I bit into the roasted meat that I was offered after watching the others do the same for a while and chewed awkwardly.
The moment the remaining members came, they had immediately gone to work skinning the meat and roasting it silently, if they said anything maybe they said it through mind link I don't know but I watched them silently, and even though they spared me occasional glances I knew they were weary of me.
The seven werewolves that had come with Adela consisted of five men and two women, no doubt the best warriors they had. Their physic and stance said it all.
"How does it feel to finally eat some cooked meat?" Adela said suddenly looking at me and attracting all other eyes to me. I returned a reprimanding stare of my own, indicating that I didn't appreciate being stared at or being put in the spotlight
"It's tasteless." I deadpanned and Adela laughed while the men and women who had worked hard to prepare it frowned at my inability to appreciate their effort.
I don't care what they think. The calm and polite Silveen died in that no man's land when she was stabbed multiple times and shown the real face of the world.
Hugh! Why was I thinking about that now?
"I'm not surprised you would say that, what I meant is, how it feels to eat with your teeth in the human form again after so long," she said with a knowing smile which also earned me a surprised look from the others. I groaned in frustration as I was pissed for no reason at that.
Was this even a good enough reason to be pissed off? Not many wolves have lived in their wolf form for as long as I have, in fact, I have never heard of any but I wasn't in the mood to amuse her by arguing. I was not just pissed off, I was also tired and exhausted. I had gone through a lot of mental stress today. I had met her, followed her here, and gone in and out of rage multiple times with her pack members. Now I just wanted to get this over with and sleep.
But of course, I knew that I could not sleep until they were all asleep. No offense taken but I was not putting my life in their hands. So I chose to ignore her.
Taking the cue she and the others ate silently, made a few small talks here and there about their pack then they all began to take their separate spots going to sleep.
Someone offered to take the first-night watch I don't know who, my eyes were too heavy.
I moved to the tree behind which I had dressed and laid down after spreading a blanket that was thrown to me on the ground, using the leather jacket as my pillow, I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.
So much for being vigilant.
.................................................
"Please just kill me please." I begged and Layla looked at the men in amusement and laughed.
"Did you hear that? She's already begging for death. I must be really good."
She then bent down to me. "Not yet, honey, you see, since you decided to run, I thought it would be more fun to do all the things on the list before finally killing you."
She smiled again and stabbed me in my right abdomen with the dagger and I shrieked at the top of my lungs.
"Ple.....ase. Stop! I would never appear before Eric again. e...ever again."
She twisted the dagger and I screamed!!!!
I jolted awake covered in sweat as I suddenly shuddered at how real the dream I just had felt, the last time I had dreamt about Layla and what had happened to me on that no man's land was three months ago when I was with the witches, ever since Rieka took over I have not had that dream.
But this felt too real, almost as if I had re-lived the experience again.
I felt the effect of residue adrenaline in my stomach and groaned as I sat up, using one hand to shield my eyes from the sun, so I could adjust my eyes to the daylight.
I sat up before realizing two things, I was naked and the liquid on my body was not sweat, it was blood, I was covered in blood.
My eyes ran through my naked body quickly for signs of an injury as a sense of fear gripped me.
What happened? Did those wolves attack me in the night?
"Rieka! Rieka what happened?" I asked as I looked around frantically.
I wasn't there, I wasn't in the clearing where they had camped. I was somewhere else, somewhere in that same forest but I don't know where.
I stood up immediately covering my naked chest with my hands as I looked around the clearing surprised trying to listen for the sound and the scent of the people that I had slept beside last night.
Did they bring me here? Did they decide they couldn't handle me and brought me here? But how do I explain the blood all over my body and my hair? My hair was slimy almost as if I had a bath in blood.
I took one step forward and tripped over something, catching myself before face planting, I looked back to see what it was and my eyes widened as it drifted from the mutilated limbs and body part of an animal I could not distinguish to the whole forest floor around me covered in blood.
"No!" I exclaimed but it only came out as a whisper. I covered my open mouth with my hand as I looked at the despicable scene around me.
I had been sleeping right in the middle of the horror and it told me just who had caused it.
"Rieka!" I shouted internally and felt my wolf jolt awake then look around as if ready for a fight.
"What is going on? Where are we? Why are you naked?" Rieka began to ask me all the questions I wanted to ask her.
My eyes immediately drifted to the horror on the floor and she gasped.
"Silveen. I thought you said____ did you really_____ how__ when___" she was shocked beyond words but I was angry.
She wasn't going to pretend. She was the one who had done this, I wasn't going to let her pretend.
"What have you done?!" I asked her as tears filled my eyes
"Me? What did I do?" Rieka asked genuinely confused and fear gnawed at a corner of my heart.
"Don't pretend Rieka. I know you did this, only you can do this!" I accused.
"What nonsense. I fell asleep last night. You woke me up just now, are you saying I sleep walked and killed these animals?"
"Yes!"
"Oh come on! Silveen. You know me. if I wanted to kill them, I would do it with pleasure and with my eyes wide open the one who faints when such an act is about to happen is you! If I killed them why would I deny it!" she accused.
"If it wasn't you, then who did?!" I asked screaming at her in my head.
"I don't know! You tell me?"
"Me? You are saying I____"
I felt a ringing in my head and held onto it immediately as memories of the previous night flooded in.
I ran through the forest of Kirjan heading for the border to run away from Layla, her men, and Eric.
I wanted to live, I had to live.
Just as I crossed the border the broad daylight turned to night and I was immediately surrounded by them. Layla, Eric, and those two men.
I shifted immediately, anger and rage pulsing through me as I fought them with all my might. Tearing them into pieces, mutilating them limb after limb to ensure they do not wake up from the dead to seek my life again.
Just as I was done, I heard her footsteps behind me and turned around to see the Layla I had just torn to shred walking to me with the poisonous knife in her hand.
"You see since you decided to run, I thought it would be more fun to do all the things on the list before finally killing you."
She said as she smiled and stabbed me in my right abdomen with the dagger and I shrieked at the top of my lungs falling to my knees.
Then the series of nightmares began again.
I staggered and fell to my knees as the reality of what I had done dawned on me. I had torn these animals to shred thinking it was Layla and her men. I had done it in real life while thinking it was a dream.
The evil I complained that Rieka perpetrated, I had done it myself without her interference and help. I was no different from her in the end but__
"How?" I asked the rather confused Rieka.
The recollection of the memory must have filtered into her mind because I could feel how stunned she was.
"It's the bane of the blood rage Silveen. We won't be able to stop until we have taken our revenge," she said as if realization has just done on her.
"What?!"