time being the boys' locker room. How she got in without feeling odd about it baffled Paris. On a good day he felt like a robber when he was just passing by the girls' locker room.

But then again, he was a natural born idiot.

She opened the door. "Come on. I know a place we can talk".

Suspicious but not seeing any reason to be, he followed her out of the room, down the hallway, and into a cubicle he didn't know existed.

The place was dark with just a bit of lighting. However, with Troy's eye vision Paris could see relatively clearly.

He was meant to be scared, petrified even, but he wasn't. In fact Troy was perfectly at peace within him, just as he was.

Daphne closed the door and muttered some words softly, then turned to him with a light smile. "Someone wants to see you".

"Who?"

Now he had a reason to be suspicious.

A dim halo of light appeared, and Daphne was suddenly gone. In her place was a young woman with eyes as purple as anything.

"Paris, am I right?" She said, her voice calm and soothing. He nodded, not wanting to speak, afraid he would destroy the tranquil atmosphere her presence brought.

"I am Kolia, mate to one of the gods, and the Head Witch".

He was still drowning in the peace when her words hit him.

Head witch?!

It was like a bucket of ice had been poured on his head. He began to sweat. "Um..."

She smiled softly. "I'm not here to kill you".

His eyes narrowed almost involuntarily. "Everyone in your realm is out to kill me. Why should I believe otherwise from the overall head?"

"No one from the Witches division will disturb you anymore. I give you my word".

As she said that, a halo of light appeared over her head, confirming her words.

He blinked, genuinely shocked. A witch...giving him her word?

Not just a witch, you idiot. The Head Witch!

She sighed. "I'm not here to talk about that though. I'm here because of a much more pressing matter".

What could be worse than someone trying to take his life?

"What...what is it?"

She stayed quiet for about a second before answering.

"Your mate".

Paris blinked. "My...that's not possible".

Impossible? An understatement.

It couldn't be heard of!

An abomination like him, receiving a gift from the gods? A mate?

Like that could ever happen.

But then...never did anyone think he would happen.

She raised a brow. "And why would you say that?"

He couldn't have a mate. He was a weakling. He wouldn't be able to protect her as he was supposed to. Instead he'd be a burden. An embarrassment.

His aunt had drummed that into him. He wasn't good, talk less of enough. His mate, if he ever had one, would despise him, and probably want to kill him because he'd be nothing but an extra weight on her shoulders...

He expressed his thoughts to the female in front of him, and she closed her eyes for a moment, then sighed.

"I understand all your thoughts, and it is nice to know that you are actually thinking of how your mate will feel rather than your own benefits". She opened her eyes. Bright purple orbs. "However, I must let you know about the one who you're mated to".

His lips parted as he was about to ask another question, but he closed them when he saw her grimace. "I shouldn't be doing this. I'm not meant to tell you about her, but...it's necessary for you to know about Umi Yeravi before hand".

Umi Yeravi?

"Is she...my mate?"

Her bright orbs flickered over him, then returned to his face to hold the gaze of his dark ones. "Yes. And she's also the immortal Preeminence of the Excluded Realm...the most ruthless feminine form ever to exist in the twenty thousand realms".