Aram felt watched, raised his eyes and the she-wolf was standing at the kitchen door staring at him. He could smell her fear, and he didn't understand, since he hadn't even noticed her there. When he looked at her longer, he saw that she had changed clothes, she was wearing a sweatshirt set that appeared to be 5 times her size. What a fine job Szafir had done.
— What is it? Do you have something to tell me?
— I, I was wondering if you have any tasks that I can do. I don't want to sit on the couch looking at the walls.
He supported the axe blade on the ground before responding to her.
— You can, I don't know, watch TV. Take the opportunity to catch up on your favorite program.
— I don't have a favorite show anymore.
She replied to him in a very serious tone. Aram took a long breath, knowing that it would not be so easy to get rid of her company.
— Then you can go get all the firewood I crack and take to the pile in the shed.
He said, pointing to the large wooden building that was almost at the edge of the ground.
— All right.
Lucine responded and began to perform the task, he broke the trunks with great agility, but she gradually managed to keep pace with him. By noon, the pile of firewood was already a good size.
— You have to look inside, it may be necessary to start a new pile.
Aram went to check and saw that she was right.
— Yes, after lunch we can start another one. Now let's go in and heat up the food.
As Lucine went to the bathroom to wash for lunch, he quickly dialed Szafir's number, who answered the phone with two rings.
— These clothes were the best you could get? I know they’re yours, if it was to give my clothes I would have done it myself.
— Well, I thought you hated her too much, to the point where you didn't even consider borrowing your own clothes.
The other man replied sarcastically.
— Besides, I couldn't knock on the doors around, borrowing clothes for her. You know no one really wants her around.
Szafir sometimes used this more informal tone with him, especially when they were alone, as they were longtime friends and owed each other a lot. But it was nowhere near a suitable tone to use with an Alpha.
— Then go to the nearest town tomorrow and get something more suitable.
— You send it, man, oh, I realized I forgot to put socks in the bag, she must have frozen feet. I think you're going to have to get some of your own.
— Okay.
He said hanging up, because she was already returning to the kitchen. She hadn’t mentioned anything about not having socks, besides the cold, after all that hard work and movement, she might have blistering feet.
— You can serve yourself and warm up the food.
He ordered and passed her, went to the bathroom to wash himself and then to the bedroom to get a clean t-shirt. He looked at the sock drawer, hesitated for a moment, then opened it and took three pairs, returning to the kitchen.
— You can take these to use, tomorrow Szafir will buy some things you need in town, you’d better make a list.
She dropped the plate on the table and took the pairs of socks he offered her. She looked at the pieces as if she didn’t know what to do.
— I don't know if I put it on now, since I'm going to keep working, they're going to get dirty.
He seemed a little annoyed by her comment.
— Aren't you cold? Put on a pair, then change, if you need it, there's more in the dresser drawer.
— Okay, thank you.
She went to the living room couch, took off her shoes and put on her socks. When she lifted her leg from her pants to pull the socks up, Aram could see the wounds she had on her ankles, and that went up to a certain height of the leg. He couldn't help it and approached, to get a better look.
— What the hell is that on your leg, how did you get hurt like that? It was the werewolves who delivered you that hurt you?
She was a little surprised when he approached and tried to lower her pants quickly, she was not sure what to answer about her injuries and then thought the simplest would be to tell the truth.
— They kept me tied up in a basement, so I wouldn't try to escape, but only worsened the injuries that already existed because of the Gammas. Don't worry, they won't stop me from performing the tasks, soon they'll heal.
— To hell with the chores, that’s pretty ugly, you might end up losing your leg, you should take care of it.
— I washed it well yesterday, it doesn’t look like it’s going to get infected. As long as I’m not tied up again, I’ll be fine.
She said, getting up to go back to the kitchen. He crossed his arms at chest height and took a step to block her passage, it was a very intimidating obstacle.
— First, what's this about being tied up? And second, I'm not giving you options anymore, we're going to take care of these injuries. The last thing I need is for you to die from some infection or tetanus.
She stared at him, keeping her gaze for a long time.
— But I believed that my death would be something beneficial to you, would save you a lot of trouble.
He kept staring at her before answering.
— Yes, your tragic and accidental death, not for something I could have avoided. I'm not that kind of man who kills kids. I saved you once, you should know that.
— I know, but I'm no longer a child, but a problem for you I still am.
He stepped aside to release her stride.
— Let's eat, after lunch I'll take a good look at it, and I don't want objections.
Lucine thought it best not to test the Alpha's patience, after all, her goal was to get out of there alive. The calmer she remained, the more chances she had to succeed.
They ate in silence and when they finished Lucine went to collect the dishes to clean them. Aram held her wrist when she went to take his. — After you do that, wait for me on the living room couch. She did as he asked while Aram headed to the room. He returned with a box of first aid supplies and sat on the same couch as her, but further away. — Now take off your sneakers and put your leg on the couch. She obeyed him, put her foot already without the sock up the couch, near where he was. He took her leg, put it in his lap and began to carefully examine her injuries. He realized that there were several scars, one on top of each other, which meant that she spent a lot of time tied with the ropes hurting her. The wounds healed and others were opened. At that moment he knew that the female had gone through something truly bad. He thought it best not to make any comments, washed the area with serum and applied an antibiotic ointment. — You’re
— Dog food? How would I imagine? You don't even have a dog! Lucine tried to explain herself, visibly confused. — You arrived here yesterday, how can you tell if I have a dog or not? — Where is this dog then, and why wasn't it written on the package that was dog food? Aram dried his mouth with a dishcloth that was on the stove. Despite everything, the stew had not tasted so bad, only the texture was strange. When Yasmina died, he couldn’t keep their dog, Eros. Szafir then took the animal to his home, so that the dog would be taken care of decently. The rare times he went shopping, he bought food for the animal and delivered it to his friend. With the latest events, he had forgotten to deliver the dog food to Szafir. — The dog doesn't live here anymore, but I still bring food from time to time. Well, but it doesn't matter, there's no way to eat that, I'm going to make some sandwiches. She started emptying the dishes back into the p
As everyone was heading to the supply shed, Lucine was still waiting for Aram, who was talking to some older men. The fact that beta came to talk to her, slightly decreased the discomfort of feeling hated by everyone there. Not that she would care about anyone's opinion, but feeling sharp gazes in her direction wasn't pleasant.Szafir had also given good advice, which she needed to always bring in her mind. He said Aram was a good Alpha, but that his patience was not known to be infinite. That she'd have more to gain if she didn't test him in clashes and preferably not offer him any more dog food. She smiled as she remembered his relaxed speech. He had given the advice and withdrew, leaving her pensive, moments later she realized that the Alpha was coming to where she expected him. He had a very serious expression, with the countenance closed, not for nothing, the spirits had become very exalted in the meeting.— Let's go to the supply shed, I have to supervise,
Time passed mildly, with the Alpha regaining the respect of the people. He worked like the others in the wood industry, and on his free days he helped repair the houses that needed some renovations. Lucine did not give up learning how to prepare a decent meal, and with real food, which was not for dogs, it was not so difficult. In the days when he did not go to the lumber, Aram helped a lot, with the house and with the meals. Lucine began to record people’s faces, as she saw them almost daily when she was taking lunch to her husband at the factory. As the days went by, he began to receive some nods and even a few more. The fact that she went every day, apparently, was making people believe that she took good care of her husband. The fact that the Alpha always received with a modest but sincere smile, and showed a lot of warmth when she came, was also influencing everyone’s opinion of her. Six months had passed since the fateful day on which she had been assaulted in the assembly, the
On an afternoon when he was not working, they went to a small town near the village to buy groceries. The place was only 20 minutes drive from the village, and had a well-stocked warehouse and some small clothing stores.The two went first to the warehouse, passed a candy aisle and he noticed that she was looking at some chocolates that were on the shelf, but said nothing. He then took some and put them in the shopping cart.- You don’t need any specific product, like shampoo, deodorant?He asked, when he realized that she would not choose anything for herself.- I’m fine with what you have at home!Aram stopped pushing the cart and stared at it.- Lucine, my bathroom shampoo must be expired for a few months! And do you really plan on wearing my deodorant forever?Lucine blushed a little with his questioning and simply took a shampoo from a random mark, walked a little more and found the place where the deodorants were on
Lucine decided to take advantage that Aram was at the logger to use the shower room with tranquility, would take a long and relaxing bath. Since she had lived in the cabin, she had not missed an opportunity to take a hot bath. As usual, she put a song in a loud volume on television and went to the bathroom, leaving the doors open to listen to the "Playlist" she had selected.The afternoon could not have started better, Aram angrily pondered. He had had an accident with the saw and ended up cutting his arm, was attended by the doctor and released from work for a few days, took some stitches in the forearm, and without having another alternative, returned home.When he arrived at the cabin, he was surprised to find that on TV was playing a song at a very high volume and Lucine was nowhere, certainly should be doing some task outside. He dropped the backpack in which he carried his things on the sofa and headed to the room, was in great need of a bath, the cut had not been deep, but his
Lucine kept seated on the couch, wrapped in the blankets that had covered them both moments before. She kept her head down while he moved away towards the fireplace and stared into the fire with the expression of someone whose mind was somewhere far away and scary.“It's been six months...six months that you have been here. How come I didn't notice anything before?”She looked up as she answered him.“You had no way of knowing, I gradually developed the skills. The night I killed them, I transformed even though it wasn't a full moon. Now I can feel a huge energy inside me, even in human form. I have long range vision, strength far beyond normal, and some other bonuses. Not to mention my nose, this mixture of smells drives me crazy sometimes. Everything was appearing little by little after that day. I still have a hard time controlling it, but I think I'm doing well”.“Doing well? It's a miracle that you didn't kill anyone or yourself”, said Aram, visibly worried.Lucine pushed the cov
“Let's go to the shed, there is more space and my equipment is there”.“What equipment?”“You'll see!”They went to the shed where she had stored the firewood. Lucine hadn't noticed before, some equipment that seemed like a martial arts gym, but all very improvised. There was even a punching bag, the kind used for boxing training.“There are no gyms around here, so we have to improvise. In the elders' house there is a bigger one, for the betas to train”.“Cool”, she said, touching the punching bag with her fingertips, as if she wanted to check its texture.“Let's get started. Try to hit it as hard as you can, so I can get an idea of what we're dealing with”.“I don't think so, it could be dangerous”.“It's a punching bag, it won't get hurt”, Aram insisted.“Fine, but back off”.He took a few steps back and she prepared to throw a punch like she'd seen on television, which didn't mean Lucine had any idea what she was about to do. When she hit the bag, it tore and spread sand everywhere
Aram woke up with his arm better and they went early into the forest. Lucine was able to freely test her skills, view, smell, strength and agility. She did well in both human and wolf form. They took a snack and ate there to utilize the time. “You're doing well, you can already control the force. What remains to be worked on is the emotional, knowing if you can control yourself under strong pressure, that's what we need to train. You also need to learn how to track, but this is something more complex. Lucine, I think we're going to need someone's help and Szafir is the only one I trust for this. He can train you while I'm at the lumber, the faster you evolve, the safer it'll be”. She bit the sandwich and shrugged.“Okay, if you think we can trust him”.Aram smiled, finding her placement funny, as if the two were a team. In fact, in the current situation, they weren't too far from it.“Don't worry, he is reliable. Let's stay here a little longer and then we'll go back home. I’ll set
“Let's go to the shed, there is more space and my equipment is there”.“What equipment?”“You'll see!”They went to the shed where she had stored the firewood. Lucine hadn't noticed before, some equipment that seemed like a martial arts gym, but all very improvised. There was even a punching bag, the kind used for boxing training.“There are no gyms around here, so we have to improvise. In the elders' house there is a bigger one, for the betas to train”.“Cool”, she said, touching the punching bag with her fingertips, as if she wanted to check its texture.“Let's get started. Try to hit it as hard as you can, so I can get an idea of what we're dealing with”.“I don't think so, it could be dangerous”.“It's a punching bag, it won't get hurt”, Aram insisted.“Fine, but back off”.He took a few steps back and she prepared to throw a punch like she'd seen on television, which didn't mean Lucine had any idea what she was about to do. When she hit the bag, it tore and spread sand everywhere
Lucine kept seated on the couch, wrapped in the blankets that had covered them both moments before. She kept her head down while he moved away towards the fireplace and stared into the fire with the expression of someone whose mind was somewhere far away and scary.“It's been six months...six months that you have been here. How come I didn't notice anything before?”She looked up as she answered him.“You had no way of knowing, I gradually developed the skills. The night I killed them, I transformed even though it wasn't a full moon. Now I can feel a huge energy inside me, even in human form. I have long range vision, strength far beyond normal, and some other bonuses. Not to mention my nose, this mixture of smells drives me crazy sometimes. Everything was appearing little by little after that day. I still have a hard time controlling it, but I think I'm doing well”.“Doing well? It's a miracle that you didn't kill anyone or yourself”, said Aram, visibly worried.Lucine pushed the cov
Lucine decided to take advantage that Aram was at the logger to use the shower room with tranquility, would take a long and relaxing bath. Since she had lived in the cabin, she had not missed an opportunity to take a hot bath. As usual, she put a song in a loud volume on television and went to the bathroom, leaving the doors open to listen to the "Playlist" she had selected.The afternoon could not have started better, Aram angrily pondered. He had had an accident with the saw and ended up cutting his arm, was attended by the doctor and released from work for a few days, took some stitches in the forearm, and without having another alternative, returned home.When he arrived at the cabin, he was surprised to find that on TV was playing a song at a very high volume and Lucine was nowhere, certainly should be doing some task outside. He dropped the backpack in which he carried his things on the sofa and headed to the room, was in great need of a bath, the cut had not been deep, but his
On an afternoon when he was not working, they went to a small town near the village to buy groceries. The place was only 20 minutes drive from the village, and had a well-stocked warehouse and some small clothing stores.The two went first to the warehouse, passed a candy aisle and he noticed that she was looking at some chocolates that were on the shelf, but said nothing. He then took some and put them in the shopping cart.- You don’t need any specific product, like shampoo, deodorant?He asked, when he realized that she would not choose anything for herself.- I’m fine with what you have at home!Aram stopped pushing the cart and stared at it.- Lucine, my bathroom shampoo must be expired for a few months! And do you really plan on wearing my deodorant forever?Lucine blushed a little with his questioning and simply took a shampoo from a random mark, walked a little more and found the place where the deodorants were on
Time passed mildly, with the Alpha regaining the respect of the people. He worked like the others in the wood industry, and on his free days he helped repair the houses that needed some renovations. Lucine did not give up learning how to prepare a decent meal, and with real food, which was not for dogs, it was not so difficult. In the days when he did not go to the lumber, Aram helped a lot, with the house and with the meals. Lucine began to record people’s faces, as she saw them almost daily when she was taking lunch to her husband at the factory. As the days went by, he began to receive some nods and even a few more. The fact that she went every day, apparently, was making people believe that she took good care of her husband. The fact that the Alpha always received with a modest but sincere smile, and showed a lot of warmth when she came, was also influencing everyone’s opinion of her. Six months had passed since the fateful day on which she had been assaulted in the assembly, the
As everyone was heading to the supply shed, Lucine was still waiting for Aram, who was talking to some older men. The fact that beta came to talk to her, slightly decreased the discomfort of feeling hated by everyone there. Not that she would care about anyone's opinion, but feeling sharp gazes in her direction wasn't pleasant.Szafir had also given good advice, which she needed to always bring in her mind. He said Aram was a good Alpha, but that his patience was not known to be infinite. That she'd have more to gain if she didn't test him in clashes and preferably not offer him any more dog food. She smiled as she remembered his relaxed speech. He had given the advice and withdrew, leaving her pensive, moments later she realized that the Alpha was coming to where she expected him. He had a very serious expression, with the countenance closed, not for nothing, the spirits had become very exalted in the meeting.— Let's go to the supply shed, I have to supervise,
— Dog food? How would I imagine? You don't even have a dog! Lucine tried to explain herself, visibly confused. — You arrived here yesterday, how can you tell if I have a dog or not? — Where is this dog then, and why wasn't it written on the package that was dog food? Aram dried his mouth with a dishcloth that was on the stove. Despite everything, the stew had not tasted so bad, only the texture was strange. When Yasmina died, he couldn’t keep their dog, Eros. Szafir then took the animal to his home, so that the dog would be taken care of decently. The rare times he went shopping, he bought food for the animal and delivered it to his friend. With the latest events, he had forgotten to deliver the dog food to Szafir. — The dog doesn't live here anymore, but I still bring food from time to time. Well, but it doesn't matter, there's no way to eat that, I'm going to make some sandwiches. She started emptying the dishes back into the p
They ate in silence and when they finished Lucine went to collect the dishes to clean them. Aram held her wrist when she went to take his. — After you do that, wait for me on the living room couch. She did as he asked while Aram headed to the room. He returned with a box of first aid supplies and sat on the same couch as her, but further away. — Now take off your sneakers and put your leg on the couch. She obeyed him, put her foot already without the sock up the couch, near where he was. He took her leg, put it in his lap and began to carefully examine her injuries. He realized that there were several scars, one on top of each other, which meant that she spent a lot of time tied with the ropes hurting her. The wounds healed and others were opened. At that moment he knew that the female had gone through something truly bad. He thought it best not to make any comments, washed the area with serum and applied an antibiotic ointment. — You’re