It wasn’t great to wake up the next day. Soporific feeling and confusion were the two things registered in my mind.
I was oddly tired despite waking up on my own. Then, when I felt the pain and soreness of my lower part, it struck me as a reminder of last night’s events.
My eyes widened as I jerked up, ignoring the incessant pain as flashes of that man plunging and thrusting me resurfaced in my mind.
Right now, he wasn’t present before me but I could still feel his hands roughly held on to my hips, intruding in my core as he tore me inside during the marking of our mating ritual.
Who could have thought that mating rites were painful for wolves?
The flooding memories made me get off the bed, desperately finding a spot to throw up the sickening pit of my stomach.
However, as my leg tangled with the sheets, I clumsily fell off the floor with a loud, painful thud.
I groaned as the sheet fell off along with me. I tried to pull the heavy cloth off of me until I smelled a strong foul odor before pulling it off my head.
I turned to find its source of the scent until I frozen stiff, color drained instantly from my face when I found it.
Before me, as I was holding it tight, was a mixture of blood and semen…. m-my own blood and his semen that was inside of me.
“Hnn!” Something came out from my mouth and green bile fell directly on that exact spot. I immediately leaned in and threw up the rest, making it worse since the scent made me nauseous.
Right at that moment, a door burst open and I almost jumped out of fear and I immediately covered myself, despite the goosebump of the sickening feeling of having his dried essence and my own bile and blood sticking to my naked body.
Please, Hati, not him, not him, NOT HIM!
“What are you doing?”
A sigh of relief escaped from my lips as I looked up to see an angry middle aged maid, glaring daggers at me.
The view from below as she looked down on me gave her an intimidating presence. Her eyes moved to the direction of my face and I caught sight of her staring at my lips.
Later, I had realized that there was a remnant of green bile plastered at the corner of my lip and I turned red before hastily removing it with my knuckle.
She didn’t utter a word as she walked with each thundering step before she slammed the tray of food on the side table.
I immediately flinched, the sudden noise made me release an embarrassing squeak.
She didn’t say a word but her brown eyes never left my direction.
“Y-yes?” I started asking, unsure of the outcome.
“You’re a despicable pest, you know that?”
I blinked, confused and unsure how to respond to derogatory words.
“You slept all day without an ounce of effort to please the master. Did your so-called church teach you to be this ungrateful?”
I couldn’t say a word. Knowing that the pack despised Hatiism. Years of ridicule made me aware that any refutes I say to protect Hati would be in deaf ears.
“Hmph! To think you are the luna of our pack, the Seer probably misheard the Moon Goddess’s voice! Even if you are the Alpha Leader’s fated mate, you don’t deserve a single respect from me!”
She turned her heel and was about to leave.
“Wait!” I didn’t know what made me call her. But I was conflicted with curiosity.
She gave me a sideways glare and I could tell that she wanted me to get out of it so she could leave.
“I…” I fumbled my words before looking at her and straightened myself. “L-Lord Varick…w-where is he?”
I didn’t know what ate me to ask but seeing the bright sunset from the outside window view, I knew that I overslept.
The maid gave a clear and intentionally loud sigh. “While you were enjoying your luxurious comfort of sleeping on the master’s bed,” she paused, staring at the stained white sheet with disgust. “And not to mention, ruining his precious belongings… he went off early in the morning for another war.”
“Another war? But the war never ends,” I muttered but the maid overheard that and swiftly turned back.
She marched towards me, her cheeks flared up, gritting her teeth as she raised her hand as soon as she was close proximity—
SLAP!
“You started complaining now?!” She bellowed, glaring at me as I held my reddened cheek.
“My father and brother perished during the war because of your so-called sun god! We would live peaceful lives if it weren’t for that!” Tears fell from her eyes as she wiped them feverishly.
I unconsciously tried to comfort her, putting my hand on her shoulder.
“Even if the wolves hate him, Hati doesn’t wish harm to any of us.”
“Fuck you,” she seethed as she pushed my hand aside.
“Now excuse me, unlike you, I have a lot of things to do. Don’t interrupt me.” She gave me the stink eye before storming off the room.
“The Moon goddess is a fool to make a Hati cultist the Luna…” she mumbled before slamming the door shut.
I couldn’t fight back nor I couldn’t get angry at her.
For two hundred years… two centuries now and we continue to have a war against other wolves. The Skollist Pack was declared the enemy of all the wolf packs after our first leader openly supported Hati’s teachings.
Eventually, those decades of deaths put a negative view on the eyes of the new generations and have long forgotten who Hati was.
Given the situation, no matter how hard to appease the resentment of the pack, all we could do is pray.
But our existence only angered the current leader, Varick…my h-husband.
Perhaps his experience with war made him who he is and after I became his life mate, it only boiled down his existing anger.
But why me? Hatiist believers don’t have mates the moment they convert themselves as worshippers.
Why...why did he come before I became an official nun?
I kneeled down on the wooden floor, resting my elbows on the cushion as I looked up, staring as the sun slowly made its way south.
“Dear, sun god, Hati, I pray thee for the safety of the brave wolves fighting for the sake of my pack. Your divine power will never leave them as your selflessness will bring them back safely.”
I paused, the face of my now husband came back in my mind and my heart suddenly raced.
My hands started to tremble as the panic and fear slowly appeared in my thoughts. I gripped my trembling hands tight as I shook my head, feverishly.
I am determined to stay strong. For the sake of the church, for the sake of the pack and for Hati.
Yet, tears naturally fell from my eyes as my shoulders started shaking.
“A-Also, d-dear sun god, Hati…” I bit my lower lip as I wiped my own tears. “For-forgive me that I have sinned. I’ve become too impure to return to reach out to you…yet, I selfishly hoped for your guidance…”
I stop before forcing a smile. A smile no longer showed the same happiness I had not too long ago.
“W-Will you forgive your follower for being selfish once?”
I tried to put all my attention on the bright side of my decision. I did it to save the Hatiism church. But the memories of last night continued flooding in my thoughts as I started sobbing.
I fell flat on the bed and wept.
I knew it was selfish of me to think and I hoped Hati would definitely forgive me.
That I wanted nothing else but to become a nun.
“Rosaria, have you finished chanting the Holy Lycan?” Father asked as he entered the oratory room. I turned around with a bright smile. “Yes, Father Gossep.” I stood up, the bright circle faded the moment I left its spot, and headed eagerly to greet the priest. I gave him a kiss on his palm.“I finished the Lycan prayer and the four Holy Moon as usual, Father,” I added, rather proudly as my smile widened from the excitement engulfing my being.Father chuckled as he patted on my shoulder. “For three weeks? My, you have been the most diligent novitiate here, Rosaria. I am thankful that you grew up to be a fine devotee of the sun god.”“Anything for Hati, Father,” I replied eagerly. We started roaming around the Hatiism church and reaching the nave. The interior was as beautiful as I remembered. The stained glass windows of the sun god and his fellowship are displayed around the walls. Because of our careful maintenance, this 500-year-old church never ended up becoming
Awestrucked, I couldn’t even move when the man was just a closer distance to me. His hand gripped mine as I tried to absorb his words.Mate? Bearing his child? Me?“How could that be?” Father Gossep intervened. “We, the Hatiists, have been shunned in the eyes of the Moon goddess! Only those who had left the church can find their mates,” he said as he glanced in my direction. “Rosaria continued serving the church therefore, she isn’t supposed to receive her mate!”“But not ordained, I assumed?” Father was ready to refute but stopped as the thoughts started to sink in.“N-No, n-not yet…”His hand hadn't released mine. A large, firm hand that could easily break mine like a piece of wood, and I…all I ever wanted was to get away from him. “I d-don’t understand.” After recovering from my shock I stared him in the eye. “I am going to be ordained tonight. I am going to be an official nun and y-yet, the moon goddess suddenly deemed me as your mate?”“But you are not an official of this…” His
“I…” Rationality had left my system as I tried to convey my thoughts. Earlier, we were just chatting idly about my future as a nun. And this…this happened.“How could you give her THAT choice, Lord Varick!” Father Gossep bellowed as he held firmly the stinging pain of his waist. He stood up, ignoring the worrisome look of Sister Anette. “I am the one you should despise! Rosaria’s whole life is in the church!”“Time’s ticking, church maid.” He coerced with gritted teeth, my Father’s words were now in deaf ears. “I don’t have time.” “I…” Tears continued to fall and I looked down, biting my lower lip. I should be a nun by now. But h-he arrived to take it away. Why now? Why did it have to happen before my ordination?!“LORD VARICK!” The voice that once sounded like Father Gossep changed into a monstrous seething growl. A large white wolf, thrice as big as most werewolves in the pack, pounced straight to the alpha leader in a blink of an eye. It growled as its large nails pierced all
It had been a month since my marriage and my husband hadn’t returned from the war. From what I had heard from my now habit of eavesdropping, especially from gossipy women on the streets and the maids who didn't notice my presence lurking by, our pack had been outnumbered by the enemy and their so-called “alliance”. “They brought the Elves to slaughter the Alpha Leader! The messenger had stopped coming back here since that announcement,” one of the vendors exclaimed to her friend as I passed by their direction. “Who knows if the Alpha Leader has already perished!” Another voice, was it Ella, the florist? “If we lose our alpha leader, what will happen to this pack? For he still didn’t have any offspring to take over his position?” “If the Alpha Leader dies, I sure hope he had impregnated that cultist whore!” It was loud enough for everyone to hear. It seemed they had noticed me passing by. I turned to them and gave them a small, awkward smile. Despite their cries of mockery, I pain
My eyes widened at Alpha Leader, Varick, in the flesh and not another case of hallucination. I felt my throat dry, my heart raced faster than normal as I started to experience another dose of an incoming attack.‘Deep breath, deep breath… you knew he would be coming back soon.’ I glanced at him carefully. Dark hair grew longer, unwashed and scruffy from the lack of care. He fashioned a beard, unsurprisingly untamed and his dark gray eyes observed the area. He was wearing his signature armor and it was more worn than it used to be. Once again, he was tainted by vermillion blood.Blood of the other wolves he had slain while he was away.His eyebrows furrowed, seeing my lack of response ticked him off as he tightened his grip, bringing me back to my senses.It stung. The grip made me flinch as I tried to wiggle my hand away from his tight lock.“I hate repeating myself. Why are you here?”“I…” I should think quickly or else I would only rouse his anger. My eyes wandered elsewhere, try
Okay, calm down, Rosaria. It’s impossible for him to die with a shove like mine. He had been through a lot from this endless war and it would be…laughable if he would have died from a measly push from a lower ranking luna. I tried to calm down and now I was eyeing him carefully. I took a deep breath before placing my trembling hand on his wrist, ignoring my hallucinations of the hands around my waists as I tried to check his pulse. It was faintly weak. Weak but not dead! I sighed once more but more relieved than earlier as I tried to decipher what really happened. His face is pale, giving off an impression of a lifeless body that I assumed earlier. And he…wasn’t breathing at all. ‘They brought the Elves to slaughter the Alpha Leader! The messenger had stopped coming back here since that announcement.’ I recalled Naureen mentioning them and a realization came to my mind. Now with his dark gambeson, I muttered an apology and pulled out his heavy garment from his head. I turned re
A long time ago before wolves ever landed on earth, there was the Moon Goddess, an unknown entity residing on the moon, and her brother, the Sun God. Two mythical wolf gods were formed after Fenrir, the first recorded wolf, left them on Earth. These were moon wolf, Skoll, and sun wolf, Hati. Skoll was attracted to the sun and chased after it whereas Hati, whose motives were unknown till this day, chased after the moon. When Hati finally caught the moon, he swallowed it whole, making the chosen wolves lose their ability to transform. “What?” I interrupted and I gave a skeptical look at the image of Hati. “Why would the sun god do that, Father Gossep?” I was five years old when Father Gossep told me this story. Father Gossep chuckled as he patted my head. “Hati only wanted to cleanse the Moon. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have the moon now if he would have eaten it.” “Why did the sun god need to cleanse the moon?” “Some recorded stories stated that the moon had been corrupted and Hati
When I woke up, it was already dark. The discomfort I felt came from the hard concrete floor where my body lay after I fainted, which had brought me back from my sleep. Another was experiencing a different kind of pain, rather it was more of discomfort, that was spent from the magic I used beyond my limit. Oh right, I thought to myself. I turned to see the Alpha leader sleeping on the floor next to me, I should bring him to bed. It was the least I could do after he fought the war for our pack. However, when I tried to lift my body, I couldn’t move. Perhaps this was the consequence of using an advanced spell. It was a miracle that I successfully extracted the poison without fainting midway. I was glad that I secretly practiced the Lycan scrolls during my youth. I sighed as I relaxed on the floor and I felt awkward being next to the man who was responsible for this. Speaking of which, what was that earlier? I was mixed with a lot of emotions that overwhelmed every ounce of logic.