Krii and Jemima's hut was among the villagers' huts. In the central part of the village. Their yard had a large garden and was lined with potted plants and the most trees of all the other huts. The four of them were sitting inside her kitchen, inhaling the sweet aroma of her new concoction.
"You know, everything would be a lot easier if you'd just told her who you thought she was from the beginning," Jemima grunted. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, grinding a root with a handheld pestle and mortar. "Now imagine telling her, 'Joy, I've been lying to you this entire time. You're actually a wolf too. Who might actually be my mate. Who might actually be the Protector of this village. And also, your wolf feels the environment she's in and will release herself anytime now'."
"Maybe she'll understand," Krii muttered.
"Donny, I love you, but I will hit you with this thing." She swung the tiny pestle at his face and he raised his hands in surrender, clamping his mouth shut.
"He's right," Jude spoke up. "Maybe she will understand."
"We lost that possibility of understanding the minute we lied to her," Reid uttered. "She won't understand. She won't trust us. The first thing she'll want is to go home."
"If she's about to shift then she can't go home," Jude said. "We'll have to keep her here until she shifts."
"Great, they're going to lock her up now," Jemima mumbled, grinding the root a bit harder than necessary.
"Jem," Jude warned, a dangerous glare forming on his face. "Stop-"
"She's not wrong Jude," Reid cut him off. "We deceived her into staying and we're going to keep her here against her will."
"It's for her own good. She can't go shift in the human world it's too dangerous."
"Whether it's for her own good or not it doesn't change that it's wrong. You don't want to see that because you're selfish." Jemima slammed the pestle and mortar on the ground before storming out.
"Krii." Reid gestured for him to follow her and he obeyed. "The idea of keeping Joy here triggered painful memories for her. She wouldn't wish that on her worst enemy."
"I wish there was another way," Jude muttered.
***
"Joy," Khaya mumbled with a mouthful of food.
"Swallow first," she instructed and he obeyed.
"Can we go play with the horses when we're done eating?" He asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
"If it's okay with your dad we can."
He smiled wide, his eyes sparkling. "Oh, I want to give you a present." He stood up, moving to a corner of the wall, opening a brick. He pulled something out and hid it behind him, approaching her with a wider grin.
"What is it?" Joy smiled.
He brought his hand forward, revealing a familiar bracelet. Joy's eyes widened and she snatched it from him, examining it closer. She had forgotten about it, the bracelet that put all the events into motion.
"Khaya where did you get this?" She demanded. The boy was startled and he froze, staring at her.
"Khaya, answer me!" Her voice rose and he jumped. "Where did you get this, huh?"
"Ummm..." His voice froze in his throat, his shoulders hunched, hands holding each other.
Joy let out a deep breath. "Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to raise my voice like that. I just really need to know where you got it."
"You were holding it when daddy came in with you," he said softly. "I wanted to keep it safe for you."
"Oh, okay," she mumbled. "Thank you my darling. Y-You've just really helped me. A lot." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, earning a small smile from him. "Why don't we finish eating?"
"I'm full now." He sighed. She had upset him and he wanted to get away. Something small they had in common. "I'll go to visit uncle Reid," he spoke without thinking as he stepped towards the door.
"Okay, sure." Joy nodded, then blinked a few times and turned to him. "Wait, Khaya. Uncle who?"
Khaya realised his mistake and his mouth fell open. He glanced around, trying to think of the name. "Uncle Fin. No, Flin."
"Flint." Joy corrected.
"I sometimes call him uncle Flin. Or uncle Fin because he acts like a… fish. Okay, bye." He tried to escape but Joy caught him before he could reach for the door knob.
"Khaya," she held his shoulders, staring deep into his eyes. "Lying is very bad. You shouldn't lie to people no matter what."
"But I'm not supposed to tell you."
"Khaya. Okay, okay." She let go of his shoulders. "You don't have to tell me. I'll ask you questions. Just nod your head, yes. Or shake it, no. Okay?"
He bobbed his head up and down.
"A-Are Reid and Flint the same person?"
He gave a slow nod.
"Oh no," she gasped, tears stinging her eyes. "No, no, no."
"S-So Flint is Alpha Reid?"
He nodded again.
Joy bit on her bottom lip then rubbed her mouth. "So, your dad is the Alpha's brother?"
Khaya sighed. "Everyone calls him Beta."
"S-So second in command," she breathed out, wiping away a stray tear.
"And Jemima?"
"They call her the Gramma." He scrunched his nose.
"Gamma, third in command."
The door creaked open and Jude walked in with a soft smile. A bunch of carrots in his hand. I found you some fresh vegetables, he said. I want to make you an early dinner so I can take you somewhere.
Joy remained quiet, staring at his every movement with her vision distorted by tears and anger. Khaya slipped out of the room, wanting to avoid whatever was about to ensue.
Jude glanced at the door, then at Joy. "What's up with him? Is he upset again?" It was then that he noticed the tears in her eyes and her trembling hand. "What is it?" He moved towards her, but she took a step back.
She looked up at the ceiling, trying to blink her tears away.
"Talk to me." He tried to meet her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"I heard that the Alpha's here." She let out a humourless laugh. "I'm not sure if his name is Reid or Flint. Looks like I'm a bigger idiot than I thought."
"Don't- Don't say that," he mumbled. "You're not an idiot."
"I want to go home." She stated firmly, her eyes boring holes into the floor.
"Listen to me-"
"I don't want to listen to you. I want. To go. Home." Her eyes moved up, glaring at him.
"I can explain everything." He tried to take a step close to her, but she held her hand up.
"Don't come near me. I want to go home."
"Joy-"
She pushed past him and stormed out, heading for Reid's hut.
The Alpha was sitting under a tree with his eyes closed. "Here we go," he muttered, sensing her coming presence.
She stood under the tree in front of him. "Give me permission or the key or whatever, to leave," she hissed.
"I can't do that." He opened his eyes.
"I know you're the Alpha and you're the only one that can give me permission to leave. Enough of this stupid game, let me go."
"It's not a game, and it's definitely not stupid," he drawled. "Regardless, I can't let you leave."
"Why not?"
"Hasn't Jude explained everything?" He huffed.
"I don't want to talk to him."
"Guess I'll have to do it then."
***
When something sounds absurd, you do your best to rationalise. Your brain goes through every single possibility in order to make sense out of the situation. You try not to jump to conclusions. You try, but it's always in vain. You can never fully make sense out of an absurd situation.
"So, now I'm a werewolf too?" Joy inquired with a blank expression on her face. She was now sitting on the ground in front of Reid.
"Half breed," Reid corrected.
"Oh, forgive me, half breed," she said, rolling her eyes at him. "My mother was a werewolf, so I'm part werewolf. My mate is a big liar. I might be a werewolf warrior fighter," she counted on each finger. "Did I miss anything?"
"You could shift any day now."
"Right. Right," she smiled a fake smile. "I could turn into a dog any second now."
"Wolf."
"Oh, it matters," she snapped, standing up. "Flint- Reid, whatever your name is. Show me how to get out of here. I want to go home."
"Joy, you can't leave until you shift. You'll have a hard time in the human world if you don't first shift here."
"I don't care," she seethed. "My dad can get the best doctors anywhere in the world to just get this thing out of me."
"That's not really physically possible."
Joy released a loud growl, disturbing a few birds that were perched on the tree.
"Good idea," Reid muttered. "Help her come out faster. The moment she comes out you get to go home."
"Don't you get it? I don't want to shift into a beast."
"That's harsh," he mouthed, leaning back onto the tree and closing his eyes. "You're the one who said fighting would be easier if you could shift too. Now you have a fair chance of winning."
"I didn't really mean it, I was just saying."
"Whatever. Do whatever you want Joy. I've explained everything to you and I'm afraid that's just how it is. You won't be able to avoid the inevitable. You'll shift sooner or later."
"You're all a bunch of liars," she sniffed, teardrops dangling on her eyelashes. "Why did you even give me permission to come in here?"
"I wasn't the one who gave you permission. Any royal can do that."
"So, Jude?" She mumbled and he shrugged.
***
Joy sat outside Jude's hut for the rest of the day. Glaring at the villagers who continued with their lives. She furiously wiped away the stray tears that fell one by one.
"Are you crying?" A voice sounded next to her.
"No, Adonis Krii, I'm watering my face," she snapped, turning away from him.
He crouched next to her. "Let's go to the waterfall. It's my secret face watering place."
She sat with her arms folded, frowning as she considered it. After a moment, she stood up without an utterance, leading the way to the waterfall.
Joy had grown to love the roar of the waterfall and the wet air that came with it. It was fresh, giving her vitality.
"Why were you watering your face?" Joy asked Krii who sat himself on an elevated space and dipped his bare feet in the water.
"Similar to you." He reached into the water and splashed it on his face. "I found something out that broke my heart."
"What did you do exactly? When you came here?" She joined him on the ground, dipping her bare feet in the water as well.
"First, I swam around the stream." He made swimming gestures with his arms. "Then I took a shower under the waterfall. I screamed under it too. I almost drowned at some point because I think I was drunk, I don't remember, I passed out and woke up in the infirmary." He ruffled his hair and his eyebrows gathered together. "Wait, was that before or after I shifted?" He mumbled the question to himself. "I shifted at some point and left the village. Then I came back. Jude yelled at me for stealing a key, oh and then that's when I drank, and then I went to the waterfall. Yeah." He shrugged.
"You need help." She shook her head in disappointment then scrunched her eyebrows, turning back to him.
"How did you steal the key?" She asked.
"Why? Do you want to steal it?" He raised his eyebrows.
"I'm just asking," she muttered.
"I'll tell you after you've shifted. It's not safe for you to go out there without control."
"Aren't wolves supposed to shift when there's a full moon anyway?" She kicked the water.
"Yeah, but there's the rare one percent. If it makes you feel better I'm in the one percent too."
"You're a half-breed?"
"Yep. But I found out a lot sooner than you. And I was still really young when I shifted. I didn't shift under a full moon. It just happened in broad daylight."
"What was it like
"Painful," he snorted. "Apparently a half-breed shift is a bit more painful than a full werewolf shift. And I was alone when I shifted so that was just worse."
"What about your family?"
"Adonis?" Jemima's voice sounded from behind them and they both turned as she approached. "I need your help."
"Sure." He stood up and held his hand out Joy. She glanced at it, then at Jemima who was now walking away with her arms folded.
"I never thanked you for the bag." Joy called out to her.
"You didn't have to," she responded without stopping or looking back.
"I'll stay here for a bit." She looked up at Krii who gave her a nod and followed after Jemima.
"Thank you, Adonis Krii," she whispered to herself, reaching into the water and scooping some up to splash her face. In the back of her mind, she heard Krii whisper.
'You're welcome, Joy Macheka.'