Valene: The sun had risen and set twice following Master Wade's visit. I hadn't seen a sign of him or Master Slaughter since the night of my imprisonment. As much as I would have liked to see them, I wasn't upset about it as I knew that with the Lycan King and his pack in town, there was much to discuss. I was a prisoner, so, to be honest, I wasn't owed a visit in the first place. The only thing left to do was wait for whatever punishment was waiting for me. If any, at all. There was no sign of trouble yet, but I knew I wasn't out of the wilderness yet, either. Sitting there in the dirty hay, was enough to cause massive anxiety as my imagination created different ways that they would punish me. What were they going to do? Or would they do anything at all? It was my first offense, so I wasn't sure how the procedure for this type of thing went. Maybe this was the crux of my punishment; sitting in a soiled stable of hay and wooden bed pallets with no food, drink, or interaction for two
I felt so foolish as we stepped over the guard. Maybe he was right. If only my convictions were so easily placed. “I’m sorry, Master Wade-” “Stop apologizing, Val.” He hissed. “Now, let’s go before someone else catches your scent-” We rushed out of the confinement stable, and immediately, he tried to get me to the car. It was harder to move at a fast pace because of my injury. I didn’t realize that the guard had gotten me as good as he did. The blood had begun to soak through Master Wade’s wrapping. “Alastaair!!” A thunderous roar ignited the area. The lycan king’s voice was like a bombardment of aggression. I looked up into Master Wade’s suddenly concerned eyes and immediately realized that whatever was about to happen was because of me. “M-Master Wade?” “Get in the car, Valene.” He said in a dangerously low voice. Reluctantly, I obliged Master Wade's command, and as soon as I did, Master Wade stood in front of his large truck. “Ares.” I heard him say calmly. “Where is it?!” Th
Valene: When I felt my eyes moving against my closed eyelids, I was aware of my return to consciousness, yet I was still too weak to open them. Gradually, I garnered the strength to open my eyes and when I did, I found myself in a large room with curtains drawn to the side, covering what I assumed was the only exit, save the window to my right.. Was there someone else in here? “Hel…hello?” I attempted to say when I felt the scratchiness in my throat; there was a dryness in my mouth that I nearly choked on. Quickly, I looked around for something to nourish my parched tongue and fortunately found two bottles of water sitting on the stand next to my bed. They must have known that this was bound to happen-my waking up to dehydration. After gulping down one of the little bottles, I sat up in my bed, only pushing the covers far enough back to lift my shirt and check the wound that got me here in the first place, as I recall. As I attempted to lift my shirt, I realized how sore I was, so I
“If life is so miserable for you…then why not leave?” he asked me instead of answering my question or admitting that I was right in my assumption of his thoughts. “Well…for one, we cannot just leave if ever we decide that vassal life is not for us. Once you pledge…once you are sentenced, a human serf is a life that you live until death or until your Keeper decides to have other plans for you, and that in itself is rare.” I sighed, looking up at the ceiling as I thought about the fact that I had, not so long ago, potentially come across one of those rare chances. “My predicament is…a little more complicated than that…however.” I finally added after pushing the thought away. “How so?” he asked. I looked down at him as he finished my bandage. “I don’t think that I could ever leave…even if I wanted to.” By this point in the conversation, I was just confiding in a stranger because there was no one else to confide in. “Why?” There were a lot of reasons, but the one that was strongest am
“Don’t seem so surprised,” expressed Harlyn as she nudged me. Her expression was playful at first but only for a moment as a glint of sadness appeared behind her eyes. “I do care about you, Vali. Despite what you or even Daddy thinks. I’m just…not good at expressing those feelings. Especially, where-” “A human is concerned?” I finished her sentence. Part of me hoped that I was wrong. She shrugged. “The truth is the truth, Vali.” Harlyn instead confirmed my assumptions. “Right.” Harlyn exhaled and opened the bag that she handed me; I had completely forgotten about it. “I brought you something besides clothes, Vali. I wish you’d take a look.” She beat me to the punch and opened the bag for me, pulling out a box, and I already knew what was in it. It may seem gluttonous, but my eyes lit up when I saw them; sweet treats! “I saw this donut place on the way here and thought, what the heck.” “Thank you!” I exclaimed. “I probably shouldn’t be so excited about these,” I took a chocol
Valene: The ride home was nice and quiet outside of some casual conversation between Harlyn and me. No more was mentioned concerning the idea of Master Wade turning me into a wolf, and to be honest, while I was thinking about it still, in the back of my mind, I certainly didn’t want to talk about it anymore. When we pulled up at the Wade estate, I was glad to be home despite the complications of the family unit. “You good?” she asked me as I carefully stepped out of the car. I nodded a yes. No, I wasn’t all that good, but I wanted to be able to move on my own. Or at least try. “They must have a whole to talk about.” I heard Harlyn mutter as I stressfully shut the door to her sports car. “What are you-” I started to ask when I saw an old and beautiful muscle car sitting outside of the house. “Who-who is that?” I nervously looked at Harlyn and then back at the car. Somehow, I already knew who it was. Shakily, I took a deep breath and instinctively grabbed at my well-wrapped wou
“This is your territory, and because I have long respected you, I will not encroach on your territory with disrespect. Although, I am surprised that you actually had someone as…prestigious as your heir pick her up from the hospital.” “Tell me,” Harlyn said. “How else would she have gotten home?” “Walk? Hitch a ride? Usually, a Keeper does not care enough to concern themselves with it.” beta Almeida replied. Harlyn seemed to have found this slightly amusing, but then she replied, “Valene may have acted out of character the other night, but she is still a good human and one that has served this family diligently for years.” Harlyn said. I admit that I was surprised that my daughter had defended Valene in such a way. “I would not leave her to fend for herself in a matter that was not completely her fault.” She stepped toward the Alpha. “It wasn’t like she was the one who acted out of character that day…was she, Alpha?” she looked past Ares and at his beta. “As I remember, you two…wer
Valene: Since Master Wade had business to tend to with the Lycan Alpha’s pack, we waited until around half-past eight to head to Bone’s pub. It didn’t take much time to get to Bone’s Bar and Grille. When we pulled up, I watched as people piled into the bar. “You know…you do not have to do this, Valene.” I chuckled. “Do what? Quit or quit in person?” I had to see his face when I said this. I wanted to know how he facially reacted to my question. I shouldn't have asked but I simply could not help myself. “To be honest, Valene, you do not have to do either,” he said. “I never pressured you to leave your life. You did.” I looked back out of the window of the car, disappointed in his response, though not necessarily upset. How could he ever understand the complexities of being a rare-blooded human serf, after all? “As I told, Harlyn…I don’t think you’d understand, Master Wade…with all due respect.” I finally countered. “Then help me understand, Valene. I will never understand