If only Harper could tell her heart to stop being so nervous at the moment, she will. Yet that’s not something she has some control over. Here, she could only stand in front of the whole Virgo, arms and legs tied individually, her back hurting from the hardwood placed at her back. On her left was Norton, his eyes closed, humming a song. To be honest, it’s not what she expected from him. She expected him to be worried, and scared, and regretful. But here, between the two of them, Norton’s the calmer one. “You seem calmer than I expected, I have to say.” – Harper mentioned and Norton stopped humming"It's all fake, Harp. I feel like I'm being skinned alive inside."Oh, Harper thought. It doesn’t show at all. Perhaps that’s the thing with exterior confidence. None could really tell if it’s just for show. That’s how dumb people sometimes are. “I hope this ends soon. I can’t keep still.” – Harper admitted and Norton looked surprised.Norton stared at her for too long. He opened his lips
Anthony readied the second arrow. The last one was too close to Harper’s right eye. His heart almost stopped when it hit the board.Come on, Anthony. You can do this. Don’t miss.The thing is, the small size of the apple atop Harper’s head was the hardest part of the test. Not to mention that it’s placed twenty-five meters away from where he’s standing. The second arrow ready to shoot, the sweat from his forehead rolled down her cheeks. He held the arrow’s nock and aimed at his target. Once again, he tried to focus not to injure. This time, he has to be extra careful, even more careful than the last one. He looked at the clock and it showed he only had 1:04 seconds. Two shots. One should be successful, the other one can either be a failure or a spare.Come on, Anthony. You can do this. Don’t miss.He stretched his hand backward, together with the arrow. It’s starting to strain but Anthony knows he can only let it go once he’s sure it’s going to hit the correct target. Harper gulped
Harper and Norton stayed in their rooms for the entirety of the next day. Norton has recovered faster than they’ve expected but Harper’s the one who’s affected by the challenge. She could not focus on her supposed rest because she kept on replaying the moment the arrow almost hurt her.“Are you hungry, Harp? Do you need anything?” – Asher offered. He asked from the other side of the closed doorHarper looked at the door.“I’ll get it myself later, Ash. Don’t worry about me.”The person on the other side of the door walked away. Asher respected that and left. Perhaps Norton would be hungry so he transferred to another door. One day after the trial, many of the Virgo wolves have been talking about the use of the live targets. It has never been done before and it’s only used now. Thus, explains everyone’s enthusiasm on seeing it last night. Brayden could hear these whispers and hated Marion and the Virgo way of initiation more. It’s not that necessary and if the purpose is only to creat
Two weeks passed and Anthony already talked to Damon about his plans of creating a coup to overpower the present Alpha and replace it with Damon. They have been immersed to the culture of the Virgo too long now and they have to reimagine themselves in a different skin. The thing about being getting used to the new is that you tend to forget how comfortable and homey was the old. And even in the midst of being in the Virgo, that’s something Damon and his friends didn’t fail to remember and keep heart. They’re wolves of the red blood pack. No one can take that away from them. None ever can. Not even Marion.“If we don’t start with baby steps now, we will be stuck in this place for too long. Hector is growing up too, Damon. Do you want him to develop consciousness as a Virgo cub?” – Anthony said in a hushed voice. He and Damon were scotting over at the back of the roundhouse, deep in the forest.“Is that what Harper said? I’ve been worrying about her for how many weeks now already? Sinc
Promising though, is different from visionary.In the former, there’s a potential for it to happen, in the latter, the leader knows how to make it possible. Here, as Brayden noticed, Damon has no clear plan. He only wanted to gather them one place and then deliver his last-minute thought speech.Brayden smirked at the back of the room. Harper saw it and shook her head. The Beta raised an eyebrow. It was only reaction, not really thought of but some involuntary (kind of) movement of muscles.“To make that happen, each of us has to invite one person from the Virgo now. Soon, when that becomes too easy, we’ll invite two, so on and so forth. The goal is to double our number and then we shall be stronger and more than the Virgo loyal servers.” – Damon said, emphasizing his every word with intense gazes across the roomBrayden raised a hand. “Yes, Brayden?”“I would like to emphasize that if we invite Virgo people in this coup, individually, that would maximize the chance and possibility o
Brayden bit his bottom lip. Even his mind’s telling him not to engage, his body’s reaction gave him away. Eva’s gaze settled on the thing between his legs as it became more obvious by Eva’s act of removing her top garment.“Come on, Brayden. Are you too scared that Harper may see? Oops, last time I checked, she didn’t care about you at all.”Eva gave a throaty laugh.She can see her plan is working. A little more push and Brayden would lose his walls. By then, it would be easier for Eva to trick him by her feminine moves. “You don’t know anything, Eva… and I will repeat what I said. I need you out of my room.”Eva couldn’t give up. Brayden may be saying something with his lips but his body’s saying otherwise. It will only take some time for him to drop the act. Perhaps more skin would do the job?Eva repositioned herself in an open position on the bed. Brayden watched her every move, not even blinking even once, and she’s liking the attention he’s giving her. He’s hating that he’s co
It felt… unexplainable. The feeling of being basked in moonlight again. It has been long that he hasn’t felt that anymore. It’s liberating. The soil beneath his feet, the wind in his face. All in all, it felt like the first time again. It felt like he’s finally being himself after nights of just looking outside the window, wondering what it would be like to be running and chase the moon.Eva smirked, just observing the Beta from a distance. Something about Brayden’s wild spirit made her think he’s the best person to team up with. Their same insights about everything just seemed to be in line with each other and it’s a rare thing to find. With that, Eva decided to join him for a late-night hunt.“Wait up, Brayden!”The betan wolf didn’t turn when he was called. With his fur as dark and black as the night, he was easily lost in sight. Eva kept up, her brown fur moving like a huge rock amidst the tall grass. “Keep up, Virgo!” – Brayden called out, taunting herBrayden couldn’t help but
Brayden’s ears alerted. If it’s Eva, that would mean she has left the terms of the game to help him. It’s like admitting her defeat by coming to his aid. Does he need it? Absolutely. Does that mean their game is over? None of them knew. What’s certain is that the bear chasing after Brayden’s tail is the more important priority of the moment. It’s the bigger problem, not the game.“EVA?!” Brayden screamed, head turning to the direction of the howl. No one answered, but there’s a subsequent howl. This time, it came from a different direction. It came from the right. The path where Eva took as part of their game.If the second howl belonged to Eva, then who is the first one who did?“EVA?! IS THAT YOU?!”None answered again. This time, Brayden let it go for some moments. He found the bear to be the bigger person to the situation. He shook off the howls yet.But then it’s the one who has revealed themselves. It’s not Eva. It’s someone else… and the she-wolf was covered in blood. “Alo