"Show your face or I will have to you find you myself!'' Commanded the alpha, while the other wolves' warriors with him had since become alert.
As they all looked on, a feminine figure appeared from the dark. "How are you doing my love?'' Asked a feminine voice at the same time, going closer to the alpha.
Olivia noticed the gentility in her voice and concluded the visitor must be someone familiar to the alpha wolf. She was correct, beta Ruana is alpha's Ramon destined mate. All the other female wolves had stayed clear of their path. While Ruana is his destined wolf mate, it has not been officially recognized by the wolf clan until the great power from the moon goddess is bestowed on him. That power can only come when Olivia is offered as a sacrifice.
"What brings you here Ruana by this time of the night to the alpha's abode?" queried Ramon.
"To see how you are getting ready for the great day my love. I can't wait for us to finally be together.'' Something suddenly caught Ruana's attention. It's the human sacrifice she has longed to see if, her dream of being with alpha Ramon must come true. She moved closer to Olivia, walking past Ramon. "Oh look at who we have here,'' she dragged her by the hair briefly. Olivia screamed in pain. "You are the one I having looking forward to meeting. Finally, we met. The spilling of your blood to our moon goddess will not only make me the queen of the wolves but one of the dreaded betas. A new dawn will begin. Your fellow humans will be made to feel the wrath of the wolves. Your lands will be conquered. Your loved ones, if you still have any will be slain. Women and children, the old and the young, the weak and the strong; all will be killed or subjected to our rule. There will be no opposition to our conquest of humans. Anyone who rises against us shall be decimated. No more shall we exist in fairy tales and legends. We will come out of the shadows this time.''
Olivia said nothing but kept staring in absolute fear. She tried to ignore Ruana by bending and looking downwards, but that was quickly stopped by Ruana's loud slap. "Don't you have anything to say, you poor little thing?'' she kicks her in the abdomen while Ramon and the other alphas just looked on.
Conquering humans is not on his agenda. Ramon prefers the wolf clan to continue to remain in seclusion or hidden from the real human world. Contrary to his objective, Ruana his destined wolf-mate prefers a more brutal wolf conquest of humans. She simply wants to continue the legacy of her late wolf father who was killed during the great battle of the werewolves and vampires at Gaia woods. Before his death, Ruana's father was a leading alpha in the wolf clan who advocated for human conquest after decimating the vampire clan, despite the relative peace that had existed between the wolves and humans. Now her daughter wishes to continue with his father's legacy.
"That's enough my love. You don't want to keep her in an unhealthy condition, do you? We have to leave her in the possible best shape so that the moon goddess will be appeased by the quality of our sacrifice,'' Ramon intervened.
"You are right but why did you bring her out here?" Queried Ruana. "She should be kept in the prison where she belonged.''
"Why are you doing this?'' For the first time, Olivia spoke. Her words attracted the attention of the wolves.
"Doing what, human?'' Ruana held her by the neck. "Doing what, human? Answer me!''
"You are tightening your grip on my neck. You are choking me. I can't breathe!'' Olivia cried. "Why all this wickedness. I have done nothing to the wolves to deserve this."
"I see,'' she lessened her grip on Olivia's neck. "You have done nothing to deserve this but, you are paying the debt owed by your stepmother ever since you were a kid. I'm sure my loving alpha must have told you about that?''
Tears flooded Olivia's eyes as she remembered the horrible way she is going to die in the short time to come. She couldn't believe that all the time she spent in Catherina's house was all for a purpose. 'How wicked Catharina must have been,' she thought.
"Take her back to the place she belonged to,'' the alpha approaches her lunar to be and held her by the hands. "We have to let her be now. She should be taken inside,'' he suggested, having been moved by a slight pity for his prisoner.
"That sounds to me like you are beginning to feel for the human girl? Correct me if am wrong."
"Wrong! You are wrong Ruana. I feel nothing whatsoever, for her,'' the alpha defended himself but, not without trying to drag Ruana away from Olivia who was already exhausted from the psychological and physical tortures she had been subjected to. "Return her to the prison," Ramon commanded the wolf-warriors for the second time. Ramon had lied to his soon-to-be Luna when he told her he felt no pity for Olivia. He had been holding himself from revealing his weakness. That would send a wrong message not only to Ruana but also to his wolf-warriors with him right there. His impulse to feel pity for Olivia even became stronger, when Ruana abused her. He couldn't do anything rather than feel for her.
He and Ruana simply stared as the human girl was taken away and sent back to the wolf prison. "I think you should go back home Ruana, now she has been taken away."
Ruana turn to face him, "you sound like I had come for her instead of you?''
"Don't misunderstand me. I mean you should go home and have some rest. I will be with you in a short time."
"Then, what will you doing back here?''
"I have got some unfinished business to take care of,'' Ramon answered while rubbing her shoulders gently in order to pacify her. But Ruana pressed on
"May I know what they are, the unfinished business, if you don't mind?''
He knows if he doesn't devise a means to distract Ruana, she would continue to press on with her inquisitiveness until he reveals his plans to her which, he doesn't want her to know about. "Hey, your hair is so long and beautiful!'' He smiled and hugged her.
"Thank you Ramon but, my hair has always been like this. Don't act as if this is the first time you are seeing it.''
Frustrated by her persistence, he became more forceful in his voice. "Time to leave my love,'' he gave her a peck on her cheek and let go of her hands.
Ruana reluctantly, turned her back to leave. "Okay, I will go if this is what you want.'' She walked a few meters and transformed into a wolf and vanished with the help of her supernatural strength.
Immediately she left, he turned to his wolf warriors again, "bring her out!''
Olivia came out, but not without slightly limping from the injuries she had sustained when Ruana, hit her abdomen with her Lycan strength. Her posture was easy to notice and the alpha wasted no time in figuring out what could be the cause of her unhealthy condition. "Leave us alone,'' he told his wolf warriors, about five of them to leave.
A few seconds later, Olivia found herself standing face to face with the alpha all alone. She couldn't figure out what their second meeting was all about. It makes no sense to her because, just some minutes ago, the same man had humiliated her together with his Luna to be, Ruana.
She wondered if he was trying to solicit some information from her. This could be her only possible right guess to her question. On the other hand, she was sure she possesses no vital information he might need. Whatever it is, she decided she will not cooperate with him since she was going to be killed eventually.
"Olivia!'' alpha Ramon called. Olivia could notice the sudden change in both his tone and body language but was still unsure of what their meeting could be. She ignored him and pretended as if nothing had happened.
'Whatever he has to say, should be said quickly and let her go back into the dungeon where she belonged,' Olivia thought. However, things did not go the way she had wished. The alpha simply kept staring at her under the moonlight. 'Is he speechless now?' Olivia asked herself silently as she couldn't understand exactly why they were standing in an awkward position.
Her abdomen still hurts but, she lacked the power to speed up whatever they were going to do or talk about. As a way of reminding him of her present inconvenience, she leaned down and pressed her stomach. Nevertheless, the alpha remained silent although he continued to gaze at her with an unknown intention. Only he could certainly explain what is going on in his mind at the moment.
Like an instinct, he quickly reached out to Olivia. His hands-on her shoulders. He slowly tried to lift her to her feet.
"Were you hurt Olivia?'' His voice no doubt contained some elements of pity in them.
Shocked, Olivia could not believe his little kind gesture. She sensed she could be heading towards something she has no clue about. Just what made him so nice, and equally changed him at the moment, remained a mystery to be solved.