《Tale Of A Cursed Alpha》


 Born Of calamity

    TWENTY YEARS AGO.


    Heavy rain pelted against the windows of a dimly lit room, distorting the view of the outside world. The ambiance was filled with a mixture of anticipation and brooding mncholy.


    Seated on an ornate armchair was a man of immense stature andmanding aura- the Alpha- his feet tapping the marble floor urgently as he awaited news from his subjects.


    He gazed out at the soaked cityscape with a troubled expression, his torment growingrger as long minutes walked by. Tonight, his fate was going to be decided.


    Or he decided the fate of the child to be born.


    Alpha Greyson awaited the birth of the son that existed as a result of ck magic. A son that wasn¡¯t his- an aberration different from anything Druid Peak pack had ever experienced.


    The gods seemed to have something against him for pinning such misfortune on him.


    Dilemma crept under his skin just as it had from the very first day his Luna¡¯s pregnancy was discovered, and he hadn¡¯t been with her. That day marked the start of his turmoil.


    Minutes turned into eternity as his restlessness grew. His Luna¡¯s face breezed into his mind again, and Greyson began to wonder if she was in pain because of the abomination she carried. His mind was made up for the next course of actions, but still, he anxiously waited for news to be brought to him.


    After a small moment, the door to his chamber creaked open, and a servant, soaked by the relentless downpour, rushed in, breathless and trembling. She bowed immediately at the sight of him, going on her knees.


    Alpha Greyson recognized her to be one of the maids that aided the midwives. She was hesitant; her lips quivered as though she was thinking of what to say. Perhaps, how to say it.


    ¡°Speak!¡± Hemanded, his voice heavilyced with furiousness and impatience.


    ¡°The child lived. He was born a few minutes ago.¡± She ryed calmly, but her voice was filled with so much fear.


    He- a bastard male child. Alpha Greyson thought. All these while, his Luna hadn¡¯t bore him a son to carry on his lineage, but now she did- when he was not the one responsible for it.


    The servant¡¯s words etched into his mind. Despite his years of battles, downfalls, and victories, he had never felt a pain so great. His wolf raged, and he angrily bared his teeth, trying to put to rest the rage that brewed inside of him.


    The rain drummed a relentless rhythm as he was lost in his reverie, his mind consumed by the thought of how much of a problem this child was going to be to the entire pack.


    ¡°Show me,¡± Greyson ordered as he rose to his feet and headed to the chamber where the abomination had been birthed. Now that the child obstinately decided to live, there had to be something else to curb him from ruining the line and peaceful flow of things.


    The servant rushed outside. The rain still fell heavily, raging as though it shared the same emotional turmoil as the Alpha. He followed the maid till they arrived at the delivery room.


    Sucking in air through his teeth, he stepped foot in the chamber- his eyes darting from wall to wall till he finally spotted his Luna on the wooden bed with a few other servants performing her aftercare.


    She tried to sit when she noticed his presence, her face etched with so much disappointment. He didn¡¯t spare her a nce. No, he couldn¡¯t. More pressing issues awaited.


    At that exact moment, the child cried out from the cradle next to her, and Alpha Greyson took hushed steps toward him. The midwives stopped their treatments and pathed the way for him. They all carried worried expressions.


    ¡°Gather the council, now,¡± He ordered urgently, and a few maids scurried out to ry the message. His hands were wet, and water dripped from his regal attire.


    Still, Greyson reached for the child and took him out of the cradle. He took him in one hand and examined- battling conflicting emotions.  A child to his naive Luna, a bastard to him.


    Although it wasn¡¯t her fault, he was the one foolish enough to let his guard down and let his foe a chance to get through to him using his wife.


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­please¡­Indrik did nothing wrong.¡± Her voice was hushed.


    ¡®A mighty name for a bastard child-¡® Greyson thought.


    A tear streamed down her face as she looked at him. Even though he loved her, Greyson had no intention of letting the child live with his heritage.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing this¡­for us.¡± He left the room with the child in his hand, heading to the front of the Manor where the ritual would take ce.


    Lightning owned the sky, transforming the night into day for brief moments, and the loudness of the thunder was deafening, like the world was a step away from utter destruction.


    Greyson pushed on with the child in his hand in the relentless rain, the harsh cold seeping into both their skins.  As expected, the council had gathered in anticipation- the members being his Beta, Gamma, Zeta, and Delta- all the people required to witness the ritual about to take ce.


    Silence ate up the air, except for the pitter-patter sound of the rain that he had begun to find annoying.


    ¡°Alpha Greyson¡­¡± His beta began, but Greyson¡¯s re caused him to eat up his words. They were all aware of the circumstances surrounding the birth of the child, so there was no changing his mind.


    ¡°Do you still n to seal it?¡± Adolph- his gamma questioned.


    Greyson nodded, cing the wailing child on the pedestal in the middle of the space. The only way to go about this was to seal the child¡¯s wolf so that he may grow to be ordinary- nothing more.


    No bastard was going to carry on his lineage, especially not a child that belonged to his most prominent foe. Greyson inhaled profoundly, and the process began.


    A bubble of lightning surrounded him and the child as he fluttered his eyes shut and chanted the spell to activate the curse.


    The space was illuminated by bright blue light that permeated from his cursed energy. It swirled around them as his lips moved faster, faintly whispering the curse to seal the child¡¯s wolf.


    Soon, it was done. In the blink of an eye, the darkness returned, and the rain halted its war. Greyson¡¯s brown eyes were still a light shade of red as he returned to his chamber without words.


    His subjects took the child back to his mother. Indrik was no son of his- he would live as an ordinary, wolfeless man.


    PRESENT DAY.


    Indrik had two ns for the day, toy in bed all day and resume his training- the same one he¡¯d sworn to quit seven hours ago after his fifteenth master gave up on him.  For a wolfless person like him, things were moreplicated than it was for others. So, nothing else, nothing else mattered.


    There had to be someone, right? Perhaps a reason why he was weaker than others. So weak that his step brother was being anticipated to take the head of the pack after the death of their father, but the council hadn¡¯t agreed just yet.


    He has been cursed to live a tedious life. Reluctantly getting off his bed, his fingers ruffled his dark hair as he groaned tiredly, picking up the book he had spent the night reading from underneath his pillow.


    It was another one of the ones he gathered and relentlessly read to find a way to unlock his wolf. No training seemed to be working. In fact, no one seemed to be interested in training him- he¡¯d been stigmatized like that.


    The day was gloomy, as it usually is. Indrik had gotten used to the life of doing nothing and being addressed as ipetent. Deep down, he wanted that to change, but there didn¡¯t seem to be a way around it.


    He¡¯d been determined since an early age to find someone who could train him so he was at the same level as others or even more significant. Indrik felt that there was something locked inside of him. The search continued today.


    Lazily, he prepared for his journey and got into afortable regal attire. No one would care about his whereabouts. He had realized that since his twenty-five years of being alive.


    None of the pack members seemed to be interested in helping him either, especially the members of the council. They kept their distance.


    With one pat down his silky ck hair, he stood before the mirror, adjusting the cor of his ensemble. He smiled at his breathtaking reflection. He was quite the eye candy, except for the w of ipetence that he¡¯d carried his entire life.


    ¡°Today, we find a master!¡± He said to himself, filled to the brim with determination as he made his way out of the chamber.


    Indrik decided to go north today- thend in which the humans resided. He was aware that wolves weren¡¯t allowed to mingle with humans, but he was no different from them, seeing as he¡¯d never been able to transform ormunicate with his wolf.


    Hell, he wasn¡¯t even sure he had one.


    All the days he¡¯d spent going south had borne him no good results. The Alphas and esteemed teachers he¡¯d worked with did nothing to help his condition.


    If luck shone on him on the course of this journey, he could begin the life he¡¯d always hoped for. And prove to them that he¡¯s just aspetent as they could be. If not more.


    Getting out of his chamber, the first person he set eyes on was Leon, his stepbrother, swarmed bydies as always, with his undying need always to be the center of attention.


    Indrik noticed Leon stop in his tracks at the sight of him, but he kept walking to avoid trouble. Leon always had a thing for ir. Right before Indrik crossed the threshold, he was blocked by Leon¡¯s tall, bulky frame,pared to hisfortably wiry one. One would almost think Leon was older.N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know when to give up, do you?¡± Leon jeered, his lips curved upwards in a condescending smirk as he stared down at him.


    Frustratedly, Indrik responded. ¡°Yes, I do not.¡±


    He brushed past his stepbrother hastily. Till now, he couldn¡¯t understand why his father had taken in another Luna, but it was impossible to ask directly; his parents were long gone. All of them.


    His gaze narrowed as he continued with his journey. On this day, he¡¯d find himself a worthy Master.

 THE SEARCH FOR A NEW MASTER

    Just a few steps more, and he¡¯d rest. Indrik decided. If he walked longer, he¡¯d arrive at the vige and make his way from there.


    He stepped foot off the dusty path that wound its way to the lush greenery and found himself in the quaint vige. Unlike the tenseness of his pack, the air was filled with the scent of blooming flowers, and the sun bathed the scenery with a warm glow.


    As he strolled further into the vige, ignoring their piercing gazes and questioning looks. Indrik expected that much since he was dressed like a foreigner- what he wasn¡¯t sure of was if they weed people like him.


    He didn¡¯t n to reveal his identity. It was more like there wasn¡¯t anything to reveal anyway, he was no different from them, and that was what led him there.


    The ce looked perfect. He slipped by colorful houses with thatched roofs that lined the streets. There was a sense of harmony- like all was fine with them.


    Tired and panting, it was noon already, and he¡¯d exhausted every iota of strength that he had, so he decided to rest for a while. His curiosity led him to a small, rustic restaurant nestled between the oak trees.


    The uniqueness was what made it catch his eyes, and Indrik felt a strange pull to go in there. The wooden sign above gently creaked in the breeze, and Indrik read the name of it. ¡°The haven¡± ¨C it read. The inciting aroma of freshly baked bread and herbs pulled him to venture inside.


    Also, he wanted to satisfy that voice in his head that led him there. Upon entering, all eyes shot in his direction, and they lingered in judgment, watching his every move as he settled at a corner and fiddled with the cutlery.


    ¡°Why am I even here?¡± He sighed, muttering under his breath as he looked around him for anything that could look exciting at the very least.N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    Nothing was. The restaurant was cozy, the flickering candles casting an eerie glow on it. Men and women chatted away- their loud voices andughter angering him as seconds passed.


    The inviting aroma had faded, perhaps because Indrik hadn¡¯t found anything worthy of his attention. It seemed like a hive of drunkards and lowlives, which must be why it¡¯s called the haven. It amodated every ss of people.


    It bored him. Right before Indrik decided to get on with his journey, an argument ensued from a room behind the restaurant. The noise of yelling and cries filled the air. Like clockwork, the patrons adopted quietude, as they were curious about what was going on, too.


    The argument went on for minutes. It seemed heated. Indrik didn¡¯t feel concerned, but there seemed to be ady involved with a man. After a few minutes, it was over, and the ones involved weren¡¯t seen.


    Another man settled next to Indrik and ordered a beer. Indrik saw it as the perfect time to leave since he couldn¡¯t seem to stomach any social interactions. He was stopped in his tracks when ady came out of the same room where the argument had gone on earlier.


    He settled back into his seat and observed her as she served some of the patrons hanging around. Her presence seemed to radiate an ethereal aura, almost as though she possessed magical powers.


    Something about her awed him a lot. Indrik sat back, taking in her entire appearance. He watched her tuck her auburn waves behind her ears as she carried a tray off the table, a trained fake smile stered on her face. She did not look happy at all.


    Even from the distance at which he sat, her ocean eyes were impossible to ignore. Her eyes were mesmerizing blue that sparkled with an otherworldly glimmer. There was something about her¡­


    Indrik couldn¡¯t ce a finger on it. It wasn¡¯t just her striking figure. It was the vibe that surrounded her, like she was light and stepped into a room, illumining it.


    Indrik¡¯s heart raced for no apparent reason, the sensation of satisfaction washing over him like he¡¯d found what he was looking for. He felt a light tap on his shoulders that jarred him out of whatever trance he¡¯d danced into.


    ¡°You like that one?¡± The unkempt-looking man next to him questioned, motioning towards the girl. ¡°She doesn¡¯te every day. The Shadowmaws would surely be willing to let her go.¡±


    What was he rambling about? Indrik thought but decided to y along since he intended to get information about her. ¡°The Shadowmaws?¡±


    ¡°You new here? The Shadowmaws rule this town¡­and own the restaurant, you see? That one who¡¯s caught your eyes is a maid that belongs to them, and she works more in their manor than the restaurant¡­.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s¡­.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, man!¡± The man tapped his shoulder again. ¡°If you want her, talk with them, and maybe they¡¯d have you lined up. All these men are probably here for the same reason you are, me included.¡±


    Those brutes. Indrik did not bother to exin that his attraction toward her was different. It was far beyond the physical. It felt more like an altering in his brain, something clicked the moment she walked in, and he could see the fire within her.


    Although she tried to suppress it, it was there. Perhaps because he¡¯s from the lineage of wolves, he could tell that there was something more to her than meets the eye. She wielded power, maybe enough to make her his new master. He didn¡¯t travel this far for nothing.


    Indrik turned to the man who had begun to gawk like he had no life prospect. ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡±


    The man snickered, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe this. Her name is¡­.¡±


    Right before he couldplete his words. ¡°Luna!!¡± One of the men in the restaurant yelled harshly, and thedy turned abruptly.


    Luna. She answered that name. But why was it called so harshly? His head shot back to the angry-looking man Luna walked towards.


    ¡°This wasn¡¯t what I ordered!¡± He angrily banged the table, startling her and everyone around. ¡°Take care of this.¡± With a swift move, he hit the tray of food off that table, and it sttered across the room.


    Without argument, Luna knelt and began to pack up the mess. ¡°I¡¯d take care of it, ¡± she responded softly, her voice carrying as much grace as her appearance did.


    Indrik seethed. But there wasn¡¯t much to be done. He watched her pick up the broken tes. Just as she was about to head in, the same man called her again and pulled her towards him by wrapping his fingers around her hair and yanking it.


    Indrik had promised himself not to make trouble. If he did, there was no way out of it. He wasn¡¯t powerful enough to help anyone. Still, the way she was being treated cursed anger to surge through his veins.


    He was filled with contempt. Luna cried out in pain, trying to wriggle free from the grip of the man with his arms around her hair. From the way her face reddened, he could tell the intensity of his grasp.


    ¡°You answer to me!¡± He barked at her. Could he be one of the Shadowmaws? That must be why he treated her so unfairly. Most masters always had it out for their mates.


    To stop any interference on his part, Indrik clutched the table and tried to tear his gaze away. Her refusal to protest just proved that she had something to hide.


    Even the most quiet of people would react if they were being treated that way.


    ¡°Poor thing¡­¡± the man next to him muttered again, bringing his cup closer to his mouth slowly.


    ¡°Is that her Master?¡± Indrik asked, trying to hide the urgency in his voice. He was one step away from sprinting across the room and initiating the most useless fight ever.


    The man shook his head. ¡°What? No¡­ That¡¯s just Bane. He always tries to shake the girls to their limits. This wouldn¡¯t be the first time, and Luna has always been a target for quite some time.¡±


    Had she constantly been bullied like that? ¡°And her master does nothing about it?¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°Customers are always right. Bane had quite the reputation. He¡¯s respected and has to be pleased everywhere. That¡¯s just how-¡±


    The stranger¡¯s voice was caught off by another yell from Luna¡¯s direction. Fuck this. Indrik couldn¡¯t stand it anymore.


    Before he could weigh his options and calcte how dumb of a decision venturing into such a pointless battle was- especially one that he could not fight- he was already halfway across the room, right before them, staring nkly.


    ¡°Lost something?¡± The brute barked. His hand still wrapped in her hair, holding her still. ¡°Scurry out of here, child.¡±


    Indrik was at a loss for words but one nce at Luna, and he felt an overwhelming assurance that he was doing the right thing. However, she looked absolutely disconcerted to see him.


    ¡°Let her go, she did nothing wrong.¡±


    The man¡¯s interest seemed piqued as he now focused on Indrik. He detangled his grip from Luna¡¯s hair and rose to his feet.


    God, damn. He was huge. Chills traveled down Indrik¡¯s spine as he looked up at the man. There and then, he realized he¡¯d made the most terrible mistake of making things worse.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± The man barked at Indrik. He was easily twice Indrik¡¯s size with a height that should not be considered humane.


    Should he do the wise thing and run or hold it out before thedy who was going to be his master by all means possible?


    What was he thinking? He couldn¡¯t even save himself not to talk of someone else!


    ¡°I- I,¡± he stuttered as he backed away. Every statement he wanted to make died on his tongue. ¡°She didn¡¯t do anything wrong, so just- let her go sicko, pick on someone your size.¡±


    Oops.


    Luna shoved him out of the way before hepleted the nonsense he was fearfully spewing. She took the initiative. ¡°I apologize, Bane. He must be new here! I¡¯d remake your order immediately, and please don¡¯t be mad!¡±


    Bane looked like he¡¯d been dipped in a furnace. His bald head was a hint of red as he clenched his fist while sizing up Indrik. Indrik was still confused as to how easily she¡¯d apologized even though she¡¯d been treated so badly.


    ¡°It¡¯d take no more than a breath to crush him. He mustn¡¯t be aware of how things are done here!¡±


    ¡°But, he just-¡±


    ¡°You should really learn to mind your own business, stranger!¡± Luna retorted, then turned to Bane. ¡°I¡¯d remake your order in five minutes.¡±


    Indrik was confused. ¡°Didn¡¯t he just maltreat you!? I mean¡­how could she be so okay with that? Acting like nothing happened?¡±


    Luna shot him a re. ¡°Mind your business, dweeb. Get your order and walk out.¡±


    He was persistent enough to follow her, despite her harsh font. ¡°You could have gotten mad at him, you know? Rather than transfer it to me.¡± He paused and looked around. ¡°Where¡¯s your Master?¡±


    Luna turned and ced her hand over his mouth urgently as if to silence him, after which she pulled him outside that restaurant for a conversation, just like he wanted.


    He found his master. There was no going back.

 Master In A Maid鈥檚 Form

    ¡°Do you know me?¡± She questioned him as they stood in an empty space next to a forest opening at the back of the restaurant.


    Indrik leaned against a tree, his hands folded across his chest, and he watched her prance the small area, fastening her waves into an urgent ponytail.


    ¡°No,¡± he nodded reluctantly. ¡°I do not know you¡­yet.¡±


    ¡°Why are you here? Were you sent to me? Why did you think interfering would help me? I didn¡¯t ask for your help, okay? So do what you¡¯re here for and leave. Don¡¯t make things even worse.¡±


    Quite the direct one. It just made her fit more into the criteria that he wanted. She turned to leave, but he called her back, addressing her by her name, and that seemed to bear more results than Indrik expected. What was even funnier was how she wore a smile through it all.


    ¡°How do you even know my name?¡±


    ¡°Do you like it here? How long do you want to keep pretending? In all honesty, I¡¯m here for a quest, and I seem to have found what I was looking for. If you could spare me a few moments, this wouldn¡¯t be so bad for us both.¡±


    ¡°Leave.¡±


    ¡°Luna, please-¡±


    She sighed exasperatedly. ¡°This better be good; if my master arrives before then, he might as well kill us both.¡±


    Indrik chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s a nice joke.¡±


    She didn¡¯t smile back, so his smile faded too, with the realization that she, in fact, wasn¡¯t joking. ¡°I¡¯d be direct then if that¡¯s what you¡¯d want. Be my Master.¡±


    Too fast? Too direct? Indrik watched a series of emotions cross her face ranging from nervousness to fear, to brief contemtion. He waited through it.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You heard me. Be my Master, Luna. That¡¯s my proposal, and I can handle the rest. I can take care of everything else you¡¯d ever need as long as you agree to train me.¡±


    She squinted, patting some of the hair that escaped the bond. ¡°Make me understand what you¡¯re trying to say. I¡¯m just an ordinary-¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not. You¡¯re anything but ordinary, Luna, and we both know that. I sensed it the moment you walked in.¡±


    ¡°Which means you¡¯re not human either¡­what are you then? Looks like I failed to hide properly this time. I¡¯d expected only humans to be in this town,¡± Luna responded, a hint of disappointment in her voice.


    ¡°eh¡­a wolf, but that¡¯s where the problemes in. I¡¯ve decided, and I just need you to agree to be my Master, train me, and teach me how to harness my powers, and I¡¯d be responsible for you for as long as you want.¡± He expressed, desperate for her response.


    Luna stared into an empty space for a while. ¡°What makes you think I can do what you want? I¡¯m not master material.¡±


    ¡°I feel it. That sense of victory dawned on me when I set eyes on you. It is questionable, and I know¡­but how can we be sure if we don¡¯t try?¡±


    This was absurd in so many ways. Indrik wondered how he¡¯d feel if a random stranger had walked in and asked him to be their master. That must be what Luna was feeling too.


    Her lips parted slightly after a brief moment. ¡°No, thank you. I¡¯m over okay here and I do hope you find the master you¡¯re looking for. It¡¯s just not me.¡±


    ¡°Luna¡­you have to think about this. A restaurant isn¡¯t where you¡¯re supposed to use all that mystical powers locked inside of you.¡±


    ¡°How would you know what¡¯s right for me? You don¡¯t even know me. I¡¯d appreciate it if you took your leave right now. My master will be here soon, and I can assure you, he¡¯s not as weing as Bane was.¡±


    Bane was weing? Ironic. At the mention of her master, another idea breezed into Indrik¡¯s mind. He didn¡¯t n to return empty-handed this time, and he was so sure Luna was the right person.


    The only way to have here with him was to purchase her from the Shadowmaws family. ¡°I don¡¯t n on leaving without you.¡±


    ¡°What does that even mean?¡±


    ¡°Luna?¡± Another voice called out from behind her. It was a middle-aged man whom Indrik hadn¡¯t seen earlier. His framemanded respect and obedience, and he had quite a number of tattoos crawling up his arms. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be working the restaurant?¡±


    There was so much anger in his voice even as he tried to tone it down. The man stomped angrily towards her, and he looked ready to hit her despite their contrasting size difference.


    How much of a brute were these people going to be?


    ¡°Hey, hey¡­hey.¡± Indrik stood before Luna immediately, blocking the angry man¡¯s path. ¡°Let¡¯s take it easy, shall we?¡±


    The man stopped and examined his appearance.  A pleased expression rested on his face as he seemed to sum up Indrik¡¯s worth.


    ¡°¡­ and who might you be?¡± His voice was harsh and resounding by nature. He spoke thunder.


    Oh, you have no idea. Indrik shrugged. ¡°Someone who¡¯s interested in purchasing this maid. Strike a deal with me, gentleman.¡±


    ¡°What are you even saying!?¡± Luna yelled from behind him. He didn¡¯t need a soothsayer to know that she was shooting him death res. Her gaze was strong enough to poke holes in the back of his head.


    ¡°I like the sound of that. You want to purchase Luna?¡± His voice was skeptical. ¡°Are you sure you want that one? There are plenty of others that seem useful in different aspects, unlike her¡­she¡¯s pretty tedious that one.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Indrik shook his head. ¡°I want her. She¡¯s the one who caught my eyes.¡±


    ¡°You do realize I¡¯m right here behind you! Stop this madness, right now!¡± Luna protested. ¡°I do not wish to be sold!¡±


    ¡°Who cares what you wish, you parasite? Come with me then to my office. I¡¯d love nothing more than to sell her away.¡± The man said to Indrik as he began walking. ¡°I¡¯m Vik Shadowmaws, by the way, and you are?¡±


    ¡°Indrik. Indrik Fridolf.¡±


    Indrikpleted the process, and Luna was his. It didn¡¯t take much to pay Vik off for her. Indrik couldn¡¯t believe that he didn¡¯t see the same greatness that he did. But that also made him d. His search had finallye to an end.


    It was evening already, and he had very little time to return to his pack. He could envision everything already and how much he¡¯d progress if Luna were by his side.


    Although he didn¡¯t understand the depth of her powers, he was very sure that she could help him. She just had to be willing. After he left Vik¡¯s office, the next and most necessary step was for her to apany him.


    And that was precisely what she¡¯d refused to do. Throughout the time the transaction went on, she¡¯d been glued to a chair, unwilling to do anything.


    He understood her plight, but he needed her more than she¡¯d ever imagined. Indrik would rather purchase her than have her waste away in this crooked hellhole; he was convinced that he could take care of her.


    ¡°It¡¯s time¡­¡± he said, observing the worried expression on her face. ¡°¡­ master,¡± hepleted, and she red at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not your master,¡± she mouthed. ¡°And I do not have any intentions of going with you to live at the top of mountains and whatnot!¡±


    Indrik snickered. ¡°Druid Peak Pack, actually. You¡¯re quite defensive, contrary to the adorable look that you carry. The deal has been done, Luna. You have toe with me willingly, or I will walk for us both while you¡¯re over my shoulders, ¡± he dered simply, an amused smile on his face.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I most definitely will!¡± With a tough movement, he was able to pry her arms away from the chair and carried her over his shoulders.


    His arm wrapped delicately around her waist while the other steadied her back as she fought to get off him. Her petite size didn¡¯t make that possible.


    ¡°Put me down right now you asshole.¡± Luna screamed, swinging her legs in protest.


    ¡°Hey! Stay still, alright? I¡¯m not as strong as a normal wolf would be.¡±


    Indrik ventured into the woods once again with his master in his arms. He found her- the ray of light in the dark, dark tunnel.

 Punishment

    Back at the Druid Peak pack, the news of Indrik¡¯s disappearance spread quickly amongst the council. This news sparked a reaction from them as the search for Indrik began.


    The Beta immediately ordered for Indrik to be brought to him the moment he returned, already promising to punish him. The boy had never thought to leave the pack, and he wasn¡¯t allowed to. For all the years he had been born, he only stayed within the pack borders, he didn¡¯t even dare go five meters close to it.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    The news of him truly leaving brought a lot of emotions, and anger was the greatest of them all. All the guards searched around for where they thought Indrik would have gone, even going as far as reaching the popr market where people were known to go.


    But what would have taken him that far out? They all wondered.


    Beta Green thought that Indrik¡¯s search for a master was getting out of hand and he needed to stop him before it got toote.


    The figure of Indrik walking back with someone is sighted by a member of the pack and he immediately runs back to inform Beta Green. The unfamiliar face walking with Indrik was enough to create another spark that spread.


    Rumors started to spread as they watched them both cautiously.


    No one was allowed to bring an unknown person into the pack. This pack was locked off to outsiders, the entrance to the pack hidden so well that it would be hard to find and yet Indrik had gone ahead and brought someone back.


    ¡°Beta. Indrik has been found. He is currently walking towards the pack house and will be here at any moment,¡± The pack member said, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath.


    ¡°And he was sighted with an unfamiliar person, someone who is not from this pack,¡± The words of the men held great meaning, making the members of the council to murmur in anger.


    Hearing the words of the men, Beta Green folds his fist in anger.


    ¡°Bring him to me at once!¡± He roared out, the whole ce shaking violently. No one has dared to bring a stranger back to the pack, and Indrik went out just once and came home with one. Indrik is immediately surrounded by Beta Green¡¯s men, making him stop in his tracks.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He asked them, feeling annoyed that they had stopped him.


    ¡°Beta Green ordered for your presence immediately,¡± They said without even batting an eye. Luna turned to look at Indrik and looked at the men once more.


    ¡®Why were they treating him like he had done something wrong?¡¯ she wondered.


    Before she could voice out her thoughts, Indrik held her hands in his, letting the men lead them.


    ¡°How dare you leave the pack?!¡± Beta Green screamed immediately when he saw Indrik, he was just about to say more when he finally noticed the petite girl who was standing beside Indrik. Her face was not familiar but he knew that she was the stranger that they spoke about.


    His anger increased tenfold at the stupidity of the boy, every elder present voicing out their thoughts to have him punished. Their pack was very secretive and not everyone could gain ess to it and Indrik had led someone else straight to their pack.


    ¡±If I don¡¯t teach him a lesson, he won¡¯t ever learn,¡± Beta Green thought to himself.


    He immediately called for a meeting with the rest of the elders, wanting to discuss the right punishment to give to Indrik. They couldn¡¯t forget about the girl that he was with. Who knows if she was a spy for an enemy pack?


    After discussion amongst themselves, a final verdict is decided, each of the elders voting for it. Indrik stood in the middle of the elders, with Luna right beside him.


    Luna couldn¡¯t help but look around curiously. Each of the people here seemed to be against Indrik and her, wanting to put them through punishment. She didn¡¯t miss the look of scorn and dislike on their faces, each of them directed at Indrik.


    Beta Green cleared his throat, demanding the attention of Indrik and Luna.


    ¡°We have decided on what both your punishments would be,¡± He said, speaking as though he was doing them both a favor by punishing them.


    ¡°Indrik, you shall be stripped and given a hundredshes for leaving the pack and you will be left out in the cold for two nights. Both are punishments for crossing the borders when you are well aware that you should not and bringing an unknown girl back here with you. And for the girl you came back with..¡± His voice boomed and Luna resisted the urge to roll her eyes.


    ¡®Such a punishment for leaving the borders, isn¡¯t that a bit too much? It was like they were trying to remind him that he would forever be under them and he couldn¡¯t do anything without telling them.¡¯


    Luna thought as she waited for what the elders would announce as a punishment fitting for her.


    She was new around here and had only followed Indrik back here. Giving her a punishment just for doing so¡­ wasn¡¯t thatpletely unnecessary?


    But of course, Indrik couldn¡¯t say that out loud.


    ¡°And for the girl, she would be thrown into the dungeon and left there for a full week, with no food or water!¡± Beta Green¡¯s voice held finality as he announced the next punishment.


    The entire council seemed to agree with Beta Green¡¯s words, each of them nodding their head. Indrik¡¯s jaw dropped when the Beta was done speaking.


    He didn¡¯t mind the punishment given to him. It was just a few strokes and only two days out. But punishing Luna when the only thing she did was follow him back was purely wrong. Taking a deep breath, Indrik opened his mouth, voicing out his thoughts exactly.


    ¡°I refuse,¡±


    His words were enough to silence the elders, all of them looking at him in shock.

 Chaos

    The entire hall erupted in chaos as they all let what Indrik said sink in. No one had ever said no to what the Council ordered, and Indrik had said that today, shocking everyone who was present.


    Beta Green was the first person to snap out of his shocked state, he was furious at Indrik.N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    ¡°What do you mean no?!¡± He thundered. He was outraged that Indrik had said no to something the council had decided.


    ¡°I mean. No, Luna won¡¯t be getting punished,¡± Indrik answered. He had brought her here after a lot of efforts and he wasn¡¯t going to let them punish her for something he did.


    ¡°I would be taking my punishment and hers as well,¡± he announced, and everyone gasped in shock.


    Beta Green looked at Luna whose face showed surprise, then turned his attention back to Indrik.


    He wondered the rtionship between this two and why Indrik hade home with her.


    Does he n on taking responsibility of her too?


    Luna turned to Indrik in shock, surprise written on her face. Yes, Indrik brought her here himself, but him taking a punishment that was meant for her was uncalled for.


    ¡°Indrik,¡± She called his name softly, with the intention of letting him know that she could take care of herself but he shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let me take responsibility for you and my actions,¡± Indrik had already made up his mind.


    He couldn¡¯t let his master suffer just after she came into his oack.


    He didn¡¯t regret the decision he has made and if given the chance to, he would repeat it.


    ire, who was his childhood friend was infuriated by this. She knew how terrible the dungeons were. Everyone knew how terrible they were. It was hard for a werewolf to survive in their dungeon, not to talk about Indrik who was merely a human at this point.


    She opened her lips, about to voice her concerns when Indrik spoke again.


    ¡°Please, I was the one who brought her here. She didn¡¯t want toe, but it took a lot of convincing. It would be terrible of me to let her get punished after bringing her here. She Is my responsibility,¡± Indrik pleaded with the Council and they discussed amongst themselves.


    ¡°Very well, if that is what you want,¡± Beta Green answered.


    He still found it strange that Indrik was willing to sacrifice himself for a girl that he had just met. The dungeons was somewhere that even he wouldn¡¯t want to be in and yet Indrik was more than willing.


    The punishments had been decided.


    The moment Beta Green had spoken, voices could be heard protesting against that.


    Indrik didn¡¯t have to serve for another person. He was already weak as it was and him going there was the same as him asking for death.


    ire shook her head in horror, she stepped up to the Council along with a few other who were also Indrik¡¯s friends.


    ¡°Indrik wouldn¡¯t be able to survive in the dungeon. Please revoke your punishment,¡± She pleaded but the council had already made up their mind.


    ¡°This was not our decision but his. He needs to learn to take responsibility for everything he does,¡± Another council member spoke up.


    They initial didn¡¯t want Indrik to go to the dungeons, but since the boy had spoken, who were they to try and stop him?


    And as it was, it didn¡¯t seem like Indrik was going to listen to them.


    ¡°But¡± ir spoke up one more time but Beta Green silenced her with his hand.


    Her disapproval for this wasn¡¯t going to change the fact that Indrik had wanted it and even if they had said no, Indrik wasn¡¯t going to rest until he got them to agree.


    ¡°Our decision is final. Nothing else could be done about it,¡± Beta Green said, much to the dismay of ir and the others.


    Beta Green could tell that Indrik has made up his mind and them trying to stop him would be futile.


    ¡°I¡¯de see you immediately I¡¯m done with this. Wait for me,¡± Indrik¡¯s voice was heard and ir spun around.


    How could she make him change his mind? She wondered.


    What could she do to make him stop this madness he was just about to disy.


    Her eyes fell on Luna who was standing there stunned and she gritted her teeth in anger.


    Her! This was all her fault.


    And the fact that Luna stood there shocked, letting Indrik take everything made her even more upset.


    ir stormed to Indrik, pushing Luna to the side with her shoulders.


    Luna stumbled as she tried to find her footing. She looked at ir, confused on why she had pushed her.


    Indrik wanted to move to Luna but ir stood before him, stopping him.


    ¡°Indrik you don¡¯t have to do this. You know how the dungeons are. And you know you don¡¯t have a wolf so don¡¯t do this,¡± she pleaded, hoping to change his mind.


    Indrik was indeed aware of the amount of people that had died inside there, and all of them had their wolves.


    The dungeon was designed to break even the strongest of the strongest. Someone like him wouldn¡¯t even survive there. But Indrik was willing.


    He seemed set on taking the punishment for Luna.


    He had done everything to find his master, and when he was out, he would take the path of unlocking his wolf.


    To him that was his main concern.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have to do this,¡± Indrik said apologetically, hoping that they would understand.


    ¡°Please take care of Luna till I¡¯m out,¡± Indrik pleaded with his friend before the guards came to take him away.


    ir turned to Luna, an angry scowl on her face.


    ¡°This is all your fault,¡± she said angrily.


    Luna understood where the anger wasing from but she still tried to speak up


    But before she could, ir turned around and stormed off


    Leaving her all alone in an unknown environment .


    ¡°Just great,¡± she thought.

 Culprit

    ire¡¯s Pov


    My heart twisted in my gut as I followed the guards who led Indrik out to the centre of the pce grounds. It took all my willpower to stop myself from running toward them and snatching Indrik away from them when they shoved him too hard. I exhaled slowly to prevent making things worse for him.


    The pce was a dazzling white which was made even more impressive by the way it caught the glow of the early morning sun and lit up under it. The main building and by that, I meant the one storey imposing building that housed all the major rooms (by which I mean the throne room, the meeting chambers, the Alpha¡¯s room and, I¡¯m sure you get the gist) of the pack was set in the center of the half moon formation with two rtively smaller yet no less impressive buildings on the sides. I normally would take a moment to admire the beauty of this ce like I always did but I couldn¡¯t because right in the center of this formation, under the eyes of everyone who cared to watch, my friend was being stripped of his upper robes before being forced to his knees as two men cracked their whips.


    The first blow sent him sprawling and it took both of my friends holding me down to prevent me from breaking out of the small crowd to help him. Tears poured out of my eyes as I watched them pull him up and continue to flog him like he was some criminal. At a point, I dropped to my knees, bowing my head to the ground, unable to watch it anymore. He was not crying out which I knew must be a huge effort for him but he couldn¡¯t help grunting with every stroke of the whip. I ced my hands on my ears to prevent myself from hearing anymore of the sickening sound that filled the air with every stroke of the whip thatnded on his flesh. At a point, I raised my eyes to take another look but the sight that met my eyes was so heartbreaking, I had to peel off my eyes immediately, my heart feeling like it would shatter into a million pieces within my chest. His back had been broken in several ces by the whips and with the blood running over his back, he was indeed a sorry sight to look at. I wondered how he managed to bear it. I raised my head to scan the crowd and there, standing just beside us were the council members. I desperately tried to meet Beta Green¡¯s eyes but it was my mother¡¯s eyes that peered into mine instead. I didn¡¯t speak but she seemed to get my question perfectly. She shook her head as she looked away. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I would have said she looked like she would cry.


    After what seemed like an eternity of torture, the sound of whip meeting skin finally stopped and I slowly raised my head. I watched as Indrik was helped to his feet. I ran up to him and ced my arms on his shoulders. I almost recoiled from the wetness that I felt under my arms. The blood was very quickly seeping into his clothes. I opened my mouth to speak but the words choked in my throat. I watched as he slowly raised his head and smiled at me. One that did not reach his eyes.


    ¡°I am okay.¡± He whispered hoarsely. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about me.¡±N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    He could have fooled me with his originally dull hazel eyes that seemed to have grown even more dull. ¡°Don¡¯t do this, please.¡± I whispered, allowing my hands slid from his shoulders and down to his hands. ¡°Don¡¯t go to the dungeon.¡± I pleaded desperately even though I knew there was no escaping that now.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me, ire.¡± I could see that he was trying his best to sound cheerful and upbeat but he could do little to keep the pain out of his voice. ¡°I am doing better than I have been in ages. I will be back in no time, you will see. Just take care of Luna, will you?¡±


    The mention of that girl sent the blood roaring in my ears. How could he still mention that girl when she is the reason he is in this predicament? Here he was being led to one of the most dangerous ces in the kingdom after having being whipped a hundred times yet the only thing he could think of was that bitch. My hands fell away from him as I clenched them at my sides. I had so many things I still wanted to say to him but the guards had led him away before I had the chance. My body suddenly seemed to have grown too heavy for my legs as my eyes spun and I fell back. I was certain of a hard and painful collision with the ground as I was incapable of stopping myself. Maybe I didn¡¯t want to. I heard a dull thump as my upper body hit something that wasn¡¯t as hard or as painful as the ground should be.


    ¡°Uh, are you okay?¡± I heard a quiet voice ask me but I was too tired to register it, much less reply to the question. ¡°ire?¡± His voice was louder and a little closer to my ears this time, startling me into consciousness as I leapt out of his hands.


    I looked around but Indrik was long gone and so were most of the crowd. I guessed that they wanted to make sure he really reached the dungeon. I met Ulo¡¯s dull ck eyes who kept them for a moment before his eyes found something else to focus on.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± He asked again, looking everywhere but in my eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± My voice came out in a harsh whisper as my eyes fell on the patches of blood that stood out on the ground. I clenched my jaws as I scanned for the person who had brought this upon my friend.

 A Hero?

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    I watched as the person who was supposed to be my new owner was stripped and then flogged. My lips pursed as I roved my eyes over the small crowd that had gathered to watch him get flogged. Seeing the expression on some faces, I could tell that they did not really fancy him because how else would you exin watching someone get flogged with a smile on your face? I couldn¡¯t me them though because I was not a huge fan either. Who would be after being bought like a piece of merchandise and then bundled like a sack of farm produce to this strange ce? True, my former ce was nothing to write home about either but at least, I hadn¡¯t been dragged there. I had been surprised by his offer to take my punishment though. That really wasn¡¯t an action that I would have expected from someone like him. Sure, he had tried to save me from Bane but I had assumed it was just to convince me toe with him. This though was on a whole new level.


    I was broken from my musing as I watched him being helped to his feet and into his coat. The woman from earlier bolted toward him and they exchanged a few words before she backed away from him as he was led away. I noticed him scanning the crowd and soon enough, his eyesnded on me. He shed a smile at me, ¡°I will be back soon master.¡± He mouthed.


    ¡°Master!¡± I scoffed. He wasn¡¯t a hero. He was a crazy man. Who else would pick a random stranger in the woods and dere she was his master? He is crazy as is everyone else in this entire ce. ¡°I need to get out of here.¡± I whispered to myself. The thought had hardly escaped me though before I noticed a brown skinned, long haired woman bouncing toward me. She was still some distance away but I could see her white eyes shing dangerously like the sky during a thunderstorm. I knew she was headed for me and for a moment I wondered if I should slip away or allow her reach me. I chose the second option for obvious reasons. I had no idea where to go.


    ¡°You!¡± She scowled as soon as she reached me, pping me hard across the face. She had grabbed two fistfuls of my hair before I could recover from the blow and understand what was going on. ¡°Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?¡± She growled.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    In between the sting of the p and the pain of having my hair being pulled, I couldn¡¯t answer her question but I had a feeling she wouldn¡¯t listen if I told her that so I spoke thenguage she understood. I pulled her hair in return and soon we were two bundles of tangled hair spewing words that shouldn¡¯t be found within a quarter mile of a maiden¡¯s lips. Back in my former abode, I had grown used to being bullied and not fighting back but this girl just made me mad. Sure, I could understand that she was worried about her friend but it wasn¡¯t my fault that her friend had brought me here against my will and gotten in trouble along the way, was it? With one massive effort, I managed to wrest her fingers from my hair and pushed her to the ground.


    ¡°Get off me!¡± I spat as I turned to leave, deciding I would just find my way out of here on my own.


    She hurled several unprintable insults as she jumped to her feet and raced after me. I turned toward her, my shoulders tensed for a fight when a huge guy stepped between us. Staring at his ginger colored hair that stopped just beneath his ears, I realized that I had seen him earlier. He is one of my ¡®master¡¯s¡¯ close friends.


    ¡°That is enough fighting for today, don¡¯t you think?¡± His voice, bold, yet soothing boomed.


    ¡°Get away from me, Jamil!¡± She snapped as she tried to shove past him but was easily captured in his huge arms. I narrowed my eyes as I watched him whisper in her ears.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care! Let me go!¡± She groaned but rxed when he whispered something else in her ears. She didn¡¯t fly like a chicken that hadnded in a brazier full of hot coals when he let her go although her eyes still zed with all the liquid fire she could muster. I had no doubt about her burning me to a crisp if she has the chance.


    ¡°Hey, Luna!¡± He turned toward me and shed a smile at me, revealing his nice set of teeth. I inhaled sharply as I took in his features. Bright green eyes, sharp cheek bones, a pointed nose and a tall figure, he was pretty eye catching. Let¡¯s not forget to mention his bulky frame. When I met his eyes again, he had a cocky smile on his face as though to ask, ¡°do you like what you see?¡± I did. I wasn¡¯t about to answer an unasked question though as I arched my eyebrows and met his eyes.


    ¡°Oh, sorry! I am such a bad host.¡± He pped an arm against his face in mock embarrassment before meeting my eyes again, ¡°I am Jamil. This here,¡± he wrapped his arm around the still heaving ball of rumpled air, ¡°is ire and over there,¡± he looked over his shoulder at the man who stood some distance away, sending a wary look as though considering the odds of us pulling every strand of hair out of his head if he moved too close. ¡°Hey, Ulo, won¡¯t youe say hi to our guest?¡±


    Watching him move closer, I realized that I probably knew who his father is. The green hair they shared was unmistakable. ¡°And this here is Ulo.¡± They were both muscr and tall but somehow, Ulo made himself appear smaller.


    ¡°You are the son of that¡­¡± I paused, wondering what word would be best to describe him. Several words came to mind but I was pretty sure they wouldn¡¯t appreciate any of them.


    ¡°Now, now, Ulo here isn¡¯t that bad and I dare say, we aren¡¯t either.¡±


    I frowned for a moment before realizing what he meant.


    ¡°Doe with us. You look like you need one of ire¡¯s super kits.¡± Jamil called as he extended his arm toward me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± ire growled as I ignored the arm and started to walk knowing they would catch up to me.

 A Long Rip

    ire¡¯s Pov


    ¡°I hate her. I really do loath her. I wish she would be attacked by some stray wolves and ripped into a thousand pieces.¡± These and many more were the thoughts that crossed my mind as I straightened my hair before the mirror in my room. Jamil had shown her to her room. Everyone seemed to be out to get on my nerves. Of all the rooms that they could have given to her, they had to ce her in the room that was directly opposite mine. For her own good, I hoped that we would not stumble into each other because then, not even I could stop myself from gouging out her eyes. I gritted my teeth as the brush got caught in my hair. Wincing, I straightened it and continued to brush it.


    shes of Indrik being whipped, the mangled flesh and streaming pool of blood, his painful grunts. I could not get any of it out of my head and the more I thought about it, the more my heart broke and the more my fury grew against the person who had caused it.


    My reflection stared back at me from the top to floor mirror looking battered, angry and filthy. My dress looked like it had been soaked in a boiling heap of mud, rinsed and then dried before being handed over to me. That apart, it had been ripped so badly that it could not be salvaged, a fact that I had to grudgingly ept  because with its design that incorporated all the colors of the rainbow which ran from tip to helm in a delightful mix of shades and the handcrafted little petals that adorned the chest, it was one of my favorites. Add that to the list of the things that made me so angry at her. I wondered what I would tell the person who had given it to me as a gift.


    I looked down at the small table which was ced just beside the mirror and was covered from tip to tip with lipsticks of different colors, powders, perfumes among others and with a swift movement of my hands threw them off, their loud tter apanied by my own frustrated cry.


    My outrage was interrupted by a light knock on the door. ¡°Go away!¡± I yelled, not in the mood to talk to anyone.


    My eyes went back to the mirror and tears filled my eyes as my reflection seemed to be using me of being a coward who had allowed my defenseless friend to be treated like a piece of shit. I finally gave up on adjusting my appearance and barged out of the room. The room seemed to be growing smaller and I could not bear remaining in there for even a second more. I had been so engrossed with my thoughts that I didn¡¯t realize someone was standing at the door until I rammed into them.


    ¡°Whoa! Whoa! Easy there!¡± Jamil grunted as he caught me in his arms, saving the two of us from what could have been a very painful fall. I immediately pulled away from him shing the most rotten look I could manage at him.


    ¡°What are you doing here? Don¡¯t tell me you are already done ying host to your oh so great guest.¡± I snapped as I picked my way down the rtively long corridor. This building was one of the three buildings that formed the half crescent in the pce. It stands to the right side of the main pce and is something like home to all the royal children which includes Indrik and his brother, Leon and then there is us, Jamil, Ulo and myself. Jamil is the son of Zeta Ridrick, the most powerful warrior in the pack. Jamil follows in his footsteps, having proven himself to be one of the strongest wolves. Second is Ulo, the quiet and reserved son of Beta Green. Do not be fooled by his reticence though because behind those, lie overwhelming power. Trust me, I have seen it.


    Then, there is myself, the daughter of Gamma Willows. I wish I could tell you about how powerful I am but the truth is, I¡¯m not. I prefer to focus my energy on bing the most beautiful in the pack, a title that I am risking right now with my ghastly appearance.


    Jamil whistled as he raced after me, ¡°did you get hit by a wild boar or something?¡±


    ¡°It is none of your concern, Jamil. Now, you had better stay out of my way before you are hit by one.¡± I warned as I picked up my pace.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    ¡°Now, now, I would normally leave you to your devices especially because you look like a nightmare, until you have blown off steam but something tells me you do not know about the long rip behind you.¡± I paused, my eyes widening in terror as I wheeled toward him, ¡°But I guess it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± He shrugged, a smile tugging at his lips.


    I tried to speak but the words caught in my throat as I turned red as a tomato, my cheeks burning. ¡°Damn you, Jamil!¡± I finally choked as I ran back to my room, trying my best to cover the supposed gash that I could not see, his amusedughter trailing me all the way.


    I dashed into my room about as fast as I had left it and without even pausing, headed into the bathroom where I slipped off my clothes and on second thought, switched on the shower. Coming out, I groaned in frustration when I saw all my beauty materials on the ground. Running toward them with nothing on except a towel and a sinking feeling, I was relieved to find some that had not shattered into a million pieces the moment they touched the ground.


    By the time I was finally done, I realized that my head was much clearer and I dare say lighter. I was still furious at Luna and still hurt about Indrik but I could think about solutions now rather than problems. I smiled faintly as I applied the third coating of lipstick and smacked my lips, a n forming in my head.


    ¡°I¡¯ming for you Indrik, just hold on, will you?¡±

 A Little More Time

    ire¡¯s Pov


    I knocked on the door and waited. I was about to knock the second time when the door was opened. I could tell he was surprised to see me with the way his eyes widened. Behind him, I could see his room and truth be told, it was in a sorry state. I could see a boot standing at attention on his bed, clothes strewn all over, and that wasn¡¯t even the beginning of it. It goes without saying that Jamil is the worst housekeeper in the entire pack. He noticed my survey and grinned.


    ¡°There was no rip!¡± Imented, hoping my eyes were as icy as my words.


    ¡°Oh, you sure?¡± He asked, trying to hold back his smile. He finally gave up as he grinned, ¡°alright, there wasn¡¯t but it was fun to watch you scurry like that.¡±


    I huffed, holding back the barrage of words that came to mind. ¡°I need to see you. And Ulo too. I will be waiting.¡± His expression grew serious as he nodded.


    I turned my back and made my way down the other end of the corridor. This was a pretty impressive building if you excused the fact that it was cluttered with rooms. A rtively small building whenpared to the one beside it but it was big enough to contain eightrge rooms that stood opposite each other in four rows. Like I said earlier, only five are upied but in reality, we only really use three rooms because well, Indrik and Leon seem to loathe this ce. Probably because of the rumors surrounding it. Rumors that might be the reason why its otherpanion on the other side of the pce has remained locked up for as long as any of us could remember.


    Coming out of the back door, I am met by the rustling of leaves on a sunny day. Directly behind the white building is arge tree that is as old as well, everything old. Its bark is gnarled and its trunk is riddled with dried wounds. Points where it has had its branches broken off. These had long since dried but the scar remains, an ever present reminder of its loss. Far above, hidden out of sight by the thick cluster of leaves is our tree house but thest thing I want right now is to scale up a tree. I took a seat under the tree on one of the wood fashioned benches under it but needless to say, I couldn¡¯t stay still for long before jumping to my feet again, pacing around, my eyes frequently travelling to the door through which I hade.


    After what seemed like forever, the door finally creaked open and out marched Jamil and Ulo. It took all my energy to not run toward them and drag them along so they would move faster. Unlike me, they used the seats as they fixed their eyes on me, wondering what my n was. They already knew that this meeting was about Indrik, but nothing else.


    ¡°You should take a seat.¡± Jamil offered but I shook my head, finally stopping my pacing long enough to speak to them.


    ¡°What are we going to do about Indrik?¡± I asked, my voiceing out in a desperate whisper. I almost groaned as I watched the two of them bow their heads as though they had practiced it beforeing. ¡°Come on, guys. We all know his condition. And now on top of that, he has been flogged before being dumped in a dungeon. Don¡¯t you think that is a death sentence for him?¡±This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°ire!¡± I turned my full attention to Jamil. ¡°I know you are worried about Indrik. We all are. However, there is very little we can do for him right now. Any attempt to interfere with his punishment will get us into trouble not to mention that it would probably make things worse for him as well.¡±


    ¡°So, you are saying we should abandon him?¡± I questioned incredulously. ¡°Ulo, tell me you don¡¯t agree with him.¡± He had remained quiet the whole time, a hand ced under his jaw as he stared into space. He blinked when he heard his name and turned to me. ¡°Were you listening at all?¡± I scoffed in disbelief to which he nodded his head.


    ¡°I agree with Jamil. Acting recklessly would only jeopardize Indrik¡¯s situation even further. The council is already mad that he would bring a stranger into the pack. Any further aggravation would not be taken lightly so, it is best we stay out of it.¡±


    I stared from one to the other, totally horrified that they would say that. ¡°The two of you are unbelievable!¡± I finally scoffed as I bounded away, ignoring their calls. There was no way I was going to leave Indrik there all alone. It was their loss if they would not help me. Somewhere in the far recesses of my mind, something told me they were probably right but I would be damned if I listened to it.


    I looked up at the sky. The sun was already starting to make its descent. It would be dusk in a couple more hours. With this realization came a thought which made me turn back toward my friends. Jamil had taken up my former upation, pacing around under the tree with his features portraying his troubles. Ulo was still on his seat but he didn¡¯t seem any less troubled. For a moment, I regretted speaking to them that way. I knew they cared for Indrik just as much as I did, we were best friends after all.


    ¡°Anyone hungry?¡± They hadn¡¯t noticed my return as Jamil spun toward me and Ulo snapped up his head so fast, I was afraid he would get a whish.


    Jamil stared at my smiling face, suspicion evident in his features but he shrugged and muttered, ¡°I¡¯m starving.¡± Ulo rose to his feet as well as we made our way to the kitchen. Lunch time had long gone past but none of us had had anything to eat all day due to the Indrik problem. It wasn¡¯t until now that I realized how hungry I was. With this came another thought of how much more hungry Indrik would be.


    ¡°Just a little more time!¡±

 Maid

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    The guy who had introduced himself as Jamil had led me to this room where he had told me to rest after I had told him I wasn¡¯t hungry. Ament that was now proving to have been too hasty. My tummy was rumbling angrily and more frequently now.


    I looked around the room. It looked pretty old and from the looks, it had not been upied in a long while. There was a bed, a wall length mirror, a table beside it that had some facial and body care materials, a chair before it. On the wall opposite it stood a built in wardrobe which I had confirmed to have some clothes. A window stood open just above my bed giving me a view into a garden. All of these and nothing of mine. I still couldn¡¯t get over how that man had just uprooted me from my life like some nt and brought me here. He hadn¡¯t even allowed me to go back home to pick anything up. True, there wasn¡¯t really much to pick but still. I reached into my blue gown and exhaled in relief when I found that I still had my ne. It would have broken my heart into million pieces if I had lost it. It was my only remaining connection to¡­. I looked toward the door as a knock interrupted my thoughts.


    Opening it, I found Jamil waiting. The aroma wafted into my nostrils drowning me in its bliss before my eyes could even drift down to it. In his arms, he held a tray of food that had an extremely alluring smell. I forcefully peeled my eyes from his hands and returned them to his face, hoping my eyes did not betray my desire to snatch the tray from his hands and m the door in his face.


    ¡°How are you settling into your new room?¡± He asked, his eyes warm with a smile.


    I wanted to tell him that I did not want a new room. What I wanted was to go back to the ce from which I had been forcefully taken. I wanted to tell him that I hated this ce and would leave the first chance I got. Instead, I said to him, ¡°I¡¯m settling in pretty nicely, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Here! I brought you some food.¡± He muttered as he extended the tray to me. ¡°I figured you must be hungry after being here so long. I hope you like it because I forgot to ask what kind of food you wanted.¡±


    I would have eaten crab shells if they smelled so good and never mind that the hunger was starting to ring in my ears. I didn¡¯t tell him that though as I collected the tray with a smile and thanked him.


    ¡°Once you are fully rested, we should take you on a tour. How would you like tomorrow?¡± He asked just before I could slide back into the room.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I didn¡¯t want a tour. If I had a choice, I would have left here the very first time they had left me in the room but I might as well have been a headless chicken with how disoriented this ce made me. Perhaps the tour would not be so bad after all. I nodded in approval as I made my way back into the room.


    Opening the tray, the scent seemed to grow ten times stronger, filling the entire room. I inhaled and cracked my fingers in preparation for the battle ahead. If Indrik saw what happened the next moment, I was pretty sure he would agree that I was not his master. Don¡¯t me me. Hunger can make you do crazy things.


    When I was done, there came the difort of trying to figure out what to do with the tes. Usually, I would have gone to the kitchen and washed them before setting them in ce for their next user. The only problem was that this wasn¡¯t my turf and I wouldn¡¯t even know where to step if I wasn¡¯t told. I sat there for a while, just staring at the tes and hoping they would get tired and get up on their feet, saving me the trouble of trying to figure things out. Unfortunately, they preferred to sleep.


    Finally, I gave up and picked up the tray. I had just stepped out of the door when I ran into the white eyed girl from earlier alsoing out of her room. She had changed her dress and was now wearing a blue dress like I was except that while mine was in, hers was elegantly designed, fitting for ady. Apart from being in, my dress still had several palm stains from my many encounters earlier in the day. Looking at her looking all prim, proper and pretty with her lemon scented perfume wafting toward me, I suddenly felt intimidated.


    Ignoring her dagger shooting eyes, I moved closer to her and smiled perfunctorily. ¡°Could you direct me to where I am supposed to drop these?¡± I asked softly, gesturing at the tray that I held gingerly in my hands like they would break into pieces otherwise.


    She narrowed her eyes until they turned to slits and something told me she would have burned me with them if she could. ¡°Are you trying to push me?¡± Her voice sounded calm, a total contrast to her raving voice earlier but something told me she was anything but calm.


    ¡°What? No! I only want to know where I can drop these!¡± I replied, hoping we wouldn¡¯t get into an altercation again.


    She pursed her lips as she moved closer to me, so close, I could smell the faint smell of her bathing soap, which somehow reminded me of apples. We probably were around the same height but her heels gave her an advantage. ¡°You can drop them in the trashcan or gobble them up for all I care. Just make sure to stay out of my way! The next time I see you won¡¯t be so jolly, I promise!¡± With that, she turned around and walked away, her shoes echoing in the silent corridor.


    ¡®Great hospitality!¡¯ I wanted to yell after her but something told me she would not take well to sarcasm. I wonder what.

 An Enemies Of Body Builders

    Luna¡¯s PovContent ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Watching her leave, I was torn between the choice of going back to my room and waiting for my friendly host to return or going after my nemesis. I chose theter although I made sure to not let her know. I figured she would probably be going there or I would run into my host on the way. I must have looked ridiculous, bearing a tray and sneaking after a gorgeously dressed woman. I guess it is true what they say. You can kidnap the waitress from the serving tables but you can never take the serving away from her. The saying is something like that, I guess. I have never really been too good with quotes. Nor with much else, I¡¯m afraid.


    I sighed as I remembered home. It seemed like an eternity since I had been turned out and now it was starting to seem like I might never be able to go back home.


    ¡°Look who we have here!¡± A voice boomed, followed byughter. I had been so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn¡¯t realized I had been surrounded by a group of men. I looked up at them in confusion as I wondered what they wanted with me. ¡°Oho! Isn¡¯t she a little cutie! Little wonder that weakling would risk anything for her. Do you think she is more beautiful than Veronica though?¡± Dancing brown eyes stared at me, his lips curled up in a cruel smile. He was a big man, tall too with thick, ck hair. One that reminded me of Indrik¡¯s except that this was a lighter shade while Indrik¡¯s was ink ck. He had an anchor shaped moustache that made him look rather ridiculous. No beards or sideburns, just the moustache. Otherwise though, he was a quite intimidating man. A bully too, I was deducing from firsthand experience.


    ¡°Maybe. But she definitely has no ss. Which self respecting woman would go walking around with a tray full of dirty tes?¡± That was a much shorter man with dirty brown hair.


    ¡°What else would you expect from someone like him? Veronica must have made him feel so small so he chose to go for someone that is as small as he is.¡± That was the big man again. Around him, hispanions were allughing at all his words. I had a feeling they wouldugh if he sneezed. I recalled seeing him at the flogging. He was one of the grinners.


    I curled up my lips in disgust as I started to back away but his minions blocked my exit.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say you could leave!¡± Moustache sneered as he took heavy steps toward me.


    ¡°That is enough, Leon!¡± I almost cried in relief when I heard a familiar voice.


    Leon whirled toward the source of the interruption, his entire squad following his lead but Jamil did not falter as he swaggered through the group. Reaching me, he picked me up by the arm and would have dragged me along when Leon growled in annoyance, ¡°I never said you could take her.¡±


    Jamil turned toward him, his friendly smile vanishing into thin air, ¡°Last time I checked, you didn¡¯t have a say over that. She is Indrik¡¯s guest, not yours.¡± He started to pull me way again.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Leon thundered but Jamil simply continued to pull me along. He swore and snarled behind us but Jamil simply continued to pull me along.


    I met his eyes with what I was pretty sure was the most confused face ever. ¡°Who was that?¡± I almost shivered as I recalled how they had crowded me in. For all their brutishness, the Haven had never made me as ufortable as I had felt among them.


    ¡°Them? You need not bother about them if you can avoid running into them which I am afraid will be impossible.¡± His voice was heavy with thought which went against the image I had built of him in the short time I had known him. Jamil was a happy go lucky kind of person so for him to sound like this¡­ ¡°Why did you leave your room by the way? I thought you would be tired out by now.¡± The tone I recognized had returned.


    ¡°I just wanted to return these.¡± I gestured to the tray.


    ¡°You could have waited. They don¡¯t draw ants.¡± He joked.


    ¡°I just wanted to¡­¡± I stopped myself as I returned to my thoughts.


    ¡°I should probably tell you this. Leon has it out for Indrik and would use any means, any person,¡± he paused meaningfully as he met my eyes, ¡°to get to him. You, I¡¯m afraid fit into that category perfectly and he would do anything to make life a living hell for you and by consequence him so, you should be careful.¡±


    I fell silent as I thought about his words. Great! Just great! I had not even spent a full day here and I was already learning that my master had arge group of bodybuilders as enemies. I wonder how he had managed to escape being broken into two this whole time with such a frail body as his¡¯.


    Jamil chuckled making me look up at him. ¡°I didn¡¯t scare you, did I? You don¡¯t need to worry about him as long as you have us by your side. Me, Ulo and ire. We will protect you.¡±


    I wondered if he had suddenly forgotten that ire would have my head on a tter if I stretched it before her.


    ¡°ire is just scared for her friend. She would warm up to you, soon enough.¡± He added as if he had read my mind.


    I was upied with my thoughts till we reached our home again which was when I decided that if I was going to be a prey then I was at least going to know why. ¡°Why does Leon hate Indrik so much?¡¯


    Jamil narrowed his eyes as though trying to decide how much to tell me. ¡°They are brothers.¡±


    My eyes widened so much I was surprised they didn¡¯t pop out of my head.

 Cheated Of His Essence

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    I stared at Jamil like he had suddenly grown a set of horns. ¡°Brothers?¡± I muttered, almost bursting intoughter at how strange the word felt on my lips. I mean, sure, they had slightly simr hair and eyes (which by the way were worlds apart in the world of color) but did that qualify them to be brothers? I was certain that at least ten people within this premises would share that color with them. Apart from that, they were as different as night and day. Indrik was slender while Leon was a giant and that wasn¡¯t even the beginning of it.


    ¡°Believe it or not but that is the truth. They are half-brothers.¡± Jamil said like that was supposed to exin why Indrik looked like he forgot his family gene in his mother¡¯s belly.


    ¡°That still does not exin why Indrik looks like his elder brother drained him of all his essence.¡± I blurted before I could think.


    Jamil stared at me with a look of amusement and what looked like pity. I blinked in confusion as I wondered what was going through his mind at the moment. ¡°Indrik is the elder brother.¡± He dropped another bombshell and it took all my willpower to not scream what? No willpower could stop me from staring at him like he had had a brain burn though, I mean, the sun was pretty hot. He smiled as he straightened his body and collected the tray from me. ¡°You should go get some rest.¡± He muttered as he turned around and walked away, leaving me gaping after him.


    After what seemed like forever, I finally shrugged. So, what if it would take ten Indriks to make his younger brother? I didn¡¯t care. All that mattered to me was getting out of here. That too as soon as I could. But even as I made my way to my room, I couldn¡¯t help wondering what could be the reason why two brothers would hate each other so much. Sure, they were half-brothers but there were close friends who didn¡¯t even share anything inmon. They shared a parent for crying out loud.


    Back in my room, I finally slipped out of my dress that suddenly felt too heavy. I had not noticed at the time but my encounter with the men had gotten me so nervous I had sweated all over. I headed to the bathroom and took a long shower. When I was out, I stumbled onto my bed. At first, Iy wide-eyed, staring at the ceiling, my body unused to this kind of leisure after having had to ve to the bone for the Shadowmaws but the bed was sofortable inparison to the hard floor that was my bed in my former ce that I was soon drifting off.


    It was a cold night as nature raved angrily against the great evil that had been done. My eyes were wide with terror as I watched that thinge out. The thing that was going to ruin my life. I dared not meet the eyes of mypanions. Definitely not the eyes of my mother. I had let them all down and in the process enabled the creation of something that threatened the bnce.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    ¡°What have you done?¡± Asked a voice that was cool and soothing and at the same time harsh and gruff, one that sounded like waves on an extremely stormy day. A voice that scared me spineless.


    ¡°What have you done?¡± The voice asked again, louder and more usatory this time.


    ¡°What have you done?¡± This time the voice seemed to havee from directly beside my eardrums. I screamed as I covered my ears but it was toote as I felt wetness on my hands. Bringing them before me, I found that I truly was bleeding. Rivers of blood flowed out of my ears and pooled at my feet. I screamed as I fell.


    I thrashed around as I blinked my eyes open certain I was dead. I was not. It was a nightmare. Nightmares! I gritted my teeth. It had been so long since Ist had them. Not since¡­


    Rays of sunlight fell across my face, temporarily blinding me. Rising up from the bed, I looked out through the window to find that the sun was already setting. Dusk would be upon us in no more than an hour. I stared at the view that would usually have attracted me with nk eyes, my mind focused on the dream I had just had. It wasn¡¯t the first time I would be having such a dream but it was the first time I would be having it in the daytime. That was probably because it had been ages since Ist slept in the afternoon.


    I sighed as I ced a hand under my jaw feeling lost and disoriented. The nightmare had brought back several bad memories. Memories I had tried my best to shove to the back of my mind. My eyes pooled with tears as I suddenly wished I was still at The Haven. While I was there, I had been able to lose myself in the work and bullying and torture. When the day finally ended, my body usually had no strength for anything other than to copse to the floor like a pack of cards till the next morning when I had to jump into action again to avoid being kicked in the ribs. While that might sound horrible, I had loved it because it had prevented me from thinking about my woes. You should get the idea of just how awful those woes are.


    I sighed for the millionth time as I got away from the window and turned my attention to the room. I was covered in nothing other than a towel. I was walking to the wardrobe when a loud noise interrupted my thoughts. Drawn by curiosity, I hurried to the door and opened it in time to see white eyes carrying something into her room. I frowned as I caught sight of something then shrugged before returning into my room.

 Dungeons

    Indrik¡¯s Pov


    Cold! Pain! And even more pain! That¡¯s all I could think of as I drifted in and out of consciousness on the cold dungeon floor. This room seemed to have been abandoned for years. I had fallen face first into a web of cobwebs, the tiny strands of which I could still feel in my eyes despite my desperate attempts to get them out.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    In here, I could see the reason why this ce is so feared. It is a nightmare. The room is round and tiny. So tiny that I have to either stand on my feet or keep my body curled in a ball with my legs resting on the iron gate that secured the entrance, which I need not say was not veryfortable. Apart from that, the roof seemed to be connected to water of some sort, the source of which I was pretty certain I did not want to know. This water had been perpetually dripping to the rough concrete floor. Overtime, it had managed to crack the floor and algae had grown through it and then spread to the walls. Everywhere was practically covered with that dastardly thing. And that was not even the beginning of it. The dripping water seemed to have created an ecosystem of its own. One that amodated insects which grew to ten times their size here. I had seen an ant that grew to the size of a crab. It might have been a crab though. But the worst inhabitants I had met yet are the rats. They grow to the size of a full grown cat although they are not half as cuddly. Seeing their beady eyes that glow in the dark and listening to the scuffle of their extraordinarilyrge feet was enough to keep me awake. Apart from that, there was the problem of this ce being in perpetual darkness. Apart from the faint light that strayed in through the breaks in the iron door, the room was pitch ck. There were no windows, even the roof was so far up, I couldn¡¯t be certain it was there except for well, the never ending dripping of water. My dry throat pushed me to stick my tongue out and have some of the water but i convinced myself that I was not that desperate just yet.


    I was not alone in this hellhole though. A while ago which might have been a day ago as easily as it could have been an hour ago, I had curled up in an ufortable position and was starting to sleep when I felt cold ck ws crawl over me. I had sat up with a shrill scream only to be barked into silence from voices that sounded dry, hungry and vengeful all at the same time. Even the memory was enough to make me shiver. I could not even begin to imagine what it must be like to be here for ages on end without any hope of ever going out. I had always known there were people like that. Criminals, thieves, stray wolves who had threatened the peace of the kingdom. They were all thrown into this ce. Sometime ago, I had heard the nging of keys and then, the grating of iron trays as they were slid to the prisoners. None came for me but I knew I was still rtively better than their lot. While I had the hope of leaving here after a week, if I survived, they knew better than to hope to ever be free. I shivered, d I was not put in the same cell with them. I shivered again and something about the way my teeth chattered fiercely against each other told me it wasn¡¯t due to gratitude this time.


    I sat up and made the mistake of cing my back on the wall. The pain that shot through my system made sure that I atoned for it. ¡°Ribbit! Ribbit!¡± I heard the croaking of a frog and looked around blindly wondering how a frog could survive in a ce like this. How had it even ended up here in and where sun does not shine?


    Sitting here all cooped up with nothing to talk to other than rodents that had chosen therge path was really starting to get to me. I wished there was someone I could talk to but something told me the prisoners would not be feeling very chatty right now.


    I remained sitting silently for what seemed like forever until I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. My dder had grown so heavy that I would probably spray my clothes like a little child if I did not find a way out of this soon enough.


    ¡°Is anyone listening?¡± I called out in impulse having felt around the small room and finding nothing like the door to a restroom. I was met by an eerie silence. ¡°Hey!¡± I called again, louder and more desperate. Still, there was no response. ¡°Where is the restroom around here?¡± Hearing the wordsing out of my mouth, I realized that they probably sounded stupid. I am not sure you could me me though, having had to hold it in for what seemed like an eternity with an initial thought of holding it till I was freed. Something told me that would not be working out. ¡°Hey!¡± I cried again.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± A voice rasped.


    ¡°Please!¡± But none of my pleas could draw any answer from them. Eventually, desperation drove me to do the most lowly thing I had ever done in my entire life. I moved closer to the crack in the middle of the ground and emptied my dder. The hole wasn¡¯t thatrge which means my room was soon full of water. Looking up at the water that was dripping, my eyes widened as I wondered if that was what it was as well.


    I moved as far as I could from the pool and ignored the pain in my back as I rested on the wall. First day in the dungeon and I was doing pretty well. Six days to go.

 A Vision

    ire¡¯s Pov


    I knocked on the imposing mahogany door and waited. I rocked on my heels, wishing that the door would open as soon as I knocked on it. I raised my hand to knock again when I stopped myself, choosing to distract myself with the environment instead. I was in the main pce building. It was an impressive building that you couldn¡¯t help but be awed at. Like the outside, the insides were painted in glowing white. On both sides were different paintings that were so good, they almost looked real. Trust me, I knew how real it looked from experience. Just a little while ago, I had jumped back in fright when I had turned a corner and it had appeared that a wolf was attacking me. It turned out to be one of the paintings but you get the point. There were several paintings, each more impressive than thest. There was one of a huge wolf standing on a teau and raising his snout to the moon in a howl while other wolves around him bowed. There was another of two wolves standing side by side. It was hard to make out anything about their identity because they all had the same color having been painted with the same color as the walls which was one of the reasons why the paintings were so impressive. I walked up to a painting of a wolf standing above another. I shouldn¡¯t have been able to make anything out but I thought I could see panic in the eyes of the wolf standing above the other which did not make any sense. It goes without saying that you have the upper hand if you are standing over your enemy in a battlefield so why would there be fear in his eyes.


    My heart started to pound so fast it was almost painful as I ced my hand on the wolf¡¯s snout. It was strange but as I traced my hand over the outline of the wolf¡¯s head, I thought I could feel energy in my hands. At first, it was only a small itch on the tip of my fingers but the longer my hand remained on it, the more the energy grew. Electricity raced through my body as my breathing became shallow and suddenly I could see a battlefield. Wolves were howling madly as they battled each other. The battle was fierce and brutal with wolves getting maimed, mauled and killed by the second. Something drew my eyes to the top of a cliff that cast a shadow over the field where I stood. There, under the glowing full moon was the scene that was in the painting except now, they had color. It was hard to make out their color due to the distance between us but I saw enough to know the standing one was a brown wolf while the other was a lost color between ck and white. As I watched them, I saw the spotted wolf raise his head and while the brown lowered his head. Suddenly, my vision clouded and I dabbed at my eyes, my heart filling with panic.


    When my eyes finally cleared, I found that I was back in the pce, touching the painting. I blinked in confusion as I wondered what had just happened. I touched the painting again but no matter how much I ran my hands over it, nothing seemed to happen. No tingling, no vision, nothing. Just the feeling of smooth paint under my fingers. I ran a scan of the food that I had eaten in the past day but other than some fish, I didn¡¯t find anything that could have engendered a faulty wiring in my brain.


    ¡°ire?¡± Turning around, I came face to face with a tall woman. Nighttime had fully settled now but the fire that was crackling in strategic angles allowed me to see her figure clearly. Standing in the doorway of the door I had just knocked which I was realizing I had pretty much moved away from with glowing white eyes, brown hair that is a shade lighter than my chocte brown one, a beautiful face and a powerful aura, (emphasis on the powerful aura) is my mother, Gamma Victoria. The woman that I did not take after in any way. I preferred to think I got my genes from my father since it¡¯s easy to me an absent figure than ept that you are imperfect. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± She continued when I didn¡¯t move away from the painting or reply to her. From the eye bags that hung heavily under her eyes, I could tell that she was exhausted. Shoving the strange sight I had seen or thought I saw to the back of my mind, I bounced toward her.


    ¡°I want to talk to you, mother.¡± I said after bowing in greeting. She swept her eyes over me quickly and sighed, her eyes growing sadder before beckoning me in.N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    Within her room, the candle that was set in a cupholder on her reading table created a warm glow. Her table was stacked high with scrolls and I could see a quill sitting on the ink beside them which implied that she had been busy.


    ¡°If you are here to talk to me about Indrik, then you had better not waste your time. There is nothing I can do to help him.¡± She started as she returned to her table.


    I didn¡¯t reply immediately. Instead, I took a quick eye sweep of her room. The table, the bed, everything in the room was set in order. I knew from experience that she had a particr spot for each and everything, a skill whiches in handy when you are in a hurry as well as when you need to borrow something. I smiled as my eyesnded on my target. It stood just beside the door, which meant it was out of her range of sight. How luckier could I get?

 Commiting Some Crimes

    ire¡¯s PovThis belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°You have to understand that rules are created for a reason. To keep us safe from harm. No one, not even Indrik can be allowed to break the rules.¡± My mother had continued to speak when she realized I was not going to speak to her.


    ¡°But mother, we both know Indrik¡¯s condition. He will not survive the dungeon. Could the council not have found something that was less likely to kill him?¡± I asked, my heart burning with indignation as I thought about how Indrik must be doing in that ce. Don¡¯t be fooled by Indrik¡¯s show of bravery before the council.  I wonder what must have gotten into him to have made him make that decision. All his life, he has been pushed to the back because he was powerless. A wolfless wolf in one of the strongest packs? You get the picture of what life must have been for him. But that also meant he was sheltered. Being a weak wolf, he could not be exposed to the conditions which wolves normally had to bear. Definitely not a dungeon. As a matter of fact, I don¡¯t remember him having ever been punished by anyone and now he was suddenly being tortured and imprisoned? That is tantamount to throwing a fish on drynd.


    My mother sighed as she dropped her quill and turned toward me. I hurriedly hid my prize in the folds of my dress, my teeth mping together tightly as I hear a tiny ng which she missed, quite luckily. ¡°I know how you must be feeling about all of these but believe me, this is the best for him. If there were any other way, I would have done everything to ensure he did not have to endure this but sadly, there is no other way.¡± She sounded sad, like she really meant it which only served to make me more mad.


    ¡°So, you mean that you would watch him die? Why are you all so cruel?¡± My voice broke as I spoke. Even now, I still could not get the memory of his bleeding back out of my head.


    ¡°There are somethings you don¡¯t understand ire. One day perhaps, you will understand that all that we do, we do for the greater good. It iste now. You should go get some rest.¡± And with that, she turned her back to me and focused her attention on the scrolls before her. My eyes must have been zing with the amount of fury that washed through me.


    From experience, I knew that she wasn¡¯t going to amodate any more of my questions. Great thing that I was not here to ask any questions. Turning my attention to the stuff, I had ¡®borrowed¡¯, I held it more securely in mg gown before dashing out. I could only hope she would not notice its absence till I could return it. As I ran, Jamil and Ulo¡¯s warnings rang in my head but I shook my head, dispelling the uninvited thoughts.


    When I finally reached my room, I took out my borrowed equipment and dropped it in the bed. Itnded heavily on the bed, leaving a dent on the newly made bed. There on my bed was a heavy bunch of keys that belonged to my mother. Each and every key opened a ce within the pce but there was only one ce that I was interested in opening. I took a look at my bed and immediately set to work gathering the different packages that were spread in the room. All day, I had been busy gathering food and drugs. Because I couldn¡¯t exactly walk up to the cooks and tell them I was stocking food up, the storage had affected the amount of food I ate but the thought of his smile was enough to keep me going.


    Finally, I was done but even though I was tensing to move, I had to slow down because the pce was still alive with guards, workers and others. I had to wait till muchter but I had already waited this long. A little more waiting wouldn¡¯t kill. Or atleast that is what I thought until I realized that a little waiting could infact kill. Maybe not in the way that gets you choking on your spit and whizzing for air but in a way that gets you trying to keep busy while avoiding the urge to doze off. The day had been pretty tiring for me so the urge to doze off was really strong. To avoid dozing off, I got busy with other things like taking a shower, applying new makeup, picking a ck dress that I¡¯d once heard would help blend into the night and a whole lot of other things. All of these and I still came back to find that time seemed to have been bribed to torture me tonight.


    When I couldn¡¯t bear it anymore, I sneaked out of my room and used the backdoor but I had hardly taken a few steps when I was osted by a guard. I bolted back to my room, the whole time cursing under my breath. How was this ever going to work?


    The ce I was going to was under the pce and to reach there, I had to go through the pce which meant I had to be extra careful or I would be the next one standing in court and awaiting a judgement. Mine would probably be beheading.


    Finally, after what seemed like an eternity and a half, the surrounding finally grew quiet. Just to be sure, I crept to the window and looked out. The moon was a crescent in the night aiding the mes in making the view a beautiful one but there was nobody in sight which was the most beautiful of all the sights. I rose to my feet and cracked my fingers. It was about time to gomit some crimes of my own.

 A Guest

    Indrik¡¯s Pov


    Have you ever been in hell before? I don¡¯t think so. I haven¡¯t either but with what I am going through right now, I can say that I am about as close to hell on earth as anyone else. The smell of stale blood is harsh on my nose but even that fades into obscurity in the face of dried sweat that has turned my clothing into a sticky mess. And let¡¯s not even talk about human waste. I feel like a little infant who has been abandoned by his mother and has no idea what to do with himself.


    It seems to be night now because the rats that had showed a measure of respect were bing bolder now and now marching all over like they were the lords of this domain. I had found myself having to kick my leg or throw an arm to stop a particrly bold one from chewing the skin off of my limbs. But then again, they really are the lords and I, the intruder. As if that was not enough, my body seems to have only now recalled the torture it had undergone earlier in the day and was now proceeding to make its pain known. My body felt like it was being shredded inch by inch with a very dull meat blender. Now, if you ever fall into unlikeable hands and are told to choose between being tortured by a sharp object and a dull object, do yourself a favour and go for the sharp object. The sharp object will cause pain but it will be done and over with soon enough but the dull one? It would fail to puncture but will cause pain, then you would have to go again and again and again. So, you get the point.


    To make matters worse, the water from above was dripping even more frequently now. Each drop was little more than the size of a tiny melon seed but this came about three times in a second. Multiply that and you would see just how bad that can be. And yeah, I did count the number of drops. These drops left me no escape because no matter where I turned, the water justnded and sttered over me. And it did not help that the ground was very slimy. There Iy, my burning back against the wall, teeth chattering and a burning headache growing by the second and for a moment, I almost regretted my decision but then, my mind went back to the reason I had done this. My master, Luna! After this was over, I would finally be able to train and unlock my wolf. This thought sent a warm feeling shooting through my body and suddenly, it was all worth it. The pain, the fear, it all became nothing more than a stepping stone to reaching my goal.


    I shut my eyes and tried to rx, willing myself to forget about this damp ce that smelt like a broken toilet and focus instead on something else. Something more happy and enticing. I was almost beginning to seed at this when a sharp crack pierced the night, making the already busy rats even more excited. . My eyes snapped open as I furrowed my brows in the dark, wondering what the problem was. The noise came again and I could hear an iron grate opening somewhere in the distance. I frowned as I wondered what was going on. I didn¡¯t think anyone was allowed here at this time.


    It soon became clear that I was not the only one who had heard the noise as the other prisoners who had turned a deaf ear to me the whole time suddenly started to stir, their rumblings breaking the solemnity of the night and sending the annoying rodents running. As much as I hated their presence and was ddened by their exit, I had no time to celebrate it though because my attention was taken up by the noise among the prisoners that was growing louder by the moment. There were curses, pleas and cries all mixed into the melee of sounds. The noise grew until it was deafening and I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what was driving them so crazy as I made my way to the door andced my fingers around it while straining my eyes to see as much as I could.


    Finally, I saw what they saw. From a distance, the overwhelming darkness was being pierced by a red glow. Little by little, the glow grewrger as the bearer of the torch moved closer. My heart reached out to the me as it mourned what it had lost. Never would I have thought that mes would look so beautiful and enticing. As the torch bearer moved closer, I realized why the prisoners were so ruffled. The person or people, whoever they were, seemed to be checking room by room for whatever and whoever they were searching for. When they reached a cell, the others would raise their voices as they imed they were the ones the person was looking for and cried for help. As the person left the cell and moved on, the disappointed person would release a mixture of curses and pleas to be set free. That meant the closer the person got to me, the more the noise increased and I just happened to be in the veryst cell. I couldn¡¯t help but worry that a riot would break out soon enough. Who was that anyway?


    I focused on the glow, enjoying how it erged as it moved closer until it finally loomedrge in my face. The torch had lit up the cave considerably as she approached but that still did not stop me from being temporarily blinded under the full re of the fire.


    ¡°Indrik?¡± A voice called tentatively and I blinked wondering if this ce was starting to turn me a little crazy.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Indrik?¡± The voice came again, unmistakably someone I knew. Someone who was not supposed to be here.


    ¡°ire!¡±

 Rackus

    Indrik¡¯s Pov


    ¡°ire!¡± I repeated, my voice faint.


    ¡°Indrik!¡± She called excitedly, the torch ttering to the ground as she reached through the bars and embraced me as well as she could. I did not return the awkward embrace as I was still wondering what she was doing here. The prisoners were not exactly helping matters either as they resorted to showing their displeasure by banging their fists on their prison doors.


    ¡°ire!¡± I called again, confusion evident in my voice. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked unable to understand why she would be here. She would surely be in trouble if she was caught and it would not exactly help my case either.


    ¡°How are you doing? My gosh! You smell horrible. Give me a minute, will you?¡± She avoided my questions as her words came out in a rush. She disentangled herself from me and groped around the floor for something. I soon discovered the something to be a key as she found it and inserted it into the keyhole and with a couple of turns pulled it open. Without a word, she dashed into the cell and gave me a proper embrace this time. She reeked of lemons and roses and everything else that was beautiful. Everything that seemed to be a world apart from me now. Because the torch was lying on the ground, I couldn¡¯t see much but I saw enough to see tears rolling down her cheeks as she pulled away from me. ¡°Come on, I will get you out of here.¡± She muttered, a tone of urgency in her voice and to buttress her point, she started to pull me along after her. I had stepped out of the cell and I must say, even here, I could feel a sense of freedom. That room really was hell but it was where I needed to be. I stopped moving. ¡°What are you doing, Indrik? We have to get out of here quickly.¡± She was almost screaming to be heard above the sea of voices.


    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± I sighed as I slid my hand out of hers.


    ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t? You won¡¯t survive here!¡± I could hear her voice breaking even in the din but I couldn¡¯t afford to lose sight of why I was doing what I was dot.


    ¡°And where will I go if I leave? And you? You will get into trouble to. I¡¯m sorry ire but I have to stay. And you don¡¯t have to worry because I won¡¯t be dying anytime soon.¡± I started to head back to the cell.


    ¡°Indrik!¡± She cried as she threw her hands around me from behind, resting her head on it. My back hurt even more but I didn¡¯t tell her that. I rubbed her palms and sighed.


    ¡°I want you to know that I really appreciate your effort but I really can¡¯t leave. I have to stay and finish my sentence so¡­.¡± I let the words hang as I pried her hands away from me. When she finally pulled away, I could feel my shirts having grown wetter from her tears. I sighed, feeling terrible for making her sad like this but there really was nothing I could do to change the state of things.


    Around us, the prisoners seemed to be growing tired as the intensity of their voices reduced. I was starting to walk away again when she ced an arm on my shoulder. ¡°Atleast, let me check your wound.¡± She muttered sadly. I nodded. If that was what it would take to make her feel better then I would go with it although I wasn¡¯t exactly sure about what she could do given that she wasn¡¯t a doctor nor was she learning to be one. We walked back into the cell and even in the dull lighting, I could see her grimace. I had to stand against the wall but she managed to peel off the cloth. I groaned. Dried blood had glued it to my back making taking it off a real hassle but she finally managed to.


    She released a soft sigh as she went out and returned with a medical kit. Where she got it from, I had no idea but I sure was d she brought it along as she started to treat my wounds. It took a while but she was finally done. She applied some bandages before helping me out my clothes back on to avoid the guards seeing it. Then she brought in a package of food. My stomach rumbled like it had been waiting for it all day. I almost didn¡¯t notice when I wolved down the first round of food.


    ¡°You want more?¡± She asked as I chugged down some water. I knew that piling food was never a good idea but I was pretty certain that missing food was just as bad an idea and I had done that all that so I figured it couldn¡¯t be that bad.


    Finally, it was time to leave. I made sure she left nothing behind that could put her in trouble.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I will be back tomorrow.¡± She promised but I shook my head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ire! I really appreciate what you did for me tonight but please, do not put yourself at risk for my sake. I will be fine, I promise.¡± I hoped I sounded convincing enough because my tummy really did not agree with that. I noticed that the prisoners had all fallen silent. They seemed to have gotten tired of creating amotion. In the silence, the sound of the dripping water had be a significant presence once more. I squeezed my hand softly around ire¡¯s, hoping she would listen to me.


    She pulled away from me and gathered her stuff as she locked my door. ¡°I will be back!¡± She muttered with a tone of finality and left before I could protest.


    As she drew farther away, the light grew dimmer and dimmer until darkness reigned supreme once again. I sighed as I got used to my solitude once more.

 A Circle Of Wolves

    ire¡¯s Pov


    Walking away from the dungeon with all its filth and stench should have made me feel relieved but what I was feeling would probably be fittingly described as the direct opposite. Leaving left me feeling more awful than I had been before going. Seeing the unhealthy conditions that Indrik had to put up with made me feel sick to my stomach.


    Coming out from the underground cell, I was d to find that my luck had held although I don¡¯t think I would have been scared if I hade out to find a circle of wolves. If they will, they could throw me in the dungeon as well. At least then, I would be able to be close to Indrik. Somewhere in the back of my mind though, a voice that wasn¡¯t clouded by my anger told me I would be more useful free than imprisoned. I shut the door silently and snuck out of the pce. For a moment, my eyes caught on the images from earlier and I blinked as the memories rushed in, fresh as when I first saw them. I blinked again as the images seemed to be glowing. By the time I blinked the third time, the wall was as normal as a white-painted wall should be. I shook my head as I hurried on.


    Breaking out into the open and seeing the brilliant half-moon standing proud in the sky did nothing to help my mood neither did the wind which whistled through the trees as it doused me in aforting cold which was a weing distraction from the stuffy air in the dungeon. I quietly shut the door behind me and started to make for my home. I hadn¡¯t taken more than a few steps when I ran into a problem. Well, I would have if I had been running but I very luckily had been walking or sneaking if you prefer that which allowed me enough time to spot the guard that was heading my way and duck out of sight. I held my breath as his whistling and heavy steps drew closer and practically froze when he walked past my hiding ce. I silently prayed, my bravery from before dissolved in thin air and my eyes shut tightly as I willed that he not sniff me out. Luckily, he walked right past. It wasn¡¯t until I could not hear him anymore that I allowed myself to rx.


    With him finally gone, I half ran, half sneaked and half walked to my home, my heart fixed on the safety of my room. Getting to my room though, I found that it wasn¡¯t exactly the safe haven my imagination had made it appear to be because right there, his huge body casting a dark shadow on my door was Jamil. He turned toward me and even though it was too dark to see his eyes, I could have sworn that he was boring through me with usatory eyes.


    I squared my shoulders as I moved toward him but my walk of glory almost nearly became a fall of shame as I stumbled and a iron bowl ttered noisily to the floor. I felt it must have been enough to wake the entire pce and I waited there, frozen in ce. I could already see my head hanging on a stake. If not for sneaking into the dungeon, then for subjecting all the inhabitants of the pce to a rude awakening. Now, if you have never dropped an iron bowl in a very silent ce then you probably wouldn¡¯t know that thebination is something that is fit to be a torture in hell. Infact, I have a feeling that it was created by Lucifer himself.


    ¡°ire! Are you going to remain standing there all day?¡± I took that as a signal that the pce was noting for me and by extension, I was not going to die. I wasn¡¯t going to push my luck though as I quickly picked up the bowl and made for my room, meaning to sneak past Jamil but he obviously wasn¡¯t going to allow that as he mped a hand on my shoulder and turned me around so I was looking at him or at the dark frame that the light afforded me to see.


    I raised my jaw and made my eyes as cold as I could, forgetting that he could not see them. He could hear my voice though which was a good thing as my voice came out harsh and brave, nothing like the mushiness that fear had turned my insides into. ¡°Let me go, will you?¡± I snapped.


    I could hear him suck in his teeth in annoyance as he released my shoulder and let his arms drop to his sides. ¡°Where have you been?¡± He asked in a tone that said he knew exactly where I had gone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that should be any concern of yours.¡± I replied as I shifted on my feet, my arms still trembling from all the stress they had been subjected to.


    ¡°ire!¡± Jamil groaned as he ran his arms through his hair. ¡°Tell me you didn¡¯t do anything stupid.¡±


    I almostshed out in annoyance but I bit my tongue. ¡°I don¡¯t think I did anything as stupid as waiting before my door in the middle of the night. Don¡¯t tell me you have suddenly be a stalker overnight.¡±This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Come on, ire! You really should know better than putting yourself at risk like that. You are going to get into trouble.¡± Of course, I could not fool him. He had known me all my life.


    ¡°Excuse me! I need to get some sleep.¡± I reached for my doorknob when he sighed.


    ¡°Just be careful, okay? And you really gotta tell me how he is doing once it is morning. For now, you should rest. You look like a nightmare.¡± I could hear a smile in his voice as my heart warmed.


    ¡°In the morning.¡± I grinned as I slipped into my room.

 The Bench Of The Witch And The Quiet One

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    ¡°It is a beautiful day.¡± That is the first thought that crossed my mind as I awakened to a choir of birds singing happily in the tree behind my window.N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    Hearing their melody seemed to be reassuring me that everything would be alright. Nevermind that I had another nightmare most of which I could not recall although I could not forget the terror that coursed through my veins. I stretched my limbs to a satisfying chorus of cackles from my muscles and rose on to my knees as I turned toward the window which I had either left open or opened sometime in the middle of the night. I ced my elbows on the windowsill and my mind wandered as I watched the small hummingbirds Twitter as they leapt from flower to flower. Of course they were happy. Who wouldn¡¯t be when they had that much resources at their disposal? I on the other hand could not say as much for myself.


    I was still lost in thoughts when I heard a knock at the door. I got out of bed and waddled to the door. I rubbed my eyes as I pulled the door open just in time to see Jamil starting to walk away. He heard the door open and turned toward me, beaming an apologetic smile.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to wake you.¡± He muttered softly but I shook my head.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t. Don¡¯t tell me I have missed my chore schedule!¡± I muttered half-heartedly to which he shed another slight smile.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. You don¡¯t look like you are ready for the tour.¡± He muttered as he made a quick eye sweep.


    I must have grown as red as a tomato as I looked down at my dress. I had slept in yesterday¡¯s dress and my hair had slept freest night as well. I couldn¡¯t see much but I kne without doubt that I looked horrible. As though to drive the point home, my skull chose that exact time to send me an itch.


    ¡°I should leave you. We will be out back when you are done.¡± The poor man practically ran. Who could me him? I had sessfully traumatized him with my totally antisocial habits. ¡°Oh well!¡± I shrugged realizing he had mentioned, ¡®we¡¯ as I made my way back into my room and set to work preparing for the day. Coming out of the room, I stared at the dirty clothing distastefully as I wondered who would try to pummel me into dust when I attempted to wash it. I pushed it out of the way as I walked to the wardrobe. It took a lot of effort because given that the clothes were knockoffs from someone or some people as the case may be, they weren¡¯t exactly fitted to my length with most either too big or too small for me. I wondered if some of them belonged to a child because I really could not imagine ady that would be slimmer than I. Luckily, I managed to find an appropriate one before too long. A pink chiffon dress that was so long it was sweeping the earth behind me and that was not all. The cloth was a bit toorge at the neckline, continually falling off my shoulders which was rather strange considering that the other parts of the dress fitted me perfectly.


    Done, I admired myself in the mirror. Apart from the dress which got a frown from me, my otherponents such as my hair which I had made into a bun and my t ck sandals which again were hand me downs, were all good to go. I took onest look at the mirror and decided I had been through worse than a horrible dress.


    Bursting out into the backyard, I could see Jamil, ire and Ulo sitted side by side on the wood benches. They seemed to be engrossed in a conversation of sorts, I noticed. I stopped in the doorway as I drifted between returning to my room and going out to break them up. The decision was soon made for me however as Jamil noticed me and whistled. This got ire¡¯s attention and the look convinced me that looks really could kill. I could feel my heart shrivelling up in my chest. The third person simply spared me a nce before returning his eyes to whatever game he was ying with his fingers.


    With ire¡¯s venomous look keeping me in ce, I watched as Jamil whispered something in her ears before he came over to me. ¡°Nice dress you got there.¡± Hemented and I reddened knowing it was not apliment.


    ¡°I had nothing else.¡± My voice sounded alien even to me.


    ¡°I meant it. You don¡¯t have much experience with party dresses, do you?¡± He questioned and my brows furrowed as I wondered what he was talking about. He raised a hand toward my shoulder and paused in mid-air, ¡°may I?¡± I had no idea what he was doing exactly but I nodded nheless after all, what was the worst that could happen?


    My eyes followed his hands as he fiddled with the dress and soon enough, the dress was hanging off on one shoulder while the other side hugged my neck. It still wasn¡¯t my favorite type of dressing but this looked much better than what I had arranged myself. He stepped back and took a look at his work with a look of satisfaction in his eyes. I blushed again, ashamed that a man knew more about female dresses than I did but then again¡­


    ¡°Told you it was a nice dress. Let¡¯s go meet the others?¡± I wanted to tell him that I wasn¡¯t sure the others wanted me there but something told me he would not buy that so arm tucked in arm we made our way to the bench of the witch and the quiet one. Not my favorite sport.

 Secretive

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    ¡°What is she doing here?¡± ire scowled as soon as we arrived before them, her eyes glowing with anger as she did not even bother with trying to hide her displeasure.


    ¡°Come on, B! Be nice, will you?¡± Jamil chastised softly but that word was obviously alien to her as her expression grew even darker. She turned her gaze to me as her eyes seemed to bore a hole right through me.


    ¡°I warned you to stay away from me, didn¡¯t I?¡± Her voice was haughty in a way that reminded me of ¡°The Haven.¡± I inhaled sharply as I forced myself to take my eyes off her and focus on the ground before me. That drew my attention to the area as I found out it was a garden or something of the sort at least in the middle of which we were standing right now. Taking a peek at the door from which I had juste, I saw two patches of beautiful blooming nts that served as the pathway. These went round in a wide circle in the midst of which sat the tree and the benches. On further inspection, I saw that there were four rows of flowers which stood in the midst of the wider circle ced in a way that made them unobstrusive. Two came before the tree and two after it, each of a different kind. One row consisted entirely of red flowers, another of white, a third bloom of pink and a fourth that was strange in rtion to the others and at the same time breathtakingly beautiful. Unlike the others that had no less than a couple of stalks per row, this one was a single nt that had four different flowers growing from it. A red, white and pink grew from the body while the fourth, a blue one sat atop it like a crown. I was so taken by the beauty of this nt that I didn¡¯t realize ire had been speaking to me.


    ¡°You deaf or something?¡± Her irked voice broke into my thoughts as I turned to meet her eyes wondering what she was talking about. ¡°You know what? I take that back. You are dumb, not deaf.¡± She snapped.


    ¡°Come on, ire, give her a break.¡± Jamil muttered helplessly, his voice evidencing that he had been through this before and was not ready to bear the strain again. ¡°Come on, Luna, we should go for the tour before the sun gets too hot. We will meet you at breakfast.¡± Jamil called over his shoulder as he pulled me along. ire mumbled something I could not hear but I had a pretty good idea about a dozen things she could have said. None of them sounded tempting.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind ire. She is only worried about Indrik.¡± He said, breaking the silence that had settles between us.N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    ¡°Make the girl that whipped him and sent him to the dungeon pay. Makes sense.¡± I snapped and at the next moment mped down on my tongue.


    Jamil chuckled. ¡°She just needs someone to me, that¡¯s all. See, the thing is, ire has been close to Indrik from day one. Well, she has been to all three of us of course but with Indrik, I feel she has a subconscious need to protect him because unlike the rest of us, he cannot defend himself because, well¡­¡± He shrugged. ¡°My point is she is angry at you because she feels Indrik is suffering because of you. You don¡¯t have to take it to mind though. I am sure that once Indrik is back out, she would start to warm up to you. Maybe then, you will get to meet the real ire. That ire would blow you off your feet without a doubt.¡±


    ¡°I think this ire would blow me to smithereens just as quickly.¡± I mumbled. I couldn¡¯t help feeling slightly angry at his words. So, she was the one who had the right to be angry? How about me who had been bought like amodity and brought all the way here? I didn¡¯t have the right to be angry because, what? I am a ve?


    Jamil chuckled. ¡°Come along then! We have a lot to see.¡±


    ¡°This!¡± He pointed to a white tall building that I recognized from the day before, ¡°is the pce of the Druid Peak Pack which, I should add, is not only used to pronounce judgements.¡± He winked and despite myself, I couldn¡¯t help a small smile. I looked up and noticed, sitting above the huge brown door an insignia of a golden wolf standing at the edge of a cliff. Behind it was a full moon which seemed to be looking down on it with approval. Staring at this image brought back memories. Memories that got me staring at the pce for what must have been longer than normal because Jamil had to tap me on the shoulder. ¡°Are you okay?¡± He questioned, his eyes twinkling with concern. I nodded as I tried to regain my bnce.


    He continued when he saw that he had my attention. ¡°To the right side of the pce is what used to be¡­¡± He paused, his eyes clouding over as he seemed to be debating within himself. He finally got a grip of himself and continued, ¡°it now serves as living quarters for the two sons of the Alpha as well as ire, Ulo and myself. Long story. Leon and Indrik have stopped using their rooms. Another long story. We should continue.¡± He beckoned as he turned and started to walk away. I could see that there was a lot he wasn¡¯t telling me but what did I care? I would be out of here about as quickly as he could show me the exit. For some reason though, I could not swallow my curiosity.


    ¡°What about that one?¡± I pointed to the small cottage building that was the smallest of the trio. He turned and I just knew from the look in his eyes that I wouldn¡¯t be getting any answers.


    His voice sounded tiny when he spoke. ¡°We should get going. We wouldn¡¯t want to spend all day on the tour.¡±

 Meeting The Beta

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    ¡°And there is the entrance to our pack.¡± I could barely contain my excitement as I stared at the huge golden gates that looked on the top of a hill. The gates that were the key to my freedom. I imagined running up and out of this cursed ce but his next words dashed my hopespletely. ¡°It always remains closed unless we have urgent business to attend to outside. That is to prevent outsiders from finding this ce.¡±


    ¡°You mean to say you have no dealings with the outside world? Like you don¡¯t trade or¡­¡± I let my words hang in the air between us.


    He chuckled. ¡°Of course, we do. There are trade routes.¡±


    I waited for him to say more but it soon became obvious that was all he was going to say. I gritted my teeth as the gates that had looked so pleasing to me just a moment before now seemed like an evil machination intended to keep me bound in here forever. The gates stood atop a hill. A design that was as strange as it was effective. Strange because most of the territory was spread out on nds and effective because no one could sneak up on them. Not unless you could make yourself appear invisible and that wasn¡¯t a thing, was it? I sighed. It was one of disappointment but Jamil read something else into it.


    ¡°The tour must have gotten you tired out. We should get you back to the pce so you can rx and have something to eat while you are at it.¡± He muttered as he turned. We hade to the top of a hill which afforded a bird¡¯s eye view of the entire pack. I followed him with not half as much enthusiasm as I had when we first started out. As we walked past farms, houses and passersby, everyone greeted Jamil with the respect you offer to someone that cannot be trifled with while they stared at me with an equal mix of dislike and distrust. I couldn¡¯t me them. From what Jamil told me, a human had not been in the pack since forever. ¡°Humans and wolves do not mix.¡± He had said.


    Whether it was curiosity or perhaps it was just an innate desire to annoy him but I had asked, ¡°I am human, aren¡¯t I?¡± To which he had grinned.


    ¡°One brought by Indrik. That is the only reason you are still alive and kicking.¡±


    ¡°You would forgive me if I don¡¯t think Indrik is highly valued amongst your people.¡± I had tweaked my nose to show just how much I didn¡¯t think it.


    He had sighed which I had noticed was the first time he had since I had met him. ¡°We should go.¡± He had proceeded to brush it off, the way he had for a lot of things that morning.


    Back to the present and I ignored all the wolves which didn¡¯t take much effort because everyone, children included was making sure to stay out of my way like I had a gue or something. By the time we got to the pce, the sun was already starting to burn and I was d we didn¡¯t have to walk under that.


    ¡°You must be hungry. You should go freshen up while I do the same.¡± He muttered when we arrived before the slightly open door that led to my room and left before I could respond. I wasn¡¯t feeling very hungry but the other day had thought me a lesson so I went on to my room to do just what he had suggested. Luckily, I did not run into any more hostile faces. I sshed some water on my face and decided I was good to go. It wasn¡¯t too long before a knock came on the door.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Opening it, there was Jamil as I had expected but he had dumped his ck top and trousers in the favour of blue ones. Looking at him, my eyes widened as I had a sinking feeling.


    ¡°You are not dressed?¡±


    ¡°Dressed? What for?¡± I gestured at my dress to which he pped his forehead.


    ¡°Of course!¡± He groaned. ¡°My bad! I forgot to inform you that we would be eating with the Beta today. He requested for your presence.¡± My heart jumped into my tongue and almost nearly slid out from the narrow end when I replied.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± I tried to keep my voice neutral but I was failing very badly at it.


    His hand suddenly found something interesting in the back of his neck as he started a back and forth rubbing motion. ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°No! Of course not. Haven¡¯t I already faced the council? What do they still want with me?¡± I questioned, feeling like a rat that was stuck with fire in a hole.


    ¡°Not they. He! And you don¡¯t have to worry about him. I am sure he only wants to talk.¡±


    ¡°Beta Green. That is Ulo¡¯s father, right?¡± He nodded. He sure wanted to talk. The same way his son spent all day talking. I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth as I stepped out of the room. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go then.¡± I muttered.


    I had many conjectures in mind about how this our glorious second meeting would turn out but as it usually is with imagination, none of them yed out in reality. Walking into the dining room, I did a double take as I wondered if Jamil had mistakenly led me into the throne room or something. If not for the chairs that were arranged around the round table and the food that was currently being dished out by one of the helps, I would have turned back immediately. The room was huge for one. Apart from that, it was an immacte white, a feat that would have been totally impossible back in The Haven.


    ¡°You arete!¡±

 Breakfast

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    I turned to look at the man who had spoken. I recognized him instantly from his role in passing judgement on us. Just like the first time, he was sitting down which prevented me from seeing just how tall he was. He still seemed pretty intimidating though as his eyes zed,manding respect. I remained at the door from where I had been admiring the room but even from here, I could feel his displeasure washing over me in waves. I shuddered subconsciously as I noticed that not only his but all the eyes in the room were focused on me. Us, I had forgotten Jamil was still standing beside me until he grabbed my arm and pulled me into the room.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    We arrived before the Beta at the head seat and following Jamil¡¯s lead, I bowed. ¡°You arete.¡± Up close, his voice sounded deeper and more intimidating. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell her that we do not condeness here?¡± He asked and I raised my head a little bit only to return to my former position when I saw that Jamil was still bowing.


    ¡°I am sorry, my lord but the tour ran on for much longer than we thought. A lot of time went past without us realizing it. It will not happen again.¡±


    ¡°That is no excuse you know?¡± He boomed and I very nearly raised my head to tell him to buzz off but I managed to keep my cool. Thest thing I wanted was to get Jamil in trouble and give that white eyed bitch more reason to chew my head off.


    ¡°I know my lord and I apologize. I promise to make sure it never happens again.¡± Silence reigned in the room for what seemed like forever before the Beta finally spoke again.


    ¡°Well, what are you waiting for? Get on your seats. The food is starting to get cold.¡± He grumbled.


    ¡°Thank you uncle!¡± Jamil nudged me as he made his way around the table. I was about to follow him when the Beta cleared his throat. I frowned as I stopped in my steps staring back and forth between Jamil and their leader. When none would speak, I started to go after Jamil again when the annoying sound was repeated. I was about to throw away all reservations and walk up to the man to whack him upside of his head when Jamil signaled me to go to the other side of the table. I frowned but his eyes told me that was the only way we were going to have peace. Sure enough, when I turned round to the other side of the table, nothing stuck in the throat of the Beta. I cursed the craziness of this ce and its inhabitants under my breath as I made my way past a broad, brown haired figure who looked familiar as he hunched over his empty te. Asrge as the room was, (and by that, I meanrge enough to swallow The Haven whole and still have room for two more), there was no one else sitting on the left wing except the guy and now, myself. On the other side of the room, the first seat was empty, like it was waiting for someone who was yet to arrive. The second was upied by Ulo, followed by Luna and finally, Jamil. A veryrge number by all standards, you would agree. A room that could seat over a hundred people being used by six people. Wasn¡¯t that just perfect?


    I took up a seat opposite Ulo. His hair wasbed slickly and he looked dapper in his ck robe. He spared me a nce that was fit for a fly before returning his face to the te like he was receiving a message from the gods in it. Maybe he was. Heavens knew that these people needed a divine message on hospitality. I mean, I had only been here for what? 2 days? And I had already gotten into more trouble than I had ever gotten into in my entire life and that was saying a lot. And to think that I wasn¡¯t even all that big a troublemaker.


    Beside him sat Luna who had her long hair tied into a pony tail. She wore a in white dress and her makeup appeared shabby, barely hiding her eye bags. She didn¡¯t seem to have changed since I had seen her this morning either which was rather unusual for her, at least from what I had gotten to know about her. Unlike Ulo, she spared me more than a nce. Each look she shot my way bore enough venom to burn an army to dust. Someone really ought to tell that girl to get off my case because I really am starting to tire of her tantrums. Finally, there was Jamil who smiled at me. I smiled back. It sure was great to have a friendly person in the midst of people who all seemed to not be able to wait until they could eat me alive.


    Someone tapped on the table and as if on cue, several feet pounding against the ground became audible. Soon enough, about six people in maid uniform, a simple ck and white dress came in bearing trays. They spread these on the table between us, filling the air with mouthwatering aromas. It was at this time that I finally saw the face of the only other person that sat on the same row with me. It suddenly made sense why I had found him familiar. Looking at me with a deep scowl etched on his face was anchor man, Leon. I suddenly recalled what Jamil had told me about him being the son of the Alpha. I also recalled the warning to stay away from him but I wondered how that was possible if we always managed to run into each other.


    I peeled my eyes from him and almost got drowned in Luna¡¯s swirling pools. Nope! Luckily, the maids ced a te before me at this time and started to dish out the food. I sighed as I stared at it, my instincts telling me that this was going to be a very, very long day.

 Like A Son

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    If there was anything worse than serving people who hated your guts, it was eating with them. Knowing that malicious eyes are following your every move is a sure recipe for a loss of appetite. I managed to force down some food which went to sit at the bottom of my belly like a couple of bricks. After that, I just turned the food in my te, my cheek propped on the other hand as I stared at it like I was looking for something that was embedded deep within it.


    ¡°Ahem!¡± I was pulled out of my revelries by the Beta clearing his throat. I looked up at him, blinking as I tried toe back to the present. ¡°Breakfast is over. You all can leave now.¡± My heart soared with joy as I rose to my feet, the chair skittering noisily. Great! Another reason to make them hate me more. Already, I could see them pinning their gazes on me as if to say, ¡°we get the point. You are dumb. Now, could you stop making it so obvious?¡±


    ¡°Not you!¡± My heart plummeted to the bottom of my belly about as fast as it had risen. I looked toward the Beta and sure enough, he was referring to me. ¡°The rest of you can leave now.¡± He ordered. I bowed my head and fiddled with my fingers as the others made their way out of the room. The maids came in at this point and cleared all the used utensils.


    Finally, the room was empty except for myself and the Beta. ¡°Come closer.¡± He called, patting the chair from which Leon had just stood up. I frowned as I walked toward it, certain that the owner would not would not like the idea. The table was made with thick mahogany which was painted white as well. The chairs were probably made of the same material as well but it was hard to tell with them being decked all over with felt. I arrived beside him and took my seat.


    ¡°You know why I brought you here?¡± He questioned as he daubed at his lips with a napkin.


    ¡°To eat?¡± I replied, growing tired of being yed around with.


    He met my eyes and for a moment, his ck irises glittered making me think he would actually break a smile but that was not to be as the twinkle disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. He carefully folded the napkin and ced it on the table then got out of his chair and walked over to the first one on the right that had remained empty on which he rested an elbow and locked his fingers before meeting my eyes again. ¡°You noticed that this ce remained empty, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    I blinked wondering if that was supposed to be a rhetorical question but his curious eyes that remained fixed on me told me otherwise. I shrugged.


    ¡°Then you should know who it belongs to.¡± His eyes seemed to burn through my skin to my very soul which he seemed to be looking through inch by inch. I squirmed.


    ¡°How should I know?¡± I practically groaned already growing tired of his endless questions. How was it my problem if someone decided not to show up for breakfast? It wasn¡¯t like it was very noticeable in a room as huge as this anyway.


    He nodded then pinned his eyes on me for so long that I felt a hole must have been burned through me this time. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded distant, ¡°it belongs to Indrik.¡±


    I scrunched my eyebrows as I took in his features. Hair that barely managed to kiss his ears just like his son¡¯s, a strong firm face that managed to convey sadness about as well as it could convey authority and¡­. He had finally stood up. Wasn¡¯t too short. He would still hold his own against the many tall men I had met since I had arrived in this ce even if he was atleast a head or two shorter. He had a big body, evidence of the strength thaty within. His hair was starting to gray at the edges but that only served to enhance his features.


    ¡°Indrik is like a son to me.¡± He continued, his eyes shifting to something above my head, his voice low and almost mournful. ¡°Ever since he was born, it has been my responsibility to look after him. Watching him grow has not been easy especially because,¡± he paused and his eyes drifted to me, like he was trying to figure out how much I knew and how much to tell me. ¡°because of his weakness. He has been known to break out of line several times to satisfy an innate need to be seen.¡± His eyes had drifted from me again. ¡°I wish I could tell you that this little thing with you was unique but frankly, no.¡± I wondered where he was going with this. ¡°He is not going to stop until he gets what he wants which begs the question, why did he bring you here?¡±


    I recalled Indrik¡¯s words to me in The Haven but somehow, I felt he wouldn¡¯t want me sharing that. For whatever reason, I felt a strange urge to protect him.  ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I replied.


    He narrowed his eyes with suspicion as though try to figure out if I was lying or not then his face rxed. ¡°I hope you are telling me the truth.¡± His voice was heavy, threatening. I met his eyes, refusing to flinch. Finally, he rxed. ¡°I will be watching you. You can leave now.¡±This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    He didn¡¯t need to tell me twice as I bounded from my seat and left the room that was a beautiful as it was suffocating. Luckily, I had a good sense of direction as I weaved through the pce. Bursting out, I inhaled deeply, d to be free from that ce.

 Something Missing

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    Outside the tall rooms and passageways of the pce, the world lookedrge, golden and endless under the touch of glowing sunlight. Or perhaps, it was just my happiness at being free that was tainting my vision. Outside the pce, the courtyard sprawled before me, all a glowing shade of white. Apart from the three main buildings that took main focus in the pce, there were a couple other buildings on the other end of the enormous courtyard. Smaller and less impressive but beautiful nheless. Most were honorary buildings, only ever used when some guests visited, Jamil would not tell me who. Others though were used by the part of the army that was not stationed at the borders, a fancy term for pce guards really.


    ¡°I see you are finally out and would you look at that. You are in one piece!¡± My eyes widened as I wheeled into Jamil who seemed to have materialized out of nowhere.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I hissed breathlessly, the breath knocked out of my lungs from being startled so suddenly.


    He shrugged as he helped steady me on my feet before moving back. ¡°I thought you might need my help.¡± He murmured as he stared at the ce I had juste out from. I followed his eyes and noticed for the first time the parapet that stood above the building, casting a shadow over us. It jutted out over the building like a stray lock of hair but on closer look, I observed that it looked like a snout. It was framed like a wolf¡¯s snout which was rather ingenious, considering that the parapet was about as wide as the building which, by the way was veryrge. The building wasn¡¯t very tall with it being a one storey building and all but it more thanpensated for that in length and breadth. The building was constructed in a pretty interesting way. It started as a rectangr structure then became smoother as it rose, giving the impression of turning into a cylindrical domed building before suddenly expanding into a rectangr structure again, wider than it was at the bottom. This went on to be the upper part of the building. Unlike the ground floor, this tapered into a cylindrical shape which seemed to slightly tilt forward. At the top of this, instead of a roof, sat the parapet. For a moment, I couldn¡¯t help wondering if their builders had taken care of their task with one hand while the other had tended to a bottle of beer.


    ¡°Impressive, isn¡¯t it?¡± Jamilmented wistfully. I did not reply, probably because I could not figure out if it was impressive or crazy. It was beautiful though. I had to give them that. The building to the right, ours seemed to have gotten the leftover material from this one with it being a in rectangr building. Didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t impressive though. The one on the right looked something like a cottage with its round shape and a roof that looked like fern leaves. I figured that was just another crazy design. ¡°Earth to Luna!¡± He snapped his fingers before my eyes, interrupting my thoughts.


    ¡°Mm-hmm!¡± I mumbled as I turned my attention to him. ¡°You were saying?¡± I questioned absentmindedly.


    ¡°Hunting is good in the daylight when the moon is shining bright as the constetions.¡± I nodded then almost choked on my spit as my eyes grew wide.


    ¡°What?¡± I spat, trying to make sense of what he had just said.


    He chuckled, looking pleased with himself. ¡°Works everytime! Now, we had better get out of here before our brains get all sun fried.¡±N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    I didn¡¯t realize how ufortable the sun had been making me until I stepped into thefort of our building. I could barely wait to get to my room so I could kick off the sandals that seemed to be growing hotter by the second.


    ¡°Gosh! You look awful!¡± Jamil clicked his tongue. I could believe that. I was starting to perspire and my dress was feeling like it had added a few more kilograms. I felt like a stuffed chicken right now. ¡°You should go clean yourself up and maybe, get some rest while you are at it.¡±


    Clean up? Sure! I wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the difort if I didn¡¯t. What I wasn¡¯t so sure of was getting some rest. I had so many things I had to hash out. Thoughts I had to put in order. I nodded nheless. ¡°Sure. See you.¡± I hate to admit it but I almost felt sad to see him go. It had been ages since I hadst had someone I could call a friend. I brushed off the thought as I reminded myself that I wouldn¡¯t be staying here for long so getting attached would not be a very good idea.


    He nodded and waved as he went back the way he hade. I frowned as the thought dawned on me that I had never seen him enter a room even though he clearly lived here. He seemed to be a busy person. Even more reason to appreciate him for always making time for me without which life here would have been nothing short of hell with the rabid ire and toxically silent Ulo.


    I made my way to my room where I got out of my ufortable attire and for a moment just stood in the middle of the room, enjoying the feeling of being free from the burdensome load of clothing hanging heavily on my shoulders. I took a quick bath after which I copsed on the bed, a wide contraction that was almost as soft as the material used for the dining chairs. Almost.


    As Iy there, my conversation with the Beta, (if it could be called that) came back to me. Of these, something he had said to me stood out the most, making me feel very ufortable. Like there was something I was missing. Of course, there was a lot I was missing but this¡­.

 A Close Shave With Death

    ire¡¯s Pov


    I was sitting in my favorite spot in our hangout spot. A swing that was made with a log of wood with two long ropes running out of both sides of it which were tied to one of the tree¡¯s sturdy branches. I sat on it, gently swaying it back and forth, my eyes seeing nothing as I wandered in the world of thoughts and worries. I still could not get the horrible condition Indrik was in out of my head.


    ¡°There you are!¡± A voice that sounded like it wasing from somewhere deep within the tree called. I was slow to respond, partly because I was still lost in thought and partly because I did not want to speak to the owner of the voice. ¡°Scoot!¡± He ordered but I ignored him, treating him like he wasn¡¯t present.


    ¡°Hey!¡± He called again, snapping his fingers before my face.


    Seeing that there was no way I could send him off with the silent treatment, I stopped the swing and gave him the coldest look I could muster.


    ¡°Have you seen Ulo around? I couldn¡¯t find him in his room.¡± Jamil questioned.


    ¡°Do I by any chance look like a watcher to you?¡± I snapped. His eyes widened in surprise then softened as he finally realized what was going on.


    With a sharp release of air, he stomped over and pushed me to the side so he could plop down beside me. ¡°What¡¯s got your hair tied in a knot now?¡±


    If smoke coulde out of my head, I am pretty certain enough  smoke would have escaped me to earn me a title of a smoke beacon with how indignant his question made me. I refused to answer the question though, instead choosing to scoot away from him. As far as the swing allowed.


    He gazed at me incredulously for a moment, then sighed. ¡°This is about Luna, isn¡¯t it? I thought we had already gotten past this.¡±


    I stared at him like he had grown two heads. I intended to ignore him again but hisment made me so mad, I would explode if I didn¡¯t let it out. ¡°Gotten past this, you say? How could you even say something like that? How could I ever get past this when Indrik is suffering behind bars because of her? Gotten past this!¡± I chuckled harshly, the word tasting bitter on my tongue.


    ¡°ire! When will youe to terms with reality? The girl is here because Indrik brought her here. Indrik is in jail because he chose to bear responsibility not because she forced him to. You shouldn¡¯t me Luna for any of that. I don¡¯t know why he did any of that but I trust him to make good decisions. You should too.¡±


    I sniffled knowing he was probably right but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to forgive her. Not when the horrible smell of that ce still remained in my nose, an ever present reminder that Indrik was not here. ¡°She made him do it. I am sure of it. Maybe she told him she was weak and homeless or something but I am certain that he brought her here to save her.¡± I muttered but even I did not believe it.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I suppose she also sent him a message from her human vige toe and pick her up, right?¡±


    ¡°Maybe!¡± I muttered stubbornly, letting go of the rope as I doubled over, cing my face on my knees, as I felt the swing rock under me. Luckily, Jamil held it steady.


    He chuckled making me raise my head in curiosity. ¡°You are jealous, aren¡¯t you?¡± His voice was full of mirth but I didn¡¯t share in his mood as my eyes widened in panic. I grew red as an overripe tomato as I got out of the swing and started to pace ufortably.


    ¡°What do you mean jealous? Of who? Why? Her? Never! Why would I even be jealous of her?¡± I stuttered, my panic growing by the second.


    ¡°Sure, you are. Your reaction is proving it.¡± Hisughter grew louder and I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. I curled my arms over my chest and remained standing with my back to him, my legs too heavy to move. I was going to die from the shame. ¡°I don¡¯t see why you have to be jealous of her though because Indrik is not going to abandon you because of her. I mean,e on.¡±


    My heart soared with hope as my heart began to slow its mad run little by little and I turned toward him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked in a small voice.


    He must have noticed the panicked look on my face because heposed himself before speaking again. ¡°What I am saying is that although you have good reason to be upset, I don¡¯t think you should allow it take you over. You have been Indrik¡¯s friend from day one. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s not going to suddenly toss you away because of some woman. Although we have no idea why he brought her, I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s not to rece you so, you really should rx.¡±


    I sighed in relief of not being discovered. ¡°I still hate her.¡± I muttered without as much vigor.


    He must have noticed this as well because he smiled broadly, ¡°fair enough. Now, have you seen Ulo?¡±


    ¡°He headed to the training grounds immediately after breakfast.¡± I informed and he nodded as he got out of the swing as well.


    ¡°You want toe?¡± He asked with a teasing smile and was rewarded with an ¡°are you kidding me¡± look. He chuckled again as he raised his arms in surrender. ¡°Of course. I would love to stay and chat but duty calls. Try not to kill each other will you?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t promise!¡± I called after him feeling like I had just escaped a close shave with death.

 Better This Way

    Author¡¯s Pov


    Beta Green wandered around the dining room long after the girl had left. First, he stood behind Indrik¡¯s chair, then got into his seat, then walked round to the other end of the room, pondering his discussion with the girl. He stroked his cheeks over and over as he wondered what he was missing. Indrik might be impulsive but he was not crazy. There was no way he would just choose to bring a random girl into the pack unless there was a reason. That was what he had to find out.


    He recalled the time he had asked her the reason why Indrik had brought her. She had told him she didn¡¯t know but before that, there had been a slight hesitation which was more than enough to confirm his suspicion.


    ¡°Beta Green?¡±


    He turned around as fast as lightning, having been startled out of his wits. The new arrival was lucky to not be within arm¡¯s reach or he would have hit her when he spun. ¡°Gamma Victoria!¡± He sighed when he finally recovered from his shock. ¡°My gosh, you startled me.¡± He exhaled, still trying to bnce his breathing.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. What¡¯s troubling you though? I¡¯ve been calling out to you for a while now.¡± She muttered worriedly.


    ¡°Was I?¡± The Beta murmured absentmindedly as he examined her. She was pretty tall for a woman, standing almost shoulder to shoulder with him. Her brown hair glittered under the lighting as her intelligent eyes studied him.


    ¡°I heard you invited the girl for breakfast.¡± She continued when she realized he wasn¡¯t going to speak any moment soon.


    ¡°Yes!¡± He finally seemed to snap out of his thoughts as his eyes met hers, more focused this time. ¡°I have a feeling there is something they are not telling us. A reason why Indrik chose to bring her to the pack.¡± His voice started to sound distant again.


    ¡°You know what? I think you are right. The boy has always made sure to avoid responsibility and now, he not only brings someone into the pack but chooses to be punished in her ce? Something is definitely the matter.¡± The Gamma¡¯s eyes twinkled even more as she considered several possibilities.


    ¡°Exactly my point.¡± The Beta eximed.


    ¡°The answer could actually be simple, you know?¡± Her eyes lit up with excitement as she looked up at the Beta. He frowned as he scanned her eyes, trying to figure out what she was talking about.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± He finally asked.


    ¡°Have you seen the girl? She is pretty. What if¡­¡± She didn¡¯tplete her sentence. She did not need to before the Beta understood what she was talking about and he shook his head vigorously.


    ¡°No! No! No! She is a stranger to him. We know that because he had never left the Pack till recently. There is no way he would suddenly fall for a girl out of the blues. Besides, he is already engaged.¡± The Beta murmured but he did not sound convincing enough, even to his own ears.


    ¡°An engagement that he already turned down.¡± She reminded softly. ¡°Besides, love works in mysterious ways. I believe you should know just how real love at first sight is.¡± She gave him a meaningful look which was rewarded with a bitter smile.


    ¡°I should know.¡± He muttered, his face looking sore like he had been forced to swallow an unripe fruit. Well, he had in a way. He turned to her like he had suddenly remembered something. ¡°You didn¡¯te here to discuss love, did you?¡±


    She sighed as the smile fled from her face and she suddenly looked tired. ¡°No, I did not.¡± She admitted. ¡°Although, what I came to discuss is not altogether removed from it.¡±


    The Beta¡¯s face hardened. ¡°This is about Indrik, isn¡¯t it?¡± His voice sounded harsh and curt like he knew where the conversation was headed and totally did not want to go there.


    She seemed to notice this as her voice grew more urgent. ¡°The children are worried and frankly, I am too. Indrik as we well know, is weaker than most. And now, we have not only had him whipped severely, which by the way is his first time experiencing such, but we have also sent him to the dungeon which is one of the harshest ces in our Pack. What if he can¡¯t recover or worse, what if he ends up dead?¡± Thest part came out as a choked sob.


    The Beta walked close to her and patted her slowly on the back till she had managed to calm down. ¡°I understand where you areing from. Believe me, I really do. To tell you the truth, it hurts me as well to have to do this to the boy. He is like a son to me, you know. It is what we have to do however. For the safety of the Pack and most especially, for his own safety. You know the risks that abound if we allow him too much freedom, don¡¯t you?¡± The Beta paused until she nodded. ¡°It¡¯s alright. The children will understand while we have to do this someday. Till then, it is our duty to keep them safe. Every single one of them.¡± Again, she nodded.


    ¡°I know you are right.¡± Her voice sounded cracked, ¡°still, I can¡¯t help but feel sorry for him. The boy is purer than most and to be honest, he would make a better leader than Leon but because of something that is no fault of his, he is forced to lead a sad life.¡±


    The Beta¡¯s face softened. ¡°It is all for the greater good, Victoria. You and I both know that prospect would be nothing in the face of the problems that could be unleashed if things went wrong. It is too big a risk to take.¡±


    ¡°I know. It breaks my heart to say this but you are right. Things are better this way!¡±Content ? N?velDrama.Org.

 A Deal In Jail

    Indrik¡¯s Pov


    ¡°Hey, dirt bag! You think you are better than everyone else that is in here, don¡¯t you?¡± A voice yelled from far up the row of cells. It was soon lost in the crowd of voices that cried in its wake.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste your breath on the fool. Let¡¯s see if he is still going to be so cocky when we tell the guards about the romance he has going on when they are not looking.¡± Another voice growled, the voice echoing so much that I could not figure out exactly where it came from. Again, murmurs rose in the corridor.


    ¡°That is the problem with all of these royal dogs. They think they are superior to the rest of us. Damned imperial piece of shit.¡± A voice cursed from somewhere close by.


    ¡°Wait, royal? That can¡¯t be true. Whatever would a royal be doing here?¡± Another voice questioned.


    ¡°You had better believe it. That girl from earlier? I would recognize her anywhere. She is the daughter of the Gamma. And this moron here, I heard her call him Indrik, is the son of the Alpha. Little spoilt brat I tell you. So spoilt, he has not trained for even a day in his life. Word is that he is the weakest in the Pack. Perhaps, they finally grew tired of his leeching and decided to get rid of him.¡±


    It is funny how people can create notions about you without even knowing anything about you. They just hear a name and a random information and decide they know all that they have to. That was the case of the speaker who was speaking about me confidently like he had been there since the day I was born. My heart bubbled with anger but I swallowed it. Lashing out here wouldn¡¯t change anything. It would only make everything worse. After ire left, the other prisoners who had refused to speak a word to me before finally broke the ice and started to speak to me. If you think it was a heart to heart talk between fellow prisoners who managed to create a rapport in the most unlikely of ces then, you my friend are dead wrong. It was nothing like a heart to heart talk and everything like a dagger to heart talk.


    Enraged by the fact that ire had broken the rules for my sake, the prisoners had ganged up on me, calling me names and throwing words that would be enough to bring this ce down on our heads if it wasn¡¯t so heavily fortified. I¡¯m pretty certain they would have thrown more than words if they could have managed to get out of their cells. Luckily, they were secured tightly. That much I could tell from how they banged angrily against their doors without managing to break it down.


    At first, I had given them the silent treatment hoping that it would make them grow tired and get off my case but that only seemed to make them madder as their threats grew more and more specific. And soon enough, I started to worry. The guards had not made their daily rounds which meant that they would be here soon enough. If any of these people were to open their mouths then not only myself, but ire too would be in big trouble. I didn¡¯t care about myself. The worst they could do was throw me in a ce more secure and tell me to remain hungry for the next month which I wouldn¡¯t mind because I knew exactly why I was doing it. What I would mind though was ire getting in trouble because she was helping me. All her life, ire had been aw abiding girl and I would hate for her to lose that record because she was helping me.


    So, with this thought in mind, I gritted my teeth and moved closer to the door which was pointless considering that I couldn¡¯t see anything more than shadowy forms in the darkness that dominated the ce.


    ¡°Alright everyone!¡± I called as loud as I could hoping it would be heard above the din. It was as everyone quieted and silence reigned once more. ¡°I get your point. You hate me, nothing new about that but I really would appreciate it if you wouldn¡¯t drag someone else into my mess. You can do whatever you want with me, so long as you leave her alone.¡±ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    There was silence for a moment. Then, ¡°that sounds way too easy, don¡¯t you think?¡± A voice rang and I swore under my breath as the crowd mumbled in approval again. ¡°You know expect us to leave this¡­ girl alone when she was the one who started all this? That sounds too expensive to just be done for free, right?¡± The crowd roared again and I cursed under my breath.


    ¡°Fine! What do you want?¡± I snapped.


    ¡°Now, you¡¯re talking.¡± The voiceughed to the apaniment of his loyal mimics. ¡°I have someone I would like you to help me deliver a message to once you are free but before that, my belly suffered from the scents of the spices used in the food it didn¡¯t get a taste of yesterday, you know.¡±


    He paused and I frowned as I realized what he was talking about. ¡°She is noting back here.¡± I snapped.


    ¡°Oh, really? I guess we will just have to make the guards bring her down her then?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± I stopped myself then continued in a less aggressive voice. ¡°I will do anything else you want.¡± I said through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Bad news boy. I don¡¯t want anything else. She had better be here tonight or I will have her brought down here tomorrow.¡± The husky voice threatened.


    ¡°Is that all?¡± My teeth were grounding against each other so hard, I was afraid they would shatter into a million tiny pieces.


    ¡°All?¡± Heughed like I had just told some incredible joke. ¡°There is still all the others.¡±

 A Sprain

    ire¡¯s Pov


    ¡°You are still here?¡± A familiar voice interrupted my thoughts and I raised my head. I feel disoriented as I look around, trying to figure out where I am. I am still sitting in the swing, with it swaying back and forth. Looking up at the sky, I realize that the sun is sinking into the sky in a brilliant mix of colours very quickly. I turn my eyes to the owner of the voice but am unable to see the face very clearly. Still feeling very lost and confused, I peel my eyes off the person and focus them on myps.


    ¡°Tell me you left earlier and came back.¡± Jamil eximed then whistled as he came closer and picked some leaves out of my hair. ¡°No, you did not. Did you turn into a tree for a while then?¡±


    My eyes finally clear as they settle on him. My eyes fill with tears as I recall what I had just seen.


    ¡°Hey! Hey! Are you okay?¡± Jamil questioned, rmed at the tear drop that rolled down my face. He covered the distance between the door where he is still standing and the swing. Reaching me, he holds me in his hands, rubbing his hands over my back rhythmically.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± I try to say but ites out as a choked cry. I cannot ovee the horrible thing that I saw just now. Jamil looks down at me withpassionate eyes and for a moment, I think about telling him what I had seen then thought better of it. It might just be a random nightmare. Sure, it came in the middle of the afternoon and from the looks of it, had kept me busy for the better part of the day but I had been stressed out these past couple of days which would exin it. I shut my eyes and inhaled deeply. When I opened them again, my eyes were much clearer and my heart, clearer.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I repeated, my voice much calmer and clearer. Taking in the scene, I noticed Ulo being his usual self, standing by the door, staring at us with an inscrutable look in his eyes. I looked up at Jamil and sighed, knowing I had somethinging. His ginger coloured hair is spiky and his eyes look tired, his vest hugs his chest tightly, still wet with sweat from his having exerted himself all day. I try to ignore but he reeks of dried sweat and grime as well. Stray water runs through his hair, down his face before slipping through the tiny stubs on his chin.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to go rest or something?¡± I muttered, hoping he would take the cue and let it go but I had no such luck.


    ¡°We were supposed to do that until we saw you sleeping out here in broad daylight with your head swaying back and forth very dangerously.¡± I swallowed but did not volunteer any information so, he continued. ¡°Now that we are all here, we have to talk to you. About your dangerous escapade fromst night.¡±


    I sighed in exhaustion. ¡°Haven¡¯t we gotten past that already.¡± I muttered halfheartedly. I had been telling the two of them about Indrik¡¯s situation in there when we had been interrupted by the arrival of that woman. I had thought they had been bought over but the opposite was apparently the case.


    ¡°No, ire. Ulo,e over.¡± He waved, when thetter would not move from his perch by the door. ¡°You see, ire, you tend to be rather impulsive. While what you have done might have been good, it was also incredibly dangerous. Have you thought about what could happen to you if you were caught?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± I snapped. ¡°All that matters to me is caring for Indrik. He does not deserve any of these. Why am I the only one that sees that?¡± I cried indignantly.


    ¡°Come on, B. Of course, we see and we care for Indrik too. We just have to be careful about what we do to avoid getting him into much more trouble. You know there are people who would dly call for Indrik¡¯s head if you are caught bringing him supplies, don¡¯t you?¡± Jamil continued and I shook my head as I jumped out of the swing. Too fast, I learnt toote. Having been seating in that seat for hours on end, my legs had gone to sleep and so, the sudden weight on them was like suicide as I crumbled to the floor with a cry. My right leg was the first to go with a very awaful twist.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°My gosh, ire. Are you okay?¡± Ulo finally spoke as he appeared before me in a sh and helped draw me to one of the benches as he knelt to take a look at it. He twisted it a little and I cried out in pain. He turned to look up at Jamil who had joined us. ¡°You think it¡¯s a sprain?¡±


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t.¡± I groaned, pping his hands away as I tried to rise again only to copse once more with an even greater cry.


    ¡°You should rx and let me take a look at it.¡± Ulo muttered softly as he picked my leg up again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think you are going to get me bedridden so I won¡¯t be able to go see him tonight.¡± I warned, referring to the injury about as much as I was referring to the men before me.


    ¡°How about you allow us help you then?¡± Ulo muttered to which Jamil¡¯s eyes lit up like a hawk¡¯s.


    ¡°What are you talking about, Ulo?¡± He asked, his voice heavy with disbelief.


    ¡°I¡¯m saying,¡± Ulo turned his upper body so he was looking at him, ¡°since we can¡¯t dissuade her, how about we help her instead and prevent her from getting into trouble?¡±

 Alive With Voices

    ire¡¯s Pov


    Jamil did not like the idea of us breaking the rules because despite the fact that he was the most outgoing of all four of us, he also happened to be the most rigid. Weirdbination, right? But with the two of us on his case, he had no other choice than to join us in our prison raid. I had returned my mother¡¯s bunch of keys before she would notice they were gone but that was only after I had removed the keys to the dungeon.


    With their help, I had been able to secure more supplies which was more extensive because Jamil insisted I bring a gift or something as an act of goodwill to the other prisoners. ording to him, bringing something for one prisoner, especially when it was against the rules, would make the other prisoners mad which might make them pick on the prisoner or worse, report the prisoner just to spite him. The simple cure to that, is to bring something for them as well. They would be pleased with the thoughtfulness and vo, all would have been saved a lot of trouble.


    Dusk came quickly this time unlike the previous night when it seemed to have rolled on forever and soon, it was time. They helped me bring the package to the pce and by package, I mean, food, drugs, first aid materials to tend to his wound which would no doubt still be healing, and well, food again. It was a dark, moonless night which could be interpreted to mean two things. One, the moon so favored our mission that she decided to reduce our chances of being spotted by not showing up or two, the moon was so disgusted by our act that she decided to not be a party to it.


    Jamil seemed to think it was thetter because he was quiet the entire way, not even bothering to make any of his trademark jokes. As agreed, Jamil would keep watch inside the pce, by the row of steps that led deep into the heart of the pce where the dungeon was. Ulo would continue with me till we got to the entrance to the dungeon where he would keep watch as well and be ready to help if anything went wrong. Their precautions made me wonder if they didn¡¯t know I hade alone the previous night. Not that I wasining though.


    I inhaled as I clutched the package to my chest with one hand and with the other, held the zing torch before me. Unlike the upper area of the pce that always had torches burning every few feet, this ce was absolutely dark. So dark you couldn¡¯t even see your arm if you ced it before your eyes without any light.


    ¡°Just call out to me if you get into any trouble, okay?¡± Ulo whispered, his arm never leaving his sword as he unlocked the heavy gates. I nodded although I didn¡¯t really see how anything could possibly go wrong after all, I was only ady who was performing the regr task of bringing her friend help when he needed it the most.


    Walking into the dungeon, I half expected the long corridor to start boiling over with the cries of desperate men. Instead, I was met with silence that was so overwhelming, it made me ufortable. So ufortable that I shed the torch either way as I moved, trying to figure out if they had suddenly winded up dead overnight.  Not that I would mourn them though but I found the silence to be extremely unnerving. In the silence, I could hear the squeaking of rats and the scurry of tiny feet. Maybe not so tiny. I wondered how big their rats grew in here without being curbed and all. I thought about running into one of them and it was enough to make me shudder.


    I made my way to Indrik¡¯s cell which I now knew by heart from having spent time, painstakingly looking from cell to cell for him the other night.


    I brought the light close to his door but he was nowhere in sight. At least, not in my line of sight which was very limited by the way. ¡°Pssst!¡± I hissed and waited without getting any response. ¡°Indrik!¡± I called again without any change. I panicked as I wondered what had happened with him. Fiddling with my waist, I hurriedly extracted the key and unlocked his door before dashing in, half expecting to see the worst.


    I was relieved to find that he was okay, just sleeping. If that could be called sleeping. He was curled up in a ball by the far wall of the room and must have been straining a muscle or two because he was groaning heavily in his sleep and Indrik never snored. As before, I was hit by the stench of an unhealthy mix of endless damp, rot and a third element that I could not ce a name too but was worse than the other twobined. My heart twisted as I bent and shook him awake.N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    He groaned, muttering those words that manage to slip through your mouth from the world of unconsciousness as he roused. It took a moment for him to focus and see that someone was standing over him with a torch. When he did realize, the speed with which he sat up both amused me and hurt me especially because I could see he hadn¡¯t noticed it was me. From the look of fright that flickered in his eyes under the torch, I could tell that he had had more to worry about than damp floor and huge rats.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, ire.¡± I whispered and was d to see him rx slightly. This relief was premature though as I saw a look of urgency cross his features.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± He rasped, his eyes flitting.


    ¡°What do you mean what am I doing here? Of course, I am here to take care of you.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t havee.¡± And as though to confirm his statement, the entire dungeon suddenly grew alive with voices.

 Temporary Peace

    Indrik¡¯s Pov


    I had been hoping that ire would take my advice and not return. So, what if my fellow prisoners had made their threat good and informed the guards? They had no proof to show that it really was her who hade. I could easily have convinced the council into buying that it was someone else. At worst, they would have worsened my punishment but at least, she would have been saved. But all of that went flying out the window or in this case, iron door as I looked up at ire, her tender face framed by the flickering mes.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t havee!¡± I groaned, knowing that there was no escaping the clutches of the prisoners now. Obviously, I was not the only one who realized this as they all started to speak at the same time.


    As expected, they had all made illogical requests. Like asking me to help break them out of prison or to help them speak to the council to offer them some leniency. Like I would be here if I had that much power. I told them as much and they had painstakingly reminded me that I was at their mercy. Tired, I had shut them out and tried to focus on something else which wasn¡¯t exactly the easiest thing to do given that my view wasn¡¯t very wide. Actually, I didn¡¯t have any view at all. The dungeon was dark most of the time. During daytime, it lightened a little bit just enough for you to see the form of your arm in the dark and at night, well, you lost that great privilege. The only time we saw any light was when the guards did their rounds, bringing food or prisoners.


    My ¡®friends¡¯ had noticed my guest and took this time to remind me of their terms as they started to make catcalls, calls and noise in general.


    ¡°Hey lovers, don¡¯t keep us waiting for too long.¡±


    ¡°Told you she woulde back. Love in prison. How sweet!¡±


    ¡°You never can tell the possibilities that exist unless you try. You ever imagine doing it in a stinky ce like this?¡±Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    These and many more were theirments which was backed with grindingughter. With each word they spoke, I could see ire grow more and more ufortable and it made me mad as well as I gritted my teeth forcefully. Finally, I could not take it anymore and walking to the door, banged my hand against it as hard as I could. They were shocked into silence as I let them know my opinion. ¡°Show some respect, you bastards.¡± I growled angrily. The silence held for a second or two before they burst intoughter again.


    ¡°Our little prince is growing wings, I see. Wrong ce to show attitude, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    I heaved heavily and would have said the nastiest thing I could muster if ire had not walked up to me and ced an arm on my shoulder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste your breath, Indrik. They are not worth it.¡± She tried to hide it but it was clear as day that their words had gotten to her. Her voice trembled and I was certain I would find tears in her eyes if I looked into them.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked, feeling guilty about making her go through this.


    ¡°Never been better. Good thing that I brought extra supplies for them, don¡¯t you think?¡± Her voice was shriller than it normally was, another sign that she was trying to keep her emotions under control. Obviously, her voice was loud enough to get to the others as they started to cheer.


    ¡°Her highness decided to bring us something? How touching! I¡¯m so d, I think I would cry.¡± A voice teased to the rancidughter of the others.


    I was so mad I was certain steam was escaping from my ears and nose. My body tensed as I snapped at them. ¡°That is it. You do what you want. She is not giving you shit and you can go burn in hell for all I care.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± A voice replied.


    ¡°Watch me!¡± I growled. I could take them walking all over me but no one was allowed to hurt my friends. No body! I was still breathing heavily from the restraint I was exercising when ire¡¯s arm tightened around mine.


    ¡°It is okay. I already brought it anyway.¡± She muttered. I was about to protest when she ran a hand over my back. ¡°How is it?¡±


    In between my troubles, I had totally forgotten about my wounds but that was only possible because the treatment had reduced the pain considerably. ¡°It¡¯s much better.¡± I told her.


    ¡°Let me just take a look at it.¡± She muttered as she took off my garment which must now be a sorry excuse for a cloth. I groaned softly as she peeled off the bandages. She sighed in satisfaction as she looked at my back. ¡°You are right. I will just clean it again so they close up without leaving too many scars.¡± I sighed as the smell of spirits filled my nose. That was another gift that being wolfless gave to me.


    Unlike most wolves who healed almost immediately, I had to rely on treatments to get better which also meant that I had a whole lot of scars. Her cleaning the wounds did not hurt as much as they had the other night which was a relief. She quickly cleaned it and applied new bandages to prevent the still open wounds from getting infected.


    ¡°How is that?¡± She questioned once she was done.


    ¡°Heavenly! Thanks ire.¡± I muttered. I couldn¡¯t deny that I loved having her here. Seeing her here made a part of me ted to be free from the monotony of conversing with walls all day. And let¡¯s not forget that it saved me from absolute death by starvation.


    I sighed, allowing myself to enjoy the temporal peace. The kind you just know will notst for long.

 Come In Here, Beauty

    ire¡¯s Pov


    Having treated Indrik¡¯s back, I handed him a jar of water which he gulped greedily. I grimaced as I watched him. He had never been one to joke with his belly and now, he was restricted to eating only once in a day? Keeping this in mind, I had packed lots of energy food like legumes and whole grains.


    I watched contentedly as he gulped them down. Soon, he was done and he grinned his thanks. A fuzzy feeling consumed me and suddenly, all of the stress was worth it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just go attend to the others.¡± I muttered half-heartedly. Even in the semi-darkness, I could see his eyes grow darker but I had to, for his sake. Picking up a sackbag, I headed out.


    Reaching the first cell that was not his, I was hit in the face by a horrible stench. A mix of dried sweat, rotten food, and a whole lot of other things that I felt much morefortable not thinking about.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Hey!¡± He drawled and it took everything in me to not kneel over and puke all over his face. His breath stank like rotten eggs that had been mixed with festering mud. In the dim light of the torch, I could manage to see his face or what remained of it. He hadn¡¯t had a bath in what might have easily been forever and his beards had grown so long and twisted that I feared for the razor that tried to go through them. Being a wolf, I was able to see better in the darkness but I wished I couldn¡¯t because that meant I could see his ck teeth that had chipped and cracked, leaving uneven pieces looking lifeless in his mouth. He got off his haunches, an unseemly sight of skin desperately holding onto bones and crawled toward me. ¡°Beautiful.¡± He whispered, inhaling deeply. ¡°And fresh too.¡±


    The thought of being checked out by this smelly man irritated me to no end as I reached into my bag and pulled out a small bowl. I did not dare to open the door so I bent it slightly so it would fit in the crack between the iron bars. Luckily, the te was not too big. I was about to withdraw my arm when I felt something huge and scaly close around it. It took me a moment to realize that it was his arm which was not any less scary than the first thought that crossed my mind of it belonging to a massive rodent that ate flesh. ¡°Come in here, beauty. It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve been with a woman.¡±


    I wrestled against his arm which was surprisingly strong for a bony man such as himself. ¡°Let me go.¡± I cried as I dropped to my bum on the floor, struggling with all I had against this dirty monster.


    ¡°Come on beautiful. It will be good. I promise.¡± His voice was hoarse, like he hadn¡¯t spoken for ages and now his vocal pipes were only starting to be used to the exercise again.


    ¡°Let me go, you bastard.¡± My voice rang even louder and for a moment, I wished I had listened to my friends and stayed away from this dastardly ce.


    ¡°ire? Are you okay?¡± That was Indrik.


    ¡°Help!¡± I called without thinking. This man seemed to have the mind to smash me against these iron bars till I was crushed into jelly.


    Indrik rushed out and quickly found me with the aid of the light that had fallen to the ground. He reached me in a sh and stomped on the hand as hard as he could. The man inside snarled as he withdrew his hand. I hurriedly crawled backward, as far away as I could get from that horrible monster. Indrik picked up the torch and walked toward me. I shivered and shook his hand away when he first touched me. ¡°It is me!¡± He whispered softly. Looking into his sad eyes calmed me as I allowed him pull me into his arms. I remained there for a while crying my eyes out. ¡°You should go!¡± He said when my shudders finally started to get better.


    I couldn¡¯t have agreed more as forgetting everything else, I barged out of the cell ignoring the annoyed cries of the other prisoners. I almost ran past Ulo before he grabbed me and pulled me toward him. His worried eyes ran over my panicked ones.


    ¡°Are you okay? Did something happen in there?¡± He questioned, his right hand tightening around me while his left reached for his sword.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just leave!¡± My voice was cracked and I could see his nostrils re as his eyes dted. He could see that something was wrong but thankfully, he figured that I did not want to talk about it. Not here, at least.


    ¡°Fine!¡± He muttered softly as he guided me out of the dungeon. I was still shaken from my experience when we met Jamil. Ulo shook his head and he nodded grimly, understanding that something had happened. We didn¡¯t have any interruptions till we reached our quarters. I still couldn¡¯t speak as I opened my door and started to walk in.


    ¡°Will you be okay?¡± Ulo questioned, cing a warm hand on my shoulder as his eyes fell to my right arm which had taken the brush with the prisoner. Luckily, it had not been a very deep wound and had quickly healed but there were still bits of mud that I had a feeling was not just that as well as a horrid smell which my sensitive nose made even more prominent.


    My eyes were nk as I stared back at him. Would I be? I gave him no response as I slipped inpletely, shutting the door behind me.


    I walked into the bathroom and prepared myself a bath, clothes and all, wanting nothing more than to wash that stench off my body but something told me it would not be that easy.

 Holding Back

    Ulo¡¯s Pov


    I stepped away from the door, my heart simmering with rage. I wanted to punch something, rip something or just cause damage. I hated myself for having let her go in alone. What was I thinking, letting her go into that dangerous ce all on her own. Sure, she would have wanted to see Indrik but I should have gone with her. Maybe then, whatever had happened wouldn¡¯t have. Seeing her like that l, so weak and vulnerable got me feeling so mad and useless. If only I knew who had made her feel like that, I would have gone to them right now and hacked them into a million pieces.


    ¡°What happened with her?¡± Jamil asked, gesturing toward the shut door.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± I snapped, starting toward the backdoor. I wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep now. All my tiredness and exhaustion from earlier had vanished in the wake of my anger.


    ¡°Come on, Ulo. Not you too!¡± Jamil groaned as he came after me. ¡°Something definitely happened in there to shake her up that bad. What¡­.¡±


    ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t know, okay!¡± I growled, the words tasting like bile in my mouth. I don¡¯t know and that makes me mad in a way you couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine. Knowing would have given me direction, let me know the right thing to do to wipe that scared look off her face but guess what? I don¡¯t. I didn¡¯t say all these to him but they rumbled in my chest so much I felt I would explode into a million tiny pieces. I walked up to the huge tree in the center of the yard and punched it as hard as I could. That seemed to be hard enough as the huge tree shook from its base to its crown like it was having a seizure and shed a couple of overdue leaves. It¡¯s the winter season which made not so hard to do.


    Overhead, the moon that had been absent earlier had finally decided to make an appearance. It¡¯s not that impressive though because it is battling the clouds for dominance with each determined to be the most noticed which means the world beneath it is tossed into an uneven bnce of a fairly lit sky and a dark moonless night.


    ¡°Hey, man! You really should calm down. You sure you don¡¯t know what happened? You seem pretty ticked off to me!¡±


    I stopped, my rage blowing over like a deted balloon. I shut my eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to calm myself. When I opened my eyes again, I felt good enough to manage a smile which I shed at Jamil.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± I muttered. He squinted, trying to figure out what I was hiding but in the end, he gave up.


    ¡°You sure?¡± He asked again and I nodded.


    ¡°I just don¡¯t think I have any sleep left in me. I think I will go slip in some training.¡±


    ¡°You got it, man.¡± He grinned excitedly.


    I stared at him wondering if I should remind him that I hadn¡¯t invited him or just let him tag along. I settled on thetter since I knew he wasn¡¯t going to be dissuaded anyway. A look at the yard and I knew we could not use this ce. The thought of ire¡¯s reaction if she saw this ce ruined because we used it for training was enough to make me wince.


    ¡°The training grounds?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Race ya!¡± Jamil replied as he swiftly moved through the door with me on his tail. We could not afford to run inside the house to avoid ticking off some people who might not be as excited to lose sleep. Breaking out the front door, we jogged a couple of miles out the slightly open gates, past the sleepy eyes guards that watched us with the annoyed expression and of those who are used to being disturbed. The training grounds were just outside the pce putting enough distance to keep from disturbing the pce inhabitants with and the citizens.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    The training grounds stood on a prettyrge area and during the day, you could see young men training. The archers had their targets, the runners, their fields, the arm to armbaters are not left out and there is the area for sword fighters as well. During the day, this ce was always brimming with activity but at night, it became as silent as a graveyard. Despite the prowess of our Pack, we did not have a standard military. Sure, we have soldiers that can defend our borders but they all, (apart from a few who go for night patrol) go home at night to their families ready to bear arms if danger everes knocking. But they might as well wait forever because it has been ages since west had a major war. Thest one we had was over twenty years ago, a couple of years before we were born from what we heard. No one really talks about it but from what we heard, it was pretty bad.


    We walked to the center of the field and peeled off our swords, robes and shoes, essories we were supposed to have gotten rid of a long while ago. I flexed my muscles, enjoying the soft feel of grass under my feet.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think this show off is a little too much for someone that is going to be beat  in a moment?¡± Jamil teased.


    ¡°In your dreams!¡± I chuckled, enjoying the soft breeze as it danced through my hair. Training always did help me forget my troubles. ¡°Ready when you are!¡± I called, moving my left leg backward and raising my arms, one before the other in fight mode.


    ¡°Ready!¡± He called as he came against me, the air blurring between us as we danced back and forth, each trying tond a blow while simultaneously trying to defend. We were evenly matched which meant none of us managed tond a blow and eventually, we copsed to the ground, sweaty bodies glistening as we breathed heavily. My arms and legs were still aching from the hits I had deflected but none of that mattered as I basked in the bliss of mindless exhaustion.


    ¡°You know I was holding back right?¡±


    ¡°Sure you were.¡± Iughed, enjoying the feeling of having no worries. Tomorrow was a new day but for now, I decided to let it worry about itself.

 Caught Peeping

    Luna¡¯s PovContent ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I was going crazy. Or, that was how my mind wandering aimlessly made me feel at least. Never in my life had I been this holed up. After the breakfast turned interrogation session, I had remained in my room doing nothing other than sleeping and thinking, none of them doing me much good. I had managed the entire day inside my room and now, I felt I was going to go out of my mind if I did not get out. A major reason I did not want to go out was because of the two people that were just waiting to hack off my head. That and the fact that I was still a very unliked stranger but eventually even those were not good enough.


    I looked out the window and saw the moon glowing not so brightly overhead and thought about going out to the backyard. However, I had barely opened the door when the three friends came bustling in. I was in no mood to get into another fight so I simply stepped back into the room however, before I could shut the door, I noticed the usually veryposed ire looking very shaken and for a moment, I forgot to mind my business which was not very hard considering that our rooms stood opposite each other. I kept the door slightly open as I peeked, wondering what was going on with them. My eyes widened as I watched Ulo speak to ire just before she slinked into her room. Don¡¯t me me! I thought the guy was dumb with the way he never spoke a word, however little. Obviously, I was the one who was not fit to hear his voice. For a moment, I wondered if he hated me too. I shoved the thought as quickly as it hade. What did I care if he hated me? I was going to be out of here in no time.


    I shut the door as I watched them advance toward my intended location. Great, just great! I retreated to my room that had be so familiar, it was starting to drive me out of my mind. Here I was sitting on my bed in the middle of the night with no sleeping. Could my life get any worse? Going back to the window, I propped my cheek on the elbow and stared at the moon wondering if she would reply if I tried to converse with her. But even merely thinking the thought, I knew it was stupid. I was as good as dead to her, them till I managed to fulfill the task. The task! I sighed heavily as the word weighed on my heart, heavy as lead. I was feeling so homesick though that despite the thought, I decided to try it nheless.


    ¡°Hey, mother!¡± I whispered staring intently at the moon as though I expected the clouds to reorder themselves into an ¡®I am here.¡¯ Nothing of such kind happened. ¡°You are up there, aren¡¯t you? I know you are. I know you told me to right my wrongs but¡­¡± I paused, gulping. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to go about it. I know it is my mistake and that I ought to find a way to solve it myself however, I don¡¯t think I am up to the task. Could you show me a sign, maybe a dream to guide me on what exactly I ought to do?¡± I knew better than to expect a reply yet, I couldn¡¯t deny that as I knelt there, staring intently at the moon, I badly wanted an answer. Any sign, a wolf howling, a bird twittering, anything would have been wee at that moment but as though mocking me, the entire universe seemed to go silent. Even the slight breeze decided to take a break. I sighed, my heart breaking as I moved away from the window. I really was on my own and I couldn¡¯t even sleep.


    My ears pricked as I heard feet jostling past. I hurried to the door and sure enough, the two men were making their way out of the house. I wondered where they were headed and for a moment wished I could go with them. It would have been a wee break from this endless monotony but I knew that was impossible. Jamil would not mind but his otherpanion was the one I could not speak for.


    Watching them leave, I suddenly got a crazy idea. I would have shoved the idea away the very moment it popped up if I had not been dying of boredom. I shrugged my shoulders wondering what could be the worst that could happen.


    Looking down at my dress, it was all rumpled from tossing around in bed all day and I could bet that my hair looked even worse but I would live. With this thought in mind, I went after them while taking care to keep out of sight. The idea was to follow them to wherever they were going. I could think of a whole lot of ces that ady was not supposed to follow a guy to but I figured that I would stop following them if it became too messy. Besides, few things are new to you when you spend time in a ce like The Haven. With this thought in mind, I semi-ran and semi-sneaked behind them. Getting to the gate, it was kind of tricky to get past the guards but they weren¡¯t really on the lookout for a sneakingdy who tried her best to stay quiet so I managed to escape without much incident. I recognized the field they turned into from our tour in the morning. Seeing it brought back bittersweet memories that got my nose burning. I brushed it off as I continued after them.


    The field was a prettyrge one and the fact that it was open to the air did not make it any less impressive. It was decided into sections that I figured was filled with trainees in the day but were empty right now.


    I stayed out of sight as I watched the two men battle each other. They were pretty good with their limbs which made me wonder how they would do with swords. They dropped to the ground after a while during which time I lowered my guard as well which was why I did not notice Jamil sitting up and turning around.


    ¡°Luna?¡±

 Frustrated

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    My ears must have grown beet red with the amount of blood that rushed to my face from the embarrassment of being caught spying. I had turned my back on them to take in more of the environment and now, I couldn¡¯t bring myself toe face to face with him again. What would I tell him? I had sneaked after them to avoid dying from staring at my room walls all day and night? They were going to have me hanged without a doubt.


    ¡°Luna, it is you!¡± He repeated like I hadn¡¯t beaten myself up enough and I desperately wished the ground would open up to swallow me whole. I imagined the two men ring at me with hatred and felt the blood pounding in my ears.


    I jerked when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around slowly wishing that I could just turn invisible.


    ¡°What are you doing out here thiste at night?¡± He questioned and I noticed with relief that he did not have a resentful look in his eyes.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just stumbled here, I guess.¡± I tried to sound uninvolved but the loud pitch of my voice totally showed that off as a lie.


    ¡°Of course.¡± He muttered, his eyes lighting up. ¡°You must have been bored to death in that room. I am sorry that we are such bad hosts.¡± He shed his toothy grin. ¡°How about youe join us? Sleep is not showing any interest in us either.¡± He started to pull me toward the open space in the center of the field where Ulo still had his back turned.


    ¡°But,¡± I muttered, refusing to go along with him as I cast desperate looks at the spot where Ulo sat.


    He frowned then rxed when he noticed what was wrong. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so ufortable around them. They don¡¯t bite.¡±


    Of course, I knew they did not bite but I hated feeling like a third wheel which would definitely be what I would be, showing up in the middle of the night. Jamil did not leave me a choice though as he led me to their resting spot and made me sit in between himself and Ulo.


    ¡°Hey, Ulo, meet Luna!¡± I nced at Jamil and he winked. We had met before of course but we might have as well been meeting for the first time because we had never had a conversation of any sort before.


    Ulo looked me over coldly. ¡°I¡¯ve met her before.¡± He muttered disinterestedly as he returned to lying on the grass.


    ¡°Come on, Ulo, don¡¯t be such a sourpuss. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to say hi.¡± Jamil pushed.


    ¡°Hi!¡± He barked without sparing me as much as a nce.


    I turned a miserable eye toward Jamil silently telling him to let me go. It was obvious that I was not wee here so I had better leave before I made myself more hateful. Jamil though was not having any of that as he reached over and thumped him on the shoulder. ¡°Didn¡¯t you take any lessons in hospitality? Get up and be nice.¡±


    Ulo sat up so fast I was startled into pulling back. He fixed his eyes on me and snarled, baring his teeth. ¡°Be nice to who? Her? You really want me to be nice to this girl who has brought nothing but misfortune ever since her arrival in this pack?¡± His voice was heavy with hatred.


    ¡°Ulo!¡± Jamil called in disbelief. ¡°Not you too. Come on!¡± He sighed in exasperation.


    ¡°I am not like you, Jamil. You may able to see the good in everyone but I cannot. Ever since she arrived here, she has brought nothing but misfortune. First, Indrik and now, B¡­¡± He caught himself mid-sentence, his face flushed like he had been about to give much more information than he was supposed to. He pursed his lips,. looking at me with disdain before rising to his feet and walking away from us.


    ¡°Come on, Ulo!¡± Jamil groaned as he went after him. He paused then continued when he got no reply. ¡°You weren¡¯t like this before. This is about tonight, isn¡¯t it?¡± Ulo still did not reply as he walked even farther away.


    My nose burned even more as I rose to my feet, the ground suddenly seeming to grow so hot that I could not afford to remain on it. I turned and started to make for the pce. Meing here was proving to be more and more of a bad decision.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m sorry about that. Tonight has just been¡­. overwhelming, for all of us. I hope you don¡¯t hold that against him.¡± Jamil said as he caught up to me.


    I sniffled. ¡°He is right, you know? I only bring bad luck wherever I go to. You should probably stay away from me before I bring you trouble as well.¡± I blurted, my voice sounding alien to my ears.


    ¡°Now, now, Luna. Don¡¯t be ridiculous. None of the things that are happening here is your fault. They just need someone to take out their anger on  Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure they will alle around once Indrik is freed.¡± He reassured.


    ¡°Of course they will.¡± I muttered, the wordsing out as empty as they felt. ¡°I am sorry for snooping on you guys. It won¡¯t be happening again. You can go back now before you lose another friend thanks to me.¡±


    ¡°Luna!¡±


    ¡°Just go!¡±


    ¡°Fine! I will see you to the quarters so the guards don¡¯t give you any trouble.¡±


    We walked for a long while in silence. The guards raised an eyebrow but did not raise an rm thankfully.


    ¡°You hate me too, don¡¯t you? Everybody does.¡± I asked mournfully at my door. Ulo¡¯s words had hit too close to home making me feel rather sore.


    ¡°What?¡± He spat. ¡°I don¡¯t hate you and believe me, no one in their right mind would. You are a sweetdy I am d to have known. Besides, Indrik wouldn¡¯t have brought you home if you weren¡¯t, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    I wouldn¡¯t be so sure but his words soothed me enough to make me smile as I bid him a goodnight. This time, sleep did not elude me.

 Trouble

    ire¡¯s Pov


    I woke up feeling rather disoriented, a feeling that was bing more and more of a norm with me. I blinked as I sat up on the bed, trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes. It took about fifteen seconds for the memories toe rushing in. I looked at my hand where that man had grabbed mest night and shivered involuntarily. The grime was all gone as were the bruises but I could still feel the mmy hand on my arm, pulling me against my will. Sunlight streaked in through the open window and I moaned in pleasure, d to be reminded of my freedom. I got out of bed and saw my image out of the corner of my eyes. The sight was enough to make me draw closer to take another look. My hair looked like a snake had made a nest on one end and an eagle on the other. Sometime in the night, they had discovered each other and had an epic battle which left me looking like, well, take a guess. I brushed my hand through it absentmindedly until I heard a faint knock on the door.


    I ignored it at first as a figment of my imagination until it came the second time, with a soft, ¡°ire?¡±


    Opening the door, I came face to face with Ulo who shuffled ufortably on his feet. I stared at him, my eyes widening slightly in surprise. It had been ages since I hadst seen him standing before my room like this. Usually, I only ever came across him when we had one of our many meetings. Otherwise, he stayed out of my way. He was dressed in ck robes and had his sword strapped to his waist, the holster of which he could not stop fiddling with. He had obviously just had his bath as I could still catch the whiff of his coconut oil scented soap. He didn¡¯t seem to have had much sleep though with the heavy sacks under his eyes and the tired look in them. He towered over me but even so, I could still see him swarming and itching to leave which was not a surprise. He probably was the most socially awkward person I had ever met.


    I arched my brows questioningly when he still would not speak after what seemed like ages. He shuffled even more, opening and closing his mouth in failed attempts to speak. I cleared my throat and smirked as he squirmed even more. Don¡¯t me me, I couldn¡¯t help taking pleasure in torturing him. It was just so fun to watch as his ck irises switched between darker and lighter shades while he swallowed endlessly. I could watch him all day.


    About an eternityter, he finally got his act together enough to speak. ¡°I wanted to check on you.¡± He squeaked, then paused and inhaled, his hand already white around his sword. He got his bearing again and continued, st night left you really shaken and I wanted to make sure that you are all better now.¡±Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I smiled in gratitude. ¡°I am all better now, thanks. It was nothing a good night¡¯s sleep couldn¡¯t fix. And that is more than I can say for you. You look like you kept a vigil all night.¡± I muttered worriedly.


    ¡°I was worried about you.¡± He blurted before he could think then almost sunk into the ground when he realized what he had said. ¡°I mean¡­ you know¡­ it is¡­¡± He finally gave up on trying to exin as he gave me a miserable look. Maybe I should have said something to help him get over his embarrassment but I was just enjoying the show too much to have it interrupted. ¡°Do you want to talk about what happenedst night? Maybe someone you want us to teach a lesson?¡± For a moment, the hopelessly shy look in his eyes vanished and in its ce were the cold, vengeful eyes of the son of the Beta. Despite his shyness, do not make the mistake of thinking Ulo is weak. Against opposition, he can be very cold and brutal. One encounter with that version of him and trust me, you would totally prefer this stuttering guy.


    I bit my lips as I considered his words. I did owe them an exnation with how I had left them so worriedst night but then again, they would make sure I never return to that ce again if they found out so, ¡°no, Ulo. I am sorry for making you and Jamil so worried but it was me being silly really. You see, the condition in which I met Indrik was so sad that it got me running wild with emotions that I couldn¡¯t hold in.¡± I bit my lips, hating that I was lying to them but I convinced myself that I didn¡¯t have that many other choices.


    A cloud passed over his features and for a moment, I thought I saw disappointment in his features but it was gone before I could even make sure it was real. ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that.¡± He forced out a smile. ¡°I should get going.¡± His voice was so low that he might have as well been talking to himself.


    ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡± I replied and watched as he stumbled over his own feet as he made his way out the front door. I was about to return to my room when the door opposite mine opened and the face I loathed the most came popping out. I gave her my coldest stare. She was not as dumb as she appeared to be because she wisely slinked back in and shut the door. I sucked my teeth angrily as I used my own door as well, banging it with a loud report. I did not have much time to remain angry though as I suddenly realized that I might have gotten Indrik into trouble.

 Suspicious

    ire¡¯s Pov


    I paced around my room worriedly as I tried to remember if I had cleaned up after myself yesterday. I remembered opening the doors to the dungeon and Indrik¡¯s cell but I could not remember if I had shut them before leaving. I ran to the small bedside shelf and opened its lowest drawer. In there, lying peacefully was the bunch of keys that opened the dungeon. I almost exhaled in relief when I realized that the keys could be removed without locking the doors. If I by any chance had not locked the door after me then, Indrik would be in trouble without doubt when the guards came for patrol. The fear of Indrik getting into more trouble courtesy of me was a horrible weight that was pressing heavily on my shoulders. What made it even worse was the knowledge that I could not go to confirm it, not now at least, without making everything worse. Much worse.


    I was still pacing anxiously when a knock came on my door. I panicked, wondering if Indrik had already been caught and they were here to take me. The thought increased my guilt so much that I found it hard to breathe.


    The knock came again. ¡°ire!¡± I rxed, just enough to start breathing again. I knew that voice. It wasn¡¯t until the third knock that I finally recovered enough to go open the door though.


    Jamil whistled in surprise, backing up so he could get a clearer view. ¡°What¡¯s going on in there, B? You look like you¡¯ve seen a ghost. And your hair? It¡¯s a massacre.¡± He groaned, cing his hand on his chest like he really was grieving for the departed souls.


    ¡°Come on, Jamil! It¡¯s too early for silly jokes.¡± I snapped, my relief morphing into annoyance. I had been scared out of half of my life for nothing.


    ¡°Alright!¡± Jamil conceded, standing up straight as he took another look at me. ¡°You look all better now. You¡¯reing for breakfast or not?¡±


    I blinked as I processed his words. I hadn¡¯t even realized that time was that far gone. ¡°I¡¯ll be done in a moment.¡± I muttered as I vanished into the room with Jamil¡¯s voice straining after me.


    ¡°You had better be done in that moment, ire Willows or I¡¯m leaving you behind. I can¡¯t afford to get on Uncle¡¯s bad side again.¡±


    I buzzed through my humanization routine, (you know, the one where you throw off the monster you turn into from tossing and turning overnight and be the human that everyone likes to blow kisses at) and would have sworn that I kept to that moment but the tight look on Jamil¡¯s face when I joined him outside proved me wrong. Perhaps, I had spent too much time browsing through my array of dresses before settling for this lc dress or perhaps it was the time I spent throwing off sandals in favour of shoes and then deciding the first was better. Or¡­ oh, never mind! Whatever it was, I shrugged. ¡°We had better get going before we are toote.¡± I prodded when he would not move.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Just a minute!¡± He muttered as he walked to the door opposite mine and knocked. He was barely done when the door opened and the witch¡¯s face popped out with her ugly smile which faded when she saw me. I scowled just in time for Jamil to turn and see it. He shook his head like he couldn¡¯t believe how childish I was and whispered something to her beforeing over. ¡°Can you be nice, please?¡± He had to bend over so he could whisper in my ears.


    ¡°No!¡± I snarled back, loud enough for her to hear which was just as well because my burning eyes were fixed on her.


    ¡°Come on, ire! Just for today? For me?¡± He pleaded, sounding so desperate that my anger dropped a notch.


    ¡°Fine!¡± I growled, my voice not dropping an inch. ¡°But she had better stay out of my way.¡± My eyes did not leave hers, not even for a moment as I dared her to make one wrong move so I could rip out her eyes and feed them to her.


    ¡°Great!¡± His grin was so wide, I might have as well promised to bring back his runaway crush. ¡°Come on then!¡± He pulled me along till I was standing two feet away from her with Jamil as the only one standing between us. ¡°You don¡¯t think you two could hold hands?¡±


    The look I gave him was enough to freeze over a volcano. That and the not so subtle jab to his ribcage got him to change his mind quickly. ¡°Nevermind! We don¡¯t have to hold hands to be a happy family anyway.¡± Another jab to his rib got him raising his voice. ¡°Alright! Alright! Let¡¯s just get to breakfast in one piece, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay. Fine by me.¡± I sniggered, a bright smile on my face.


    The dining hall was much fuller than it was the other day which was not good news for me. At the head of the table as usual was Beta Green. Unlike yesterday though, at his right hand side was Zeta Ridrick who was engrossed in a deep conversation with him. On his left side was my mother, Gamma Victoria. Something told me she was supposed to be involved in that conversation except that she wasn¡¯t. Her eyes were fixed on me which made me very ufortable. I stumbled over to my seat beside Ulo. For a moment, I thought about teasing him about not reminding me about dinner but my mother¡¯s burning eyes on my skin made me forget about it. Other than those two, the rest were the same as yesterday, Leon, myself, Ulo, Jamil and that woman who I still could not figure out why she had to be here.


    The maids started to serve the food and the aroma was enough to make my belly growl in anticipation but none of it could shake the awareness that my mother was staring at me. I was in trouble. I just knew it.

 Fly

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    ¡°Do you always eat together?¡± I asked Jamil as we made our way toward the pce gates. Seeing three members of the council sitting together had made me slightly ufortable but luckily, they had not seemed to even notice my presence. Despite my difort, there was someone who their presence seem to unsettle even more. ire. Throughout the meal, she had spent all her energy focusing on avoiding her mother¡¯s gaze. I had looked around, wondering if anybody else noticed the awkwardness but either they all pretended not to notice or they considered it perfectly normal as everyone focused on their meals. If there had been any doubt, the way ire had ran off once she was done proved it. Shortly after her, Ulo had left as well, then Leon. I suddenly hated that I had asked for so much food. I had been feeling extremely hungry when I had arrived but now, knowing that three very suspicious eyes were fixed on me, the food suddenly lost its taste and became drier than a desert making me want to reach for the jug of water desperately since I had finished the one in my cup but it was sitting right before the Beta and I would either have to ask the Gamma to pass it or get up to pick it up myself. None of the options was feasible for me so I gave up altogether and rose to my feet as I made my way out. Jamil had met me halfway out which had surprised me because in my panic, I had totally forgotten he was still there. At first, I had half expected him to ignore me as well but he had continued to walk with me inpanionable silence before I broke it with my question.


    ¡°Usually, we do. Unless they are away for one reason or the other. Like yesterday for instance.¡±


    ¡°But why do they allow me to join on for breakfast? It is not like I am one of you. I am not even a wolf.¡± Even as I asked the question, I had a pretty good idea about why but I wanted to hear what he had to say.


    He chuckled. ¡°I think you know why, Luna. Come on, we should go see the Pack for real this time.¡±


    Thest time he had promised me a tour, we had had to cut it short so, instead of taking me around, he had simply shown me to a hill to the left side of the training grounds which had its back to the pce. From there, he had shown me the entire Pack with a bird¡¯s eye view. Now, he was going to show me everything for real. The idea both excited and unnerved me. Thest time we had a tour, we had run into some wolves who had shown me just how much they liked me and now, I was going to be meeting them in their numbers? Another notion that worried me was the fact that the territory I had seen was a very huge one and now, walking through it, on barefoot? It worried me.


    ¡°I will be right back.¡± Jamil veered off and was soon out of sight, leaving me standing uncertainly a few feet from the intimidating gates. Seeing them in the daylight struck so much more differently than it had at night. The gates were at least seven feet tall with sharp edges to discourage scaling which seemed a mere formality to me because I did not see how someone could get around the security outpost at the edge of the kingdom but then again, Jamil had mentioned the existence of other entrances. For a moment, I wished I could find it and get out of here already. The gates were painted white as were, I was starting to notice almost everything that could not move or talk. The parts of the gates that faced inwards was a big frame for a painting of a massive wolf leaping toward the moon. I scoffed at the ridiculousness even just as I started to hear the clip-clop of hooves. I raised my brow in wonder wondering if I had heard wrong but sure enough, two horses burst out of the corner Jamil had disappeared to.


    The horses pulled to a stop before me and raised their front legs, neighing impatiently as they blew hot air out of their noses. One was a brown mare with white spots while the other was a glossy ck stallion.


    ¡°Hop on!¡± Jamil grinned, extending the reins of the mare from atop the ck stallion which neighed, raising its hooves even higher than it had the first time.


    ¡°Horses!¡± I muttered silently, unable to believe my eyes.


    ¡°You are not scared of horses, are you?¡± Jamil questioned, his brows furrowing when I would not collect the reins.


    ¡°Scared?¡± I could hardly hold myughter as I collected the reins and lithely leaped astride the mare. I bent over the horse so closely that I could smell her, a mixture of hay and well, horse. I rubbed her neck fondly, sensing her impatience to burst onto the tracks. ¡°What is her name?¡± I raised my head long enough to ask Jamil.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Lea!¡± He replied, his face lost somewhere amusement and surprise. I hardly noticed though as I went back to my horse. It had been so long since I hadst been this close to a horse. She sensed it too as she rxed slightly.


    I rubbed her mane as I bent so my lips were beside her ear. ¡°Hey, Lea.¡± She snorted contentedly her legs tapping on the ground more calmly this time. ¡°I can see that you are raring to go. Guess what, I am too. How would you like to run?¡± She raised her hooves and neighed loudly. Iughed.


    ¡°Yes baby. Fly!¡± The next moment, the wind was zipping past my ears as we flew.

 A Lot To Do

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    The only thing I knew about this territory was the outline which I had seen from atop a hill. This was probably enough reason for me to let Jamil ride ahead so he could guide me but that was so not happening. Not if Lea was to be the judge at least. Her feet were moving in perfect sync as she leapedrge areas in bounds. Soon, we were in the heart of the pack and given that we were already closing in on noon, most of them were outside, going about their daily businesses. Before they could wave and say hi though, Lea had taken another huge leap turning them into tiny blurs in the distance. Jamil was trying to catch up on his stallion but Lea wasn¡¯t giving them any chance. My hair had been scattered in the billowing breeze, spreading into my eyes, nose and mouth so that I constantly had to brush them away. Rather than feel terrified though, I was ted. With the world zipping past, I felt like I was at the top of the world. Like¡­ I was free again. Riding always did that to me, even before I lost my ce. Soon, we left the habited ces behind and moved on to the ces where nature reigned supreme. Huge trees with dense foliage which seemed to not have been touched by winter. Animals, small ones like grass cutters and the bigger ones like deer all of which scampered as fast as they could. The birds, their songs seemed to be more melodious in here. And the smell. Oh! The heavenly smell of the forest. Nothing could ever beat that. I shut my eyes, my head falling slightly backward as I enjoyed the camaraderie of the forest which reminded me of home.


    ¡°Hey, Luna, Wait up!¡± Jamil called for the umpteenth time and like before, his call was lost in the wind. Finally, Lea slowed to a trot in an cleaeing. She made her way to a stream where she gulped the water greedily.


    ¡°Nice work, Lea!¡± I grinned, rubbing her lush mane before sliding off her. It was at this time that Jamil finally caught up, bursting into the clearing with his horse, both looking like they had had all the air beaten out of their lungs.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    Jamil stumbled off his horse, his face a picture of admiration. His horse made his way to the stream for a drink beside Lea. ¡°That was¡­¡± Jamil started, then paused as he keeled over, apparently not havingpletely regained his breath. ¡°Amazing!¡± Hepleted without raising his head. He finally got enough energy to raise his head again, ¡°where did you learn to do that?¡±


    I chuckled as I brushed my hand through my hair, trying to get all the strays back into ce. ¡°Somewhere far away.¡± I replied, my voice turning slightly wistful. ¡°Horses though?¡± My eyes brightened. ¡°Wolves riding horses? Sounds¡­. strange?¡± I stared at Jamil who returned it for a moment looking stunned. Then finally, he burst intoughter.


    ¡°What? You think because we are wolves, we ought to run everywhere?¡± He continued tough like I had just cracked the funniest joke in the world. ¡°Okay¡­ Alright..¡± He sniggered, raising his arms in surrender when he saw that I wasn¡¯tughing along with him. It took a while longer but he finally stopped. Thankfully. ¡°Sure, we are wolves, Luna but we can¡¯t be wolves every time of the day. When we are not wolves, we need a means of transportation and vo!¡±


    I nodded as I headed toward Lea who seemed to have burned off all the excessive energy in her body. She could still run but not with that breathtaking speed from earlier which soothed me just fine. She was not the only one who could use a break from the high. I patted her on the rump and she snorted. Jamil walked up to his horse as well. I took a look at the clearing we had walked into. The huge trees stood around in a semicircle, almost like a bow and through the middle of this bow, ran the stream like an arrow being fired. I sighed as I climbed atop my horse.


    ¡°It is not toote for the tour, is it?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. I just need to freshen up a little bit.¡± He replied as he hurried to the stream and scooping some water in his hands, sshed them on his face.


    Soon enough, we were riding on a trot back toward civilization but obviously, the tour included more then the civilized areas.


    ¡°This,¡± Jamil started, gesturing at the huge trees, ¡°is the limit of ournds. That stream marks the end of our territory and the beginning of Light Crest ws Pack¡¯s. We are not on talking terms so trespassing could earn you a whole lot more than a bath in the stream which means, stay on the right side.¡±


    ¡°Surely, their rtionship can not be that bad if they share boundaries.¡±


    Jamil looked me in the eyes quizzically as if to judge how much to tell me. ¡°Not that bad? Well, let¡¯s hope you never find out just how bad.¡± With that, he spurred his horse on, pointing at random nts. ¡°That is the root nt, it cures different ailments depending on how it is cooked. That is the glowing orn.¡± He pointed at something that looked more like a weed than a helpful nt. It is very rare in our kingdom and is forbidden for anyone to touch apart from the Pack¡¯s main doctor.


    ¡°How do you know all of these?¡± I finally asked when I could no longer control my curiosity.


    He shrugged without looking back. ¡°As a warrior, you have to know more than just how to fight. You have to know how to care for yourself and yourrades should things go wrong and things do go wrong a lot, trust me. Now,e on, we still have a lot to do.¡±

 Ready To Punish All Errants

    ire¡¯s Pov


    It was with great relief that I weed the arrival of dusk. I had taken great care to avoid running into Ulo and Jamil which was rather easy considering that none of them had returned to our quarters after breakfast. Watching the huge ball sink in a golden ze of colours, I was filled with an equal measure of dread and anticipation. Using the cover of darkness, I found my way to the kitchen where I slipped some food that I was pretty sure wasn¡¯t going to be missed.


    With the ease that is gotten from having done the same thing for the past three days, I meandered my way to the dungeon.  I had hardly gotten in when the prisoners started their protest which was even more intense now given that I had more or less dashed their hopes the other day. Well, we would have to live with that because there was no way I was stepping an inch away from the center of the path. They raised their voices but I was not going to give them the satisfaction of looking at them.


    I could see that Indrik was surprised that I woulde again with the way he froze for a second when he saw me. ¡°You¡­ you came.¡± He whispered and the look in his eyes made it all worth it. It took all I had to not go rushing to him. I didn¡¯t have to really because he rushed over as soon as I opened the door and ran his eyes over me, trying to see if I had any bruises left. ¡°Are you okay?¡± His voice was heavy with worry.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Indrik. I had toe make sure I did not get you into trouble with the way I left yesterday.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that because of me. I was so worried. I am d you are okay.¡±


    I wanted to smile but that quickly tapered out when I took in his features. The red light did not really allow me a clear view but it was enough to see that he was not in a good shape at all. His face was starting to break out with boils that must be so painful. I hoped that had not spread to the rest of his body. His usually dull eyes had grown even duller and his eyebags almost nearly reached his jaw. His robe was barely managing to hold together now and the stench¡­ And that was what I could see. I wondered how much worse things might actually be and this was only his third day. I really wished I could get him out of here before he would crumble but sadly, there was little I could do. This further served to deepen my determination to continue to help him.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go get you cleaned up.¡±N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    Taking care of him, I realized that he was going more and more weak. More like he was falling apart. He continued to stare nkly ahead not uttering a single sound. My attempts to draw conversation either drew an absent minded reply or none at all.


    Leaving left me even more miserable but I had no choice. I was still bemoaning his sad fate,pletely ignoring the outraged cries of the other prisoners when I exited the flight of stairs which was why I did not see the person that was awaiting me there before I ran into her.


    ¡°Looking for something?¡± Her cold voice sent shivers riding down my spine. Recovering from the shock of the fall, I was startled to find my mother standing before me. I swore under my breath suddenly realizing the reason why she had had her eyes fixed on me all morning. The reason why I had chosen to take her keys was not limited to the fact that I could go into her room without much restrictions although that yed a part as well. The keys to strategic ces in the pce are divided among the three main stakeholders which includes in the absence of the Alpha, the Beta, the Zeta and the Gamma. Of the three, my mother¡¯s set are the least used so I had figured she wouldn¡¯t notice it till Indrik was freed but apparently, I had been wrong about that.


    ¡°I asked you a question.¡± The Gamma repeated, her eyes almost as bright as the torch I was holding.


    ¡°Yeah, I thought this ce would lead to the stables. Silly me. I will just go use the good old paths.¡± I replied, making to slip past her but her eyes froze me on a spot.


    ¡°I thought we had already spoken about this.¡± She sighed.


    ¡°No, mother. You said what you thought was right and I did what I thought was right.¡± I replied, my initial shock fading and a simmering anger taking its ce.


    My mother red at me for so long that I thought I was definitely in trouble this time, expecting her to have me thrown into the dungeon till I was ready to be more well behaved. Instead, she exhaled slowly as her eyes softened. ¡°Walk with me, will you?¡± She turned and started to walk away, implying that it wasn¡¯t a question. I locked the door as silently as I could before hurrying after her.


    We walked in silence till we got out of the white doors which was when she cleared her throat. ¡°What do you know about Peak Druid Pack?¡±


    I blinked, wondering what this was about. ¡°I know that we are one of the most powerful packs. We¡­¡±


    ¡°Good, child.¡± She cut me off mid-sentence. ¡°I am d you mentioned that. You see, a lot of work goes into making a Pack. Even more work into making a Pack that can hold up its head among its peers. It is sad though that it doesn¡¯t take a quarter of that work to topple it and the higher you are, the more easier it is to fall on your face.¡± She stopped in her tracks so suddenly, I almost ran into her but luckily, I managed to catch myself in time.


    ¡°I hate seeing Indrik in there as much as you do. Maybe more. But we have to ensure the safety of the Pack. For that, we must be ready to punish all errants, even if they are frail.¡±

 Day Of Release

    ire¡¯s Pov


    Finally, it was the day that Indrik would be freed. It seemed like ages since he had been whipped and thrown into a dungeon like he had killed someone but finally, everything was going to be alright now. I woke up long before daybreak, eager to see Indrik out in the open again. Soon, I was ready to go but the sun seemed to be taking pleasure in torturing me as it refused to rise despite the fact that it had been a thousand and one hours since I had awakened.


    After the encounter with my mother, I had been unable to return to the dungeon because my mother had collected her keys and tightened the security out the area. I had spent the past few days worrying my hair off which was what made this day even more exciting.


    I paced back and forth in my room until I couldn¡¯t take it anymore and exited through the doors. I hurried to the other end of the rows of room and knocked on thest one on my row. It took three consecutive knocks to bring the sleepy eyed Jamil to the door. He was wearing a rumpled white v-neck and a trouser that looked like it could take two more sets of legs. I wondered how he even managed to move in that.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it is a little too early to be wearing makeup?¡± He asked once he had ovee his initial grouchiness at being practically dragged out of bed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know what day it is today?¡± I asked, staring at him incredulously.


    ¡°A day to wake up in the middle of the night and appear makeup with which to torture innocent sleepy men?¡± He asked drily, still sore about being woken up.


    ¡°You fool!¡± I eximed indignantly. ¡°Indrik is going to be freed today. Don¡¯t you remember?¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t till muchter, youngdy.¡± He replied, trying to shut the door in my face but I was faster in putting my high heeled shoe in its path.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Oh no, you don¡¯t. You are going to go in there and get ready so we can prepare a nice wee for him.¡± I informed.


    ¡°Oh,e on.¡± He grumbled. ¡°Alright, let me just get some more sleep and then I wille over.¡± He made to shut the door again but I had not removed my blockade.


    ¡°No more sleep for you, Jamil. It is already daybreak so you had better do what I asked while I am still being nice.¡±


    He exhaled heavily, realizing that I wouldn¡¯t be turned away that easily. ¡°Alright! Fine! I will go get ready. Now, could you please let me shut the door?¡±


    ¡°I would be happy to. Just make sure you go do exactly that. I will get Ulo and be back in a moment. You had better be done by then.¡± Without waiting for a response, I hurried over to the opposite room.


    It took a lot of effort and grumbles but the room was finally ready. I crossed my hands over my chest as I admired our work. We had changed the bedspread and added a personal touch of roses. The pillows had been exchanged for the softest set I could find. An extra pair of clothes had been set on the bed and a steaming hot bath was ready in the bathroom. The bedside shelf had been moved so it could take on the tray of food. The room had been cleaned thoroughly and a whiff of the air would have you longing for vani. Truly, he had long since stopped staying here but a look at this ce and he might just reconsider that decision.


    I had already sent Ulo to call on the doctor so he could check on him the moment Indrik got out.


    Satisfied, I exited the room and made my way to the pce to go receive my long lost friend. I had no patience to wait for the council to decide on when to release him as I made my way to the jail doors and ordered them to bring out my friend. They refused at first until the Beta came along and backed me up.


    While we waited, I actively evaded the eyes of the Beta to avoid him seeing my expression.


    ¡°Where are you going to take him?¡± He questioned, his tone nd.


    ¡°To his room.¡± I replied, hoping I did not sound as disrespectful as I had sounded in my head.


    I could feel his eyes burning holes through me. ¡°Very well.¡± He replied as he walked away.


    I exhaled, d to be free from his suffocating presence.


    The guards returned, each with one arm around his shoulder. My breath caught in my throat when I saw him in broad daylight but it was knocked clean out when the guards removed his arms from their necks and pushed him toward me. Indrik, weak and drowsy from having spent so much time in that ce stumbled toward me, barely conscious enough to hold himself up. Luckily, I managed to catch him before he could fall. Wrapping an arm around my shoulder, I red at the guards before picking my way out very carefully. Luckily, we were met at the entrance by Ulo and Jamil who freed me of my burden.


    The first thing they did was to help him take a bath since he was too filthy to remain that way and too weak to do it. After that, the doctor came to check up on him. The whole while I remained outside, pacing to and fro impatiently.


    ¡°How is he?¡± I bounded toward the doctor the moment he stepped out of the room.


    The doctor sighed as he fiddled with his pouch. ¡°The wounds on his back did not get infected, luckily although he did get other infections. I have treated him the best way I can. I will prepare some drugs for him to use. Other than that, we have to wait till he is awake.¡±

 Verè´¸nica

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    It has been two days since I have been tending to my master, Indrik. After he was brought back, I had officially resumed my duties as his maid, cleaning him up, tending to his wounds, watching over him and most of all, making sure that he doesn¡¯t join his ancestors in his sleep. Not my dream job, but well¡­


    I dropped the bowl of water that I was bearing in my arms on the shelf by his head and took a look at him. Since his arrival, he had developed a huge fever coupled with the huge pink boils that have popped up on his arms and legs. Walking closer, I ced an arm on his forehead and removed it almost immediately. His body temperature was so hot, it was a wonder my palm was not singed. I sighed as I adjusted his nket and started to give him a wipe over.


    He had been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past two days, always muttering gibberish in his sleep which was why I was so surprised to see his eyes snap open. It took a while for him to focus his vision but when he finally did, he cracked a weak grin which looked rather awkward considering that hisplexion was rather pale.


    ¡°Master!¡± He whispered. His voice was hoarse from not having been used for the heavens know how long.


    ¡°You are hallucinating. Go back to sleep.¡± I muttered as I continued with the wipedown.


    ¡°It is good to finally see you again.¡± He continued like he hadn¡¯t heard what I had just said. ¡°Those days in the dungeon were endless but the thought of you being out here kept me going. I¡­¡±


    ¡°You want some water? I will get you some water.¡± I interrupted him, going over to the table which stood to one side of the room. It contained some fruits, some flowers that gave off an annoying scent, (White eyes had insisted on bringing them in), and thankfully, a jug of water and a cup. Filling the cup, I brought it to him and ced it over his nose. Still lying on the bed, he stared at me incredulously. ¡°Fine!¡± I humphed as I put the ss aside and helped him to sit up.


    ¡°You know, you are lucky you didn¡¯t have to go to the dungeon. That ce is a nightmare.¡± He announced once he was done drinking.


    ¡°Yeah, right!¡± I replied. ¡°Now, go back to sleep, will you?¡±


    I returned the cup to the table and came back only to find him studying my every move. ¡°What!¡± I snapped, not appreciating being watched like I was a prey.


    ¡°A thank you wouldn¡¯t hurt, you know?¡± He muttered.


    ¡°Of course. What was I thinking? I should probably fall t on my face and roll around, thanking you for your great sacrifice. I think not.¡± I scoffed, returning to the bowl as I started to wring the cloth.


    He narrowed his eyes until they were little wider than slits. ¡°You do realize that I did you a favour, don¡¯t you?¡± He husked.


    ¡°One that I asked you for, right? Listen to me, will you? I don¡¯t care who you are or what you think you have done for me but if you think I am going to thank you for taking me away from my life then you are dead wrong. I would much rather drop dead first.¡± I scowled, my anger taking me over as I dropped the cloth and red at him.


    ¡°Taking you away?¡± He repeated like he couldn¡¯t understand what I had just said. ¡°I thought you would appreciate what I did for you. Your life was a nightmare over there and all I did was save you from that.¡±


    ¡°All hail the saviour. Just go back to sleep, will you?¡± I growled.


    He seemed stunned for a moment, then he blinked and rxed, inhaling deeply. ¡°I can¡¯t go back to sleep. Not for now, at least. So, how about we talk about my training?¡± His eyes gleamed with excitement as he curled his legs under his body.


    I stared at him nkly. ¡°I don¡¯t see how that is any concern of mine! If you are not going to sleep, could you tell me what else you need?¡±This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    The light in his eyes faltered but it was only for a moment. ¡°My training. You are supposed to train me, master. Remember?¡±


    ¡°And who is your master? I think your time in the dungeon has messed with your brain, master. I am your maid.¡±


    For a moment, I thought he was going to explode with how tightly he gritted his teeth. ¡°Fine!¡± He grumbled. ¡°But get me some food, will you! Or are you perhaps nning to starve me to death?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Why didn¡¯t you say? I will be right back, master!¡± I replied as I walked to the table and returned with two apples.


    The look he gave me got me wondering if I had suddenly grown two horns on my forehead. ¡°Are you dense or something? I asked you for food. How does this fit into the description?¡±


    For a moment, the apples trembled in my hand as I was tempted to feed him the apples through his nose. Instead, I smiled sweetly, ¡°the doctor said you should eat only fruits for now.¡± I exined.


    ¡°By any chance, do I look like a vegetarian? Get out there and get me some food, maid!¡± He ced emphasis on thest part, a smile tugging at his lips.


    I clenched my fingers around the apples, trying to control my temper. ¡°I can do this.¡± I whispered as I turned around and stomped to the door. His voice stopped me at the door.


    ¡°And where are you going with those apples?¡±


    I turned around and sent him the coldest look I could muster.


    ¡°Bring them over, will you?¡± He stretched a lumpy arm.


    The sight of the arm was enough to lighten my mood as I returned to him and handed him the apples.


    ¡°Now, run along!¡± He waved as he bit into an apple, winking at me.


    I would have smacked him there and then if the door had not opened and a woman rushed in.


    ¡°Indrik!¡± She shrieked, running over to him and throwing her arms around him.


    ¡°Veronica!¡± He choked, the remaining color draining from his face.

 Maid Servant

    Indrik¡¯s Pov


    Listening to mytest master turn me down sent me down a spiral of emotions ranging from hurt, to disappointment, to anger. I almost nearly snapped but something held me aloft. Something that differentiated her from all of my other masters. Unlike the others, she was mine. So, what if she had made up her mind to not teach me? We still had a whole lot of time ahead of us to get used to each other and a lot of time for her to change her mind. So, she wanted to y the maid? Two could y that game.


    I was starting to enjoy our little game when someone came barging in. Someone that I had hoped would stay away from me, forever. Veronica!


    I would have covered my nose with both of my hands if she wasn¡¯t squeezing them so tightly right now. As usual, she was overdoing everything that had to do with her. I cursed under my breath wishing that I wasn¡¯t feeling so weak right now. Maybe then, I would have been able to slip out of her grip and get as far away from here as I could.


    ¡°Indrik! I missed you so much.¡± She sobbed, squeezing me even tighter so that, every ce that didn¡¯t hurt started to hurt and the ces that were already hurting began to hurt even more.


    ¡°Veronica!¡± I groaned, wriggling in her grip but she wouldn¡¯t let go.


    ¡°I heard about what happened. I am so sorry. I came over here as soon as I could.¡± She let me go so suddenly that I almost fell over as she stepped back to take a wider look at me.


    From the corner of my eyes, I could see Luna exit the room with an irritated look on her face. Who could me her? I would leave this ce as well if I had a choice.


    ¡°Look at you!¡± She gasped, cing her hand over her mouth like I was some child of hers that had sneaked out to y against her permission and was now extremely filthy. Speaking of filthy, I think she could fit into that category just as easily with her makeup that looked like a horse had dipped its hoof in her makeup container and then stamped it on her face. Everything she used was excessive, ranging from her eyshes that had been dusted with so much powder, her eyes were practically drooping under the weight, to her cheeks, that had been brushed till they now looked really pink. Her lips were dripping with whatever she applied on them. Let¡¯s not even talk about her perfume that was so strong, it could choke one to death. ¡°What did they do to you?¡± She picked up my arm and examined it.


    ¡°Veronica!¡± I groaned, pulling my arm out of her grasp. I would have risen to my feet if my body would have allowed it, sadly though, I still was not strong enough for that so, I had to make do with what I could do.


    ¡°Yes!¡± She cooed, batting her eyshes in what would probably have been a flirty gesture if she did not look like thetest powder ghost in town.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked calmly.


    She batted her eyshes again before making a show of dropping a brush I hadn¡¯t even noticed she was holding. ¡°Sorry!¡± She giggled as she turned around to pick it up, throwing her back in my face. I scoffed, turning my face away from it. Don¡¯t get me wrong, she is a prettydy. Long blond hair, pretty oval face, an hourss shape and a fairly average height, she definitely is an eye turner. Getting up, she cat walked toward me and took up a seat beside me on the bed. As if that was not enough, she picked up my arm and ced it on herp, stroking it tenderly. ¡°I can¡¯t believe they would do such a thing to you. How could they?¡± She moaned like she was the one who had been locked away for a whole week.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± I snapped, wresting my arm from herps. ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer my question. What are you doing here?¡± I repeated, ring at her.


    ¡°Come on, Indrik. Isn¡¯t it obvious? I came here because I love you and was worried about you. Hearing about what had happened to you, I couldn¡¯t keep still anymore. Uncle did not want me toe but what choice did he have?¡± She giggled again like she had just told me a very funny joke.


    ¡°You should go back to your uncle.¡± I muttered drily, groaning as I raised my legs off the floor and onto the bed, scooting as far away from her as I could.


    ¡°Indrik, why are you doing this to me?¡± She asked, her voice breaking. I could tell she had started to cry, again.


    I sighed. ¡°I am not doing anything to you, Veronica! You are the one who insists on hurting yourself. I have already told you, we cannot be together. Not now, not ever. There are a million other wolves out there, men much better than me. Choose one of them, please, not me.¡±


    ¡°But Indrik!¡± She reached over to touch my arm but stopped midair when the door was opened. Looking over, I was d to see Luna at the door. She was hesitating, obviously confused about what to do.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°You are just in time, Luna. Bring the food over. I am starving.¡± I called. She started toe in when Veronica rose to intercept her.


    ¡°Hand it over. I will help him to it.¡±


    ¡°No! Please, don¡¯t! I only eat food from my maid¡¯s hands. Doctor¡¯s orders.¡± I quipped. I couldn¡¯t see her face but I could imagine her growing whiter. ¡°And Luna, could you please see her to the door? I don¡¯t fancy eating before a crowd.¡±


    There was silence for a moment then a choked, ¡°Indrik!¡± Followed by a scuffle of feet with the door banging loudly.


    I sighed as I sat up again to Luna¡¯s incredulous eyes.


    ¡°My food, please!¡±

 Fiancee

    Indrik¡¯s Pov


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± I snapped, not very happy with the knowledge that Luna had been staring at me without blinking.


    She scoffed as she walked forward and dropped the tray she was still holding on the bed before me. ¡°Here! I hope you like that.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I called glumly, halting her in her steps. I opened a tter and the heavenly aura of pot roast filled my nostrils. I almost sighed in satisfaction but instead, I mmed down the cover on it as hard as I could, sending her a fierce scowl. I opened the others as I continued to scowl, much against my stomach¡¯s volition. At the end, I raised my head toward her, ¡°what is this?¡± I growled and it really wasn¡¯t that hard to look angry. I had already been slightly irked by her announcement that she would not train me and then, Veronica hade along too. Seeing her, I had barely been able to hold myself from swinging my arm in her face. That was how annoyed and irritated she made me feel. All of that anger needed an outlet which Luna just happened to be.


    She frowned as she walked closer, stretching her neck to catch a glimpse of what I was talking about. ¡°You don¡¯t like the food?¡± She questioned, barely managing to hold in her irritation but I couldn¡¯t care less. She was the one who had decided that was all she was going to be so she was going to have to learn to live with that.


    ¡°I changed my mind. Since the doctor advised me to take fruits, I have decided to go along with that. But those would not do. I need fresh fruits so, I want you to go to the pce garden and get me some.¡±


    A look of absolute hate burned in her eyes for a moment but I couldn¡¯t care less.


    ¡°Run along then. I am starving.¡± I muttered, staring her down coldly.


    She huffed angrily but left nheless, the door shutting with a loud report. I winced, feeling sorry for the door that had been rough handled twice in a row.


    With her gone, Iy down on my bed, staring at the ceiling. It was a beautiful thing to look at with the emblem of the Pack disyed beautifully at the center, a white wolf standing at the edge of a cliff, his snout turned up in a howl while the full moon beamed brilliantly behind it. Around it were other intricate designs that always calmed me down. They didn¡¯t disappoint even now as I stared in contentment, taking them in. I was watching them with a smile when I heard a knock at the door. I frowned, wondering who it was. It couldn¡¯t be Luna because she knew better than to knock. The knock came again.


    ¡°Who is there?¡± I tried to call but all that came out was a squeak. I groaned in frustration. The door opened with a slight squeak as a familiar face peeked in. She looked around before finally fixing her eyes on me with a look that bothered between relief and surprise.


    ¡°You are awake!¡± She muttered like she couldn¡¯t believe it as she helped herself into the room.


    ¡°ire!¡± I breathed, d to see her in the light of day again. She wore a ck gown that fit her perfectly. I could not see what she wore on her feet but I didn¡¯t need to see to know it would be just as good. Small sweat drops shimmered on her forehead giving me the idea that she had run all the way here.


    She scanned me, her eyes resting with displeasure on the sores that dotted my skin. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were awake already. You were unconscious for two days. I¡¯ve been so worried. How are you feeling now? Do these hurt? Do you need something?¡± Her words ran into each other with her barely stopping to breath.


    I ced an arm on hers, hoping she could see the gratitude in my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m fine, ire and it is all thanks to you. Thank you for¡­¡± I was interrupted by a cough during which time ire slipped her hand from mine and got me some water. I downed it in a gulp and started to feel better.


    ¡°I am sorry I couldn¡¯te after the third day. I¡­¡± Her voice caught in her throat.


    ¡°ire! You don¡¯t need to apologize. Without your help, I doubt I would be in so good a shape. I hope you know how grateful I am. I will make it up to you one day. I promise.¡± And I meant every single word of it.


    She seemed to be caught between the desire to cry and the urge to crush me in a hug for a moment. She settled for thetter much to my relief. I really couldn¡¯t afford to deal with cryingdies right now. We remained in the embrace for a while during which time I noted her vani scented perfume that was rolling off her in pleasant waves. In a way, she reminded me of Veronica in that they were both fans of makeup and entuating beauty. The difference was that ire did it in a way thatplemented her beauty. It seemed to scream, I know I am beautiful, take a look and be convinced. And, yeah, she is beautiful. Lush brown waist length hair, white eyes that are set under elegant brows in an equally impressive face, wless milky white skin, need I say more?  Veronica on the other hand was totally dependent on it. She seemed to apply makeup in a bid to conceal her identity and create a new one with powder and paints. That, was not something I fancied.


    We separated from the hug as she sat beside me, one leg crossed over the other, picked up a strand of her hair and started to twirl it around her fingers, a yful light that I could recognize entering her eyes. I tensed, knowing she was about to say something I would likely strangle her for. She didn¡¯t disappoint.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I saw your fiancee on my way here and she didn¡¯t look very pleased.¡±

 Crazy Bitch

    ire¡¯s Pov


    I could barely hold in my smile as Indrik fumed. Watching him get mad was always a fun thing to see. From the way his forehead wrinkled, to the way his face hardened as the muscles on his face stood out, to the way his lips curled cutely, to the way his eyes zed like it was going to break out in raging ck fire in a moment, to the way his jaw clenches in a perfect manifestation of masculine beauty, everything about him does in fact go from handsome to dangerously cute whenever he is mad.


    ¡°She is not my fiancee!¡± He growled, his voice husky from his trying to keep his anger in check. His eyes ze in silent warning for me to get off the topic but I wasn¡¯t about to stop when my fun was only just starting. I smirked as I moved even closer taking note of his clenching fists. They are not muscr, in fact, the sight of them would be enough to make the weakest wolf in the pack go mad withughter but somehow, it still managed to entuate his beauty. Yes, I did call him beautiful. Inky ck air, dull ck irises set under elegant brows, a narrow imperial nose, firm lips, slender limbs that are not too veiny nor too thin that hang on an elegant tall frame. Tell me what that is if not beautiful. Forget his sores. They only add to his elegance. As always, being this close to him, inhaling his manly scent is enough to make me giddy.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she agrees with that. I heard her telling the guards at the gate that you would get back at them for dying her.¡± I sounded the words out, watching for his reaction and sure enough, he all but steamed through his ears as the fire in his eyes broke out.


    ¡°The nerve of that over painted, self absorbed¡­¡± He spouted so many unseemly words that my ears stung. I wasn¡¯t a fan of the girl, what with her arrogance and ¡®I¡¯m above you all. Bow before me attitude!¡¯ but even I couldn¡¯t help wincing.


    ¡°Come on, Indrik, be nice!¡± I had to butt in before his words would blow the girl into woods as she returned to her pack.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    He looked like he was going to say more but he stopped himself with a massive sigh. ¡°It¡¯s just, I don¡¯t know what to do with her anymore. I have exined to her over and over about how we could never be together but she just seems to only hear what she wants to which, by the way, does not include anything I say.¡± He sighed again as his shoulders drooped.


    ¡°And the most annoying thing is that everyone supports her. No one cares what I think or want. All they care about is that I get married to the girl they have arranged for me.¡± He raised his head and this time, his eyes were burning with a different fire. One of unshakeable determination. ¡°I am not going to do what they want.¡± He growled.


    ¡°Oh, Indrik!¡± I cooed, picking up a clenched fist in mine. I badly wished there was something I could do to help other than pat itfortingly. Growing up, Indrik had kind of been the butt of every joke in the Pack. ¡°Let¡¯s go train! Oh, sorry, I forgot you had no wolf!¡± Big joke. Everything about him revolved around this thing that he did not have and wittingly or unwittingly, he became the clog on the wheel. The one who had no purpose in the pack other than to eat and loiter around all day.


    So, when he ran into Veronica Steiner, the niece to Rudolf Steiner, the Alpha of Light Crest ws Pack, a pack which is almost on par with the Druid Peak Pack, and she fell head over heels for him, it was decided unanimously that he go with her. After all, what more could he hope for? Without her, he was doomed to be a nobody. At least, with her, he had a chance of bing the Alpha of a powerful pack since the current Alpha was childless. Everyone agreed immediately that they get married without bothering to consult the groom. On finding out, the groom had not had any choice other than to go along. They had continued to go on with this arrangement until one day, Indrik suddenly came out of the blues and announced that he wasn¡¯t going to marry her.


    I was pulled out of my thoughts as the door creaked open and a certain maid came bouncing in with an ugly drown face and a tray in her hands.


    ¡°Here! Your fruits, freshly plucked from the garden like you demanded.¡± The maid growled as she mmed the tray on the bed before him.


    He seemed too spaced out to react but there was no way I was going to watch the maid slight him like this. ¡°What do you think you are doing?¡± I scowled. She whirled toward me with an arched brow like she was just noticing I was in the room as well.


    She bowed slightly in a manner that seemed more like a mockery than a greeting. ¡°I am delivering my master¡¯s orders, ma¡¯am.¡± She replied tersely.


    ¡°Like that?¡± I trailed my eyes from her to the iron tray thatid on Indrik¡¯s legs.


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. My master said he likes his fruits fresh.¡± She stared back at me defiantly.


    I gritted my teeth in anger, barely able to hold myself back from getting up and pping her hard in the face. ¡°Are you dumb or something? I don¡¯t know where you came from but I am sure the servants don¡¯t shove their food up the throat of their masters there so, would you quit being a crazy bitch and do your job?¡±

 A Heart Shaped Locket Of Hairs

    Veronica¡¯s Pov


    Tears stung my eyes as I spurred the horse to move faster, the wind wing at my face. My heart felt heavier than lead in my chest as I recalled how Indrik had spurned me, disgracing me even before his maid. The path before me blurred as the tears poured without restraint.


    Reaching the golden gates of the pce, I barged in, barely noticing the beautiful sights that rolled past. The horse pulled to a stop before the pce and I slid off it, not caring about what happened to it as I ran into the pce. I could barely see ahead of me as I made my way to my room.


    ¡°Where are youing from?¡± The booming voice of my uncle stopped me in my tracks just as I reached out toward my doorknob. My entire body trembled at the realization that I had been caught red-handed. I knew I was supposed to turn around but my face was still wet with my tears so I didn¡¯t dare to.


    ¡°Vee?¡± He called again, more softly this time as he started to approach me. An involuntary shiver consumed me again as I wished I could just open the door and escape his questions.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    ¡°Uncle!¡± I tried to speak but it came out as a croak and another tear rolled down. I subtly raised my arm and made a futile dab at my face, hoping I could avoid him seeing it.


    ¡°Veronica?¡± He called again, this time, his warm breath on my cold neck making me more skittish as he ced a warm hand on my shoulder. ¡°Are you¡­¡± His voice hardened as he turned me around to face him, ¡°crying!¡± He finished, his blue eyes burning with a kind of vengeance. I shivered again, knowing I was definitely in trouble this time. ¡°Who did this to you?¡± He growled, his huge arm growing tighter around my shoulder.


    My eyes flitted as I thought about what to do. He couldn¡¯t know where I had been. No! If he did, he was going to bring hell down on the both of us and I couldn¡¯t afford that. I managed a shortughter. ¡°What? No! I only went for a short ride through the woods. The horse was fast and the winds were harsh which got my eyes tearing up. That¡¯s why¡­¡± I pointed to my face and added a wide-eyed helpless look that he could never refuse.


    His eyes narrowed as he moved in closer, running his eyes over me. He spun me around slowly and by the time I came face to face with him again, I knew that he hadn¡¯t bought it. ¡°Where in the woods did you go exactly?¡± He asked coldly.


    Iughed again as his eyes trailed from mine down to my feet. I followed it and panicked at what I saw. I needed to draw his attention, and fast. ¡°The pine woods, uncle. I have been feeling so cooped up these past few days and needed to clear my mind. The ce always manages to cool me down. You remember the first time I went there? You had taken me there?¡± I was smiling but it soon faded when he would not raise his eyes from my feet.


    My heart flew to my throat as he slowly raised his head, his eyes incredibly stormy, the way they got when he was extremely mad.


    ¡°When did the pine woods sprout a river?¡± His voice was calm but I knew better than to buy into that. My lie had been found out.


    ¡°Uncle!¡± I tried again but his icy cold eyes shut me up.


    ¡°You went to see him again.¡± He muttered distastefully, his jaws set as he eyed me like he was trying to decide whether to beat me up for being such a fool or beat me up for being such a great fool.


    ¡°Uncle, I¡­¡±


    ¡°How could you?¡± He snapped, his huge muscles tensing like he was about to pounce. Something told me I knew who his victim would be and it wouldn¡¯t be a deer. ¡°After all that¡­ that.. imbecile has done to you! To us! You still choose to go to him? Do you have no shame, girl?¡± He growled angrily, his voice reverberating all over the long corridor. The guards were standing still like they were trained to, acting like they were totally oblivious to what was going on. Maybe they were, because they wouldn¡¯t dare to spill a word of what happened here but that did not make me feel any better. Not when my uncle, the Alpha was towering over me with eyes that were zing with anger. I knew my uncle wouldn¡¯t hurt me but they didn¡¯t stop me from feeling like cowering before his rage.


    Luckily, someone stepped in to save me, right before I passed out from a panic attack. ¡°Rudolph? What is going on?¡± My aunt appeared out of nowhere.


    ¡°Aviel!¡± My uncle moaned as he turned toward her. ¡°Can you believe she went to see that¡­ mongrel?¡± He spat thest word out like it was still a term that was too honourable for the one it addressed.


    My aunt nced at me but it wasn¡¯t with judgement. She moved closer to my uncle and ced an arm on his chest. ¡°How about we talk about thister? The poor girl looks exhausted.¡±


    He looked like he was going to protest but against his wife, my uncle stood no chance as he was led away. I sighed as my shoulders drooped. I opened my door and stepped in, d to be free from that episode.


    Inside my room, I removed my golden heart shaped locket and ced it on my bed. Reaching for my hair, I snapped a hair strand. In my other hand was a strand of ck hair. I entwined the two and carefully folded them into the locket. With a smile, I returned it to my neck.


    He might not know it yet but Indrik is going to be mine.

 Game Time

    Indrik¡¯s PovN?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    The days have been crawling by slowly. Way too slowly. What with my master refusing to train me. I have tried everything I could think to do, from begging, to threatening, to trying to make her life a living hell all in a bid to get her to train me but she stubbornly keeps refusing


    Now, having totally run out of options, I have been starting to grow a little bitter. So bitter that I now send her on errands more for malicious reasons than to get her to change her mind.


    I looked around the room and groaned in annoyance. Everything in the room seemed to be ced there to make me mad. From the plush rugs, to the beautifully painted walls, to the magnificent designs above. Everything. I groaned again as I got out of bed. Yeah! Another reason I was so mad was because I had recovered fully or almost fully, at least. Enough to move around and enough to start training but my master still would not agree to train me.


    I got dressed and stepped out of the room, eager to get a breath of fresh air. I looked from the door that led to the garden to the door that led to the other parts of the pce, trying to make up my mind. I settled on thetter and headed out.


    Stepping out of the door, the first thing that met me was a cold st of wind. I shivered as I drew my garment closer noticing for the first time that it was already evening. The sun was sailing down the horizon in a brilliant show of light and colors, ranging from golden to blue, to white. I shivered again as I continued to move, keeping my eyes fixed on the ground before me.


    ¡°Look who we have here!¡± A voice that I would recognize from anywhere in the world boomed, prying me out of my thoughts. I kept my head bowed while continuing to walk, hoping that they would just leave me to myself and let me pass over without much incident. Of course, I wasn¡¯t going to be that lucky. A leg suddenly appeared within my legs sending me falling forward into a broad chest.


    ¡°Come on, brother!¡± You weren¡¯t about to walk past without saying hi to your beloved brother now, were you?¡± His voice sounded so hurt that he might have actually convinced a passerby into thinking he was a good brother who was trying to keep family ties alive. Too bad none of them ever waited to see just how far he went to keep the family ties alive and very well defined.


    I tried to sidestep the barrel sized man standing before me without raising my head but it was futile as he just appeared before me again. Already frustrated from before, I raised my head and red at the oaf who smirked back. He was kind of short, barely managing to reach my shoulder but what hecked in height, he more thanplicated for in size.


    One arm of his could probably break my trunk in half very easily. His legs could very well pass for tree trunks of veryrge trees. His trunk wasfortably twice the size of mine and atop this sat a sneering square head that seemed to say, ¡®I can¡¯t wait to break you!¡¯ and tell you what? I believed it.


    ¡°I see you have finally been freed, brother. My apologies that I wasn¡¯t able to visit you in there. I really hope you won¡¯t hold it against me now that you¡¯re out.¡± A taller man stepped before me, shoving the shorter man aside. He was proof that short is not apulsory qualification for stocky. As a matter of fact, he was bulkier than the short man. Hair that is a shade lighter than mine, a face that would turn heads if we ignored that jagged scar behind his left ear and the moustache that looks like an anchor, pale yellow skin.


    Yeah! He is my brother! Trust my luck to run me into the one person I was better off not running into. ¡°Come on brother. This is rude. You are just going to ignore your well wishers?¡±


    I swallowed, the memory of what had happened thest time we met still fresh in my memory. Something that had to do with horses and poo and faces. Spit gathered in my throat and I forced it down so hard, it was almost painful. His smirk informed me that he hadn¡¯t forgotten it either.


    ¡°Let me go!¡± I rasped, trying to walk around him but he wasn¡¯t done yet as he held out a hand, stopping me in my tracks. His friends all had lopsided grins on their faces as they closed in around us. I swallowed so forcefully that I burst into a coughing fit. There was no escaping this now.


    ¡°You want to leave? But the fun has not even started yet and oh boy, are we going to have a lot of fun?¡± My brother turned to his friends who burst intoughter as though on cue.


    ¡°Go try your luck elsewhere, Leon. I am not going to y any of your games today. Get out of my way.¡± I shoved him in the chest but I might have as well shoved an oak tree. He didn¡¯t move from the spot instead, I was the one who stumbled back a couple of feet before managing to regain my bnce. Leon stared at me like he was looking at some silly animal in his circus. His friends caught on and started to yap again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember saying you had a choice. Like you already know, brother,¡± he pronounced thest word like it was burning his tongue, ¡°I never take no for an answer.¡± He covered the gap within us in one stride and grabbed me by the shoulder.


    ¡°Boys! It is game time.¡±

 In Danger

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    It has been a week! A week since my master has awakened. A week since I have had to endure his endless bullying as well as the sharp tongue of his, what is she again? His sidekick? Friend? Bootlicker? Sheesh! They all fit perfectly and she is just as evil as he is. You know what? Scratch that! She is much more evil. While he was still behind bars, I had thought she was bad, but now that he is free, I was finding out that back then was her being nice.


    Today, Indrik had sent me on an errand to go get, what did he call it again? ¡°Wolf spit?¡±


    ¡°Wolf spurt!¡± Jamil corrected with a grunt as he dropped a bale of hay in a brown horse¡¯s feeding trough. The smile he had on his face as he answered my question made me scowl at him. This wasn¡¯t a joke! He was wearing a sleeveless whitewashed vest that might have once been yellow above short trousers. His long hair was held in ce with a clip allowing him to work without it getting in the way. His body glistened with sweat as he checked on the horses, walking back and forth between the rows. One of the things I had found out during my stay here was that Jamil took it upon himself to check on the horses, every now and then. Even choosing to take them for a ride sometimes. With someone like him, the stable boy would be very d to have his job. I wished my master could be like that. But then again, I knew why he was always so moody and I wasn¡¯t about to help him.


    ¡°Why does Indrik need that?¡± He continued, still focused on the horses.


    ¡°To further frustrate my life, I guess?¡± I muttered. ¡°He said he needed it to help him feel better. Apparently, his wounds still itch.¡± My voice was bitter as I kicked a lone straw that had fallen by my feet.


    He had been rubbing the mane of a beautiful white mare when he turned toward me. ¡°Another fight, huh?¡± He questioned to which I huffed.


    ¡°More like bullying. Did I ever tell you that your friend is a jerk?¡±


    ¡°Only about a million and a half times.¡± He replied, his lips curling.


    Being the only one person who seemed to not hate my guts in this entire pack, I had grown closer to Jamil over the course of the past few days, partly because I always needed his help in finding the strange things that I was being asked to find all the time and partly because I needed him to show me the path that could take me out of this pack. I had no luck with the second because no matter how friendly Jamil might be, he wasn¡¯t going to expose his pack¡¯s secrets to me. The other though, had been working out pretty well. Like today for instance. Indrik had spent most of the day sleeping like he always did which meant I had had a moment¡¯s respite. Tired from not being allowed to sleep because the breeze from the window had not been enough so I had had to create more air, with my arms. I had made my way to my room and drifted off without any dy.


    The next time I awakened was to Indrik standing over me, ring at me with his arms folded. Somehow, he suddenly lost his strength as he stumbled back to his room. Next thing I knew, he was asking me to get him some wolf spurt so he could feel better while reminding him that I was the reason for his weakness. ¡°What kind of maid left her poor, weak master and went to sleep instead?¡± I had been about to remind him with the worst choice of words that he was neither poor, nor weak but I thought better of it.


    With that, I had been forced out, with the sun starting to sink behind the horizon. No description, no exnation of what this strange name represented, just an order to be carried out without anyint. I had been stranded until I remembered Jamil and here I was.


    ¡°Remember the nt I showed you the other day? The one that no pack member other than the doctor is allowed to touch?¡± I nodded, starting to hate Indrik even more. ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± He confirmed my fear, his eyes lighting up with a mischievous gleam.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°So, I have to see the doctor if I want to get it? Great!¡± I really wanted to tear my master apart this instant.


    ¡°On the bright side, the leaf does indeed cure a lot of ailments so, it is not a wild goose chase.¡± He winked.


    ¡°Has he always been this bothersome?¡± I blurted.


    ¡°Well, no! Indrik is and can be sweet most of the time.¡±


    I red at him. ¡°I¡¯m sure he is. Just like ire is!¡± I shot back.


    He chuckled. ¡°Indrik just happens to be going through a tough time right now but hey, he brought you here. He wouldn¡¯t have done that if he hated you. Perhaps, I should tell you a little story that might help you understand him more?¡±


    I arched my brows but did not say anything which he took as a yes.


    ¡°Great! Now, how about we move along as we talk? You still have a long way to go if you are going toplete your quest. How would you like a ride?¡± He asked as he opened a stable door and led Lea out.


    ¡°Lea!¡± I called excitedly, then ran over to her and rubbed her mane. He fitted her and brought her along as we picked our way out of the stables.


    We walked in silence for a little while before he finally cleared his throat. ¡°So, Indrik¡­¡±


    ¡°Indrik!¡± I gasped, my eyes widening as I stared at what was happening before me.

 Heartless

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    My eyes widened as I took in the scene before me.


    ¡°What?¡± Jamil was a littleter in spotting what I was seeing but when he did, his growl was even louder than mine.


    I ran over to the site of the chaos, my heart hanging in my throat. Sure, I loathed my master but this? This was a little bit too much.


    Indrik had been surrounded by his half brother, anchor moustache along with his minions. They wereughing cruelly as they toyed with him.


    Why and when he had left his room, I had no idea but what I was seeing made me boil over. Leon and his friends had crowded around my master and wereughing him to scorn as they teased him endlessly.


    ¡°Weakling! Come on, fight back if you can.¡± One of the minions cackled as he shoved Indrik hard, sending him stumbling on wobbly feet to another. That one punched him in the face, sending him crumpling face first to the hard floor.


    ¡°What is the problem? Too weak to fight? Come on, get up brother.¡± Leon jeered as he approached the cowering Indrik and leant over him.


    Indrik groaned as he struggled to sit up. It took some effort but he finally managed it. I could see him trying to speak but no words came out. Perhaps, he was too weak or, the blood that was trickling from his mouth had pooled in his throat.


    Indrik tried to rise to his feet only to fall back on his haunches.


    ¡°Get up! I¡¯m waiting!¡± Leon continued to taunt.


    With a sudden burst of energy, Indrik raised his arm and punched Leon hard in the face. Leon hardly flinched as his lip burst but his friends froze midughter obviously not expecting Indrik to be that brave, or stupid. The wound healed almost immediately but that was apparently not enoughpensation as Leon bared his teeth and headbutted Indrik so hard, he copsed to the floor again with a loud yelp.


    ¡°You fool!¡± Leon snarled as he reached out and grabbed Indrik by thepel, his other hand rearing to deliver a punch.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Jamil roared, snapping me out of my daze. He dashed into the circle, shoving the men out of his way and pushing the shocked Leon off Indrik making the former fall hard on his bum. He barely noticed though as he knelt beside Indrik, who remained on the ground, still moaning from the pain.


    ¡°You!¡± Leon growled when he finally recovered from his shock. ¡°How dare you!¡± He bellowed as he rose to his feet and glowered at them. Jamil ignored him like he didn¡¯t exist as he helped Indrik sit up and thumped him on the back. Indrik moaned as he vomited some blood.


    ¡°How are you, Indrik?¡± Jamil asked softly but Indrik seemed too shaken to hear what he was saying, much less reply to the question.


    Leon was not happy about being ignored as he bellowed, ¡°This is yourst warning. Get out of here before I lose my patience.¡± He was so full of anger that I could notice his body trembling.


    Jamil slowly turned his upper body to fix a stare at Leon and, was that Leon flinching? Jamil looked really mad. Madder than I had ever seen him. What was I saying? I had never seen him get angry. ¡°What did you just say?¡± He snarled as he helped Indriky on his back once more.


    ¡°I said¡­¡± Leon started to say again, when he was cut short by Jamil who grabbed him by hispel, drawing him toward himself. I blinked, wondering how he had moved so quickly.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Luna!¡± Jamil called, his voice so cold, I couldn¡¯t help wincing. I hurried over anyway, pushing past the minions who glowered at me but I couldn¡¯t care less. I nted myself between Indrik and Jamil. One look at my master and my vision clouded. Seeing him up close showed just how much he had been hurt. I simmered, ring from one to the other of the gang, wishing I could teach them a lesson. ¡°Get Indrik and help him out of here. I have a thing or two to speak to Leon about.¡± They would do more than speak. His tone made that much obvious.


    ¡°Jamil?¡± I fidgeted nervously, looking at the number of men that were glowering at him, just waiting for the chance to attack. I couldn¡¯t help worrying that he would end up worse than Indrik if he remained here.


    He turned toward me, his eyes seeming to glow. ¡°Just get him out of here!¡± His eyes reassured me that he would be fine, so, I reluctantly bent to pick my master up. His eyes were shut and his palms sped over his face as he moaned. I couldn¡¯t see much of his face but his hands were covered with scrapes and bruises and his robes, a sea blue colored work of art had been ripped in so many ces that I wondered how it was still managing to hang on.


    ¡°Indrik?¡± I called softly, tapping him on the arm softly as I tried to pry his hands away from his face. He didn¡¯t reply. ¡°Indrik!¡± I tried again and this time, he lowered his hands enough for me to see his eyes. They were zed and my heart sank as I noticed tears streaming down his face. I was starting to understand the reason why he was so desperate for me to train him. This was pure evil. ¡°Come on!¡± I rasped as I slipped my hand around him and tugged. I heaved, almost nearly copsing beside him from the weight.


    ¡°What do you think you are doing?¡± Leon growled from his position in Jamil¡¯s hands. ¡°You fools, what are you doing hanging around? Stop them this instant!¡±


    I looked up nervously, my eyes flitting from Jamil to the six other men that were starting to close in around us thinking of how much worse things could get from here on.

 Very Soon

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    The men closed in on us and I looked around frantically, trying to see if there was anyone around that could help us. We were out in the empty space between the three pce buildings and the smaller ones. Well, not exactly empty because a pretty patch of flowers sat in the center of this space. The buds glowed brilliantly in the fading sunlight. Too bad I couldn¡¯t enjoy the view. There was no one around, not that I could see at least and for some reason, I was convinced that even if they were, nobody would try to interfere. I tightened my hold on Indrik as I gritted my teeth.


    ¡°Get away from them!¡± A voice suddenly bellowed and right before my eyes, I watched as the buff men were sent flying with painful cries. In no time, they were all sprawled on the ground and Jamil stood above them, scowling angrily.


    The men quickly scurried to their feet but none of them dared to move closer again as their eyes shifted from Jamil to Leon whose robe looked rumpled as he looked like he wanted to kill someone.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    ¡°Let me help you!¡± Jamil offered as he bent and helped me raise Indrik up to his feet. ¡°Can you get him to his room?¡± He asked softly.


    I draped his arm around my shoulder and tested the weight before nodding.


    ¡°Good! Go along then. I still have somethings to take care of over here!¡± He muttered as he turned away from me.


    ¡°Come on!¡± I muttered as I helped Indrik along. His moans were quieter now but he was obviously still in pain.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Leon roared but I continued to walk, half expecting his minions to attempt to stop me again but surprisingly, none of them did.


    It seemed like an eternityter when we finally arrived in his room. Indrik dropped to the bed like a sack of potatoes and I winced as I finally got a good look at his face. His face had doubled in size, and blood was pouring from more than a few wounds. His usually lustrous raven ck hair now looked matted with blood running through it. I couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine the amount of pain he had had to endure at the hands of his brother. Why were people so callous?


    Indrik whimpered, turning in the bed. I shook my haziness away as I tapped him awake. He turned toward me, his eyes sad and mournful and suddenly, I couldn¡¯t remain angry at him anymore. He wasn¡¯t cruel! He was only trying to survive in a ruthless world. A bell rang in my head as I finally realized what I was required to do.


    ¡°Come on, master. Let¡¯s go get you cleaned up.¡± I whispered as I held out a hand. Thankfully, I didn¡¯t have to bear his whole weight this time.


    It took a while but I finally managed to clean him up revealing all his cuts and bruises, most of which had stopped bleeding thankfully. ¡°Stay here, will you? I will try to get you some medicine from the doctor.¡± I informed as soon as he was back in bed. I pulled away but was stopped by a cold hand on mine. ¡°Do you need something?¡± I asked softly.


    His mouth moved but I couldn¡¯t hear a word.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± I moved closer, putting my ear to his lips.


    ¡°Stay with me, please!¡± He pleaded, his eyes quivering in a way that reminded me of a scared pup. Again, the anger rose in my throat as I wished I could walk up to those brutes and show them just how enjoyable bullying was.


    ¡°Of course.¡± I whispered as I sat down on the bed beside him, taking the arm and massaging it. We remained like that for a while during which time he continued to stare nkly at the ceiling. I could see that he was feeling sorry for himself so I decided to help take his mind off it. Getting up from the bed, I moved to the other side and started to massage the other arm.


    ¡°You want to talk about it?¡± I asked softly but he didn¡¯t even blink. I thought about yelling at him for asking me to stay if he wasn¡¯t going to utter a word but something told me he wasn¡¯t going to appreciate that. ¡°So! Leon is your half-brother! Has your rtionship always been so¡­ interesting?¡± I suddenly wanted to bite my tongue off, certain that I had made things worse. What was I thinking trying tofort him? I wasn¡¯t built for that kind of thing. I should have just ignored him when he asked me to stay. So, you can imagine my surprise when he actually replied me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think rtionship is the word for it.¡± He rasped, his voice heavy with bitterness. ¡°Leon has never seen me as his brother. He thinks of me more as a parasite. An ugly scar that he wishes to wipe off. And¡­ you know what? He is probably right. I should just give up and die after all, what is the point of living if I will never be more than a failure?¡± His voice broke and that was when I realized that he was starting to cry.


    ¡°Shush!¡± I hushed, getting up and circling to his head where I started to massage his shoulders. ¡°You are not a failure, Indrik. And, you definitely are not a scar. You shouldn¡¯t allow them get to you.¡± I hoped I was making sense.


    ¡°How can I not? Everybody hates me, including you. I¡­¡± His voice broke again.


    ¡°Shush!¡± I whispered again. ¡°You must be exhausted. Try to get some rest. You need it.¡±


    He looked like he was going to protest but I shook my head as I ran my eyes over his face, shutting his eyes. It wasn¡¯t long before he started to snore.


    ¡°Soon!¡± I whispered. ¡°Very soon!¡±

 Found Him

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    I opened my eyes feeling rather groggy and achy. I yawnedzily, stretching my limbs and was rewarding with the satisfying crunch of muscles rearranging themselves. I squinted, taking a look at the room where I had spent the night with the aid of daylight that was streaking in through the window. I nearly fell off my perch as I realized that this was not my room. Looking around, I noticed Indrik still on the bed, snoring softly as he slept. His hair spread all over. The bed, his eyes, his mouth. I smiled as I brushed the hair away from his face. I did a doubletake as my eyes fell on his face. Like I had done so many times while he was unconscious, I slipped into the stool on which I had spent the night and propping my cheeks on my hands, admired his face. Despite the numerous wounds, he always managed to look so spectacr when he was asleep. With his sad eyes closed and his facial muscles robbed by sleep of their crankiness, he looked like an angel in his sleep. I remained like that for a while, losing all sense of time until he mumbled something in his sleep, turning from lying on his back to his right side so his face was directly in mine. I jumped, afraid that he would catch me staring. That, would be very embarrassing and I preferred to avoid embarrassing. He continued to sleep, luckily.


    Sparing him onest nce, I turned away from him and left the room. In my room, I took a hurried bath and slipped into a simple white dress. Satisfied, I picked up a basket in the corner of the room and tucked it under my arm with the aim of finishing the errand before my master would wake up and start calling for me.


    Outside, I realized that the morning was still very early with the sun still struggling with the clouds. Birds twittered as they danced, enjoying the beauty of a new day. Most of the wolves seemed to still be asleep though as I did not run into anyone except the guards at the gate as I made my way out.


    The journey to the pack¡¯s doctor who was situated in the center of the pack to ensure easy ess to everyone was as always very tiring. I thought about Lea and found it regrettable that I had not gotten to ride herst night. This reminded me of Jamil who I had not seen since we had left him with Leon and his dogs. I wondered if he was okay.


    I was just in time to catch the doctor opening the door to the medicine store. ¡°Good morning, elder Matthew!¡± I greeted.


    He turned exposing his brilliant white teeth in a smile. Over the past few days, I had seen him more than I had seen most other people with himing to check on Indrik and myselfing to get his drugs. He smiled back at me. He was about the only other person who showed me an ounce of kindness in this ce. As usual, he was wearing his white robe and shoes which I considered strange considering that he always had to work with things that could destroy white in no time. Things like blood, vomit, sweat, and a crowd of other things that I preferred not to think about. He wasn¡¯t exactly tall but he was the kind of person whomanded respect without even trying which probably had something to do with his warm brown eyes that seemed to say, ¡°you can trust me. I won¡¯t hurt you except for, well, injections. And those won¡¯t even hurt.¡±


    He pulled the iron doors open and hobbled in. As always, I was hit in the face by the strong scent of herbs, dried, drying and fresh. Then there were the liquid ones with scents that was not as easy to ce. Like the first time I hade here, the sour-sweet mixture of smells made me feel giddy. I wondered how the doctor managed to survive spending every day here.


    I followed the doctor to his table at the far end of the room while taking in the rows of vials that lined the stalls. Once the doctor had settled in, he started to get me the drugs I hade for.


    ¡°How is your master doing?¡± The doctor questioned as he browsed through the stalls.


    ¡°He was doing well until yesterday when a fight found him.¡±


    The doctor paused as he spared me a nce. ¡°Didn¡¯t I mention that he get a lot of rest?¡±


    I sighed, not knowing how to tell him that it was Indrik¡¯s own brother that had almost beaten him to death. I turned away as something caught my eyes two rows away. Walking toward it, I soon realized why it was so strange. In a ce where all the vials contained either brown or blue liquid, this one contained a green one. Looking at it, I could tell that it had been left there for a while. So long that dust had thickly coated it but somehow, it still seemed to be boiling.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Picking it up, I approached the doctor and asked him about it. His eyes widened, confirming my suspicion that it was indeed strange.


    ¡°Where did you find that? I thought I had disposed of it. That is an extract of Voldemort root. It is a poison that kills a human within an hour so, I would advise that you return it. I wouldn¡¯t want to be the reason why your master loses a maid.¡±


    I smiled faintly as I returned to the stall. By the time I returned, the doctor had finished packing and handed the basket to me.


    ¡°Will thed require a check up?¡± He asked referring to the scrape I had mentioned.


    I shook my head. He won¡¯t be needing any more check-ups. Not right now at least.

 Lucky

    Indrik¡¯s Pov


    I woke up to my head feeling like it was being hit over and over with a heavy hammer. Groaning, I tried to get up but my arm copsed under the strain, sending me sprawling once more. I tried to open my eyes but all I could see were tiny yellow dots dancing on a frenzy.


    ¡°Luna?¡± I called weakly but no one answered. ¡°Luna!¡± I called again, a little louder only to be met with the same silence. I felt around the bed to see if she was still sleeping somewhere there but felt nothing. I groaned in exasperation wishing I could fire her with the way she got me feeling like I was the maid and she the master sometimes. Knowing that no one wasing, I attempted to open my eyes again. This time, my vision was a little bit clearer but my headache wasn¡¯t getting any better.


    I raised my hand to my face and felt bumps that weren¡¯t there yesterday. My eyes clouded with tears of humiliation as I recalled what had happened the other day. Leaving my room with the intention of getting some fresh air only to walk into my step brother who nearly pummeled the life out of me. I frowned as I wondered how I had escaped. Leon wouldn¡¯t have allowed me escape without a broken bone if he could help it and although every part of me felt two times as heavy than it usually did, no bone was broken. Fractured memories of Luna bringing me back danced before my eyes but she couldn¡¯t have been the one who saved me, could she? I groaned as I managed to sit up.


    I stared at the door with unseeing eyes as I recalled what Leon had said yesterday. ¡°You are not my brother. You are a bastard who doesn¡¯t even deserve to breath the same air with me. I should just put you out of your misery right now.¡± Those words should not have hurt me so much especially considering that he had said and done more painful things in the past but somehow, this struck closer to home than all the others.


    All my life, rumours had been circting about me not being the son of the Alpha which was the reason why he had locked my wolf away. They said it was his being merciful that saved me from a fate of sure death. I had asked the Beta about it multiple times to which he would never give a direct answer. Only that I should not believe everything I heard out there. It did not help that my mother had died long before I could get to know her and that she was not Leon¡¯s mother.


    Amidst all of these, I had been hoping that despite his always picking fights with me, I would be able to sort things out with my brother, after all, we only had each other as family but something about his words yesterday had informed me that that would never happen. I could try till I turned gray but Leon would never ept me as family. Even now, the thought hurt like hot iron being pressed on my chest.


    Someone knocked on the door and my heart soared. ¡°Luna?¡± I called, barely managing to keep the excitement out of my voice.


    ¡°Not Luna!¡± A voice called back as the door was opened. ¡°Jamil!¡± He replied as he stepped in. ¡°Oh,e on, don¡¯t look so disappointed. You don¡¯t mean to dump your best friends now that you have gotten yourself a maid, do you?¡± He teased as he walked toward me.


    I frowned as I watched him approach trying to recall thest time I had seen him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to go for training?¡± I inquired, staring at the silver colored sword that hung from his belt.


    ¡°In a moment. I just had toe make sure you were okay afterst night. I should havee earlier but I wasn¡¯t sure you would be very receptive at the time.¡±


    My eyes widened as I realized how I had escaped. He had been the one to rescue me from my brother. Rather than make me feel better though, that only made me feel worse. The fact that I had to rely on someone to save me whenever I was in trouble was really starting to irk me.


    Jamil bent over and inspected my face. ¡°Bruised but you will live.¡± He muttered and I felt like punching him in the face. I knew it was ridiculous and that I should be thanking him instead but that did nothing to stop the anger that was bubbling in my chest. I hated being so weak, so useless, so¡­ irrelevant. Jamil straightened, seeing that I wasn¡¯t in the mood for conversation. ¡°I saw Luna leaving earlier. She went to get your medicine, I think. I should go. Take care of yourself, will you?¡± He turned and started to leave.


    I cursed under my breath. ¡°Jamil?¡± He paused, turning toward me. ¡°Thank you.¡± I muttered.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    ¡°Anytime, man. Just do me a favour and avoid Leon, will you? He is raging mad right now.¡± He winked and I smiled, then sniggered before bursting into a full fledgedughter. With it, I could feel all the weight in my heart dissolving making me feel much lighter than I had in ages.


    ¡°See you around, man.¡± Jamil grinned when I finally stoppedughing.


    ¡°Thank you, Jamil. And I mean it.¡±


    ¡°Whatever man. I have to go.¡±


    I continued to watch the door long after he had gone thinking that I was lucky to have my friends. So, what if I was weak? Knowing I had friends who would sacrifice anything for me without a second thought? That wasforting.


    The door opened and Luna stomped in. My smile faded. Who was I kidding?

 Help! He鈥檚 Dying

    Indrik¡¯s Pov


    In between using my medicine, eating breakfast, taking a walk out to the garden and making small talk with Luna, night arrived sooner than I expected. Through all these, I noticed that something was bothering Luna. She would suddenly stop and stare at empty air till I called her attention or stop mid-speech and frown, her brows furrowing on deep thought. Despite myself, I couldn¡¯t help worrying about her but my attempts to make her tell me what was wrong with her all ended up falling through.


    With night descending and her helping me to my room, I found that she was starting to shed her worried skin which for whatever reason made me feel a little relieved.


    ¡°I will go get your food now.¡± She informed once I was in my room and left before I could protest. Usually, I was supposed to eat with the rest in the pce dinning hall but due to the state of my health, I was excused till I got better.


    While she was away, I thought about what we had discussed earlier.


    ¡°If you managed to unlock your wolf, what is the first thing you would do?¡± She had asked out of the blue while she was sewing a tear in my robe.


    I had been focused on two birds that were performing a kind of serenade when I had heard her question. I had paused and stared at her, wondering where the question wasing from. She had met my gaze without flinching, bidding me to answer her question. Looking away, I had wondered about what she might be hitting at. Hadn¡¯t she said she wasn¡¯t going to train me? Could it be that she had changed her mind? Was this a test of sorts? If so, what was the right answer? So many questions had popped up in my mind that I temporarily forgot she had asked a question until she cleared her throat.


    ¡°I asked a question, master.¡± She reminded softly.


    I had inhaled deeply before making an attempt. ¡°Honestly, I haven¡¯t really given it much thought. All my life, I have known everyone to have a wolf except me so, it always seemed natural for me to want to unlock my wolf. I know he is down here somewhere, nudging me to free him, guiding everything I do, including finding you.¡± I paused but she merely nodded, urging me to continue, ¡°to answer your question. The first thing I would do is to celebrate bing a full wolf.¡± I smiled, the thought making me fuzzy as I reached for a flower patch beside me and plucked a bud which I started to unfurl. ¡°The next thing I would do would be to train and be strong enough to stand up for the weak, the same way my friends have been standing up for me all my life. After that, I don¡¯t know what else. I guess I would just have to let it y out.


    I had stared at her trying to figure out if I had passed the test or not. I got no positive or negative feedback as she returned to her work.


    The door opened, snapping me out of my thoughts. Luckily, the rule from the doctor that I not eat anything apart from fruits had long since expired because I could not imagine not having a taste of the sweet smelling food that Luna brought in. My tummy rumbled making me stare at it in surprise because it had not given me any indication of it being empty, till now that is. ¡°Traitor!¡± I groaned.


    No sooner had Luna set up the food than I started to dig into it. I had been going at it for a while before remembering that I wasn¡¯t the only one in here.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten, have you? Come join me.¡± I offered but she shook her head.


    ¡°You should eat. You are going to need every bit of it.¡±


    I frowned, wondering what she was talking about. She had been speaking in puzzles all day which was really starting to get to me. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Just eat!¡± She snapped, backing away from me. ¡°I will be back.¡±


    She didn¡¯t need to say that because my belly would not allow me do otherwise. I dipped in the te for another scoop of the pottage when I came up empty. I was surprised to find that I had finished eating so quickly.


    Luna came in soon after, bearing my medicine. She picked out a bottle which I didn¡¯t recognize and stretched it forward. I reached out to collect it but she didn¡¯t let go. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± She asked, her eyes glowing in the light of the torch.


    Her questions were starting to bother me but I replied nheless, ¡°sure! I wouldn¡¯t keep you around if I didn¡¯t.¡±


    She scoffed. ¡°Funny, considering that you don¡¯t know me that well.¡±Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I shrugged, ¡°I know that you are my master.¡±


    She scoffed again but released the bottle nheless. ¡°Drink it then. Every single drop.¡±


    I opened the vial and the smell almost made me throw up.


    ¡°Go on!¡±


    I shut my eyes as I downed it in one gulp. I grunted in pain as the liquid seemed to burn my throat.


    ¡°What would you be willing to sacrifice to unlock your wolf?¡± Her voice seemed to being from somewhere above me and not before me.


    I blinked, the world seeming to be spinning before me. ¡°Anything!¡± I muttered, my head swaying.


    ¡°Including your life?¡±


    ¡°Including my life.¡± My voice sounded faint and weak.


    ¡°Good! Because I just yed a game with your life. I hope you survive because it would really suck to not see you fulfill your promises. Till we meet again, go to sleep.¡± She pushed me slightly and I crumbled to the bed, my body feeling like it was being squeezed by a thousand huge hands. As I drifted out of consciousness, I could hear my master screaming.


    ¡°Help! He is dying! Help!!!¡±


    Then, all went ck.

 Problem

    ire¡¯s Pov


    From the moment Indrik had brought that woman into our pack, I had known that nothing coulde of it except bad news. This became a reality when she suddenly started to shout in the middle of the night, shattering my face rxation routine. I would have ignored her if not for the reference she made to Indrik. As it was, I cursed as I dashed to my room.


    She continued to wail until I pushed the door open after which she stopped abruptly. She had been standing over Indrik in the dim glow of the oilmp. She turned toward me with what seemed like a smirk on her lip.


    ¡°You are just in time.¡± My eyebrows arched as I noticed that she was definitely smiling.


    ¡°What is going on?¡± I scowled, wondering what kind of craziness she was trying to work up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Why don¡¯t youe and see?¡± She turned and the color drained from my face as I saw whaty on the bed behind her.


    ¡°No! No! No!¡± I muttered as I rushed toward the bed hoping with every fiber of my being that I was wrong about what I was seeing. Arriving at the bed, I found that things were even worse than I had thought. At first nce, Indrik seemed to be lying on the bed in deep sleep. I had almost turned to her with a hiss and a p for disturbing my peace in the middle of the night. I mean, my face was still extra brown with the honey paste that I had applied on it. This thought soon faded away as I realized that all was not as it seemed. Indrik was pale, paler than he ought to look in the lighting. I frowned as I reached out to touch his forehead. I pulled away immediately with a hiss of pain as I stared down at him in shock. His temperature was searing hot. Hotter than a body should ever be. It might have been my imagination but I thought I could see rings of smoke curling off his body.


    ¡°What did you do to him?¡± I growled turning toward his maid, ready to pounce and rip her into a million tiny pieces.


    Her smile unnerved me as she shrugged. ¡°Not me! The poison.¡±ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    The world around me took a violent spin and I copsed to the bed to maintain my bnce. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked weakly, my hand suddenly seeming to heat up more.


    ¡°Do you really think that is wise?¡± She questioned, gesturing toward Indrik who had awakened and was now squirming on the bed as he moaned in pain. ¡°As you can see, he doesn¡¯t have much time. You can choose to stay here and question me, which I should say would not yield any result or you can go out there and get some help. Your choice!¡±


    The way she said it enraged me but it also informed me that she wasn¡¯t joking. Indrik was going to die if I didn¡¯t do something. ¡°You will pay for this!¡± I cried as I hurried past her.


    ¡°Whatever!¡± Sheughed. ¡°You had better hurry up though or there would be no Indrik toe back to.¡±


    My heart boiled with rage as I wished that I could beat her till she was in as much pain as Indrik was but something about the way Indrik started to spasm violently told me that he wouldn¡¯t care about vengeance if he was dead. My first port of call was the room of the two boys but for whatever reason, none of them were in. I should have realized this when none of them came running to the rescue when that woman called. That woman! My heart boiled with rage, fear and pain as I raced toward the main pce. What had Indrik done to himself? Why did he even bring her here? I had tried asking him a couple of times but he always found a way of evading my question.


    ¡°Help!¡± I cried, the moment I reached the huge doors. Two guards appeared before me, staring down at me as they waited to know what is wrong. ¡°I need help!¡± I croaked, feeling useless as I wondered what she was doing to Indrik right now. Was she torturing him even more? ¡°Indrik is dying. Please! Get help!¡± I muttered, pounding them on the chests without thinking.


    Luckily, they got the message as one of them ran in and the other went with me. ¡°Please! Go call the doctor. Tell him¡­ poison¡­ in danger¡­ hurry!¡± I managed to say and watched him hurry off with brimming eyes before I returned to the room which seemed to be heavy with death.


    The maid still stood over Indrik, watching him intently like she didn¡¯t want to miss the moment of his death. Bile rose to my throat as I moved over and shoved her as hard as I could, sending her stumbling to the ground.


    ¡°What kind of poison did you feed him?¡± I asked, hoping to have enough information about what had happened before the doctor arrived.


    ¡°Poison? What are you talking about?¡± She teased from her position on the ground. I clenched my fists as I took another look at Indrik. His skin was growing whiter by the second and his face seemed to have aged by twenty years. To even look at him felt like a hot iron rod ced on my chest that was puncturing my skin, slowly but surely burning a path to my heart.


    ¡°You!¡± I growled as I started to stomp toward her, ready to beat the truth out of her if need be.


    ¡°What is going on here? My heart soared as Beta Green and my mother showed up at the door. They were just in time because I was really starting to run out of ideas on how to deal with this problem of a maid.

 Torture!

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    The pce was thrown into chaos as people milled to and fro, trying to find a solution to the problem.


    For a while, nobody paid me any attention as they fussed over the weakling who they would rather throw into prison to die of starvation than fulfill his life¡¯s dream. I rolled my eyes, irritated by the hypocrisy of these people.


    Indrik had started to foam at the mouth when they decided to take him out of the room. They gave him honey, tried other herbal mixtures that they could work up but nothing worked. I sneered as I watched all their attempts that were bound to end up in failure.


    Finally, ire seemed to remember me as she turned toward me, her eyes burning with hatred. ¡°What have you done to him?¡± She growled. Silence settled in the room as everyone else turned toward me as though just realizing that the maid should know what happened to her master.


    ¡°Who? Me?¡± I asked, feigning the best incredulous look I could manage as I ced a hand on my chest.


    ¡°Young girl, stop fooling around and tell us what you gave to him so we can find the antidote. Do that and I can promise that your punishment would be lessened.¡± The Beta¡¯s voice was gruff. He tried to sound bold but I could see that he was shaken and trying his best not to quake under the pressure. It was only a matter of time now.


    I was ying a dangerous game right now. A game that involved the life of a master and her maid. Right now, I was hoping that these people would care enough to do anything to save him. If they did, then he would survive and by a stroke of luck, I would too but, if anything went wrong, if my calctions were inurate, he would die and needless to say, I would too.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to him. He just finished eating and started to have a seizure. Perhaps, it was due to the time he spent in the dungeon? Maybe he had not fully recovered?¡± I asked and for a moment, a wistful look crossed the Beta¡¯s face as he considered my words.


    ¡°Liar! You gave him poison. You told me that yourself.¡± ire roared and I almost cursed. Of course, I had told her that. I had been unable to resist my desire to taunt her and now, I had lost the advantage of secrecy. Now, I could only hope that the doctor had not forgotten an important detail when he told me the poison had no remedy.


    The Beta turned red all over, his facial muscles bulging as he closed in on me. ¡°You fed Indrik poison?¡± His eyes narrowed and his nose red. From the way his arms trembled at his side, I could see that he was holding himself back from grabbing my neck and snapping it with his bare hands. My entire body heated up as I could feel everyone in the room ring at me with all the hatred in the world but I could care less.


    ¡°Maybe I did!¡± I drawled. ¡°Maybe the poison has no remedy. Maybe he will die within the hour if he is not treated. Maybe the only way he can be saved is if you unlock his wolf. But then again, these are all spections.¡± I shrugged.


    The Beta staggered back, all the fight seeming to drain out of him. ¡°Did¡­¡± He faltered. ¡°Did Indrik put you up to this?¡± He asked, suspicion creeping up his features.


    I raised up my head to stare at the ceiling thoughtfully. ¡°Did he? I¡¯m not sure. Perhaps you should go ask him?¡±ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    The oilmp did not do a very good job of lighting up the room but it was enough to see the Beta turn red in humiliation as he realized that I had just made a fool of him. Whatever further diplomacies he had been intending to exercise with me were thrown in the trash as his eyes clouded with anger. I braced myself for the storm that wasing but a knock interrupted him.


    ¡°The doctor is outside.¡± The neer informed.


    ire was out faster than lightning. The Beta also started to leave and I was starting to think about how ridiculous these people were when he stopped at the door and pointed at me. ¡°Take her to the dungeon and don¡¯t stop torturing her until she confesses.¡± Great! I muttered under my breath. I just loved being tortured.


    Two guards walked toward me and I thought about reminding them how much more sensible it would be for one of them to capture me. I mean, each one was twice my size and setting the two of them on me was like trying to roast a housefly in a bonfire. Something told me they would not be ready to listen to reason though.


    The two men grabbed me by one arm each and dragged me along.


    ¡°I always knew that allowing a human into the pack was a mistake.¡± One of them mumbled as he red at me like I could poison him next.


    ¡°Serves him right though. What was he thinking? That, because he was weak, he would find someone like him and they would just get along?¡± The other snorted, drawing on my arm harder than he had to.


    ¡°Well, now he has seen just how well they can get along. If he is lucky, it will not be thest thing he sees. You, youngdy, are so in trouble.¡± It took me a moment to realize that hisst sentence was addressed to me.


    ¡°Yeah, right!¡± I mumbled. Like I had thought they were taking me to see how beautiful the pce was.


    One of the guards lit the hanging torches with the one he had brought along in a room we had entered. I inhaled sharply as I checked out all the beautiful instruments of torture that had been prepared¡­ just for me.

 Sorry, I Cannot

    ire¡¯s Pov


    I watched with bated breath as the Pack¡¯s physician ran tests on Indrik. He checked his eyes, his tongue, his lips and a host of other ces. He mumbled something under his breath as he repeated the tests.


    By the time he looked up, his eyes were wide with terror. ¡°That girl!¡± He muttered through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Can he be treated?¡± Beta Green asked, stepping forward. His body seemed to sag and his voice was weary from all that was going on.


    The physician shook his head. ¡°The girl chose her poison well. This is Voldemort¡¯s root.¡± I stared at him nkly, not understanding what that meant but obviously, the Beta understood and so did my mother as they gasped in disbelief.


    ¡°What?¡± My mother gasped. ¡°But that is impossible. Where could she possibly have gotten it?¡±


    The physician bowed his head. ¡°From me. She asked me about it this morning when she came to get his medicine. I had totally forgotten about that till now.¡±


    Silence reigned for a moment before mother spoke again. ¡°But he will be okay, right? After all, the poison only affects humans.¡± Her voice was uncertain as she without doubt was realizing what the rest of us were.


    ¡°I really wish that were true but sadly, Indrik is no different from a human. Not in his current condition.¡± Indrik sputtered, coughing up more foam and, was that blood? The physician bent over him and shook his head.


    ¡°Surely, there is something you can do though, right? An antidote for the poison, perhaps?¡± Beta Green questioned.


    The physician shook his head. ¡°The reason why the poison is so dangerous to humans is that once ingested, it goes straight to the heart, turning all the blood into useless mush, green mush.¡± My eyes widened as I took another look at his mouth and sure enough, the foam emitted a greenish glow. Even the blood or what I had thought was blood had taken on a greenish tinge. He was right. My friend was dying. The thought was so painful that I could hardly breath. ¡°When it finally reaches the heart, they die. No two ways about it. As a wolf, the body regenerates quickly and counters the effect thereby making it not as harmful to us. Unfortunately, Indrik does not have this power.¡±


    ¡°But, he is a wolf. That should count for something, right?¡± I blurted before I could think, my fear clouding my reasoning faculties.


    ¡°There is one thing.¡± The physician said suddenly, looking at the Beta. My heart soared with hope as I followed his gaze. The Beta shook his head, urging the physician to not say it. ¡°We can unlock his wolf. If we do that, his wolf will set to work at once and cure him of the poison.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Beta Green muttered forcefully. ¡°I am sure there is another way. You have a lot of potions, Mattew. One of them ought to work. We cannot unlock his wolf. Not now, not ever.¡±Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    My legs felt like rubber under me as I stumbled back. Suddenly, I started to recall all the days that Indrik would cry that no one cared for him. I had always tried to convince him otherwise but now, I was not so sure. How could someone who he looked on as a father figure refuse him the one thing that could save his life?


    ¡°Beta Green, you should reconsider your decision. The boy would die if we do not do this and quickly too. He has about a few minutes left before the poison reaches his heart. When that happens, it will be toote. The boy will die.¡± The physician dered. A cold breeze swept through the courtyard filling me with a sense of foreboding, like nature had stamped the physician¡¯s words.


    Beta Green looked around, his face portraying the strain he was under. I had always thought that he looked rather young for his age but now, he looked like he had added a couple of years. ¡°This is all your fault!¡± He snarled, referring to the physician. ¡°If only you had been more careful with your equipment, this would not have happened. And don¡¯t you try to push this on me. You should find a way to treat him. I will go find the girl that caused all these and make her say what she knows. That can¡¯t be the only way out.¡±


    ¡°Beta Green!¡± My mother called, stopping the Beta in his tracks. ¡°Now is not the time to cast me. We should face the problem head on and find a way to solve it before it is toote. You heard the physician. Indrik does not have much time left.¡±


    ¡°I promised!¡± The Beta groaned, his voice raspy with despair. ¡°I promised Alpha Grayson that I would never unlock his wolf. Not now, not ever!¡±


    The moon disappeared under the clouds, leaving us squinting under the billowing mes of the torches for a moment before the moon was freed again.


    ¡°I am sure he will understand!¡± My mother muttered softly. ¡°After all, you also have the duty to keep him safe, right?¡±


    For a moment, the Beta looked like his pants had been set on fire under him.


    ¡°It is our duty to ensure that he stays alive. I don¡¯t think his father will ever forgive us if we allowed him to die.¡± A gruff voice added. I looked up in surprise to find that the Zeta was also here. I wondered how long he had been here for. I couldn¡¯t dwell on that for long though as I stared at Beta Green while biting on my lips hoping that he would change his mind and save my friend from certain death.


    The Beta rocked on his heels then started to pace, his face showing just how exhausted he was. Finally, he stopped in front of Indrik and massaged his pale cheeks tenderly.


    ¡°I am sorry but I cannot do that!¡±

 Prayer To The Moon Goddess

    ire¡¯s Pov


    I wanted to scream, and cry, and curse. And maybe throw some punches as I watched Indrik, spasming and muttering gibberish, head shaking from one side to the other, green blood now pouring more and more from his mouth and his nose? My heart stopped for a moment as even in the pale light of the moon, I could see his color draining away as his life slipped out of his grasp. The world spun cruelly as I looked from the doctor to Beta Green, to my mum, to the Zeta, to some other faces that my eyes were too blurry to let me notice. I could see the sad look on all their faces but I could not shake the thought that it was all hypocritical after all, if they really did care, they would not hesitate to help him. If only I could help, I would have dly did but I had stupidly spent all my life before mirrors and brushes and now, I couldn¡¯t even save a drunken deer without being crushed into mashed up pieces.


    My eyes stung as the air stung with what felt like death. I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that everyone here was just waiting for the final breath and the thought drove me over the edge making me want to scream, cry and fight all at the same time.


    ¡°I cannot help him!¡± The Beta repeated, his words rolling over me, colder than the night breeze that was now blowing even more strongly. ¡°I have to go!¡± He continued as he pulled away and started to hurry toward the pce. I noticed my mum hurry after him with barely seeing eyes as I stumbled toward the bed and cradled Indrik¡¯s cheeks which felt extremely cold to the touch.


    ¡°Indrik!¡± I choked, my voiceing out jagged and raspy. My innards felt like they were turning to mush. Like I had taken a swig of that poison as well and it was slowly eating away at everything within me. I felt like I was going to cough up blood. It wasn¡¯t until I see water rolling down his face that I noticed that I was crying. There were so many things I wanted to say, like he should not give up. He should fight the poison like he had been fighting everything else in his life. That if he woke up, I was going to make sure that the one who had put him in this condition paid dearly. That I loved him. That it crushed me to see him like this. That it would shatter mepletely if anything were to happen to him.


    Instead, all that came out was, ¡°please,¡± as I felt myself being patted on the back. Somewhere at the back of my mind, I could hear someone, no, several people speaking, trying to get me to stand up but nothing else mattered right now. I reached for Indrik¡¯s cold arm and squeezed itfortingly as I brought it to my lips and kissed it. I struggled as I felt myself being pulled to my feet and away from there.


    I watched as the doctor bent over him and continued to attend to him. Once they thought I was as far enough away to not cause a problem, the guards released my arms and returned to Indrik¡¯s side to avoid anyone getting in the way. With their support gone, my legs suddenly felt too weak to hold up my weight as they copsed under me, sending me crashing painfully to my knees.


    An especially cold st of wind hit me in the face, sessfully breaking me out of my trance. My head felt heavy on my neck as I raised them up to the moon. Through my puffy eyes, I couldn¡¯t help but admire the fact that it was sitting up there, round and glowing in all its glory, staring down at our silly affairs. I had a feeling that the goddess was sitting somewhere up there, watching all that we were doing.


    I had never been much of a believer. As a matter of fact, the only thing I knew about these things was that we served a goddess who watched over everything we did. But the concept of someone far away seeing everything we did all at once was too ridiculous and confusing for me to pay too much attention to it. But now, as I looked up at the moon with the groans of the person who mattered the most to me in the whole world etched in my brain, I shut my eyes and bared all my thoughts and desires.


    ¡°Greetings goddess,¡± I paused, wondering if I was doing it the right way. Thest thing I wanted was to anger some powerful being into killing Indrik and everyone one else in my pack simply because a silly girl had abandoned her makeup and decided to start speaking with deities instead. I didn¡¯t think I had much choice though. With this thought, I continued, with each word risking the moon dropping out of the sky and ttening me and everyone else into t, ungodly smudges. ¡°I know I have been a disappointment to you but I hope you would consider the fact that I am not doing this on my behalf. I am doing it for my friend who is the purest soul in the world and has never done anything to wrong anyone despite all that life has thrown at him. Please, goddess, save him, please. If you do it, I promise to do anything, everything, to make it up to you. You can even take my life in ce of his. Please, all powerful being.¡±


    I remained there, my heart sore and hurting, distant voices and cries being recognized without being registered in my mind, having no idea what I was supposed to expect after having prayed. A whisper? Thunder? A baying wolf? Anything that could prove that I hadn¡¯t spoken to thin air?This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Or? A very warm touch on my exposed shoulder! My eyes flew open as I spun.

 Where Should We Start

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    My eyes burned as red liquid spurted into my eyes. My head throbbed, my wrists and ankles burned as the coarse ropes bored into them, wound so tightly that they sliced into my skin, shredding it like meat in a grinder. My arms and legs were spread so far apart that my joints creaked with annoyance, each threatening to break away from my body under the strain. My back felt like a colony of fire ants had been let loose on it, each one digging its head into my skin and taking a good sized chunk out of my skin. I wondered if the guards would consider loosening one of my arms long enough for me to reach to my back and scratch the itch that was threatening to drive me crazy although something told me I wouldn¡¯t enjoy it very much.


    ¡°Have you had enough?¡± One of the guards asked.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    My chest felt like I had drank a mouthful of oil and followed it up with some fire. My chest beat painfully against my thorax and my stomach felt like it had had all its contents pulled out and smoked on a zing fire before they were all returned, still smoking from the adventure. My legs would have crumbled to the ground if they hadn¡¯t been tied so far up. The ropes swaying back and forth gave me so much vertigo that I would have thrown up if my pharynx didn¡¯t feel like it had been sewn shut. My head was swaying back and forth as I tried without sess to maintain my bnce. Every part of me hurt. Of course I had had enough, I wanted to scream. Instead, I forced myself tough.


    ¡°Is that all you got? Such disappointment.¡± I tooted. ¡°I expected the guards of the almighty Druid Peak Pack to have more¡­¡± The rest of my words were lost in a muffled grunt as a whip curled around my stomach. When it came loose, it drew bits of cloth and skin along in its tiny jagged teeth. I whizzed as I tried to regain my breath. Not an easy feat with my body swaying in the air. My eyes grew blurry with red lines running wild before it like shadows in the dark.


    ¡°I see that we are being too lenient with you.¡± The guard who had just whipped me, a buff man with a bald scalp snarled. I had a million annoying retorts but my pain made it impossible to speak. As it turned out, I didn¡¯t need to as the guard made his way to the rack of torture tools thatid on the table that stood opposite me.


    I was in a prettyrge room that reeked of pain and death. In the red light (whether the light was really red or it was my sight that was growing more blurry, I couldn¡¯t tell for the life of me), I could see ck smudges on the walls, on the ground, smudges that I didn¡¯t have any doubt about what they were. The room¡¯s ceiling was so high up, it was masked in the darkness. In the center of all the four walls hung a lit brazier, affording me a great view of all that was in the room. Directly opposite me sat a table which showed off an assortment of torture weapons ranging from knives of different shapes and sizes, straight, curved, jagged, sharp, blunt, to whips, long, short, and other smaller equipment which I could not recognize either because they were too small for me to see from this distance or my brain was too clouded with pain to recognize. On all the other walls hung different assortments of torture equipment.


    I watched through hazy vision as one of the guards walked toward the table and started to browse through the weapons. He picked a knife, short and straight and turned toward me, ¡°how would you like this?¡± He grinned wickedly. ¡°I guess it is not good enough, heh? We have to do better to impress you. Of course. Of course.¡± He turned back to the table and began to browse again. I couldn¡¯t help watching his every move, (not because I was scared, mind you) as he rummaged through the piles.


    Finally, he turned toward me, his head glinting in the light as he started to approach me, his arm tucked behind his back. His footsteps seemed to be amplified a thousand times over so that I almost did not notice he had arrived before he stood in my face, so close that I could feel his breath on my face. Despite the acrid smell of mes, dampness and blood, his smell of smoke and rotten fish was still enough to make me gag. He grinned, the result of which drove me near the edge of passing out. I couldn¡¯t help wondering if he ate the flesh of those he tortured here. His teeth were uneven as they boasted of tiny shrapnel which could be meat as easily as they could be fruits skins. Those things looked like they could trap water if they weren¡¯t kept in check.


    I was pulled out of my thoughts as he raised a beefy hand and pried my mouth open. I red at him as he withdrew his hand from his back and waved what must have been the scariest knife I had ever seen before my eyes. At first nce, it looked like a regr knife with a length of about five inches and a thickness of about 4 millimeters. But on closer look, the knife which had a bronze coated handle had several tiny teeth on either side of it. Looking at it, I couldn¡¯t help gulping in fear. I imagined being stabbed with it and the thought was enough to send a tremor through my system.


    I tried to hide my fear but it soon became obvious that I was not doing a good enough job hiding it away from him. He grinned again as he traced the skin on my face with the rough edges. He didn¡¯t apply a lot of pressure, yet, I could feel the skin on my face sting as the de cut through it.


    ¡°Where should we start?¡±

 Thunder

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    So far, I had been doing a pretty good job enduring the pain and getting on the nerves of my torturers but now, looking down at this de, I wasn¡¯t sure I could keep up the front anymore.


    I swallowed as I breathed in deeply. ¡°It is just a de. It is nothing you can¡¯t take.¡± I whispered to myself.


    The manughed loudly as he turned to hisrade, ¡°can you believe this? She is begging for mercy. Too bad. I expected her to go down with a smile but then again, no one escapes the great Baldwin without being broken.¡± He thumped his chest so hard, I was afraid he was going to end up broken before me. I wondered if his name was a title or his parents had had some insight into his future to have given him such a fitting name. The thought was enough to brighten my mood as I started to smile and suddenly, the knife was not so scary. I thought about Indrik who was probably in his death throes, struggling with the poison that I had fed him and shook my head. What kind of master would I be if I could not take a little pain? This was nothing. With this thought, I straightened or tried to at least, since I couldn¡¯t really manage that with my body dangling above the ground.


    I beamed the most challenging smile I could manage with blood streaming into my eyes, nose and mouth.


    My tormentor frowned, obviously not liking the fact that I wasn¡¯t cowering in fear before him but it soon morphed to a scowl. ¡°I will allow you to choose.¡± He boomed. ¡°Which body part do you want me to cut out first? Your eye? Your nose? your ear? Not your tongue though. I like to hear my victims beg.¡± He said it like I hade to him with a request to help me get rid of my body parts.


    ¡°How about we start with your tongue instead?¡± I rasped.


    He bellowed in anger. ¡°I will just cut your tongue first.¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± A cold but no less angry voice interrupted. The hulk huffed and puffed but he didn¡¯t say anything else as he slinked back and approached the newest member of the room.


    ¡°Wee, Beta Green!¡± The two men greeted simultaneously. ¡°We have been torturing her just as you ordered.¡± Baldy continued.


    The Beta ignored them as he approached me instead. His minty scent was a wee break from the overwhelming stench of my former guest.


    ¡°Indrik is dying. The doctor said he has only a short time left before the poison reaches his heart.¡± His cold voice informed.


    I slowly raised my head which I had kept bowed the entire time. I had to blink a couple of times before I could focus but finally, I could see him. He was wearing a green robe and had his arms tucked behind his back. He had a perfect poker face which prevented me from reading what he was thinking but his fear was hard to disguise. It was there in the way his back hung stiffly, in the way his voice trembled slightly. It was pretty obvious that he was scared about Indrik¡¯s safety which was a good thing. It would suck to have to endure this much suffering only to end up dying.


    ¡°Short time?¡± I chuckled, a short rasp that ended in a cough. ¡°Thest time I checked, the poison takes an hour to kill its victim. By my calctions, my master should not have more than a few minutes left. I don¡¯t think that qualifies for a short time.¡±


    His face hardened even more. ¡°What is the antidote?¡± He snarled.


    I chuckled again. Bad idea. An even worse coughing spell seized me as I coughed up some blood. ¡°I already told you. Unlock his wolf and he will be fine. The doctor told you this, yes?¡±


    For a moment, his veneer shifted and I saw all his rage and fear, then, he was back to his emotionless face. ¡°I cannot do that. It is a promise I made to his father. Just tell me what the antidote it and I promise to lessen your punishment. You don¡¯t have to continue to endure this torture.¡± His voice actually sounded convincing.


    ¡°But, I have been telling you that all along.¡± I smirked and instantly regretted it. My entire face burned from the stretch, worsening my headache. ¡°I would hurry if I were you. If I get my calctions right, he has less than five minutes left.¡±


    A cloud crossed over his features. ¡°I should have known better than to try to reason with you. Someone like you who would poison your master who has been nothing but good to you would not know emotions. Fine!¡± He stepped back as he turned toward the waiting men. ¡°Torture her, and don¡¯t stop till she gives you the information I need.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± I muttered. ¡°Four minutes left. If you really care about your ward, you will go save him now before it is toote. But then again, maybe you don¡¯t care because he is not your son. Is that¡­¡± I was cut short as a blinding pain cut across my back. I reeled forward, crying out from the agony.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    The next few moments were lost in a flurry of excruciating pain. From being whipped till I lost my breath to getting my head dipped into water for so long, I was sure my lungs would burst. At intervals, the Beta would stop the beasts and approach.


    ¡°Are you ready to speak now?¡± He would ask and I would reply with, ¡°three minutes left¡± or, ¡°the poison would be eating up his liver now,¡± or any other thing that would immediately get me whipped or dunked under the water again.


    This continued for so long that I was scared Indrik was going to end up dying. That was until thunder rumbled in the distance.

 Disbelief

    ire¡¯s Pov


    ¡°Where have you been?¡± I spat as I came face to face with Jamil and Ulo. The two were dressed in ck robes and had their swords around their waists. In the moonlight, I could notice strands of undergrowth clinging stubbornly to their robes.


    The two exchanged nces before turning to me.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Jamil asked, looking over his shoulder at the circle that was gathered a few feet away. Following his gaze, I frowned as I realized that the bed was gone and so was the doctor. I hurried over but all I saw were a group of guards huddled in a circle, no doubt discussing what had just happened.


    ¡°Where is he?¡± I growled.


    The group looked at me like I was a stray before one of them replied nonchntly, ¡°the doctor has had him taken somewhere else.¡±


    My head spun as I wondered how long I had remained on my knees, uttering a stupid prayer while the person I was so worried about had been taken away. He could have died for all I knew and I didn¡¯t know anything about it. The realization made me sick to my stomach.


    ¡°Where did he take him?¡± I asked again, looking from one to the other of the group.


    ¡°The doctor said no one was to be allowed to interrupt him.¡± Another replied as he turned his back on me and continued to speak to hisrades like I had stopped existing.


    My heart churned with anger as I red at the group. Being the daughter of one of the elders of the pack who rather than train was always too busy with her makeup, I didn¡¯t get much respect from the Pack members, a fact which had never really bothered me. Until now, that is. ¡°Where did he take him?¡± I asked again, my voice growing colder.


    The guard did not spare me so much as a nce. That was the most I could take as I stomped toward him and pulled him by the shoulder so he turned to face me. ¡°Where is Indrik?¡± I growled, my anger rolling off in waves.


    The guard looked shocked as he looked from his arm to me, no doubt shocked about how I had managed to move him so easily. To be honest, as I looked from my arms which weren¡¯t frail but weren¡¯t the exact strongest either, to the guard who was well built, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder how I had managed it. I couldn¡¯t be bothered with that for now though as the other guards fixed their attention on the two of us, wondering where this was going to end.


    ¡°I asked you a question.¡± I repeated. This snapped him out of his shock as he scowled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± He replied stubbornly.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I bunched up my fists, my anger starting to get the better of me. There is no telling what I would have done if Jamil had not showed up beside me, cing an arm on my shoulder to calm me down.


    ¡°What is going on here?¡± He asked, his cold eyes resting on the guards. Ulo appeared on my other side. The change that took ce was drastic as the curious look on the faces of the observers turned to that of difort while the one that had been standing neck to neck with me stepped back, his eyes flying to the ground. ¡°Do I need to repeat myself?¡± He asked again, making me marvel about how he had managed to bring them under control so easily.


    ¡°The doctor said he would not like any disturbance while he attended to Indrik.¡± The man replied, his voice a shadow of the booming version he had used for me.


    ¡°Indrik!¡± Jamil repeated as he turned toward me with a frown. I responded with a desperate look of my own. He nodded as he turned toward the guards. ¡°Don¡¯t you have something else to do?¡± The guards needed no other urging as they bowed and scampered off.


    ¡°Now!¡± He turned toward me as soon as the men were gone. ¡°What is going on with Indrik?¡± On my other side, Ulo had his eyes fixed on me as well, just as curious to hear what was going on.


    ¡°You would know if you were here.¡± I choked, a sob escaping as all the fear and pain came rushing back. ¡°Where were the two of you?¡± I asked, looking from one to the other as I recalled how lost I had felt when I had seen Indrik lying on that bed, dying from the poison that was given to him by his own maid.


    They exchanged nces again. nces that I hade to associate with them keeping something from me. Usually, I would have remained on their necks until they told me whatever it was but now, I couldn¡¯t care less.


    ¡°We had to take care of something.¡± Jamil said quickly. ¡°Now, tell us what happened to Indrik.¡±


    ¡°He was poisoned.¡± I blurted. Even now, the word left a bitter taste in my mouth. The two men looked at me in shock, then at each other. I could guess why. Who would want to poison Indrik? Sure, he had his own fair share of enemies but none would be so rash as to poison him. I knew this because it is the reply I would have given if someone had told me this a day ago. Their looks of shock morphed to anger as they turned toward me, their eyes, zing balls of vengeance.


    ¡°Who did it?¡± They asked simultaneously.


    I clenched my jaw as I turned toward Jamil who was the one who was always going around with that woman. ¡°His maid, Luna.¡± I bit out.


    ¡°What?¡± His eyes widened. ¡°But, that is impossible.¡±


    ¡°Go tell that to Indrik, if he survives.¡± I replied, my voice full of resentment.


    The two fell silent as the realization started to sink in. Suddenly, thunder rumbled as rain started to fall, right in the dead of winter.

 He鈥檚 Alive

    Ulo¡¯s Pov


    Listening to ire tell us about how Indrik had been poisoned by his maid, my fists clenched as I bubbled with murderous intent. I had never liked that girl and now, she had just crossed the line by threatening the life of my friend. Listening to Jamil trying to defend her only served to increase my anger till I was practically steaming at the nose.


    Before I could bring myself to speak, thunder suddenly rumbled and rain started to fall. I would have been amazed if I wasn¡¯t so furious because we hadn¡¯t had rain in a while. As it continued to rain though, I started to notice something. The rain wasn¡¯t normal by any standard. Each drop thatnded on my head, on my shoulders, on my feet, felt as hard as a stone although it didn¡¯t hurt. Stretching out my arm, I caught a drop in my hand and examined it in the moonlight. Like I had suspected, it wasn¡¯t a raindrop, instead, the tiny things that fell from the sky were more like pellets, diamond sized pellets. I would have dismissed them as ice if they weren¡¯t so red. The thing I held was so red it could have passed for blood. I raised it to take a closer look but it dissolved without a trace. I frowned as I reached out to collect another but the rain had stopped as suddenly as it had started. Peering at the ground revealed the rest to have vanished. Even worse, the ground was dry. Nothing like a ground should look like after several rain pellets had dissolved on it. It was like they had all dissolved into thin air.


    I turned toward my friends who met my eyes with an expression that was just as confused. I shook my head as a feeling of dread started to creep up my spine. Something told me that we had just witnessed an omen and although I would prefer it to not be true but I knew without doubt that it foretold anything but good.


    I was distracted from my thoughts by approaching feet. I turned toward the area from which the sound hade and sure enough, a figure burst out, pulling to a stop before us as he tried to catch his breath.


    ¡°What is the matter?¡± I asked gruffly, not happy about the interruption.


    ire caught on more quickly as she stepped forward. ¡°Indrik.¡± She gasped, her hands moving anywhere and everywhere in her nervousness. ¡°Is he okay?¡± She asked. I cursed under my breath, ashamed to realize that I had forgotten about my fatally ill friend.


    ¡°He is okay. Elder Matthew said to inform you that he had to transfer some of his energy to him in order to save him.¡±


    My head snapped up as I tried to understand what that meant but again, ire was faster in realizing what had happened.


    ¡°Does that mean,¡± her voice was faint as though she was afraid saying it out loud would jinx it, ¡°his wolf has been unlocked?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The messenger replied simply.


    My head spun as I tried to process what the messenger had just said. Indrik had had his wolf unlocked? The concept sounded so foreign that for a moment, I didn¡¯t know what to make of it.


    ¡°He said I should let you know so you could pass the message across to the Elders so they would stop worrying.¡± The  messenger continued when he noticed that I was no longer listening. That worked as I raised my head and nodded. Sure! My friend from day one had suddenly achieved his life long dream which also means that a lot of things are going to change but I would have to worry about all of thatter. For now, I had the task of informing everyone so they would stop worrying.


    ¡°I will be back.¡± I informed the others as I made my way to the pce.


    As expected, the Zeta and Gamma who had been pacing in the throne room while discussing in hushed tones had been relieved to hear about what had happened although I did not miss the looks of worry that temporarily shed across their features before they concealed it with smiles. On asking about my father, I was informed that he was in the dungeon with the maid. I grimaced at the mention of the maid but made my way there nheless.


    As I walked deeper into the depths of the pce, I couldn¡¯t help feeling a little nervous as cold drafts attacked me, almost like the angry spirits that had died here were reminding me that I was not wee. Luckily, I was not nning to stay that long.


    I was still a few feet away from the torture room when I heard the girl¡¯s squeal of pain, then, ¡°he is going to die.¡± I clenched my fists as I wished I could rush in and rip her tongue out. Instead, I calmly knocked on the door as I walked in.


    My father turned toward me, a look that bordered between hope and fear on his face. I arched my brows in surprise. I had almost never known my dad to show his emotions. Seeing me standing there, he knew I was bearing news. The kind was what he did not know. ¡°Speak!¡± He ordered, his eyes fixed on the girl whose head was bowed.


    ¡°Indrik is okay.¡± I informed.


    My father¡¯s head turned so fast, I was afraid he would get a whish. Hope burned in his eyes but it was quickly reced by worry. ¡°He found the cure?¡±


    ¡°No, Beta. The doctor transferred some of his energy to save him.¡±


    My father bowed his head for a moment. When he raised it again, he looked crestfallen. Another look that I had never seen before. ¡°We should leave.¡± He whispered as he started to advance. ¡°Keep an eye on her.¡±


    ¡°He is alive.¡± Luna gasped as we made our way out and I could have sworn I heard a smile in her voice. Strange!Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.

 Awake!

    ire¡¯s Pov


    I sat in Indrik¡¯s room, my hands tucked under my cheeks on his bed as I stared at him mesmerized by his sleeping figure. Sunlight streamed into the room, making him look even more amazing.


    I sighed dreamily as I watched his chest heave slowly apanied by his soft snoring. He had been asleep for three days and hisplexion was still pale from what he had gone through at the hands of his maid yet, he still managed a heart stopping beautiful look. His long ck hair framed his face perfectly like he had been tending to it all these days, (which I might have been responsible for), his eyes were closed but they looked just as pretty as they were when open, his nose, a work of art that was honed to a point so sharp, it could cut you if you were not careful enough, his full pink lips that always seemed to be calling for a taste, his cheeks that were neither too plump, nor too thin, his perfect ears, his square jaw that always pulsed with power, even now, with ridiculous stumps of hair starting to sprout.


    Despite his lean stature, Indrik had always managed to portray a powerful presence with his height and impressive features but now, even asleep and snoring with a slight drool on his chin, I could sense something different about him. Something, powerful. Even as I stared at him, never wanting to let him out of my sight, I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that he was going to be out of my grasp soon enough. The image of the red stones raining from the sky drifted into my mind. I had no idea why the thought visited because I definitely did not want to think about it but somewhere in the back of my mind, a small voice whispered that it had something to do with Indrik after all, he had be a full wolf on that night. I shook my head, dispelling the thought as quickly as it hade. What was I thinking? Indrik had finally gotten his life long dream after sacrificing a lot. Of course, he deserved it.


    Rather than focus on depressing thoughts, I decided to concentrate on what was before me instead. A faint scent of cinnamon hung in the air from his morning bath drawing me to lean in even closer as I tried my best to take in as much as I could before he awakened. Speaking of awakening, the doctor had said that he had no idea how long Indrik would remain unconscious given that the poison had really eaten deep before he had been treated. The speed of his discovery depended on how quickly he bonded with his wolf. But he was going to live. He knew that much which was all I needed to know. The person that I cared the most about was not going to die. That was enough to send me over the moon.


    Speaking of the moon, I remembered my prayer to the goddess and wondered if that had to do with the recovery. Perhaps, she was the one who had touched the doctor¡¯s heart? I didn¡¯t know. This was one of my many problems with the beings. Circumstances surrounding their works were always so,plicated. I decided not to dwell on it anymore but not before I recalled my promise to do anything to save him. Did that still hold?


    I was still lost in my thoughts when a gentle knock came on the door. The door opened slightly and Ulo¡¯s head popped into the room. I turned tomato red as I hurriedly pulled away from my implicating position on the bed but even if he had not seen that, my difort as I tried to figure out what to do with my arms, whether to ce them in myps, on the bed, or just throw them out the window definitely gave me away. Thankfully though, he didn¡¯t say a word about that as he stalked over to Indrik and looked him over.


    ¡°How is he doing?¡± He asked quietly.


    ¡°Better!¡± I squeaked, then inhaled deeply. ¡°His color is slowly starting to return to him but he still hasn¡¯t opened his eyes.¡±


    Ulo nodded, keeping his eyes on him, his expression unreadable. ¡°Myself and Jamil have informed the elders about what happened the other night.¡± He started, not looking at me.


    I nodded. We should have informed the elders about the red stone incident immediately after it happened but a lot of things had transpired, like the prisoners escaping, giving the warriors including Ulo and Jamil a great deal of trouble in getting them back under control. Then there was also the warning from the other pack. My anger brewed even as I thought of it. Anyways, all of that had kept us till now. I had told them to go on without me for obvious reasons.


    ¡°They confirmed our suspicions about it being an omen although they would not divulge any further details. They warned us to not let the news get out.¡±


    I nodded again. I wasn¡¯t about to start telling the entire pack about a strange thing which for whatever reason had only happened where we were standing. Besides, I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that it had something to do with Indrik. I wanted to ask about Jamil but held my tongue. He had been keeping his distance ever since the incident, probably due to shame at supporting the killer. Even now, the thought of that woman was enough to make me grit my teeth in anger.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    ¡°I should get going.¡± Ulo shuffled ufortably.


    ¡°Alright.¡± I acknowledged, eager to return to my keepingpany with the sleeping man.


    Once he was gone, I turned my attention to Indrik, my brows furrowing in concern. I still could not shake the feeling that these all had something to do with him.


    None of these mattered when he groaned. My heart soared as his eyes fluttered open.

 I Have To Go Find Her

    Indrik¡¯s Pov


    I just had the most awful dream. My chest had been on fire and my blood had turned to acid, burning my skin away as it coursed through my veins. I groaned as my eyes fluttered open.


    My head spun as I stared nkly at the surface above me, feeling rather lightheaded. I shut my eyes as a wave of nausea rushed through me. Opening my eyes again, I started to register the scene around me. The image of a golden wolf approached me moving so fast that I freaked out, swatting it away with a yelp. That was followed with another groan as my hand moved a little too fast and hard, missing the target and mming into my chest with a dull thump instead. I shook my head to shake the buzz in my ears that was serving to disorient me even further.


    Thump-thump! Thump-thump! A heavy sound drifted into my ears making me want to scream in frustration as I wondered what exactly was going on with me. I could hear the rustling of trees, the gurgling of water in a faraway creek, the chirping of birds, even the conversation of some people who I couldn¡¯t see. My eyes widened as I listened.


    ¡°¡­ this is going to cause more trouble than we could ever imagine. He shouldn¡¯t have done it.¡± My frown deepened. That sounded like Beta Green.


    ¡°He had no choice. It was either that or death. Whatever happens next, I am sure we will be able to handle it.¡± That soft voice that always managed to calm me down definitely belonged to the Gamma.


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Argggh!¡± I screamed, pping myself on both cheeks in an attempt to shake the voices out of them. There was no way I was hearing them. Whatever I had gone through must be slowly driving me crazy.


    ¡°Indrik!¡± A voice cut through my haze, managing to wrest my arms into a pause.


    I slowly opened my eyes to see a female figure hovering over me. My eyes couldn¡¯t focus enough to make out the features but only one name came to mind.


    ¡°Luna?¡± I asked, a smile spreading on my face as all of my troubles fell away.


    ¡°Not Luna!¡± An angry voice scowled. Oh-oh! My eyes cleared instantly but I didn¡¯t need them to recognize the owner of that voice.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°ire!¡± I called as I sat up or tried to because my head spun so badly that I dropped back to the bed like a lump of wood.


    ¡°You should rest.¡± She muttered, her voice softening as she adjusted my position on the bed.


    ¡°What happened?¡± I groaned, feeling frustrated at this weakness that was consuming me like a gue.


    ¡°Perhaps you should focus on recovering first? You look pale.¡± She replied softly. But how could I focus if my mind felt like a farm of tomatoes that a giant had marched through?


    ¡°I can¡¯t! Please, ire, tell me what happened.¡± I must have sounded desperate as I reached for her arm.


    She sighed, a look of annoyance, or was it resignation, (I couldn¡¯t really tell with my eyes starting to go out of focus again) crossing her features as she stopped and backed away, her arms crossing over her chest. ¡°Are you sure you want to know?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I nodded without hesitation. I could tell from her face and movements that whatever she had to say was bad but I also figured that nothing could be as bad as this storm that was raging through me, threatening to tear me apart.


    ¡°Fine!¡± She snorted. ¡°Your maid poisoned you, almost killing you in the process.¡± Her anger was lost on me as my head spun round and round, reeling from the memories that started to rush in like a whirlwind. I winced as I started to recall herst words to me.


    ¡°Do you trust me?¡± She had asked and I had answered immediately. I had meant every word back then and call me crazy, but, even now, trying to recover from the poison she had fed me, I still trusted her with my life. ¡°A game!¡± She had called it. I felt a strange urge to smile.


    ¡°Indrik!¡± ire sounded incensed as she red at me like she was going to pounce on me and beat a horse sized sense into my head.


    ¡°Where is she now?¡± I asked, my eyes still gleaming with amusement.


    ¡°In the dungeon. Awaiting her execution. I assure you that she is going to get the worst kind of suffering we have to offer before death¡­. What are you doing?¡± She interrupted herself as she saw me starting to climb out of bed.


    ¡°I have to go find her!¡± I groaned as my hands flew to my head, trying to hold down the intense headache that was threatening to rip me into tiny nut sized disks.


    ¡°What?¡± ire¡¯s eyes grew so wide, I was afraid she would get an even bigger migraine than mine. ¡°You were poisoned by your maid which caused you intense pain and suffering. You would have died if not because the doctor had taken the risk of unlocking your wolf and still, the first thing you ask for is her?¡±


    My head spun at something she had just said but I shook my head, my worry far outweighing any other curiosity. ¡°I have to get to her!¡± I muttered as I walked past her on wobbly feet. She didn¡¯t stop me this time.


    Luckily, I did not run into any other person on my way to the dungeon because I already had enough demons to deal with. My legs felt like jelly with each effort to raise them resulting in another bead of sweat running down my back. My head felt like it had been reced with a drum with each st of the hot afternoon wind, each hot ray of the sun making it throb with intense headaches. My arms threatened to fall off and my trunk still felt like the fire hadn¡¯t been snuffed outpletely. In all of these, only one thought reigned supreme in my mind, giving me the strength to continue to press on. The thought of seeing my master again.

 Out

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    I had been here for so long that I had lost all track of time. In between the endless torture that the guards now seemed to do as a pastime and the rats that seemed to enjoy the taste of the dried blood that had crusted on the ground beneath me, I was surely having the time of my life. At this point, I didn¡¯t even know when I was awake and when I was dreaming anymore. I had grown lightheaded from dehydration and loss of blood.


    Which was why I couldn¡¯t figure out if I was daydreaming or really seeing Indrik walking in on spindly feet. Or if his call really was happening or it was my delirious mind working overtime.


    ¡°Luna!¡± A warm arm wrapped around my shriveled one and started to untie the ropes around it. Okay, that was surely not a figment of my imagination. No imagination could be that vivid, or tangible.


    I tried to open my mouth but my days in the darkness without food or water had gotten to me. To even keep my eyes open was proving to be an herculean task.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± He asked, tapping my cheeks. I didn¡¯t realize I had drifted off again until I opened my eyes and saw his dark eyes staring into mine. They were still as dark as they always were, maybe weaker even but in their depths, straining to leap at me, I could feel a newfound energy, a new found strength, the strength of a wolf.


    ¡°It worked.¡± My voice sounded like rock being ground against rock but the fact that I was even able to talk was a big enoughfort.


    ¡°Yes, master. Your game yed out perfectly. It was painful, so painful, I wanted to give up and just die, maybe I even cursed you a little but yes, it did work.¡± He smiled as he continued to loose the ropes.


    ¡°Good!¡± I muttered as my eyes shut again.


    ¡°Hey, master. Don¡¯t you dare give up on me. You had better stay awake or I am going to have you get me some wolf spurt.¡± He muttered, his worry evident in his words.


    I smiled as I realized that I never got him the wolf spurt. After I had found him being pummeled by his brother, I had been so shaken by it as I cared for him that I totally forgot about that nt. And then, there had been the poison.


    ¡°Come on!¡± Indrik whispered as he helped me out of the ropes.


    My legs turned to jelly and copsed under me the moment they touched the ground. I couldn¡¯t me them really. Having been suspended mid-air for days on end, it was a miracle that I could feel them at all.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Indrik¡¯s voice came from behind me. My joints creaked in protest as I slowly turned around and ced my arms on his chest. Feeling his chest pulsing under my arms, I could feel strength slowly beginning to sip into my bones again. A weak smile escaped.


    ¡°My student!¡± It might have been day or night with how dark the room always was but even in the gloom, I could see his eyes water as he drew closer to me. ¡°Oh,e on, don¡¯t be such a baby.¡± I muttered dismissively, but the croak that my voice was could easily be dismissed as a joke.


    ¡°I¡­ I am..¡± He faltered as he wiped his eyes with his sleeves. ¡°It is just that, I have spent all my life looking for a teacher only to be turned down by everyone. Now, hearing you address me by that name.¡± He sniffled, daubing at his eyes again. ¡°It is so much of a dreame true that it feels unreal. Thank you.¡± He picked up my hand, dirt, grime and all and kissed it.


    ¡°Your wolf is free. I can feel it.¡± I whispered. ¡°You are going to be the best student any master has ever had. I know that for a fact.¡± I shed a smile as big as my stiff cheeks would allow before giving in to my muscles and falling back into his waiting arms.


    ¡°Thank you, master.¡± He whimpered. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get you out of here.¡±


    If anyone had seen the two of us as we came out of the dungeon, I had no doubt that they would burst intoughter at how ridiculous we looked. There I was, bruised beyond recognition, caked with lumps of blood and dirt, limping on unsteady feet and swaying so badly, I would have copsed like a pack of cards if not for the support. Beside me, stumbled Indrik, tired and wobbly as well, his body still recovering from the near death trauma of was it a day ago? Two? A week? I had no way of knowing.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    My fainting spells were bing few and far between as I took in the scent of fresh air. Having been locked away for what seemed like an eternity in a stale environment, with nothing to breath except air that had been mixed with my own sweat and filth along with the ones that had been left by former captives, this air that smelled like cinnamon, and apples, and lemon, and honey, and fresh bread, and everything else that was good was little less than paradise. I took in the sight of the not so tall trees that lined either side of the path that led away from the pce and marveled at the fact that their leaves seemed to have be greener. Even the paved ground seemed to have been retouched. The little birds mncholic twitters sounded like a chorus of joy to my ears. Only now was I starting to appreciate the saying that you don¡¯t know what you have until you loose it.


    My few days in the dungeon had made me so amenable that even the smallest things seemed like the most pleasant offerings. My body though did not seem to share in my excitement as my legs started to tremble even more making me more than grateful when we finally arrived in our quarters. That was until a familiar voice that I did not fancy broke me out of my paradise.

 Hurt

    ire¡¯s Pov


    I paced around in Indrik¡¯s room, nearly running mad from my anger at Indrik. That fool! I gritted my teeth wishing I had spent a few days training so I could punch him so hard in the face that his nose would split into two (ok, maybe not so hard. I couldn¡¯t bear the thought of ruining his handsome face). Maybe then, his senses would return to him. How could he, after all that girl had done to him, (heck, she had almost killed him. Scratch that, she practically killed him before the doctor had brought him back to life. I shuddered as I recalled how Beta Green had tantly refused to save him. He would have died if the doctor had not decided to risk everything to save him.) how could he still think about nothing else except her? Why!!!


    My eyes narrowed as the door opened and Indrik stumbled in holding her up in his arms. My eyes stung as my ears popped and I stomped toward them, intending to p the grime covered witch back to whatever hole she had crawled out from but just before I could reach her, Indrik pulled her behind him and shook his head. ¡°Please!¡± He whispered.


    ¡°Really?¡± My voice quivered as I tried to bnce out my breathing. ¡°You are really going to defend her after all she has put you through? Do you even¡­¡± My voice broke as a tear slid from my eye. I hurriedly attacked it, wiping it away, but it only made it worse as even more tears poured from my eyes. ¡°Do you know what I went through these past few days trying to save you from what she caused? Do you know how scared I was that you might never recover? Do you know how many times I¡­¡± I stopped myself as I gulped, my hands trembling at my sides.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°ire?¡± He started to walk toward me but stopped when the girl started to sway. My heart ached as the tears poured even faster at the thought that she was more important to him than I was. But how? I had spent all my life with him, growing up as one of his best friends, sharingughter and memories and suddenly, a womanes out of nowhere and bes more important to him? The thought of it filled me with so much despair that my feet started to grow light under me and my eyes spun in circles, turning the room upside down. I would have fallen if not for a table beside me that I threw my weight on.


    ¡°ire! Are you okay?¡± My eyes clouded even more like someone was holding a smoking stick before them as I noticed that he had not moved an inch from his position. He stood there watching with that girl in his arms while I, who had spent the past few days doing nothing much more than caring for him trembled, trying my best to not copse to the floor.


    I clenched my fist around the table as my eyes sharpened and I got my emotions under control again.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± He asked, his voice so soft I would have forgotten all my problems if the source was not standing beside him, clinging to him tightly.


    I red at him coldly before turning my eyes to the woman beside him, intending to reduce her to cinders with my eyes but in the end, all that got my rage was auburn hair which my eyes sadly did not possess enough firepower to set aze.


    ¡°I am sorry, ire.¡± Indrik started, shifting the weight of his maid on his shoulders. ¡°I know what you must be feeling like right now¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you?¡± I snapped, as I pushed aggressively away from the table.


    He smiled nervously, the kind of toothy smile that showed off his perfect dentition. I hated that my stomach still fluttered like it always did. Even now.


    ¡°Listen, I am sorry okay? I promise to exin all of this. It is not my intention to disrespect you or anything but I do have to care for her. Would you help me?¡± Thest part came out a little choked like he knew exactly what my answer would be. He wasn¡¯t wrong.


    I chuckled, myughtering out in a harsh grating of my vocal cords. Even at that moment, I couldn¡¯t help thinking that I sounded like rock grinding against rock. ¡°Is that a joke? Surely, you are joking, right?¡± I asked, my sweet voice belying the rage that was coursing through my veins like fire in a field of oil.


    Obviously, he still had an iota of sense as his eyes widened. ¡°Please, ire. She needs help and I can¡¯t do it alone.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really? So, in other words, you are asking me to be a maid for a maid?¡± I chuckled again as I picked up an apple from the table beside me and took a bite.


    ¡°ire?¡± He sighed heavily. ¡°I know you are mad at me but I promise that there is an exnation for this. I wish I could tell you about it right now but I can¡¯t. I promise that you would understand soon though.¡±


    I took another bite. ¡°Did you just say mad, Indrik?¡± I arched my brows as he fidgeted more and more. ¡°Wrong.¡± I spat. ¡°I am not mad, I am raging mad. Mad at how you could be such a fool. You know what? I am done here. Since you clearly don¡¯t appreciate my efforts, I might just as well stop trying. Best of luck to you and your maid. I am out of here and I will be damned a thousand times over if I ever show up for you again. You can go to hell for all I care.¡± With that, I stomped heavily past him, my chest heaving.


    ¡°I guess it is just you and me then.¡± I heard him say just before I closed the door and my heart shattered.


    The doors before me merged into one as all the dams in my eyes broke open.

 Master

    Indrik¡¯s Pov


    My heart broke as I watched ire stomp out of the room. I couldn¡¯t shake the thought that I was the most ungrateful beast I had ever met for treating her like that. I yed out our conversation in my head and wondered if there was a way I could have done it better, a word I was supposed to not have said? An exntation I should have given? I definitely should have given her an exnation. I owed her that much but sadly, I couldn¡¯t because there was no telling what she would do with the truth. I couldn¡¯t afford to risk my master¡¯s life. I shrugged, deciding that I would go talk to her once she had cooled down and was more ready to listen. I had to let her know that Luna had not hurt me. Well, technically, she did but it was for the greater good. I flexed my muscles, feeling the spot in the bottom of my belly that had always been empty now brimming with life and energy.


    ¡°I guess it is just you and me now.¡± I whispered to Luna as I led her toward the bathroom. She had grown limp again, her head lolling in what must have been a very ufortable posture. I adjusted it the best way I could as I ced her against a wall. Her dress was so filthy that even here, in the light of day, I couldn¡¯t figure out the colour it had once been. Horse poop brown? Rotting manure ck? Dried blood red? Urgh! I grimaced, my fingernails tingling as I started to reach for it. My hands paused midair as I thought about what she would do to me if she realized that I had undressed her. I could imagine her blue eyes gleaming with rage as she bashed my head in with aundry basket. But then again, I didn¡¯t see any other choice. ire had made it pretty clear that she was not going to help me and any help from the pce¡­ well, that was better off not being pushed. I figured she did not have to know as I peeled off her clothes, torn between the urge to throw up at the sight and smell, (I wondered if that was how I had looked and smelt like when I had been freed from the dungeon. Yuck!) and the knowledge that I would be dead if she awakened. Trying my best to avert my eyes, I led her to the bathroom where I gave her the most awkward bath of all time. I hoped I never had to do that again. I pulled her out of the water only to recall that I hadn¡¯t brought a towel. I dropped her with a loud plop as I hurried to get the towel and helped her out. The next few moments of dressing her up in a white gown (which I couldn¡¯t tell how itnded in my room but was d it was there nheless) wasn¡¯t any less draining which exined my relief when I was finally done. And not once had she opened her eyes. Phew!


    I noticed the ugly gashes on her arms. I wondered just how many remained on her body that I couldn¡¯t see. I panicked as I wondered how I was going to treat her. Taking her to the doctor right now would be a catastrophe. And ire wasn¡¯t going to help. I could have but I had no idea about medicine. I had to find a way. Later.


    I helped her to the bed and tenderly pulled up the sheets around her. I was so d that was finally over as I made my way over to the table where ire had stood the other time. Hervender scent still hung in the air as I picked up an apple and took a bite. It wasn¡¯t until now that Luna was sleeping peacefully in bed that I realized how hungry I was. I looked around, hoping I would find any food, perhaps, a tray ire had hidden out of sight? Nothing. Obviously, she had been too pissed to consider getting some food for this poor, hungry soul. I was still distracted by my search for food when Luna murmured something in her sleep. I turned toward her, the apple still in my mouth. I froze as my eyes fell on her.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Due to all that had happened since I arrived in the pack, my punishment, my imprisonment, my recovery, and my not as heroic acts, I had never really gotten to see Luna sleeping. Okay, maybe I had once but that didn¡¯t count. It hadn¡¯t made my breath hitch as seeing her now did. Spittle might have drooled from my open mouth as I slowly lowered my mass to the bed and took in her features. Probably because I had grown used to seeing her scowling down at me in displeasure or full blown cold hate, seeing her like this, looking all pure and innocent was so mesmerizing, I might have as well been looking at a goddess.


    The lemon scent of the bath soap wafted from her in soft waves, slowly filling me with the desire to move in close and take in a very deep whiff of her scent. Her auburn hair, an interesting mix of colors that came dangerously close to red in some parts and really brown in other parts, framed her perfect oval (or was it diamond shaped) face. Her usually arched eyebrows had now rxed, her sharp nose barely moving. Her full, pink lips had parted slightly, releasing a soft snore every few seconds which for some reason only made her look more beautiful. I sighed dreamily as I propped up my head on an arm and took in her beauty. Reaching out, I slowly traced her jaw. I frowned as I noticed a mark under it, a long white mark that looked like, a w? No, more like a scar which wasn¡¯t new. I wondered where she had gotten that from.


    Looking at her as her chest slowly expanded and contracted, I realized that there was so much I did not know about her. Where she came from, who she really was, how she slept, where she got her scar, so many things. Perhaps, ire was right to call me a fool. But I didn¡¯t care.


    I sighed as Iy on the bed beside her, my eyes still fixed on her. ¡°You are my master!¡±

 About To Be Killed

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    I opened my eyes with a start. My head felt light but not in a bad way. As a matter of fact, I felt more light than I had in a couple of days? Months? Felt more like an eternity.


    I smiled as I stretched sluggishly, d to be alive. Looking outside the window, I could see the sun beginning to set. Everything was perfect, or was it? I frowned as some noise punctured my quiet. Looking around, I realized that this was not my room. I frowned as I tried to recall how I had ended up here which proved quite a herculean task. I could recall seeing Indrik as he fiddled with my ropes. ¡°Indrik!¡± I sighed contentedly, my heart growing warm at the memory. I recalled seeing the outside again and feeling so d to be free. I recalled¡­ wait a minute!


    I lifted the sheets that were tightly wound around my body (which must have been from when I was turning in my sleep) and nearly shrieked. I was pretty certain this was not the dress I had been wearing, and I looked clean for someone who was just out of a dungeon too. And, my mouth would have fell off if it wasn¡¯t so tightly secured in ce. I wasn¡¯t wearing¡­. ¡°Indrik!¡± I shrieked, my voice loud enough to bring down the room on my head. My head felt like it would explode as I recalled shes, shes that made me grow red with rage and humiliation.


    ¡°Mmm!¡± My head turned to the side as the sheets beside me began to rustle. Peeling back the sheets, Indrik sat up, rubbing his sore eyes groggily. I had to hold myself back from pping him into full consciousness.


    ¡°Where am I?¡± I growled, ring at him like a wolf (the full one) would re at amb that had evaded him for far too long.


    ¡°What?¡± He muttered, his sleep engendered sluggishness serving to further anger me but there wasn¡¯t much I could do other than steam beside him and wait for him to awaken. Beside him! My eyes widened as I scurried out of bed and turned to face him. ¡°What did you say?¡± He repeated, his eyes fixed on me. Was that my face or my¡­ Oh my! I sped my hands over my chest, certain my entire body had now turned red. I knew it was ridiculous, especially because this dress felt thick enough to shield me but I couldn¡¯t help it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look!¡± I bellowed when he continued to watch me with a puzzled expression.


    His brows furrowed before realization set in and he turned an even darker shade as he turned away.


    My eyes darted around the room before falling on the blue sheets I had just crawled out from. In a swift leap, I reached the bed and yanked it away, nearly sending him sprawling as I pulled the part that he sat on and hurriedly wrapped it around me. It took a couple of deep controlled breaths but finally, I was ready to speak again. ¡°You can turn around now.¡±


    He turned around and took in my attire with a puzzled frown before looking into my eyes as though to say, ¡®Alrighttt! You sessfully managed the spooky look. Now, what is it that has got your pants in a twist?¡¯ This got me blushing again but I hurriedly masked it with a scowl. Looking around, from the small table which housed a bottle of fragrance, a small round rock which I always thought was too childish for an adult male to keep around, among some other misceneous to theundry which still sat poignantly before the bathroom door,undry which included mine, shoes which had one pair settled on the rack just beside the door and the other pair scattered in ridiculous ces like, the foot of the bed, the head of the bed, inside his wardrobe. I shut my eyes and inhaled deeply, willing myself to stop thinking about it. Yeah, this was his room for sure.


    ¡°What is going on Luna?¡± He asked with a bored look which heplemented with a wide yawn.


    ¡°What is going on?¡± I repeated slowly. I thought about running over to him and bashing him in the face. What is going on you say? Who was the person that stripped me? Who bathed me and dressed me up without thinking to help me with an underwear. Who thought that my room was such a bad idea that they had to fix me up in your bed, with you? That and many more were the thoughts that ran in my mind but thankfully, I did not voice them because they would only have gotten me into more trouble.


    Instead, I replied in a calm voice, ¡°who changed my dress?¡± If I had any doubt, any lingering hope that I could yet salvage my dying honour, it was all squashed as Indrik turned a darker shade of crimson and rubbed the back of his head like it had suddenly developed a huge itch.


    ¡°Oh, that!¡± He started, his hand starting to go faster. ¡°I tried to get someone to do it but¡­¡±


    ¡°But what?¡± My voice was frighteningly calm.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t. I had to do it.¡± The world came to a pause around me as I felt it begin to crumble. My dignity, my respect, my¡­ My arms wrapped around me subconsciously. ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t look, I promise.¡± He said defensively but that only served to make it worse.


    ¡°You undressed me! Bathed me! Dressed me again!¡± I sounded the words out, hoping that it would turn out to be a misdelivery. It didn¡¯t.


    ¡°I had no choice, okay? You were filthy and¡­ well, filthy.¡± He tweaked his nose for emphasis. ¡°It was either that or you getting left outside for the homing pigeons to pick you clean. But, I guess you would have preferred that?¡± He arched his brows. ¡°Right!¡±


    My fists clenched as I red at him. Nobody get in the way. A master is about to be killed.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.

 Almost

    Indrik¡¯s Pov


    Watching Luna tower over me, the only thing left for her to produce to cement her angry state, a line of smoke, I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle in amusement. Hey, don¡¯t look at me like that. I had been so mortified at having to clean her up that seeing her so fired up by it made my earlier misgivings feel¡­ What was the word now? Ridiculous. Yeah, that was it. But, hey! I had been unconscious several times too and not once had I acted up when I awakened. This was unfair, I wanted to say but the word was killed in my mouth as she barreled toward me.


    Now, Luna wasn¡¯t very burly. She had a hourss shape replete with petite limbs. Not very intimidating by how intimidating goes but seeing her close in on me with a death to the sinner look on her face, I couldn¡¯t help feeling a little out of my element as I got out of bed and stumbled over to the wall. She continued to close in on me and my lips curled as a thought crossed my mind. I rxed on the wall as I propped myself on a leg.


    ¡°If you are going to strip me as payment then, please, let it be when I am unconscious. That would only be fair, right?¡± I muttered. That worked to stop her in her advance as she glowered, her lower lips trembling from the overload of emotions.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be unconscious alright.¡± She grimaced as she resumed her march, her face telling me that there was no way I was getting off this unscathed. Well, if I was going to be hurt either way, I might as well make the first move. I learned that much from my time around the wolves.


    I started to move when I noticed that she was clenching something in her hands, no, two. I realized this toote as she raised her arm and sent a missile toward me. I should duck but the thought arrived toote as a grape fruit hit me smack in the face. I stood rooted in ce, shell shocked as the liquid dripped from my face. She barely gave me time to recover as she sent the other one. She had a mean arm, I realized as the fruit arrived on the same spot. My forehead.


    ¡°That is for taking advantage of my unconsciousness.¡± She exined.


    That snapped me out of my shock. She had started to turn around when I bounded toward her, knocking her to the bed. Her eyes grew wild as she struggled against me. Perhaps it was my wolf, or perhaps, it was just adrenaline but I managed to hold her down without much effort. Wolf! I raised my head in shock. I had always imagined the day my wolf was freed to be one that I would spend celebrating it in grand style, perhaps, a trip to the training camp to immediately start training, or an announcement on the top of the highest mountain in the pack or just a good sprint on barefoot through the woods but now that it finally happened, I found that I hadn¡¯t really given it much thought.


    Luna¡¯s struggles brought me back to the present as I looked down at her and sniggered. ¡°You are being an unfair master, you know! Throwing two good fruits at a student who did nothing other than help his unconscious master? That wasn¡¯t very nice. Need I remind you of the many times that you have bathed me while I was unconscious? Did I ever oncein?¡±


    ¡°Get off me!¡± She growled, trying her best to get me off her but I had a mind of keeping her there for a while longer.


    ¡°Not until we discuss settlement. You broke my heart, you know? Punishing me for a crime I did notmit. How do you intend to right this wrong?¡± For the first time, I noticed that her arms had gone ck under me and in the ce of the scathing look, a look so fragile, I didn¡¯t know what to make of it. For the first time, I realized just how close we were right now. Her upper back was pinned to the side of the bed, her legs curled underneath her on the floor. I on the other hand was stooped over her, taking care to not move too close to any part of her body except her arms which I was keeping pinned under me to avoid very painful lessons. Sometime during our exchange, her sheet protection had fallen off. I tried not to look to avoid getting introduced to another fruit throwing episode.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    I focused all my attention on her face instead. A drop of the residue left by the grape fruit had found a way from my forehead to her upper lip, part of it slipping in to her slightly parted lips. Seeing her up close for the second time, this time with her turquoise eyes boring holes into mine, I was again reminded of just how beautiful she was. I barely noticed as my head started to dip lower and lower. Her expression was still frozen somewhere between anger and (was that mesmerization?) but she didn¡¯t try to stop me. With our lips just a few inches apart, I got a vision of a very painful lip bite and withdrew.


    ¡°I guess a master has the right to punish her student.¡± I muttered just before I pulled away fully, making my way over to the window. I needed some fresh air.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± She muttered behind me. I turned to see her wincing painfully as she rose to her feet. I cursed inwardly. I had totally forgotten about her wounds.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked worriedly.


    ¡°I should go get dinner. It is gettingte.¡± She muttered and disappeared before I could say jack.


    I inhaled heavily as I reyed the events of the past few minutes. ¡°What just happened?¡±

 Warmth

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    I winced as I made my way to the pce. ¡°Traitors!¡± I cursed. When I had awakened, I had totally forgotten that I had sustained some injuries from my days in the dungeon. I had been feeling so strong and refreshed. And then, there had been the discovery that Indrik had bathed me. The thought still made me so ufortably warm. That had filled me with enough anger and adrenaline to further numb the pain. It wasn¡¯t until he had pinned me to the bed that the pain had fully kicked in.


    I would like to say that was the only reason I had stopped fighting but that wasn¡¯t true. I shivered as I recalled that warm feeling that had overwhelmed me, like hot tea on a cold rainy day. It had paralyzed me, preventing me from fighting off Indrik¡¯s advances. I traced my finger over my lips as I remembered what had almost happened.


    I was pulled out of my daydream (or was it evening dream?¡± by a figure appearing before me out of the blues. The night had arrived without me noticing and now, I had to squint before I could make out the features of the person in the flickering light of the mounted torches.


    ¡°Beta Green?¡± I gasped, stumbling back. I recalled thest time we had met. The night that I had poisoned Indrik and he had made his men torture me till I thought I would surely die. Even in the dark, I could make out his cold eyes as he sized me up. For a moment, I wondered if he was going to call for his guards and make them take me away but instead, he turned around and walked away, his arms tucked behind his back. I remained in the spot for a moment, blinking as I tried to make sense of what had just happened but I could not. I figured that I would ask Indrik when I returned but for now, I hurried to the kitchen, praying and hoping to not run into anyone else.


    The kitchen maids looked at me like I was an agent from the underworld who they would sooner squash under their chubby legs than give some food but they did not give me any trouble either, much to my relief and surprise too.


    I hurried back to our quarters, taking care to stuck in the shadows. Thest thing I would want would be to run into either ire or Leon. ire would rip my head off for trying to kill Indrik and Leon would do the same for not managing toplete the task.


    ¡°Food!¡± Indrik cooed excitedly before I could even slip in fully. I had barely dropped the tray when he helped himself to some scrambled eggs.


    ¡°You are going to finish the food before it is even served.¡± Iined.


    ¡°Just hurry.¡± He replied, his voice muffled from being stuffed full of eggs. ¡°You have no idea how much torture I have had to endure these past few days you¡¯ve been out of it.


    ¡°Few days?¡± I mumbled as I hurried with dishing the food.


    ¡°Yeah! This is the second night since you have been unconscious. You should have seen how much torture I had to endure.¡±


    Two days. No wonder I was feeling so famished. I handed him his dish and got busy with mine. I was too hungry to observe the master-maid rules. Besides, being a maid who was a master also had to have its own perks. We seemed to be in apetition about who could finish faster as we wolved the food off our tes. I handed Indrik some water and drank some myself before clearing off the tes, my mind whirling with questions the whole time.


    The words practically flew out of my mouth when I finally returned to the room. Thentern that sat to a corner added a glow to the room, although dim. He was sitted on his bed, his eyes fixed on something outside the window.


    ¡°I saw the Beta.¡± I started. He didn¡¯t turn or make any movement that might have suggested that he heard me or was surprised by the news.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t give you any trouble, I hope?¡± I narrowed my eyes, wondering what he was up to.


    ¡°No! Although he did look very cold. Everyone does. How did you manage to get them to let me go?¡±


    ¡°The truth!¡± He replied, his eyes still fixed on whatever it was that had caught his fancy.


    ¡°What?¡± I choked. I recalled the truth as being me giving my master poison in ce of medicine. Sure, it had been to help him unlock his wolf but I doubted that would have convinced them very effectively. There was no way that truth had saved me from prison. ¡°What truth?¡±


    ¡°The truth.¡± He repeated. ¡°You should go get some rest. Your wounds still need more time before they are fully healed. You can go visit the doctor if you have to. No one will get in your way.¡±


    I continued to stare at him, my mouth wide open as I tried to understand what was really going on.


    ¡°How about you? How are you feeling?¡± I asked, suddenly recalling that we had not had any conversation about his wolf since I had be conscious. Could it be that we had failed? Had they found another way to save him without freeing his wolf? Sure, I could feel a new energy flowing within his veins but I might be mistaken. Also, he still looked rather lean and pale. Even in the dimness making me wonder if he had not fully recovered from the poison.


    This managed to get his attention as he turned away from the window and toward me, shing a smile. ¡°Better than I have in ages and ready to start getting a lesson from my master as soon as she is fully recovered.¡±


    That strange feeling from earlier flowed through me again, filling me with warmth.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°How about tomorrow?¡±

 Fear

    Indrik


    ¡°Hey!¡± I called excitedly, shaking Luna awake.


    She sat up, nearly sending me sprawling on my back. Her eyes were wide with, fright? ¡°Luna?¡±


    I might have as well not have been present with the way she stared with nk eyes over my head. I was preparing to speak again when she lowered her eyes to me. ¡°Is it morning already?¡± She asked, blinking in confusion as she stared out the slightly open window outside which darkness still reigned supreme.


    ¡°How are your wounds?¡± I asked, dropping to my knees while keeping my eyes fixed on her arms but in the dim light of themp, I couldn¡¯t see much of the bruises on there. I knew they were healing though. After I had taken responsibility for the poison, telling a very grumpy group that consisted of the council as well as my friends about how I had drank poison and forced my maid to take responsibility for it, (a story which they had been very reluctant to believe even though it was true in a way,) the doctor had been allowed to treat her and they had stopped calling for a rearrest. This had been a relief because spoon-feeding an unconscious maid/master while hiding away from roaming guards did not look like a very appetizing option.


    She yawned again as she frowned slightly, her eyes flying to her arms. ¡°Better. I guess. But it might just be another trick.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what she meant but I winced as I recalledst night. I had gone all Alpha male mode on her, an action which even now in retrospect still shocked me. Last night, after we had finished eating and she had made her way to her room, I had remained by the window, staring up at the moon that looked like a very hungry giant had taken a huge bite out of it, leaving a jagged crescent hanging in the air. My eyes might have been on the moon but my mind was anywhere but with it. I had reyed the scene with Luna over and over in my head so many times that I was certain I could never forget it even if I had amnesia. Growing up in a pack that boasted of only strong wolves, being a frail wolfless kid meant that I was bound to be stuck in the shadows, a colossal failure that would always remain a stain on the white walls of the Druid Peak Pack. I would have been if not because of the females that could never take their eyes off me. Oftentimes, I would look in the mirror and scoff at the image that stared back at me, wondering what was so impressive about it. The other sex though did not seem to think the same way as they were evering after me. There was hardly a day that I would step out of the pce and not be swarmed by them, each one eager to impress. Rather than make me proud of my looks though, their actions only served to make me insecure. It didn¡¯t help that Leon would often tease me about how others had wolf powers while I had face powers. I had pushed away the girls and eventually stopped going out during the day altogether. Not to the ces where I could be found by the girls at least.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    Too much information. Anyways, my point is, apart from ire, I had for the most part never been in close quarters with any girl. Not voluntarily at least. But earlier? Earlier had been different. Luna had not been the one to push herself on me, instead, I was the one who had stepped into her personal space, pinning her down. Heck, I had almost kissed her. I shivered at the memory, like I had not thought about it a million times. In that moment, as I stared into her blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean on a calm day, I had forgotten about everything else. Her wounds, my still frayed innards, everything, had faded leaving just her face loomingrger than life in my mind. If not for¡­ I shook my head as I pinned my eyes on Luna who was waving an arm before me.


    She was fully awake now, her eyes looking more of cobalt in the early morning light. Yeah, one of the changes I noticed since I returned from the precipice of death was that my senses had now sharpened. Well, I still didn¡¯t quite grasp the full implication of that but it meant that my eyes worked better now, even in the dark, it meant my nose could pick up the smell of roses out back, the smell of the horses in the stables much farther away and also not so pleasant smells which I would be better off not picking up, it meant my tongue could pick out every single spice that had been used in preparing food. All of these were great and I figured I could grow to love them but none quite bothered me as much as the change in my emotions. What I would have ignored in the past now got me either raging mad or so soft, I could barely hold in my tears. Something told me it had arge role to y in what had happened.


    ¡°Hey!¡± She called again. Her voice came from so close to my ears that I jumped. It was only because she was light on her feet that I did not bash her nose. ¡°Watch it!¡± Sheined.


    ¡°Sorry!¡± I hadn¡¯t noticed her get out of bed and take a stance over me.


    She scowled, her expression informing me that she was dangerously close to bashing my face in with a fruit again. ¡°What do you want, master?¡±


    ¡°I was hoping we could train?¡± I asked, hoping she hadn¡¯t changed her mind over the night or even worse, this morning. I had after all woken her up in the early hours of the morning. It hadn¡¯t seemed like much of a bad idea at the time, having been unable to sleep after a short snatch of sleep but now, I was realizing just how mad it could make a master. ¡°Please?¡±

 Nightmare

    Luna


    I was having a very bad dream. In it, I was being chased by something. I was running through the woods, my pounding feet ringing ominously as I moved. Behind me, something was roaring angrily as it cut down the trees, bearing down on me.


    ¡°You cannot escape. You brought this on yourself.¡± A tremor rocked my body as I pushed my body to move even faster. The voice was neither human nor wolf but it was definitely male. I couldn¡¯t ce what had spoken, and I dared not turn to look but something about how the voice boomed like thunder, sending shivers down my spine told me that it meant every word. It was going to hunt me down till I had no ce left to go. I spurred myself to move even faster.


    ¡°Stop running.¡± The voice wasughing now although how the creature could manage to do that while it was still running and cutting down trees was beyond me. Theughter was even scarier than its voice. It sounded like the sound a pack of wolves would make if they were tearing a prey apart. ¡°You brought this fate upon yourself. You can¡¯t outrun it. Give up.¡±


    The voice washed over me like hot water on a freezing cold day. ¡°Stop. Listen to big mister scary.¡± My mind seemed to be saying. My heart was urging me to move forward which I found to be strange. Even in a dream. I wasn¡¯t much of a philosopher but wasn¡¯t the mind supposed to be the one who made the smart decisions while the good old heart took all the foolish risks. I didn¡¯t have time to consider this though as my legs suddenly seemed to be growing too heavy, each step bing slower and slower.


    ¡°What are you doing? Run!¡± I shrieked in my mind as I could hear my pursuer beginning to gain ground on me.


    Theughter came again, loud and grating, this time much closer. ¡°Stop running, Luna. Favored daughter of the goddess.¡±


    My ears popped as I stopped, my shock racing through me. It had been so long since someone had addressed me by that name. ¡°What are you doing?¡± My brain seemed to have remembered its duties. ¡°This is a trap. You should run before he or it catches up with you. Come on!¡±


    ¡°Toote.¡± The voice chuckled behind me, a huge shadow rising above me, blocking out the pale light of the moon which I hadn¡¯t even realized was present.


    Even without seeing it, an irrational kind of fear consumed me as I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out.


    ¡°Turn around. It is time to stop running.¡± The voice boomed. Even from afar with me running away from it, the voice had been scary. Now that I had stopped running and its huge shadow cast total darkness over me, its voice was outright terrible. My hair stood on end as the ground seemed to quiver under me. Even then, I was filled with an overwhelming urge to obey. If this creature wanted me to turn, then I had to turn. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a tiny voice screamed at me to not turn but instead run as fast as I could away from this ursed ce. But there was only so much a tiny voice could do as I continued to turn.


    ¡°Good. Good.¡± The voice encouraged. I was just a few inches from turning toward it fully when a huge hand wrapped around my shoulder. I shivered, scared that another demon hade for me.


    ¡°Hey!¡± A familiar voice called. My heart warmed as I allowed the hand pull me away from this ce of horrors.


    ¡°Soon, Luna. Soon.¡± A cold shiver raced down my spine. I didn¡¯t like how the monster sounded so chummy, like he knew there was no ce I could go or worse, I was going exactly where he wanted me to go.


    My eyes opened and I sat straight up, the events of the dreams ying out in my mind¡¯s eye. Somewhere at the edge of my consciousness,  I could hear Indrik trying to call my attention but I was too shaken by what I had just seen. What had the voice called me? ¡°Child of the goddess? goddess of the child?¡± Nope! That wasn¡¯t it. What he had said had started off a fire in me that got me excited and hungry for a life long lost.


    Finally, Indrik¡¯s voice got through as I turned to him. He started to talk but I soon realized that he also had problems of his own. I wondered what his own nightmare would be. Probably, getting stuck with his brother in close quarters? Now, that would be a nightmare to remember. The amusement gave me enough energy to get out of bed. He might not know it but he had saved me from what might be my worst nightmare yet. This made me feel kind of duty bound to help him as well.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I called, tapping him on the shoulder. What happened the next moment almost made me regret my good deed. He had been kneeling beside the bed and on tapping him suddenly leaped to his feet, an action which would have knocked my head clean off if I had not been quick enough to get out of the way. I voiced my displeasure but didn¡¯t hold it against him as I enquired about his purpose foring here. Another look at the window informed me that it was still veryte in the night.Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org.


    ¡°I was hoping we could train?¡± He asked sheepishly.


    I wanted tough and hug and kiss him for making such a good suggestion. I needed the distraction to shake off the cold feeling that had settled in my heart after the dream. Wait, did I just say kiss? Forget that. Instead, I replied with a gruff voice. ¡°You need a herald to dere it?¡±


    The way his eyes lit up made it worth it.

 It Worked

    Luna


    The entire pce was silent with only lonely looking mes dancing every few feet which should not be a surprise since it waste in the night. Not everyone was haunted by a horrible nightmare.


    On our waying out, I had been confident about training him, having it all ying out in my head but now that I was finally outside, I panicked as it all suddenly seemed too big for me to handle. Who was I kidding? I couldn¡¯t even help myself. How was I supposed to help a wolf? It didn¡¯t help that he was staring at me expectantly like I was his saviour who had dropped from the heavens. The heavens¡­


    ¡°Master?¡± He called, inclining his head to the sky above us. He didn¡¯t say anything else. Didn¡¯t need to. I knew exactly what he was referring to. We would be better off training before light came.


    I inhaled deeply as I squared my shoulders. Here goes nothing. ¡°What changes have you noticed since you woke up?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± He started then trailed off. In the dim light of the moon, I could see his brows furrow as he thought about it.


    ¡°Go on.¡± I goaded. ¡°Tell me whateveres to your mind, however ridiculous it might sound.¡±


    ¡°First, I feel stronger, more confident. Like I can take on the world. There is this new found strength in the bottom of my belly, this new awareness, like¡­.¡± He trailed off again.


    ¡°An empty space that has been filled?¡± I suggested. He snapped his fingers in approval.


    ¡°Exactly!¡± I nodded. I could understand that empty space because I had one myself and it was still not filled. I wasn¡¯t certain it could ever be filled actually.


    ¡°What else have you noticed?¡± I pushed.


    ¡°Well, the first time I woke up, I thought I heard the Beta and the Gamma speaking which was weird. Even now, I am pretty certain that I can hear the snoring of several people. It is probably my imagination though.¡±


    For some reason, this confession of his made me blush which was rather ridiculous. Wolves have extremely good senses, sight, hearing, smell, taste, feel. I have a feeling they would make very good poets. The way they experience things so deeply. Too bad few of them ever interest themselves in things like that. They consider them to be too¡­ human. Despite this knowledge, I couldn¡¯t help but go through what I had done the past couple of days to see if I had said something embarrassing only to recall that I had been out of it for most of this time. The heat intensified in my neck and cheeks. More than ever, I was d to have darkness as a cover. I suddenly remembered that I had a student waiting on me. ¡°Apart from these?¡±


    He furrowed his brows again as he thought about it. ¡°Nothing!¡± He shook his head. ¡°Not that I have noticed at least. Maybe fast recovery from wounds but I haven¡¯t gotten injured and¡­ I have been too scared to try.¡± Thest part came out silently, like he was ashamed to admit it but I could understand why.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    I had not known him for that long but I had seen him get injured a couple of times, like the whipping, Leon¡¯s bullying, and some very nasty bites from the dungeon, the cause of which I wasn¡¯t very sure I would like to know. All had taken a very long time to heal. The wounds on his back¡­ ¡°The wounds on your back, have they healed yet?¡± Having been unconscious for the past few days, I hadn¡¯t exactly been able to keep track of its progress.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± He reached to his back. ¡°It was gone by the time I woke up.¡± I thought that was enough proof that he healed very fast but decided to test it nheless. ¡°Where are you going?¡± He asked as I walked away from him and toward therge tree that sat in the center of the yard. I broke off a branch as silently as could be managed in a dead silent night and walked back to him.


    ¡°Give me your arm.¡± I ordered.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± He nched, slowing moving away.


    ¡°Come on!¡± I huffed as I walked up to him and grabbed his arm. He started to struggle but I had pressed the stick against his arm and dragged it across his skin.


    He squeaked in a mixture of pain and surprise, his eyes burning into me in the darkness. I could see that he was struggling not to freak out. Living for a long time in the midst of people who healed within a short time from their biggest injuries while the smallest scratch on your skin took days to heal could do a thing or thing to you.


    ¡°Wait.¡± I ordered when he tried to pull his arm away, probably in fear that I would decide to cut again.


    His arm ckened but he looked away like he couldn¡¯t bear to see another wound that would turn into a scar. I continued to stare at it though and just as I expected, the wound started to close, it started slowly at first but it picked up its pace and closed up. ¡°Yes!¡± I squeaked, barely able to hold my excitement as I let go of his arm and embraced him.


    ¡°What?¡± He stuttered in confusion.


    ¡°You have healed, my student. You have healed.¡± I muttered contentedly, my voice muffled in his robe.


    He nearly jumped out of his skin which reminded me of where I was and I quickly pulled away. He raised his arm and scanned it, looking from the wrist to his elbow. The cut had been in the center of his palm but he was so used to being a slow recoverer that he could not believe it had simply vanished. ¡°Do it again. I want to see it happen.¡± He squealed in excitement like a kid who had just seen a magician perform a trick. In a way, he was exactly like that.

 Denons

    Luna¡¯s Pov


    After Indrik had finally recovered from the excitement of his elerated healing which wasn¡¯t due so much to his growing tired of cutting his own skin as it was to my reminding him that daybreak would soon be upon us and he would lose his chance to train if he didn¡¯t get his act together.


    His eyes gleamed with joy as he nodded vigorously. I would have called him a kid if I wasn¡¯t feeling so giddy myself. It wasn¡¯t everyday that one got to y a major role in making a wolf. But we had had enough ying around, it was time to get some things done. Like teaching a man how to be a wolf. Not an easy task. Especially if you were not a wolf. I wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°First,¡± I started. That got his attention as he grew calmer. ¡°To be a good wolf, a good fighter, a good protector. You name anything good you want to be. To be it, you have to first of all learn to be one with your environment. You have to learn to listen, feel and see before anything else. When I say see, I don¡¯t just mean your eyes. I mean every part of your body. Even with your eyes closed you have to be able to tell everything that is around you. From the scuttling of tiny ant feet to the roaring of the sea. Nothing must pass by unnoticed. So,¡± I paused when I noticed that he seemed lost. I frowned as I tried to recall all of my words. I couldn¡¯t recall spouting any brain frying sentence so I continued. ¡°We will start with your ears. Close your eyes and open your ears.¡±


    ¡°My ears don¡¯t have lids.¡± He grumbled and for a moment, I was tempted to give him a p upside the head. Luckily for him, I was a teacher now. One of the greatest virtues of a teacher was patience even if, especially if the student was such a big meathead. That, and the fact that he remains my master. It would suck to be sent to find insect¡¯s spittle in the middle of the night.


    ¡°Of course, they don¡¯t. Do you mind shutting your eyes?¡± He hesitated for a moment, then he obeyed. ¡°Don¡¯t open your eyes no matter what. Now, tell me what you hear.¡±


    ¡°I hear you breathing.¡± He quipped extracting a snort from me.


    ¡°Of course, you do.¡± I gave him a good work¡¯s swat on the back. ¡°Now, try harder.¡±


    His brows furrowed as he concentrated. His facial muscles clenched, then unclenched. His mouth opened and closed constantly like he had swallowed a live crab that was constantly snapping at his hard pte. I started to worry when he dropped to his knees and wrapped his hands around his ears, groaning in pain.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    ¡°Indrik!¡± I called worriedly as I ced an arm on his shoulder. He didn¡¯t respond as he fell forward, arching his back, his hands still on his ears.


    ¡°Stop!¡± He cried, his voice sounding like he was speaking underwater.


    ¡°Indrik!¡± I called again, more forcefully this time, cing an arm on his shoulder and shaking him back to consciousness.


    He raised his head sharply, breathing heavily like someone who had just been pulled from under water. ¡°Indrik?¡± I called tentatively.


    His eyes filled with tears as he stared at me but something told me he was not seeing me. ¡°Indrik! Come on.¡± I called desperately. I wasn¡¯t exactly excited at the prospect of having to tend to a bawling man.


    He fell back and I had to scramble so his headnded on myps instead of on the hard ground. The force with which his head hit both made me wince and made me d that I hadn¡¯t let him hit the ground. I tapped him on the cheek, his glossy eyes now fixed on the horizon, unblinking. It took a lot of prodding and calls but finally, he blinked and seemed to start breathing again.


    ¡°The voices.¡± That was the first thing he said, his voice soft and brittle.


    I waited for him to continue but he would not volunteer any more information. I figured that I had to know what had happened to him if I was going to be able to help him. ¡°Tell me what happened, Indrik. What voices.¡±


    ¡°It¡­¡± I could feel a shudder rock his entire body like putting it into words brought his nightmare back to life. He sat up, and keeping his back turned, started to speak again. ¡°At first, it was normal sounds. The sound of a bird calling to its partner, the sound of the river churning peacefully, of people snoring, then it transformed. Seemed to be more violent. Like a thousand voices were vying for recognition. It was¡­¡± He shivered again before rising to his feet and turning to me. ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡± He tried to feign enthusiasm but I could still see that he was very shaken.


    ¡°Are you sure about this? You can rest and continue tomorrow.¡± I wasn¡¯t keen on seeing him experiencing something like that again. Especially not this morning. It did not help that I felt responsible for what had happened to him. For some reason, my nightmare returned, the voice of the monster sending chills down my spine. ¡°Soon.¡± He had said. I wondered if the monster had meant he would visit me through my master.


    ¡°I am sure.¡± He replied stubbornly. ¡°Where were we? Close your eyes and concentrate? Got it.¡± And then, he shut his eyes and continued the exercise.


    I watched him ufortably, waiting for blood to start running out of his nose or for him to start screaming and running into trees but nothing of the sort happened. Whatever demons had terrorized him seemed to either be under his control now or taken a break which was good because we still had a lot to do.

 Experience

    Luna


    The part of listening to the environment passed without any more drama which was a relief because my heart could not take much more of that torture.


    Next was the testing of instinct which I found to be prettyical though I don¡¯t think my master shared my views. I led him to the tree and made him stand underneath it.


    ¡°Now, you are going to have to dodge projectiles.¡± I informed him as I peeled off his outer robe.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°What?¡± He stuttered, his eyes widening.


    ¡°Blind.¡± I added as I made the biggest blindfold of all time.


    ¡°This is ridi¡­ o!¡± He cried, cing a hand against a bump on his head that grew from my throwing a pebble at him.


    ¡°You are not trying.¡± I taunted as I picked up another pebble. ¡°You like injuries now that you heal fast?¡± I threw the pebble which hit him square in the nose, extracting another cry from him.


    ¡°They still hurt as much.¡± He grumbled as he began to move round in circles in an attempt to escape. I simply threw another which hit him in the chin.


    ¡°That is not how you avoid attacks, student. Forget fast healing, if you were on the battlefield, you would be long dead by now. A sharp w to your head, nose and neck can kill you pretty fast, you know?¡± I aimed another pebble. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to your mind. It will only confuse you. Listen to your heart instead. Be one with your surroundings and you will find that it is not so hard.¡± I threw my weapon which hit his chest with a thump.


    ¡°It is just that hard. Aren¡¯t you supposed to let me get used to this training first? Probably using light things like branches and robes?¡± He was still rubbing his chest and his voice was heavy with pain but he had nted his feet now and seemed to be paying more attention.


    ¡°Will Leon give you that kind of consideration?¡± I asked simply.


    A blood stained frown bloomed on his face as he thought about his oh so sweet brother. ¡°Let¡¯s do this then.¡± His voice was hard and more steely this time.


    I made a mental note to always use his brother as catalyst whenever he began to get out of hand.


    We became so engrossed in the training that I didn¡¯t realize how much time had passed till¡­


    ¡°What is going on here?¡± I froze as I slowly turned toward the speaker. The sun was still a long while away but the day was starting to brighten which enabled me to see the figure who was framed at the doorway several feet away, a scowl on her face which seemed pretty like always. I couldn¡¯t help wondering how she always managed to look so good. ire was the kind of woman who was so beautiful that even without trying, she made all other women around her feel insecure and run to close the eyes of their lovers. Except, that wasn¡¯t the point right now. The point was that I had been dancing around Indrik, making calls to distract him while rearing my arm to throw a pebble. He had quickly mastered the art of listening, getting out of the way before my rocks could hit him so I had decided to up the stakes forgetting that we were only a few miles away from the others. Now, it would appear that our noise had carried over to ire.


    ¡°I¡¯m waiting.¡± Indrik called. I gritted my teeth, holding back the urge to tell him to shut up.


    ¡°Master?¡± I took on my most subservient tone which sounded rather shrill to my own ears. ¡°You can take off your blindfold. The critter is gone now.¡± I called, hoping he would take the hint.


    ¡°What?¡± He asked in confusion but I couldn¡¯t spare any more words. Not when ire was ring at me like she wanted to burn me to a crisp with those eyes of hers. She started to approach and I wiped my hands on my gown trying to think of the appropriate response to give her. Thankfully, Indrik started to untie his mega sized blindfold.


    ¡°What are you doing out here with Indrik in the early hours of the morning?¡± ire had reached me now. I noticed that she didn¡¯t look like she wanted to kill me now. Which meant she would probably make do with ripping out one of my eyes.


    ¡°ire.¡± Indrik stuttered when he finally saw her. I exhaled in relief. If anyone could convince his friend, it was him.


    ire looked from one to the other, her eyes stormy like she couldn¡¯t decide what to make of us.


    ¡°What are you doing out here, ire? It¡¯s early.¡± Indrik decided to take the bull by the horns.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be asking you that?¡± ire fired back.


    ¡°Oh! You wouldn¡¯t believe what happened.¡± I started, shing Indrik a look to y along. ¡°My master could not sleep so he came to wake me up saying we should hunt for deers.¡±


    ire stared at me like I had grown deer antlers. ¡°Deers? In here?¡± She waved her arm around the yard.


    I pped my hand against my forehead in mock frustration. ¡°He said he saw one here so he dragged me over here and since then, we have been looking for it.¡±


    ¡°And the blindfold?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that. My master said he was scared of the way deer eyes glow in the night so he made me blindfold him while I hunted for the deer which was what I was doing before you arrived.¡±


    ire stared at Indrik like she was expecting him to wave me off as crazy but he merely shrugged and shed one of his trademark smiles. For a moment, I thought she was surely going to turn us in to the doctor for treatment but instead she sighed heavily. ¡°You both are crazy.¡±


    I turned toward Indrik as she hurried off and shrugged at his quizzical look. I had experience.

 Mood

    Luna


    Needless to say, our training stopped after ire chanced in on us.


    Indrik shuddered, his shoulders slumping once ire was gone. ¡°That was a close call.¡± He breathed. He straightened and looked around the yard, releasing another shaky breath. ¡°We cannot continue to use this ce for training. It is too dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t know you were scared of deers.¡± Imented.


    He turned toward me with a dry look as though considering how my head would look on a stake. He sighed. ¡°Of course not.¡± He grumbled. ¡°I was scared for you. If word gets out that you are training me¡­¡± He trailed off.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    He sighed. The day was bing brighter more quickly now which allowed me to see the tortured look he gave me. I knew more than ever now that there was something he was hiding from me.


    ¡°What are you so afraid of?¡± I pushed carefully, afraid that he would cover his ears and start crying about voices again.


    He looked into the trees in which birds were starting to chirp and digged his hands into the robe which he had slipped back on. ¡°One of the reasons why I took so long to unlock my wolf,¡± he paused, giving me a look like he was scared I would pick offense. I nodded for him to continue, ¡°I couldn¡¯t because no one would train me. There is a ban, aw, a curse? I don¡¯t know. It stops masters from training me on pain of death. With this hanging over my head, nobody dared to train me.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Wasn¡¯t worth the risk.¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡± I started, staring at the horizon which was starting to change from a dark blue color to a lighter shade. ¡°You mean I am going to die for training you?¡± I asked simply.


    ¡°No, of course not.¡± He shook his head vigorously. ¡°The curse or whatever it is is only binding on members of this pack or wolves in general which you are not, which is why I brought you here. Besides, you are my master.¡±


    ¡°What a relief. I am going to die because my master decided I wasn¡¯t as important as a wolf.¡± I kicked a pebble which hit the giant tree in the center with a dull thump.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°No, Luna.¡± His eyes widened with terror. ¡°I mean master. I would never let anything happen to you. The only way harm would evere to you is if you were caught training me and that would never happen. I will make sure of it.¡±


    ¡°Great way of making sure of that.¡± I waved around. I wasn¡¯t exactly happy about realizing my life was hanging on a pendulum for training my master. Sure, I had risked my life to free his wolf but I had chosen to do that. This? This felt like trickery.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t think¡­¡± He rubbed the back of his neck, something I had noticed he usually did when he was nervous. ¡°I have a hideout, okay? Somewhere nobody knows about. I can take you there. We will be able to train without interruption there.¡± He offered but I still fidgeted. It wasn¡¯t everyday you got to learn that you had been putting your life on the line with everything you had been doing without even knowing. ¡°Please?¡± His eyes burned with misery.


    I looked up at the tree where two birds were chasing themselves around. The yard that had formerly had no sound except ours had now burst out into a cacophony of sounds. The sky itself had taken on an orange and golden hue. ¡°Let¡¯s go get you ready. It is almost time for breakfast.¡± He looked like he was going to argue but he changed his mind and blew air into his hands.


    ¡°Alright!¡± He whispered faintly, looking rather crestfallen. I felt sorry for him but I myself needed some space to think. Even as I thought of the idea, I knew that it was ridiculous, considering that he was my master and I didn¡¯t really have many other choices but the thought that I had a choice made me feel good.


    ¡°Come on.¡± I urged. In the daylight, I could see just how much of a toll the training had taken on him which made me feel d that ire had not noticed it. Dried blood caked his face, some smeared on his forehead, some on his nose and some on his chin. Due to his new found healing powers, he had no scars but he would be better off washing away all of that before someone else saw it. His purple robe was not spared from the assault as well. Having been tied around his head, it had soaked in some of the blood as well. Together with dried twigs and dirt that stuck to it, it managed to qualify for the look that would give its washer a lot of work to do. In this case, my humble self. I grimaced. ¡°Let¡¯s go before somebody else wakes up.¡± My heart was hanging on the tip of my tongue the rest of the journey to the room in fear that we would run into Jamil, or Ulo, or ire, or heavens forbid, Beta Green. I had no doubt that he would wring my neck if he saw his ward in this state, after all, who else would hurt Indrik if not his ¡®crazy maid¡¯. Much to my relief, we did not run into anyone, or anything for that matter. Against the backdrop of the yard, the row of rooms seemed especially sleepy and silent.


    I ducked into Indrik¡¯s room, pulling him after me. I hurried to prepare his bath water, my exhaustion growing insignificant in the face of possible execution. The whole while, Indrik sat on the bed looking like he had just fell face first into a huge pile of horse poop. Trust me, I could tell you just how much of a bad mood that could work you into.

 A Waste

    Luna


    Indrik did not seem to appreciate my attempts to brighten his mood which included preparing bath water that was a little bit too hot. He had been so distracted that he had not noticed the rolling steam until he dipped a leg in. He retrieved it faster than a little child who had been ying with fire would withdraw once the fire burned too hot. I had been expecting a smile of sorts but the extremely cold look that I was gifted instead got me running to get more water. I gave up when my joke of recing his robes withdy ire¡¯s pink gown did not work either. He just did not know much humour. I couldn¡¯t help feeling sorry for whoever his bride was going to be.


    Finally, I led a glum master to breakfast. He seemed to have decided that his first breakfast with the others after what seemed like ages ago would be better celebrated with a huge frown. Frankly, I couldn¡¯t me him for that. If I had a family like that too, well¡­ And no, I am not being sentimental. The Beta who I had deduced was like his father seemed to have been ready to torture me to death rather than save Indrik. His brother, well, Leon had almost beaten him to death. Need I say more?


    ¡°I will just wait out here.¡± I informed Indrik at the door to the dining room. The look I had gotten from the guards was already making me uneasy. If I had to bear the look of the others too¡­ Besides, I was pretty certain that I wouldn¡¯t be wee in there.


    ¡°What?¡± Indrik growled, sending me jumping. He had been quiet for so long that hearing his voice startled me.


    ¡°Uhm! I mean¡­¡± I started when he growled again.


    ¡°You areing with me.¡± It was hard to decide whether he was doing this to spite me or for some other reason but it was pretty clear that I had to go with him.


    I tried to stop at the door but he simply grabbed me by the arm and led me to the end of the table where the others were gathered. The first thing I noticed was that the Beta was absent as were the other elders. The others that were present regarded us silently. By the others, I mean Leon who scoffed and turned back to his food, Jamil who nodded his greeting to the both of us before returning to his food, Ulo who did the same, minus the me part and ire who examined our joined hands with a frown before returning her attention to our food. I noticed that something was wrong. For one, no one volunteered news about the Beta or even said a word in greeting. All seemed to be especially interested in their food. Indrik didn¡¯t ask about the Beta either as he took a seat and forced me to sit beside him as well, provoking curious nces from some people but they quickly returned their attention to their tes.


    The maids came to serve us and I couldn¡¯t help feeling awkward. Sure, I had eaten at the table before but I had been invited at that time, besides, my master had not been present at that time. Now, it seemed like I was forcing myself into this very gloomy circle. Breakfast was a very boring affair and I couldn¡¯t be more d when Indrik rose to his feet with a loud scraping. I rose too, ignoring my te that was still half full. It was hard to work up an appetite in this kind of environment. Indrik took a nce at my te before turning around and leaving. I was starting to realize just how much of a sulker my master was. Remind me to never forget his birthdays. Oh, wait, I didn¡¯t know his birthday.


    As I followed my master, I noticed Leon getting out of his chair anding after us out of the corner of my eyes. A part of me wanted to grab Indrik by the arm and run as fast as I could back to safety but, where was safety? Jamil had mentioned that Leon also had a room in our quarters which meant that no ce was safe for my master. Not unless he could protect himself. I continued to steal nces behind us as I hurried after my master but I could not see Leon. I almost started to hope that he was noting for us.


    One thing I had learnt was that hope was no friend of mine. Whenever I dared to call on her, she reminded me of this which was why I shouldn¡¯t have been so surprised when Leon caught up to us just as we stepped out of the huge doors. He had probably dyed to throw Indrik¡¯s friends, especially Jamil off his trail.


    ¡°Hey brother.¡± He called dryly as he caught up to Indrik and ced an arm on his shoulder. I noticed that his nose looked dented. That hadn¡¯t been there thest time I saw him. Something told me it had something to do with Jamil. The thought warmed me up.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Indrik snapped, brushing his hand off roughly.Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org.


    ¡°Growing balls, are we? I heard your wolf was finally freed. A waste, I tell you. They should have just let you die.¡± Leon grinned darkly. Indrik¡¯s eyes narrowed but I could notice his hands shaking. He was scared. Leon seemed to notice it as heughed. ¡°Wolf or not, I can and will still thrash you brother. Not today though. But soon.¡± Heughed as he sauntered off.


    Looking back, I noticed why he had left. Jamil had appeared behind us and was now looking at us tentatively. Indrik growled as he stomped off. I nced at Jamil before running after my master.


    My mind was made up now. I was going to train my master.

 Kill Them All

    Indrik


    I was scared. More scared than I had ever been in my entire life which was saying a lot because I had spent my entire life living in fear. Fear of never being more than a weak wolf who was the butt of everyone¡¯s joke. Fear of always being tormented by my half brother. Fear of dying from a simple cold. Fear, fear, fear, that had always been a recurring theme in my life. Something that I hated but could not do without anymore than I could do without breathing. You would think I would have mastered the art of fear by now. Wait a minute, is there anything like that? Forget that. My point is, now, I felt so scared, it paralyzed me. I had only just started to get my life in order, started to reach my dreams and suddenly, my master tells me she won¡¯t be training me anymore? My whole world seemed to be crashing around me and it really wasn¡¯t a pretty feeling.


    And then, Leon hade along again, reminding me of my weakness and that even if I had my wolf now, I would still always be that weak child who always had to depend on others for help. I had tried to put up a brave front but the truth was I had been scared. Scared that my younger brother would attack me again and as always, I would be helpless to do nothing other than to watch as he bashed my face in, the only difference that I would heal faster, giving him more room to cause more pain.


    Iy on my bed feeling tired and exhausted. I wondered if it was all really worth it. All these struggles, the pain, I could still recall how the poison had gnawed at my insides on that dreadful night. I had long healed but even now, I could still feel my gut clench in pain when I recalled the experience yet, I ended up being the loser. I once heard that one of the signs of a strong person is knowing when to give up. Perhaps it is time for me to give it all up? But then again, I was anything but a strong person. I was the epitome of weakness so even that rule could not apply to me. Iughed bitterly. My life was truly sad. My parents must be looking down at me with regret now ashamed to have birthed such a failure.


    ¡°You are not a failure.¡± A clear voice rang close to my ears. I sat up, looking around in confusion. Luna was not in the room. She had excused herself to go take care of some maid things. Besides, that voice had sounded nothing like hers. It had sounded dreadfully like the voices I had heard earlier this morning. I shuddered at the memory. I shook my head, trying to dispel the memory but it clung stubbornly, like it had been seared into my brain with hot iron.


    ¡°Who is there?¡± I called out loud. I sounded crazy, even to myself but that voice¡­ That voice had not been a figment of my imagination. That much I was sure of. As expected, no response came but I could not shake the feeling that I was being watched. Paranoia took over as I got out of bed and searched the room, under the bed, behind the clothes rack, the bathroom, everywhere but again, I saw nothing. I looked toward the open window and my heart skipped as I noticed a shadow. I scrambled over but it was gone before I could reach it. Looking out through the window, I saw nothing except trees and flowers. The sun was hot in the sky now but it did nothing to shake the chill that had settled in my bones. ¡°I am going crazy.¡± I muttered shakily andughed, half expecting a voice to speak again but all that I got was silence. The fact that I even expected to hear a voice only served to prove just how far gone I was.


    I stumbled back to my bed and copsed in it. I shut my eyes and tried my best to block out all thoughts but my brain had other ns. The voices that I had heard earlier started to ring in my head again. ¡°End them.¡± ¡°You are the greatest.¡± ¡°Kill them all.¡± ¡°They deserve to pay for what they¡¯ve done to you.¡± These were among the many things that they kept whispering. The voices were broken and disjointed, hardly making any sense but they were hard to ignore. The way they kept echoing, each word seeming to be amplified a thousand times over. They made me want to tear my hair out and drown my head in water.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Go away.¡± I mumbled, curled up in a ball and swatting at thin air. ¡°Leave me be. Stop.¡± I cried, over and over again but the voices seemed to be determined to drive me crazy. I grabbed a pillow and pulled it over my ears. I had no idea how long I remained there but it seemed like I cked out. When I opened my eyes again, I was drenched in sweat, trembling like I had spent an entire night in a heavy rain but the voices were quiet. Before I could celebrate my victory, I saw the reason why I had woken up. Standing over me in her regal attire of a maid was my master looking down at me with what looked like pity. I turned away from her. I hated pity. What was the use of someone feeling pity for you if they were not going to help you? Over the years, I hade to see it more as hypocrisy than anything else.


    ¡°Go away.¡± I muttered.


    ¡°Are you okay? Your clothes¡­¡± She ced a warm hand on my forehead but I pped it away.


    ¡°Stay away from me.¡± I snarled.


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad because I was just going to ask you to show me to our new training ground but I guess you don¡¯t care about that. I¡¯ll leave now.¡±


    All my misery flew out the window as I sat up immediately.

 Worries And Fear

    Indrik


    Words could not possibly begin to express how much joy flooded my heart when Luna told me that but another thought stopped me cold.


    ¡°When you say that, you mean¡­¡± I gulped, not having the heart to put it into words.


    ¡°Are you going to show me or not?¡± Her face was expressionless, leaving me dangling precariously on the precipice of uncertainty.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ alright.¡± I muttered. It wasn¡¯t like I had that much to lose anyway. Well, except for the fact that I was taking her to somece that no one else, not even my closest friends, was privy to. ¡°So, should we go now?¡± I crawled out of bed.


    ¡°No!¡± She made a gagging face as she looked pointedly at me. I looked down and would have crawled into the earth if I wasn¡¯t held back by my skin. I looked like a mess. My robes had be so soaked with dried sweat that white lines snaked across it like cobwebs. My hair felt like it had been glued to my head with tree sap. Everything about me felt sweaty and dirty. ¡°You should go get yourself cleaned up first.¡± I didn¡¯t argue.


    It wasn¡¯t until I came back out that I realized that it was alreadyte in the evening which made me realize just how long I had been out of it. My eyes widened in surprise but Luna¡¯s appearance soon snapped me out of it.


    ¡°Here!¡± She handed me my attire. I would have said she was checking me out if I did not know who she was. That and the fact that she had seen me bare chested several times already.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± I murmured, ring at her. She met my gaze with confused eyes for a moment before realizing and turning around with a blush. I huffed as I slipped my clothes on. ¡°You can turn around now.¡±


    She turned around and took in the view in a wide sweep before turning to the window. I followed her gaze and noticed that the sun was dipping very quickly on the horizon which was fine by me. ¡°Are we going or not.¡± She huffed. I turned around, blinking back into focus. I hadn¡¯t realized I had zoned out. Seeing the window had brought back the memory of the shadow and by extension, all the things I had experienced earlier.


    I took a look at her attire. She was dressed in her usual simple maid¡¯s attire of a in white gown and t sandals.


    ¡°What?¡± Sheined. ¡°You are not expecting me to put on some armour, are you?¡± She grumbled.


    ¡°No, but¡­¡± I started then shook my head. ¡°Never mind. Let¡¯s get going.¡± I headed out, running into ire, quite literally. She seemed to have been about to knock when I opened the door.


    She pulled back in surprise as she took me in. ¡°Hey..¡± She started weakly with a half-hearted smile when Luna pushed past me.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    My perfect maid took in the scene in one nce before cracking a smile that suggested she was about to say something very Luna-like. ¡°Hello,dy ire.¡± She gave a small bow. ¡°You are here to see master Indrik? We were just about to¡­¡±


    ire waved her off, obviously not in the mood to hear Luna¡¯s ount about a lion roosting in the stables. ¡°I was just passing by.¡± She muttered but the way she scurried off informed me that she had been doing anything but passing by. Watching her leave, I felt a pang of guilt. I had been ignoring my friends these past couple of days. I couldn¡¯t remember thest time I had sat down with them in the garden. Not since the time I had gone on the journey that brought Luna into my life at least. I made up my mind to tend to that matter as soon as I could but for now, I had a more pressing matter to attend to.


    I turned toward Luna to notice her eyes on me, like she was trying to see through me. I waved my hand over her face and was rewarded with a scowl. I resisted the urge to tweak her cheek but could hardly resist smiling as I moved closer to her. She looked rather dashing when she was like that. She stood at eye level with my shoulders but that did not make her any less of a threat. I shoved my arms in my coat and bent my head till my lips were right beside her ear. I took in the scent of her hair, a mix ofvender and a fainter scent of, cinnamon? I decided to speak before she attacked me, the grapefruit episode still being very fresh in my mind. ¡°I would get a coat if I were you. It could get very cold out there.¡± That may or may not have been true.


    She looked like she was going to smack me so I hurriedly backed away and shed a grin. ¡°Hurry.¡± I mouthed as I turned and made my way out.


    Outside, the flowers that guarded the walkway looked rather sad in the quickly fading sunlight with their leaves gathering in a pool at their base. Their small branches looked rather miserable without their leaves and flowers to adorn them but I knew it was only a matter of time before they would start blooming again, looking even more beautiful than before. I sighed as I wondered if I could ever be like them, not having to worry about losing everything because I could be certain they would grow again. Sadly, I was no flower and I did fear a lot. Even now, I was scared that Luna would change her mind and decide not toe out again, leaving me in my miserable state. Having my wolf had not done much to alleviate my fears. If anything, it made me even more afraid because it meant having more things to live up to.


    I was so lost in thought that I didn¡¯t realize Luna had arrived until she cleared her throat, sending me jumping.

 Lair

    Indrik


    As I led Luna through the winding paths that I had only ever walked by myself, it felt rather surreal. Like I was exposing a part of myself that only I had ever known. A part that I had been too scared to share with anyone else. And the most scary thing was that I did not care. If anything, I wanted to show her even more. Wasn¡¯t sure she would want to see more though judging by the hay straws that had threaded their way into her hair.


    Stepping out of the oaken door that led out of the other end of the pce, I stared at the row of tall, thick trees that formed a green and brown wall several feet away. I was hit, as I always was by the ethereal aura that filled this ce. It had the ambience of a ce that had been left untouched by anyone, both human and wolf for a long time. I could see signs of this ce having been used by someone or some people before, a four feet wide entrance that was nked by tree stumps that led into the heart of the trees. This entrance was easy to miss, having long since been concealed by thick creeper nts, an indication that this ce did not want to be disturbed. I hoped the trees would not get mad at me for bringing yet another stranger into their territory but then again, I didn¡¯t have that many other options.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Beside me, Luna gasped as she took in this ce. I couldn¡¯t me her. I had also been speechless when I had first stumbled upon it. Even now, I still could not get over its charm. How had I gotten to know this, you might ask but you will find that there is a lot of things that you do when you have a lot of spare time on your hands and dang, did I have a lot of time on my hands?


    As a growing wolfless kid in a wolf¡¯s pack, I got excluded out of a lot of activities which meant I spent most of the time in my room, sulking and moaning my fate. Usually, ire would show up to keep mepany. She generally had more time as well since she tantly turned down any attempt to train her. Usually, we would spend a whole lot of time out in the garden, ying around, discussing and on some days that I was in a really good mood, I would be a test pig for her make-up experiments which meant I ended up looking like a lost male ghost who could not find his way back to the world of the dead. These generally helped with my endless boredom especially since Jamil and Ulo would also drop by once they were done with training. But even this could not work all the time. There were days when ire had to leave me hanging, not to mention that having only one person to keep youpany day in and day out over the years while you could do nothing else had a way of tiring you out. On really bad days, I would take a walk, trying my best to stay away from danger (which generally meant my half-brother) while looking for exciting things that took my mind off my troubles and also setting my jumbled thoughts in order. Overtime, these walks became more frequent and limited to the pce grounds. It was on one of these walks that I had stumbled into the stables.


    When I had first seen the opening behind the horse in thest stable, I hadn¡¯t been certain of what I had been looking at but I had been desperate enough to open the stable and push past the horse to take a closer look. I was both stunned and excited to find that I was staring at a door. It was painted the same color as the walls of the stables which exined the reason why it had not been noticed before. The horse must have unwittingly kicked it open. I had taken a look around the stables, ensuring that no one else was around to see my discovery before slipping into the door and shutting it behind me. Sure, it was reckless and could have put me in danger but at that time, I couldn¡¯t care less. Perhaps, a part of me had been hoping death would find me.


    Behind the door had been very gloomy and stuffy but I had felt my way along, defying all the spiderwebs that stubbornly clung to me as I moved. All that simply proved that my discovery was truly phenomenal. Luckily, the path had been a very narrow one, hemmed in by walls on both sides, preventing me from straying. I hadn¡¯t had to walk for very long either before I felt another door, this one iron. I had been worried that it would be locked but either it was never locked or the wear had be worn-out with time because the door had simply creaked open.


    Never had I been happier to see daylight again but my discovery made me even happier. Looking around, I had noticed that I was no longer in the pce. I could still see the massive walls of the pce, painted white once but having turned grey from age. Moss and creepers grew all over the walls. I had been surprised to know that this ce even existed. This side of the pce sat at the edge of the territory beyond which were endless woods, unmarked and unimed which meant there was no possibility of attack or anything else so this area had pretty much been forgotten. Until I had found it that is. Now that I think of it, I think this ce had been designed to never be found because why else would you ce a door in a horse¡¯s stable?


    I turned toward Luna and beamed. ¡°How would you like to visit myir?¡±

 Poor Trees

    Luna


    When my master led me into the horse stables, I thought, ¡°of course! What better ce to have a hideout that no one else knew about than in the stables.¡± (I mean, most people preferred their horses when they were outside, looking prim and proper and ready for a ride, not when they were here, reeking of hay, and well, horse. You would understand if I don¡¯t want to go into details about what the ¡®horse¡¯ part means. Not that I minded horses, I mean, I did stop by with Lea for a quick greeting.) Then, he had continued right on to thest stable and pushed in. I had hesitated, wondering if my master had meant horse fundament when he mentioned a hideout. Then, he had walked over to the wall and pushed a door open. I had been so shocked, I had gotten a mini vertigo. Sure, I hadn¡¯t really been a frequent visitor of the stables but I had taken in thepartment after he went in and could have sworn the door hadn¡¯t been there a second before.


    ¡°Youing?¡± He had called, extending his arm which was when I was realized I was still outside, standing transfixed. I had rocked on my feet for a moment, considering how wise it was to follow a man into a mystery door in the stable but my curiosity soon won over as I walked over and grabbed his arm. He led me in and whispered a, ¡°don¡¯t freak out,¡± before shutting the door and plunging this ce into almostplete darkness, the only lighting from some tiny openings some distance to the front. He pulled me along. I figured that he saw better now with his wolf but I wondered how he had managed before now. I usually had a good sense of direction but even I was finding it difficult to maintain my bnce but it probably had to do with my fear of tight spaces. I whimpered as this ce seemed to be closing in on me. I kicked against something and yelped as I scooted closer to Indrik. He seemed to understand my panic as he tightened his grip on my arm and wrapped his other arm around my shoulder. ¡°Just a couple more feet.¡± He whispered reassuringly. I didn¡¯t feel reassured. Every second in here felt like an eternity. I knew my fear was ridiculous, I mean I had done worse things, like work in ¡®The Haven¡¯ where everyone was a beast and poison Indrik which got me in a whole lot of trouble. Compared to them, this ce should have been a walk in the park but it didn¡¯t make me feel any better. Fear, they say, has no shame.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    It seemed like an eternityter when Indrik pushed another door open and we stepped out in the open. I stumbled out and doubled over, trying my best to regain my breath. I had waved Indrik off when he tried to help. It was bad enough to have him know about my fear. I couldn¡¯t bear any sympathies. It took a moment but finally, colour started to return to my face and I finally got the strength to stand straight. A gasp escaped me almost immediately as I pulled at the dirt that had clung to my face and stumbled forward. Turning around, my mouth opened so wide, I was surprised it didn¡¯t fall right off. Speaking of falling off, I barely managed to escape a green slithery thing that dropped right before me. For a moment, I feared that it was a snake and nearly screamed. Luckily, I managed to kill the scream in my throat as I realized that it was nothing more than a green nt that had probably been pulled free on my way out.


    With that out of the picture, I turned my attention to my surroundings once again. I had never once thought about the final wall of the pce that I had never seen but now that I saw it, I couldn¡¯t help marvelling about it. Obviously, it had been abandoned for what seemed like an eternity with the white paint growing green moss in ces where the paint was not peeling off. The massive walls still towered over us but they seemed to have lost whatever made the other walls look impressive, so, that was not what made me so entranced. What got me so excited was the wall of trees standing a couple of feet away from us. Having lived in a world where humans were cleaning out nature as fast as they could and then in a world of wolves where nature lived side by side with them, seeing this ce where nature reigned supreme without being controlled by other not so ¡®naturely¡¯ children of hers felt rather surreal and ethereal.


    I took in the brown barks which rose to what I reasoned would be around twenty to thirty feet where they were crowned with green wreathed branches that grew so thickly into each other, I was certain that nothing could be seen of this ce from above. It seemed like the trees had decided to keep whatever their treasures were away from prying eyes. On the ground, the trees grew to a breadth of about six feet and also drew so tightly together on rows to the sides and back that it was impossible to see, much less go into the grove of trees. Something told me to get Indrik away from here before he could damage the trees after all, that was what his kind did best. Another voice dissuaded me. Indrik had known this ce for only the goddess knew how long yet he had never once exposed it to the others. Surely, someone like that could be trusted with nature. My apprehension spiked as he turned to me.


    ¡°How would you like to visit myir?¡± He asked, making me wonder what he had done to the poor trees.

 Worthy

    Luna


    I stared at Indrik like he had suddenly grown two horns before turning my attention back to the grove and studying them for any signs of them being damaged. I frowned as I noticed a break in the line of trees to the center of the grove. Where there were supposed to be trees, there were creeper nts instead. They had grown very thick and were barely moved by asional gusts of wind but their presence still stuck out as what they were, a piece of skin that had grown to rece a wound. My heart bubbled with anger as I red at Indrik, trying my best to keep my temper in check.


    ¡°What did you do to the trees?¡± I growled. He stared at me in confusion but I was in no mood for that as I hissed in irritation. ¡°Why did you cut those trees?¡± I asked again, barely able to hold back from hitting him so hard in his face as to send him back into aa.


    ¡°Oh, that.¡± He started casually then froze as he realized I wasn¡¯t joking. ¡°I found it that way. Promise. I have tried my best to not touch anything that need not be touched since I arrived here.¡± He informed.


    I regarded him, trying to figure out exactly how much of his words were lies and how much were truth. ¡°How did you find this ce?¡±


    He paused, his brows furrowing as he considered it. ¡°I don¡¯t think that is the right way to say it. As a matter of fact, I do think that this ce found me.¡± He paused, sparing me a nce then continued when he noticed I was still waiting on him. ¡°Growing up, I used to be very lonely. To counter that, I would walk around, trying to find new interesting things to keep me from loosing my mind. It was on one of such expeditions that I noticed that door in the stable. I don¡¯t know why or how, but it was open. I had been so excited by my discovery that I had gone into it without hesitation and, here we are now.¡±


    I examined his features, trying to figure out if he was lying but he looked sincere enough. The forest seemed to rustle in approval as well.


    ¡°Can we go?¡± He asked quietly when he noticed that I was not ready to say anything else.


    I stared at him with nk eyes as I thought about why I had been so inclined to protect nature. I felt like it had something to do with my past that I was constantly forgetting more and more about by the day. I shook the grogginess out of my head as I turned to him. ¡°Let¡¯s go see it.¡±


    Indrik seemed relieved as he led me to the creeping nts. For a moment, I wondered about how he was going to get past the thick creepers but he simply brushed them apart like they were no more than tiny des of grass. I was going to ask him about it but the sight that rolled out before my eyes killed the words on my tongue. If I had thought that the view outside was incredible, in here seemed like the pinnacle of beauty. The fading light of a closing day seemed to be locked outside as we trudged on in semi-darkness. We walked past rows of felled trees that got me swallowing past my resentment at things so beautiful being reduced to stumps. Finally, the trees opened into arge clearing. The trees still formed a heavy canopy over us but somehow, light trickled in through some breaks that were too far off to see. That wasn¡¯t the most impressive though. The most impressive thing was the way the trees began to glow, emitting a silver hue that looked an awful lot like moonlight which illuminated our path.


    ¡°That is strange.¡± Indrik¡¯s voice was so quiet, he might have as well not have spoken.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked, still entranced by the sight of these majestic trees, d that no pests had ever been able toy their paws on it and also promising to defend this ce with myst breath if I had to.


    ¡°The trees.¡± His voice sounded hoarse. ¡°They never used to glow before.¡± He whispered. I wondered why he did that since we were the only ones here.


    ¡°Maybe you never came here at night?¡± I suggested, my eyes still feeding her on the beautiful nights.


    ¡°I alwayse here at night.¡± It almost sounded like a growl, if growls could be managed in whispers.


    ¡°Oh! I¡¯m sure there is a simple exnation.¡± I shrugged, not anxious to peel my eyes off the beauties.


    ¡°I guess you are right.¡± Indrik hissed. ¡°But we should get moving.¡± He continued, sounding more and more nervous by the moment.


    ¡°Going back to the pce? I thought we were here to train.¡±


    ¡°Not to the pce. To the training grounds.¡± I turned toward him, an obvious question on my face. Weren¡¯t these the training grounds? They after all perfectly fitted into the picture. Hidden? Check. Spacey? Yes. Lighted? Beautifully. Whatever a training center needed, this ce seemed to have in abundance so, of course, I assumed that this was our destination without a doubt. Now, he was saying we were still going elsewhere?


    He seemed to catch on to my thoughts as he smiled. ¡°This isn¡¯t where I told you about. This ce is more like the courtyard of the pce. We will reach the. Pce soon.¡±


    The Pce turned out to be a hut built on the center of arge expanse ofnd. Here, the trees which had kept a mere fifteen feet berth in the former clearing spread out into a much wider circle, allowing for the moonlight to beam from the sky. The moon? Time sure moved fast. Before I could carry out any more exploration, Indrik wrapped his arms around mine and pulled me along in this little kingdom of his.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    I couldn¡¯t help feeling honoured that he had considered me worthy of sharing this with him.

 Perhaps

    ire


    If my chest were like a sack, I would cut it open and remove my heart. If my heart were not so good at serving two goals, pumping blood and making big deals out of nothing, I would have removed it and crushed it into a thousand pieces. If my heart could be removed, I would wash it clean, turn it inside out and wash it clean again before returning it into my chest. Maybe then, I would stop being hunted by these terrible emotions. Maybe then, I wouldn¡¯t feel so strongly about everything that I saw. Maybe then, I wouldn¡¯t spend every day stewing away in my own tears, but sadly, all of these are but thoughts. My body is made of flesh and bones, thoughts and feelings, things that were not so easily expunged.


    I sat in the swing, my legs dangling just above the ground, my head resting on its arm, my hand holding its weight. To say I was lost in thoughts would be an epic understatement. Right now, emotions were swirling within me like an overheated pot of thick soup. Each bubble sent tiny sshes whichnded all over me, causing stings wherever itnded. The pain was so intense that I found it difficult to breathe. The worst part of all? I could not point at the exact thing that was wrong with me.Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org.


    Sure, Indrik had saved that maid. Sure, Indrik had defended her by taking all the me for the poison. Sure, they had left the room together. Sure! Sure! Sure¡­ All of that meant nothing. They were just master and maid and doing these for each other was only right. Right? Even as I thought it this, the more rational part of me warned me that I was only fooling myself but I refused to give that part any time of day. More because I was certain that I would be destroyed by my own pain if I gave it any more thought that I had to.


    I tried to think about the good times. The times that I would sit Indrik down and make him into a masterpiece. Sure, at the end of it, he ended up looking more like a princess than a knight in shining armor but he still managed to look so pretty. I tried to imagine his toothy grin which he only showed when he was in an extremely good mood. These were rare and far between which was why I treasured every single one of them. Each time he had smiled and the reason he had was carefully stored away in a loss-proof part of my mind.


    There was the time I had agreed to train with him. I think he had been around twelve at the time while I had been ten. Yeah, my feelings for him did go that far back. At that time, I had thought it to be an affection that I had for my closest friend but over time, I hade to find that what I felt was much more than that. On that day, he had been sad because he had been turned away by Beta Green when he had gone to plead that he be allowed to train. The Beta had informed him that he would never be a warrior which had broken his heart. I had been searching for my friend when I had seen him sitted on one of the steps that led to the garden. It had taken a lot of effort to pry the reason for his bad mood out of him and when I finally did, I offered to train with him.


    I still recalled the hopelessly fragile look that hadnded on his face as he had looked up at me. ¡°Do you really mean that?¡± He had asked, his voice trembling with hope and fear.


    ¡°Of course!¡± I had promised and had been rewarded with that bright smile that warmed my entire body, sending a wave of warmth that made my scalp tingle and my toes curl. That had suddenly made it worth it.


    That hadn¡¯t ended so well though. My heart twisted as I thought about how I had gotten a sudden burst of power and threw him over my shoulder. He hadnded with a yelp and given me a crestfallen look. I had called after him but he didn¡¯t stop till he was far away from me. He had cried himself to sleep. Needless to say, that was thest time he ever trained with me. All my other attempts to get him to train with me proved abortive, something which hurt me as much as he did him. I had wished I could cut off my arms which had brought such misfortune to me. Even now, my heart filled with bitterness as I wondered if that was somehow responsible for the gap that had appeared between us. Perhaps, if I had not stupidly hurt him, he would have continued to train with me and we would have made more memories. Perhaps then, he would have realized his love for me by now. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. That seemed to sum up my life. Perhaps if I had not given him that bow which had snapped and hit him in the face with a force so hard, it knocked him out cold. Perhaps if I had trained more and been able to help him unlock his wolf. Perhaps if I had been there on the day Leon and friends had beaten him up so much that he had run from the pce. Perhaps¡­


    A tear slid down my face, rolling into my mouth. I spat out the salty taste and immediately wiped away my tears. My fears were ridiculous. I was pretty certain he felt the same way I felt for him. The maid was only that. A maid. I had been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn¡¯t realized I hadpany until a voice startled me so much I nearly jumped out of my skin.


    Perhaps that would not have been so bad¡­.

 Horrible

    ire


    ¡°What are you doing out here?¡± A voice asked, nearly sending me rolling out of my swing. For a very blissful moment, I thought that the voice was Indrik¡¯s. Maybe I wasn¡¯t so pathetic after all. My cheeks warmed as my heart started to beat like a drum being beaten by several hands in perfect rhythm. My lips curled curled in a brilliant smile as I jumped out of the swing and turned around certain that he had learned his mistake. His maid had shown him her true colours and he had returned to me, the only one who would ever truly ept him with open arms. I could barely hold my legs from knocking against each other in my excitement.


    ¡°Ind¡­¡± I started, opening my arms but the rest of the words died in my throat as I spotted the person who had spoken. I dropped my arms and my face froze as an involuntary scowl settled on my face. ¡°Ulo!¡± I called coldly, the name rolling off my tongue like food that had undergone a major existential crisis in the kitchen.


    ¡°Sorry!¡± He muttered, his hands suddenly seeming too busy. He could not decide where to keep them. Now, they were in his robe, then behind him, then in his hair, then in the swing, then back to his robe against which he rubbed them vigorously. I could see that he was feeling extremely ufortable and probably would have done or said something to make him feel morefortable but I simply wasn¡¯t in the mood. As a matter of fact, it was all I could do to not bark at him to get out of here. ¡°I just saw you sitting out here and was wondering if you perhaps needed this.¡± He stretched an arm in which he held a carefully folded robe which I must have missed earlier. ¡°It is pretty cold out tonight.¡±


    ¡°Tonight!¡± I muttered, looking up at the sky as if to confirm. It really was tonight. The moon, missing about a quarter of its full size hung brilliant in the sky exuding radiant rays. All around it, tiny stars twinkled beautifully reminding me of a song that I had taught to Indrik to sing when he looked up at the stars. I could not recall where I had learnt it but I could still remember the day I had taught him. I blinked out of my thoughts. I was certain that I hade here in the early hours of the evening. Had I really been lost in thoughts for that long? A shiver raced down my spine forcing a shaky exhale out of me. He was right. It really was cold our here.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± His voice sounded so friendly and concerned that I felt horrible for having spoken to him like that.


    Already at the height of emotions, I could barely control myself as I bit back a sob. His eyes widened as he stared at me. I could see that he wanted to move closer but his inhibitions held him back which was just as well. I didn¡¯t trust myself to continue being calm if I allowed hime too close.


    ¡°You are crying.¡± He sounded suspiciously like he was going to cry as well.


    I raised my head and red at him then whimpered as I realized that I probably did not look all that vicious with puffy eyes and trembling lips. I lowered my head and started to weep silently.


    ¡°ire? Are you okay? I mean¡­ what is wrong? I mean¡­ How can I help?¡± He stumbled over his words like he usually did when he was nervous. I knew that he preferred to avoid getting involved with others which informed me of just how much he must be battling with himself right now. That only made me feel more horrible.


    ¡°Please, leave.¡± I cried hoarsely.


    ¡°What?¡± He gave me a wounded look which eerily reminded me of the look Indrik had given me all of those years ago but I couldn¡¯t afford to have it any other way. I knew he was trying to help but there wasn¡¯t really much he could do.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I need to be alone. Please.¡±


    He looked even more miserable as his shoulders slumped and he dropped the robe on the swing from which I had sprung up only so recently. If I hadn¡¯t been so distraught, I would have been shocked beyond words that Ulo Green, one of the strongest wolves in the pack who also happened to be the mostposed would ever look so frail. ¡°You¡¯ll be okay, right?¡± He asked tentatively but I had already turned my back. I didn¡¯t turn until the sound of his footsteps receded. Then, my own shoulders dropped as I started to sob.


    I copsed to the ground as I bawled my heart out wishing I could do that in a not so figurative way. I had no idea how long I remained there just pouring out my pain in wordless cries and whimpers but when I finally stopped crying and was assailed with hups, the calm that flowed through me made me feel much better even if I knew it was only temporary. I was already familiar with this seemingly endless and vicious cycle. My heart would start to moan with pain from being kept away from its other part, then I would cry and in the aftermath, rest, if only temporarily from the pain but even then, I knew that the pain would return soon enough. The question was how long?


    With it gone though, I rose from the floor to the swing. I recoiled as my handnded on something strange. For a moment, I was consumed with blind panic but I calmed when I saw that it was the cloth that Ulo had brought earlier.


    I picked it up and unfurled it, wrapping it around my shoulders. I whimpered as I recalled how I had treated him. I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that I was experiencing this much pain because I was such a horrible person. It was all my fault.

 The Bloodied Diamonds And The Blood Knight

    Jamil


    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Beta Green asked, his face looking even more tired in the nightlight. We were sitting in his study, a small room that smelled like books and oil and books. I held back the urge to sigh as I stared out the window and saw the moon beaming brilliantly on the earth. For the umpteenth time, I wondered why wolves could not be like the celestial bodies. Forever fixed in the firmament, not having to worry about having to fall from their perch in the heavens. Come rain,e sunshine,e winter,e autumn, you could always bank on them to be there. If perhaps, it was too cloudy and the sun or moon did not show, you could be certain they would be there the next day. There was no guile or pretense with them, just simple duty. It was not so with wolves. Unlike the animals which we take most of our attributes from, we seem to be more interested in our individual gain than the good of the entire pack. We didn¡¯t care who got betrayed, hurt or even died so long as we could aplish our purpose. I recalled what had happened several nights ago and could not help a shaky exhale. Perhaps, it was due to the human part of us? That specie tended to have a lot of ws.


    The Beta stared at me with a look that was just as heavy. If I felt this way, I couldn¡¯t even imagine the kind of conflict he must be having within him right now. His face seemed to have aged a couple of years within the past few minutes.


    ¡°Where is Ulo? Shouldn¡¯t he be here?¡± The Beta asked, his eyes traveling to the door like he expected Ulo to walk in at any moment.


    The sigh escaped me as I recalled how we had parted ways earlier. I shuddered, wondering what was going on with him. Suddenly, the night seemed to have grown too cold. ¡°He¡­¡± I started but the Beta waved me off. Obviously, he had too many things on his mind to focus on any single thing.


    He lowered his eyes to the scroll that was spread before him and examined it closely before raising his head toward me again. ¡°You are a warrior, one of the best warriors of the pack¡­¡± Usually, a praise like that would have gotten me all swollen up but with all that was going on, he might have as well told me that I smelt like rotten eggs. ¡°In the absence of your father, I believe that you are more than capable which is why I would like for you to tell me how best you think we can handle this¡­ ah, problem.¡± With the way he said the word, ¡®problem,¡¯ I could see that he was avoiding mentioning the name. I couldn¡¯t me him though. I had fought the person along with Ulo on the night of Jamil¡¯s poisoning yet, I could still not shake the chill whenever I recalled the memory. Thest thing I wanted was to have to deal with that person again but it didn¡¯t seem like I had much choice. ¡°Also!¡± He started, stroking his chin, his eyes heavy with thought. ¡°You mentioned blood rubies? On that same night?¡±


    ¡°More like blood diamonds. But they were gone within a moment.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm!¡± He grunted as he stroke his chin over and over, lost as he was in deep thought.


    I frowned as thoughts that were uncalled for started to form into deductions. My eyes widened as the loose ends connected. ¡°You think they are rted?¡±Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Hmmm!¡± He grunted again as he removed his hand from his chin and started to trace the scroll again like that would somehow change its contents. I highly doubted that. He beckoned me over and pointed to a dark spot that looked like rather suspiciously like dried blood. ¡°This is where it happened?¡±


    I nodded grimly as I recalled something the person had referred to himself as. Something that had faded just about as soon as I heard it because I hadn¡¯t thought it meant much but now that I saw the mark, a growing suspicion started to form in the pit of my stomach. ¡°He called himself the Blood knight.¡±


    ¡°The Blood knight!¡± The Beta had always had a reputation of being able to keep his cool under pressure but right now, he totally blew the cover as he spat the word and jumped to his feet. He started to pace as he repeated the word like he couldn¡¯t believe it.


    ¡°You know him?¡± I asked, my heart filling up with equal parts of dread and eagerness.


    The Beta stopped before me. He gulped in what looked like fear which made me cringe as I wondered who this person really was. ¡°Yes, I know the Blood knight but I really hope you did not meet with him because if it turns out that it was him that you really met, then this Pack is in danger. Are you¡­ are you sure you heard that name right?¡±


    From what the Beta had just said, I desperately wished I could say no, like my memory would get a sudden gap fill and I would realize that I had gotten the name all wrong but no such luck. I pursed my lips and shook my head grimly.


    ¡°This is bad. He gave up so much to end this. And¡­¡± His tremble was so great that even I could see it. He reached out and sped my arms. ¡°Oh, gods!¡± He cried. ¡°The diamonds.¡±


    ¡°Beta Green?¡± I called, my shoulders starting to hurt from his firm grip. ¡°Perhaps you could tell me more about this person? Perhaps a way to defeat him?¡±


    For a moment, the Beta¡¯s protective face fell awaypletely and in its ce was a man who was scared to death.

 Doomed To A Sad Life

    Jamil


    There is a saying that goes like this, ¡°what an elder sees that makes him walk around naked, if a child sees such, he would lose his entire essence.¡± This saying rang in my mind over and over as I watched the Beta fidget in difort. I thought to myself that I wouldn¡¯t want to face someone or something who could make the Beta this panic-stricken.


    I liked to think of myself as a carefree person who couldn¡¯t be bothered by burdens such as fear which only added to your problems but in that moment, I couldn¡¯t deny that I felt a huge blob that tasted an awful lot like fear surge from my abdominal cavity all the way to my oral cavity. The panic was so great that it very nearly crippled me. ¡°There is no escape!¡± The creature had dered. At the moment, I hadn¡¯t thought much of it but now that I saw the man before me, I began to believe that perhaps, there was no escape.


    We remained frozen like that for what seemed like an eternity and a half before the Beta blinked and seemed to regain control of himself. He let me go sending me stumbling back as I tried to shake blood back into my limbs.


    ¡°You can go now!¡± The Beta informed, his voice back to its normal, cold quality. Knowing the Beta, I knew that he was probably beating himself up for being such a sissy. I didn¡¯t want to go. There were so many things I still wanted to find out about but something about the stiff manner in which the Beta held himself informed me that he wouldn¡¯t be saying anything else. Not tonight, at least. I bowed before stumbling out of the room.


    ¡°And Jamil?¡± He called, stopping me at the door. ¡°Be careful.¡± Two words but I could feel that they were extremelyden with meaning. I bowed again as I exited.


    I didn¡¯t know I had been holding my breath until I got out of the pce and the cold wind hit my hot skin. I shivered, less from cold than from my internal troubles. I couldn¡¯t shake the memory of the Beta¡¯s reaction at the mention of the name. ¡°Blood knight.¡± I muttered the name over and over in my mind and mouth, feeling that I should know the name but whatever information I was searching for seemed to be perfectlyfortable with hiding out in the shadows. Speaking of shadows, I was thinking about going for a run in the woods when I saw Ulo in the distance. He was standing against a tree and was so perfectly still that I probably wouldn¡¯t have noticed him if not for my sharp eyes.


    For a moment, I considered ignoring him. That would be the best course of action after what had happened earlier, even more so since I could see that he wasn¡¯t in a much better mood now but then again, we wouldn¡¯t have been friends for so long if I didn¡¯t know my friend.


    ¡°Hey, buddy!¡± I called. Up close, I could see that he had his arms tucked over his chest and had his eyes closed. He either did not hear or decided not to respond. I chose to go with the first.


    ¡°Ulo!¡± I called more insistently. His eyes snapped open as he red at me, looking like he was trying to figure out what to do between tearing my face open or ripping my limbs off. ¡°Come on, man! It¡¯s just me.¡± I raised my arms in a surrender.Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org.


    He didn¡¯t seem to like the idea of me any better than whatever stranger he thought had disturbed him but at least, I didn¡¯t feel any pain in my gut. Ulo was usually calm but he could be painfully vicious when he was mad. I preferred to avoid that.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± He snapped but my heart twisted as underneath all the bravado and anger, I heard the timid cry of a child who had been hurt. Knowing Ulo, I knew that any direct sympathy would only serve to make him withdraw more into himself so I decided on a different path instead.


    ¡°The Beta asked after you.¡± I informed. His eyes shed just before he shut them and went back to resting against the tree. ¡°Want to go for a run?¡± I offered.


    He remained still for a moment then opened his eyes and looked at me from head to toe. I followed his gaze and smiled. ¡°I will just go change.¡± I was dressed in the billowing purple garments that I reserved for important meetings like tonight. They were good for making an impression, not so good for running through the woods. He didn¡¯t respond but I had a feeling that he was smiling.


    I made my way back to the quarters and was about to open my door when my ears picked up sobbing in the garden. I sighed in exhaustion wondering if today was dedicated to some god or goddess of mourning. I pushed changing toter as I made my way to the open back door. I had barely reached the door when I saw the source of the tears and whimpers.


    ¡°ire?¡± I called uncertainly as I picked my way toward her. Seeing me, she picked up a part of the blue cloth that was draped over her shoulders and back and used it to daub at her face. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked softly as I knelt before her and raised her jaw so she was looking directly at me. Her lips trembled as well as her entire body as she huped. Stray warm tearsnded on my hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m a horrible person.¡± She whimpered.


    ¡°What?¡± I sputtered, stunned.


    ¡°I¡¯m a terrible person. I always manage to hurt all those that are around me. Maybe that is why I have been doomed to a sad life.¡±

 Standard

    Jamil


    When your usually jovial friend starts crying about being a monster, what do you tell them? You are not a monster? Or yes, you are one, so suck it up and make the best of it? Listening to ire cry sent several thoughts racing through my head as I thought about how best to get her off her haunches. Maybe if I had had a moment to think about it, then I would have known something better to say. (Note: as carefree and sweet as I like to think I am, I have never for once understood women. They say they are feeling bad so you tell them a joke only for them to go ballistic on you. It is no wonder that I feel morefortable around my own gender. Even Ulo, who is the worst of us by my own standards does not take my words and use them against me.)


    I looked up at the sky, making a small prayer as I turned my attention back to ire. ¡°Of course not. You are not a monster. Why would you even think that?¡± I cooed, swiping my thumb over her face.


    ¡°I am.¡± She cried again, pushing me away as she buried her face in herps.


    ¡°ire? You wanna tell me what is wrong?¡± I asked softly, careful to not strike the wrong nerve which would end up with me being chased out of here with a fiery growl which she managed so well.


    She continued to cry for what seemed like an eternity while I watched helplessly, thinking about how good a run would be right about now. A bird cried in the distance, a call which was quickly picked up by its partner. Again, I thought about how animals had it so easy. Male deers did not have to worry about the mood swings of their pack members. All they had to worry about was getting enough food to eat and escaping predators. Okay, that might have sounded pretty stereotypical but then again, I was feeling pretty exhausted. First, I had to deal with the Beta whose nail imprints I could still feel in my shoulders, then there was Ulo, and finally ire. I felt like the only one who wasn¡¯t gued by panic, or dreadful mood swings, or tears about monsters. If you think that is good then do yourself a favour and drop the thought. If anything, it makes me the worse off of them all. Don¡¯t understand? Think about a pack of wolves going to hunt and only one of them chancing upon prey.Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org.


    Finally she raised her head and met my eyes with a baleful look that seemed to say that she was scared I would start referring to her as a monster as well. Thankfully, my joking instincts did not overwhelm me at this time. I don¡¯t imagine she would have appreciated me stating the simrity between her puffed eyes and rising dough.


    Looking at her, I couldn¡¯t shake the thought that she looked rather frail and that all it took for her to return to her mourning was an ill spoken word. I decided I would rather avoid that.


    ¡°It¡¯s cold out here.¡± I started, my voice sounding more hoarse than I had nned for it to be. My words seemed to have been a catalyst of sorts as she suddenly shivered, rubbing her covered arms. ¡°How would you like to go for a walk in the woods?¡±


    She looked rather funny trying to look serious with puffy eyes and a wet face but she managed to pull it off. ¡°Sounds good.¡± She agreed.


    ¡°Great!¡± I exhaled in relief. ¡°Would you like to change into better suited clothes. I have to as well. We had better hurry though because I am sure we don¡¯t want to keep Ulo waiting much longer.¡± I stretched my hand toward her.


    ¡°Ulo?¡± She repeated, a wistful look settling on her features. I frowned as I started to make some connections. There was Ulo who had looked fairly pissed off, then here was ire who had been crying and now hesitating about something she had shown so much eagerness for a moment ago simply because I mentioned Ulo. Even if I believed in coincidences, these were much too connected to be coincidences. I decided to not reveal my suspicions which might be wrong by the way. ¡°You know what, I think you should go with him.¡± Her tone sounded rather rushed.


    ¡°Come on, B. You have never been one to turn down an adventure that promises to be fun. Tell me, does it have to do with Ulo?¡± I pushed gently.


    Her features turned sheepish as she started to twiddle her fingers.


    ¡°It is!¡± I confirmed. ¡°What happened between you two? He is not in a very good shape either.¡± I gestured in the general direction of Ulo¡¯s location beyond the house.


    ¡°He isn¡¯t!¡± She sounded extremely meek which was unusual for ire. Usually, she was either being sweet, or furious, or yful, but she was hardly like this. Looking so unsure of herself. ¡°You think he will forgive me?¡± She asked, pinning hopeful eyes on me.


    I wanted to remind her that I didn¡¯t even know the offense that she hadmitted, instead, I nodded. ¡°Of course, you know he can¡¯t stay mad at anyone for long.¡± She seemed to consider my words for a moment before nodding like she had suddenly swallowed a lizard.


    ¡°I will go get ready then.¡± She jumped out of the swing and bolted for the door. I turned my attention to the cover cloth which had slid off her shoulder. I was about to pick it up when she arrived back at my side and snatched it up. ¡°I will be right back. You had better get ready too.¡± Then she was gone.


    I kept my gaze on the door long after she had gone through it. Finally, I stretchedzily thinking about how great a night it had been. I had been drawn into three different problems, none of which seemed solved but at least, I had managed to help them move on from it.

 A Very Long Night

    Jamil


    Looking for a job? That is just great. It is a well known fact that there is dignity inbour but please, in all you do, never ept a job that requires you to be a go-between in a fight, especially if you don¡¯t know what the fight was all about.


    Getting back to the tree with ire in tow, i just knew it was going to be a very long night. Ulo took one look at my train and turned around, immediately starting to walk away. Behind me, ire started to slink away as well but I managed to stop her in time. ¡°Come on!¡± I pulled her along as I raced after Ulo. ¡°Hey! Wait up buddy!¡± There was no way he hadn¡¯t heard but of course, my buddy chose to ignore me. I decided not to take offense. Of course, I had little other choices but let¡¯s not go there, yes?


    ¡°Let me go, Jamil. He obviously doesn¡¯t want to talk. Perhaps, he would be in a better mood tomorrow. I will speak to him then.¡± Behind me, ire was throwing a fit of her own. I wondered for the umpteenth time what I had done to deserve this fate. Knowing her, if I let her go now, she would never apologize and they would go back to being awkward around each other. They also consider themselves as best friends but their rtionship has always been strained at best. Being direct opposites of each other, ire often managed to get on Ulo¡¯s wrong side after which they would then be awkward around each other for a couple of days till they came to an ufortable settlement. Every once in a while, like tonight, I, the legendary peacemaker would step in and help get their acts straight. I tried to keep it minimal though because each attempt was always like stepping between two raging lions.


    ¡°Ulo! Come on, wait up.¡± I called, dragging ire after me which earned a cry and a punch. Who knew ire could punch that hard?


    Finally, after several curses, cries and bruises, we caught up to Ulo who threw a cold look our way.


    ¡°What is she doing here?¡± He asked coldly. I knew Ulo enough to know that he was hiding his hurt under his anger. Unlike ire who simply cried out her hurt, Ulo kept it bottled in and turned aggressive instead.


    ¡°I should go.¡± ire gasped as she tried to flee once more but again, I pulled her back. That sounded easy, right? Well, trust me when I say it was anything but easy.


    ¡°Will the both of you quit acting like babies and tell me what is going on already?¡± I groaned, already running out of patience with these two who seemed absolutely determined on frustrating me out of ten years of my life.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Ask her!¡± Ulo snapped, as he started to run out on us again. This time, I let him go, tired of being the clueless one. Not to mention that Ulo could be a bull when he decided not to talk about something. From his tone though, I had recognized something which was starting to give me a little more insight into what was going on. Ulo did not get mad easily but when he did, it was usually for very good reason. Like his pride or his favorite foodcking an important ingredient. Ulo hardly forgave blows to his pride, however innocently they had been struck. Not very quickly, at least. But, I was Jamil, the righter of all wrongs and the punching bag for all punchers. Which simply means, I was going to put an end to their fight.


    ¡°Let me go!¡± ire wailed.


    ¡°Tell me what happened between you two.¡± I demanded, making it evident that I wouldn¡¯t be taking no for an answer.


    She hesitated before giving up as her shoulders slumped and her head drooped. Her voice was so low that I would have missed it if I wasn¡¯t a wolf as she informed me about what had happened. ¡°I told him to leave.¡± And that was it. Did I mention ire¡¯s pride?


    ¡°Why did you tell him to leave?¡± I pushed, knowing very well that I wouldn¡¯t be getting any more information out of her.


    She raised her head and gave me a tormented look. I sighed, knowing that look. It meant, you want me to share my worst nightmares with you? Hell no!


    I sighed, kneading my temple in an attempt to rub out the headache that was starting to build up in its crevices. Knowing ire and Ulo, the matter was probably one that could be easily resolved if only they would talk about it but of course not, they had to be difficult to the end. I wondered if it was toote to give up on this mission. I was pretty certain that I had now be just as troubled as the other three. ¡°You know what, let¡¯s just run.¡±


    I broke into a run, half hoping she would turn around but rather surprisingly, she chose toe after me. The moon was beaming even more brilliantly as we ran along. There was something about running, the cold wind pping you in the face and tousling your hair, the thumping of your feet as they hit the ground, the speeding up of your heart, that just made you forget about all of your troubles. I raised my head to the sky and chuckled as I broke out of the pce gates. ¡°Race you!¡± I called over to ire as I picked up my pace.


    ¡°Hey! Not fair.¡± Sheined but sped up as well.


    We passed by Ulo who was walking very slowly now and I called out a taunt. That seemed to work as he started to run as well. Either that, or he couldn¡¯t afford to be a loser. We had a very impressive name for the loser in games like this. Usually, it would have been Indrik without a doubt but he seemed to be busy these days.


    I was in the lead which was probably why I saw them first. I skidded to a stop, putting out a hand to stop the others. Oh, yeah! It was definitely going to be a very long night.

 Doesn鈥檛 Feel Right

    Luna


    The first thing I noticed was the door which looked like the trunk of a very wide, though not so tall tree. I hesitated but Indrik was not having any of that as he pulled me in with him. Inside the hut was so cozy, I could barely control the urge to curl up and sleep on the bed. It didn¡¯t seem possible but the ground seemed to be covered with living grass that teased at my legs, urging them to get out of their covering and seek refuge in them instead.


    The bed seemed to be made of nt matter as well. The four bedposts which each grew to be about five feet and bore leaves which grew into each other in a manner reminiscent of the trees in the entry point seemed to have grown directly from the ground. Curious about it, I bent over and took a look at the bed. Like I had suspected, it was also made of grass, like the one on the ground except this one seemed even fluffier. I ced my hand on it and hardly realized when I crept into the bed. Laying down on it, it was like I had died and gone off to paradise. I was tempted to sleep, which was partly due to the intoxicatingly sweet fragrances. Somehow, I managed to get out of bed, curious to see the other things the room had to offer. It was hard to exin but this ce seemed to be alive making it hard to shake the feeling that I was an intruder. The room was lighted with amp of sorts on the center of each wall. I advanced to take a closer look but it turned out to also be a flower. It was the shape of antern and glowed just as brightly, but yes, it was a flower with the way it squished under my hand, releasing orange liquid that smelled so intoxicatingly sweet.


    ¡°How did you find this ce?¡± I whispered, entranced by the beauty of it.


    ¡°It found me!¡± Indrik reminded, sounding just as awed as I felt by this ce even if though I was fairly certain he had been here a number of times. I couldn¡¯t me him though. This was a ce that I never thought you could grow tired of. Frankly, I could believe that this ce had really found him. This was not the kind of ce that you simply stumbled on.


    Walking to a table which was set to the other side of the room, I ran my hand over its oaken back. And no, I did not mean the oak that had been cut down. I meant the oak that was still very much alive. It might have been my pulse but I thought I could feel it moving under my palm. Speaking of moving, this ce seemed to be very much alive. I looked up at the roof and was surprised to find that it was made entirely by the branches of the trees in the room. At least, that answered a question about how they managed to stay alive although nothing could detract from the magnificence of this ce. This ce felt like a tree paradise, if there was anything like that. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder who it was that had built this ce, if anything like this could be built that is.Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org.


    One thing was certain though which was that this ce was definitely shaped to serve the needs of a person, either human or wolf. Trees after all did not sleep in beds or use high backed chairs. I shut my eyes and inhaled the fragrance of this ce. There was something about this ce, something powerful and¡­ magical. Even now, I could feel it in every fiber of my being, rustling in the leaves, whistling in the wind, glowing in the flowers. It was everywhere, taking in the strangers in its territory, probably wondering whether to choke us to death with the plush grass rug beneath our feet or pop out a banquet table in the center of the room. I hoped it would do thetter. I hadn¡¯t realized how hungry I was till now. I couldn¡¯t really see the moon from in here, this ce didn¡¯t exactly need venttion. Being in the middle of so many trees in close proximity should probably have been a little ufortable at least but this ce seemed incapable of exuding anything else that was not warmth.


    I turned to Indrik, feeling breathless from all of these. It was overwhelming to say the least. I still could not shake the feeling that we were trespassing but it would seem that the owner if this ce did not consider us to be a threat. ¡°Who built this ce?¡± I didn¡¯t expect him to have an answer but I couldn¡¯t help it.


    He shrugged helplessly. ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± But he seemed to agree that this ce was built.


    Suddenly, this ce seemed too crowded. I needed to get out of here. I stumbled over to the door. I could hear Indrik calling after me but I didn¡¯t stop till I was outside the room. Outside was not much better though. I could recall the enclosure being more widely spaced than this. The trees seemed to have closed in on us and spread their branches so they were blocking the moon from sight. None of its light filtered through the branches, throwing the area into total darkness and making the trees appear like axe wielding warriors. I could feel a not so familiar sense of dread start to build up in my chest. Something about this ce was so wrong. So very wrong!


    I was contemting what the best means of escape would be, either making a break for the trees while hoping they would see my heart and let me go, or run back into the room where I didn¡¯t feel much safer, when something appeared before me making me leap back and yelp in fright.

 Fictional!

    To say that I was frightened out of my wits would be a very gross understatement. My heart had somehow jumped from its enclosure in my chest and was now making very wild beats in my ears. I struggled to hold my head steady to avoid a veryrge organ dropping out of it. I wasn¡¯t sure arge red blood spurting organ would be a very good sight to see. My hands suddenly seemed to grow a mind of their own as they iled helplessly, my attempts to keep them at my side failing woefully. My belly was not left out as it tumbled violently like a pit of snakes had been let loose in it, each of which was nice having a field day of biting out huge chunks out of my belly walls. My legs? They seemed to have suddenly had all their bones melted into a tissue puddle as they wobbled under me, threatening to give out under me at any moment.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    As if the scare by the trees wasn¡¯t already good enough, the guardian of the trees decided to pay me a visit as well. That was what he/she looked like at least. How else would you describe someone who wore a cloak that was clearly green but still managed to glow so brilliantly in the dark? And by dark, I don¡¯t mean the kind of dark that happens when the moon disappears under heavy clouds. I mean the kind that snuffs out all kind of light. The kind that exists in a room where all the opening through which light coulde in has been blocked. The kind that has you feeling around for your nose to be certain it is still glued to your face. Yeah, that kind! Yet, I still managed to see this person very clearly due to the brilliant features of their plumage. The figure wore a cloak that seemed to be the source of the glow. Taking a closer look, I could see that it looked exactly the same as the grass rug in the hut. Yeah! This was the guardian all right. No one else would wear a robe made of grass. Not to mention the small antler like branches that sprung from behind his ears. I would have easily mistook them for antlers if not for the lush green leaves that sprung from their sides. I wondered if he had simply attached them or they really grew on him. My brain almost overloaded trying to think of how that was possible. His legs seemed bare except that they exuded a green halo as well and he seemed to be at least 7 feet tall. I had a feeling that if he stood very still, he would be a perfect tree. A very bright green, breathing one, sure, but a tree nheless. A chill settled in my bones as I wondered if he had been here all along, standing among his trees and watching us as we barged into his property like we owned the ce. The memory of the table came floating back to me as I wondered if it really had been breathing. My dread ballooned to a hundred times its former size as I wondered if these things were alive. I wasn¡¯t usually scared of nature, as a matter of fact, I dared to say that I loved it but the possibility of living, walking, breathing nature sounded pretty scary.


    ¡°Who¡­ who are you?¡± I finally managed to ask, my voice sounding like grating rocks.


    The figure chuckled. It was difficult to believe that this¡­ thing was human. The voice was neither male, nor female, not even human, I dared to say. It sounded like the rustling of severalrge, leafy branches on a very stormy day. I frowned as I took in the figure again wondering if the sound hade from the trees instead. ¡°I see you finally met each other.¡± It wasn¡¯t very easy to hear the voice of a tree, much less, understand what it was saying but somehow, I managed to make sense of the words.


    I stared at the tree person suspiciously as I tried to make sense of his words. What did he mean that we had finally met each other? Could he be referring to Indrik? Or perhaps¡­ THE TREE THAT HAD SUDDENLY APPERARED BEHIND HIM. I yelped as I jumped back, nearly falling on my face. There was no doubt about it now. These trees were definitely moving. How? I couldn¡¯t say for the life of me, especially as these trees were very huge with the least no shorter than fifteen feet. I became jumpy as I wondered for the umpteenth time what this living tree wanted from me. Not my life, I hoped, because it would really suck to be turned into a tree.


    Tree person turned toward the tree behind him and ced a green palm against it. My eyes widened. That was definitely not a hand. It was shaped like a palm, yes, but it looked more like a branch, with all the shoots and leaves that a branch would have as fingers. ¡°Come on, Herms. I¡¯ve told you to stop sneaking up on me. Especially not when I have guests. Look, now, you¡¯ve almost scared her to death.¡± The tree shook from root to leaves like it was throwing a tantrum, something which I wouldn¡¯t have thought possible until tonight. ¡°Yeah, go ahead. I will definitelye byter as long as you promise to be good.¡±


    Like talking to trees was not already strange enough, Herms shook again as the ground rumbled under me and I watched the tree start to move farther and farther. I wouldn¡¯t have believed it if I hadn¡¯t been seeing it happen before me right now but the tree seemed to be moving by moving its roots underground.


    ¡°Quietly, Herms.¡± Tree person called after the tree. I didn¡¯t think that to be possible but the tree rumbled again before continuing its journey, this time without any sound.


    My mouth fell open.

 The Prophecy

    Luna


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked again, my voice extremely soft. Whoever could speak to trees and order them around was definitely a force to be reckoned with and to be feared.


    ¡°Sorry about that. He just would not listen to me. You know what children are like, right?¡± He continued in his voice which now sounded like the sound of a thousand falling leaves.


    I looked behind me wondering why Indrik was yet toe out. I regretted it instantly. The hut was gone and in its ce were even more trees which were keeping us enclosed. I did a 360 degree turn, yet I could not see anything apart from trees around us. My blood seemed to be turning to lead as I turned back to the man. ¡°Where is Indrik?¡± I asked, scared to know what his response would be.


    ¡°The boy? He is just fine.¡± He waved his branch arms and a few leaves fell off, swirling as they made their way to the ground.


    I wasn¡¯t sure I believed him but I didn¡¯t think I was left with many other choices. ¡°Who are you and what do you want with me?¡± I asked for the umpteenth time.


    He fixed green eyes on me. I blinked, wondering if his eyes had been green all along. I must have missed it in the green of his robe. ¡°So, you really don¡¯t remember me.¡± He whispered, his voice almost sounding human. He looked wistful as he searched my eyes. Something tugged at the back of my mind. I had a feeling that I was supposed to know this person but like most of my memories, it stayed just out of my reach. I seemed to remember running around dancing trees though. I shook my head wondering what the memory was all about.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t. So, could you tell me who you are?¡± I asked, hoping he could rify the shadows that were bugging me.


    He lowered his head and muttered something that I couldn¡¯t quite catch. Then raising his head, he turned to me. ¡°If you¡¯ve forgotten me then, I assume it is for the best. I¡­¡±


    I interrupted, the thought that I was supposed to know this person bing stronger and stronger. ¡°Just tell me who you are already. Please?¡± I asked desperately but he merely shook his head, releasing another swirl of leaves.


    ¡°I am forbidden to interfere. Everyone is. Perhaps, after you pay your debt, you would regain all of your losses.¡±


    I stumbled back as the weight of his words hit me with the weight of a brick. I knew about the debt. ¡°The meeting you mentioned. You were referring to Indrik?¡± I asked, hoping he wouldn¡¯t shake his head again and say he couldn¡¯t answer my question but he shook his head in affirmation.


    ¡°The fact that you can¡¯t remember me has ruined my purpose foring here but I should tell you to rx. You are wee here. As a matter of fact, this ce was created a long time ago for the two children of the prophecy¡­¡± He drifted off.


    ¡°The prophecy? What prophecy?¡± I asked, feeling like I was getting very close to a rather important discovery.


    He shook his head slowly. ¡°I have said too much. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t stay with you any longer. Just remember that you don¡¯t have much time and remember, there is life in death.¡±


    I stopped to consider the words but none of it seemed to make sense. ¡°Wait? What do you mean¡­¡± I started but he was gone, as were the close circle of trees. In their ce was the wide circle of trees, the center of which warm moonlight poured into the clearing.


    I frowned, wondering if I had somehow fallen asleep and had that dream but no, I could still perceive his fragrance of flowers and could hear his voice still ringing in my head. ¡°There is life in death.¡± He had said. I still couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that I was supposed to know him.


    ¡°Hey! When did you get here? I¡¯ve been looking all over for you.¡± I turned toward Indrik who was hurrying toward me with a frown.


    ¡°You mean you didn¡¯t see the trees?¡± I asked but the only response I got was an even deeper frown as he stared at the trees that surrounded us like, of course, I see trees. I walked to the nearest tree and ced an arm against it but there was no sign that it could be a living tree. I wondered if it was pretending to be a normal tree or it really was a normal tree and I had been taken elsewhere. I almost started to think it was a dream again until I felt something in my other hand. Opening it, I found a leaf which shouldn¡¯t have been strange except that this leaf was exuding a really green glow like it had had an overdose of chlorophyll or hade from the body of the tree master.


    ¡°Uhm! Luna, are you okay?¡± Indrik asked, cing an arm on my shoulder.


    I turned toward him slowly, my brows still furrowed in thought but I nodded. ¡°Yeah!¡± I drawled, still staring at the leaf.


    ¡°What is that?¡± He asked, looking over my shoulder in a attempt to see what I was holding but I close my palm before he could do that.


    ¡°It is nothing.¡± I waved. ¡°How long was I gone for?¡± I turned toward him, tucking my other arm behind my back, getting another frown as he gave me a suspicion look.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Not long.¡± He finally dered. ¡°I came after you when you came out but by the time I came out, you were no where to be found. I called for you but you wouldn¡¯t reply and then, you were here again. What happened to you?¡± He asked again. I shook my head.


    ¡°Come on!¡±

 A Message For The Beta

    Jamil


    I red at the group of men that had surrounded us. I could see about count about six men standing before us looking like they had very hostile intentions. I did a quick scan of the environs trying to see if there were any others lurking around but there seemed to be none. Either that, or they were hiding well out of view.


    ¡°Well, well, look who we have here.¡± A man moved forward. He wasn¡¯t very tall but he had the muscr build of one who could take on ten men of my own size. Hepleted the look with a full beard which extended to his chest area.


    ¡°Who are you and what are you doing here?¡± I snarled, my hand flying to my side only to be reminded that I had no sword. It wasn¡¯t exactly one of the most important essories you thought to pack when you were preparing to go for a run. I groaned inaudibly silently cursing myself for being so careless. With what had been going on in the past couple of days, I should have known better than to leave the pce without my sword. Now, I was practically defenseless before six extremely muscr men. I looked over to Ulo and smiled. Ever the careful one, he had drew his sword from its scabbard. I wondered about how he had carried it while running but decided to not think about that. Not especially when we had a group two times our number (make that three times since ire could not fight) on our territory and with obviously hostile intentions.


    The man chuckled as he took another step toward us reducing the distance between us to about ten feet.


    ¡°Don¡¯te any closer.¡± I warned, raising my arms in preparation for a fight. Beside me, Ulo brandished his sword. ¡°Get behind us.¡± I whispered to ire to which she promptlyplied. If I had known that it only took six men to make ire calm, I would have arranged that a long time ago. Too bad we could not really dwell on that. Not with the man continuing toward us despite my warning.


    ¡°Come on, boys. Is this how you wee strangers?¡± He boomed as he moved another step.


    ¡°Come any closer,¡± I snarled, ¡°and you will see just how well we treat strangers.¡± His eyes shed in anger and for a moment, I feared that he would dash toward us. Instead, he blinked and he was back to smiling which didn¡¯t look any more reassuring. Not with his beards that was thick enough to house a whole herd of deer.


    ¡°Watch your tongue, boy. You are lucky I am not here to fight. Not yet.¡± He added thest part like he was hoping he would be able to fight very soon. ¡°I¡¯m only here to talk so be a good boy and listen.¡±


    ¡°How about you be a good boy, yourself,¡± I growled, not being especially pleased to be referred to as a boy, ¡°and get the hell out of our pack.¡±


    ¡°How about you shut your trap, boy.¡± The man snapped. ¡°I see that you don¡¯t have my target here.¡± A phantom rattlesnake made its way down my back as I got a really good idea about who his target was. I didn¡¯t know whether to be relieved he was not here or be worried about him running into these men, alone. I pushed the thought away. We had more pressing issues to deal with at the moment. ¡°Since he is not here, I would speak to the most important person here.¡± The man continued. ¡°You,e forward.¡± He pointed a huge arm toward Ulo.


    I snarled as I moved closer to Ulo. ¡°He is noting anywhere. I would advise that you leave while you still can.¡± I wished I had a sword to brandish as emphasis but I had to make to with what I had.


    The man chuckled, this time, he sounded much more colder. ¡°Are youing, or do I have toe over there?¡± He asked, disregarding my words.


    ¡°You¡­¡± I started through clenched teeth but was stopped by a warm arm on my shoulder.


    ¡°Let me go see what he wants.¡± Ulo whispered, his voice extremely calm. I always admired the way he was able to keep his cool under all conditions.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked, ring at the man and his other fivepanions. I would hate for anything to happen to my friend on my watch.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    He patted me again on the shoulder as if to say, what is the worst that could happen? before stepping forward. ¡°What do you want with us?¡± Ulo asked as he took three steps forward, his left arm still wrapped around his sword.


    ¡°You?¡± The man chuckled like that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. ¡°Nothing much. I only need you to carry a message to your father, Green, is it?¡±


    ¡°Watch your tongue!¡± I snarled the same time as Indrik did.


    ¡°Do you know who they are?¡± A timid voice asked behind me.


    ¡°No!¡± I replied bitterly. ¡°But stay behind me. I will make sure no harmes to you.¡± My entire body was tensed, ready tounch it the men so much as made a wrong move but instead, the man chuckled again. He seemed to like chuckling, I noticed. Probably because it sounded like a thunderp which worked well to make his enemies ufortable. It definitely set me on edge.


    ¡°Whatever. Tell him I said to prepare for payback. He has proven himself incapable of being a leader so he is going to face the consequences.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I rasped but he simply ignored me.


    ¡°Make sure you deliver my message.¡± He said to Ulo and then, he was gone. I blinked as I stepped forward, ire now clinging to my robe for safety.


    ¡°Where did he go?¡± I asked Ulo who replied with a shrug.


    ¡°He just disappeared.¡±

 Haunted

    Jamil


    After a quick search through the woods that yielded no results, we headed back to the pce with the hearty news. So much for trying to get everyone in a better mood.


    ¡°Who do you think they were? You think they¡­¡± I stopped mid-sentence but the way Ulo looked at me informed me that he had gotten my message.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He replied brusquely.


    I nodded. I wasn¡¯t in a very good mood myself. Good work universe. You have sessfully ruined a perfectly good mood.


    Getting back to the pce, we elected to go see the Beta immediately. Sure, it was the dead of night but that kind of threat could not be dismissed easily. For one, the man seemed to have known a lot about us which was unfair considering that we didn¡¯t really know all that much about him. He had not only known about Beta Green but he had also known about his son. He hadn¡¯t mentioned my name but I had a feeling that he knew exactly who I was. ire too. Another suspicion that I had was that he had known we would be out tonight which meant¡­ I shook my head to dispel the thought. I couldn¡¯t afford to jump into conclusions.


    The guards tried to stop us but against all three children of the pack elders who were not willing to take no for an answer, they could only hold up for so long. The Beta was still in his office. I would like to say that was a surprise but from the mood I had seen him in earlier today, I¡¯m afraid that it didn¡¯te as a surprise, at all. As I stood before the door, I found it rather annoying that I hade here twice in a day with bad news in tow at both times.


    Ulo took the initiative of knocking the door. The Beta did not reply at first, either because he was asleep or he was lost in thoughts. I suspected thetter. He knocked again and this time, the Beta¡¯s faint voice reached us.


    ¡°Who is there?¡± He asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s Ulo, my lord. We have important news for you.¡± Ulo called out as he sheathed his sword. I was surprised to find that he had carried it in hand the entire time. Little wonder that the guards parted ways before us as quickly as they did.


    There was silence for a moment during which time I wondered if the Beta was going to ask us toe back the next day but he finally responded with a, e in.¡±


    If the Beta was surprised to see the three of using into his office at the same time, he did a good job of hiding it. Right now, it was difficult to believe that he was the man who had almost ripped off my shoulders earlier. I tried not to think of that.


    ¡°What are you doing here? It¡¯ste.¡± Hemented. I noticed that he had spread several more scrolls before him which he was now starting to wrap up. I frowned as I saw one that looked out of ce but it was gone before I could get a better look.


    ¡°We were out in the woods when we were suddenly osted by a group of people.¡± Ulo started which got the Beta¡¯s attention as he focused on us, his eyes narrowing into slits.


    Ulo went ahead to narrate all that had happened at the end of which the Beta had started to look pale again. I had a feeling that he knew who those people were but he was obviously not going to talk about it which didn¡¯t feel right, especially since we were the ones who had faced the men.


    The Beta remained silent, rubbing his jaw in deep thought. ¡°Where is Indrik?¡± The Beta finally broke the silence.


    Yeah! Where was Indrik? I hadn¡¯t seen much of him since the poisoning. I turned to Ulo but he was looking at me for an answer as well. Finally, ire cleared her throat. ¡°Uhm! I saw him earlier today. He was going out with his maid.¡±


    ¡°Did he tell you where he was going?¡±Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org.


    ire blushed as she bowed her head, no doubt haunted by a not so pleasant memory. ¡°No! I didn¡¯t ask.¡±


    Beta Green nodded. Indrik going out was not a new thing. He had a habit of just disappearing without traces and appearing muchter. I suspected that he did it in a bid to call attention since no one seemed to notice him otherwise. I didn¡¯t think that worked much but he seemed to enjoy it because he continued to do it. ¡°I don¡¯t think he is in any immediate danger but keep an eye on him, will you?¡±


    We agreed after which the Beta waved us off, telling us to go get some rest because we would have to recount what we had seen tomorrow. We were already leaving when he called us back on what seemed like an afterthought.


    ¡°This man, what did he look like?¡± His voice sounded tentative like he both wanted to know the answer and didn¡¯t want to know because he was afraid of what the answer would be.


    Ulo described what he had seen while I also chipped in some parts. ire had been hiding for the most time so she didn¡¯t have much information to give except that ¡°he was scary¡± which I thought we all pretty much noticed.


    By the time we were done, Beta Green was nodding and he seemed to have a relieved look on his face. Obviously, we had not met the person he was most afraid of us meeting. I didn¡¯t know whether to be happy or worried. I decided to not allow myself be any more worried than I had to be. It had been a long day for which there was no better ending than a good long sleep. Hopefully, I wouldn¡¯t be haunted by nightmares.

 My Dear Tulip

    LunaText ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    I woke up to see Indrik staring down at me. I blinked, trying to recall how and when I had ended up here. I pulled a nk unable to recall anything after the tree man. I shivered as I recalled the memory which sleep had done little to dampen.


    ¡°What?¡± I scowled up at him when he continued to stare at me even with my eyes wide open. That, and the fact that the way he wasying so close to me was causing some un-Luna like reactions in my belly.


    He smiled down at me in a way that warned that he was about to say something that was pretty silly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it.¡± I warned but of course, he was not going to listen.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t even heard what I had to say.¡± He grumbled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to hear it before knowing what you are going to say.¡± I scoffed, pping his arm which was smoothing my hair away.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to tell you anyway. So, I woke up this morning and the sun was beaming on your face.¡± He pointed an opening in the branches above the bed which I was certain had not been there before. ¡°In its rays, I realized that you looked very pretty when you are sleeping. Then you woke up and looked even more pretty so I have decided the kind of name to give you that would suit you best.¡±


    ¡°Name?¡± I scowled. ¡°Since when did we start giving each other names?¡±


    ¡°You are going to give me a name too? Well, that is even much more better.¡± He grinned excitedly.


    ¡°What? I never said anything about that!¡± I cried in frustration.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to.¡± He ced a hand under my jaw which I promptly pped away. ¡°I can read between the lines just fine.¡± His grin grew even wider as he looked extremely pleased with himself. I sighed in frustration as he continued with his monologue. ¡°So, back to the names, I¡¯m finding it hard to choose between sunflower, tulip, rose, marigold, peony and a thousand other flowers. Which would you prefer?¡± He questioned but I simply turned away. Dealing with him could be so exhausting. Here I was, having just woken up from sleep, which meant that I hadn¡¯t been able to gather my thoughts, much less clean up myself and he was already frustrating the life out of me. I pouted in frustration. ¡°I know!¡± He suddenly eximed, nearly sending me rolling off the bed and definitely into him. I scuttled away immediately. ¡°I will call you Tulip.¡± He dered.


    ¡°What?¡± I sputtered, my eyes widening as I shook my head in disapproval but obviously the matter was already closed to him as he got out of bed and made his way out.


    ¡°Come on and get out of bed. We weren¡¯t able to trainst night. We should squeeze some in before having some breakfast.


    I whimpered as I suddenly recalled where we had slept. ¡°Hey, wait up.¡± I called after him as I sprung out of bed.


    ¡°What can I do for you, my dear Tulip?¡± He asked sweetly.


    My ears burned as I wanted tosh out at him but I decided I had a more pressing matter at hand so I let it go, for now. ¡°We didn¡¯t go homest night.¡± I pointed out.


    ¡°Yes?¡± He asked like what I had said had not been exnatory enough.


    ¡°What do you mean, yes?¡± I groaned. ¡°We should be hurrying back to the pce before they know we are gone.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that!¡± A look that I recognized well because I often used it myself shed in his eyes. One that said he knew he was doing the wrong thing but he didn¡¯t care. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. You see, I could be dead and gone and they would never notice it so you should stop worrying.¡±


    I thought about ire who would no doubt be worried about him but decided not to mention it. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure. It didn¡¯t seem like that when you brought me to the pack.¡± I marveled that I had been able to touch on that topic without feeling any resentment. Could it be that I was starting to be happy that he had brought me here? I sure hoped not.


    ¡°That was different.¡± He grumbled, his eyes looking like a wormhole had appeared in its center and sucked away all of the warmth it boasted of. ¡°The only reason they noticed me at that time was because I had left the pack which ording to them, threatened the safety of the pack. Apart from that, they don¡¯t give a owl¡¯s hoot about me. I bit my lips as I considered this. As a matter of fact, I could understand his displeasure. I had only been here for less than a month yet I had seen enough to know that he was probably right. Another thing I knew was the reason why they were so hard on him. I didn¡¯t think he deserved that though after all, he had not asked to be born. Looking at him, I did not see a man, instead I saw a child hurting and yearning for love from his own people only to be disappointed over and over till he finally gave up, knowing that he had no ce among them. I could very well understand what that was like because I was going through an episode like that right now. Who better to understand a broken soul than another broken soul.


    My head suddenly felt heavy as I tried to stop my eyes from dropping the water that was pooling in them, then I did something that I was probably going to hate myself for soon enough. I wrapped him in an embrace. He rxed against me as he released a heavy sigh. We seemed to remain like that for an eternity before I finally pulled away.


    ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s go do some training.¡±

 Weird

    Jamil


    Morning broke with me still asleep which was rather unusual for me. Usually, I was out of bed before the crack of dawn. But today, I probably would have continued sleeping till noon if a knock had not woken me up. I groanedzily as I stretched my limbs. The knock came again, forcing me out of bed.


    I stumbled over to the door in nothing other than a ck trouser. Opening the door, I was surprised to find ire standing there and even more so to find that she looked more of a mess than I probably did, but then again, I couldn¡¯t see myself through a second set of eyes. Her chocte brown hair had be all tangled and messy making me feel sorry for her as I imagined her trying to tackle that forest. Her face did not look much better with red looking eyes and eye bags. Her nose was running and her mouth looked like one of her lip paints had gone rogue and traipsed aimlessly all over her mouth instead of her lips. Her blue gown looked she had wrested it from a couple of deer who were using it for a pic. And, oh gods, she was not wearing any footwear. This was totally unheard of. ire, the face of beauty in the entire Druid Peak Pack walking barefoot? I had better go check to see if the world was ending already.


    ¡°Did you fight a set of squirrels in the night?¡± I couldn¡¯t help asking. She sighed in exhaustion. Another new thing. The usual ire would have punched me or at the very least given me a sharp retort, not take myments lying down and sighing like the ¡®not so beautiful other girls¡¯ like she liked to refer to the others. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked worriedly but she simply gave me an empty stare before turning to look toward the door like she was expecting something or someone to walk in at any moment. A silent gasp escaped me as I realized what she was looking out for or more correctly, who. ¡°Indrik did not returnst night?¡±


    She turned eyes that looked so sad, they hurt to look at toward me and nodded. ¡°You don¡¯t suppose he left the pack again, do you?¡± She sounded baleful as she looked at the door again.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°ire!¡± I started, feeling miserable that I had to see her like this. Amongst all of us, ire had been the one who was the most affected by Indrik¡¯s punishment imprisonment so I could understand why she would not want him to get into trouble again. A wave of anger washed through me as I thought about the one who was responsible for making ire feel like this. I mean, sure, he was miserable. I absolutely understood that. But he should understand that there are people here who love him as well. People who would do anything for him without a moment¡¯s hesitation. People who would lose their sleep because he wouldn¡¯te home. People like ire. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about Indrik. I am sure he is fine. You should trust him to take care of himself like he always has. Besides, he has his maid with him to protect him now.¡± I was going to add his wolf as well but I figured that was not really much assurance since he hadn¡¯t even started training yet.


    ¡°That maid.¡± ire¡¯s eyes turned extremely cold as she clenched her hands by her side.


    ¡°Come on, ire. You heard Indrik, right? She didn¡¯t poison Indrik. She merely did it on his orders. Besides, that helped him to unlock his wolf which you would agree is good, right?¡±


    Her eyes softened slightly but she still huffed. ¡°You don¡¯t really believe that, do you? While I agree that the poison helped him unlock his wolf, I still do not believe that Indrik would poison himself. I mean, sure, he is impulsive but he would never risk his own life. Besides, there is the doctor¡¯s report that she asked him about the poison and probably stole it from the store. So, you would forgive me if I don¡¯t really trust her to care for him.¡± I smiled, d to see the fire starting to return to her eyes. That was more like it.


    ¡°But she didn¡¯t n to kill him. If she had nned to kill him, she wouldn¡¯t have let anybody know, would she?¡±


    ire shivered. ¡°You were not there, Jamil. You ought to have seen the vicious look on her face. I was so scared.¡± She shook again. ¡°No! I don¡¯t trust him with her.¡± She dered.


    I raised my arms in surrender. It was a task fit for Hercules whenever ire made up her mind about something. ¡°Fine! But you should go take a bath. You look like a nightmare fit to¡­¡± I stopped myself not sure thest part of, ¡®fit to keep Indrik away¡¯ would go down well with her.


    ¡°Oh!¡± She gasped. ¡°I totally forgot. I was here to inform you about Beta Green¡¯s summons. He asked to see the three of us. You don¡¯t mind informing Ulo, do you?¡±


    My brows furrowed. ¡°You two are not still fighting, are you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no!¡± She replied a little too quickly. ¡°I just don¡¯t feel up to meeting one more person looking like this.¡± She gestured at her dress. That was believable but I had a feeling that her reason for not going to him was more than that. I decided not to push it as I watched her pick her way back to her room. I was thinking about going back in to get a shirt when I noticed Ulo¡¯s open door as he stared after ire. He turned to me and scowled when he noticed me staring at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you heard about the meeting?¡±


    ¡°Whatever!¡± He snapped as he retreated, shutting the door with a bang.


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