Aftermath (M)

Exhausting night. Rewarding, nonetheless. The ravine passage is within grasp. The way ancestors took to the Monastery within the mountain too. If the information Nazir collected is true, the last vial should be within the catacombs.

Blood of Silas. The first of the first. A wolf that transfigured into a Lycan. When he fell, the ancestors took his blood and sought out the monks within the mountains. Ones who had sealed away their wolves and swore to celibacy. To preserve the bloodline, they sealed three vials across Earth. One of them is on this continent. 'I will have it. I must.'

Gazing out the window of this rustic pack house, the fire outside was lit by my wolves. The corpses will turn to ash and return to the Earth. Where do they belong? The sound of heavy footsteps briefly takes my attention from the burning dead. A slight tug at the bond makes Nazir’s presence known.

“Will she run?” The necessary harshness has evaporated from me for now. My wolf, Valac, has settled. I can feel him sleeping within me.

“No. I have two standing guard. The door and the window outside.” Nazir responds, and I finally turn towards him. I give a grunt of approval.

'Sylvie.' The old Alpha Gideon said her name, yet she introduced herself differently. First in a long time to be so…calm in my presence. Nazir walked her in, unlike every other from this pack, and ones before them. At first glance, I thought she might be mute. Screams are familiar, silence is unnerving. When she gave her name, or what I presume is a nickname, it was like she played a bad note on a piano. It didn’t fit. Such a quiet, tiny voice made my vision sharpen until I could see the skin beneath the ash and dust. Odd little thing, I could sense nothing from her. Fear, yes, but the rest is a blank page. No scent. No wolf. And yet those green eyes made Valac take a step back. As if she’d cast a spell, the only thing I felt him do was go strangely quiet.

Nothing ever makes him go quiet. He’s always hungry for blood. And so am I.

'Yet I felt none towards her.'

Gideon saw it. I felt his fear shift when I questioned her. There was a change, subtle, but even the old Alpha picked up on it. Instead of the harsh words he’d said about her in the beginning, he told her to live. I wonder if she felt like she betrayed everything she knew. I had to get a closer look. Couldn’t read her. I couldn’t even smell if what she was saying was a lie. Her voice trembled, but her eyes were steady. No matter how hard I pushed to force her into submission, she didn’t feel a sliver of my power.

“A runt. Usually, they smell like rotten eggs.” Nazir notes and takes me away from my twisting thoughts. It seems that he, too, is confused about that runt’s presence. I saw the way he hesitated when she dropped to her knees. Like he wanted her to stand. I sensed it. 'Peculiar.'

“An Omega?” I question, and Nazir nods.

“Only they could have such rusted genes. And no wolf.” He confirms. And yet she smells like nothing. Even without a wolf, the nature of our genes leaves traces in runts. It’s as though she isn’t a wolf at all. It irks me. Or perhaps it intrigues me.

“She’ll do well as a pet.” The words leave me with a finality. Having a cup girl won’t be bad, especially one that doesn’t make me want to tear her throat out. One that makes Valac…silent. If she learns and knows her place, she may survive. “Have her serve me food after she is done.”

It’s a dismissal, and Nazir obeys it. I sit on the tiny sofa chair and lean back. Some shut-eye will do me good. Now that I have what I need, I can afford it. I close my eyes, enjoying the little peace after such a long time. My head is usually full of my and Valac’s anger. The dark thoughts and the blood-thirst never stop. Rare moments like this I cherish. For it could always be my last.

Even so, I cannot block out everything. Especially the sounds that carry through the walls. Specifically, the certain pitter patter of feet right above this room. The running of water. The sigh that makes my breath leave me the same way. I can’t smell her. Can’t sense her. But I can hear her. The sounds are lulling me. I must be tired.

Those green eyes are what my mind pictures as the shallow waters of sleep take me.