Chapter Three

Madeline

I sat on a chair with my arms crossed across my chest, trying to show that I was not shaken and appear confident. Meanwhile, Clare, the elderly she-wolf whom everybody respected took out a first aid box from a cabinet.

She had dragged me away from the fight and away from my savior. I had never seen him before but then I had never really met anyone, not outside my pack at least.

My pack…strange that I thought of these people as my pack. But then, I didn’t really have anywhere to go.

While I was deep in thoughts, Clare outstretched her hands in front of me, asking me to give mine in hers.

“The sooner you listen to me, the sooner I will be able to heal you.”

Knowing that she was speaking the truth, I extended my pale hands in front of her. She made a disapproving sound before pulling out the antiseptic and cotton.

“Tsk tsk…when are you going to stand up to Steve?”

I swallowed back tears as I thought of an answer, even she knew I cannot go against a werewolf even if he was an omega as I have no wolf. My physical strength wasn’t that great either.

As such, I only shrugged my shoulders and answered, “I am trying to Clare but I was not really trained because most of the werewolves of my pack too felt that a wolfless girl was a burden on them.”

“Only my mother used to think that I will be a late bloomer but looks like nobody believes that anymore…”

I know I was wallowing in self-pity but then I needed to vent out my frustration. I had been enduring the torture and abuse of the pack members, basically, all the male werewolves who thought that female werewolves were good for nothing except giving birth to cubs and giving them an heir.

Only Clare, the oldest she-wolf, would be nice to me but she was old and wasn’t strong enough to stand against the others.

While she administered the antiseptic after cleaning my wounds, she muttered, “You need to start standing up for yourself kiddo. You aren’t a four-year kid anymore. You are now…seventeen?”

I nodded my head at that, “I will turn eighteen in a month from now.”

Most pack members awakened their wolf when they turned sixteen but I was yet to awaken one despite being seventeen. If my mother was right I was a late bloomer and the chances of me awakening my wolf on my eighteenth birthday were high.

Though I wasn’t too sure about it. By the time, Clare was done with cleaning the wounds and healing me, it was pretty early in the morning. 

I recalled that I was on kitchen duty for the day and that I had to cook breakfast. Recalling that, I hurriedly got up from the chair but Clare sensed my urgency and tried to calm me down.

“Don’t worry, Garron, Peter, and Steve have all left for some work. As such, you don't need to cook an elaborate meal. We will just serve bread butter and tea or coffee for the rest of us. I am sure nobody would mind.”

I sagged in relief to hear that.

I wasn’t really feeling good enough to cook much less stand on my feet. Though Clare insisted that I do no work, I got up and helped prepare the bread while she prepared tea and coffee.

In less than fifteen minutes, we were done and I carried a huge plate of bread butter to the packhouse where we served breakfast every day.

As I was returning from the packhouse to the kitchen, I saw something brush past the far end of Steve’s house. I blinked a little and squinted my eyes to see what it was and even looked around but there was nothing.

Thinking that it was a trick of my mind, I headed back to the large common kitchen to carry the second plate. There were only a handful of members left behind but I didn’t want anyone to complain to Garron or Steve that I hadn’t provided adequate food.

Hence, I went ahead and my hands were about to pick the large tray when again I heard a noise.

Startled, I turned around and my finger cut itself against the knife I had laid on the kitchen counter after slicing the loaves of bread evenly.

A drop of red blood oozed out of the finger and I winced though my attention was at the window that was thrown open. I could see trees and leaves rustling so while I was busy looking out for who was there and if Steve had suddenly returned, I felt a hand gently wrap its fingers around my wrist.

Turning around, I saw the same man who had saved me earlier.

****

Hayden

I was feeling restless after the situation back home and now that I had met Garron my mood had dipped further. Adding to the fact that there was a girl somewhere here who was bruised, afraid and in need of help made my restlessness increase further.

Even Luke was with me and didn’t grumble when I decided to head towards Garron’s territory again. I knew I was testing my luck by invading his territory twice but my instincts told me that I at least needed to see if the girl was doing okay.

Thus, I went ahead and slipped in through the woods like earlier. Luckily, all of the werewolves were farther away to even notice me. As I peeked in through the window, I saw the girl’s abdomen covered in bandages and her cheeks red.

Her eyes looked swollen and puffed but still, she was smiling and doing work. I didn't know what overcame me when she flinched at something.

Afraid that she had hurt herself again, I walked in and saw that indeed, she had cut her finger. While she was debating what to do, I gently held her hand and turned her to look at me.

"It's okay, don't worry," I tried to assure her while praying that she won't scream. Luckily, she didn't and only kept looking at me. Her hand was still in mine and her pale skin was almost translucent.

I could see the bluish-green veins below it. Caressing her wrist with my thumb, I gently rubbed her hand, trying to help her calm down. Her face was innocent and beautiful. she had long hair that cascaded down her shoulders, big round eyes that shone with hope and milky white skin.

There were many beautiful girls I had seen in my life, girls of all shapes and sizes but she looked different. And the fact that despite being injured and abused, she was trying to forget all of it made me feel that she would turn into a brave werewolf one day.

Her eyes darted to my hand that was still holding hers loosely. Raising it to my face, I closed my lips around her bleeding finger while she immediately looked away, apparently feeling shy at the contact.

That is when I realized what I was doing.

Quickly letting go of her hand, I tried to ask, “Are you okay?”

She simply nodded, too shy to even look me in the eye. I saw that there were minor scratches and cuts on her face and neck too.

A question that had been bothering me made its way out of my mouth before I could stop myself, “Why aren’t you healing yet? You look of age to me.”

My question was meant to be sincere but it made her sadder than she initially was. Though she tried to hide it and answered me.

“I…haven’t turned yet…” She added in a very low voice while studying the floor and that is when it clicked to me. Of why she had been unable to heal on her own...

"Her voice was soft and sweet just like her face," Luke tried to suddenly tease me and I asked him to shut up in my head.

“Oh”

That was all I could say. The kitchen went eerily silent for a minute and I thought of ways to break the ice when I heard a voice.

“Madeleine, do you need help?”

That voice made her come to her senses, and she only whispered, “thank you” before heading out with the plate in her hand without another backward glance.

So, I knew two things about her. One, her name was Madeleine, and another, she had yet to turn. I had yet to come across someone who hadn’t awakened their wolf at sixteen.

She was an anomaly.

"Interesting," Luke said again.

Little did I know that she was going to change my life forever and was going to be the reason for me to risk everything I had earned or cherished in my life.

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