"Family." Rieka stated as she stared at the woman clothed in leather in front of us, I could see a glimpse of the woman in my mind even though my eyes were closed.
"Family?" I asked as I also open my eyes to get a good look at this woman, who was crouching in front of us with a smirk on her face.
She had shiny black hair that was thrown into a ponytail, it matched her dark hazel eyes. She was clothed in black leather pants and a jacket and whatever vest she wore inside the jacket was peeking out at the top of the jacket and it was obviously black too.
Despite the smirk which seemed like her best attempt at a smile, she had a stern look around her eyes and a scar on her right cheek which told me she had once been in a deadly life and death battle but she was unfamiliar, I had never met her or seen her, so how was she family?
"What do you mean family? I have never met her."
"Neither have I" Rieka said.
"Then how do you know?"
"I just know. Just as I know my mate, she is like us."
"Hun!" I groaned in frustration, for someone who has been acting like a killing machine and killing without mercy while calling others weak she did sound stupid.
"And how do you know she wouldn't hurt us?" I asked
"..."
"Even our mate did! And I told you to run but you wouldn't listen. what if she hurt us? What are we going to do?" I said her, this time enjoying the feeling of me being the one doing the scolding.
"Fight back! I would never run," she stated.
"Yeah right. And I have a feeling we would die sooner than you plan!"
She shut the link without responding and I took my time to access the woman who had walked into this misty forest without fear or caution again, she had to have a secret weapon.
The moment I looked at her, I knew what her weapon was, she was a high-ranking wolf, very high, a Luna probably and she looked well trained even my killing machine would be no match for her because like it or not we were untrained.
Rieka growled at me.
"It's amazing what you've done with the forest." she said standing to her full height and looking around. She was a woman in her early forties if not late thirties and I knew what she meant.
Rieka didn't respond she only stared at the woman and I realized she too was observing the woman.
"I can take her down." Rieka suddenly said and I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, of course, you can." I said, the disbelief evident in my voice and she growled at me again.
"She already hooked you with her identity, you think you would be able to win against her when we don't even know what other secret weapon she has? I mean, look at her!" I exclaimed and Rieka looked at the woman who was also observing her.
"Can't you see her stance? She looks like Layla the first time we met!"
"Don't mention that name again!" Rieka growled, her anger bubbling like a hum around me but I rolled my eyes at her quietly frustrated at how impossible it was to talk to her.
"How is she?" The woman asked suddenly and we both turned to her confused, the smirk was still on her face and of course, she was still observing us.
"Your human." she stated and I facepalmed as it was obvious she already knew Rieka was in charge.
"Why don't you shift back so we can have a nice discussion." she said again not minding that Rieka wasn't responding.
"Are we going to shift?" I asked.
"Hell no!" Rieka deadpanned and I sat down quietly in the corner guessing that this would be a long conversation comprising of only the woman doing the talking.
The woman seemed to have noticed Rieka's answer, I mean who wouldn't, she didn't leave her lazy laying position and she didn't seem ready to leave it. She acted as if the woman wasn't a threat to us.
"I'd take it as a no?" the woman said again. "I just wanted to meet your human."
This made me raise a brow and earned her a growl from Rieka.
"You're not getting anywhere near her!" Rieka said with venom in her voice as she stood up majestically and began to prowl about powerfully in front of the woman while keeping her eyes on her. Her anger was beginning to reach dangerous levels and I began to get scared, this is what always happens before a bloodbath.
I looked at the woman and saw the surprise in her eyes, and I frowned at it. Why was she surprised? Was she scared of Rieka?
"You're bigger than I imagined." The woman said suddenly a smile in her eyes but still rather surprised.
Wait.
She didn't open her mouth. Then how…?
"Rieka! What you said, you were addressing her? You mind linked her? How did you….?"
"I told you she was like us!"
"That doesn't explain it. We're not even a member of the same pack." I stated before realizing how stupid that sounded.
If we weren't from the same pack then how could she be family? How could she be an Austan wolf? But then what of my parents were they Austan wolves too? Austan wolves didn't live in other packs though. They stayed together. They were powerful together.
Maybe I'm thinking too much I thought as I settled down in my place.
"I don't mean any harm. I just want to help." the woman said again.
"I don't need help." Rieka replied.
"What is your plan then? Stay here forever? How long do you think you would last if you keep on expanding your territory? You would end up messing with pack borders and in a matter of time, they would come for you." The woman said.
"That's exactly what I have been waiting for." Rieka said with a light voice.
Wait. Is she smiling happily? She was happy that the pack would come for her…for us? Oh God, she's gonna lead us to our death faster than I imagined.
I just wanted to leave a quiet ghost life this time not messing with anybody or seeing the troubles of life. Can't the moon goddess hear my heart's desires? Why must she give me a troublesome wolf?
"You hate the pack?" the woman asked with an amusing voice.
"They're cowards!" Rieka retorted and the woman smiled nodding her head in satisfaction this time.
"But you can't defeat them by fighting them alone. I can see that you're in your blood rage by the look of the forest," she said as she allowed her eyes to do a quick sweep through the foggy forest, and of course, she couldn't see far more than three inches from where she stood. "But pack wolves are trained. Trained warriors from birth. Your blood rage wouldn't be enough. Their number and skills would help them defeat you."
She explained with certainty and I shuddered at the thought of fighting trained pack wolves but Rieka didn't seem bothered.
"What exactly are you proposing?" Rieka asked knowingly and I looked up at the woman. She was right, she had to have a catch if she was here telling us the consequence of our actions.
"I can help you get your revenge. In a faster way." she said with a smile.
"How so?"
"I could train your human in every type of combat there is, mold you into the warrior that you are Austan wolf."
"You're getting nowhere near my human!" Rieka said through grit teeth her anger rising again
somehow whenever the woman mention me she got mad. Was she planning on keeping me here forever?
"Wow! You are an overprotective one, Austan wolf. The first I have seen actually. You sound like her mate if you ask me." The woman said chuckling but in her eyes, I saw admiration for Rieka.
Anyone who looked at them right now would think they were having a staring contest as they discussed through the mind link that I still can't understand how they formed.
But she was wrong about something. Rieka wasn't trying to protect me? She hates me. She thinks all this is my fault and she's just trying to make sure I don't mess everything up again.
"She's weak!" Rieka said to the woman as if in response to me and I wasn't surprised.
"And you think keeping her locking in would help her become stronger? It won't. Even if you bring revenge on all those pack wolves that hurt her, she wouldn't become stronger. The whole circle may as well replay itself and she would be at their mercy again. Even if you were to exact revenge, you should do it together, that is how good revenge should be done, she at the forefront and you backing her up." The woman said smiling at her well-said speech which didn't even seem to bother Rieka.
"It is my revenge to take. She has no desire for revenge." Rieka said angrily but she was right. Even though I hated Eric, his mother, and Layla, and wanted them all begging for mercy at my feet, I could not.
I could not defeat them. They might stab me with that venom and silver again. I don't want to go through that again. I can't win against them. I can't win against any of them. So what was the essence of hoping for revenge?
"Are you sure about that?" The woman asked and I looked up unsure if she was addressing my thoughts or Rieka's words. "It seems you know nothing about our kind wolf, our human transfers the anger and desires to us and it mixes with ours. That's what births the Austan wolf's blood rage. Believe it or not, she's as angry as you and wants revenge as much as you do. If not more."
She said now looking at her nails but of course, none of us was going to believe that. Not me, not Rieka, we knew ourselves too well to believe that we share the same goal and purpose.
We don't.
"What's in it for you?" Rieka asked and I was certain she didn't believe a word the woman had said just like I didn't, we did have some things in common after all.
The woman smiled, "An addition to my warriors. I have a band of warriors north of this forest, on the Ice Mountains to be precise. We are not a pack, so don't worry. I just want to help someone who is like me make maximum use of their abilities. Us Austans should stick together, we can't thrive well as rogues you know." She said as she swept her eyes around the forest where the sun no longer shone.
But what she said sounds so familiar, where have I heard it before. The Ice Mountains.
Right! Kira! The dark mistress lair is in the ice mountains. If she says she has a band of warriors there then...
"She's the dark mistress." Rieka finished as she tapped into my thoughts. I looked at the woman with fear.
"I don't think we have a choice in this Rieka. She isn't here to help us. She's here to curb us before we get to her territory." I said out of fear.
"How am I to let you out when all you do is fear and worry?" Rieka asked me angrily.
"Are you planning to let me out? You're going to do as she says? This is a trap! She's going to kill me the moment I step into her lair!"
This was the first time I didn't want to come out. It was safer here. Even though it is weird, it was safer here. Maybe the dark mistress is right. Maybe Rieka was trying to keep me safe. The world is a scary place after all and there was no way I was going with this woman.
"Like you just said, we don't have a choice and I won't let her hurt you!"
"What if they stab me again? Or use wolfsbane. You heard Rona, the paralysis venom was made for an Austan wolf in bloodlust. What if she's trying to do this to kill us" I said more frantic now.
"I really mean no harm!" the woman said as she obviously saw the torn look on Rieka's face, "but I need to train your human, not you."
Rieka sighed, "You know, she's right." she said gently, that was the first time I had ever heard her speak so gently and it was getting me scared. "Even though I tried to teach you to turn your fear into anger and channel it to those living things, you never seem to learn, maybe I should actually let you out."
She made sure I saw the dead animals because she wanted to toughen me up?
"What?! No!"
But of course, it fell on deaf ears. When Rieka was determined it was useless to try convincing her. I felt her imagine us as a human immediately and I was yanked forward.