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Section 1
### Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Copyright © 2020 by Koko Aranck.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Akira Hendrix was born an Empty Vessel. Wolfric Selinofoto has looked for his Havent for most of his life, then he comes face to face with the cutest little girl, but no one will believe that he is her Warrior. How can a soulless child have a Warrior? He won't let them keep her from him. He knows what and who she is, and once they find her four other Warriors, everyone who has denied her will know as well, and bow to her and the powers hidden deep inside her.
Complete Chapters 48 Rating 4.9 ( 143 reviews ) Age Rating mature {"language":"en","storyId":554105,"genres":[{"name":"Fantasy","path":"/genres/fantasy"},{"name":"Romance","path":"/genres/romance"}],"authorName":"Koko Aranck","authorPath":"/KokoAranck","status":"complete","lastUpdatedAt":1762480965,"chaptersCount":48,"rating":4.916083916083916,"reviewsCount":143,"ageRating":"mature"} Chapter One: Empty Vessel Three-year-old Akira Hendrix looked up at the bars above her. The bigger kids can climb the monkey bars. Why can’t she?
“Move out of the way, runt,” an older boy said, pushing Akira down.
Laughing, he climbed the stairs that led up to the monkey bars.
Akira held in her tears as she scrunched up her face. They are always so mean to her, just because she is small and has no powers. They think they are all better than her. Well, she will show them.
Akira pulled herself to her feet and walked over to the stairs that the mean boy had just climbed up. She took a deep breath, then climbed the stairs. She got to the top of the stairs and frowned. She cannot reach the monkey bars. She is too small. She could hear the other children laughing at her.
If she were a real Havent, she would be able to use magic and swing across the monkey bars. But she is what is called an Empty Vessel. That is why her father hates her so much. He is a strong Warrior, and her mother is a very powerful Havent. But Akira is a dud.
Not only is she a dud, but she is also small. At least she is smart. Akira smiled and looked at the obstacle before her. She nodded to herself, then climbed the bar beside her. Up and up to the monkey bars.
With a bright smile, she took hold of the first monkey bar and swung to the next. She is doing it—she is really doing it!
‘Where is Mommy? Mommy should see me doing this!’
A strong wind blew, making her swing back and forth. She knows one of the kids was using their power, but she does not care. She is going to—Akira cried out when a gust of wind made her lose her grip, and she started to fall.
Wolfric Selinofoto looked at the time on his phone. He is going to be late for his meeting. For over ten years now, he has worked with his brothers (or rather for). Each of his brothers has their own Havent, and they tease him mercilessly. Wolfric had finally given up on ever finding his Havent and joined his brothers, despite their teasing.
He knows they feel sorry for him and only do it to keep his mind off the fact that he does not have a Havent, his Psychi.
Wolfric passed a small park and heard children laughing as he felt a stiff wind blow. Children playing with their powers is always a disaster. He should know, his nieces and nephews have destroyed their parents’ house more than once.
He heard a scream and turned just in time to watch a girl use her powers to blow a very small child off the monkey bars. Without a thought, he rushed to the aid of the child. He skidded in the sand under her just as she landed, and the air was knocked from his lungs. Wolfric grunted and closed his eyes. The small child in his arms was crying, and no one seemed to rush to her aid.
Wolfric opened his eyes and sat up, the child in his arms. He set her on her feet and brushed the sand from her knees. She sniffled as she watched him.
“Thank you,” the sweetest voice he has ever heard said.
Wolfric looked up just as she wiped her nose with her arm. He looked into the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. The amber color was bright and shined like a torch. He swallowed and tucked a hair behind her ear.
“Are you all right?” he whispered.
She nodded and continued to stare at him.
“What is your name?” he asked, his eyes still connected to hers.
“Akira,” she whispered. “What’s yours?”
Wolfric smiled. “I am Wolfric.”
Akira giggled. What a funny name, but she liked it.
“I will call you Wolfie,” she said.
Wolfric chuckled, “you can call me anything you want, Psychi.”
Akira giggled again. He is silly—he just called her a soul. She likes him. He is handsome and sweet. He kept looking at her, but it did not scare her. She felt peaceful around him.
“What are you doing with my daughter?!” a burly man demanded as he barreled over to Wolfric and Akira.
Wolfric watched Akira’s eyes dim. He frowned and pulled himself to his feet, then looked at the man. The man is definitely a Warrior, which makes Akira a Havent. Wolfric smiled. Now he knows why he had not found his Havent all those years ago.
“She fell off the monkey bars,” Wolfric said.
He watched his Psychi shiver when her father placed his hand on her shoulder. Something was definitely wrong there. The man pulled Akira away from Wolfric and shoved her behind him, then got into Wolfric’s face and sneered.
“I heard what you called my daughter.”
Wolfric smiled. Not many fathers were too keen to have a Direwolf as their child’s Warrior. But she is his Psychi, and he would never hurt her.
He could not smell her powers, but they had to be there. Otherwise, she would not have a Warrior.
“I know I’m not what you expected for your daughter. But I would never harm her.”
The Warrior snarled, “I don’t know what your game is here, but my daughter has no Warriors. She will never have a Warrior. She is an ádeio docheío.”
Wolfric blinked. An Empty Vessel.
He knows he had seen it in her eyes.
Wolfric looked around the large man at the little girl. She was crying again, her eyes red-rimmed and swollen. She looked at him, and his heart skipped a beat. Her eyes were shining so brightly, he knew she was his. He looked back at the Warrior.
The man was not as big as Wolfric, but he was a sturdy Warrior. Wolfric wondered where the other Warriors were and the Havent. The child’s mother.
“You will stay away from my daughter,” the Warrior said.
The Warrior grabbed Wolfric by the collar and lifted him off his feet. Okay—if this man wasn’t his Psychi’s father, he would be tearing his arms off about now.
“Daddy, no,” Akira said, tugging on her father’s pant leg.
The Warrior tossed Wolfric to the ground and sneered down at him.
“My daughter is off-limits. She has brought me and my Havent enough shame. She doesn’t need a pervert stalking her.”
Wolfric glared at the man. He did not know which he was angrier about. Being called a pervert, or the fact that he talks so of his own daughter. Many have had Empty Vessels as children, but sometimes they gain their powers when they are older, and sometimes not. Wolfric growled and glared up at the Warrior.
A woman with long blond hair ran up to them and pulled Akira into her arms. She hugged the girl and kissed her cheeks.
‘So, just the father is ashamed,’ Wolfric thought. ‘Where are her other Warriors?’
“What seems to be the problem here?” an officer asked as he walked up to them.
Someone must have called this in.
“This man accosted my daughter,” the Warrior said, pointing at Wolfric.
“No, Daddy,” Akira said, pulling away from her mother. “He saved me. I fell off the monkey bars.”
Wolfric looked at the little girl. She had to be no more than maybe two years old. She was smart and had a good vocabulary. That alone showed she had potential as a Havent. She is just a late bloomer.
The Warrior turned to Akira and looked to want to slap her. But stopped himself when he remembered where he was.
“I don’t want this man near my daughter,” the Warrior said as he turned to the officer. “He called her Psychi.”
Akira’s mother gasped and stared at Wolfric. But it cannot be. She is an Empty Vessel. Her Warrior would sense their daughter’s Havent, wouldn’t he?
The officer turned to Wolfric and shook his head. “Everyone knows that the girl is an Empty Vessel. They do not have a Psychi. They are ápsychos.”
Wolfric growled. That child is not soulless; he could tell that no one would believe him. It seemed that only he could sense her soul—her Havent. It is buried deep within her, but he saw it in her eyes. He knows she is his, just as much as he is hers.
“I don’t want to take you in, Mr. Selinofoto. But if you are seen with that child again, I will,” the officer said, then turned to Akira’s parents. “I will make sure he never bothers you again.”
The officer turned to Wolfric, pulled him to his feet, and led him away from the park.
Wolfric turned and looked at his Psychi. She was crying again as she watched the officer drag him away. She cried out when her father took hold of her arm and shook her, yelling at her for talking to a stranger.
The words, Stranger Danger, ran through Wolfric’s head, and he chuckled.
He will protect his Psychi, even if it kills him.
Akira lay in her bed that night. Her bottom was sore from her daddy whipping her with his belt for talking to the “pervert.”
But Wolfie is not a stranger or a pervert. She sniffled and closed her eyes, then drifted off to sleep.
She dreamed of her Wolfie saving her from her daddy and taking her away to a land covered in snow. She got to eat candy all day, and Wolfie read her stories at night. Just like Mommy used to do until Daddy beat her and told her a soulless Empty Vessel does not get Storytime.
Wolfric stood outside his Psychi’s bedroom window and listened to her cry. He had been too late to stop her father from whipping her. He swears to Zeus he will kill the man once Akira is old enough, and he can take her away from here.
Once she was asleep, he sat down on the ground below her window and scowled up at the sky. Why have the Gods given him his Psychi after waiting so long, just to take her away from him? Many Warriors have found their Psychi at such a young age and helped the parents raise the child until they were of age to accept their Warriors.
He closed his eyes. He had told his brothers what had happened, and they had been thrilled that he had finally found his Havent. And angry about the child’s father. Why doesn’t Akira’s mother protect her? And where the fuck is her other Warriors?
Wolfric drifted off to sleep and dreamed about taking his Psychi away from her parents to a place with snow, where they ate candy all day, and he read her stories at night. He smiled in his sleep as he held his Psychi close to his heart.
Akira walked beside her mother as they headed to her pre-school; she was the youngest in her class and the smartest. She saw a shadow and turned. Something big was following them, but she did not feel any fear. Her little heart pitter-pattered as she watched the giant shadow, then she saw him.
She knew he heard her because the wolf’s tail wagged, and his tongue hung out of his mouth, making her giggle.
“What do you see?” her mommy asked, looking in the direction she was giggling.
Akira shook her head and looked up at her mother.
Temple Hendrix smiled down at her daughter. Whatever she is hiding, she will let her have it. She is only three, and she has not had the best a life could give. Being an Empty Vessel makes life challenging in their world.
Temple’s Warrior denied the possibility of the Direwolf being their daughter’s Warrior. Akira has never shown any signs of having any kind of powers. But there must be something there if that Warrior has claimed her. Right?
Akira waved to her Wolfie as they entered the schoolyard.
She hoped she would get to see him again.
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### Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Wolfric shook his head as his heart broke. He cannot think of that; she is too young right now. Once she is of age, they will travel together and find her other Warriors, then she will choose. He knows she may choose someone else, no matter how much he loves her already. But that will not stop his love for her.
He sat in the shadows and watched the school. Soon Akira’s mother will come out. He needs to find a way to get her attention without being seen near her. He watched the Havent, who is his Psychi’s mother, walk through the gate, and head his way. It is now or never.
Wolfric shifted back to his human form and made a sound he knew she would hear without getting an officer’s attention. He watched her look around, then head toward where he was hiding. Once she was in the alley and no one could see them, he stepped out of the shadows.
“A Shadow Walker, very impressive,” she said, watching him.
He snorted. “As impressive as your own Warrior?”
She shrugged. “What do you want from my daughter? If it is money, name your price. But please do not take her from me. I don’t think my Warrior will fight for her.”
Wolfric scoffed, “I don’t want anything from you or your Warrior.”
“Then please, what is it you want?”
“I want to be in my Psychi’s life. But your Warrior seems to be against that.”
She scoffed, “my daughter isn’t anyone’s Psychi. She is an Empty Vessel.”
Wolfric moved so fast she squealed when he stood in front of her. “Believe me when I say your daughter is NOT an Empty Vessel.”
Temple blinked up at the large man. He is much bigger than any of her Warriors were. She sniffled as memories of her Warriors flooded her mind. Apollo had not been her first choice—he had been her last. And after her other Warriors had died, she had taken him.
She had had no choice. She had hoped Apollo would change once their child was born. But when Akira was born an Empty Vessel, he had become even crueler. He had wanted to have her killed on the spot, but she had begged him not to. She is their little girl. She had promised the next one would have a soul.
But they have not had another child. There is still time. She knows if they do not have another child, he will kill Akira. That is why she is still with him. She knows if she leaves him, he will find them and kill them both.
“How do I know you are not lying to me?” she asked.
Temple stared at the man who claimed to be her daughter’s Warrior.
He smiled. “I saw her soul in her eyes.”
Temple held back her hysterical laughter. That was part of what convinced everyone that her daughter has no soul. Akira’s amber eyes are so dull that everyone has no choice but to believe she is soulless. But this man says he sees it.
Temple sighed and looked behind her, then back at the wolf. “No one will believe you.”
He shrugged. “I seriously don’t give a fuck who believes me. She is my Psychi, and I will protect her. Even from her father.”
Temple shivered, remembering last night.
“Why is it that a powerful Havent such as yourself is with this tyrant and lets him beat your child? Why don’t you stop him?”
She laughed. Which made Wolfric’s hackles rise.
“Do you think me so cruel that I don’t try to protect my daughter?”
He shrugged. “I know he beat her last night.”
She nodded. “And I tried to stop it.”
He snorted, and she moved her hair away from her face. He stared at the mark on her cheek and neck.
“I got between my daughter and the belt. You do not want to see my back. Or do you?” she asked as she replaced the hair to cover her face again.
He shook his head. “Then why do you stay with him?”
She sighed, “he will find us and kill us.”
Wolfric took a step back. Even a Warrior who has not been chosen as their Psychi’s mate would never kill her. He will love and protect her until the day he dies.
“Where are your other Warriors?”
Temple sniffled and looked behind her again. “Dead,” she whispered.
Wolfric growled. That made sense—he bet this Warrior was not her first choice as a mate.
Temple looked back at the Direwolf. She could see the understanding in his eyes.
“Why is it such a big deal to your Warrior that your daughter be a Havent?”
Temple looked down at the ground, then back up at the Warrior. Her daughter’s Warrior.
“Because I am a descendant of Brynhildr.”
Wolfric sucked in a shocked breath. Brynhildr is the most powerful Valkyrie in Mythology history. She was not just a Valkyrie—she was also a Shield Maiden.
“Are you a Valkyrie?” he asked, watching her.
She shook her head. “No, I did not get that power. There has not been a Valkyrie for a long time. My Warrior hoped that our daughter would get that power or at least something from my ancestor. But when she was born empty, he flipped, became harder, angrier, meaner.”
“Your daughter isn’t empty,” Wolfric said, placing his hands on her shoulders. “She is full of power. It is just hidden down deep. I think if she finds all of her Warriors, it will wake the power within.”
Temple nodded. At last—hope. “I can’t let her search until she comes of age.”
Wolfric smiled and nodded. “I will stay in the shadows until she comes of age, then take her from here.”
Temple felt a tear slide down her cheek. Fifteen more years with her beloved daughter. Then Akira will belong to her Warriors.
“Okay, Warrior. When she turns eighteen, I give you permission to take her away from here.”
Akira looked in the shadows as she sat in the grass alone during playtime. No one ever wanted to play with her. Empty Vessels are rejects. She hates school, but her daddy makes her go. If she cannot have magic, she can at least use her brain.
She heard panting and turned around to find her Wolfie sitting in the shadows. She stood and ran to him. His tail wagged as she wrapped her arms around his massive frame. He is such a big puppy.
“They won’t play with me,” she said as she turned to look at the other kids playing.
Her Wolfie growled, and she giggled.
“Talking to yourself again?” a girl asked as she walked up behind Akira.
Akira turned to the girl and frowned. “No.”
The girl laughed, “my mommy and daddy say that you’re below sewer sludge.”
Akira blinked. That is mean, right? She heard her Wolfie growl and smiled. He will protect her.
“Why are you smiling?” the girl asked as others gathered around them.
“Nothing,” Akira said with a shrug of her shoulders.
Akira felt her Wolfie sniff her hair and giggled.
“She’s crazy and not worth it,” one of the other kids said, pulling the girl away.
Akira watched the shadow of a tree branch sweep up and trip them as they walked away. She laughed so hard she fell on her bottom.
The kids looked around and tried to figure out what had happened. They looked at the girl sitting on the ground, still laughing, and shook their heads. She could not have done it; she is an Empty Vessel.
Wolfric’s wolf smiled as he watched the children try to figure out who had tripped them.
“That was fun,” Akira said, scratching his fir.
Wolfric looked down at his Psychi. She is the most adorable little girl he has ever seen. He will have fun protecting her for the next fifteen years. Then they will travel and find her other Warriors.
He will miss having her to himself, but he knows sharing her can be fun too.
Akira laughed and tossed her Wolfie another bite of her lunch. Life has not been the best, but with Wolfie at her side, it has been better. Her father still beats her and her mother. B ut Wolfie always makes it better. If only he could stop her father.
Five more years and he can take her away from here, away from her father, away from these mean people.
Still, no one believes that she is not soulless. Even after ten years of Wolfie arguing with the council, they will not believe that he sees something. Because no one else does.
He does not know it, but she has followed what his human side does when he is not with her. She knows that he has seen the council many times about her father. Still, no one will believe that her father is capable of beating his Havent. And no one cares about the pitiful Empty Vessel.
Akira smiled at her Warrior. She had looked up what it all meant when she was eight. It means that she has a soul, and it belongs to her Wolfie. And four other Warriors, and when she turns eighteen, Wolfie is taking her to find them. Then she will choose which one will be her mate, and the others become her bodyguards.
“Lunch is over, Akira, come inside!” a teacher shouted at her.
Akira waved to her teacher, so the woman knew she had heard her, then turned to Wolfie.
“See you after school,” she said with a wave.
Wolfie nodded his massive head and watched her return to her classroom.
Wolfric watched his Psychi walk back into the building and sighed. Ten years, he still has not been able to convince anyone that his Psychi has a soul.
He waited for Akira to get out of school, then stayed in the shadows as he walked her home. She was growing into a beautiful woman. Wolfric had been shocked when he had found out she was three when he had first met her and not one or two as he had thought.
She was so small, and she still is. She is smaller than any of the other girls in school and gets bullied a lot for it. But not as much as she does for being an Empty Vessel.
One day, she will show everyone her true powers.
Akira crawled into bed later that night and stared up at the ceiling. Five more years of being in the same house with her father, and then she will be on an exciting adventure with her Warrior.
She heard her door open and lifted her head to see who it was. She almost cried when she saw her father enter her room. What is he doing here? The only time he comes into her room is when he punishes her. But she has not done anything wrong. She was good today; she even got an A on her spelling test.
“You’re old enough now, Akira,” he said as he sat on the edge of her bed.
No use in pretending she was asleep. He had seen her eyes were open.
Akira swallowed before she asked. “Old enough for what, Papa?”
She saw the smile on his face, and her heart skipped a beat. What does he want from her?
“Since you’re no good for anything else. I have decided that you will pleasure me when your mother is asleep.”
Akira blinked. Did she hear him correctly? “But…,” she did not get to finish what she was going to say.
He moved so fast she cried out. He covered her mouth with his hand and whispered into her ear.
Akira continued to scream against his hand as his other hand moved under the blanket and down her pajama bottoms and panties. She tried to crawl away from him, but he held her to the bed and roughly played with her…
Akira cried harder when she heard her mother’s voice.
Apollo pulled his hand from his daughter’s pants and turned to Temple. She stood in the doorway, completely naked. His cock jumped, and he grinned.
“Come give me that baby you promised me,” she said, curling her finger for him to follow her.
He stood from the bed and looked down at his daughter. “To be continued,” he said to her with a growl.
Apollo turned from Akira and followed Temple down the hall to their room.
Temple sighed with relief when her Warrior followed her. She had woken to him missing in their bed and followed his scent to their daughter’s room. When Temple had seen what he was doing, her world had crumbled. She needs to get her daughter out of this house.
Temple screamed when Apollo slammed her onto the bed, and she hit her head on the headboard. She doubted that was what the thing was there for. But it was not the first time he had slammed her head into it. She has tried to turn him in to the council, but no one believes that a Warrior would treat his Psychi in such a manner. And they did not give a shit about her daughter.
She is an Empty Vessel that should have been killed at birth.
“How dare you interrupt me,” he growled into her ear, holding her head against the headboard.
“I—I am sorry. I thought that you would like to try for a baby again.”
He snarled in her ear, then slammed into her so hard she screamed in pain.
“You better give me a son this time!” he snarled as he fucked her hard.
Temple closed her eyes and cried. At least her daughter is safe, for now.
Akira cried into her pillow as she listened to her father abuse her mother. Her mother had saved her this time, but what about next time? Will she be on time?
Akira closed her eyes and tried to drown out her mother’s screams.
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