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&
The palace feels weird. Gavin doesn’t know if he’s the only one who thinks and feels that way, but the palace feels really weird these days.For the past days, the palace moved in preparation for the coronation. Packs who gathered for the tradition took this time to explore the pack grounds more, something they were not able to do during the grieving period. They met for small pack gatherings, joined each other for moon dine and even discussed exchange of pack products. It was harmonious. Even Moon Valley Pack’s elders and pack leaders joined in the fun. Gavin, on the other hand, spent his time mostly resting, joined by his stubborn alpha who refused to leave his side no matter how much he told him that he’ll be fine.“The Pack Alpha might want you to be there, Ainar. It’s a chance to know more pack leaders and build relationships. I’ll be fine in my room, you do not have
Gavin is not fine. Well, a little maybe…okay, not really. He feels nauseous, saliva pooling under his tongue and he feels dizzy. He swallowed for the nth time. He feels warm. Too warm. He’s sweating under the dark robe he’s wearing, using its sleeves to wipe the droplet of sweat he felt trailing down his temple. He feels sick, and he should probably tell Ainar, but he really wants to attend the coronation so he ought not to. The alpha might be able to smell it still anyways, but fuck it.The robe he’s wearing is another old robe from Tundra’s Pack Luna. Just like the white grieving robe he wore before, this one also fits him perfectly, as if tailored to his size. It’s smooth and soft, cozy and comfortable. It smells like it had been in store for long. Just like the first time, the palace tailor—Omega Shaun, looked at him with critical eyes. The Elder Omega regarded him with something unreadable in his gaze
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