= DIXIE =
The pull was undeniable. Like a magnet tugging me back to a scene of an accident, I found myself drawn to the clearing again. Maybe it was the strange energy I felt there, or the memory of the terrifying yet oddly captivating battle between the two werewolves one being Trix (which I haven’t still quite wrapped my head around). Whatever it was, I couldn't ignore it.
Grandma would have my head for this, I knew. She'd warned me a million times about staying away from this part of the woods, but sometimes, the quiet kid in me who always followed the rules craved a little excitement. Maybe that's why I was always a magnet for trouble, even if it meant potentially getting mauled by a giant wolf.
Sneaking through the undergrowth, I kept my head down and my senses on high alert. The silence of the woods was broken only by the rustle of leaves and the occasional chirp of a bird.
Suddenly, a guttural growl ripped through the stillness. I froze, my heart hammering against my ribs. A mistake. Peeking through the foliage, I saw a sight that sent chills down my spine. Trix, in his human form, stood facing a group of four hulking figures, all radiating an undeniable predatory aura.
Trix, again. Why him again?
They were arguing, their voices rough and angry.
"Give us the key, Slater," one of the bigger wolves growled, his voice rough and full of threat. "And maybe we'll let that little trinket of yours stay intact."
"The Heartstone? You wouldn't dare," Trix shot back, his voice strained but firm.
A skinny wolf with mean-looking eyes stepped up. "Don't tempt us, Alpha. You know what the Blade Pack is capable of.”
Blade Pack? My heart skipped a beat. Were these the guys that woman was talking about? The ones responsible for hat stuff that haunted Trix?
"… the damn key, Slater," one of them snapped, his lips curling into a sneer. . "We gave you a week, and you still haven't coughed it up. Don't think we're afraid to take matters into our own paws."
"And what makes you think I even have it?" Trix shot back, his hands balled into fists.
Another figure stepped forward, his eyes glinting with malice. "The rune symbol carved on your territory. Don't play dumb with us, Alpha. We know where you hide your secrets."
A rune symbol? This conversation was going way over my head, but it sounded important.
Curiosity getting the better of me again, I inched closer, desperate to hear more. Suddenly, a sharp pain lanced through my hand. I yelped and stumbled out from behind the tree I was hiding behind.
All eyes turned towards me. The rogue wolves bared their teeth and their growls grew louder and louder until they filled my eardrums.
"Who the hell is this?" one of them snarled.
"Well, well," the snarling werewolf from before stepped towards me, his claws scraping against the dirt. "Looks like the Alpha has a little secret of his own."
The others moved forward as well, teeth bared in a predatory grin. I was surrounded and trapped like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
All of a sudden, something zoomed by me. Trix was there in front of me, standing stiff and looking fierce.
"Stand down," he growled firmly. "She's with me."
The werewolves hesitated, glancing from Trix to me, their eyes filled with suspicion and maybe something else I couldn't quite figure out.
Thinking fast, Trix grabbed my hand, his icy touch sending shivers down my spine. "Just one of my women," he said with a forced smile, his voice dripping with a fake sweetness. "She, uh, thought I was out here cheating, so she decided to follow me. See honey?" he turned to me, his voice dropping to a sickeningly sweet whisper, "Busy doing work now, aren't I?"
I wanted to scream. Cheating? This whole mess was because of a stupid werewolf fight and now I was being used as a human shield. The urge to kick him in the shins, preferably with steel-toed boots, was overwhelming.
"Sure…babe," I gritted out through clenched teeth.
The rogue werewolves didn't seem entirely convinced, but they didn't argue either. "You've got five days, Slater," the leader growled. "Five days to hand over the key and the artifact, or you can kiss it goodbye."
With that, they turned and vanished into the woods. The clearing was silent again, broken only by my ragged breaths. It was just me and Trix alone in the tense silence.
Trix whipped around, his fury directed squarely at me. "What the hell are you doing out here? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
He was really angry and it was intense, but this time, it didn't scare me as much as before. Maybe because I was still trying to wrap my head around the whole werewolf thing, or maybe it was his blatant lie about me being his "woman" that sparked a bit of rebellion in me.
"I can take care of myself," I shot back, my voice steadier than I expected. "Besides, who knew you had a pack of angry werewolves demanding mystical keys?"
He stared at me for a bit, his jaw clenched tight. It seemed like forever before he finally spoke, his voice low and dangerous.
"Stay away from me, Dixie," he growled. "And stay away from my territory and my pack. This isn't some stupid game, and you'll be killed if you get caught snooping around again."
He turned to leave, obviously mad, and it felt like I could almost see the anger coming off him in waves. But then, he suddenly stopped. He stared right at my hand, the one he'd just let go of a moment ago. His eyes got big, and he started cursing—a bunch of foreign-sounding words I'd never heard him use before since he's recently been so quiet and serious.
The anger he'd been barely keeping in check looked like it was about to explode. He took a threatening step towards me, his voice really low and rough. "What. The. Hell. Is. That?"
I barely had a chance to try and answer when suddenly, that woman from that night was right there beside him. She seemed to be always watching out for him, and when she took one look at my hand and Trix's mad face, she looked just as shocked as he did.
“Alvera, tell me I’m seeing double.” Trix addressed the woman.
Alvera…so that was her name.
"Oh, moons," she breathed. "This can't be happening." The air crackled with a tension so thick I could practically chew it.
I looked down at my hand and all I could see was my own slightly damp skin, thanks to the scuffle with those wild werewolves. Feeling confused, I glanced back up at them and they looked scared, angry, and something else I couldn't quite figure out.
"What's wrong?" I whispered.
"Dixie," Trix finally growled. "How… how did you get that?"
I blinked, confused. "Get what?" I looked down at my hand, again, still not seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Trix stared hard at me. "How did you get that mark, Dixie?" he asked, sounding really tense and mixed up.
I blinked, completely lost. "What mark? I don't see anything."
= TRIX =The meeting hall went quiet, and Alvera's words hung heavy in the air. Dixie had a mark on her hand that she hadn't seen herself, and it was the same symbol that the rogue pack had talked about—the mark of the Blade. It was the same mark that was on the wolves who killed my brother.The memory of that afternoon pricked my veins. I hate remembering it, I so hate remembering that accursed afternoon. Everything was going well, it was not meant to end that way with my brother’s lifeless body dangling from the ceiling fan of an abandoned classroom, but it did. And I only have the gharry scene imprinted in my head from that afternoon to ever be the last memory of me seeing my elder brother’s face.I took a deep breath.Focus on what’s happening now. What’s happening? Dixie, that green and four-eyed blonde-haired bothersome piglet! With how short she is, I wonder why she always seems to stumble into the wrong places and get the attention of everyone in the room.It happened once dur
= TRIX =The morning mist hung around the trees like a blanket, making me feel as cold inside as the air around me. Sleep had been a stranger the night before as the heavy burden of responsibility weighed on me. The rogues, the attack, the missing Tear - thoughts of them churned in my mind like a wild storm.But another face kept flickering through the chaos – Dixie. The way she looked at me defiantly in the clearing, her eyes filled with fear and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on, it really shook me. Alvera had told me that Dixie disappeared after our last unfortunate and inconvenient encounter. Part of me was relieved – at least she wasn't in immediate danger. Another part, a part I couldn't explain, felt a pang of… concern? It was a foreign sensation, one I quickly pushed down.Alvera appeared next to me, and her constant vigilance always made me feel safer. "Any sign of her?" I asked, my voice lingering in the cool morning air.She shook her head, her expression w
= DIXIE ="I'm not marrying you!" I practically screeched, totally shocked by the craziness of it all. Here I was, back in Grandma's cozy cottage, only this time, the living room wasn't filled with the familiar scent of freshly baked cookies. No, it was filled with tension so thick I could practically chew on it. Trix, looking like a thundercloud in a designer two-piece, glared at me. His right-hand woman, Alvera, stood next to him all serious, not showing any emotion. And there was Jackson, my childhood buddy, who stood beside me with tight fists and eyes full of anger and worry for meTrix shot up from his seat, towering over me with those infuriatingly intense eyes. "Then we're all gonna die, stupid!" he retorted."I'd rather die than marry you!" I fired back as my hands trembled with anger. Marry Trix? The guy who had made my life a living hell, and recently I found out he's some werewolf alpha? Totally bonkers!How the hell did he even find out I was staying there? "There's no
× Dixie ×Ugh, these days feel like they're on slo-mo. Trix, the total pain-in-the-fur alpha, has granted me temporary refuge in the Slater territory, as if I needed it. But of course, it's not chill in any way; it's more like being stuck in a reality show with Alvera, who I now know is his Beta or what do they call it, and Ryder, his best friend, watching my every move. Ryder's got this intense glare, like I'm a ticking time bomb and he's waiting for me to explode or something. Alvera's vibe is more 'whatever,' but her eyes are lowkey tracking me even though she pretends to be indifferent about me staying here.Living in this werewolf soap opera is seriously making me crave normalcy. I mean, who signed up for this supernatural drama anyway? Not me.Remembering that first encounter with werewolf Trix always gives me major regret vibes because I know wholeheartedly that if I had left when he had told me to, I wouldn't be where I am now. In a confined room, in his house, with a fuckin
× Dixie ×A freakin' week trapped in Trix's house feels like an eternity. Seriously, if someone told me I'd end up married to the guy who has made my life a living nightmare, I'd have laughed in their face and scoffed at the absurdity. It's like hate is this unwelcome roommate, lurking under my skin, making every moment in this suffocating place unbearable.Every freakin' time I try to figure out what the heck Trix is scheming, he shuts me down like I'm just a pesky mosquito. "Stay put, Dixie," he barks, like I'm some obedient dog waiting for a treat. It's infuriating, and I can feel the itch to break free crawling under my skin.This house, it's like a cage, squeezing tighter around me with each passing moment. I'm dying to know what's going on, dying to be a part of the dang conversation. But no, Trix thinks I'm better off twiddling my thumbs until he decides I'm worthy of his grand master plan revelation.Curiosity is clawing at me, tearing through any semblance of patience I might
× Trix ×As the messed-up days keep rolling, Ryder's practically breathing down Dixie's neck. Suspicion radiates from him and you can practically touch it.One cool evening, I'm hanging by the balcony, checking out the training session just a few yards away. Most of them are weak and pathetic. I dread the mere mention of war just cus I know we'll be completely obliterated. “Urgh…” I slap my forehead and look elsewhere.Dixie's with one of the female volunteers from the hospital, playing board games. I study Dixie carefully. The way she does things has always irritated and intrigued me at the same time. Her voice, the way she speaks, the way she laughs and cries, the way she carries herself, the way she makes decisions…“Urgh…” I need a drink. A maid, as if reading my mind, comes in with a bottle of water and lays it on a high table beside me. I take it and gulp down.My mind strolls to the meeting that I had with the elder about this same dilemma that has completely upended my life.
× Dixie ×In a desperate hunt for answers, ‘cus Trix doesn't seem he'll tell me any anytime soon, I kinda latch onto Jennie. She says she's around my age and she works as a volunteer nurse in this pack’s healthcare centre. Apparently, they have only one hospital.Jennie's a firecracker, seriously. She's short, spunky, with these crazy curls that have a mind of their own. She rocks the whole 'effortlessly cool' vibe with ripped jeans and band shirts, but there's always a hint of glitter somewhere. I swear, she's like a walking disco ball. Plus, her laugh is contagious – you can't be around Jennie and not end up smiling. She's this rare beacon of sanity in this bonkers werewolf universe. And let me tell you, she's got the patience of a saint.Patiently, she explains this whole werewolf pack drama – hierarchies, rules, and whatnot. Never in one million years would I have ever thought I'd be living inside a werewolf world with werewolves?! Like as if I'm in a fantasy series or something.
× Dixie ×The room feels super tense as Trix talks with the older folks, hashing out plans about strategies and the impending threat from the Nardoos. Trix's voice is loud, filling the room as he goes on about plans with the elders.I stand idly by, kind of like the only outsider in a world that has suddenly become mine. I'm just hanging there, watching, and this thought pops into my head. Maybe I should say something that could actually help.Can't hold back, so I go, "Hey, what if we try talking to the other packs? Like, make allies and join forces against the Nardoos?"Trix's eyes narrow, and a derisive smirk twists his lips. "And what would you know about werewolf politics, Piggy? Stick to your human concerns," he dismisses me harshly."I just thought..." I begin, trying to defend my idea, but he cuts me off."You thought wrong. This is not your place. Keep quiet, or I'll make you," he threatens with his alpha dominance radiating in the room.I clench my fists, "But maybe if we—"