'I need to have allies if I want to survive well. But first of all, I need to find my mate too.'
It had been a week since she woke up. Beatrice was able to manage on her own and provide herself with new clothes and food, however, she knew this was nowhere near enough to even dream of reaching her revenge.
The forest around her was calm despite it being nighttime. The creatures of the moon were silent, as if trying to give her peace to sort through her chaotic thoughts.
Such a silly thought made Beatrice chuckle.
Moonlight bathed the forest, causing the long shadows of the trees and other creatures to dance and intertwine together across the greenery scenes, which were illuminated by a faint silver glow.
Taking a deep breath, Beatrice focused on the whispers of the wind.
This night wasn't a natural one. But how could anyone effect the night which was the Moon Goddess' Domain? Naturally, only a person who had her permission could do that.
Beatrice thought of the only being that she knew and could do this long and called out his name.
"Cedric."
"...So you were alive, Trice."
In front of her appeared a handsome being with long, wavy black hair adorning his pale skin. His face—which was as beautiful as the sculptures of the ancient gods—scrunched up in a mixture of frustration and something else.
He was wearing a pure, black priest robe as his feet touched the grass in front of Beatrice.
"Yes, I lived. The Goddess resurrected me." she chuckled and grabbed Cedric's long ear—the most noticeable characteristic of him aside from how handsome he was—and gave him a playful grin.
"As her Saint, how come you didn't know?"
Cedric shook his head and grabbed her hand, his grip around her wrist was bruising. But Beatrice couldn't say anything.
Because he was trembling.
"Hey, I'm alive. Stop being so worried."
"You stupid, crazy, filthy mutt…"
"Wow, such disrespect!"
Cedric was glaring at Beatrice with bloodshot eyes. His entire being was on edge since the day he heard the news about his dearest friend's death.
His blood ran cold and he almost passed out. He attempted to talk with the Moon Goddess, but he received a single response every time.
⟬The Child's wish had been granted.⟭
For this Saint who couldn't easily leave the temple and only received that cryptic response from his goddess, the few next days to that were similar to hell.
"I was going to give up all my power just for a chance for you to come back to life, idiot…"
Beatrice flinched, her eyes widened as she tried to speak. "Cedric, I—"
"Just shut up for now." he sighed deeply and brushed his fatigued face with his left hand, his right hand still holding Beatrice's tightly, as if afraid she would disappear suddenly.
"I talked with the Goddess and she told me that your wish had been granted. And I couldn't keep my shit together. What was your wish? What could you possibly wish for? And why did that interfere with my intention to resurrect you?"
His shaky voice didn't stop, he continued his rant.
"Trice, my head was a mess! I neglected all my duties and responsibilities!"
"I'm sorry—"
"Save it! I don't care! I don't want your apology!" he growled to her face while holding her by her collar.
"Just, please, Trice… No. Beatrice Valens… I beg you. Instead of those apologies that can change nothing, please don't do this again. Please don't let anything force you to your death. Nothing and no one deserves this. You lost that damned title as well, which means there's no shackles around you anymore."
He finally released her and looked at her desperately as he begged, "Just please, do this for my sake. You know I can't live in this world without you."
The werewolf could only sigh at his attitude before forcing him to hug her. She tried to console him by her own way, without any words that may sound empty or useless.
Just her presence alone next to him to make him realize she was truly alive.
After what seemed like ages, Cedric finally calmed down and sat together with Beatrice. He looked her up and down before frowning.
"So? What actually happened? I know it's impossible for you to be captivated by a human to the point that you'd neglect your duty even if indirectly. Alicia's words were utter bullshit."
"Jeez, such a crude language coming from the Elven Saint."
"It's just us both here, who cares? Now spit it out."
Beatrice nodded and gave Cedric a summary.
"To put it simply, Alicia betrayed me but didn't betray the pack. Thus her actions weren't something that I could deal with by myself. I'm not sure how could she do it, but all of her schemes were directed at me and only me while making sure the pack's best interest were her priorities as well."
Cedric frowned.
"And because of that, you couldn't do anything. Because your role as the Protector indicate that even if it was your life that's on the line, you should give it up for the pack."
With a gentle smile at her friend, Beatrice nodded.
"Correct, but more importantly, the pack didn't seem to be under her control as she thought. Perhaps it was due to that, but she conspired with the prince and so I became the official villain."
"Wait, why are those related?"
"Alicia made the prince send an official decree to our pack, requesting that we provide him with a bride."
"What the fuck?" Cedric's saintly appearance was nowhere to be seen as he tapped his head, "A human prince dared to send such nonsense to werewolves? Does he think he's invincible or something? Any of you could pin him down and rip him to shreds, and yet he sent something like that? Is he crazy?"
"He's out of his mind," Beatrice nodded. "That was the moment I realized that. That's why I shrugged off any emotions I had for him and rejected. But…"
She hesitated a bit before continuing.
"But somehow he surrounded the whole pack with strong soldiers that we've never seen before. This is top secret information in our pack, because it shows how we were disgraced by humans."
That was the reason she hesitated before she told him. But she was no longer part of the pack, so she felt she could tell Cedric at least.
"We could've won, really. But the injuries on our side wouldn't be little. Just as I was trying to figure out how to negotiate, Alicia appeared and played the hero."
Judging from Cedric's expression, Beatrice figured she didn't need to explain anymore regarding that. She just shrugged her shoulders and pointed to her neck, "At the end, I was the traitor who needed to be executed."
"Having a mutt like her so close to you was a mistake."
Cedric sneered then lifted his head.
"We can talk more later, I'm sure. But before anything, what do you need my help with?"
Beatrice gave him a warm smile as she dropped her request.
"I want your help to find my mate."
"Huh?"
Cedric looked at her as if he couldn't understand.
"My mate, please help me find him, Cedric."