Chapter 2: A Powerful Stranger
AFTER everyone left the barracks, Luhence sneaked back in to carry me to my room. I wanted to protest, afraid that his father would catch us. The last thing I would want for Luhence was to get in serious trouble because of me.
"Don't worry, baby. He left with the Deltas to check the west walls," Luhence assured in a low voice, as if he was having a hard time controlling his anger.
I couldn't open my eyes nor utter an answer. For the first time, I let myself feel fragile in the arms of my mate. I wanted to cry out of pity for myself, but I chose not to make Luhence feel more guilty. He might not say it out loud, but I could feel his fury for himself.
My head rested on Luhence's chest as he carried my tiny body to my room. When I was settled in my bed, Luhence sat on my side and held my shaking hand.
I forced my eyes to open, then regretted it the moment I saw Luhence's expression. His honey comb eyes were a shade darker, his jaw clenched so hard I worry he would break his set of pearl white teeth.
He took in some air then gently placed his other hand on my tummy. "I'll steal some meds and get you food. Stay here, babe."
I tightened my hold on his hand when he tried to stand up. When Luhence looked at me, I swallowed the rusty taste of blood in my mouth before I shook my head.
Luhence sighed. He leaned down to kiss my forehead before he rested my hand on his cheek. I had to hold my breath and purse my lips to keep myself from crying. It wasn't his fault. None of this was, but everytime I was getting some beating and he couldn't protect me, he would silently blame himself.
"Just a few more days, Nads. I swear, I'll make him pay for everything he did." He gently squeezed my hand before letting it go. "Let me at least nurse you while he is away."
"S--Someone might tell him."
He shook his head. "Mother called for pretty much everyone. She knew I couldn't just do nothing this time."A broken smile made its way to his thin lips. "She's on my side."
Luna was a compassionate woman destroyed by her husband. There was a reason why she won against my mother, but over time, even the older members of the pack noticed the gradual change in her.
She would often isolate herself. Alpha never let her decide for the pack nor speak her mind, even when her ideas make sense. One of the many things she was so jealous of about my mother.
When my mother was still alive, despite being with someone else and only the female Beta, her opinions were welcomed by the Alpha. Her thoughts were heard and she was valued by Alpha more than anyone in the pack. I knew it would be hard for her to accept me someday.
I watched Luhence leave. When he came back, he helped me clean myself before he attended to my wounds. He got rid of the anklet so I could heal faster. His presence helped, too, and when I started feeling better, he put my anklet back with a heavy heart.
"I'm sorry, Nads," he uttered with sadness in his eyes.
My lips twisted for a small smile as I raised my hand to touch his face. This man was far from his father. I knew once Luhence was already the Alpha, things would finally change for everyone.
What was scaring me though was his plans for his own Dad.
"Rest for now. Dad will be back by evening. I'll ask someone else to do your chores."
I shook my head. "They might get in trouble."
"No. I'll tell Dad you're too weak to work. Don't argue with me on this one, babe." He kissed me lightly on the lips before he stood up. "I need to go. Will you promise to stay here and rest?"
A simple nod was my only answer. When Luhence left, I did what he asked. I slept the whole day. Luckily, Alpha Lawrence didn't return until evening. He was badly hurt like the rest of his Deltas, even his Beta.
Everyone in the pack became busy attending to them, so I had the chance to steal some food in the kitchen before I sneaked out to go to the falls where I would usually train at night while everyone was asleep.
I placed my food and a bottle of water by the rocks before I removed all my clothes. My fingers burned when I removed my anklet. Even the part on my ankle was reddish already and I knew how much my wolf hated it.
Taking in some air, I went on all fours on the ground. My eyes shut as I let my wolf, Auror, come to the surface. I was smaller compared to the current Luna. Her fur was amber red with some brown like Luhence's, while mine was white with some black fur on my neck that stretched to my belly.
My tail wiggled and my nose began to sniff the wet vegetation on the ground. When my wolf and I finally felt balanced, I began to run. My heart felt free as I roamed through the woods, my soul at peace as I connected to nature.
When my wolf got tired of running around, I returned to the falls and shifted back. I put my clothes on but when I realized that my anklet was gone, fear thrummed in my heart and I immediately looked around.
My wolf growled inside me when I saw a pair of golden yellow eyes from a distance, looking at me in an intense way. I didn't know why, but I felt that whoever owned those eyes, didn't belong to my pack.
Its gaze alone shouted dominance and power I never felt, even from Alpha Lawrence. The stranger's presence brought me chills, and when its eyes narrowed at me, I felt my wolf backing down.
I blinked in surprise. Auror was a stubborn wolf. That's why I often got in trouble during my first years of having her on the surface. It took me a while to get along with her and to make her listen to me, but this stranger, it only took one sharp look to tame Auror.
My fists balled on my sides as I swallowed the lump I didn't notice forming in my throat. "W--Who's that?"
The stranger didn't answer. When the wind blew hard, a few strands of my hair covered my face. I immediately pushed it away and looked in the stranger's direction again, but it was already gone.
My forehead creased as I looked around, searching for whoever that was. Even my feet started moving. I went to the spot where I saw it before I let Auror onto the surface. My eyes turned gold as I went on one knee. My hand touched the tree and realized it was stained with blood.
Auror sniffed in the air, but the stranger's scent was something we had never smelled before.
"Could it be a rogue?" I asked Auror.
"I don't think so. Its blood smells powerful," she answered, which confused me.
Powerful? It couldn't be anyone from another pack, right? Nirvana follows a strict law set by the ancestors. Whatever happens in each pack, should only be handled by them. We were basically on our own, unlike what I heard about the District of Remorse. The five packs in their district work together, maybe that's why they remained the most powerful.
Auror alerted me when she felt someone approaching my direction. I immediately got up and was about to hide when I saw the Luna taking her steps towards my direction.
My eyes slightly widened. I bowed my head to pay my respect and Luna jerked her head slightly, showing me she appreciated it.
"What are you doing here in the middle of the night, Nadine?" she asked with a gentle voice, but her face remained expressionless.
My heartbeat began to rise. I looked away and swallowed hard before I answered in a shaking voice. "Forgive me, Luna. I was just out here to train myself. The Alpha never allowed me to join the training, so I did this."
I prepared myself already in case she would lash out at me, but Luna didn't speak until she was already in front of me. "I smelled your scent on my son when he went home earlier." She held me by my chin and made me look into her cold eyes. "Tell me, child, is my son your mate? Is it why you're out here training yourself?"
My face lost its color as fear clawed my heart. "L--Luna..."
Surprisingly, the corners of her lips slightly twisted upward. She took in some breath and released it before she let go of my chin. "My son is very important to me, Nadine. I would never wish for him to have the same fate as his father's." Pain crossed her face. "Your mother lost the fight against me. I was naive to think my husband would move on from her, but even when she's already dead, his heart still belongs only to your mother."
My head bowed, unable to look longer at her eyes that screamed how much she was suffering. "I'm... sorry."
"Save it, child." She turned her back on me. "I will make sure you'll be sorry once you lose the match. There is no way I'll see my son feel the same pain that killed my husband."
Her words brought chills down my spine, and as I watched her disappear through the woods leading back to the village, my knees almost turned jelly. Great. Now I have more reasons to win the Luna title.
I sighed and began my combat training. I applied everything Luhence taught me, and when I was finally exhausted, I went to my last stop before heading back home.
I took the trail leading to the pack's cemetery, but when I saw the man lying on his back right on top of my mother's grave, I immediately hid behind the tree. When I realized he didn't notice my presence, I carefully peeked to see him.
Bottles of liquor were on his sides. Alpha looked drunk already, and when he pulled himself up, I gasped and covered my lips after seeing him hugging mother's gravestone.
"Forgive me, love. If only I broke the laws that night..." he said with tears trailing down his face.
My chest tightened as I watched him rest his head on mother's gravestone. This was the second time I'd seen Alpha cry this hard. The first time was when they retrieved my parents' bodies.
"I will never stop, Nimpha. I will do everything to make them pay."
My forehead creased. Make whom pay?