CHAPTER THREE: STICKS AND CAVES  

DECLAN’S POV

Gathering up memories and mistakes wasn’t doing any of us any good and so I stood on my feet and turned to Lydia.

“you look exhausted, come with me let me give you a place to sleep,’’ I stated,

Lydia looked up at me and shook her head, “I need to find my family first, I need to know if they are still alive,’’ she insisted.

 “The lower lands are not safe at this time of the night; the humans are afraid and if they sight someone, they do not recognize they wouldn’t hesitate to put you away. I wouldn’t advise you to head over there now, come with me to where you will be safe first then at sunrise, we can begin the search,’’ I protested.

‘’We?’’ she asked with one brow raised.

“you think I would let you go there alone? I’ll go with you to search for your family. That’s the least I can do,’’ I announced.

 After hesitating for a while, she finally relented and nodded her head.

I turned to the rest of my pack, “gather up, we’re moving now,’’ I announced and they organized themselves and started moving with my second in command leading them.

I stretched out my hand to Lydia, she took it and I hoisted her up from her sitting position. With her walking beside me, we drew up the rear of the procession.

After walking for quite some time, she turned to me, “We have been walking for a surprisingly long time now and my legs are beginning to hurt and fail me. Where exactly is this safe place, you are taking me to and why is it this far from the main town?” Lydia asked.

 “Would you like me to carry you if you are tired of walking?’’ She turned to me and scoffed, thinking I was joking or mocking her but when she saw the serious expression on my face she stopped and cocked her head. ''Oh you’re serious, aren’t you?’’ She asked.

“Of course, I am serious, I wouldn’t hesitate to carry you if you were weak just like I used to’’ I said to her.

Werewolves are typically stronger than the average human, we harnessed three times the strength and endurance of a human and that was why walks that feel long to a human would seem normal to us.

I used to pick Lydia up all the time back then, her little legs could not withstand the distance we walked even in our human forms. That was why I offered to carry her again; I guess some habits just never die off.

“We now live in a secluded area, far away from the main town’’ I said, answering her already-forgotten question.

“Why is that? As far as I can remember, you guys used to live in the enclosure by the river, so what happened? Why move so far away?’’ she asked again.

“We are the most haunted species in Silverwood right now, the humans blame us for the attacks on the city and they banned us from participating in most of the town activities. The rival pack knew where we lived and launched several attacks on us, we had to move to a more hidden place at least for the meantime until all this blows over’’ I said to her.

“They can’t just ostracize you and your kind like that? You are still the ones fighting and protecting this town. This is so wrong,’’ she said fiercely.

 I saw the fire dancing in her eyes as she spoke. The fire that pushed her away from me, away from her town all these years.

“We caused the attacks, Lydia, I caused it, everything happening so far is my fault and no one else. Moreover, we love our peace,’’ I said to her as we walked into the familiar entry of the enclosure, we now called home.

LYDIA’S POV

My eyes widened at the sight before me, how could anyone live this way? I thought to myself as my eyes roamed and scanned every nook of the site.

“You guys live in caves?’’ I asked Declan in surprise.

 I expected something weird but not something as bizarre as this. Declan smiled at me in response and I shook my head, “It’s not that bad you know, we are used to it already,’’ he said to me as I watched the rest of the pack unload their injured and dead ones from the different hammocks, they used in transporting them.

“I am certainly not planning on sleeping in a cold and exposed cave that has no door or protective mechanism, there could be wild animals lurking around in the dead of the night’’ I said exasperatedly.

“Well we have had some encounters with wild animals on several occasions and I have lost three of my people to them’’ Declan said again, the angle of his jaw twitching in sync with his words.

I felt my lungs constrict on hearing his words, “You mean three people died?’’ I asked eager to get the whole truth so I could decide whether or not a cave susceptible to animal attack was the safest place for me to sleep.

He was silent for a while, staring at me through the shadowy cover of the night, and then to my very surprise he burst into laughter, “gotcha, I was just pulling your legs, Lydia. So far there has not been any wild animal attack. Even if it happens, we can sufficiently take care of an animal. So don’t get yourself worked up,’’ he said and patted me on the head, the same way he used to anytime I got scared of something.

“So do you sleep alone or do you share a ca... I mean a sleeping area with someone?’’ I asked him again.

“You can call it a cave because that is what it is. I have my cave and that is where you will be sleeping this night,’’ he responded.

“What do you mean by that is where I am going to sleep this night? I can’t sleep with you,’’ Immediately after the words left my mouth, I questioned the validity of the statement.

He stopped what he was doing and tilted his head to look at me; his eyes sparkled with excitement that I could recognize.

“I don’t have any plans of sleeping with you Lydia, unless you want otherwise’’ he said and raised his brows at me, daring me to take the bait.

I felt warmth creeping up my face and I ducked my head to conceal the impending blush threatening to expose the fact that I enjoyed hearing his statement.

“Come, let me show you which one is mine,’’ he said and I straightened up and followed his form.

He stopped in front of a cave that had a makeshift door made of grass and sticks wound together. He picked up the door and pushed it to one side, making way for us to go in. I stepped into the cave and he closed the door, letting the darkness envelop us.

I stood completely still, not wanting to make a move afraid that if I did, I might knock something over.

I heard him move beside me and strike a match and immediately the room was illuminated by the soft glow of candles placed on stirrups around the room.

I was shocked by what I saw; the room was nothing like what you would expect from looking at the entrance.

The entire floor was covered with a plush-looking carpet, I instantly kicked off my sandals and let my feet sink into the carpet and it was soft and prickly at the same time.

There was a large bed by the wall of the cave, around the bed hung makeshift curtains of blue and gold silk.

I turned to find Declan watching me, his eyes were alight with naked hunger and desire, the kind I had not seen in the eyes of any male in a while.

He walked towards me slowly and stopped in front of me, devouring me with his eyes.

Before I could step back, he grabbed me with one hand and brought his head down, his lips making contact with mine.

My toes curled into the carpet from the impact of the kiss, it was electrifying, sending shivers down my spine.

My body responded to his touch and instead of doing the logical thing which was to pull back, I intensified the kiss, matching his pace with mine.