Chapter 7: An Unfamiliar Feeling

Noah's POV

Throughout our journey to the Lupin Pack, the High Priestess was using her power to heal Anastasia. The blonde woman with very light blue eyes looked at me with a grim face like my healer, which made my heart beat even faster. If someone with impressive medical knowledge like the High Priestess looked like that, I knew that I had to rush to the Lupin Pack as fast as I could.

"This is really dangerous. I feel her weakening," the High Priestess said as she held her cross with one hand and held Anastasia's hand tightly with another.

"Why did that happen, High Priestess?" I asked her as I was holding my wife's other hand.

She looked at me straight in the eyes as she answered, "She seemed to feel betrayed. Did you do something to her?"

Her question made me lower my head in embarrassment. Eventually, I confessed to the High Priestess that my emotion got the best out of me and I directed my sword to Ophelia. My wife woke up in anger to stop me before she fainted even further.

The High Priestess sighed before she talked, "That should explain it. Please manage your emotions well, Crimson Warrior. Your wife is in a delicate state after everything she went through. It's expected for her to get mad when she sees you trying to attack someone she dearly loves earlier. I suggest you apologize to her and Ophelia. It'll help. Then, we'll focus on her treatment as soon as we reach the Lupin Pack."

After that, the High Priestess excused herself to help my healer to heal the warriors. I looked at my wife sadly before I put my forehead to touch hers. 

'Anna, I'm sorry,' I told her through the mind-link.

What the High Priestess said was right. I had done something wrong to her friends, so I needed to apologize to them. Immediately, I asked Hugo and another warrior to watch my wife while I went to the back of our caravan. Ever since my wife was injured, our tents were quickly folded and we brought our caravan. The injured ones were at the back of the caravan.

The High Priestess and my healer were helping the injured, including Andreas and Ophelia. My warriors had pretty light injuries. Our harsh training had trained our bodies to withstand almost any injuries. Some of them were stunned because of the high-class vampires, but they were supposed to be fine in hours. My wife's warriors were injured too, but they were still in good condition. 

I was more worried about both Andreas and Ophelia. Andreas was injured badly, so the High Priestess and my healer were focusing on healing him. On the other hand, Ophelia was injured too. But she was now resting. 

When the girl looked at me, she quickly knelt. But I stopped her with my hand. My wife's maid still looked reluctant, however.

"No need to. I come here to apologize," I told her as calmly as I could.

"I'm so sorry, Crimson Warrior. My foolishness has caused Alpha Anastasia harm. How is Alpha Anastasia?" Ophelia asked.

"Anna still hasn't responded to me. As soon as we reach the Lupin Pack, we'll know. I hope my wife gets better," I answered her question.

"Also … I'm sorry for getting mad at you, Ophelia. I was blinded with rage before," I told her, apologizing to the girl sincerely.

Ophelia seemed to be stunned for a while, but she finally responded, "Thank you so much, Crimson Warrior. If I were in your position, I would understand. Please forgive me too."

"All forgiven. Get well soon," I said to her before returning to Anastasia.

My beautiful wife was still lying on the bed. When I saw her, I couldn't help but feel weak. I didn't know why. For the first time after I became the Crimson Warrior, I was afraid. This feeling was very unfamiliar to me. Was it because I had spent so much of my time focusing on being the best warrior that I managed to forget about what this feeling was? 

This feeling felt so tender yet it also felt painful. I noticed that it became painful when Anastasia questioned me earlier. A question I had been keeping to myself was on my mind.

'Is this love, Axel?' I asked my wolf, Axel.

However, Axel didn't answer me. Ever since Anastasia was injured, my wolf hadn't responded to me. It was as if my wolf refused to talk to me. That worried me as well. Our wolf side was a part of us werewolves. Losing connection with one's wolf was the worst feeling to ever happen.

"I'm sorry, Anastasia. Please stay with me," I told my wife softly as I held her hand.

Just when I thought Anastasia wouldn't respond, she opened her eyes slightly. 

She muttered weakly, "N-Noah … "

It was the first time she called me by my name instead of the Crimson Warrior. Never in my whole life that I felt so grateful to see her sapphire blue eyes. I really wanted to cry, but I held my tears back.

"Y-yeah, Anna?" I asked her in a trembling voice.

Without wasting any time, I contacted Hugo through mind-link to bring the High Priestess here. The High Priestess quickly used her power to heal and bless my wife. However, my wife then closed her eyes.

"What happened, High Priestess?" I asked in a panicked tone.

"I can feel her wolf, but I can't feel her," she told me as she checked Anastasia's pulse.

"We have to hurry to the Lupin Pack. The pack's Beta will know more," the High Priestess continued.

After that, she continued, "May the Moon Goddess bless us all."

I hoped the Moon Goddess truly did bless us. I didn't want Anastasia to leave me. It wasn't her time yet. Besides, I hadn't honored her promises. Not to mention, the prophecy. 

'Fuck prophecy!' I cursed to myself.

'O'Moon Goddess, please let my wife stay with me. I beg of you,' I said my prayer.

***

We finally reached the Lupin Pack's territory. I told Hugo to hasten the horses to reach the Lupin Pack's castle. After all, I had no idea how long Anastasia could get through this. The faster we reached the castle, the better it was for my wife.  

I kept holding Anastasia's hand tightly. Her hands were as cold as ice. Several times, I tried to talk to her through the mind-link. None of it worked. It was as if my wife was deep asleep. 

The moment we got closer to the castle, the Lupin Pack's guards quickly opened their gate for us. Immediately, I could see a garden of white roses alongside a huge white castle. This was the Lupin Pack's castle. 

I could see Alpha Lili from a distance. Not only the Alpha, but it seemed lots of high-ranking werewolves of the Lupin Pack had greeted us. Frankly, it was a huge honor to be treated like this.

'If only Anastasia could see this, she must've felt happy that the other packs support her,' I thought to myself.

The older woman immediately shook my hands firmly. 

"Alpha Lili," I greeted the Alpha who stood tall elegantly.

The older woman just smiled slightly before she talked, "Crimson Warrior of the Bloody Fangs, what an honor to receive you. How is Alpha Anastasia?"

"It's not good, Alpha,” I explained.

When Alpha Lili heard it, she seemed to be extremely shocked. 

"How could that happen?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Beta Marie, please check Alpha Anastasia's condition," Alpha Lili ordered someone slightly younger with red hair and hazel eyes.

That red-haired woman was the Lupin Pack's current Beta, Marie Blanc. She was known as the best healer in the werewolves' world. If the Bloody Fangs' warriors were fatally injured, we would send them to the Lupin Pack to be healed by her. It was a testament to how good her healing ability was.

On the other hand, Alpha Lili bowed to the High Priestess before the former hugged the latter. It was unsurprising as the High Priestess was her daughter. Specifically, her eldest daughter. Normally, the eldest son or daughter would be the heir of the pack. But it wasn't the case with the Lupin Pack. The eldest daughter of this pack would be the next High Priestess. 

Immediately, the Beta checked on my wife. Like both my healer and the High Priestess, her face looked grim. She then gestured to some servants to bring my wife into their hospital. The Lupin Pack had its own hospital because of its high number of healers. 

"W-what happened?" I asked in a hoarse voice.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen something like this before. But we'll observe her for now," Beta Marie told me.

Seeing that I was still not satisfied with the answer, the High Priestess calmly approached me and she wisely said, "The only thing we can do is to let Beta Marie take care of Alpha Anastasia, Crimson Warrior. But I felt Alpha Anastasia's wolf earlier. Let's hope it’s a positive sign.”

Although it didn't really work, it managed to calm me down albeit slightly. After that, I instructed Hugo to bring Andreas, Ophelia, and other warriors to be checked while we were in the Lupin Pack’s territory. In the meantime, I decided to talk with Alpha Lili to calm myself even further in the white rose garden in their castle.

"Crimson Warrior, congratulations on your marriage, I suppose," Alpha Lili said.

I responded politely, "Thank you so much, Alpha Lili."

"Have you talked to your wife about the prophecy with Alpha Anastasia?" the older woman asked me.

The prophecy was made known by the High Priestess to me from the Bloody Fangs, Alpha Lili from the Lupin Pack, and Alpha Carl of the Varg Pack. The High Priestess, Alpha Lili, and Alpha Carl tried to reach out to the late Alpha Nikolas to inform them about my wife as the part of prophecy. Unfortunately, the man refused to listen to them.

As a response to Alpha Lili, I nodded my head weakly. It seemed that the Lupin Pack's Alpha had sensed my worry, so she stopped walking. Then, she sat on a bench and asked me to join her, which I did.

She asked me again, "How well did she take it?" 

"I'm afraid I was being reckless, Alpha. I told her that I married her to fulfill the prophecy," I answered honestly.

When Alpha Lili heard my answer, she turned her head from looking at the beautiful roses to me in disbelief. In fact, the older woman sighed as she massaged her forehead as if she was in distress. For a while, she just looked at the roses before she looked back at me.

The usually gentle Alpha became stern as she opened her mouth, "Goodness, men from the Varg Pack had spent too much time training that they forget things like this. Crimson Warrior, I can't believe you told her just like that. What do you expect if you tell her like that bluntly?"

Alpha Lili's response made me nod my head in embarrassment. Indeed, I came from the Varg Pack. We were known for our fighting prowess, so most of our time was spent fighting. It was also a reason why most of the Bloody Fangs warriors hailed from the Varg Pack. So, yeah, I guessed we were pretty dense about this. Or, very, to be exact.

"So, what do you suggest then?" I asked Alpha Lili.

Again, I asked her, "Is this related to why she hadn't woken up?" 

Somehow, I was so sure that my face was red because I was so embarrassed. But I didn't care. What I wanted was for Anastasia to wake up again and talk to me. So, I would do what the wise Alpha would do.

Meanwhile, Alpha Lili seemed to be in her thoughts for a while before she spoke again, "Win her heart, my boy." 

"She has gone through lots of terrible things. Her mother died, her stepmother despised her, her father died, her half-brother usurped her throne, and she was suddenly told to be a part of the prophecy," she continued, making me realize even more of my stupid mistakes. 

Eventually, the Alpha ended by asking, "Do you think she was in the right mind to process all of this smoothly?"

Damn. Her question slapped me to realization. I really had to fix this mess that I had created. Yet, how? How to win Anastasia’s heart? I just made her even more upset with what I did.

"How do I win her heart, Alpha Lili? Can you teach me?" I asked her.