Gavin abruptly wakes up panting. He’s covered in cold sweat and his heart is racing in his chest. His eyes wildly scan around his shack, body on high alert as he scrambled to sit up. When he finally recognized the room he is in, he lets out a shaky exhale, body deflating, trying to calm himself down. He counts his breathing in his head but he doesn’t close his eyes, afraid that he’ll see his dreams in the darkness of it once he does. He shudders even at the remnants of his dream, he can almost feel it again on his skin and he badly wants to shake it off, utterly disgusted.
When his breathing evened out, he groaned in frustration. This is not a rare occurrence for him, but it still feels so frustrating. The dreams, restless night and unsettling memories. He belatedly sees the rays of the morning sunlight filtering into the closed windows of his shack. He inhaled a lungful of air and winced when he smelled the bitter scent of his distress, caused
Maya and Andrea came to pick him up in the evening. He wore his baby blue tunic; he wonders how they got that color. But then again, Omega Riza did mention about someone in the pack making dyes. He loves the color; he thinks it matches his eyes.They all walk together, with Maya and Andrea on his both sides.“I’m so excited for the festival,” Andrea announced.“Will you join?” Gavin curiously asked.“She never joined festivals. I am quite sure she is just excited for the food,” Maya answered.“Hey!” Andrea called out. Maya only chuckled at her. They continued to bicker and Gavin carefully watched their dynamics. He wishes to have that kind of familiarity with them someday.The whole pack is buzzing with excitement when they got to the center. A huge bonfire is already lit up and like last time, a huge long
Ainar heaved a heavy sigh as he stepped out of the elder’s den. It was a long talk; they started the discussion in the morning and it only just ended now. The topic of his mating with Gavin has been an ongoing debate these days and he is honestly so exhausted. He made it clear he wanted to court the omega. He told them he can rule the pack with or without the mating bite too, so he honestly don’t know why they are still so adamant on his mating before letting him take over the Pack Alpha status. His father had been on his side the whole time too, it’s just the elders that are being pushy. He inhaled deeply, hoping to calm himself down. The smell of bonfire is pungent in the air. Ah. How could he forget. Tonight is the festival of the full moon. He wonders if Gavin joined to celebrate. He walked down the den and made his way to the pack center where he’s sure all the pack members are. He scanned the crowd with his eyes, hoping to see Omeg
Silence. It was the first thing that registered to Gavin when he gained consciousness. His hearing is quite muffled, but he knows it was silent. The second thing was, it’s bright. He could see some light even behind his closed eyelids, so maybe he’s somewhere under the sun? He can’t feel it though. Is he still in the forest? No, he answers himself. It’s not that bright there. He tried to feel for his body. He first felt himself laying down somewhere, it’s kind of soft, so it’s not the forest floor, is it? He tried moving his arm, his fingers. And then he felt it, the overwhelming pain registering in his whole body. He groaned at the feeling; he wants to curl up but he can’t move. He also wants to cry, both in pain and happiness. He’s in pain, that means he’s alive right? Someone found him? They saved him. The thing is, he can remember asking for help. He remembers screaming, and running but h
It took a while, but when Gavin saw her, he’s shocked to see her appearance. Her hands are bound by a thick rope in front of her, the rope is connected to the one tied around her waist. Gavin’s watched as she was brought in front, the end of the rope bound to her is being held by an alpha. The alpha pushed her to kneel in front of the platform, on the hard ground, meters away from the elders. Gavin almost stood up to help her when she winced in pain as her knees made contact to the ground. He studied her appearance. Her hair is unkept, a mop of mess on top of her head contrary to the one he’s used to where it’s always combed straight behind her back. Her face has few bruises, eyes bloodshot and puffy, but there was an angry look to it, almost making him flinch. Gavin notices how she’s still wearing the same tunic he remembers she was wearing that night. Its white color now faded with dirt. She looks so different, far from the Alpha who always had a smile on he
Physically, Gavin is healing well. Although in reality, he is healing slower than he should, if he were able to shift into his wolf form, it would have been faster as their wolf has that ability to heal faster, but since he can’t, he is taking longer. But that’s fine. It has been like that his whole life anyway. So, yes. Gavin is healing well. Physically. But emotionally? He’s afraid that is not the case. The lingering pain of betrayal is carved deep within him. While it is true that he had only known the alpha for a short time, and spent time with her a few times too, while it is also true that he was uncomfortable with her presence, he still hoped that they were nurturing something aching to a friendship. So, to have something be destroyed before it even started, is a feeling of pain like no other for Gavin. He had been through so many things in his short life, he had survived so many things anyone won’t even be able to imagine, but betrayal is not somethin
“What do you mean she’s missing?” Maya asked, looking at Ainar confusedly. “She’s gone. She wasn’t on the dungeon when Nikolas went to give her food,” Ainar answered. He’s holding Gavin’s hands tightly but still somehow gentle.“We think she escaped.” “That’s bad,” Maya murmured.“What will happen now?” “I came here to get Jericho. We need more hunters to look for her. Surely, she hasn’t gone that far,” Ainar turned to look at Gavin.“She might still be around here. It’s dangerous.” “You have to hurry then. You need to catch her immediately.” A ghost of sadness crossed Maya’s feature. Gavin empathizes with her. The alpha has been her friend for so long too. And to talk about your friend as such despite knowing what they did, is still painful. The expression was quickly gone though. “We really should,” Ainar replied. They all stood up. Maya quickly stacked their empty bowls of food and made a quick run to dispose them in cooking house. When she returned, Ainar turned to her. “May
Gavin sighed; eyes shut as he felt the cold wind touch his skin. It’s been two days since the news of Celestine escaping broke out in the pack, that means it has also been two days since they started searching but they still haven’t found her. Gavin is worried, both for the safety of the pack, his own and hers. He hopes she’s not somewhere dangerous. On the other hand, the hunters are tirelessly searching day and night. Different groups leave the pack in turns to search but they all always come back with nothing.Gavin stepped inside the cooking house, sidestepping the other pack members cooking and walking directly to Nana’s station. The elder omega looked up from what she’s doing to cast him a glance.“Gavin,” she called as she continued to slice ingredients.“What brought you here?”“Nothing, Nana. Just wanted some company,” he replied, watching he
Gavin’s lips spread into a pretty smile when he finally spotted the alpha walking to his way. He waves his hand at him, then slowly brought it down to his side when he realized how silly the action looked. Please. They just saw each other not too long ago.“You’re excited?” the alpha asked once he was near enough. He looked cleaner now. Gavin automatically stepped closer to him. Ainar’s arm automatically curled around his waist too, pulling him closer.“I am,” Gavin whispered in answer. The alpha hummed, a deep content rumble vibrating from his chest.They started walking like that. They have been walking for a while when Gavin saw the small basket the alpha is holding. He made a questioning sound in his throat.“Hmm?” Ainar asked back.“What is that basket for?” Gavin curiously asked, eyes set on it. The alpha car
Pain. It’s the first thing his body registered when he gained consciousness. He wasn’t even aware of when and how he fell asleep again. But now he’s awake for the nth time, and he is once again enveloped in pain. His whole body is aching. It’s a cycle at this point. One that he had fallen into without a choice, ever since he was taken. Weird. That seems to be a trend in his life. To wake up in pain. That seems to happen a lot to him. Did he exist just to suffer? Does living means to suffer? Or is he a special case? The back of his head is throbbing from where he was hit by something hard. He thinks it even bled at one point. But the tightness he feels from it tells him that maybe it’s all dried up and gross by now. It doesn’t make it hurt any less though. If anything, he thinks it only hurts more. The ache in his body is different though. It’s not the kind of ache that one gets from being hit, like the one in his head feels. The pain feels more internal, reminiscent of his previ
Everyone in the hall fell silent at the entrance of the two leaders. Numerous pairs of eyes watched their every step as they made their way in front of the hall. The former pack alpha, clad in his usual white attire stood in front, a stoic expression on his face. Beside him stood the Pack Luna, whose features were hidden behind her usual veil. There was a certain tension as the hall fell silent, that even Nicholas who was standing beside Ainar looked tense, back as straight as a plank as he gazed upfront. It’s affecting Ainar too. But his desire to know what happened and at possibly being a step closer into finding Gavin is overpowering. Despite himself, Ainar waited with everyone—all equally eager for the news. The lack of urgency is getting into his nerves, stressing him out. But he guesses the Tundra has their own way of dealing with things. If this happened in Moon Valle
The sound of his footsteps was loud in his ears. The clacking of the heels of his winter boots as it made contact with the marble floor of the palace echoed loudly against the darkness of the hallway. It sounded hollow, bouncing off of the corners coldly. The shoes weren't even laced up properly. Just messily worn in his haste to get out of the room upon hearing the news. He barely had the consciousness to grab a coat if not for the cold that he knew awaited him. He was still wearing the same clothes he wore earlier, ruffled from his sleep, or was that yesterday already? He doesn’t know. He had long lost track of time. It wasn’t a matter of importance anyway. He doesn’t think anything is important at the moment. Just Gavin. His eyes briefly gazed out of the lone open window, scanning the outside surroundings. It’s dark. Ainar doesn’t really know the exact time. But it’s dark. The usual bright moon now hidden behind dark clouds. How long was he asleep? He passed by some palace helper
Ainar, in his wolf form, furiously ran through the heavy snowfall. His slim form is struggling through what everyone in the palace had warned them as a snow storm, but he’s determined. It’s been two days. He can’t let another day pass without finding Gavin. He can’t just sit still and let the palace hunters do it. Not when it’s Gavin’s life on the line, never mind the fact that he is such an important figure in Tundra. It’s his Gavin. He has to move. He shook his whole body to get rid of the discomfort brought by the cold. He doesn’t know how long he has been running, but he knows his body is starting to get numb. Still, he persevered. His thick dark fur is almost white now with snow, his huge paws numb as it continues to dig into the cold ground, the soft snow engulfing his whole paw—even his senses are weaker because of the weather but he is stubborn. Ainar continued to brave through the snow storm, pushing his form harder. He left the palace with a group of hunters earlier to sear
Ainar’s boots dug into the snow as he walked on it. Why did Gavin want to go out in this weather, anyway? Ah, right. The omega doesn’t feel the cold, being a different breed of winter wolf, plus the blessing his family is believed to have. Ainar is definitely not jealous, in his thick clothing, bundled up like a waddling bear, nope—he is definitely not jealous.Still, he made his way to the passage Gavin had told him about earlier. As he walked, he felt the heavy weight of his gift in the pocket of his breeches. With shaky hands, he felt for it, sighing as he held it through the fabric. It’s an important gift. Well, all the gifts he gave the omega in the past were all important, all have different meanings and reasons as to why decided to give them, but this one is a different case. It’s extra special. A gift especially meant for one special purpose. And along with it, is a question that has been brewing
As soon as Gavin saw Pack Alpha Frederick patting Ainar on the back, he quickly stood up and made his way behind the platform. The servants easily cleared the way, opening the door for him, taking him to the hallway that leads to the garden he mentioned. He followed his instinct and the residual scent still hanging in the air, until eventually, he found the figure standing behind the taller bushes, back against him. Gavin slowly approached the figure, making effort to not make much noise. “Already running away, Pack Alpha?” It was almost comical, the way Jared almost jumped out of skin. The alpha turned around to face him, eyes wide with his hands clutched dramatically against his chest. “You scared me, brat,” he breathed out. Gavin giggled at him.“What are you doing here?” “I saw you sneaking out and figured I should do the same,” Gavin shrugged, walking closer so they were standing side by side.“You?” “It’s overwhelming.” Jared sighed, averting his gaze. “I thought you were r
Gavin pulled at his cloak for the nth time, fidgeting as he adjusted the bow around his neck for the lack of nothing else to do to ease his nerves. He can’t stand still; his legs haven’t stopped shaking from where he’s standing and his hands need something to hold—preferably Ainar’s hand but the alpha is not with him at the moment—just to distract himself. He’s so nervous he might actually throw up.They are now standing behind the drawn curtain, at the side of the makeshift platform in front of the snow-covered ground of the palace, waiting for the ceremony to start. It’s still a few hours before the sun’s descent, but the square is already brimming with people attending the ceremony. Gavin could hear their murmurs as they also wait for the ceremony to start. They are probably excited, completely opposite of what Gavin is feeling now. He heard it’s the first time in the past two decades that they’ll be seeing their leaders, and even their past coronations were always mostly done priv
Everything is almost like a déjà vu as the palace fell into another whirlwind of preparations. It felt faster this time, and soon, Gavin found himself standing in front of the lost pup’s monument again—his supposed monument—a night before the coronation. He was feeling restless for some reason. His heart is in a constant state of fast beating with nervousness as the day of the coronation neared, the same day he’ll be properly introduced and revealed to the whole pack. He believes his nervousness is reasonable, everything is still fairly new to him after all, and now, he’ll be exposed and revealed to the people who thought he was long gone. A coming-of-age ceremony that is probably long overdue. It’s nerve-wracking, but not in an entirely bad way. So now, he’s here, trying to find ways to ease and distract himself. He thought maybe the cold night winter air would help, so he stepped out. And that’s how he found himself here, after wandering through the hallways that he still can’t get h
The table is filled with chatter as they ate. Pack Luna Alice looks especially happy as she urged everyone to try every food they prepared. It was adorable. Her excitement for the whole ordeal was almost childlike, eyes twinkling and crinkling on the corners with her big excited smile as she looked at everyone on the table. Gavin feels for her. Because as he, too, roamed his eyes around the table, the obvious difference in the two packs where the others looked completely fine while the others are bundled up in thick clothing, was a contrast that still goes undeniably well, they look harmonious—complete. Even the Pack Alpha Henry, who looked almost passive most of the time, has a small smile playing on his lips as he silently ate, sitting at the head of the table, occasionally engaging on a conversation with Pack Alpha Fredrick.“Gavin,” his mother called from across him. He looked up and gave her a small smile, swallowing his food