Luna's Pov
Watching her leave, I was torn between the choice of going back to my room and waiting for my friendly host to return or going after my nemesis. I chose the later although I made sure to not let her know. I figured she would probably be going there or I would run into my host on the way. I must have looked ridiculous, bearing a tray and sneaking after a gorgeously dressed woman. I guess it is true what they say. You can kidnap the waitress from the serving tables but you can never take the serving away from her. The saying is something like that, I guess. I have never really been too good with quotes. Nor with much else, I'm afraid. I sighed as I remembered home. It seemed like an eternity since I had been turned out and now it was starting to seem like I might never be able to go back home. "Look who we have here!" A voice boomed, followed by laughter. I had been so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't realized I had been surrounded by a group of men. I looked up at them in confusion as I wondered what they wanted with me. "Oho! Isn't she a little cutie! Little wonder that weakling would risk anything for her. Do you think she is more beautiful than Veronica though?" Dancing brown eyes stared at me, his lips curled up in a cruel smile. He was a big man, tall too with thick, black hair. One that reminded me of Indrik's except that this was a lighter shade while Indrik's was ink black. He had an anchor shaped moustache that made him look rather ridiculous. No beards or sideburns, just the moustache. Otherwise though, he was a quite intimidating man. A bully too, I was deducing from firsthand experience. "Maybe. But she definitely has no class. Which self respecting woman would go walking around with a tray full of dirty plates?" That was a much shorter man with dirty brown hair. "What else would you expect from someone like him? Veronica must have made him feel so small so he chose to go for someone that is as small as he is." That was the big man again. Around him, his companions were all laughing at all his words. I had a feeling they would laugh if he sneezed. I recalled seeing him at the flogging. He was one of the grinners. I curled up my lips in disgust as I started to back away but his minions blocked my exit. "I didn't say you could leave!" Moustache sneered as he took heavy steps toward me. "That is enough, Leon!" I almost cried in relief when I heard a familiar voice. Leon whirled toward the source of the interruption, his entire squad following his lead but Jamil did not falter as he swaggered through the group. Reaching me, he picked me up by the arm and would have dragged me along when Leon growled in annoyance, "I never said you could take her." Jamil turned toward him, his friendly smile vanishing into thin air, "Last time I checked, you didn't have a say over that. She is Indrik's guest, not yours." He started to pull me way again. "Stop!" Leon thundered but Jamil simply continued to pull me along. He swore and snarled behind us but Jamil simply continued to pull me along. I met his eyes with what I was pretty sure was the most confused face ever. "Who was that?" I almost shivered as I recalled how they had crowded me in. For all their brutishness, the Haven had never made me as uncomfortable as I had felt among them. "Them? You need not bother about them if you can avoid running into them which I am afraid will be impossible." His voice was heavy with thought which went against the image I had built of him in the short time I had known him. Jamil was a happy go lucky kind of person so for him to sound like this... "Why did you leave your room by the way? I thought you would be tired out by now." The tone I recognized had returned. "I just wanted to return these." I gestured to the tray. "You could have waited. They don't draw ants." He joked. "I just wanted to..." I stopped myself as I returned to my thoughts. "I should probably tell you this. Leon has it out for Indrik and would use any means, any person," he paused meaningfully as he met my eyes, "to get to him. You, I'm afraid fit into that category perfectly and he would do anything to make life a living hell for you and by consequence him so, you should be careful." I fell silent as I thought about his words. Great! Just great! I had not even spent a full day here and I was already learning that my master had a large group of bodybuilders as enemies. I wonder how he had managed to escape being broken into two this whole time with such a frail body as his'. Jamil chuckled making me look up at him. "I didn't scare you, did I? You don't need to worry about him as long as you have us by your side. Me, Ulo and Blaire. We will protect you." I wondered if he had suddenly forgotten that Blaire would have my head on a platter if I stretched it before her. "Blaire is just scared for her friend. She would warm up to you, soon enough." He added as if he had read my mind. I was occupied with my thoughts till we reached our home again which was when I decided that if I was going to be a prey then I was at least going to know why. "Why does Leon hate Indrik so much?' Jamil narrowed his eyes as though trying to decide how much to tell me. "They are brothers." My eyes widened so much I was surprised they didn't pop out of my head.Luna's PovI stared at Jamil like he had suddenly grown a set of horns. "Brothers?" I muttered, almost bursting into laughter at how strange the word felt on my lips. I mean, sure, they had slightly similar hair and eyes (which by the way were worlds apart in the world of color) but did that qualify them to be brothers? I was certain that at least ten people within this premises would share that color with them. Apart from that, they were as different as night and day. Indrik was slender while Leon was a giant and that wasn't even the beginning of it. "Believe it or not but that is the truth. They are half-brothers." Jamil said like that was supposed to explain why Indrik looked like he forgot his family gene in his mother's belly. "That still does not explain why Indrik looks like his elder brother drained him of all his essence." I blurted before I could think. Jamil stared at me with a look of amusement and what looked like pity. I blinked in confusion as I wondered what was goi
Indrik's Pov Cold! Pain! And even more pain! That's all I could think of as I drifted in and out of consciousness on the cold dungeon floor. This room seemed to have been abandoned for years. I had fallen face first into a web of cobwebs, the tiny strands of which I could still feel in my eyes despite my desperate attempts to get them out. In here, I could see the reason why this place is so feared. It is a nightmare. The room is round and tiny. So tiny that I have to either stand on my feet or keep my body curled in a ball with my legs resting on the iron gate that secured the entrance, which I need not say was not very comfortable. Apart from that, the roof seemed to be connected to water of some sort, the source of which I was pretty certain I did not want to know. This water had been perpetually dripping to the rough concrete floor. Overtime, it had managed to crack the floor and algae had grown through it and then spread to the walls. Everywhere was practically covered with tha
Blaire's PovI knocked on the imposing mahogany door and waited. I rocked on my heels, wishing that the door would open as soon as I knocked on it. I raised my hand to knock again when I stopped myself, choosing to distract myself with the environment instead. I was in the main palace building. It was an impressive building that you couldn't help but be awed at. Like the outside, the insides were painted in glowing white. On both sides were different paintings that were so good, they almost looked real. Trust me, I knew how real it looked from experience. Just a little while ago, I had jumped back in fright when I had turned a corner and it had appeared that a wolf was attacking me. It turned out to be one of the paintings but you get the point. There were several paintings, each more impressive than the last. There was one of a huge wolf standing on a plateau and raising his snout to the moon in a howl while other wolves around him bowed. There was another of two wolves standing side
Blaire's Pov"You have to understand that rules are created for a reason. To keep us safe from harm. No one, not even Indrik can be allowed to break the rules." My mother had continued to speak when she realized I was not going to speak to her. "But mother, we both know Indrik's condition. He will not survive the dungeon. Could the council not have found something that was less likely to kill him?" I asked, my heart burning with indignation as I thought about how Indrik must be doing in that place. Don't be fooled by Indrik's show of bravery before the council. I wonder what must have gotten into him to have made him make that decision. All his life, he has been pushed to the back because he was powerless. A wolfless wolf in one of the strongest packs? You get the picture of what life must have been for him. But that also meant he was sheltered. Being a weak wolf, he could not be exposed to the conditions which wolves normally had to bear. Definitely not a dungeon. As a matter of fa
Indrik's PovHave you ever been in hell before? I don't think so. I haven't either but with what I am going through right now, I can say that I am about as close to hell on earth as anyone else. The smell of stale blood is harsh on my nose but even that fades into obscurity in the face of dried sweat that has turned my clothing into a sticky mess. And let's not even talk about human waste. I feel like a little infant who has been abandoned by his mother and has no idea what to do with himself. It seems to be night now because the rats that had showed a measure of respect were becoming bolder now and now marching all over like they were the lords of this domain. I had found myself having to kick my leg or throw an arm to stop a particularly bold one from chewing the skin off of my limbs. But then again, they really are the lords and I, the intruder. As if that was not enough, my body seems to have only now recalled the torture it had undergone earlier in the day and was now proceeding
Indrik's Pov"Blaire!" I repeated, my voice faint. "Indrik!" She called excitedly, the torch clattering to the ground as she reached through the bars and embraced me as well as she could. I did not return the awkward embrace as I was still wondering what she was doing here. The prisoners were not exactly helping matters either as they resorted to showing their displeasure by banging their fists on their prison doors. "Blaire!" I called again, confusion evident in my voice. "What are you doing here?" I asked unable to understand why she would be here. She would surely be in trouble if she was caught and it would not exactly help my case either. "How are you doing? My gosh! You smell horrible. Give me a minute, will you?" She avoided my questions as her words came out in a rush. She disentangled herself from me and groped around the floor for something. I soon discovered the something to be a key as she found it and inserted it into the keyhole and with a couple of turns pulled it op
Blaire's PovWalking away from the dungeon with all its filth and stench should have made me feel relieved but what I was feeling would probably be fittingly described as the direct opposite. Leaving left me feeling more awful than I had been before going. Seeing the unhealthy conditions that Indrik had to put up with made me feel sick to my stomach. Coming out from the underground cell, I was glad to find that my luck had held although I don't think I would have been scared if I had come out to find a circle of wolves. If they will, they could throw me in the dungeon as well. At least then, I would be able to be close to Indrik. Somewhere in the back of my mind though, a voice that wasn't clouded by my anger told me I would be more useful free than imprisoned. I shut the door silently and snuck out of the palace. For a moment, my eyes caught on the images from earlier and I blinked as the memories rushed in, fresh as when I first saw them. I blinked again as the images seemed to be
Luna's Pov"It is a beautiful day." That is the first thought that crossed my mind as I awakened to a choir of birds singing happily in the tree behind my window. Hearing their melody seemed to be reassuring me that everything would be alright. Nevermind that I had another nightmare most of which I could not recall although I could not forget the terror that coursed through my veins. I stretched my limbs to a satisfying chorus of cackles from my muscles and rose on to my knees as I turned toward the window which I had either left open or opened sometime in the middle of the night. I placed my elbows on the windowsill and my mind wandered as I watched the small hummingbirds Twitter as they leapt from flower to flower. Of course they were happy. Who wouldn't be when they had that much resources at their disposal? I on the other hand could not say as much for myself. I was still lost in thoughts when I heard a knock at the door. I got out of bed and waddled to the door. I rubbed my ey