Evening was fast approaching when the snow stopped falling and the setting sun's rays painted the dense clouds in the sky in bright hues of pink, orange and red; the striking view clearly reflected in the crystal waters of numerous overflowing lakes as a floating island whizzed past at dizzying speed.
Melted snow and ice had collected into several streams and rivers, forming a vast network across the wintry landscape as they drained into and out of the flooded lakes. This scenery too was quickly transformed as the first signs of flora appeared with patches of green grass and budding flowers dotting the mountainous terrain.
It was nighttime when the island finally came to a halt at the outskirts of a vast coniferous forest, three brilliant moons illuminating the lush dark-green foliage that stretched out as far as the eye could see. The entire forest hummed with potent magical energy-pure mana so thick in the air that you could slice it with a knife, distinctly mapping out the reaches of her domain.
"Ah," the sound escaped Rex's lips unbridled in a shuddering exhale the moment he caught glimpse of it and all the tension that had wound up in his body in last few hours was released. His relief was palpable but he still couldn't believe it. Was he dreaming? Had his volatile mana gone to his head, making him lose his mind?
He dropped to his knee, eyes drifting closed as he breathed in deeply. The overpowering scent of a female in heat was unmistakable. And it was utterly pleasant. And oh so divine-a pure, flowery and sweet fragrance that was so good that he could die. Was this what a female with compatible pheromones was supposed to smell like? If so, the world had been way too biased against him for far too long.
His blood was boiling with want as he took even deeper breaths, gulping in air much like a beast dying of thirst in the desert would gulp water from an oasis, fervent and unrestrained. But it was far from enough, his thirst unquenchable as each breath he took only fanned the flames of his desire even more.
Even then, he suppressed his excitement, half-expecting the forest to disappear once he opened his eyes-to discover that it was all an illusion, a mirage in place of the oasis. But when he did, it was very much real. It wasn't a dream. He wasn't hallucinating. And thousands of feet in the air, far above the mountains and with a vision sharper than an eagle's, he had unobstructed view of much of her territory.
The Elysian Trees, glowing azure in the pale moonlight, were like beacons in the sea of trees. He couldn't help but be drawn to them. Three were scattered to the East and South, a bit aways from the most eye-catching group towards the center of the forest; a cluster of eight Elysian Trees amidst a patch of sparkling trees. Perhaps it really was an illusion?
[Fairy dust, people.]
They seemed to float in a starry night sky, so breathtaking that he couldn't take his eyes away. And the centermost tree was quite the conspicuous centerpiece in a vortex of mana, with white branches stretching out as if to reach for the heavens and leaves that looked like luminous fluffy clouds from where he stood, or rather, kneeled.
It was evident that she was within it and he wished he could rush in to find her immediately but it was forbidden. Entering a female's territory in the estrus season without prior invitation was the greatest taboo. He could only curse his bad luck for finding his destined female at such a time and in such a place.
"There's really a female this far out in the Deadlands and only one weak little alpha to protect her," Luca aired his own disbelief, bursting Rex's bubble and snapping him back to his senses. Well, almost.
"You're exaggerating," Rex rushed to defend himself at this time, jumping to his feet. "I'm strong enough."
"I wasn't referring to you but I guess the paw prints fit. You're indeed too weak to protect her right now, and so is her male." Luca's forked tongue flicked out of his mouth from time to time, sampling the air. "Perhaps they have a death wish?"
Rex flinched and sniffed the air again. He was already aware of the male but had completely overlooked the fact that it was an alpha. His presence was awfully faint for one, basically nonexistent, and all of them-the entire pack, Luca included-had been releasing their pheromones in an attempt to dilute hers. He had intentionally been zoning other scents out, choosing to focus on the female's delectable pheromones instead.
An alpha... complicated things. They were overly dominant, possessive and damn territorial. Females hardly ever took in more than one alpha into their pack for this reason. For an alpha would rather die than submit to another male. Best case scenario, she would favour them both and they would fight time and again to be pack Alpha.
However, seeing as she was out in the Deadlands alone with him, she had to favour him a lot. There wasn't enough time to compete against that and thus he'd have to find a way to get rid of him without her knowledge. The only other explanation was that he was keeping her there against her will. If so, it would make things infinitely easier.
"An ignorant male such as this is unfit to be her mate." Luca clearly had the same idea. "It appears that I'm the only suitable choice that she has right now."
Rex whipped his head towards him so fast that he almost got whiplash, and that was saying something. "She's a warm-blooded female, Luca." He wasn't seriously thinking about pursuing her, was he?
"And I'm only cold-blooded. Everyone seems to forget that I'm not some feral crawler that devours females for breakfast." It was only then that Luca too managed to tear his eyes away from the sight before them, bewitched as he was. "I would never harm a female without reason. Not her, at least."
"I wish I could to believe you," Rex said, "but it wouldn't be the first time." Luca had frozen a female in the past and she had died.
Luca turned his gaze back down below and was quiet for a long time. Rex thought he had backed down but then he murmured, "As I said, I would never harm a female without reason."
"I can't let you go near her." The warning rung in his voice, the challenge clear in his pheromones.
"Well, you can try but fret not." Luca sighed, turning back to face Rex. "If she wants nothing to do with me then I'll stay away. But remember that I have as much right as you do to pursue her. Besides," he looked Rex right in the eye, "you're about to die." He didn't give him a chance to respond as he took to the air, his long blue hair whipping behind him. "I'll head West to buy her some time till the estrus season is ended. I trust that you'll cover here just fine." And he was gone.
Rex stayed silent as he watched him leave, knuckles white and veins growing more prominent over his clenched his fists. A jet-black wolf with sharp gray eyes sidled up beside him, head lowered below Rex's despite towering over him.
'We can't let him have her,' Axe said through their mind-link.
'I know, but for now we will focus on guarding the territory until her heat has passed,' Rex replied and turned to face the rest of his brothers.
"Hex, Nax and Vox, you'll head North with Axe," he said out loud, nodding to the black wolf. Their destination was farther away but as a proper wind mage, Hex could get them there in a matter of hours. "Xan, Nyx, Lux and Dex, you four will go East. There shouldn't be any dangers to those sides but don't let your guard down."
Watching the first group fly forth, he sighed as the island lost altitude, recalling the fact that Luca only came to the Deadlands for his sake. 'The debts I owe in this life only seem to pile up,' he quietly thought.