CHAPTER EIGHT
VOLK
It's the third night since Rudina had arrived and I had only visited her while she slept. On the second night, I ended up spending so much time watching her and left just before dawn. Yesterday, she had been having a nightmare, tossing and turning in bed, screaming words I could not make meaning out of. I began to stroke her, as I did her body eased and she continued her slumber. Watching her in pain only made my heart ache even more. Whether I was willing to accept her or not, something drew me to her and I could not deny that I felt more at ease when I was around her.
I lay in bed tonight, and the last time I checked, it was about 3:30 a.m. Dad was to arrive by morning and I was still firm on my decision. I didn't want her as my Alpha female. Now, It wasn't because she was weak, it was more because I feared the position would be too much of a burden for her to carry. Deep down, I knew I was just giving myself a reason to feel less horrible about myself.
I start to imagine what her past must have been like. What pack had she been from originally? How did she end up in the Blood Moon pack? Where were her family?
So many questions keep running through my head as I eventually feel sleep taking over me. I close my eyes and I find myself thinking of those beautiful grey eyes.
I wake a few hours later as I hear Ashina talking to Lowell just outside my door."Do not wake him." Lowell says in a warning tone.
"I don't know what to do anymore." Ashina tells him.
Her voice was low and she sounded unhappy.
We lived in a 6 bedroom condo. I and my parents stayed upstairs while Lowell and Ashina stayed downstairs. It was two floors and each had 3 bedrooms and a living room. Lowell, Ashina and the twins had downstairs to themselves. The room where Rudina stayed was beside mine so It made no sense for them to be in front of my door.
I get on my feet and head for the door. I open it and see that Ashina was just about to reach for the knob. She wears a glum expression and I look to Lowell. He simply shakes his head and walks away. He had been ignoring me since we arrived and it was a lot more to deal with when even Conri would not speak to me either.z
"What's wrong? " I ask my sister.
" It's Rudina, she hasn't eaten a single meal since she arrived." She says.
"Why isn't she eating?" I ask.Ashina shakes her head, saying nothing
Three days had passed since we arrived and I could not imagine her being on an empty stomach since then. I am about to head for her room when I hear Dad's voice.
"Volk." He says. A single word and I can tell I underestimated how displeased with me he was.
I turn to see Dad heading towards us and I close the distance.
"Welcome home, Dad." I greet him then I walk over to mum who was beside him. I take my hand in hers and kiss the back of her palm. I look up to see her glaring at me. This wasn't going to be easy.
"I hear you've found your mate." Dad says.
I do not say a word to him as I head to the living room and take a seat. I did not have to take his shit and already, too much was going on in my head.
" You do not walk away from me, Volk." He barks.
He appears for me, standing in his full gait. I feel electricity spark between us and I wonder how other wolves felt if they were his enemies.
"I shall not take her as a mate." I finally say, never meeting his eyes.
I hear the air in the room still and it is as if no one breathes for a second. I catch Ashina and Mum watching us from the side of my eye.
"You shall, and you have 3 months to do so. As a Delta and Beta, Lowell has every qualification to become the Alpha. He is married to your sister, currently, the strongest female in our pack. If after three months, the girl does not accept you, Lowell shall become the Alpha of the Red Crescent."
His words hit me like ice and I feel a stab through my chest.
"You can not do that!" I growl.
"He can and he would. You are a disgrace. I didn't raise you to be so proud." Mum finally speaks.
I watch from her to Dad and then Ashima who looks triumphant.
I find it impossible to believe that they intended to strip me of everything I had ever worked for.
I quietly walk out of their presence and head downstairs. I spot Lowell, Qareen and Qar'een who were enjoying some chicken roast in their living room. All of them were my Betas but Lowell was the strongest in the pack after me. He had risen to a Delta in no time. He was level headed and always used logic before strength. This only held out because his personality subdued his wolf instincts.
I could never resort to brawling with Lowell and even though I knew the fight would be brutal, I still would win. As a Delta, it was natural to be power-hungry and want to become the Alpha. It was a miracle that Lowell and I were best friends and I knew he fought his bestial nature more often than not. In other to prevent any unnecessary future wars, I knew what I had to do.
"Could you excuse us? I want to speak with Lowell." I tell the twins as I take a seat beside Lowell.
They quietly take their plates and head outside.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Says Lowell.
" I am sorry, Lowell. I never intended to be such an ass about this. You know more than anyone how much my status means to me....." He puts a hand out and stops me mid-sentence.
"You are the Alpha. I cannot question your decisions. I shall refrain and stick to being your attack dog. I shall keep all opinions to myself and never question your authority." He says blankly without meeting my eyes.
"I am not here as an Alpha, I am here as your friend. I need your help." I say truthfully.
He then meets my eyes with a straight face.
"I will not help you return the girl." He states.
I chuckle.
"I want to know what I am supposed to do and how to fix the wrong I have done. I have barely slept since we visited the Amaroks. I can't bring myself to face the girl." I admit.
"Is that why you visit her at night?" He smirks.
"Ashina has a big mouth."
I watch as his eyes blue eyes flash orange and I know I have angered his wolf. He blinks and they return to their original colour.
" You do not want to anger dreagar. He takes his mate very seriously. Unlike someone."
"She must hate me" I tell him.
"She has gone through a lot, Volk. She finds it most difficult to trust and from what Ashina has told me, memories of her past haunt her daily." He says.
I remember how she cries and kicks at nothing in her sleep, screaming and pleading with no one in particular.
" She suffers from nightmares too."
The words leave my mouth and I realize my mistake.
"You are not so tough in the end." He says with a wide grin then continues.
" You need to take things slow with her. You have starved yourself for years and I do not know how you have been dealing with the heat. As you get to know her and become closer, all of your emotions would be on overdrive. You would feel everything intensely but you must go at her own pace. Love and sex are the same, rhythm could ruin everything." He says the last bit with a smirk.
In all of my 25 years, I had never had a girlfriend. I had focused on increasing my strength and becoming the Alpha for as long as I could remember. I never fancied the girls in my pack and I had always believed no one could be better than my mate.
"To my dismay, I've heard you and Ashina in the kitchen, I doubt you pay any attention rhythm."
This gets a full-blown laugh out of him and I smile for the first time in days. I had my friend by my side again. All that was left was Conri and to get Conri back, I had to claim my mate.
CHAPTER NINERUDINAI feel the presence I felt that day in the Amarok hallway. I wondered how I could still sense him when my wolf was dead. All my life, I had wondered why I even considered myself a werewolf. It was only because on the night of the full moon, I felt the power surge through me that I believed I was one. I also knew the buyers and sellers were hiding something because I was only sold to werewolves. I had never heard my wolf stir nor could I use any of the abilities other werewolves maintained even in their human form. I only believed that I was a wolf cause of how I felt during the full moon and how I had survived all these years with my many injuries.He walks in and I feel immediately out of breath. He is wearing a vest and his arms are completely exposed. I take a good look at him, refusing to meet his eyes and I appreciate all of his features. For someone who had gone through the worst of things, I sure had the nerve to notice his concrete jaw and titan shoulders.
RUDINA”There's colour in your cheeks.” Ashina beams as she casually walks into my room.I feel my lips pulling into a smile. I had had the best meal of a lifetime yesterday. Volk had prepared a chicken fillet burger with fries and apple juice. He told me about how he loved burgers and were the first thing he learned how to cook.He had chatted nonstop as I watched him handle the kitchen like a pro. I figured burgers weren't something you should take at 1a.m but he didn't seem to mind, it was his favourite thing to make from all he had said.Ashina sets down the tray she comes in with every morning on the Coffee table. Today, she had prepared toast, scrambled eggs with sausages and orange juice. I wondered why she didn't stop since I was never able to eat any of the food.”I know you've been having a had time eat but can we try again today. I wish you could eat even if it were a little.” s
Chapter 11: A warm soulRUDINA” When Ashina gets excited. Her wolf begins to surface and she cannot control it. It has been a very effective quality over the years because fighting excites her but sometimes, other things excite her and she begins to transform. ” Volk begins to explain after another long silence.”She is a very powerful wolf, with many traits that could make her the strongest female wolf the world has seen. As you may know, all werewolves can only transform during a full moon. Now, Ashina’s rare gift allows her to transform without a full moon.”He pauses, probably to see if I am following him then continues.”The problem with this is that many werewolves suffer from the inability to control their wolf and in turn cause havoc. Only Lowell can calm her wolf when she transforms.”I nod as he finishes his story and he watches me intently.” N
Chapter 12: ReflectionVOLKI do not know what exactly I am doing but I hold on to her, hoping I can comfort her in any way. It feels like a lifetime had passed since we lay there. I knew she must have found it very difficult to open up due to her past but as Lowell had said, I had to take things slow and I was doing my best.I hear as her voice has evened out and realized she must have fallen asleep. I lay her down gently put the blanket over her. Barely a week after finding her, the dark circles beneath her eyes had cleared and even though her skin was still pale, she looked a bit better.I leave the room quietly as I fear that I may wake her. Tonight was a full moon and I had missed being able to run in the woods but with Rudina here, I could not leave her by herself.I walk past my parents' room on my way downstairs and sigh. They had left the day after their arrival because Dad was called for an emergency meeting with some of
Chapter 13: New tidesRUDINAI open my eyes and do not feel those warm arms around me. I do not ponder on it for long as I try to get off the bed cause I need to use the bathroom. I start by resting all of my weight on my left side and placing my left shoulder on the wall. I raise to standing and take measured steps to the bathroom. I manage to get in and pee. Then I turn on the water in the bath and fill it with water.Since I had arrived. Ashina had been helping me bathe and it was always after breakfast because I threw up. I was beginning to feel stronger and I figured I could manage a bath by myself. I get in the water and the cold makes me feel exactly how I had craved. Ashina had always used warm water and I never complained but I only enjoyed bathing with cold water. Maybe it came from my obsession with snow.I get out of the bath after what seems like an hour and I feel a new strength fills my body. I take the towel off its hanger and
Chapter 14: Blast from the pastRUDINAAshina pulling me had hurt but I did not mind. They all seemed truly happy that I was recovering.I didn't know what to say as we entered the kitchen. If I tell Ashina I bathed all by myself, she would get too excited again but If I let her believe Volk did it, she would be equally as excited. Instead, I decided to divert her attention.”I’m sorry for bringing out your wolf.” I say.She frowns and I worry I may have said something wrong.”I should be the one apologising for startling you. To be sincere, I have no female friends. I've never had any. Girls see me as a challenge and since none of them can compete with me in brains or strength, they tend to harbour ill feelings. After you came here, it felt like my one shot at having a girlfriend. I'm sorry I got too excited earlier, but I do appreciate spending time with you and I hope you feel the same way.” She t
Chapter 15: The full moonRUDINAIt's almost nightfall and Ashina and I had chatted none stop since lunch. Well, she did most of the talking but I was feeling confident enough to add a few sentences and never did she make me feel like I had said the wrong thing. She told me about the hunt tonight and how the woods had wild animals and usually, they would compete for who caught the most prey.” We should go inside. You need to rest. Today has been most eventful. I'm so happy you're getting better.” She says as she helps me to my feet and we leave the balcony. ”I have to go to Lowell. I've been here since lunch. Don't get me wrong, I loved every bit of it.” She continues as she helps me lay down on the bed. It felt so good to rest my back as I was more exhausted than I realized. I nod with a smile. Then she bends and hugs me.”I know this must be difficult for you but thank you for letting me be your friend.” She whispers in my ear. There was so much emotion in her voice and she doesn
Chapter 16: PassionASHINALowell and I had gone back to our room to get ready and also because I didn't want to be around Marrissa. I didn't dislike her guts and it irritated me how she was not apologetic about wanting to sleep with Volk. Her outfits were always too provocative and although I knew she did it for Volk, I didn't appreciate Lowell seeing her that way either.” I don't understand why she has to come here every time. She doesn't even want to join our pack.” I say.” Enough about Marrissa. She'll be gone by tomorrow.” Lowell groans.” She kept glaring at Rudina. Oh, Lord help me if we hadn't been having dinner and I didn't want to startle Rudina.””Enough, darling.” Lowell says as he pulls me closer and puts his lips on mine.I'm a bit in shock at how sudden it was but all of my anger begins to dissipate. This man knew just how to get me. I arch my back to press against him, he brings his hands around my waist and pulls me to him, deepening our kiss. I let his tongue danc