Blaire's Pov
I knocked on the imposing mahogany door and waited. I rocked on my heels, wishing that the door would open as soon as I knocked on it. I raised my hand to knock again when I stopped myself, choosing to distract myself with the environment instead. I was in the main palace building. It was an impressive building that you couldn't help but be awed at. Like the outside, the insides were painted in glowing white. On both sides were different paintings that were so good, they almost looked real. Trust me, I knew how real it looked from experience. Just a little while ago, I had jumped back in fright when I had turned a corner and it had appeared that a wolf was attacking me. It turned out to be one of the paintings but you get the point. There were several paintings, each more impressive than the last. There was one of a huge wolf standing on a plateau and raising his snout to the moon in a howl while other wolves around him bowed. There was another of two wolves standing side by side. It was hard to make out anything about their identity because they all had the same color having been painted with the same color as the walls which was one of the reasons why the paintings were so impressive. I walked up to a painting of a wolf standing above another. I shouldn't have been able to make anything out but I thought I could see panic in the eyes of the wolf standing above the other which did not make any sense. It goes without saying that you have the upper hand if you are standing over your enemy in a battlefield so why would there be fear in his eyes. My heart started to pound so fast it was almost painful as I placed my hand on the wolf's snout. It was strange but as I traced my hand over the outline of the wolf's head, I thought I could feel energy in my hands. At first, it was only a small itch on the tip of my fingers but the longer my hand remained on it, the more the energy grew. Electricity raced through my body as my breathing became shallow and suddenly I could see a battlefield. Wolves were howling madly as they battled each other. The battle was fierce and brutal with wolves getting maimed, mauled and killed by the second. Something drew my eyes to the top of a cliff that cast a shadow over the field where I stood. There, under the glowing full moon was the scene that was in the painting except now, they had color. It was hard to make out their color due to the distance between us but I saw enough to know the standing one was a brown wolf while the other was a lost color between black and white. As I watched them, I saw the spotted wolf raise his head and while the brown lowered his head. Suddenly, my vision clouded and I dabbed at my eyes, my heart filling with panic. When my eyes finally cleared, I found that I was back in the palace, touching the painting. I blinked in confusion as I wondered what had just happened. I touched the painting again but no matter how much I ran my hands over it, nothing seemed to happen. No tingling, no vision, nothing. Just the feeling of smooth paint under my fingers. I ran a scan of the food that I had eaten in the past day but other than some fish, I didn't find anything that could have engendered a faulty wiring in my brain. "Blaire?" Turning around, I came face to face with a tall woman. Nighttime had fully settled now but the fire that was crackling in strategic angles allowed me to see her figure clearly. Standing in the doorway of the door I had just knocked which I was realizing I had pretty much moved away from with glowing white eyes, brown hair that is a shade lighter than my chocolate brown one, a beautiful face and a powerful aura, (emphasis on the powerful aura) is my mother, Gamma Victoria. The woman that I did not take after in any way. I preferred to think I got my genes from my father since it's easy to blame an absent figure than accept that you are imperfect. "What are you doing here?" She continued when I didn't move away from the painting or reply to her. From the eye bags that hung heavily under her eyes, I could tell that she was exhausted. Shoving the strange sight I had seen or thought I saw to the back of my mind, I bounced toward her. "I want to talk to you, mother." I said after bowing in greeting. She swept her eyes over me quickly and sighed, her eyes growing sadder before beckoning me in. Within her room, the candle that was set in a cupholder on her reading table created a warm glow. Her table was stacked high with scrolls and I could see a quill sitting on the ink beside them which implied that she had been busy. "If you are here to talk to me about Indrik, then you had better not waste your time. There is nothing I can do to help him." She started as she returned to her table. I didn't reply immediately. Instead, I took a quick eye sweep of her room. The table, the bed, everything in the room was set in order. I knew from experience that she had a particular spot for each and everything, a skill which comes in handy when you are in a hurry as well as when you need to borrow something. I smiled as my eyes landed on my target. It stood just beside the door, which meant it was out of her range of sight. How luckier could I get?Blaire's Pov"You have to understand that rules are created for a reason. To keep us safe from harm. No one, not even Indrik can be allowed to break the rules." My mother had continued to speak when she realized I was not going to speak to her. "But mother, we both know Indrik's condition. He will not survive the dungeon. Could the council not have found something that was less likely to kill him?" I asked, my heart burning with indignation as I thought about how Indrik must be doing in that place. Don't be fooled by Indrik's show of bravery before the council. I wonder what must have gotten into him to have made him make that decision. All his life, he has been pushed to the back because he was powerless. A wolfless wolf in one of the strongest packs? You get the picture of what life must have been for him. But that also meant he was sheltered. Being a weak wolf, he could not be exposed to the conditions which wolves normally had to bear. Definitely not a dungeon. As a matter of fa
Indrik's PovHave 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
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