ITHRAI rushed to Zadok with my heart beating fast. “Open your eyes!” I held him and placed his head on my lap. “Don’t even think about dying on me.”His eyes fluttered open, and blood gushed from his head down to his face. “Ithraa,” He said, breathing heavily. It was a struggle for him to breathe. “Shush,” I said, “Just stay with me. Let’s get you out of here.” His mouth was slightly open, and I could tell he wanted to say something, but I didn’t let him. Without further interference, I helped him up to his feet. Damn, he was heavy! He put his weight on me, and there I noticed something odd. His clothes were soaked. Instinctively, I raised his clothes and noticed a gash on his stomach. Blood dripped from the wound, and I contemplated putting him down and searching for some herbs to stop the blood. “Don’t. Find a place. Let’s get out of here.” Zadok wheezed, “You’re bleeding!” I spoke like it was news to him, panicking. “It’ll heal.” He said, “This place,” He coughed, “this fo
ITHRAI returned to a barely alive Zadok and immediately fed him the fruits. As I fed the fruits to him, I prayed to the heavens above that I wasn’t wrong with my administration. I remember watching my mother boil the fruits, pound them and administer the content after drawing out its nutrients using water. With our current predicament, we didn’t have such luxury. I gave Zadok the fruits raw and hoped that would help while I got to creating a fire to roast another batch. My snake bite burned like fire, but I didn’t let it distract me. I put some fruits in my mouth for the poisonous effects of the snake bite and went on to put on a fire in the cave. It took a while, and eventually, the fire burned. The cave glowed with a fiery red tone. I returned to Zadok, using my mediocre skills to assess the extent of damage. Thankfully, his breath evened and gone was his previous laboured breathing. He was still unconscious, but I hoped he wouldn’t die. While roasting the fruits, I thought a
ZADOKI felt a soft body pressed beside me, and a sweet scent of lavender and spice filled my nose. My eyes fluttered open, and I came face to face with a mop of red hair. Soft legs wrapped around me, caging me to the silkiest skin I’ve been privileged to feel in my years of existence. Instinctively, my hands traced the skin of the legs around me, and I felt my wolf purr in delight. Waves of pleasure shot through me, and my arms tightened around her. It took a moment for me to come to my senses. I was a second too late because Ithra jolted up from her sleep, hitting my head in the process. A sharp pain from my head rocked my body, and I winced at the strange feeling. “Are you alright? Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry.” Came the panicked voice of Ithra.I couldn’t speak. It seemed like the pain in my head increased as time passed by. “It’s the poison. Lay on your back. I’ll get you something to help the pain.”Poison? I thought, wondering what the hell she was talking about. I didn’t
ITHRANot as good as my tits?I huffed as I walked through the woods, trying and failing to put off the flames in my cheeks.Zadok was unreasonable, I thought. Remembering his lopsided grin as he teased me without shame. I couldn’t have it with him. I walked through the bushes, placing thoughts of Zadok in the corner of my mind. My stomach growled, reminding me of the hunger that ate at me. There was nothing in the forest - not even a single bunny. I wondered where the animals fled and why. A scare came upon me at the thought of them running away. If they had all run away, I presumed something scared them - and whatever it was, I knew I needed to be wary of it. I pulled out my knife and stayed guard, and my eyes opened for any unfriendly attacks. I heard rustling in the bushes and turned around with my hands clutched tightly on my knife. I smiled when I saw an antelope feasting on leaves. I felt joy as I checked out its large behind and hinds. Meat. I thought with a smile, gettin
ITHRA Zadok was brimming with energy. He carried the dead meat and led us back to the cave without breaking a sweat. I even felt stupid for worrying over him. From my observations, he was as strong as a calf. His Alpha genes must have hastened his healing, thus giving him back his strength. It was beautiful to behold him back as the protector I knew him to be. A butterfly flapped in my stomach, and I killed its motion before it could take off. I couldn’t be fawning over Zadok. I shook off the weird thoughts that plagued me and walked by his side - ridding me of the view of his legs from behind. I didn’t miss the feeling of despair that hit me at the loss of that precious view. This time, I violently shook my head, trying to rid the thoughts that brought heat to my cheeks. What was going on with me? I thought. Unknown to me, Zadok’s attention was well on me. “Any problem?” He asked with a gruff voice. I was startled, but I covered up with a tense smile. “What do you mean?”
ITHRA “Ithra! Please, help us!” My mother screamed as she burned alongside my sisters. My eyes were red with tears as I helplessly watched the fire devour them while they screamed for help. I couldn’t come close to them. I got held by Athaliah and Azriel - who refused to leave me as the others burned every hut in the Celtz clan. “Please. Stop it, I already pledged my life to him, I already agreed to help him! Please, just spare their lives. I beg of you.” I cried, “It was stupid of you to think I will let these scoundrels live. You are lucky you are still alive. Had it not been for our Alpha’s generosity, you should be burning with them!” Athaliah said, eyeing me with disgust. “Kill me!” I screamed, unable to hold myself. “Kill me right now because death is worse than this! I can’t live with this memory. End my life this instant.” I yelled, getting tired of the torture. “Gladly,” Azriel said, tightening his hold around me. “I would love to rid this earth of trash like you, but
ITHRAWe trekked all night long. My feet hurt. My body was sore, but I refused to give up. My pride refused me to retract my words and demand us to rest. Zadok was agile. He brimmed with energy as he made way for us in the dark forest. He didn’t look back even once. Everywhere was hot, and Zadok created a torch made out of firewood in the shortest possible time. We continued the journey that suddenly felt like it had no end. Zadok suddenly stopped in his tracks. I bumped into him, lost in thought. It felt like I walked into a steel door. “What?” I asked, too tired to be anything but soft. “We rest here.” He stated and dropped the torch on the floor. I couldn’t accept defeat, “No. I told you we must get to the Cold Valley before resting. If we stop now, all our efforts will go to waste. We must continue.” I picked up the torch, determined to continue. Zadok grabbed the torch out of my hand. I could see his clenched jaw through the glow of the light. He was pissed. “I wasn’t as
ITHRAWe woke up to a freezing atmosphere. Zadok and I journeyed through the Valley of Thorns. In our journey so far, this has got to be the longest walk yet. Thankfully, we were close to leaving the Cold Valley, and we could tell by the coldness that increased as we went further. “Finally.” Zadok said, stopping in his tracks, “We are here.” He faced me with a smile. “Welcome to the cold valley.” I searched for signs that told me we were in the cold valley but saw none. “Where does it say so?” I voiced my concerns, and he smiled. “Surely, you don’t expect a signpost in the dark forest, Ithra,” he said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes, “No shit, Sherlock.” I gestured to our surroundings, “Forgive me for looking for something that suggests we are out of the Valley of Thorns.” I opined, “Other than the increased coldness, there’s nothing out of the ordinary.”“That’s because we are yet to cross its thresholds,” Zadok said, studying the map. “From my analysis, it should be right her