Caleb
Juliet was in her lotus pose, very relaxed during her time with Michael. During Marcus's timeline, it was hard to watch her go through so many emotions combined with tears. I gave her five minutes to see how she was doing and decided to also try going back in time; what could go wrong? On my fifteenth birthday, we were still in Yaroon; I remember it because Chris made a big deal every year, something the other riphaths didn't do. It was the only date I could travel to before Juliet and Michael came to Zoreah and changed my whole life. Going back in time and having the knowledge of your future self and what happened in the time since was what made this so worth it; I couldn't let the opportunity pass. I was a different person in every aspect—confident I'd be able to handle it. So I lay down on the sand behind Juliet , closed my eyes, and tried to concentrate on how I felt almost two years ago—on my bed—in the morning before Chris came in to wake me up... Frustration? Why had I been irritated? Anger? Interesting. I chuckled about how much of a human teenager I was at the time, right before my first manifestation… Almost a little psycho. Juliet had it easy, draining people every week… Those feelings were curbed with drugs.
When I opened my eyes, I was there. I jumped out of bed, "Unbelievable! Wowy!" The room was so small and rural compared to all the places I'd seen and experienced. "Caleb? You already awake?" Chris asked, "Usually, I have to teleport you into the icy water to get you out of bed." I smiled, looking at my father; he was also very rustic there on Zoreah—unstyled haircut, sporting a very long beard—what was he thinking? Chris walked over and placed his hands on my shoulders, "Happy Birthday. I really hope this year will be— I would've said exciting and one of the best of your life… and I still hope it is… in whatever way Zoreah has to offer for you."
"Thanks, Dad… I love you too."
Chris frowned and squeezed my shoulders, "I do love you! If I don't say it enough—"
"You do… I… just wanted to say it."
"Okay, good… Well, let's go; I have a surprise for you."
Chris had gone out hunting for a few weeks, searching for something tasty for my birthday. I indulged them by having breakfast together before Chris had to leave for patrols. It was quiet around the table; we never really had anything to talk about, but they did make a lot of effort, and the older ladies had made some sort of cake we had there. It was nowhere near Juliet's favorite; she did like her chocolate. We both have a sweet tooth, she always says.
We finished, and I walked out with Chris; he would go in one direction and me in the other. Silvanus was still with me every day, and since I could go to the barracks and practice there, he never left my side. My ability would come in handy; I was not going to waste the next five years of my life. The four of us gathered outside and greeted each other every day in the same way, as if the three adults knew anything could happen to any one of us. The three men did try and give me the best they could.
"You okay, boy?" Silvanus asked as we walked.
"Yeah… I don't feel like going to the barracks… Could I stay in the center with the other kids?"
"Of course! It's on the way… You can always go back to training tomorrow."
"Thanks, Silvanus… for everything. You've stayed with Ira all these years, and now you're looking after Chris and me… I know it couldn't have been easy."
The man—not much taller than me carried himself with sure confidence. His speech was filled with weird sounds and exclamations. "I got to do a lot more than most…" [mmm sound and a chuckle] "I have Ira to thank for that, or else I'd still be walking the sands."
"I never see you… with anyone… Ira had a few… women… over the years. But not you?"
"Agh, don't take me as an example… If you were a bit older, I'd tell you why," he poked me in the ribs with an elbow, "But not today."
"Okay, now you have me curious."
Silvanus laughed, "It's not an exciting tale; nevertheless, I don't want my life to influence how you feel about the opposite sex."
"In two years, maybe?"
"Yes… When you go to the bar for the first time." Inside, I chuckled at the irony.
Silvanus handed me over to the adults sitting in clusters for the day. One group of kids was playing something similar to a board game on Earth. Another group was contributing to making furs and learning the craft. Maya was teaching a few how to make the swatches, and I moved closer to take a good look at the pen she used. If the stone was able to transfer power from one element to another and allocate tattoos when two people touched the same swatch, where did they get it? How did they ever find it in all that sand? Why did Ira not want our history recorded or taught? They really focus on living from moment to moment, not on the future or even advancement, to make life easier. I'd seen some people change professions over the years if they felt unfulfilled in a particular area. Still, they usually evened out somewhere and only made minor changes to their craft—always keeping with culture and tradition.
Although Ira didn't care about the past, Ahasuerus did, and he had more information on Zoreah than we did. Did the vamp know about the teleportation stone? Did he find it and toss it into one of those chests like it meant nothing? "Morning, Caleb."
I spun around and had to look down into Kaia's eyes. I stuttered a weak, "Hel…lo."
"Did your father make a big deal about today?" I nodded, unable to utter a word. "He is strange, counting a certain amount of days and then deciding you have to celebrate your birth."
"I guess."
"I'm busy at the water; come join us if you want to." Kaia turned and greeted several people as she walked, "Yes, it's a beautiful day." I watched her go; she was always eager about nothing—happy about something. "Oh, how well you're doing with those furs!" She exclaimed in a high voice, "I will definitely have to find something to trade for one… What do you need?"
My feet slowly moved toward her, and as she took a seat at the many stacks of washing she and her friends had to get done, I hovered behind her. She glanced back over her shoulder, "Why are you here today? Will you join the traders in the city, or do you still want to join the guard?" Before I could answer, she said, "Hey, Ludo, how did my medicine work on your cut?" The other guy lifted his hand and reached out to show her. She took it, turned it over, and examined a sizable lash across his palm. "Ludo here was careless manifesting the first time and clawed himself."
"I did not! It was a spearhead." Kaia giggled in response.
"That's not what we heard," one of the other women in the group said and turned to me, "Have you manifested yet?" I nodded. The others jumped up and made a big deal of it.
"Show us," Kaia urged. I manifested. The surrounding riphaths gasped and touched my fur. I held out my paw to Kaia, hoping she would take it. She buoyantly jumped forward. I scooped her up and traveled us to the teleporting hot spot in Yaroon. It was somewhat out of the city, in a remote little hut. She looked around as I placed her down, "Where are we?"
"I want to show you something."
"Yeah, okay, what is it?"
I took out the glass plate I stole from Ira's room that morning and teleported us to the cave in Shumaan. Kaia wriggled out of my arms, "Where are we? What is this place? I've never seen a cave! Wow, a cave… I didn't know we had any." Kaia wrapped her arms around her body, "Why is it so cold? She looked at all the drawings and turned around a few times to change direction, "I've never been out of the city, except when we travel for all those months… Are we very far? Will you get into trouble?"
"I can take you back… Are you too cold?"
"No, no, I'm only asking… It was just… the first time I traveled and the sudden change in temperature."
I couldn't help but think about how Chris described her—preppy. Kaia was really all over the place and talked so much. She was also so limited in her thinking… Was a cave something to get excited about? There were too many people in my life who did things so differently. Romero was five hundred and still waiting for Charlene… Carl was one of the men in my life who didn't even think twice about his unreciprocated love for Charlene... I listened to Juliet and Chris's conversation the other night when they talked about Sita being his fist… While I was standing there, thinking, Kaia was babbling on and on about how cool it was to manifest for the first time. She hoped hers would happen soon. "Kaia," she stopped talking and turned to me, "The other day when I walked with you back to your house…"
"Yes…"
"It seemed like—"
"You didn't want to… It's okay… I tried like my mother taught me and will have to accept if you don't like me… So I tried with Ludo… He was receptive."
My eyes slowly came up off the ground, "I see." Why did I feel so, so, rejected? Two days? She already had sex with someone else! Did all riphaths feel the sting the first few times when a woman didn't like you? I hoped to experience it with someone who'd never done it before. Maybe first kiss…. and slowly progress to the—
"Why? Did you change your mind?"
"No…" I lied. "Curious… There is a first time for everything."
"Oh, yes! It was what everyone said it would be."
No kidding! Probably why Ludo manifested for the first time. Nothing like your first orgasm to send you spiraling. "I'll take your word for it… Maybe we should go back."
"Okay," Kaia came toward me—smiling. "Thank you for this."
"Mmm," I lifted her and took her back—so disappointed and dissatisfied. I gently lowered her.
"Where did you go?" "You can teleport so far, Caleb?" "None of us could find you guys." We were not standing for a minute before Silvanus appeared beside us. Kaia's hand jumped to her heart—squealing. I was so used to everything I calmly looked up at the beast next to me, waiting for orders. He met my eye and cocked a very bushy eyebrow. Silvanus was very vigilant to social cues—not like the other riphaths or the young woman who couldn't even see I was upset. This is why Chris had been so miserable for so long.
I felt like doing something stupid... So I manifested and traveled lightning-fast to the barracks. In one jump, Silvanus would have a hard time catching up or finding me. The arena we practiced in was enormous. One of the areas allocated for sparing was unoccupied. I walked to the wall and picked up a spear, waiting, "Bamf." Before he knew what hit him, I had already struck a few times. Silvanus teleported; I stayed with him, catching him every time. Silvanus went for a spear; I kept him back from reaching for one. It took him a minute to finally take hold of one. Once he did, he swung it elegantly at his side, meeting my challenge with a sly grin, "Is this your way of getting rid of what just happened." He shouldn't have said that. I retaliated with all the training drilled into me. Marcus had a knack for bringing out the best in a fighter. Silvanus was not giving it his all, of course—indulging me. "Is that why you asked me earlier about my experience? You planned to have sex? I could've told you she chose Ludo… Spared you the humiliation!" he said all this while we dealt blows… I didn't want to talk and fought even harder.
"Caleb!" Ira bellowed from the side.
I didn't even hear him come in or see him land in my periphery. I stopped my attack altogether and panted to catch my breath. I smiled up at Silvanus. "What has gotten into you? I'll have to tell him about the—"
"Cave. You can say it. I have nothing to hide."
"You took someone else there… how?" Ira asked.
"He stole your plate," Silvanus said, "One of the adults in the center came to tell me you left with a girl."
"Who did you… Oh Kaia," Ira was suddenly animated, "And?"
"Oh, please… She was excited about seeing a cave."
Silvanus chuckled and scratched at his chin and nodded, "I don't know what happened to you; it's as if—" His eyes jumped to meet mine, and I shot a gun-finger at him.
"What is going on?" Ira teleported closer to us.
"Your son is in Mirach in a room… This is not really happening." Silvanus placed his hand on my shoulder, "Anyway, I didn't like her. She is too… bubbly."
"Yeah, but I don't want to sleep with a four-hundred-year-old woman who will show me the ways. Teach me the ropes—gross."
Silvanus groaned on my behalf, "Okay, fine. That's exactly why I never had anyone over like your grandfather... My first experience was… so bad… I fumbled it. We were all over the place, and you have to practice having sex, unfortunately, to get good at it."
"Hmmm… I don't think I can do it either."
"I didn't want to be focused on one thing and have my attention away from protecting our people… A cause meant more to me than trying to get a girl pregnant."
I moved into his person and wrapped my arms around his body, "Thank You… I came all this way to have sex only to realize why others want the person to care about you."
"Because then, it comes naturally. It's not forced… Mutual attraction does make it worth it in the end… You can both talk about it and figure it out together."
I nodded, "Guess my mom knew what she was doing when she pushed Chris into that car." Silvanus and Ira laughed, guttural, loud laughter. "I was so sure I'd be able to do it… Get over wanting the relationship and the build-up."
"Casual sex is not for everyone! Don't let Ira's bad habits rub off on you."
I let go of him and placed my spear back on the wall, "I want to know what happened to my grandmother… And the teleporter stone; where is it?"
"Why?"
"Juliet is also in Mirach right next to me… I wanted to be useful, find something so… well important... My mom wants to go back years and fix everything… I don't necessarily agree… If I can get it, all I have to do is come back to now. Two years is really all she needs… There will be a war on Zoreah, and Juliet never gets over killing so many werewolf babies." Ira and Silvanus stared at one another, taking their sweet time to take it all in… "So? The stone? Is that why she died on Earth? She had the stone and didn't want to give it up? I don't buy this 'died in childbirth' nonsense."
"Caleb, we don't know… But if that's your theory of why Satya died, then it's worse than I believed… Satya didn't leave it here with Beatrice… which was our theory… The old woman never gave us a definitive answer."
"I don't know about you, but I need to know if Qadir killed her… It could only be him. Ahasuerus wouldn't have."
"No… he had no desire to change the past… May I ask why your mother feels she has to?"
"Louis is turning into a zombie… for real… Marcus still has issues with the harem, and Juliet and Chris have to decide about killing all the vamps who don't want to conform after she took over. It's billions, she said."
"Where are they now?"
"A colony planet with nothing on."
"Why not leave them there?"
"The chadari live on Palmyra and stole Chris's power—"
"They what?!"
"He got it back."
"I'm not worried about his power," Ira looked worried, "If they have a teleporter with all those chambers of hers under their harbor water—"
"It will be a disaster," Silvanus finished his sentence.
"So you do know what's in there."
"Of course I know."
"Tell me."
"If I didn't tell you then, I won't now… I must have had a reason."
"Your reasoning was never sound, Ira."
"Oh really, and making mistake after mistake and then using this to fix it is better? I knew your mom would cause us trouble."
"Juliet didn't ask to be pushed over that chair… You, Brylee, and Ahasuerus were the problem. You meddled where you shouldn't have meddled. And now we have to clean up the messes the three of you created over the last thousand years. Don't tell me this," I gestured to all of Yaroon, "Is better… Once I take over, you'll not even recognize Zoreah."
Silvanus chuckled, "Boy's got spirit. Some Furrow blood in there."
Ira cursed and spit on the ground. I was taken aback at the unguarded display of truth, "You never would've let me take over, would you? Because I'm not… what pure?" I scoffed, "Well, at least I know how you really feel."
Ira spun, "It's not that Caleb, I swear,"
"Oh please, if I came out vampire, what would you have done… None of you knew what I would be."
"Of course, we knew… Ahasuerus wanted to be sure as much as us."
"Argh! I can't take any more rejections today! I'm leaving to go talk to the old man."
Ira grabbed my arm, "Caleb, I swear it's not that your half-vampire… It's something else I can't tell you."
"Argh!" I yelled, "More secrets! I can't stand it anymore!"
"Who do you want to go talk to?" Silvanus asked.
"Ahasuerus. Who else? Qadir's already dead… Satya's death would not be on a tube."
Ira softened his tone, "Caleb, you can't go! What if something happens?"
"What do you mean?"
He looked pointedly at me, "Did Juliet not tell you?"
"What? Spit it out!"
"If you die in this dream, you die in real life… This is not some parallel universe or a fake branch you're testing… For right now… this is your reality… What happens here might become your new life! When she uses the tattoo and makes the same choices… Which I guess is her plan… You! Cannot be replaced… You die, you die."
"If Juliet dies in one of the dreams?"
Ira nodded, "Maybe you should go back."
"Juliet didn't tell me because she really loves me… And even if she did, I trust her, and she trusts me… I wouldn't have tried to stop her!"
Ira dragged me into his arms, "I love you too!"
I wriggled out of his grip and said, "Are you coming with me or not?"
"Where? What do you mean?"
"Ahasuerus is in the origin city… I want to talk to him," Ira was having a hard time keeping up, "Come on, Chris travels all over Zoreah by now… You really didn't know? I've been there since I was ten."
Silvanus guiltily turned away from us; Ira wanted to get mad, "Urgh, it doesn't matter… Fine, let's go."
The two men were still very much alive. When Rodrigo saw me, he hurried over and picked me up, "What are you doing here? Your mother will not like it!"
"Eh?"
"I'm not fixed, remember! Your mom is still with Michael… Which is playing whack f—a mole with my brain. I have this stream of memories barging into my head at all times here, and then I'm on En-gannim... At first, I was like, what is going on… Didn't know who your mom chose to take with her."
"How is it going with Michael? She seems peaceful."
"Oh, you won't believe what they're doing. Juliet let Michael brand her with all of us watching, and then the two traveled and did nothing else but explore so many galaxies. They're not even done yet. It's incredible to see all the places not even Ahasuerus can get to yet."
I turned to Ahasuerus to see his reaction to all this. He and Ira were staring one another down, "You're planning on attacking Zoreah… Didn't go well the first time… Or the last!"
"I will do whatever I have to! I will live forever."
"So that's what this is all about… You can! You already are."
"Brylee also wants to live here, you buffoon! Once I get back the water and life stone, Zoreah will be the best place to live."
"You took it from us in the first place! It was ours!"
"Well, I can't help your great—great—great grandfather was an idiot! Seems it runs in the family."
Silvanus nestled up to me and asked, "Where am I? Right now, in the other life."
I smiled, "On a date."
"He is?" Rodrigo asked. Ira went for Ahasuerus, and the two set out to settle this once and for all, "You don't have popcorn, do you? I would die for butter popcorn."
"Hey, wait! Who am I on a date with?"
I shook my head. This was not going the way I thought it would. I at least wanted to do one thing I set out to do. "Why are you here, Caleb?" Rodrigo asked.
"I want to know what happened to my grandmother and the stone she had."
Rodrigo turned away from Silvanus and me. It wasn't me who grabbed him on the shoulder with a manifested hand and flung him around, "What happened to Satya?"
Rodrigo couldn't look at us. Silvanus flexed his claws and, with self-control, let them slowly stab into his shoulder. Rodrigo hollered every inch, "She's still alive," he yelled.
Silvanus picked him up by the pierced shoulder while keeping his claws embedded into his skin and slammed him into the ground. It did get Ira's attention. "What do you mean… she's still alive? Where the f— is she?"
I'd never seen the man so angry. "On Earth… I think."
"Why, where, and what! Now! Or you'll die again."
"She didn't want to give up the stone… Qadir wanted it and faked her death… Until she gives it up."
"And!"
"No one knows where she is. Samuel's been looking all this time!"
I touched Silvanus's shoulder and waited for him to look at me, "Earth is a war zone—right now, in our time—Ian, a vamp, is taking over, and it's not pretty."
Silvanus ripped his claws out of Rodrigo's shoulders, twisted his wrist, and pushed his fist up against his chin, "Who will know?"
"No one knows," Silvanus pressed harder, forcing Rodrigo's chin into the air, "I swear, we don't know."
"Then how do you know at all? Why does Samuel know?"
"Warden! He was Jacklin's Watcher… On the outside, like Jack… He was assigned another compliant, Chris, when he was born. He was there to take him to the orphanage, and all Warden saw was Qadir talking to Satya after the birth… I don't know? Maybe he didn't tell Samuel everything."
"She might be dead already! If she was stuck in some cell and the war broke out… She might be dead! Chris is going to go crazy." I glanced at Ira to see how he was handling the news. I met his eye and could see he had no idea. It looked like he wanted to be sick. My gaze traveled to Ahasuerus, "I didn't know! Really… I would never!"
I kinda believed the old man. "Yeah, but Brylee would!" I whispered.
Ira and Ahasuerus turned to one another, "Where could she be?"
Ahasuerus shook his head dumbfounded, "Anywhere," he lifted his hands into the air, "Absolutely anywhere."
"When I was born, Qadir was still alive! If I go back to when I was a baby what happens?"
"You'll replace yourself, same as any other time."
Ira walked over, "Go, Caleb… No! Don't go! What if Qadir kills you! He'll know."
I disappeared to show them how I protected myself. My grandfather took a step forward, "You got Juliet's ability, well, I never," he smiled. "Still, Caleb, maybe first, you should go talk to your mom."
"You're right," I nodded and closed my eyes. I could wait five minutes.
I willed myself out of the time warp, sat up, and threw up into the sand, "Yuk!" I didn't feel as bad as Juliet did or was really confused.
I slowly got up—walked to our packs outside the door, and took out the plate, sending Jessy a message. I got no reply. Weird. I checked; he'd not sent anything since the last time, which was already past fifteen minutes. I frowned and sent another message. Nothing. What in the world? I tried talking to Michael. Also nothing. Chris… I waited. Hmmm, Liam was next. I waited. By the time I sent messages to everyone I knew (Marcus, Agatha, Cindy, Samuel, Ira, Jamal, Jack, and even Yazen) and got no reply, Juliet was stirring. I rushed over with another vial; Michael's ten years were over.
***
Charlene
A few hours earlier, my toes were curling from pleasure; right then, I was wavering on the brink of death. I told them I couldn't fight so many women; I never thought it would be the men who came after me. I couldn't really think about anything else besides focusing on channeling my inner force out to the incoming waves of the enormous warriors of wolves. I had not practiced as much as I should have. I'd been lazy and enjoying my life. I could feel myself slipping when Michael and Chris landed in our little fortress. I begged him to get us out of there. He took out his plate to message Jessy. Nothing happened. We were not moving. "What is it!? Where is Jessy?"
Michael slapped the thing as if it were an antique that would work if he jostled the inside a bit. The rest were still fighting. I looked at Carl, who had no time to do anything but stab repeatedly into the wolves. Our attempts to keep them at bay had been going on for a while, and we couldn't go on for much longer. "Michael!"
"Charlene," Kubra said, "You have to leave."
"No! If you die, I die; what will be the point!"
"They won't kill us, trust me, I'd never put your life in danger."
Chris turned to me while stabbing right into the eye of one wolf, almost at eye level with him. The pile of dead corpses was so high all around us that it wouldn't be long before they overpowered us by falling on us, and then— "Charlene, get out of here!" Chris yelled over the noise, "Michael and I will take Carl and come right back."
"I can't, I won't."
"You have no choice!" He reprimanded rather than pleading.
Romero squeezed my hand. I dropped my efforts to push wolves down to their knees and positioned myself behind him. I tried to manifest. I couldn't. "Go, Charlene, now!" Romero whispered over his shoulder.
"I can't! I'm trying!"
Chris dropped his sword and seemed to concentrate, "I can't travel! I'm stuck!"
"I'm too!" I yelled, "What is going on?"
Chris scanned his body and lifted up his pant leg. "I'm nicked. S— Michael, you got to go!"
He slowly shook his head. Romero let go, and the wolves paused for a second, feeling the brunt of our joint energy's sudden absence. We all looked at Fahan, "It wasn't me or Jade."
A wolf dived at Fahan, who felt like giving up would be the wrong thing to do, "I'll fight until my last breath; you wanted to practice." The dragon was joking! At a time like this! He sliced into the air and cut the wolf in half. Our circle was shrinking fast. Four wolves overpowered Fahan. Four more went for Jade; she killed them one by one. It was in vain as the next cluster got the better of her. The rest of us huddled together back to back. "Can you manifest?" I asked Romero.
"No," he said softly.
A wolf grabbed the plate out of Michael's hands. Two more gripped his upper arms and pushed him down to his knees. Chris was next until only I was left standing.
Jade needed her hands and feet tied before she calmed down. The two of us were laughing and enjoying talking to Jack and Francis only a few minutes ago when the wolves closed the doors to the hall and left one open; they marched in, and the first thing they did was detain the seven men with us. It was then that Romero took my hand and submitted the whole room, only stopping them for a moment. I wished I was faster and had left then. They could've cut us at any moment within the chaos that followed; how could any of us have known.
A moment of silence fell inside the building, the wolves and us taking a breather—waiting. For what? What will they do with us? How does Kubra know they won't kill us?
After a minute, a new wolf came through the door and stomped his spear on the ground two times. They were waiting for him. At his command soldiers picked up bodies and carried them out. Some dragged others through the sand. Patiently, he waited until he could move unhindered toward us while the cleaning continued. The man in charge had a ferocious aura about him, with red eyes penetrating mine as he steadily approached. He didn't believe in wearing a shirt or even chest armor. He was shaven? His entire upper body... How could a wolf be this attractive? I've never seen any of them as lucky as he was. Well-built—sporting pecks to die for—biceps that could lift me with little effort—abs neatly defined. Around his shoulders and his lower arm, he wore spiked steel-like protection, fastened with leather straps accentuating his bulging muscles—every detail in drooling proportions; even his face was handsome. The rich brown fur usually surrounding their faces he'd sleeked back between his ears—prickling, moving with every sound. I let my eyes drift to his lower body and smiled at the regular Asian-style pants—wider around the tights tapering off towards his calves. In between his legs tied around his waist, hung guard or banner covering his crotch.
He waited until I lifted my head, and I had to strain my neck to meet his eye. "May I?"
"Please, my neck will be stiff tomorrow if I have to talk to you like this." His lips curled, revealing pearly white teeth. He came back to human, and my eyes widened, "Wow! You are so handsome! You were probably snatched up very quickly."
"If I may?"
"Please."
"Do you know who I am?"
I shook my head, "I guess in charge until Liv arrives."
"I'm Ben's father. My name is Uzail."
My lip involuntarily pulled up, thinking about Ben and how he treated me, "That is not a recommendation in my books… Nor does it mean anything to me… Honestly, I don't know if I'll be able to deal with another Ben."
"May I apologize on his behalf if he hasn't done so yet… And assure you he was severely punished when he stepped back in under my roof."
My gaze came back to his, "Thank You. I accept. It makes me feel a little better that he was not raised that way."
The man laughed and stretched out his arm towards the door, "If you will, please come with me."
"Certainly, thank you." He growled, and his chest rumbled slightly; I turned to him as we walked, "Will you tell me what displeases you?"
He growled again, "If I may?"
"From here on out, please speak freely; I would like to have an open conversation."
He grimaced, "Very well… I… I… I can not," he huffed and ran his hand over his hair.
Wow, the men were really beaten down among the ladies. Total subjection. He wanted me to command him—even as a prisoner. What did happen to Ben? Although the last couple of days, he seemed different than he was on Earth, maybe even a little regretful. The seven men who were entertaining us also had no idea what the wolves were planning. Would they have warned us? "You did want to say something."
"I wanted to advise you to not be so polite with the women you'll be dealing with."
"Urgh, I've never been good with dealing with other women."
"A true wolf, then." I chuckled.
He didn't say much for the rest of the way as we walked through the city, which, in my opinion, was one of the most spectacular ones I've seen throughout all the planets I've been on. Romero had chosen another abandoned location to house the wolves. I couldn't understand how they got tired of any place so beautiful. The dehka who lived there before had migrated to the city Sara lived in, where we had been staying for the last couple of days. Every town had its own architecture, urban design, and infrastructure that were suitable for the terrain of any specific area. Where we were, the air was crisp; every breath visible. The ground was rocky, not sandy, but in the city, it was clean—the streets smooth and well-kept. Large green trees lived in harmony with tall glass buildings.
Liv was waiting, sitting on a large sofa bed, her legs stretched out with a book in hand. On the table next to her were so many stacks of papers I was reminded of when I was studying to become a doctor. I headed for a chair and plopped down, tired, almost exhausted from all the energy I had expelled. "You may go Uzail," she said clipped and without looking up.
For fun, I met his eyes and waved with a smile, "Thank You!" I got a curt nod from Miné's grandfather. Her actual lineage. I never thought I'd ever meet them… Would her grandmother even be interested to have a relationship with her? How did werewolf women treat their daughters? Liv ignored me, reading whatever she was dealing with. "Can we get to the point!"
"Oh, you might as well relax, you'll be… uhm… contained for the foreseeable future."
"Our wounds will heal eventually."
"Sure," she laughed sardonically, "But you can't go anywhere without Romero, and once you're on one side of this massive city and he on the other… I hear you'll be in a constant state of pain… Almost comatose until the two of you are reunited."
I sighed and drifted down into the cushy pillows of the armchair I was in, "I don't know how you think you'll win this war once Romero's army arrives."
Lived scoffed, "It will take them months to get here. And even then, we have a way of forcing their hand."
"The dheka do not negotiate. Romero is replaceable."
"Oh, I know; I was not talking about political schemes. Werewolves do not dabble, or manipulate, or falter… No, I meant subduing their army. Before Zoreah, we were undefeated for many centuries. It only worked out the way it did because there were so many of you involved… Too many variables… So Charlene, as soon as you can ship us back home where we belong, we'll be out of your hair. Until then, we will never stop waging war."
"I would indulge you with false hope and empty promises… but… the dheka value honor above all else. You had a deal with them; you broke it. And as far as I know, you're the first to even try, so good luck. When I kill you, I'll not be as merciful as Marcus was with Brylee when he put a bullet in her head."
"Suit yourself," Liv lifted a hand.
This time, I was not asked to follow but yanked to my feet, picked up under my armpits, and dragged from the building.