Leila backs up, ready for whatever is going to happen next. The four wolves growling menacingly at her, ready to strike at any time. She snarls, considering whether to shift and let her secret be known when these men see her wolf but that would mean she might have to kill them to kill them to protect it but she’s not even sure she can fight one of them and win, not to talk about four. Her heart pounds slowly in her chest, fear grating down her nerves even if she doesn’t show it as one of the wolves advances towards her slowly. He halts and they all turn to the right at the same time, seeing an off-roader drive towards them in full speed and before the car parks right between them, demarcating the wolves from her, the excitement of Leila’s wolf already tells her who it is, even before his smell comforts her. Tatum jumps out of the car and Leila frowns at the sight of him, feeling an instant uneasiness and discomfort deep in her gut from the way he looks. He has lost a lot of weight
“What’s going on? Why are so many warriors going into people’s houses?” Leila asks, seeing for the umpteenth time how some pack warriors are harassing people outside their homes as they drive to the pack house. Tatum’s grip on the steering wheel tightens and he hisses, his eyes full of pain as he glances at Leila before looking straight ahead. “It’s Trent,” he says, punching the steering wheel lightly. “When he was sentenced for his crimes. As is customary, his assists were liquidated added to the pack treasury and most of it went into giving free shelter to the common folk of the pack but now he’s forcing them to pay rent, saying the pack can no longer afford to give them free homes and even those who already have their own homes now have to pay a compulsory property tax or risk eviction from their own homes.” Even if Tatum doesn’t say it, Leila can feel his pain and his helplessness, how much he wants to change things back to normal from the tone of his voice, the rage and bittern
“Isn’t that too much food for one person?” Liana asks as Leila heaps the flask she has placed on the counter with porridge. “Is it?” Leila replies with a genuine voice of concern, “it’s just, he’s lost so much weight, I don’t think he’s eating well.” Liana sighs and goes over to her, placing a hand on the flask, “I don’t think food is the reason for that, a man’s mind controls everything, even his appetite. I’m sure it’s the other stuff getting to him.” “So what do I do?” “Exactly what you already are, being here for him,” she reaches for Leila’s arm and squeezes it gently, giving her a small smile. As if suddenly realising that her mom could also be in danger if she stays here, Leila’s countenance falls even further and she holds her mom this time around. “I think you should go live with grandma and be in her coven for a while. No one knows what Trent will do now that he’s the alpha and considering our history, I wouldn’t want you to be a victim of his cruelty, not again.” Li
The crescent moon hangs alone in the dark sky, barely illuminating the night, there are no stars shining up there tonight. The moon seems to be on a solo mission, just like Leila. She wades through the thick bark of the huge and clustered trees that lead deep into the forest at the border, her heart beating fast and for good reason. Nervous would be an understatement to how she feels at the moment. Anything could happen and no one knows where she is. She winces as a thorn slices through her skin and she clasps her hand over the wound, undeterred as she continues to push further into the thick of the forest. She must reach outside the pack territory. It is dangerous, she knows but she needs some answers and right now, only Tatiana can help her and that is if Tatiana is still on their side. The only hope she has with Tatiana is the belief that Tatiana loves Kelvin, Tatiana proved that a number of times, she has to give Tatiana the benefit of the doubt. She has to. [I’m here.]
“They sent seven of us to take down this puny thing? I feel insulted,” one of the rogues say, spitting on the floor, his eyes raking over Leila with disgust. “Who are you? Who sent you?” Leila asks in a cold voice, baring her teeth, extending her claws and turning side to side to keep them all in her vision as they encircle her. Her heart is erratic but she already knows there’s no need to be scared, it won’t help her if she is to survive this. She will somehow have to take them down by herself and if they sense any fear coming from her, they will capitalize. “Look,” Another one smiles sinisterly at her, “you’re a very beautiful woman and I’d hate to cause any damage to that pretty face of yours, so just cooperate and come with us.” “You’re right about her being pretty,” another one chuckles, stepping towards her, “if she’s a good girl, we can have her warm our cocks, we can take turns or even run a train on her,” he chuckles maniacally and his pals join in his laughter. Leila’s
“And who the fuck are you?” The one who is still in his human form asks coldly, turning to face Tatum. The remaining six of them ignore Leila for the moment, lining up beside the one who is speaking, to intimidate Tatum with their numbers, snarling and seething. “I’m not going to ask you again, who the fuck are you and why do you— want to die a needless death?” the guy asks again and he and the pack beside him advance towards Tatum slowly. Leila watches helplessly on the floor in her wolf form, her heart pounding hard with fear for Tatum. She sees how Tatum ignores whatever the man is saying and is not even intimidated by their numbers or threat, his eyes are just fixed on her, looking at her with much concern. He doesn’t see or talk to her for several days and now he shows up to be her hero. She should be mad at him but she’s not, she always seem to get herself in trouble and he’s always there to rescue her. “Hang in there, I’ll handle this,” he says to her, cracking his knuckle
What has he been doing? Is he being tortured? Is that why he hasn’t been talking to her? Worry rises inside her and she cannot hold it down. She needs to know what is going on. He’s definitely keeping secrets from her again and she feels sad about it. She thought they were growing past that stage, but obviously not. Isn’t she jumping into conclusions here? She’s just going to ask him. Her wolf nudges Tatum with her nose as she tries to mindlink him but she cannot reach him, which is strange because he’s right in front of her. Her wolf nudges him even harder, feeling offended he is blocking them off but Tatum lays his hand on her head and rubs it gently, “I know it hurts, I’m almost done.” Leila instantly realises it, he’s not blocking her, he seems unable to mindlink but how? Is something wrong with his wolf? Even when she lost her wolf back then, she was still able to mindlink. She shifts back into her human form, determined to find out what’s going on with him. “Whoa….” Ta
Leila slowly rips the remaining pieces of clothing that still covers Tatum’s body after a while and she sees even more scars littered around his chest and abdomen as well. Her heart aches for him and she slowly runs her hands across the wounds, some of which have still not healed fully. She looks at him and he smiles weakly at her. “It’s nothing,” he says in a calm voice, telling her the story of all that he had suffered at the hands of Trent, all in the name of training. With every detail that he paints, Leila’s fear and worry for him continue to grow, her heart throbs slightly and tears stream down her eyes. How is he still even here when he has to fight so many wolves in a day, all while being poisoned by wolfsbane and tortured by silver? She knows Tatum is strong but hearing the ordeal he has to go through everyday and seeing how he took down eight royal guards a few minutes tells how just how strong he must really be. As much as she wants to feel a sense of pride and admira
“Welcome to my humble and temporary abode Angel,” Leo smiles at Leila, opening his arms for a hug. Leila keeps her face grim, her feet rooted to the spot, barely any amusement in her eyes as she stares at Leo blankly. “My bad,” he chuckles and drops his hands, “we’re not friends yet, according to you. I’m glad you took up my offer. Come, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” Leila narrows her eyes at him as she walks in behind him. His men do not bow or show any sign of respect or anything like that as Leo walks past them. Everyone is just going about their normal duty and activities as if they cannot even see him. Even Tatum who doesn’t force anyone to respect him will not have his men just lazing about when he walks in with a guest. Is Leo really this jovial with his men or is this all an act for her to drop her guard? Make her feel like he is a warm and homely person? She only has one mission here today and that is to find her daughter. Whatever theatrics and schemes Leo has up hi
“I think you should go Leila,” Jenny says later that evening after Leila tells her of her encounter with Leo and how he both directly and indirectly gave her an invitation to his camp. Leila looks at Jenny with shock, not expecting her to say that, “can you even hear yourself? It’s an obvious trap. He already has Amara, if he kidnaps me too, then what happens?” Jenny frowns, “you’re both invitees of the king and I know where you’re going, he can’t actually kidnap you if you walk in there with your feet. This may be our only chance to confirm if he really has Amara in there or not.” Leila sighs, a sad and conflicted look on her face. Jenny has a point but it is also risky too. The Leo she met is a far cry from what she thought him to be but of course, that too might just be pretense. “I have an idea,” Jenny’s face lights up as Leila raises her head to face her, “to ensure Leo cannot do anything silly when you get to the camp, we just have to make the king aware of your visit to Leo’
What does he want with her? Is he going to— “I thought I told you boys to back off, are you trying to scare the lady?” Leo’s voice breaks into her thoughts and she looks at him with eyes agape in shock, then squinted in suspicion. “Alpha, we’re only doing our duty, it’s not safe for you to roam these streets alone, considering our current standing with the king,”one of his men replies. “The angel here knows a thing or two about standings with the king and she’s roaming, is she not? Unless you boys think a woman can handle what your Alpha can’t.” “Of course not Alpha,” the guy immediately goes on one knee and bows to Leo. Leo rolls his eyes and frowns, “you’re always too serious Dexter, I meant that as a joke but if you thought so, you wouldn’t be wrong, this lady here is a special one.” The discomfort in Leila’s heart grows and a tinge of fear rises in her from the words of Leo. He was somehow able to find out that Amara is Tatum’s daughter, what else does he know? Does he know h
“This mysterious savior of yours seems to be one of a kind,” Jenny says after Leila recounts her ordeal at Leo’s camp to her. “I guess he is,” Leila replies, her eyes holding a conflicted look, her thoughts still unsettled about the probable identity of the man and his proximity when her life is in danger. “Jenny.” “Yeah.” “Is it possible for one’s wolf to change, maybe by magic or a spell?” “Why do you ask?” Jenny squints, her face becoming doused with scrutiny and a hint of sudden realisation, “wait. You don’t think it’s Tatum, do you?” “I don’t know…” Leila replies, her voice sullen and dry, her heart soaked in grief, “if such a spell was possible, I suppose I would think so. I mean, who else would come to my rescue like that but him and his choice to stay mute too. Plus Tatum has a habit of doing things and keeping me in the dark. I’m just so confused.” Jenny heaves a deep sigh, pity covering her eyes. She sits beside Leila on the mattress and drapes her hand around her. “D
Leila immediately takes off in the direction through which she came, the guard at the post takes a swing at her with the silver spear clutched in his arms but she ducks underneath it, her heart pounding hard and fast as more guards join in the chase. She reaches the fence and in one swift move, she leaps over it but the barbed wire tears into her back and the side of her arm as she lands but the pain doesn’t deter or slow her down. Leo already has Amara, no doubt to have an edge over Tatum, if she gets caughts too, it will only make things worse and judging from what she has heard about Leo, he could do much worse than just capture her. The sound of the dogs barking and men yelling gets louder as she takes off into the deep of the woods. She almost shifts so she can gain more ground on the dogs who she can see closing in on her from her peripheral vision when she remembers the dangerous spell cast on the capital, way before Antonio even became king. It is a tale every child growing
“If your mind's made up, give me a few hours, I’ll do a cloaking spell to keep you hidden when you get there, go get our little warrior and bring her back,” Jenny replies, giving Leila a hug. Leila feels a bit of relief hearing that. With a cloaking spell, she can easily move in and out of the camp undetected and hopefully, she can get Amara out. Armed with Jenny’s cloaking spell which Jenny channeled into a bracelet around Leila’s wrist, Leila heads to Leo’s camp. As long as she keeps the bracelet around her wrist and avoids water getting on it, the ordinary eyes of men will not be able to see her. Her eyes scan the camp’s walls—high wooden fences reinforced with barbed wire and guarded by sentries, their sharp eyes scanning the darkness for any movement. She can see their figures in the distance, shifting in and out of view as they pace. She holds her breath, listening for any noise that might betray her presence. Even with the cloaking spell, she still has to be very careful, o
The next day, Leila makes her way to the palace to officially answer Antonio’s summon. She would rather be looking for Amara or Tatum right now but it’s important that she sees Antonio too. The last thing she wants to do is give him an excuse to legally place any kind of punishment on her or pack using her disobedience as an excuse. “State your business,” a rough looking guard, a guy as tall as a mountain, confronts her at the gate. “I’m here to see the king by his summon. I’m Leila Cromwell, Luna of the blood oak pack,” she replies, staring at the gates that stand tall and imposing. The guard grunts and they his eyes change colours, showing he is mindlinking, possibly confirming if she was truly summoned by the king. “Wait here,” the guard frowns, before walking through the gates and into the gate house. Leila’s heart thuds nervously as she waits aside. A lot depends on the outcome of her meeting with Antonio but what would she even say to him when she sees him? The man singl
Leila’s heart races, her breath becoming unstable from Jenny’s revelation as she tries to make sense of it. “If it wasn’t for Amara’s power that caught him off guard, he would have captured us right there and then but she bought us enough time to escape and stay hidden until Tatum and his men arrived and the moment Tatum left with Amara, Leo and his men stopped their onslaught and went after him,” Jenny concludes. Leila sighs sadly and massages her temple. This endless cycle of torment and confusion just seems to never want to stop revolving around her. She knows Amara is alive but she still cannot ascertain her safety from what Jenny is saying. It makes no logical sense for Tatum to bring Amara to the last place that she should be and another thing is how far the North Star pack is from the capital. It’s a very long journey that would take travelling through different packs and despite the measures she put in place and people she had sent to different packs in search of Tatum and A
A terrific sigh of relief escapes Leila, her eyes going wide in shock and she hugs Jenny again, tears falling out of her eyes, a rush of relief filling her heart. For many nights and days she has prayed and hoped that Amara would be safe, that no harm should befall her but why the capital, why did Tatum choose here of all places to bring her, right under Antonio’s nose. What is his plan? She breaks the hug and tugs Jenny by her arms, “do you know where she is, can you take me to her?” She asks, her heart pounding wildly, nothing would bring her more joy right now than seeing her little girl again, seeing those shiny pretty eyes, her bubbly personality. The last time they saw Amara was withdrawing into a shell because of how different she was from kids her age and how they treated her. Will she still be the same or will spending time with her father have that effect removed? “Leila , calm down,” Jenny replies, a bit of a sullen look in her eyes, “I know where she is but it’s not t