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
ALICIA In the early hours of the morning we walk back to the pack house and straight to our quarters. I am very sleepy and tired from the activities of the night.We didn't sleep much last night because we couldn't have enough of each other. We ended up devouring each other all night but now that's in the past. I feel great, having Drake as mine and mine only. Except for the sleep in my system, I feel sufficiently energized and ready to join the troops, but not today. Right now I want nothing else but to sleep the whole day. Drake isn't as lucky as I am. As a major leader in the ongoing war, he is needed in the usual morning meetings to plan the day's activities at the battleground. I look at him as he strips to his undergarments and puts on his fighting gear. He looks commanding, given his huge physique, his broad shoulders, his tallness and big muscles. I am glad that all these belong to me and consider myself very lucky. I feel that I have won the war against Bernice and others w
ALICIA.After the meeting ends around noon I go back to our quarters wondering if I will be able to sleep. Every member of the council has passed a death sentence on my brother and I am so sad about it. I also nodded in agreement when the Gamma with an hard-line stance looked at me. Then I remember something Drake told me. He called it full disclosure.“Alicia, if you want peace in your life, always put all the cards on the table. The little things you choose to conceal are very dangerous and they may ruin your reputation in future." He had said to me the night after finding out about Eric and I.Now his words are proving to be right. I don't know how to break the news about Andrew being my brother. But I must tell him because I can't sit back and wait for Andrew to be killed while I'm doing nothing. I must do something. Drake is still held up in a meeting as I lay in bed. Somehow, I drift into deep sleep.I don't like sleeping during the day because that's when I dream the worst drea
ALICIA Today I enter the battle. It's the day I am going to prove to everyone that my training wasn't in vain. In my conversation with Drake last night I told him not to worry about me. Something tells me that victory belongs to me. “Remember that you are going to face a very experienced warrior, someone who has been fighting all her life. Sometimes she fights in order to stay alive.” Drake said. “I can assure you that after I am through with her, she will never fight again. Also, I want a piece of Alpha Eric. I want to strike him. I want to see his face when my sword strikes his chest. I'm thirsty for revenge.” I was almost shouting. When I remember this conversation I doubt whether I was out of my mind at that time. Right now I am very nervous. I never knew about Patricia before, but now I have gathered enough information about her. It's as if I have known her for years. I know her height, weight, color of her eyes and the techniques she uses in battle. But I must fight her
ALICIA “That was remarkable. Congratulations.” Someone says as she approaches us. I don't need any introductions because I have her in my medal picture. It's Patricia.I step away from Esther, about three steps away. It's very honorable to let the opponents take care of their own, and there's some respect due to an injured warrior, enemity aside.Patricia stands tall over Esther, then bends low as if to whisper something to her.“You had the opportunity, but you didn't utilize it. You should have killed her.” She speaks in a very low tone but I can hear everything, especially now that the whole battlefield is so silent. Esther is too weak to respond.“Now, you leave me no other option but to finish this piece of trash for you, but first, I need to show everyone around here how we deal with failure.” Patricia whispers. At that moment I realize what she is about to do. I need to stop her, Esther was a very good warrior and she doesn't deserve this.I draw my sword and dash quickly, but
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
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
DRAKE'S POV “We request to have you alone Alpha Drake. Luna Alicia, please excuse us for a moment.” One of the senior members of the pack says, and Lazarus seems to agree with this. I can't believe that this is happening but I keep quiet to see if someone else will speak.After a while of uneasy silence Alicia rises and asks me to join her outside.“I am sure you can deal with this alone. Please let me accompany my sister Melissa. She is going out to look for Andrew, he is her mate.”“Andrew? Why should you look for him? He is a tough guy who can always take care of himself.” I say.“We believe he could be in trouble judging by the way he ran out of the battlefield. Please, just let us go.” She insists.“Well, I have no problem with this. But I am sure that you are all worked up for nothing. He will be fine when you find him. Meanwhile, let me deal with this.”“Good luck Drake. You survived the battlefield, this is nothing.” She tells me. Then she sees Melissa some distance away, bye
ALICIA What was just an ordinary day of fighting changes abruptly when the rogue camp starts cheering. For a moment I wonder what is causing the sudden change of mood because all day they were so demotivated. Then I hear the words I have grown to hate with all my heart.“All hail Alpha Eric!” They sing in unison. I can't believe that Alpha Eric is indeed in the same battlefield with me. I must take advantage of the situation and take my revenge.I had doubts that Eric would come to fight again, bearing in mind that the rogues he was supporting were now looking at certain defeat. But now that he is here, I must face him. I must fight him.Quickly I disengage from my command where I was leading the onslaught and go looking for this villain. I remember that I should do this discreetly because I don't want Alpha Drake to see me fighting with Eric. The rules of engagement, agreed upon before the war started, state that no male warrior will be allowed to fight against a female or vice vers
DRAKE'S POV War is bad.We are here in the jungle away from our home, fighting for our friends. A treaty binds us to fight for each other should one of us face an attack. We have made several sacrifices to this end, the biggest being the abduction of my mate Alicia by Eric. I am going to deal with him at a later date but right now I am dealing with something else.Alicia thinks that our hosts Alpha Lazarus and his mate are somehow cold towards us and I tend to agree. Ever since the Gamma was killed in battle I have noticed something peculiar. The top pack members now do a lot of consultation behind my back. I have seen it severally but dismissed it as nothing but now that Alicia has mentioned it I think she has a point. Well, we will just have to wait and see.We don't talk much because Alicia falls asleep in my hands immediately after we get to my quarters and she sleeps until morning. I bet it's from what she didn't sleep during her time in prison. In the morning I try to reason wi
ALICIA Aunt Regina and I share a few moments, but I don't reveal anything about myself to her. I even decline an offer to take me to my parents. At first it looks like a good idea, where I can go and bide my time waiting for the war to end, but then I am a fighter, and I belong to the battlefield. Secondly, my mate is worried about my whereabouts and I want to end his anxiety so that he can participate in the war without worrying about me.“Listen aunt, I can't go to my parents. I want to go somewhere else right away.” I tell her when she insists on taking me home.“You never cease to amaze me my child. But where are you going?” She has already brought me some of her clothes, and when I wear them they are so tight. I bet I am bigger than her by a few inches. We have joked about my weight for a while and laughed a little. Perhaps this was what I needed, a light moment. “Aren't you afraid of what might happen to you when they find out that you let me go?” I avoid her question, opting
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