Alliances

Haelyn's POV

I didn't know them per se but from the looks on their faces and the marks on their arms, I could tell they were from the Alpha Trials. Ragged-looking men eyeing me as if I was their prey.

They approached me but I didn't back down. "I'm no threat to you, fellows," I said.

The one in front spoke, "We know that. And that's why we are offering you an alliance."

"Alliance?"

"Yes."

"With who?"

"With us, of course. Before we came here, we overheard some of the men talking about stabbing people in their sleep. Trust me, you wouldn't stand a chance of any of them straddled you."

I counted them. They were four and wanted to add me to the score. "Why did you choose me?"

"We could keep a lookout for each other, you know. Everyone for the Alpha Trials deserves to fight, and if they're dying, it should be on that battleground. Not in some mess hall used by egotistical elite soldiers."

I had to admit the men had a point there. But I didn't want to get too close to any of them. Someone might get too curious and find out that I'm not whom I claimed to be.

An imposter.

A liar and a cheat.

Well, I wasn't sure about being a cheat. I mean, if a girl like me was putting other men down, then that was an unfair disadvantage, not the other way round.

"One more thing," said the one in front. He was their spokesperson. I wondered if he gave himself that position or if the others voted.

"And what's that?" I asked.

"We've got to stick together at all times."

"Why?"

He laughed, and they followed suit. I was the only one who didn't find that funny.

"We have been talking and it seems like you haven't been listening. You know what? Have it your way. We don't need you anymore. Since you can't understand what needs to be done I doubt you'd be able to take responsibility for the rest of us."

They walked past me into the bar, the last one found it nice to jam his shoulder against mine.

Feigning ignorance was intentional. I wanted to make them feel like I wasn't interested in their little union. My plan would backfire and I wasn't ready for that.

I went back to watch the elite soldiers train. Realized I had mastered almost all their moves. It was still difficult to find out what Master Riven really knew. He preferred to watch the men fight most times and only came in at the last minute to show off.

And this never lasted.

When they were done, I looked at the palace until the sun began to set. I worked in my head how I would be able to steal in and get my revenge. It was much faster that way. But I remembered what Crescent had told me about his own ordeal. No Alpha King would be that easy to take down.

Even I who prided myself on being good, took some blows from Weston. How would I fare with someone like Alpha Roy, the most dangerous ruler of the packs?

Crescent had been lucky to get out alive and how he had kept himself hidden from Roy was a mystery of its own. I concluded that if I wanted to do just that, then I'd have to find him.

It didn't take me too long to find a man like that. I just had to walk a couple of distance away from Silver Pack, as if I were leaving, and he'd follow. The man was a watcher.

I caught him atop a tree, hiding behind some branches, and he hadn't even made a sound.

"You can come down now, I see you," I hollered.

The next second he was standing beside me, no sound again. I stepped back. "How did you do that?"

"You have been on your own for ten years, just as I have. Didn't you learn anything about your abilities?"

"I haven't even gone through my first transformation yet, Mister Crescent."

He grunted. "That doesn't matter."

"What does?"

"Survival. You just might get a chance at survival if you know how to move with the wind instead of howling at it."

"Nice choice of words. Now you have me all confused."

"Tell me something. Why did you refuse those four men back there?"

"They'd get overly curious in the long run."

"And do you blame them?"

"See eventually, I would have to kill them so what difference does it make?"

He turned his back on me and looked towards the horizon of the setting sun. "You need to take one step at a time. Finish the tasks that are before you before moving on to the ones that will come later. That way, you get to focus easier. An alliance with them will keep you alive for now. Later, you'd find your way out of it."

I sighed then shrugged. "Like I said earlier, I don't mind being alone. Been a lone wolf most of my life."

"Hiding out in the forest where no one will find you," Crescent said, and turned to face me again. "There is no place to hide in the Alpha Trials." He walked a slow circle around me as he talked. "Those men, bodies bare, chest and manhood on display, washing off the blood and the sweat. But there you are, afraid to show them what's underneath. Afraid to lose the only chance you have to get close to Roy. So what would you do?"

"Avoid bathing in the mess hall," I said.

"And where would you bathe? Or would you rather stink?"

"I'd pay to use a bathroom in town," I said.

"Which means more stealing," Crescent said and shook his head. "You are a nut case."

That made me smile. Yeah, I had grown stubborn all those years. It was expected. I was alone and had no one to fetch my needs.

Crescent held out his hand.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Alliance," he said. "I'm not going to be curious and you won't have to kill me. Shake my hand or leave it, what do you say ?"