Anuja(20 yrs old):

Lost her parents.

Abandoned by others.

Living alone in this big world in a small cottage.

Her only support for her loneliness are her few Mermaid friends.

Her only mean of earning is through her medicinal herbs and by working as a helper to an old lady.

Still, she considers herself a happy person always thinking about the lives of people below her.

Ryan(22 yrs old):

King of all Alpha's and supernatural beings

Popularly known as "The Devil Lord"

Having half werewolf blood.

Living in his own different world created by him through his constant hard work hidden in a completely different realm.

He oozes confidence, elegance and power.

He believes in treating anyone and everyone in the way they treat others, believing in equality.

Waiting for his mate for the last 200 yrs.Oblivious to the fact that she lives in a completely different world to his of extravagance, comfort and royalness.

Even after visiting the other realm to search her never being able to find her making him lose all hope and immersing himself in his work of welfare of his people.

What happens when one day by mistake Anuja finds this hidden realm???

Unknown of her true powers

Unknown of the true lineage

Unknown of her other half her mate

Unknown to her destiny

Will independent but shy Anuja accept her all possessive Alpha King of all ???!!

Let's go together with Anuja to her journey to find her true identity through hardships and tough times, through life and death, through love and hatred.

*There I was.

In the middle of a dense forest surrounded by complete darkness, looking up at a moonless sky.

My heart was pounding in anticipation. I allowed myself to venture deeper, to find my way back to the lakeside cottage, that I called home.

But as I delved further into the forest, it grew darker and darker. The folding branches merged together, forming an impenetrable canopy. A howl sounded from behind me, inducing a state of fear that I couldn't shake off.

I took off running.

In my panicked state, I hadn't noticed what I was running away from. 

With each passing second, I could hear the sound of paws padding closer.

Mustering courage, I turned around to see the most magical, mystical beast I had ever seen in my entire life. A faint growl brought me back to my senses. I looked up to find that overbearing wolf looming over my comparatively small body.

The light that fell on its pitch-black fur, were refracted into tiny beams, as if the stars themselves had abandoned their home in the vast sky above, to cling to the hide of this fearsome creature.

Those glowing orbs sliced through the darkness of the night, just as my mesmerised form was reflected in those green, topaz eyes.

He moved towards me slowly.

I brought my hand near him, assuming that he wanted me to pat him. Astonishingly he snuggled into my outstretched hand. Tingles erupted from this slight touch. The wolf purred in satisfaction and tried to snuggle even more. 

His body being larger than mine, the wolf climbed on top of me. But I had no fear. All I felt was a strange attraction towards him. 

I close my eyes and just inhaled as if carving his features in my memories. My flayed nerves gradually relaxed.

And that's when I felt an excruciating pain in the meeting point of my neck and shoulder.

Making me scream at the top of my voice, the pain unbearable. 

Dream Ends*

...

When my eyes finally opened, I found myself out of the forest. My clothes were drenched from sweat. 

Lots and lots of sweat!

I couldn't help but cringe in disgust. I looked about and let my eyes slowly adjust. I was in my bedroom, lying on this dingy, albeit comfortable bed- at least that's what I told myself.

Through the box-like window, I could see that it was still fairly dark. The stars were reflected beautifully on the surface of the lake that lied just outside my little cottage. 

This was the fifth time this month that I'd seen the same dream. And the strangest thing of all was that every time I saw that wolf, I could sense a strange connection between us. 

Still restless, and ever-so-sticky from my midnight sweating, I decided to take a quick dip in the lake before the sun rose, and before the daily chores that plagued my small-town life stole away these precious moments of freedom.

The lake water was a little cold but felt refreshing on coming in contact with my hot skin. While relaxing, I thought about what I needed to do in the coming day.

I had to take care of all the household chores that Mrs. Brown had prepared for me, as her dutiful househelp. But before that, I needed to go to the bakery and prepare the 3-tier cake for Michael and Ronn's wedding, that was slated for the morrow. 

After completing this task, I still had to play the role of a guitarist at the nearby pub.

In short, I'm busy. As busy as I can be.

Oh, that reminds me.

My father liked to play the guitar. He would often show off his talent in front of others. After his death, my mother was left broken and dispirited. Taking care of me by herself and earning a living was more than she could handle.

Eventually, she succumbed to the frailty of her own body. It was an ordinary illness, at least that's what the doctor said.

But I know she couldn't truly live without my father.

He was her other half. Her life partner. Her soul.

Till this day I don't know the reasons behind his death, and all I was left with was the fear and sadness my mother felt in the wake of his demise.

I was only nine when all of this happened. But as I grew, I understood her grief. Being separated from her partner, the person she had meant to spend her entire life with, wasn't easy at all. 

In their absence, I didn't have any other relatives. 

The village people were the only family I had left. They cared for me and provided for the bare necessities I needed to survive.

I had food, clothing and a warm shelter. But most important of all  'a family' is what I missed the most.

But... I wanted to be independent, so I decided to live alone in the home which my parents had made for us… for me, anyway.

And as I got older, I started to work and provide for my own food and other necessities. I could feel the tears welling up as I emerged from these recollections of the distant past.

I should really start my day. It was almost time for work.

As the sky's ink blue slowly faded into a pale orange hue, nature herself, churned to life, as if she too, was eager to get away from the silent, lifeless, night.

The sound of water splashing was heard as I emerged from the lake. My pale white skin shone under the bright light of the peeking sun. A few crystal clear tears appeared around my eyes.

Thankfully, my vision was as sharp as that of a lioness. And though I felt rejuvenated enough, the bluish bags under my eyes said otherwise. And the tears that could be seen earlier had dried long ago.

It was to be seen but not touched.

Even though I had a tiring day ahead of me, I decided to meet with Fiona and her friends after work and maybe go for a long swim with them.

On that note, I've never felt comfortable telling people about my past- and mermaids were quite nosy anyway, always looking for new topics to engage in frivolous gossip.

Fiona on the other hand, was my one and only true friend, even as a mermaid. The only difference between her and the rest of the village community was that she knew all about my past and she also knew how to keep her mouth shut.

Finally, I went back to my cottage, got my work clothes ready and left for the village near the entrance of the forest.

As I walk cheerfully on the rough path, I kept on thinking about my friend's upcoming wedding.

The excitement I had buried earlier in the week suddenly rose to the fore. After all, I had an important role in the upcoming festivities.

I am going to make an amazing cake! It was the sort of thing my friends would never be able to forget. To top things off, a huge celebratory party would be held tonight, and the whole village was invited.

The light penetrated through the network of leaves that illuminated the entrance to the forest. And, with it, came the bustling sounds of the village. 

Taking a deep breath, I mentally prepared myself for the work that awaited me.  

"Good morning Anuja!" said the seamstress.

"Good morning, Madam Bush," I replied with a wave, whilst making my way past her.

We called her that because of her bushy clothes, or as she put it, the 'fluffy attire' that was known to wear.

They were too extravagant for everyday life, but no one could argue about her fashion sense, for it was the best in the entire village.

Next was the vendor.

"Hello Anuja, how is the preparation for the wedding going on?"

"It's going on fine, Mr. Peas. I was just heading to the bakery to prepare the wedding cake." And just as I said, I moved to the bakery, with a bounce in each step.

Then there was a man named after our local library.

"Hello Mr. Liberia, I was gonna visit you today after finishing my work. I think it's about time to return the book I took last week."

"Haha! Good morning, you bookworm! I must say you are indeed the most intelligent and unusual girl in this village of illiterates- er, I mean, metaphorically speaking..." 

And here was his perfunctory amendment, "Y-you know every improvement takes time and at least the people of this village are open-minded..."

He was always like this; careless with his commentary and quick to apologize. But I wasn't the type to get offended on behalf of others.

"So which book are you gonna give me to take home? Are there any new books available?" I asked, rather enthusiastically.

"I didn't mean to pour cold water on your hopes, but this week's shipment is late. But you can always read the old ones again."

"Hmmm, well, you are right. I did want to read the 'Three Female Musketeers' one more time."

"That's just what I expected you to say! Do you have any idea how many times you've read that particular book?"

"Hehe. I've only read it about... fifteen times."  

"Hmmm, sure... just fifteen times eh? Well, aren't you getting late for something?"

"Aah! I'm gonna be so late! Patty is gonna kill me. I will meet you after work, Mr. Liberia."

I brisked and sauntered towards the bakery, or rather, my death.

Ok, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration.

As I reached the Gawen intersection, I could feel the anger radiating from Mrs. Bake from all the shouting that came from the bakery's direction.

I increased my pace and practically ran at full swing.

Perhaps, marching towards my death wasn't an exaggeration. I tried to calm myself to get ready to face her wrath. When I entered the shop, I greeted the girl behind the counter and then held my breath. Here comes Mrs. Grumpy Bake.

"Anuja, do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you?! You know we need to prepare the cake for tonight's wedding, bake the bread for the daytime ceremony, and prepare the sweets for the reception." Spittle followed her every word.

I knew it.

I'm dead and no one can save me today. After all, that big grumpy Bake had always hated me, because, in her mind, I didn't belong in this community.

She would definitely fire me today. I shouldn't have wasted my time gossiping around. But what she did next was totally unexpected.

After a long and calm sigh, she said, "What are you waiting for? Get to work! Or do you want to lose your job? Do you think the cake can prepare itself?!?"

I just couldn't believe my ears. The Mrs. Bake who never missed a chance to torture me, and was eager to look for a reason to toss me out on the streets, suddenly let me off so easily.

Well, whatever the reason was, I have to concentrate on my work. So I went to the kitchen and started to make preparations for baking.

But something wasn't right.

That's when I realized that I was the only one in the kitchen. I went to the storefront a moment later to inquire about it, but before I could ask, the answer came by itself.

"What?! Oh, are you here to ask about Katie and Sam? They're on leave, so you gotta hurry it up since we don't have much time."

Grumpy old Bake had spoken in a nonchalant manner and gave me a disdainful look, that was the signal that I should return to my work.

Now, I know why she didn't kick me out. She didn't have a choice. I was the only baker available in the shop today. I thanked the gods for, at least, keeping my job safe before I returned to my work station.

After four hours of heavy baking, I finished what I had to do and left for the Brown household.

I walked on the road with a spring in each of my steps, because being with Mrs. Brown was my favourite part of the day. She was a very lonely old lady. Her children were always busy with work.

Well, it's not like I mind, as I got to spend a lot of time having fun with her, gossiping about the people in the village. 

To be honest, everyone, except Mrs. Bake, actually treated me kindly. Which is not a big surprise.

I opened the door the moment I arrived, using the spare key I always kept on hand. I entered and went straight to the living room, where the sound of music was blasting out of the TV.

"Hi, granny Brownie," I said in a teasing tone.

She hated it when people called her granny or grandma. According to her, she was still young to be called that. But one thing that I know for sure was that she was as sweet as a chocolate brownie, so the nickname Brownie suited her perfectly.

Granny Brownie irritatingly said, "Heya kid, who are you calling granny huh?? Are you looking for a fight or what?!??" 

But despite her sharp words, I could see the mirth in her eyes.

I went to the kitchen, that was adjoined to the living room, while ignoring her death-stare. I immediately began preparing food.

Granny yelled at me while I worked, only a few meters away from her.

"So how was your day Anu??? Did that ugly old fart cause trouble for you again? If she did, I swear to god that I'm gonna teach her a good lesson!"

Well, she is very sweet, but sometimes, her tongue gets a little nasty.

"Don't worry, Brownie. She didn't cause any trouble. Actually, she wasn't that nasty today. She just threatened me once. And it’s not that I'm afraid of her but I just don't want to give her any more attention out of the little time I have. I prefer to use it to do my job perfectly. I don't want to stoop down to her level and be like her."

"Oh god!! You are just too kind. Even though you work so hard and you’re respectful towards her, she still continues to scold you and say such harsh words to you. You deserve much better than this and I know you will definitely get that. After all, look at you. Where can someone got to see such a beauty in their day to day life?"

"Oh no no no!!! Don't start again. I already told you that I'm not interested in getting married anytime soon. Not until I know what happened back then..."

"Darling, you do know that your parents loved you very much, more than you can imagine. They wouldn't want you to waste your life trying to find out about their so-called disappearance and have your love life suffer as a result. In fact, I think it's safe to say that your love life is practically non-existent, as of right now."

I was used to her pushy ways, and in some way, I like how she fretted about me every now and then.

"I know that they loved me very much. I also know they wouldn't want me to be wasted away like this. And I know that looking for them won't bring either of them back."

I took a deep breath and tried to stem the tide of tears.

I didn't want to give Brownie any cause of worries. I prefer to be a brave woman who can handle her problems perfectly without needing much help.

After calming myself, I returned to the conversation, "Anyway, the point is, even if they wanted me to move on, I just can't do it without getting the answers I wanted."

It looked like Brownie wanted to say something to me but she had decided to change the topic. Well, she knew how stubborn I could get if I wanted to be.

"So what are your plans for your dear friend Michael's, reception party? You are going to attend, aren't you???" There was a trace of suspicion in her tone.

"Don't worry. I'll leave the pub as soon as I'm done performing a few songs, then I'll concentrate on my best friend's reception party. I'm not going to work my butt off on such an important day of her life and end up missing it!"

I spoke rather innocently. Well, to be truthful, I was thinking of taking my time at the pub before making my way to the reception whenever I felt like it. But looks like granny won't let me do as I pleased, so I might as well change my plans.

"That's good. Don't forget to take a bouquet for her, OK?! And don't go to work tonight!"

"Y-yes!!! I will definitely take a big bouquet!"

But granny didn't look satisfied with it and stared daggers towards me.

"OK-OK! I won't work tonight."

"Fine, I'll take your word. Since it's Michael's reception, I hope that you wouldn't go back on your word and work all night."

After finishing my work, I looked outside only to see the sun settling down. The reception would start soon, so I might as well leave now. I said goodbye to Brownie and left for my friend's reception–and just as she had said–I acquired a bouquet of lilies and roses along the way.

They were her favorites, and also mine.