DerrickIt's been two days now and Alpha Joash's seemed to be getting worse. There was no trace of the men who were sent to get the detoxifying herbs. Just like the royal physician had promised, he was ready to set out on his own.I couldn't let him go alone so I decided to go with him. Since my actions were still unstable, it was better that I leave. Possibly, I could regain my sanity by travelling through the wild, but Targon disagreed."Going with the royal physician might be dangerous. You are Alpha Joash's right-hand man. The Alpha King and his men recognised you already. You should stay back here while I go with him. I and a few men will protect him from a distance…" Targon suggested.I saw the wisdom in his words, so I agreed. I stayed behind and he left with the royal physician. We dressed the royal physician like a woman. It was a disguise to avoid easy recognition."I pray you return in time… Do not stay too long, for His Highness'sake," I pleaded."I know what is at stake
VeraI lost consciousness at some point and when I came around, the healers were working on me. Blake was nowhere to be found."She has come around," one of the healers said to the other.I raised my hand slowly to touch the rugged wound on the neck of the healer that was bitten earlier. My heart squeezed in pain, both physical pain and emotional pain."I can't watch any of you die for me… just kill me… When I die… all this will end… I'm doomed to die anyway…" I muttered incoherently."You won't die," the one who Blake bit muttered."Oh… you two… can talk? What a relief" I muttered, choking in pain."Can't you see? Our herbs can't do much…The wounds are too brutal… They won't heal easily and … he wouldn't stop inflicting more wounds on her… if he continues to torture her, he will kill her!" The second healer responded."Thank you for saving us earlier… I had thought we were going to die…""We have to help her get out of here…" "What are your names?" I slurred"I am Tehla and she is T
Vera"It worked! I just spoke to Beta Derrick! It worked" I clattered, holding Tehla and Tirha's hand. They smiled and nodded while they continued to work on me.I could never be more grateful… but I needed to know where we are. Where the heck is this place? … And… what was that? When I linked up with Derrick earlier, he was cryptic about Alpha Joash's condition… Well, all that mattered was to get out of here, when I'm home, I will see for myself. I couldn't wait to fly into his embrace and tell him how I felt. My heart raced as I remembered Blake's words. Why did he believe that Alpha Joash was dead? I'm sure he survived the attack since they escaped with his body. He had survived worst attacks in the past, I consoled myself."If he is hale and hearty, he would have turned the earth upside down to find you," Viola chipped in and I shrank with fear."Do you happen to know where this is? I mean where the goddam hell are we?" I asked, trying to divert myself.The twins looked at each
TargonI was angry with Derrick but I knew he was under tension just like I was. I had no option, he had given the order and I had to obey, he was my superior.I understood why he did not want to send the physician back without me. Men whom we had sent initially were all waylaid and killed. But that doesn't make his decision good either. The physician was stricken with age. Taking him through the rigour of travelling down to the Hollow Woods was unwise. He would slow down our pace and his presence at the scene might also complicate things. We had been on the move for about half a day and the old man was weary already. Since we didn't prepare to travel far, we didn't bring a horse. We also decided against it to avoid attention."Sir, you should wait here. Some of my men will stay with you. We will be back before this time tomorrow… I promise…""Thank you, thank you," the old man said profusely and heaved a sigh.I ordered some of my men to hide him in and protect him while I sprang i
Targon.I stood by the creek in the Hallow woods, looking abroad. It was all still and quiet, I didn't know which way to go. I looked at my men earnestly, trying to figure out my next move. Since I couldn't link up Vera, I had to go through Derrick. But before doing that I decided to make a gamble."We will all spread out, in different directions. We have got just five minutes. Be vigilant and alert as you go. If you find any strange structure or occurrence on your path, link me up immediately," I ordered my men."Yes sir!" The two responded in unison and departed.As for me, I chose the path that went straight ahead of me. I moved swiftly, looking left and right with my senses alert. But nothing came up. I was in the middle of emptiness, surrounded by bushes, trees and animals cluttering here and there. There was no human form in sight. Not even the howling of a wolf.I threw my hands up in frustration and turned to leave, but something fell into my line of vision. It was far away an
TargonThe joy in my heart when I found Her Highness was boundless. Although she was badly battered, she was alive and I found her! Derrick had made it clear that it was paramount that we found her and saved her.When she mentioned that there were two other captives, and we must save them, I almost cussed aloud. I had thought that this was going down without a scuffle but she just shattered my hopes!How can we save two others without a counterattack from their captor?We found the prisoners and I noticed that they were poisoned. I thought that Her Highness would give up on them but when I saw her doggedness to still leave with them, my heart sank. It wasn't logical! We were possibly digging our own grave! We would get caught!We had to get out of here in time and we must be careful not to lead Blake to our secret place. Who knows, he could be watching us.I mind-linked Derrick immediately, telling him to send three horses our way.Luckily, we slipped out of the building with Her High
VeraThe cold breeze swooped into my ears, whizzing my name as the horse galloped at a mad speed. Shuddering, I held the reins tightly with one hand and hugged myself with the other arm. Pain rocked my cuts as the horse hopped on."I am going home," my heart merry despite the cold and pain that were rocking my body.Home? The idea of 'home' sounded strange, but yes, I am going back to my man and his abode will be my home. I looked behind me, giving a last look at all that was Blake's. He would go mad when he found out that I had escaped with his toys.My eyes burned with tears as I remembered all that he meant to me and all that he did to me. Did I miss it from the beginning? Has he always been evil or did circumstances turn him into a monster? My heart bled for him and the thought that I had left Alpha Joash to be with him made my heart tingle.Another question popped up in my head; What if I had returned Blake before the whole saga, would he have done this to me? Would he have mad
Vera"My Alpha!!!" I crumbled whilst Beta Derrick held me up by my shoulders."Your Highness! You can leave, you also need some rest. Get some treatment and rest before coming to see His Highness," he advised but I pushed him out of the way and staggered towards the bed."I'm… I'm sorry…" I stammered as I took baby steps forward. My strength was draining fast and I grasped the edges of the bed. Tears filled my eyes and I wailed like a baby."Is he alive?" I asked the physician, blinded by my tears. "Yes… But…""But what!?" I thundered."We… we'll try our best..""Yes, you should! And what have you all been doing to help His Highness!? You have all tried but your best isn't good enough!" I yelled looking straight into their eyes one after the other.My gaze fell on Dr Fred and my eyes widened."What are you doing here!? The last time I checked, we had a stone to pick. You are not supposed to be here! Traitor!" I yelled and I realised how Alpha Joash must have felt when he thought I wa
DerrickThere in my hideout, I watched all that transpired in the King's camp. How Silas was killed and how Alpha Joash took the advantage of the distraction to get his father.Silas death was a painful one, but it wasn't my place to cast blame. It was proper to say that he sacrificed himself for the course that he believed in. He wanted his father's demise. When I saw the opening, I fired a twin arrow that took the King down. I couldn't let him slip out of our fingers again. We have had enough. Vera was caught up in the whole saga and I couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. The guilt in her eyes after she realized what she had done was heart rendering. I hope she forgives herself and that her mate won't hold it against her. It was an understandable misconception.After the cruel King took his last breath, I and the two other men who were with me burst into the camp. We dealt mercilessly with the soldiers who were planning to strike back after their King's unexpected death.They
Joash A twin arrow flew past me and landed on my father's back. I recognised them immediately. They were arrows from my men. Derrick! I muttered and didn't bother to find him.I looked behind me and my gaze settled on Vera. With a cold glare in her eyes, she threw another dart. I tried to deflect it, but I missed. I stood there and watched helplessly as the poisoned dart flew past my father's arm, cutting through it.“Aha….” Father groaned and tumbled to the ground with Silas’ body still hanging in his arms. He turned over his shoulders and looked at me. A proud laughter escaped his lips with blood sipping out by the sides“ We are not different! You used me against my son and my son against me. I will haunt…”“I call you Father,” I said, swallowing hard.“I'm not your father! You bastard! A son can never kill his father!” He continued to blabber but I had regained myself. I picked up his sword and slashed him on the neck. Silas’ body tumbled out of his arms as he held his neck a
JoashThe dart that came from behind almost cut Vera's neck but it didn't. I could tell that it was thrown by a skillful archer. Not until it landed, I didn't realise the target. The target was one of my father's men who had almost released an arrow to take me out.My eyes widened as I realized what was to come. Drinking the toxic wolfsbane was just a show, my father had another plan in mind. He wanted to take me out all at once. Just like Silas said. My death indeed has nothing to do with Vera's salvation. Wait. Who threw the dart? Is it Silas? Did he just save me?One of Vera’s darts landed on the bottle of wolfsbane in my grip, shattering the bottle. The second dart flew past me, I didn't know its destination.“Aha!!!” I yelled as the wolfsbane from the bottle spilled. It splattered in my hand and body, burning me up. I groaned in pain.“Who dares!?” My father thundered and stood up from his seat. No one knew it was Vera except me. Father grunted as he saw the man who was suppose
JoashA heart rending pain squeezed my heart and my vision turned red. It felt really hard to breathe and I coughed out loud. My body felt sore and I felt all that Vera was possibly feeling.With my hands still lifted up, I rose up to my feet and took heavy steps down the hills.“Do not go with me!” I gritted and Derrick stopped.“We have your back,” he barked.“Don't do anything silly,” I grunted and continued down the hill.“Don't come, mate. Save yourself,” Vera's whisper distilled into my mind.“Shut it!” Argh! That wasn't what I was supposed to say. “You wait for me. I'm coming to get you,” I said to her and shut her out of my mind.Just then, a weary but familiar voice broke into my head. It was Silas. “You fool. Hasten up. Come get you girl before it is too late. Father is a mas dog. If you stall for a second, he will kill her,” he said.“You loser! You should have kept her safe but you lost her.” My heart skipped a beat as I descended from the hills. Two soldiers grabbed m
The sound of battle on top of the hills ceased. I heard Derrick and my men shout if victory. It implied that the battle has been won and the King has stopped sending in troops. Now, this marked the beginning of my battle with my father. I remained there waiting for Derrick's summons. And all I could think about was Vera. How sweet my reunion with her would be. I was lost in thought when I heard Derrick's voice.“Your Highness,” He called me out of my reverie.I sprang up to my feet immediately, all dreams vanished out of my head.Derrick was bathed with blood. The look in his eyes broke my heart. I knew what it meant. It meant most of our men were slain.I rose up and parted his shoulder. I have been there before. I knew how it feels to lose one's men. Moreover this is our loss, not his alone.“How many are remaining?” I asked “Five,” he whispered.“It will be fine,” I said and climbed up the hills.“Victory at last.” I cheered him up.Suddenly a cry of joy sounded from my father's
JoashThe fight with the second set of attackers was the real deal and I presumed that they were the King's men. Tinko surprised everyone with his skull smashing ability. It would have been a waste if I had made him stay back. Despite his talkativeness, he provided a great deal of information that made us one step ahead of our attackers.At the end, I lost two of my men but I didn't stop until the last one of my enemies fell to the ground.“Another set of the King's army is coming. You should go into hiding, Your Highness. King Jason's strategy is to wear you out before coming to finish you up himself. Hide and reserve your strength,” Tinko advised.Looking over the hills I realized that he was right. Another group of armies had emerged. They threw darts and fired arrows at us but none was on target.Tinko was right. My father would have won easily if his large army came against us all at once, we would be outnumbered and overpowered. But he chose the trickiest method because he want
Joash“My Comrades linked me up because they thought that I was still with them.” Tinko said and looked from Derrick to me like he was ensuring that we got the message.“Skip the details, what is the update!?” I barked impatiently.“The General of the armed forces, Alpha King Jason has given his order…”“Skip the details. What order!?” I yelled at Tinko and he jumped.“Prince Silas’ men have been told to withdraw. But they are coming to attack you… I mean… to attack us…” “Speak!” I charged at him“Unlike the initial order, the General wants them to kill you on the spot. They are coming in batches. Behind Prince Sila's men are the King’s elite men.”“Gather here, everyone,” I called my men together and pushed Tinko forward. They must not know that we have him.DerrickAfter Tinko had spoken, Alpha Joash summoned us all and we gathered around him. Within a twinkle of an eye, he addressed us and gave his command.We all went into hiding. Since we were outnumbered, an up front attack wou
Joash"What is your name?" Derrick asked the lad that was leading us."Tinko," the boy replied earnestly.He had led us to a hill. We had a good view of my father's army, although it was still farther away.The army was more enormous than I had thought. I had just about twenty with me. Fighting and winning against such a big army of skilled men seemed totally impossible, but I planned on achieving the impossible with my men.My trust was in the lethal poison on our weapon. The Idea was to target the commander of the armed forces, my father. Once he is down, the army will scramble."Lead us to a closer spot," Derrick said to the lad. "Yes, a spot where we can take a clean shot,” I added and the boy led us on.We arrived at the hills of Tabor a few minutes to 12. It was at the north side of my father's camp and it was closer. I took my first shot at exactly 12 noon. My father was my target. I aimed a clean shot on his forehead and watched the arrow's projectile as it descended towards
JoashI was running out of time and Derrick had not arrived. Now that I knew that Vera was safe and closer to me, I wanted to link her up but I stopped. I felt ashamed for making her go with Silas. She did show some restraints but she eventually followed him because I said she should. Moreover, I know her too well… speaking with her now could make her have some funny ideas, like showing up to my defense. But this battle isn't an average one and my family feud is my business.More men came against me around the Creek of Tabor. I dealt with them all mercilessly as I waited for my men to join me. Again, I felt another rustling in front of me and it pissed me off. The men were no match for me. They were just distractions as far as I was concerned. Who are they and who sent them after me? The answer was glaring but I would draw out some information from him before killing him like others. I stared calmly at him and we exchanged glances. He didn't look away. He continued to look at me l