The lake appeared as if it were made by magic. It was moonlight-silver in colour, and it was shaped like a perfect circle, as if it was intentionally created that way. There was complete silence in the shimmering emptiness of space around it. In the noiseless quiet, it was lined with towering oak trees, and a whiff of lavender could be smelled as you walked along the path, lined with a variety of plants, leading to the center of the lake. The idyllic scene was enough to take anyone's breath away. Undisturbed by wind as it blew gently over its mirror-like surface, it evoked a feeling of tranquility. The only sounds that could be heard were the squawking of birds and the sound of animals scurrying around the area.
On the surface, occasional ripples came from the fish swimming peacefully. When seen under the moonlight, the gentle glow added a silver tint to the face of the lake. It was paradise.
As Soteria's mind drifted, she thought about the tranquility of the lake, and it helped her relax a bit. She had been there many times as a child. Once, she had even snuck out after a bout of summer rain. She could still see the rain-pearled grass in her mind's eye. She could remember the sweet smell of the grass and the taste of the water, which tasted clean and pure. Like it came from a spring. Most of all, she remembered how free and unfettered she was at that time. The her back then would never have imagined that she would be where she was now.
She shook herself, snapping out of her thoughts. She would just prioritize the meal and then go directly to the grounds to sort the animals out. That was all she could do. To be honest, completing half was better than none.
She headed to the kitchen, washed her hands, and immediately started on the prep work. It was just after 2 in the afternoon when she started, and it was now almost 5 when she finished the prep alone. She wiped her sweaty face on the sleeve of her already dirty robe. As she did so, Nathan, the Alpha, entered the kitchen.
He looked at her without saying anything for a while, while she lowered her head subserviently.
"The dinner tonight needs to be perfect," he said quietly. "If you disappoint with it, you will be banished from the pack this time, in the best case scenario. As for the worst case scenario, I'll leave that to your imagination. " He increased his pressure but realised that she didn't even notice it. He was momentarily startled, but he remembered how mysterious her appearance all those years ago was. Till this date, he wasn't able to open the letter left behind for her. He knew whatever bound the letter couldn't be simple. That was the reason he had originally treated her well.
However, it seemed like she had been abandoned, so he saw no need to keep up appearances. Plus, all those events had taken place. He grimaced at the thought of his luna's anger and her demand that Soteria belong to her so she could punish her. He looked at Soteria thoughtfully. Salana was certainly doing what she said she would do. Perhaps he should give Soteria the letter soon and force her to show it to him.
The reason he had her prepare everything herself was that when she did things from scratch, they tasted better than anyone else's. Even when they used the same processes and ingredients. They needed to win over the Clear Moon pack's Alpha. If they were able to form ties even though Moon Lake Pack was on the decline, they would be able to save themselves.
The Clear Moon City and its pack had grown extremely prominent in recent years, so much so that they even had to reorganize parts of the pack into smaller packs under the leadership of the pack Betas. What made them feared, however, was their ruthlessness toward their enemies. Anyone who opposed them was wiped out immediately. Humans generally were not touched, but anything went for the werewolves. The laws protected humans in particular, but they also offered some protection to werewolves. Turf wars were still allowed once unrelated people were not involved, and the children and the elderly couldn't be killed since they usually have nothing to do with it. Clear Moon was famous for wiping out every able fighter and using oaths to bind the children and the elderly before absorbing them into their pack.
The Alpha led with an iron hand, and no mistakes were permitted. So what would happen if this dinner was ruined? It would ruin relationships between the two packs, and lead theirs into a disaster. Currently, they were on favorable terms with the Clear Moon pack, which was why they were willing to come to their pack. If that changed because of her, she would surely be tortured within an inch of her life on a continuous loop. If she even survived it.
She tried to relax, but she was too anxious to do so.
"What are you waiting for, you stupid girl?"says Maya, a girl who was tasked to serve the food. "Hurry up and finish making the food? Do you want the Alpha to get mad again or what? "
While she continued to prepare, a voice came again.
"Soteria, tonight's dinner is essential for our pack. If you make any mistakes, you will live a life worse than death, you hear me? "
Ha! It went from her being banished to her living 'a life worse than death'. Way to let his true feelings out, right?
"Soteria!"
She jumped. The Alpha had gotten annoyed with her silence. She bowed her head in acknowledgement. He growled again before leaving to prepare other things necessary for the visit. Two hours later, everything was finally finished being prepared, more than five hours after she started. Her hands hurt, she was tired, sweaty, and extremely hungry.
She knew she wouldn't be allowed to eat the food she prepared, so she told Maya, who listened carefully this time, all about the food, got leftovers from the fridge, and headed to her room. After carefully placing the food on the chipped table, she got out a basin and headed to the well just in front of the forest. She wasn't allowed to bathe in the house, so this was the best she could do.
Holding her basin, she hastened to the outskirts of the forest. The closer she got, the more relaxed she felt. The heedy smell of the damp dirt mixed with fresh grass and the vaguely sweet smell of the berry brambles, the sound of the gentle summer wind as it whispered through the trees and caressed her face. All of it was inherently relaxing for her.
Her wolf whined. She was startled to even feel her since she had never made her presence known, but she knew what her wolf wanted. Her wolf wanted freedom. Freedom from the pain that came with her life. She wanted to run among the trees, free and unfettered. She wanted to continue running, leaving this Goddess-forsaken place behind.
How she wished she could let her out too...not that she knew how.
She had never shifted before since her wolf's presence was always practically nonexistent, but now she felt as if she could. What wouldn't she give to be able to let her out?
Oh, how she wished she could be a free wolf. Free of Nathaniel and Salana, free of that Goddess-forsaken pack, and free of all those painful memories.
Can we go then? my wolf asked. We could leave now and no one would find us. They don't even know you can sense me. That will buy us some time.
Soteria was a bit shocked. She had never communicated with her wolf before, never been able to feel anything more than fleeting emotions for her, and now, she was speaking full sentences.
No, no, no, we can't. We will die if we do it. We tried running before. Remember what they did to us? We can't escape this web. At least not right now, she replied.
Steeling her resolve, she continued, but one day. One day soon, we will leave here. For now, let's just do what we came here to do.
She continued onward to the well. It took her a full fifteen minutes of work to get one dipper up, and another thirty minutes to fill the basin she brought with her.
She was so exhausted.
As she made her way back to her room, thankfully unnoticed, she realized it was time for the Clear Moon pack to arrive. She saw members of her pack dressed in their best, lined up awaiting their arrival. As she made her way into the house through a side entrance, she heard the pack members talking excitedly.
She continued on, until she finally arrived at her bedroom. She was extremely tired, both physically and mentally, at this point. She quickly used the water to rinse off her skin and wash her face. She got dressed in her now dry robes and sat down to eat her leftovers.
She sighed. At least it was chicken pasta, she thought. The protein was just what she needed in any case. She ate hungrily. There was just barely enough for her to feel satisfied, but it was still better than nothing.
"Thank you, Moon Goddess, for this meal," she said with sincerity. It was rare for her to even eat so well. She supposed she should be grateful for their arrival, or she'd be eating a tiny portion of the food she cooked once again.
It was really hard to be her.