The room is silent save from the occasional sniffling of Pack Luna Alice, and some more quiet ones from Gavin. They have calmed down, well, Gavin would like to think at least they did, as he himself is still quite practically panicking inside. He’s sitting at the foot of the bed, while the two leaders sat on a chair Ainar got from them somewhere. The revelation had left him confused. That feeling of believing something for so long, your whole life, and then someone just comes to say that what you believe in is not the truth—that’s how Gavin feels.There was a light squeeze on his hand from where it is held inside Ainar’s. Gavin turned his head to look at the alpha and received a small smile. He hasn’t said anything for a while, no one dared to speak. They just sat around each other, waiting for anyone to break the silence.The Pack Luna Alice decided to do it herself.
The rise and fall of Ainar’s chest pressed against his back is a soothing feeling. They’re lying on the bed—his bed, he had come to know that now. Turns out, the room where he woke up in was supposed to be his room if he hadn’t disappeared before. His parents told him so. With that new knowledge, Gavin had come to notice the details more. The empty shelves that he had only bypassed before now looked different to him, the table beside the bed, the furs—how everything is white because it screams of him. He sees everything in new perspectives. He wonders if his parents go to this room every time they think of him, trying to grasp a semblance of him in the things they thought would fit him the best if only he was there.His parents.Huh. Saying it still feels strange. And it makes sense, it has only been hours since everything was revealed to him.And it
Gavin stepped out of the bathing room feeling refreshed. He has his towel draped on his shoulder to get his tunic from getting wet from his still dripping hair when he closed the door behind him. He was greeted by Ainar’s hunched figure on the floor, the alpha sitting and seeming to be tracing patterns on the cold floor before he arrived. “You’re done?” Ainar asked, peering up at him. Gavin smiled at the sight before nodding. The little light casted by the torches illuminating the long hallway are painting orange and yellow glows on Ainar’s honey skin, making the alpha look almost glowing in the badly lit place, and Gavin thinks he has never seen anything more beautiful. “Hmm,” Gavin hummed. The alpha stood up from his place on the floor, arms reaching out to the towel on Gavin’s shoulders.“What are you doing?” the omega asked confusedly, though not stepping away from the alpha. “I’ll help you dry your hair,” Ainar answered, sounding almost too innocent, as if that was the only obv
“E-escape?” the Pack Luna stuttered out in question. She looked at him confusedly, brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of the word.Gavin glanced at Ainar again and found the alpha supporting a warm expression on his face, a small assurance that he was there for Gavin. The omega sighed. It’s his first meal with his mother and brother, why did he have to mention that? But at the same time, he thinks it’s just right to tell them.“Life at my old pack wasn’t really pretty, Mother,” he ended up replying with a grimace. Alpha Jared is looking at him blankly, something hard in his eyes.“They weren’t fine with me, a shifter who looked too different from them, in the pack. Plus, the fact that I did not have a wolf to shift into. The difference was so big and they weren’t really that much accepting.”The mood had quickly turned somber, and Gavin can’t help but think that it was his fault. They were just having such a nice meal; it should have remained just as that. The Pack Luna looked
Gavin inhaled a lungful of air, letting the crisp smell of snow settle in his lungs and calm himself, before slowly letting it out. His eyes are closed, and he’s sitting cross legged on the snowy ground, not bothered by the cold since he actually took time to wear thicker clothes today, along with a cloak draped on his shoulders just in case. His hands are clasped in front of him in an attempt to look peaceful. He inhaled yet another lungful of air, shoulders coming up as he held it longer in his lungs this time, before once again slowly breathing out.Peace.“Focus.”“I am focused,” Gavin replied, brows furrowing for a second of distraction.“No, you’re not.”“I am. Thank you very much.”“If you were, you won’t be talking back to me.”“Shut up. I’m focused,” the omega snarked, closing his eyes tighter as he tried to breathe in and out slowly again.Peace.“You’re so bad at this.”And now it’s broken.Gavin opened his eyes and quickly turned to glare at his brother, standing not far a
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
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
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
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