ALICIA I focus my attention on my brother. He is struggling with himself, with his wolf. I know right away what is troubling him, Melissa is his mate but he can not bring himself to say the word, hence he stands there saying nothing. I smile, seeing him fighting the battle inside him, a losing battle. Melissa, his prisoner, and his mate. I know that his wolf will eventually win because that's what happens.Melissa too is scared. She is shocked at first to hear Andrew call me by name, evidence that he knows me, then coupled with the initial fear of being a prisoner in an unknown land. But I can see her struggling with what is going on inside her head, she has finally found her mate though in the most unexpected circumstances. She has been looking for a mate for a while now, and sometimes she would confide in me that she would like him to be a strong and muscular man who is caring and loving. Well, I didn't know that she was describing my own brother. He has all the qualities she wante
ANDREW'S POV This is definitely going to be the longest night of all. I am in a deep hole already and I don't know what to do to stop me from getting deeper and deeper.The problems started when I walked away from a subdued Alpha Drake. Everyone expected me to strike him dead. Alpha Eric came to know about it and came to our camp at night. I only knew of his presence when I heard the generator outside go off and as a result we were plunged into darkness. I presumed it was the enemy's work because the generator wasn't faulty and it had enough fuel.With that conclusion, I jumped out of my sleeping bag and armed myself with a machete that never leaves my bedside. I had slept with my clothes on.I listened carefully, trying to gather any noise and found it odd that no one in the whole camp seemed bothered. They were all silent. Very unprofessional of the whole lot, but that is expected from amateurs.Satisfied that there was nobody outside, I stealthily walked out and dashed into the tr
ALICIA We run and run, in the moonlight past the gates into the deep woods. I am leading while Melissa follows closely behind. She keeps on complaining that the boots she is wearing are so big for her but so are mine. Even after fastening them my feet keep on playing inside but I take comfort in the fact that even though they are torn, they are better than running on bare feet.“You better keep up with me Melissa, they will surely come after us, especially when they find out what we have done.” I tell Melissa who has stopped running and she now pants heavily.“My chest burns Alicia. Let's rest for a while.” She manages to say through heavy breathing.Just then the alarms go off, blaring noisily over the woods and echoing in the nearby rocks. They have found out about us and I just hope that Andrew isn't in trouble. I wonder what would have happened had he not come in time to our rescue. The guard he killed was about to inflict serious damage on us.Earlier at the cell we had plotted
ALICIA I run through the open grasslands, aiming at the direction Andrew told us and as the sun rises I have covered more than three kilometers. I have gone through knee high grass which still has it's morning dew and my wet clothes are now soggy with water. The oversized boots make noise every step I make and I decide to do something about it. I can't get far in such conditions. There is no noise from behind and I can tell that my pursuers have called off the chase. I can now relax.I find a river and take out all of my clothes and wash them, then hung them to dry in the sun. I remain with only my undergarments and I plunge into the cold river water to take a bath.The water does wonders, cooling down all my body and mind. I had been haunted by the act of leaving behind Melissa in rogue territory but now the guilt melts away and in its place it's replaced by an assurance in my mind that nothing bad can happen to her with her mate near her. Some things happen for a reason, I muse. Fo
ANDREW'S POV I know that my time with Alpha Eric is coming to an end, a bitter end. All the trust his pointman Brice had in me, if any, is gone and in its place a hatred that is so thinly veiled has set in. We have dispatched our men to go to war without us because we have to wait for Alpha Eric who has communicated through the radio that he's coming. He has indicated strictly that he wants to see me. The radio call was made in my absence by Brice, contrary to our procedures and that alone sends an alarm. This is the very first time a call has been made to Eric without me in the radio room. Brice went silent on me immediately after we came back from the river. Melissa made a very big mistake when she called Alicia by name, forgetting the pseudo, urging her to run away. Brice for some reason thought that I knew who this Alicia was and he demanded that I tell him, but I insisted that I didn't know her. This Brice, he has a very big sixth sense. “I don't believe anything you are sa
ALICIA “I was worried about you. My intelligence reports said that you left two days ago and I have been waiting for you. When you didn't turn up I became worried and I sent signals around looking for you. You can imagine my happiness when the radio call came with the information that you had been found" Drake tells me when we get to his quarters. The pack house is very big, with several wings, and one wing is assigned to him alone. It has two bedrooms, a sitting room, a washroom and a kitchen. It is a home away from home. We are in the kitchen together cooking coffee as we talk.“You won't believe if I told you that those warriors were very upset when you sent for me. They kept on taunting me.” I say.He says something to the effect that they were acting out of caution.Earlier, I had gone to the bathroom and scrubbed myself from all the dirt that I had accumulated, then threw into a bucket all my dirty clothes and put on Drake's shorts and T-shirt. They were all oversized but that'
ALICIA “I want you to assume that you have not seen that letter. Promise me that you won't think about it and you will sleep like a baby." Drake tells me as we cuddle in his bed.“Maybe I should just run away and go back to my pack. Alpha Lazarus may decide to give me away to secure release of the hostages.” I muse.“And you think I'll allow you to slip away? Do you know how dangerous it is for you out there?” He asks.“But at least I will be doing something, running away Drake?”“Relax. I can assure you that Lazarus won't even think about giving you away.” He says as he pats my hair.I am so worried because I have now become one of the conditions Alpha Eric has set in order to release the prisoners in his custody. Earlier, I had suggested sleeping in the separate bedroom since we are now away from home but Drake didn't think so and that's how we have ended up in this bed.Regarding the letter, Alpha Lazarus said that he needed to sleep over Eric's demands and discuss them with his s
ALICIA The cave has some dark recesses where the candle light doesn't reach and our shadows are cast dancing on the walls. The cool breeze washes in and I feel a bit cold, but there's some sort of comfort in Drake's hands, some warmth. The cave has no door, but the falling waters block the opening, and no one can ever suspect that there exists a dwelling here. We can live here for years without anyone knowing about our whereabouts. Maybe we should stay here until the war is over? I should suggest this to Drake. We can make it our love nest, secure ourselves from whatever it is that's happening out there. But asking him will be wasting my time. I know he is dying to join the war. War ignites a flame in him that's very difficult to extinguish. Just last night he was so sad that he had been away from the battlefield.He's holding me tightly as we romance wildly."Don't hide from me Alicia. You're beautiful. Please allow me to show you how much I love you," He tells me.This is a day I
ANDREW'S POV The door is going to open any moment now. Someone has been fiddling with the padlocks for some time and I can hear every time he succeeds in picking through one. I have already deduced that they are Invaders, having heard earlier as they slaughtered the guards. They want me now, to slaughter me too, but I won't let it happen so easily.I already know about the existence of a death sentence on me and slaying their leader in battle must have added some salt into a fresh wound. They must be on fire.The hut doesn't have any single weapon I can defend myself with, and I get too anxious every minute a padlock is unlocked. They must be experts in this art.Then at last I hear them disengaging the bolts and I know that my time has come, to live or to die. I position myself strategically behind the door and wait, as the door slowly squeaks and finally opens. My adrenaline levels are at an all time high, and I am ready for any eventuality.What comes in first is a sword, the tip
ALICIA I am floating inside what looks like a bottomless void. I try to establish some footing but I am powerless, so weak. I look around and all I can see is an vast plain, shrouded in endless spires of mist.“Am I in heaven? Then does that mean that I died?” I mutter to myself.Then it dawns on me that I am actually dead. Maybe I am somewhere in heaven's holding chamber, being cleared to get in. This explains the lack of energy in me. I am in the spiritual realm, I am no longer on earth, my body must have died.Everything comes back to me and I remember how my body suffered on earth. The wolves bane in my blood, the bruises and the substance Eric injected into my veins. My body couldn't hold all that poison, and that's how it died. I break into tears, tears of agony, of hatred. I should not have died before exacting revenge on Eric. I had vowed to teach him a very good lesson for what he did to me when he rejected me years ago. Not to mention all the torture he subjected me to rec
DRAKE'S POVYesterday was the day the war was fought fiercely. We have never fought like this before. Some rogues took us away from the battlefield but we managed to subdue them. All in all the rogue army was beaten to a pulp and if they manage to rise again then I'll applaud their spirit. By the time we left the battleground there were about a hundred of their fighters dead and a large number wounded. Their top commanders had escaped or hidden from the Juggernaut that was our army. Whatever had motivated us should stay with us even today and into the future.However we suffered losses too and our biggest loss was the death of one of our leaders, the Gamma of Lazarus' pack. He had charged at Andrew Waters with at least four of our men. Andrew had injured the men and struck a lethal blow on the Gamma, killing him on the spot. We learned of his death very late in the evening because we came back late. His trusted men brought his body home and his family and the whole pack were inconsola
ALICIA “Find the camp where I was being held before I was brought here Valerie. I need to send a message to my brother being held there.” I whisper to Valerie.“I know where it is. The guards here don't keep secrets.” She tells me.“Please, go there and find where they have kept a man known as Andrew. He is my brother. If you manage to see him, tell me where I am.” I say.“Anything for you Alicia. I will try all I can to ensure you are released.” She says.“Well, leave now before the guards throw you out.” I say. She walks out slowly, her shoulders heavy. She's carrying so much weight on her mind. After she's gone I manage to sleep a few winks.It takes what looks like eternity for morning to come, but eventually it does come. I am in so much pain and so weak but the natural light that is slowly creeping in gives me some hope. Drake must be looking for me now, very seriously. He knows about the rogue camp and that is where he will look first, then I hope he will search deeper and fin
ALICIA Later in the night the chains that pin me to the wall are removed and I am put into hand cuffs. Two other people come in, carrying a small table that they place at a corner a short distance away from me. As they walk out I notice an assortment of weapons on top of the table. They include knives, razor blades, scalpels and some other crude weapons. I know what is going to follow.“Alicia, I bring you a visitor. Be kind to him." Abed says. The two men consult for a while but I don't hear what they say. Abed walks out immediately and I hear his footsteps as they fade into the corridor.“Alicia, as you can see, I am here to persuade you. My name is Dwayne and I am here to replace Abed who has been given some other assignments. I am a bit reasonable and if you cooperate you will find that I am a cool guy." He says. I keep quiet. He starts circling the cell. “My role here is very simple." He says from behind me. “I want you to denounce Drake as your mate, and once you do that I wil
ALICIA The door to the hut opens and I spring up from my corner. I have managed to sleep on the damp floor and the visitors have just woken me up. There is a familiar scent, that of Eric.“Bring her out, but leave her criminal brother. We'll deal with him later.” He instructs.Two females walk quickly to where I am and frogmarch me towards the door. I can sense that Andrew is watching us, so I see no need to alert him.“Wait!” He growls in the darkness. “Where are you taking my sister?” No one answers him. I see him struggling to get up, but he's handcuffed from behind.“Touch her and I'll kill you with my bare hands Eric. Do anything to her and you will regret you loser!” He shouts. Eric walks in just as we approach the door.“Shut up Andrew. You are going to die, having outlived your usefulness. You sabotaged our mission and helped your sister to kill our warriors. I'd worry about myself if I were you.” Eric taunts him before walking behind us, then locking the door. I can still he
ANDREW They have brought Alicia to the camp, a camp that has been razed to the ground and all prisoners released and evacuated. Bodies of our dead warriors litter the compound and there's no evidence of any fighting. This means that they were found unawares or even sleeping as usual and murdered in cold blood.Brice can see what his lax warriors have brought unto us, and now more than anything else we need shelter from the elements. Then there's the thorny issue of my sister Alicia. She has regained consciousness but now she is very weak and even though her eyes are open she can't talk. She still lies on the stretcher she was brought in as Alpha Eric assesses the damage or what is left in our camp. There's nothing much to see as the only remaining structure in the whole compound is the hut that has the radio equipment and also acts as an extra cell for prisoners. I decide to stay besides Alicia and wait for Eric to come back and explain to me why he has taken my sister. I understand
ALICIA The next morning the war starts in earnest. Our side is very energized as we move out of the camp, marching towards the battlefield. There are four commanders today, the Gamma, the Beta, Alpha Lazarus and Alpha Drake. I'm also among the leaders of a women only battalion with about one hundred warriors.The warriors, more enthusiastic than before, are chanting victory songs for their respective leaders, praising and extolling them. My warriors praise me as the first ever woman wartime Luna who has left the comfort of her pack house and joined the battleground to fight for honor and friendship.“Hail the slayer of demon Patricia! Hail the great Alicia!” They chant.Today I feel it's going to be a day like no other, the spoils will be many. Something tells me that today will mark a turning point in this war. I'm certain that things will turn for the better.We get to the big clearing that is the battleground and we run to meet our enemies, each side shouting loud chants, ready to
ANDREW'S POV Things in our camp are taking an interesting twist. Alpha Eric has now joined us full time unlike in the past when he would come visiting every once in a while. He has pitched his tent some distance away from mine. However, he has not yet joined the battle. I hear that he will be joining tomorrow.Seeing him here I can't stop thinking about my friend and how he lost his life. One day I will make Eric pay for my friend's death, but right now I'll pretend that everything is fine.Eric has an affinity for women that is unparalleled and he comes with it to the camp. For the two days he has been here I have seen at least three women leaving his tent but that is not what bothers me. What bothers me to the core is that one of those women is someone I know, and met in my sojourn into Drake's territory, Bernice.Bernice is an old member of our pack, and she later moved away, joined Drake's pack. Her presence in Eric's tent is very suspect. I have heard before about our spies in e