The night of the new moon came with the sun slowly descending in the horizon, signaling the start of their journey. The whole pack gathered at the edge of the pack territory, all bundled up to battle the cold night breeze, a few of them carrying torches more for warmth than light. They gathered to bid their farewell to the ones leaving, all hoping for a safe journey, especially for the Pack Alpha.
Elders are lined up in their respective positions behind the Pack Alpha and his Luna, most of them Gavin cannot recognize, but the Pack Delta is one of them. Pack hunters stand behind them all, all in protective formation. Gavin’s wagon, which stands in the middle, will be pulled by two wolves. Within the two days of preparation, everything is set for them. They brought food that would last the entire journey, with hunting as their last resort just in case, but even their consumption of food is planned so hunting would least likely to happen. They a
Tundra turned out to be everything Gavin imagined, but better. The place was nothing short of beautiful, if not hauntingly regal. Everywhere Gavin turns his head to, all he sees is white. The surrounding is covered with snow, the high sun reflecting on its surface making him squint his eyes, but it did not stop him to look around more, almost too eager as he drinks the sight around him. They pass by a busy street. Tundra is a big pack, so it was understandable that there are so many shifters. They mill in and out of what seems to be cabins, and small kiosks. Gavin wants to look further into them, eager to explore, but he knows they still have things to fulfill, so he settled on just gazing at them for now, in the safety of the wagon. What surprised him is the people, mostly. They’re dressed in grey tunics, and their hairs are in similar color. The members of Tundra have really pale skin, as what is expected for living in such a cold place, their hair similar to the wolves of Moon Vall
Before going out of the palace, Gavin and Ainar went somewhere first to request a change in Gavin’s cloak. “I swear I’m fine with this!” Gavin insisted, both hands holding Ainar’s right arm in an attempt to steer him off of the direction he is aiming to.“I don’t mind the long cloak!” Ainar, despite Gavin’s protests, just sighed and continued walking. Letting the omega pull his arms as it’s not really doing much to him. Eventually, when Gavin continued to whine, he sighed again and halted in his steps, the omega quickly following. “It’s too big on you,” the alpha said, turning his body to look at the omega. They’re in a middle of a hallway somewhere in the palace. Gavin was not able to keep track of all the turns they took with all the whines and protests he had been doing. “It’s not!” the omega quickly denied. Ainar only shot him
The center turned out to be the place they passed by earlier. With its busy alleys bustling with pack members, open cabins, kiosks, stalls and many more displayed on the road. The walk was quite long from the palace to the center, they had to pass by the big gate again to go out but it was all worth it. Gavin’s mouth is agape, his blue eyes shining with wonder as he scanned the place. He had never seen such a busy place. Well, of course, he had seen how busy packs can get every time there are occasions that require it, but this is just different. Gavin is suddenly feeling overwhelmed again. He’s excited, eager to explore, but just like the selection of food laid in front of him earlier, he doesn’t know where to start. So, he slowly turned his head to look at the alpha beside him. Ainar, the ever-attentive alpha that he is, of course, is already looking. He has a small fond smile on his lips, eyes swimming wi
Their walk around the center was filled with giggles and laughter. Gavin is having so much fun trying out many different things. They actually walked back to the earlier kiosk they saw that served the sweetened strawberries to get one. The small fruit was served in a stick and they walked around munching on it, enjoying the sweet taste of it on their tongue. Gavin doesn’t know how long they had been walking, but they were taking breaks in between, sitting down on stray benches for a rest before standing up again to explore more. By the time they managed to explore and stop by almost every open cabin and kiosks, the sun has already long descended in the horizon, and the air was ten times colder. He’s now quietly standing by a wall, waiting for Ainar who went to grab a shawl for them. He’s not even cold. He can recognize that the wind is blowing colder, but with himself, he doesn’t feel the cold at all. Does that make sense? The omega has his head hung low; eyes focused on his feet. He
The next time Gavin woke up, he feels much lighter. His joints are aching, and he’s covered in cold sticky sweat. He winced at the feeling. At the back of his mind is a vivid memory of slipping in and out of consciousness during the night, flashes of memories where he kept on waking up to pain only to pass out because of it too. If his memories are doing him right, he thinks he also remembers gentle hands carding through his hair, shushing and humming to soothe him every time he groans in pain. He remembers the rainwater scent, and something else he could not pinpoint. He’s sure it was Ainar though, did the alpha stay with him the whole night?He opened his eyes to a dark ceiling, casted by faint yellow glow from the few torches illuminating the small room. His vision is still blurry, and still feeling a little dizzy but they soon fade away as he looked around. He silently groaned as he sat up, joints aching with every move he made. The mattress dipped under his weight, and only when
Gavin shivered despite the lukewarm water. His legs are modestly folded in front of him, tucked into his chest as his arms wrap around them. Every sound is echoing loud in the quiet place, where only the sound of the water gently splashing around could be heard. His eyes are stubbornly set on the soapy water in front of him, cheeks burning as he let out yet another full-body shiver. Ainar made a questioning sound in his throat, sending him a worried glance. Gavin only gave him a small smile of assurance. He’s not cold, just…shy. When Ainar offered to help him bathe, he assumed the alpha meant he’ll just help him to the tub since he was still feeling weak anyway. So, Gavin went with it. With an arm around his waist, the alpha helped him get down from where he was sitting on top of the marble shelf and walked to the tub. The alpha made sure he was stable enough to stand up on his own, hands gripping his waist tight until Gavin gave him an assuring smile. “Do you need help with your clo
Gavin is staring blankly at the dark ceiling of his room. His eyes follow the swirling pattern of orange glow casted by the lit torches. He doesn’t even know how long he has been staring at it, maybe hours, he lost track of time. All he knows is that his eyes feel dry from zoning in and out of focus, and night has gotten deeper from when he laid on his bed earlier. He heaved a heavy sigh as the memory of the earlier conversation with the palace healer flashed in his mind again, the nth time for the past hours.They’re taking a familiar path; one Gavin is sure he remembers as it led to the quarters of the palace tailor. But instead of turning left, they walked straight this time. He briefly looked up to Ainar, the alpha quietly walking by his side. Ainar only smiled down at him gently, squeezing from where his hand settled on the omega’s waist before looking away to focus on their path. Eventually, they reach a door—tall and
Maybe going out at such an ungodly hour isn’t the best idea after all. Good news is, the cold night air feels very refreshing. Gavin’s head feels ten times clearer, and the pain around his waist is almost nonexistent. See? It’s not that bad. But not good either. Well you see, the bad news is, he doesn’t know where exactly he is in the palace. Is he nervous? Yes, yes, he is. Does he regret going out? Well…maybe? Does he know how to get back to his own room? No. Definitely.He kind of both wants to smack and laugh at himself at the same time. The thing is, he was actually doing well at first. He successfully located the dining hall, although it was already deserted, for obvious reasons of course. But he’s proud that he actually remembered the way. And then from there, he walked further, walking through dim hallways after hallways until he lost count of the many turns he took. And now, here he is, lost. But he can&