Asta drank the contents of the chalice in one gulp, nearly choking on it. She wanted to be ill. It was a nauseating taste; besides the fact that she knew the metallic edge was her own blood, she was almost sure there was more in it that wasn't plant based, as well as something sour and fermented. She sputtered and coughed, wanting to ask what she just poisoned herself with, but knew if she did, she would accused of trying to steal the secret recipe.
She was already kneeling on the fur rug, hugging her stained, dirty linen dress that she wished to burn when this was all over. The doe locked eyes with Molaki a few times, who was on the edge of his seat, whining like he was a caged dog, his sister leaning around her mother to grab her brother's knee to steady him.
Erest was on the opposite side of the circle, sneering at Molaki, the rest of the wolves eyes diverted towards their Tri Alphas, uneasy.
Suddenly, her head started to spin, her vision blurring.
Asta's breath started to quicken, her heart racing. She was a creature of flight. These fucking idiots. She couldn't believe they would do this to her and think she would stay in one place. It was mentally impossible for her to. Without thinking, her hands were on the furs to bolt up, to leap into her beast and bound out the door - which was closed, but if given a choice, she would beat herself against it until she was bloody.
She was a deer. She needed to bolt. Needed to run!
But as she tried to get up, her knees buckled, crumpling into the pillows that were purposely there to catch her.
The elder wolf snorted. "Oh, and another thing - you can't shift. It wasn't intentional when we developed this, it was made for the Okolts really. But you just don't have enough control over yourself to shift. So stop fighting."
The mean old ladies' voice was an echo in Asta's brain, as she let out a soft sob into the pillows, which luckily were made of something other than dead animals, letting the doe catch her breath.
She felt like she was drowning. She had never had a moment in her life where she was so disoriented. There was a snap of fingers by her face, the elder ushering her head up out of the pillows.
"Stop being dramatic."
There was a snarl behind the translucent voice of the woman, but Asta could hear the snarling much more clear. It was like a lighthouse in the dark, the only thing cutting through the haze that had taken over Asta's entire body. Trembling, she pulled herself together, righting herself upwards, propped up on the cushions.
Blinking, she still could barely see anyone, the world a blur like she was looking down the bottom of a glass. But there was a glow - a warmth, radiating off Molaki, who was losing all composure. Her eyes settled on him, the only thing that was steady enough that she didn't feel like she was going to lose her stomach.
"Let's get started."
A male voice was near her now, on the opposite side of Molaki, and Asta didn't dare turn because she was afraid she would panic again. She was sure it was one of the Tri males, but wasn't sure which.
"Tell us about the events of yesterday. Why were you out in the forest? what possessed you to get near our hunting grounds?"
Asta sucked in a breath, and the words just spilled out of her mouth.
"My clan doesn't have a village like this. We were nomadic up until even just when I was a young teen, we haven't built up anything this advanced. We have crops, that we would harvest this time of year, but almost everything - our oats, our wheat, was all eaten up by a bug, a blight. We harvested everything wild around our village as fast as we could, it's nearly barren. We can't go towards the Okoltants... their magic.... they would kill us to harvest themselves as fast as we stepped foot on their territory. So I volunteered to go out this direction to see if I could find anything to bring back."
"Why did you volunteer?"
"Because I'm a shadow," Asta said plainly.
"You did a pretty bad job."
"No! I didn't! I'm the best one we have. Something happened. I got distracted."
There was a rumbling laugh through the room, and Asta frowned, clenching her jaw.
"Well, then say what happened," the Alpha commanded.
"I scented something I had never smelled before, and it caught me off guard. It was my True mate. My pair. And I was stunned, until the wolves came up behind me. Normally I would be able to smell you for a mile. I knew you were in the area - you meaning the wolves - but I thought I had time. I wasn't concerned. But then, I just, I forgot all my training. I forgot time existed."
Amarok looked over at Erest and the other wolves who were from the hunt, who all shrugged. He had been chosen to ask the questions, seeming to be the most neutral. Zylo was out for blood, and Sable was too sympathetic to the idea of a true pair. One of the youngest wolves offered that the doe did indeed to seem stunned, and that he had even gotten a paw on her before she took off.
"What happened when you were caught?" Amarok continued.
Asta sighed, closing her eyes now to both concentrate on the interrogation, and to stop the world from spinning.
"I was exhausted. I knew I was done for, so I shifted back hoping for mercy. You know, the deer and hares are still under the impression you're not supposed to eat us, though we also know our family members keep disappearing if we venture anywhere. So I wasn't surprised when you all didn't change your behavior when I shifted."
There were some growls and uneasy creaking of seats while the doe continued.
"One of them grabbed me and started to drag me to the pack, but then," she breathed in, thinking of the glowing warmth, like the idols had answered her prayers, "then Molaki leapt in front of me and defended me. And that's when I knew... though I barely believed it..."
"Knew what?"
"That he was the scent. The light. The warmth. That the Idols had sent me my true pair, inexplicably in a wolf."