Episode 5

"Yes," he said, looking at her with such surprise on his face.

"What?," she asked, finally realizing that he had his eyes on her.

"Why are you interested about him?."

"I'm not!," she argued, looking away.

"Then why you interested in him? Don't lie to me," he said. He knew she was lying, for her reaction had given her away.

"I have nothing to hide," she said, still avoiding contact with his searching eyes.

"I believe you," he sarcastically said. "I should be back with my friends; my time is done here," he said, turning to walk away from her.

She watched on in desperation as he took a couple of steps away from her.

"Wait, please," she said, running in his direction. As she watched him gradually walk away from her, Lord Cage's words seemed to reverberate more in her mind….

"A fortnight, that's all you've got to convince me that he's not what and who I think he is. If nothing comes out after that, I will kill him myself."

"What!," he asked, too angry to look at her.

"I shouldn't have lied to you. I'm sorry."

"Speak," he just said, not interested in her apology.

"Please tell me, what do you know about the prisoner?."

He turned around as soon as she had said that, giving her a long and curious gaze. "Why are you suddenly interested in him? You didn't care to know about him yesterday when I tried to tell you. Did father send you?."

"He wants his head."

"Why!? Why would father do that!?," he protested.

"He believes he's an enemy, one that is not worth keeping alive. He has given me until a fortnight to prove him wrong or he will personally execute him. We've got to save him; he doesn't look like one we should be worried about," she said, sounding very desperate.

"Wait, you've seen him already?," he asked, surprised.

"Father sent me to his cell yesterday," she admitted.

"I see," he just said.

"Please, we've got to save him."

"I don't know how that's possible."

"There must be something about him that can help us prove his innocence!," she said, more desperate than before.

"I know nothing about him. We only picked up last night; no one said a word to him."

"Come on, Fidelis, there must be something."

"Listen, Alicia, I would love to help, but I can't. Besides, I don't understand why you should be this worried about him; he's just a stranger!"

"He's not!," she cut him short. "He's not," she said again, this time, a bit calm.

"Woah! You're in love with him! Holy smokes!"

"I'm not, stop trying to pull words out of my mouth. Fine, if you're not gonna help me save him from father's wrath; I will find a way to prove his innocence." She walked away, leaving him rooted on the spot, visibly taken aback by her display. If she had truly fallen in love with the stranger, then he was going to have a long journey trying to figure out how that had happened. He had known Alicia all his life, and he could vouch, well, maybe until now, that she has never fallen for any guy. His friends, some of them, had tried to win her heart, but she, instead of treating them the way they wanted, dealt with them as brothers.

"That's all they are to me," she would often say to Fidelis, whenever he brought up the issue.

"Why do you fear falling in love?," his curiosity had led him to ask her.

"I'm only worried about falling out of it," she had said to him, leaving him stunned.

To think that she had fallen for a stranger while 'brothers' were denied that honor left him scratching his head, in search of an answer to the question:

"Isn't love a crazy adventure?."

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"Crazy things have been done just to prove love is correct, yet, it does feel like the world has only been treated to a glimpse."

Linus.

She had stormed out of Fidelis' presence, feeling hopeless. She thought he would at least help her find a way to prove his innocence, but he had only added fuel to her dwindling hope. She tried to speak with those who had gone with him to hunt that night about it, but no one seemed to know anything about it.

"We would be crazy to worry about him," Lucas had commented.

"I don't even know why your brother insisted on us bringing him back," Tony added. "We should have left him for dead."

How she hated to hear him say that.

Disappointed, she walked away from them, ready to spend the night wondering how she was going to prove his innocence before her father, Lord Cage. Just as she walked past the tree she had earlier stood with Fidelis, she saw Zed, sitting all alone. Of the people that had gone with Fidelis to hunt, he was the only one she had not asked about the stranger. She had not considered asking him necessary, after all, she had thought, every other person had given her the same answer, so his was not going to be any different. But then, she thought of asking him, if nothing, to satisfy her curiosity.

She walked closer to him, thinking he would hear the sound of her footstep and notice her, but he didn't seem to have read the script, for he was completely oblivious of her presence.

"Hey," she started, waiting patiently for his response, as she stood by his side. He still did not seem to have noticed her.

"Hey," she said again, gently taping his shoulder.

"Hey!," he said, turning immediately to look at her. He was stunned to find her there, nearly jumping to his feet.

"Are you okay?," she quizzed him, surprised by his reaction. He seemed to have been lost in thought.

"Yes, I'm fine!," he stammered, still yet to get over the shock of her presence.

"I'm sorry about how I reacted to you earlier today," she said. She had felt sorry for him, especially when her reaction had caused the others to laugh at him.

"Oh, it's nothing, Alicia," he quickly said. "I should never have interrupted. You asked Dwayne the question, not me."

"I need to ask you a question," she said.

"Okay, what is it about?."

"It's about the strange guy you returned home with."

"That must be Damon," he said. "Is he still alive?."

"Why does everyone want him dead!?," she said, angry. "What has he done to deserve such hatred?. You know what, I should never have asked you."

"Oh, no, Alicia!," he said, quickly standing in her way as she made to walk away from him. "That was not what I meant. I was only worried for him. I'm sorry."

"What do you know about him? How did you find him? Don't lie to me, please," she just said, a bit more calm.

"We found him on our way back from the hunt. He must have escaped an attack."

"How do you mean?," she asked, curious.

"He told us that his parents, friends and other pack members had been killed in an attack by a pack of wolves led by… I've forgotten the name," he paused.

"He's a wolf like us?," she asked, dazzled.

"It seems," he said.

"Is that all you know?," she probed him further.

"He didn't have the chance to speak further."

"Why? What happened?."

"He was talking too much, distracting us, so your brother ordered that he be put to sleep."

"Is there something else I should know?."

"I've told you everything I know about him."

"Thank you," she said, as she took a couple of steps away from him.

"Wait!," he quickly said. "There's something I wanna tell you."

"That you're in love with me?," she said to him.

"You know already?," he said, smiling. "You must feel the same way then," he said, getting a bit closer to her.

"Zed," she said, smiling at him, "see, I like you a lot," she paused, as she watched him smile. "You're a good person, one I do not wanna lose."

"I'm here, Alicia, I'm going nowhere," he said, as he slowly took hold of her hands. It felt like dream come through for him. He wished the others were right there with him so he could prove to them that they were wrong to think that Alicia was never going to give him a chance.

"I would have to die and come back to life for her to even consider you, mate," Tony had laughed at him.

"My simple advice to you, buddy," Tom, one of them, had said to him, "is this: Buy a shoe that is your size. Alicia isn't your size, get it."

"Yeah, I know you're not going anywhere, but I am. You may lose me if you don't stop trying to prove to me that you deserve to have my heart. I like you a lot, but as a brother or friend, whichever you prefer. So, buddy, let's keep it that way, okay?," she said, smiling at him.

"Okay," he struggled to say the words, dazzled.

She hugged him and walked away.

"Fuck!," he let out, frustrated.

What do they say about love?

It takes no prisoners when it shows us the other side.

Zed just found out!

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Even though it was late already, she didn't care. She was determined to see him that night. Even though she believed what Zed had told him, she wanted more. She couldn't help but worry about him. If he had lost everyone he cared about, then what he deserved was not the alpha's wrath. She waited until Lord Cage had gone to bed before she made her move. Certain that everyone had retired for the night, she tiptoed out.

"Where are you headed, Alicia?," someone said to him, much to her shock, as she stood still. It was Fidelis. He had known she was up to something when she hurried over her food during dinner, which was unlike her.

"Nowhere," she said, trying to find a way to not make him see the pack of food she had on her.

He took a couple of steps closer to her, observing the content of what she tried to hide from him.

"I know where you're headed," he said. "You didn't have to lie about it. I'm not stopping you from helping him, but be careful; he's just a stranger." He walked away. Quickly, she continued on her short trip to the cell.

"I must see him now; I brought him food," she said to the cell guard.

"It's too dangerous to be alone with him this late," he tried to talk her out of it.

"I know," she said, undeterred.

"Let me help you then," he said, offering to help her deliver the food to him.

"Oh that's very thoughtful of you, but I would rather do that myself. Besides, I must attend to his wound," she said, turning down his gesture. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," she added, smiling at him. Not that she wanted to.

"You've gotta be quick," he said.

"Thank you." She got to his cell. He was already asleep, but she was determined not to leave until she had spoken with him.

"Damon!," she whispered his name.

"Hey," he said, quickly recognizing her. "You came back?," he asked, surprised. He had thought he would not see her again. The guard had told him that Lord Cage never keeps prisoners for long…

"I can smell your death," he had added, sounding so convincing.

"I brought you food," she said, passing it through the hole to him.

"I'm not hungry," he said, passing it back to her.

"Please, you have to eat," she said to him, sounding persuasive.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?."