Chapter 5 - Werewolves

Alexa climbed on her dark horse, along with her travel clothes the only colorful thing in that scenario was her blond white hair in a braid and the silver pommel of her sword. By the corner of her eye, she could see Charles and with her sight of a werewolf, she could tell the disapproval on his crossed arms in front of his chest, the line that his lips made, and a wrinkle on his forehead. She didn't want any goodbyes so they wouldn't alarm the villagers or the rest of the kingdom. As soon as she crossed the gates into the open road she motioned her horse into a gallop until her castle was nothing more than a blurry point in the horizon behind her she let the horse calm down to a quick pass without anyone to talk to during her travel Jax became an excellent confidant.

Her thoughts were a mess about the decision that she had made, she still had doubts if it was the right one never before in all the history of the kingdom a move like the one she had made were ever attempted a team with both species they were entering in uncharted waters and anything could happen. She felt the horse complain of the effort that he was making and let him go for a light step she couldn't let him get to exhaustion because it would be unlikely she could found another horse and the journey ahead was a long one.

She arrived at the meeting point in the day that was expected them to meet, she didn't see any sign of him so she dismounts the horse still in her territory but so far up north she could feel the magic of the wolf weaker, she came closer to the border clenched her teeth and she ran her hand through the barrier only for the sake of curiosity. She had always been curious about the borders but had never been so up north, so close to one, fear runs through her heart but she kept her hand in a place closer to touch the barrier her curiosity was higher than her fear. As soon as her hand touches the invisible barrier a terrible pain crossed her arms like if her bones were shattering into little pieces sending electric shocks all over her body. Immediately she removed her hand, grabbing her with the other hand, she was white as if all the blood on her body vanished for a second before the wolf blood in her started normalizing her body but her fingertips were black and the pain remains even if not so intensive as before. Alexa sat propped up against the trunk of a tree holding her breath trying to maintain consciousness.

As soon as she felt the pain leave her body, she rose, went to the saddlebags, and took out a piece of dried meat and bread, to restore the energies that healing had used, "do you see Jax? It's because of this we shouldn't break the rules! There are always consequences for our actions!" Alexa waited for the answer from the horse, even knowing that it would never speak.

"Yes I know Jax, I was an idiot for trying the barrier but how would I otherwise know what it does? For sure is something I'll never try again, I've learned the lesson!"

Alexa sat down again, waiting for Edwin, nibbling on the bread she still had in her hands, watching the forest in front of her, listening with wolf's hearing and sniffing animals of various kinds, small and large, but they were all moving away, she realized that she was in the direction of the wind, her scent warned creatures that the predator in herself was present in the forest and there was nothing she could do, the herbivores and most carnivores feared the werewolf, a natural predator, the wolf within them was worse than a normal wolf and the magic increased bloodthirst, the need to hunt and feed. Alexa could control better than most, for being natural, but for that, she had to be chewing constantly to satisfy hunger and the need to hunt, a curse that no one could control, but she submitted everything to prevent her wolf from manifesting himself either in his total form or in her actions as a human since she was a child she felt him waiting in the shadows of her mind for the most opportune moment to gain control. It had only happened twice in the past when anger or sadness was too much to contain the beast within.

But she needed to prepare herself mentally, because, with a vampire, the beast would be more at the surface, as a defense mechanism. She could not let any emotion escape her control and she would have to give Edwin something to protect him, which was a secret guarded by the royal family of Zulcan and she did not even know if she could trust him enough to give him this secret, but to avoid a war she would have to do it if for some reason she lost control she could end up killing him or he could kill her considering his reputation. It would be a weapon to be used against her kind, but she felt her hands and feet tied.

She looked up at the sky, the night was about to arrive and there was no sign of Edwin and she felt tired. "Hey, Jax! Do you watch over me? I need to get some rest!" The horse looked at her, the only animal that could bear be near her, for it was accustomed to the smell. "I'll consider that a yes!"

Alexa put her head back and closed her eyes, but she did not let herself sleep, she couldn't afford to, being so close to the border. Her thoughts wandered to her mother, Selina who sang to her to fall asleep, after the nightmares of the first Tournament had so frightened her that she could not sleep without nightmares.

The first Tournament was cruel, to see children fight to the death or near to become werewolves and possibly the royal consort, although it was rare for the royal mate to be found in the first Tournament, sometimes this happened and did not prevent people from having hope that would happen. Alexa knew that if she let the wolf out he would love the cruelty, struggle, and blood, but she didn't like it. Her father sometimes said that if she were not such a precocious natural then she certainly would have been changed at birth, for she had no trace of aggressiveness inherent in the natural werewolf.

Years after her father's death, she still remembered those words soaked in disappointment and embarrassment, to counteract the pain these words still inflicted on her, Alexa used to say to herself that she was better at controlling the wolf, better than all who had come before, but the truth was that she was afraid of the wolf and was more afraid of liking what the wolf made her feel.

She felt a puff and looked up, watching Edwin cross the river.