~VLAD’S POV~Few hours before Reika's second kidnap‘I can cook’ she had said. At first, I thought I hadn’t her right but the shocked look on the other’s face told me my ears were perfectly fine. I looked at her puzzled unable to understand her. Next thing I knew I was granting her permission. I didn’t think before the words left my lips. I was even confused. Fitcher gave me a questioning look while the others looked at me dumbfounded. I averted my gaze and looked anyway but at them.Reika went into the woods with Fitcher to look for mushrooms to make mushroom soup since it was the most likely thing that would be abundant here.I sat on a rock near the fallen tree and looked at her as she cooked. The gown she was wearing when we kidnapped now look old and its ends had been torn making the dress somewhat short. She bent to pick a stick from the ground and the tattered dress rose to expose her thighs. My body suddenly came to life as something stirred within me. I’d been with many women
"Wait!", I shouted. I had to distract her to escape. There was no way I would allow myself to die in her arms."What is it, dear?", she smiled displaying her teeth again and I scrunched my nose in disgust. I had to come up with something but what?"Uh... Why don't you just take some of my blood and kill me later." I said, trying to buy myself time to think of a plan."Don't be stupid, dear. I know what you're trying to do. And it won't work. I'm killing you right now whether you like it or not.", She moved closer to me, a menacing look on her face."Wait!", I said again."What other nonsense are you going to say to try to distract me?", She questioned, raising her eyebrows at me."Can you at least grant me a last wish?", I pleaded. She looked at me, confused."And why would I do that?""Because if you're getting all my blood at no cost, then you should at least grant me one wish.", I tried to reason. she looked at me as if trying to decipher the motive behind my words."Hmm, you're ri
~VLAD~We had been tracing her scent for hours now but still no sign of her. As we walked deeper into the woods, her scent became fainter and difficult to detect. The hope I had of finding her was slowly diminishing and I knew the others felt the same way."I want to piss.", Bruno spoke, telepathically. We were all currently in our wolf forms. "Then go ahead and do that. why do you have to announce it?", Fitcher surprisingly replied, his tone showing his annoyance. He rarely spoke to Bruno and once told me that he hated his guts but I didn't know why.Bruno excused himself from us and went near one of the trees and started pissing on it. Alec left the group and went further along the bath without telling me anything. He'd been behaving strangely ever since Reika got kidnapped."Seriously, why do you have to do it near a tree?", Alec complained, looking at Bruno, disgusted."I can piss wherever I want to, bookman.", Bruno answered him and continued with what he was doing."What did yo
~VLAD~“Let’s split up. We’ll be able to find her easily if we all take separate routes. Everyone should take a sack filled with food, water in case of an emergency.” I turned to Fitcher and asked him, “Do you still have some of your ointments?”, he replied with a nod and fished inside his sack and brought out a container. Fischer’s ointments were the best in Midvein. It was well known to heal any form of wound and cure any type of sickness. He divided it into five different containers and shared it.“Also, everyone should take a blanket. We don’t know what state we’ll find her, so it’s better to go prepared. Anyone who finds her first should alert everyone.”“And if we don't find her”, Alec inquired. I didn’t want to think of that because I wanted to stay positive.“If no one finds her, then we all return here by sundown, Okay?” They agreed, so we set out to find her. We all took different paths, and soon I was all alone searching for Reika. The place was erringly quiet, and the sli
I couldn’t open my eyes, nor could I move my body, but I heard a voice call my name and I immediately recognized it as Vlad’s. I wanted to get up, shout that I was here, my mouth just wouldn’t open. My body was tired and weak. I knew werewolves had immense strength and could heal instantly, but that didn’t work for me because I was still bleeding from the cut on my head. Soon I could no longer hear Vlad’s voice. I thought he’d left, until the hole became impartially dark and a moment later, Vlad stepped into it. He carried me out in his strong arms and placed me on the ground. I wanted to open my eyes and look at his face or even hug him, but I couldn’t control my own body, so I lay limply on the ground as he smeared something on me. The substance did wonders to my body. I started to regain my strength.Droplets of water fell on my face, and soon it became a downpour. I felt Vlad lift me up—like I was a sack of bread, and toss me over his shoulder. Soon I was shielded from the rain an
I didn’t know how I fell asleep, but when I woke up the following morning, the rain had stopped and the sun was already out. It brightened inside the cave and nearly blinded me when I opened my eyes. The air was filled with smoke from yesterday’s fire, and I erupted into a series of coughs–covering my nose to stop it from penetrating into my nostrils. I looked around and realized I had moved in my sleep and got so close to it. Vlad wasn’t there, I noticed, and it made me panic. I quickly stood up from the ground—my whole body ached from lying there. I picked up my now dry, tattered gown and wore it again. Worried and frightened by Vlad's disappearance, I walked to the entrance of the cave and searched around, but there was still no sign of him. Had he left me here because of what happened yesterday? My mind raced with so many questions. I went back to the cave, picked up his sack and turned to leave when I crashed in to something. I almost fell to the ground, but a hand held me before
I opened my eyes, the dark spots slowly disappeared as I regained my vision. I was confused at first as to why I lay on the ground until I felt something heavy on top of me. Vlad lay limply on top of me, my dress soiled with blood, which surprised me because I felt no pain in my body. Panicked by this information, I pushed him off so he lay next to me and lo and behold, the silver dagger stood pierced in his chest. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at the blood that soaked his clothes. His body which lay there stiff, was cold when my hands felt his.I killed him! My hands were soaked with his blood.Covering my eyes, I slowly pulled out the dagger from his chest and threw it to the ground. I removed his shirt and pressed it on the wound. I knew it was of no use but I still had to try. if it had been a normal dagger then the chances of me saving his life would be high but it wasn't. I had no idea what to do next. I wanted to save him, I had to save him but I didn't know how. it ma
"Are you sure we're going the right way?", I asked, looking around the place. It looked nothing like the path I'd travelled with Vlad and the others. In fact, the once broad route had become very narrow. I complained to her about this but she said that this was a shorter path. I blindly accepted her answer.The sun was almost setting, implying that we had been walking for more than four hours. My lips were patched since I'd run out of water due to the fact that I'd given my last bottle to her. she didn't even say a thank you instead she drew the bottle at me nearly hitting me in the head again. I excused her rude behaviour because I knew it wasn't her fault for being that way. Most children who grew up without parental figures often went through this faze."Are you sure this is the right route?", I asked for the hundredth time. She ignored me. I was just about to call her when I remembered that I didn't know her name. I'd been walking with a stranger and I didn't know her name! I acte
"Reika"He looked confused, "What?""My name is Reika, not Paige. I lied."Eragon's eyes widened. Arya and Marcie gasped from where they stood."Wait!", Marcie's terrifying gaze pierced into mine, "Are you Reika, daughter of the Alpha of the Crescent Stone pack?""Y-yes, I am", I let out a breath i didn't know i'd been holding, relieved that I'd finally been able to let out the truth."But how's that possible? You...you were kidnapped by the shadow pack!"Marcie yelled. She looked troubled, so much that she could hardly meet my gaze. What was wrong with her?"I was. I escaped and don't ask me how. I have to look for my family."Eragon and Arya had not spoken a word during our exchange.I looked at Eragon, his face was expressionless, " I have to go in there. Thanks for everything you've done for me. And I'm sorry for lying to you but I've learnt not to trust anyone."I turned to leave but then a hand grabbed my arm, stopping me again."What is it...""I'll go with you!," Eragon said,
“Something isn't right,” Eragon voiced, his words loud enough to sink into my panicked mind.“I'll go ahead and check”, Arya suggested but Eragon raised his hand, signalling her not to. He descended and helped me down before climbing back on. He led us to a grove on the left side of the road, and tied the horses to the stem of a tree. He said to me, “Reika, stay here with Arya and Marcie. I'll go ahead and check what's going on.” and whispered into Arya’s ears before leaving.My chest felt tight and I could hardly breathe as Arya, Marcie and I hid behind a large tree. My hands were sweaty and slightly shook as nerves overcame my calm state. I had a bad feeling about what was going on and I felt a sense of loss that I could not explain. It reminded me of the feeling I had when my eyes lay on Vlad's lifeless body. Shaking the memories away I turned to look at the other two people with me. My eyes widened as I found Arya staring intently at me."Are you okay?" She asked, shocking me to t
~Reika~Eragon was my saviour. I liked the way he carried himself and how he was the true image of confidence. He'd been so kind to me that I couldn't help but seek his presence all the time. I enjoyed the stories of his journeys that he told me and found myself agreeing to whatever he said even if it didn't make sense. He was so wise and intelligent and the way he spoke volumes of that. He loved to read books, something I deeply admired about him, and had the weird habit of running his hands through his long hair every minute. He has been nothing but polite and gentle with me which made me sometimes wonder if he was truly a rogue. The thought never came to me at first but after spending more than ten days with them, I began to ask myself, 'why did the others seem to fear him?'I'd been told numerous times not to trust rogues and of how cruel they were, my first encounter with them had been proof enough. They had been ugly vicious beasts with blood lust eyes and sharp teeth that could
~ERAGON~I'd been searching for something all my life, something that would make my heart beat, something that would make me want to wake up every morning, something that would put a smile on my face, take all my loneliness away and make me feel good about myself for once. And maybe that something that had been so desperately yearning for my whole life, didn't necessarily have to be a mate but could be a person who made my heart beat as it had never before.I saw her from afar, strands of her hair all over her face and just as my eyes looked into her green ones, I knew I'd be lost in them forever and no one would be able to pull me out. I never intervened whenever my sister did her usual charades but watching the old witch harm her made me boil in anger. I was about to rush there when the girl suddenly pushed back, making the old witch fall to the ground. She never got up and I silently laughed at the look on Arya's face from where I stood, on top of a tree. It had been so long since
I stuffed the food into my mouth like there was no tomorrow and licked my fingers to indicate how delicious the meal had been. Eragon had brought me into one of the tents which were probably his and served me a plate of cooked potatoes and roasted meat. I didn't know where the meat came from or what animal had been killed to get it because I could care less now. All that mattered was my stomach that needed filling. He watched me intently as I ate like a pig but oddly I didn't feel embarrassed. It was like he wasn't even there.After I'd finished eating and licked my hands some more, he finally spoke up, "You'll be sleeping here."My eyes bulged out of its socket at his statement and just as I was about to give him a piece of mind, he stated, "You'll be sleeping here alone.", emphasising the word 'alone'.The fumes coming from my head abruptly stopped, making me visibly relax. I nodded at him and he handed me a clean blanket and some clothes. It was a shirt and a pair of trousers just
I didn't dare close my eyes. It stayed open throughout the night and when the sun came out. Arya was the first to wake up this time. Marcie didn't sleep next to me like the previous night. She'd disappeared after she'd scared me yesterday. Just the mere thought of what was about to happen to me made my bones shake, until now it had seemed like something impossible. I didn't open my mouth, nor speak a word as they came for me that morning. As usual, Marcie was behind Arya but this time the scary woman with white eyes stood in front of them. Her frail hands no longer held the stick but what looked like a tree branch. She waved the branch in the air, uttering words I didn't understand. The others seemed to, because they stood in the same position as yesterday, attentively listening to her while I was left even more confused. who were these people and what was going on? If only Vlad was still alive and by my side. he would have known what to do in a situation like this. It still hurt me t
As my vision returned, the only thing I could think of was the fact that I'd lost consciousness three times ever since I'd been kidnapped. it seemed it had become a routine thing in my boring life since I always ended up in the wrong company. As usual, my hands and legs were tied but this time to a tree. In front of me were tents, about twenty of them, I wasn't sure if they were real or if I was just seeing double things. There were a number of wooden structures, each lit with fire to brighten the place. I didn't know how it had been done but it was a magnificent invention. Loud snores filled my ears, it seemed to be coming from one of the tents.I felt no pain in my body, it was as if I had not drunk contaminated water some hours ago. I shook my body, trying to loosen the ropes but they were too tight, almost cutting my skin from the friction."Boo!", someone suddenly jumped in front of me almost scaring me to death. Due to the shock, I unintentionally moved my head back, bumping my
"Are you sure we're going the right way?", I asked, looking around the place. It looked nothing like the path I'd travelled with Vlad and the others. In fact, the once broad route had become very narrow. I complained to her about this but she said that this was a shorter path. I blindly accepted her answer.The sun was almost setting, implying that we had been walking for more than four hours. My lips were patched since I'd run out of water due to the fact that I'd given my last bottle to her. she didn't even say a thank you instead she drew the bottle at me nearly hitting me in the head again. I excused her rude behaviour because I knew it wasn't her fault for being that way. Most children who grew up without parental figures often went through this faze."Are you sure this is the right route?", I asked for the hundredth time. She ignored me. I was just about to call her when I remembered that I didn't know her name. I'd been walking with a stranger and I didn't know her name! I acte
I opened my eyes, the dark spots slowly disappeared as I regained my vision. I was confused at first as to why I lay on the ground until I felt something heavy on top of me. Vlad lay limply on top of me, my dress soiled with blood, which surprised me because I felt no pain in my body. Panicked by this information, I pushed him off so he lay next to me and lo and behold, the silver dagger stood pierced in his chest. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at the blood that soaked his clothes. His body which lay there stiff, was cold when my hands felt his.I killed him! My hands were soaked with his blood.Covering my eyes, I slowly pulled out the dagger from his chest and threw it to the ground. I removed his shirt and pressed it on the wound. I knew it was of no use but I still had to try. if it had been a normal dagger then the chances of me saving his life would be high but it wasn't. I had no idea what to do next. I wanted to save him, I had to save him but I didn't know how. it ma