Chapter Nine: A Fun Person

CHAPTER NINE (NEW MOON)

 Chapter Nine: A Fun Person

“Mallory…”

Mallory raised her head only to see Oddny looking at her with teary eyes.

Frowning, Mallory set her fishing rod aside and held her hands. She asked, her voice full of concern. “Oddny? What’s wrong?”

Oddny bit her lips, hesitation was clear from her subtle actions. Mallory caught her throwing anxious glances toward the others who were with them by the river.

It’s their first week traveling with the Exploration Unit which saved them from the pursuit of their mortal enemy; the vampires. During this week, Mallory had already adjusted to the atmosphere within the group. She thought Oddny did too, but she didn’t. Not even the slightest.

As the oldest of them, she did everything to make Oddny comfortable. She hunted, foraged, and fished for their own food and lit the fire to keep themselves warm. It was a bit hard at first, making her realize her mother’s dedication to her whenever the same thing happened again, but eventually, Mallory managed to make everything run smoothly.

Mallory knew where that hesitation and uncomfortable feeling Oddny was feeling rooted. They have been with the Unit for a week and a half, so they didn’t hide their unwillingness to mingle with the two. And being females, they had experienced nasty glances and remarks from older men.  

Mallory endured, but Oddny’s heart and mind can’t bear it.

She looked at the younger one’s face. Unlike her usual bubbly personality, her face was shrouded by gloom. Her face was pale like paper, and her lips were chapped as if they were deprived of water. Under her eyes were black bags, too heavy that one might think she hadn’t had her sleep for a very long time.

“Let’s go there,” Mallory softly guided her towards an inconspicuous area by the river. They were far away from the fishing werewolves, but Mallory knew that they could still hear them even with the distance. She just hopes that the gushing sound of the river will mask some of their conversations.

Once they were alone, she asked again. “What’s wrong?”

“I need to serve the son of their alpha,” she sniffed.

That was the time she noticed the after-bath garments for men in Oddny’s hand. Mallory’s eyes shrank considerably.

Oddny’s hand trembled, and she shakily said, “Mallory, I’m scared…”

There was silence after that.

Mallory’s thought turned into a complete disaster before calming down. She took a deep breath and placed her hands on the garment.

Oddny looked at her in confusion before her eyes lit up from understanding. She bit her lips before shoving them towards her. Then she softly whispered. “I’ll fish for us”

Mallory bit her lips and nodded. “Thanks…”

She walked past her, but before she escaped the earshot, she heard Oddny say, “Sorry…”

 -

Mallory went to find the son of the alpha before realizing that ever since she entered this unit, she had not felt any presence of an alpha. The person who greeted them was a beta, and the other older ones were already omegas. It was a small-scale Exploration Unit, but to think that the son of the alpha was there.

Mallory thought for a moment before coming to three conclusions. He was either the beta leader, one of the omegas, or he had yet to acquire his Status.

No one would really know their Status until the Blessing Ritual, one that happens in the Coming-of-Age Ceremony. The statuses are separated into three categories; alpha, beta, and omega. Alphas are the most likely wolves to be given by the goddess a considerable portion of her strength to defend against the vampires, the beta is the second while the omega almost got nothing from the goddess. They were considered ‘normal’ wolves and were the wolves that dominated the number of the pack. Aside from hoping to get an offensive type Blessing from the goddess, the omegas are merely humans that can shapeshift and have enhanced hearing, eyesight, and strength. Of course, also has twice or thrice longer lifespan than the human race. 

An alpha, on the other hand, is the complete opposite of them. They were very few and in a hundred betas and omegas, you can only find two or three. Most Alphas came from a descendant of an Alpha. It was rare to be an Alpha child of a beta or omega.

Most know about the three.

But there is one status that is not talked enough.

Luna.

Every Alpha’s fated mate is called Lunas. And all Lunas can be the embodiment of the goddess. They can possess a huge portion of the goddess’s power. They are considered stronger than the Alphas. Legends had it that most of their abilities were used to defend against vampires. 

For what ability is that—no one knows.

The last known Luna existed a thousand years ago, and nothing like that has been reported ever since. A fated mate is rare, even in lower Statuses. A Luna, without a doubt, is even rarer. Fated mate and the existence of Luna were both considered impossible by everyone existing.

As Mallory was summarizing that in her head, a figure towered over her. With the absence of her mind, she didn’t notice it in time, and when she did, it was already too late. She bumped head-first into the person.

Mallory immediately stepped back and bowed her head in apologies. “Sorr—”

“Mallory?”

“… Leofric?” She was shocked to see him. They had not crossed paths since that day. It had been a week. Mallory had seen him from afar, but she wasn’t able to speak to him because there were always other people around him. They were like butterflies surrounding a fragrant flower. 

Mallory just watches from the distance, not really feeling the need to come up to him and get his attention. Not that they have anything to speak about.

“Call me Leo.” Leofric laughed and looked at her eyes curiously. “What are you doing here? And where is that sister of yours?”

“Uh,” she looked past his shoulders and saw that there were others waiting for Leofr—Leo, with impatient eyes. “I’m here to serve the son of the Alpha…”

Her voice trailed off, greatly ashamed that she didn’t even know the name of the son.

“Serve him?” Leo’s brows went up. “Who gave you the order?”

Why is he asking me that…? Despite her confusion, she answered truthfully. “It wasn’t mine in the first place. I just replaced Oddny because she doesn’t want to— “

She abruptly stopped her speech, realizing how she almost sullied Oddny’s name in front of other people. What’s more, it’s the man who seemingly has a deep connection with everyone in the group. 

“She doesn’t want to?” Leo frowned. Mallory just pursed her lips. Leo looked at her for a long time before asking, “So, did you take it even if you also don’t want to do it?”

Mallory instinctively closed her mouth, but she couldn’t stop her eyes from wandering toward the burly men who were watching from the side. Watching? No. They were staring.

Mallory was in the river to fish and wash their clothes. It can’t help that she’s a bit wet, and the wet clothes she had on were hugging her body. Upon realizing the sources of their stares, she shifted uncomfortably and almost curled into a ball.

Mallory saw a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes. With a frown, he looked at the men and glared. The men immediately dispersed. She looked at him in amazement while he said sorry in a frustrated manner. “Sorry, I didn’t know they were like that in front of you. I—I’ll let the leader know about it.”

She quickly shook her head. “No need! I don’t want to bother you with such a thing.”

“This is hardly called a bother!” Leofric laughed, but there was a hint of annoyance in his voice. For where it was directed, she had no way to know. When he recovered, he said sternly. “The son of the Alpha is not like them. Don’t worry.”

Mallory just tactically closed her mouth until he asked again. “By the way, what kind of service is it?”

 She showed him the garments, and it took a minute before Leo reacted.

“What on—” She doesn’t know if her ears are playing with her, but she seems to hear him curse. Her brain hadn’t processed anything yet when he took the garments away from her. “Tha–that probably is a wrong order! I—he won’t ask for a service for this!”

Mallory looked at him in confusion. “How did you know…?”

“Anyway, he probably won’t need your service now.” He held her shoulder and gently pushed her away. “Now, go back to whatever you’re doing. I’ll handle things from here.”

“But—”

He clicked his tongue before landing a hand on her head to ruffle her already disheveled hair. He grinned at her and said, “Sorry for making you feel like it’s unsafe to tell me something like this. It won’t happen again. I’ll make sure you won’t have any discomfort throughout the journey until we reach our pack.”

Everything happened so fast that when he left, she just stood there, watching at his back.

When she went back to the river, she told the confused Oddny about what happened. She, too, was puzzled by the sudden development before sighing in relief.

When things settled down, Mallory finally understood what happened and she couldn’t help but silently thank the man in her heart, also wondering if they would talk again in the future.

‘He seems fun to talk to.’