Draven's POV
A few months ago…
Dirt raised into the air as my paws dug into the earth, loud, heavy and alarming.
With each step, smaller creatures scurried past as the noise grew harsher as I ran.
A frightened rabbit darted past me, the sound of its frantic heart nearly popping out of its chest reaching my ears as it buried itself beneath a shrub.
I flashed a toothy grin, the light hitting my exposed fangs as adrenaline shot in my veins.
I could taste the fear in the air, silent like the quiet night. Just pulling me in for a hunt.
The thought had my heart pounding in anticipation, my wolf Marcus huffing along with me in excitement.
~Move. Kill!
He urged repeatedly in my head, pressing just beneath my skin.
My sight tripled, my heart racing faster than it normally would have because of him.
At that moment, I almost gave in.
It was dangerous, but the thought of killing and tasting blood in my tongue filled me with thrill.
"Draven!" My brother's voice, Kael snapped me out of the thought.
I blinked, shaking my head as I turned in his direction.
Behind me, my brothers stood towering in their wolf forms, Kael's majestic wolf form standing a few feet from me, his red glowing eyes stern with a hint of worry.
"Don't think of even doing it." He snarled at me through the mind link, causing me to huff in frustration.
Like always, he seemed to catch on to my thoughts faster than I could.
I couldn't tell if that was because he was older than us, or because he was different. I hated it.
Among us, Lucen was quieter. Like a silent observer ready to stop us when things got heated.
I shook my fur off angrily, stomping my way forward.
Kael let out a growl in annoyance. "We came here for a reason, Draven, and I'd like it if we stuck to it."
"You mean finding a mate who seems almost non-existent?" I bit back, cashing both of my brothers to snarl.
Not to be outdone, I snarled too, glaring at both of them.
"Draven!" Lucen cautioned.
"What?" I seethed. "Did I lie? We all know the moon goddess hates us so much and won't give us that luxury. This is a waste of time and we all know it!"
At my outburst, they both went silent, my glare lingering.
Marcus shuffled even more in my head, his anger matching mine.
I wasn't wrong.
If the moon goddess had loved us, she wouldn't have cursed us.
She called it a gift, used to rule our people and make them remain at the top, but that's bullshit, and we all know it.
I did. Marcus did, and it baffles me why my brothers refused to believe it.
I mean, if it was a gift, then why do our people still fear us?
Why do they resent us? Why did they have to go as far as creating a council just to monitor us and keep us in check?
The moon goddess even blessed them with a secret art of magic to kill us if we went of course.
So tell me, was that a so-called blessing?
If that was her definition of blessing, then the moon goddess was a bitch.
Kael sighed, the action odd, coming from a wolf. "Draven, I understand how you feel, but we have to try even if it's fiction. Remember we still have someone who's depending on us. If we die then what happens to our sister? Do we leave her behind?"
At the mention of Faye, my anger quelled slightly.
Our parents already left us while we were young, leaving us to cater for an infant.
We were children ourselves at that time, but what could we do?
Faye was so young, barely one year old, and I can't dare to think what might happen to her if we died.
Biologically, she was our sister, but we couldn't deny the fact that we raised her ourselves, and I'll be damned if anything happened to her.
Hearing the reason in Kael's words, I decided to put away my frustration, concentrating on the mission at hand.
I didn't give Kael a glance, knowing that would only stroke his ego, and it was funny to think that it was the only trait we had in common.
Deciding to resume our hunt, I broke into a run, my brothers following from behind me.
Still frustrated, I increased my pace, hoping to let out the steam.
Through the link, my brothers felt how troubled you were, so they didn't bother me or try overtaking me, letting me vent out as I ran in front of them.
I pushed every muscle in me, darting through trees faster than I normally would, eventually losing my brothers.
They thought that they would catch up, leaving me with less worry as I did.
However, that was a mistake.
Breathing heavily, I came to a halt, the scent of pack grounds hitting my nose.
Up ahead, a small village setting stood proudly, noises and laughter from pups and adult wolves filling the air, along with many unmated wolves.
~ Mate might be here.
Marcus said, eagerly pacing in my head, tense and equally exhausted.
I didn't bother replying to him.
My muscles twitched with exhaustion, my eyes lids growing heavy with need to sleep.
"Kael." I called into the mind link, expecting my brother's response, only to get nothing.
Guess we were too far to connect. I thought.
This was another disadvantage the mind link had.
"Fuck!" I cursed, kicking up dirt.
At a time like this… What am I going to do?
I could already feel my strength leaving me, and it was only by a thread of strength I was still able to hang on.
My eyes strayed into the settlement once more, a thought creeping in.
It was unwise to approach a pack, but I didn't have much options on me, so I strode towards it, my muscles protesting as I did.
My eyes blurred as I made it past the front, no doubt the alpha of this place had been made aware of me trespassing.
Still, I pushed forward, only collapsing in front of a building when my knees gave out.
Marcus went silent instantly, my limbs going slack and heavy as I closed my eyes.
My breathing grew laboured, with each passing second.
The last shred of my sanity fighting me to stay awake, but eventually, I passed out.
….
Opening my eyes the next time, was with a groan.
Every muscle twitched angrily in my body, a faint bout of exhaustion creeping in, but mentally I felt okay.
"I knew I pushed myself over the limit." I muttered, sitting up.
The bed under me shook with a loud creak from how old it was.
That made me pause. Bed?
I remember passing out in front of a building. So where was I?
I took sight of the unfamiliar surroundings, noting the clothes on me, along with the fact that I was on a bed— a small one.
"You are awake?" A soft voice asked, causing me to snap my head towards the door, a snarl escaping my lips.
The lady jumped, clutching the flask in her hand tighter.
I glared at the woman before me. She was beautiful, looking no more than twenty, her long strawberry blonde hair cassading down her back in soft waves.
Blue green eyes shimmered as they watched me warily, and even the shabby clothes she wore couldn't hide her beauty.
She was soft, and delicate, making me scold myself for snarling at her.
"Sorry for scaring you." The lady said softly, lowering her head.
Omega.
I noted, as her scent of submission hit me.
"No need." I waved off, coming to the edge of the bed, each move I made, causing the bed to creak even louder and I feared they might shatter.
"Please don't get up." She hurriedly pleaded, fear in her eyes, but I ignored her.
I wasn't a weak wolf nor a regular alpha; she should be worried about herself instead.
"Did you bring me here?"
"Yes sir." She nodded. "I saw you pass outside my building, so I brought you in."
"Thank you." I sincerely answered.
A blush climbed the girl's face. Bashfully, she lowered her head, her voice growing small. "It's nothing. Anyone would do it aside from me."
That was a lie, but I wasn't going to point it out, only nodding.
"I brought you some food." She said, dropping the flask in her hand on the floor.
My eyes flickered to the flask, then to her face.
Didn't she know who I was? Or was she trying to poison me?
My doubt creeped in, however, the lady said nothing more before scurrying off, no doubt intimidated by my presence.
I cast a glance at the flask once more, not touching it, but after a while, my stomach started to growl, and I did.
I couldn't die from a mere poison anyway.
After eating, I placed the empty flask outside the door.
The omega retrieved it, keeping her distance.
I knew imposing something like this was wrong, so I decided to leave as soon as possible.
Barely after the thought was registered, I heard a man's shout.
"How could I do that?! You are making a huge mistake by keeping that man in here!"
The words cut through the thin walls, harshly directed at me.
I stood to my feet, moving towards the door silently to watch.
In the living room, a young man stood over the lady, yelling at the top of his voice with a red face.
The lady was in tears, begging, but he wouldn't listen.
"You wanted to be kind, but couldn't you do it with someone else? You are my mate, but I never knew you were this dumb! How could you implicate us like this?" The man continued shouting. "The alphas are going to have our heads."
"I didn't do anything wrong." She insisted.
"You didn't?" Her mate scoffed. "That man in there is a killer. One with blood on his hands, yet you helped him. You should have let him die."
"How could you say that? He's our ruler."
"A ruthless man like that is no ruler of me." He spat. "I know you have fallen for him, that's why you are defending him so much, but don't worry, I will leave. I won't let you implicate me."
"Thomas." The lady yelled out his name in horror, but he ignored her, storming off before she could even move.
I watched as she crumbled to the ground in a heap, sobbing.
I couldn't bear to watch anymore, so I stepped out. "Why did you rescue me?"
She freezes, not expecting me to be here, but once her shock was over, she sniffled. "I didn't have a reason. I just thought it was the right thing to do."
Unfortunately, her mate didn't understand that.
***
That had been months ago, but remembering how Faye confronted me about the issue, I froze.
I didn't tell Faye anything, but she knew.
"Stop."