Lucia's POV
Jules leads the way out onto a large, beautiful flower garden. He bids me to wait for him there while he goes to get the other three men to accompany us. I don't get him because my mind is elsewhere. He has to repeat, shaking me this time. I nod my head to signify that I understand what he is saying.
My mind is still focused on Raphael's beautiful, deep blue eyes and his six packs. Even the hair on his chest sent some scintillating sensations down my groins when I was tempted to touch it. In fact, caress is more apt than touch. Yeah, that is what I did! Gosh! What I have become? Or what is he turning me into? A little, horny wreckage?
I can see in his eyes that he is ogling me and I bet he is aware of what havoc his stare is doing to me. What a f*ck! The bastard killed my mother and I should hate him. I wish the wound was as lethal as they think. It is unfortunate that my sword was not laced with the venom they are alleging. What they don't know is that it was tipped with silver and the broken silver fragment was lodged deep in his chest. It is the one keeping him in a vegetative state. The doctor must have missed it, or he is the greatest quack alive.
I could have removed the piece and be done with it, though the pain would have been too much without some anaesthesia. However, that would have lessened my bargaining power. Moreover, I realized that it was the only way I could get some outside help. I intentionally chose the border to be the location of the herbs because of the possibility of running into the triplet Alphas. I'm sure they must have discovered that something is amiss by now after I failed to turn up this morning as agreed.
I am brought back from my reverie by some cracking sound from behind. I turn around only to see Jules and other three men shifting. They shift so easily that for once I disbelieve the allegations that the process is often painful, especially the first time. Though I'm eagerly looking forward to my first shift, I have always been apprehensive of the painful turning of bones and tendons.
Jules' wolf is dark brown while those of the other three are all black, and though they are all big, his is the biggest.
"C'mon, we don't have time to waste!" He growls as he gestures to me to get onto his back.
I hesitate for a moment and he impatiently tugs at me with his huge paw. I obey and climb on to his back, his smooth fur causing tingles on my bare thighs.
"Hold steady," he warns as he takes off. "I don't want to be held responsible for your fall," he adds.
If I had taken some food, I would be throwing up as the almost supersonic speed he is running is making me feel nauseated.
We arrive at the place in less than thirty minutes and I set about searching for the alleged herbs. I find a poppy plant and start plucking off some leaves. The juice from the leaves will relax him and reduce the pain while removing the lodged metal fragment. I take my time searching for any footprints suggestive of the triplets having been there because this is where we had agreed to meet last evening. There's no telltale sign of their presence. Perhaps they are late and are on their way coming? I wonder. I pretend to search for more herbs while in essence I'm buying more time.
"Are you sure all the herbs needed are here?" Jules asks, following me about.
"Yes, I have sourced them from here on several occasions," I say, clenching my fists and wishing I had my knife. I could have easily taken these four and made a run for my freedom.
Suddenly, one of the other three wolves somersaults into the air with some piercing groan before hitting the ground with a thud. I turn around and then I see them.
* * * * *
The Triplets' POV
"Look! The Grey Mountain Pack house is gone!" I say apprehensively. My two brothers and I are just standing at the foot of the mountain, about to divert to the venue where we are supposed to meet with Lucia. Rhodes, Riko and I are triplets. I'm the eldest followed by Riko and Rhodes in that order. We are alike in many aspects, but we are also different in temperaments. While I'm decisive and composed, Riko is hot-tempered and possessive just as Rhodes is more introverted and humourous.
"What! Just when did your eyesight become telescopic that you can see that far?" Rhodes observes. "Perhaps yours are playing tricks on you."
"No, he is right!" Riko cuts in. "I can smell fire, like someone razed the houses down!"
"There is only one way to find out," I say, leading the way. They follow without much ado.
We are hit with bad forebodings when arrive and find bodies littering the compound with vultures hovering around. The Pack house is indeed razed down. We find ourselves checking the corpses laying about with a common intention: to find out if Lucia's body is among them.
"Who the hell did this!" Riko wonders aloud, his anger visible on his face. "Slaughtering a whole pack like they were chicken?"
"There are no telltale signs as to who did it, but I bet they must be those vagrants the lycans!" I respond, finding it hard to control my racing heart as I imagine a life without Lucia.
Despite coming from a different pack, Lucia has become so entwined with our lives that gossip has it that she is destined to become our mate. At almost twenty-one, we are yet to find our mate and we have been eagerly waiting for her first shift to find out if she is the one. And now the stupid lycans have done the unthinkable!
"I have come across the bodies of her mother and father, but she is missing," says Rhodes, emerging from what was left of the pack house.
"I too can't find her, or rather her body!" Reiterates Riko.
"And you, Romano?" Rhodes inquires of me.
"I can't either," I say, panic evident in my voice. "The only possible explanation is that they must have taken some people captive, including her."
"Or she sensed the danger on her way here after we parted company and hid herself," Rhodes observes. "Who knows, she might be waiting for us on the playground!"
"A flicking possibility with all this massacre!" Riko demurs.
"Still, what can we possibly lose by checking?" I pose. " I'm sure if she is alive and wasn't taken captive, she will try to find a way to communicate with us. Perhaps we might find her message there. Shall we?"
I smell them from a distance and alert Riko and Rhodes. We advance stealthily in the thicket untill they are visible. They are four, plus Lucia who looks like she is searching for something.
Anger wells up in Riko such that he doesn't realize when he fits an arrow on his bow and lets it flying. It gets one of the lycans squarely on the chest. He rises up before hitting the ground hard. He lies still.
Another arrow misses another one by a whisker. Lucia turns her head and sees us. She smiles and tries to break away from them, but the one nearer her extends his paw and detains her. I don't know how he does it, but I see him easily lifting and slumping her on his back before he gulps away into the thicket.
Meanwhile, the remaining two wolves try to restrain us from going after Lucia. They leap into the air and lunge at us. At this point, Roan, my wolf is furious and threatening to come out, but there's no time to shift. Good thing is that we have a comparative advantage in that we are armed with swords and silver-tipped arrows.
I dodge a deadly blow aimed at my head by sliding under the belly of one as he was still airborne. I thrust my sword on his underbelly and he lands behind me with a deep, gushing wound. I follow him with more stabbing as he tries to get up.
I turn around only to see Base and Corey, Riko's and Rhodes' wolves respectively. I did not see them shift, but I'm glad they did. The evidence of their prowess lays on the ground. Between them, they have ripped the stinking lycan apart.
Dejectedly, we look towards the direction where Locia was taken. Enough time has been wasted here giving her carrier adequate headstart. Try as we can, we can't reach him before he gets home. Plus, we can not charge in there for fear of causing a full-fledged war. For now, it is enough that we know that they are having her. We only need a little while to prepare.
"There's nothing much we can do now," I start. "We better go back and plan for our next move."
"Plan for our next move?" Riko retorts. "There is no way I'm letting that vagabond escape with her. Are you chickening out now? I'm going after him!" He growls as he takes into the thicket.