Indrik's Pov
Have you ever been in hell before? I don't think so. I haven't either but with what I am going through right now, I can say that I am about as close to hell on earth as anyone else. The smell of stale blood is harsh on my nose but even that fades into obscurity in the face of dried sweat that has turned my clothing into a sticky mess. And let's not even talk about human waste. I feel like a little infant who has been abandoned by his mother and has no idea what to do with himself. It seems to be night now because the rats that had showed a measure of respect were becoming bolder now and now marching all over like they were the lords of this domain. I had found myself having to kick my leg or throw an arm to stop a particularly bold one from chewing the skin off of my limbs. But then again, they really are the lords and I, the intruder. As if that was not enough, my body seems to have only now recalled the torture it had undergone earlier in the day and was now proceeding to make its pain known. My body felt like it was being shredded inch by inch with a very dull meat blender. Now, if you ever fall into unlikeable hands and are told to choose between being tortured by a sharp object and a dull object, do yourself a favour and go for the sharp object. The sharp object will cause pain but it will be done and over with soon enough but the dull one? It would fail to puncture but will cause pain, then you would have to go again and again and again. So, you get the point. To make matters worse, the water from above was dripping even more frequently now. Each drop was little more than the size of a tiny melon seed but this came about three times in a second. Multiply that and you would see just how bad that can be. And yeah, I did count the number of drops. These drops left me no escape because no matter where I turned, the water just landed and splattered over me. And it did not help that the ground was very slimy. There I lay, my burning back against the wall, teeth chattering and a burning headache growing by the second and for a moment, I almost regretted my decision but then, my mind went back to the reason I had done this. My master, Luna! After this was over, I would finally be able to train and unlock my wolf. This thought sent a warm feeling shooting through my body and suddenly, it was all worth it. The pain, the fear, it all became nothing more than a stepping stone to reaching my goal. I shut my eyes and tried to relax, willing myself to forget about this damp place that smelt like a broken toilet and focus instead on something else. Something more happy and enticing. I was almost beginning to succeed at this when a sharp crack pierced the night, making the already busy rats even more excited. . My eyes snapped open as I furrowed my brows in the dark, wondering what the problem was. The noise came again and I could hear an iron grate opening somewhere in the distance. I frowned as I wondered what was going on. I didn't think anyone was allowed here at this time. It soon became clear that I was not the only one who had heard the noise as the other prisoners who had turned a deaf ear to me the whole time suddenly started to stir, their rumblings breaking the solemnity of the night and sending the annoying rodents running. As much as I hated their presence and was gladdened by their exit, I had no time to celebrate it though because my attention was taken up by the noise among the prisoners that was growing louder by the moment. There were curses, pleas and cries all mixed into the melee of sounds. The noise grew until it was deafening and I couldn't help but wonder what was driving them so crazy as I made my way to the door and laced my fingers around it while straining my eyes to see as much as I could. Finally, I saw what they saw. From a distance, the overwhelming darkness was being pierced by a red glow. Little by little, the glow grew larger as the bearer of the torch moved closer. My heart reached out to the flame as it mourned what it had lost. Never would I have thought that flames would look so beautiful and enticing. As the torch bearer moved closer, I realized why the prisoners were so ruffled. The person or people, whoever they were, seemed to be checking room by room for whatever and whoever they were searching for. When they reached a cell, the others would raise their voices as they claimed they were the ones the person was looking for and cried for help. As the person left the cell and moved on, the disappointed person would release a mixture of curses and pleas to be set free. That meant the closer the person got to me, the more the noise increased and I just happened to be in the very last cell. I couldn't help but worry that a riot would break out soon enough. Who was that anyway? I focused on the glow, enjoying how it enlarged as it moved closer until it finally loomed large in my face. The torch had lit up the cave considerably as she approached but that still did not stop me from being temporarily blinded under the full glare of the fire. "Indrik?" A voice called tentatively and I blinked wondering if this place was starting to turn me a little crazy. "Indrik?" The voice came again, unmistakably someone I knew. Someone who was not supposed to be here. "Blaire!"Indrik's Pov"Blaire!" I repeated, my voice faint. "Indrik!" She called excitedly, the torch clattering to the ground as she reached through the bars and embraced me as well as she could. I did not return the awkward embrace as I was still wondering what she was doing here. The prisoners were not exactly helping matters either as they resorted to showing their displeasure by banging their fists on their prison doors. "Blaire!" I called again, confusion evident in my voice. "What are you doing here?" I asked unable to understand why she would be here. She would surely be in trouble if she was caught and it would not exactly help my case either. "How are you doing? My gosh! You smell horrible. Give me a minute, will you?" She avoided my questions as her words came out in a rush. She disentangled herself from me and groped around the floor for something. I soon discovered the something to be a key as she found it and inserted it into the keyhole and with a couple of turns pulled it op
Blaire's PovWalking away from the dungeon with all its filth and stench should have made me feel relieved but what I was feeling would probably be fittingly described as the direct opposite. Leaving left me feeling more awful than I had been before going. Seeing the unhealthy conditions that Indrik had to put up with made me feel sick to my stomach. Coming out from the underground cell, I was glad to find that my luck had held although I don't think I would have been scared if I had come out to find a circle of wolves. If they will, they could throw me in the dungeon as well. At least then, I would be able to be close to Indrik. Somewhere in the back of my mind though, a voice that wasn't clouded by my anger told me I would be more useful free than imprisoned. I shut the door silently and snuck out of the palace. For a moment, my eyes caught on the images from earlier and I blinked as the memories rushed in, fresh as when I first saw them. I blinked again as the images seemed to be
Luna's Pov"It is a beautiful day." That is the first thought that crossed my mind as I awakened to a choir of birds singing happily in the tree behind my window. Hearing their melody seemed to be reassuring me that everything would be alright. Nevermind that I had another nightmare most of which I could not recall although I could not forget the terror that coursed through my veins. I stretched my limbs to a satisfying chorus of cackles from my muscles and rose on to my knees as I turned toward the window which I had either left open or opened sometime in the middle of the night. I placed my elbows on the windowsill and my mind wandered as I watched the small hummingbirds Twitter as they leapt from flower to flower. Of course they were happy. Who wouldn't be when they had that much resources at their disposal? I on the other hand could not say as much for myself. I was still lost in thoughts when I heard a knock at the door. I got out of bed and waddled to the door. I rubbed my ey
Luna's Pov"What is she doing here?" Blaire scowled as soon as we arrived before them, her eyes glowing with anger as she did not even bother with trying to hide her displeasure. "Come on, B! Be nice, will you?" Jamil chastised softly but that word was obviously alien to her as her expression grew even darker. She turned her gaze to me as her eyes seemed to bore a hole right through me. "I warned you to stay away from me, didn't I?" Her voice was haughty in a way that reminded me of "The Haven." I inhaled sharply as I forced myself to take my eyes off her and focus on the ground before me. That drew my attention to the area as I found out it was a garden or something of the sort at least in the middle of which we were standing right now. Taking a peek at the door from which I had just come, I saw two patches of beautiful blooming plants that served as the pathway. These went round in a wide circle in the midst of which sat the tree and the benches. On further inspection, I saw that
Luna's Pov "And there is the entrance to our pack." I could barely contain my excitement as I stared at the huge golden gates that looked on the top of a hill. The gates that were the key to my freedom. I imagined running up and out of this cursed place but his next words dashed my hopes completely. "It always remains closed unless we have urgent business to attend to outside. That is to prevent outsiders from finding this place." "You mean to say you have no dealings with the outside world? Like you don't trade or..." I let my words hang in the air between us. He chuckled. "Of course, we do. There are trade routes." I waited for him to say more but it soon became obvious that was all he was going to say. I gritted my teeth as the gates that had looked so pleasing to me just a moment before now seemed like an evil machination intended to keep me bound in here forever. The gates stood atop a hill. A design that was as strange as it was effective. Strange because most of the te
Luna's PovI turned to look at the man who had spoken. I recognized him instantly from his role in passing judgement on us. Just like the first time, he was sitting down which prevented me from seeing just how tall he was. He still seemed pretty intimidating though as his eyes blazed, commanding respect. I remained at the door from where I had been admiring the room but even from here, I could feel his displeasure washing over me in waves. I shuddered subconsciously as I noticed that not only his but all the eyes in the room were focused on me. Us, I had forgotten Jamil was still standing beside me until he grabbed my arm and pulled me into the room. We arrived before the Beta at the head seat and following Jamil's lead, I bowed. "You are late." Up close, his voice sounded deeper and more intimidating. "You didn't tell her that we do not condone lateness here?" He asked and I raised my head a little bit only to return to my former position when I saw that Jamil was still bowing. "I
Luna's PovIf there was anything worse than serving people who hated your guts, it was eating with them. Knowing that malicious eyes are following your every move is a sure recipe for a loss of appetite. I managed to force down some food which went to sit at the bottom of my belly like a couple of bricks. After that, I just turned the food in my plate, my cheek propped on the other hand as I stared at it like I was looking for something that was embedded deep within it. "Ahem!" I was pulled out of my revelries by the Beta clearing his throat. I looked up at him, blinking as I tried to come back to the present. "Breakfast is over. You all can leave now." My heart soared with joy as I rose to my feet, the chair skittering noisily. Great! Another reason to make them hate me more. Already, I could see them pinning their gazes on me as if to say, "we get the point. You are dumb. Now, could you stop making it so obvious?" "Not you!" My heart plummeted to the bottom of my belly about as fa
Luna's PovOutside the tall rooms and passageways of the palace, the world looked large, golden and endless under the touch of glowing sunlight. Or perhaps, it was just my happiness at being free that was tainting my vision. Outside the palace, the courtyard sprawled before me, all a glowing shade of white. Apart from the three main buildings that took main focus in the palace, there were a couple other buildings on the other end of the enormous courtyard. Smaller and less impressive but beautiful nonetheless. Most were honorary buildings, only ever used when some guests visited, Jamil would not tell me who. Others though were used by the part of the army that was not stationed at the borders, a fancy term for palace guards really. "I see you are finally out and would you look at that. You are in one piece!" My eyes widened as I wheeled into Jamil who seemed to have materialized out of nowhere. "What are you doing here?" I hissed breathlessly, the breath knocked out of my lungs from