Chapter 12: The Reckoning and the Rise

The arena was dead silent.

A training accident, they called it. 

It had happened that a rare spearhead had dislodged from the ceiling where it was hanged and it sank right into the little boy. No one expected it. No one could have stopped it.

Except for one girl.

The same girl they had mocked, ridiculed, and beaten.

Tiara.

---

The following day, Alpha Zach stood outside the old cabin on the outskirts of the village, looking at Tiara's tiny door.

The guards who had come with him glanced at each other, obviously uneasy. They had never seen their alpha in such a devastating state. He looked so humble, his shoulders were lowered, and his lips were tightly pressed against each other in regret.

He slowly lifted his hand as if it was heavy. He knocked once.

When the door creaked open, Tiara appeared, wearing a blank expression, dried blood crusted along her cheek.

“I know,” she said, heaving a sigh before she continued to speak. “I know that he is gone.”

Zach tried to speak, but no words came at first.

Finally, in a voice hoarse, he said, “You warned me. And I did not listen," he sobbed like a child.

Tiara simply stood before him, sobbing silently. She felt so bad for the dead boy and for the ignorant parent..

“I was too proud and stubborn that I allowed it to cloud my sense of judgment and reasoning. I thought… I thought no one could tell me what to do. And even if someone would, I would never have thought that it would be a girl, an omega, a seer. But I was wrong.”

Still, she watched him.

“Forgive me,” he quietly pleaded. “And continue to stay with us. Here in this pack.”

Tiara’s eyes softened for a moment. “You did not just fail me, but you also failed your son and your pack.”

Zach flinched on hearing those words. “I know.”

“I will stay,” she said finally. “But not for you. I am willing to stay for those who want to live, those who are ready to hear and heed to my warnings.”

Although amused by her own confidence and words, Tiara could not hinder herself from speaking from her mind, it was as if someone or something was speaking through her.

"I will make sure that no one in here treats you like an outcast anymore, henceforth, you are one of us, a member of this pack." Zach swore.

Within three days, whispers had turned into stories, and the stories started to travel far and near. People from alpha Zach's town began to tell other pack members who came to their town, and everyone who cared to listen

"She predicted that the alpha's son would die and he really did."

"I thought she was mumbling on some rubbish, drunk on something or desperately trying to gain recognition but I was so wrong." 

"I think that the Moon goddess is pleased with us for her to have sent her to us."

"Nobody here knows where she comes from but we know that she is an omega who does varieties of menial jobs, just to earn a living."

"Whatever it is that she might be, we do not even care about it. We are just happy to have such a great seer amongst us." 

" It was not only the alpha's son's death," she predicted. She had also warned quite a number of people before that unfortunate incident happened but only a few heeded her warning."

In return, merchants carried the tales across towns. And before they knew it, packs started to send scouts, wanderers began appearing at the edge of the cabin, offering food in exchange for answers. Farmers asked about their harvest, mothers begged her to check on sick children and warriors asked if they would die in battle.

The town started to receive more and more people as the days went by, thereby boosting their revenue. The little Scarlet pack became the center of attraction.

Some came desperate, some came curious, and some came afraid, with the sole purpose of wanting to meet with the seer.

In only a matter of weeks, Tiara was no longer an outcast, she was a seer, and a great one at that.

People started to give her different nicknames: the Moon's voice, the omega who sees through everything. She was the center of attraction, at the center of fame, no, she was fame itself.

Some packs started paying tribute to alpha Zach, all because they wanted to gain his favour, in an attempt for them to meet with the seer.

"My lord, you have visitors from the neighboring pack," one of his guards announced one sunny afternoon.

"Did they say what they wanted?" Alpha Zach questioned. Despite the attention and wealth that Tiara's foreseeing was bringing to him and the pack, he knew that he had to be extremely careful handling matters that concerned her.

"They only said that they wanted to have an audience with you," the guard reported.

"Hmm," after a few minutes of deep thinking, he finally spoke again. " Usher them in," 

"Right away, my lord." The guard said before hurrying out.

"Greetings, alpha Zach," a strong voice greeted, bowing as he paid his respects.

"And who are you, if I may ask?" Alpha Zach replied, cutting straight to the chase.

"I am Nelson, from the pack very close to yours," the man replied.

"What brings you here?" Alpha Zach curiously asked.

"We come in peace, my lord," the man replied.

"The alpha of my pack sent us down here to deliver a letter to you."

"A letter about what?" He asked the man, not giving him breathing space.

"It is concerning the seer. My lord seeks an audience with her," Nelson replied, bringing out the letter he had mentioned.

It was a letter sealed with a silver seal. The seal on it told Zach that it was no ordinary pack, it was a big one, one that was way stronger and richer than his.

"I will go through it and send a message back in a few days time." He cleverly replied.

"We will await your message, my lord." Nelson said, bowing again before taking his leave.

Matters went as far as a rogue king offering gold if she would name his enemies.

----------

Miles away in the Dark Moon Pack, Edwin and Vanessa were facing the challenge of miscarriages and pressure from their pack.

"What do we do now?" Vanessa sobbed.

"I do not think that I can cope with this ridicule for long, I mean, you need to see the way people scorn me whenever I leave home," she lamented.

"How is it my fault that I suffer miscarriages? How?" 

Edwin who was as heartbroken as Vanessa looked into space, his mind drifting very far away.

"Why are you being quiet?" Vanessa yelled, a few moments later.

"Do you think that being quiet would save you from the people's claws or that you are not involved in all of this?" 

Edwin turned to face her, an awry smile was plastered on his face.

"Do you know the pressure that I go through before the elders of council? Do you?" He scoffed.

"You think you are the only one who has had it rough?"

Vanessa went mute on hearing those words. She knew that Edwin was also under so much pressure from the elders and the pack. Afterall, she was the one with the problem, not him.

"All of this might have been avoided in the first place," Edwin muttered under his breath before he walked out of the room.

Vanessa watched him walk out without any other word. She wanted to speak, to say something to make him stop but she just could not find her voice or the words to use.

She sobbed in silent, hitting her chest, trying to suppress the pain that surged through it.

"Calm down, my lady," one of her personal maids said, trying to calm her down.

"Calm down?" She laughed hysterically amidst tears.

"Did you just tell me to calm down when all that I have suffered and toiled for is about to be taken away from me?" 

"And all of this is that witch's fault," she thought inwardly.

"I am sure that she is the cause of my misfortune, the cause of this calamity that has befallen me."

"Luna," the maid softly called as she tapped Vanessa who had drifted into the land of thoughts.

"What is it?" She yelled at the poor maid.

"Get away from me! Get lost!" 

The startled maid quickly ran out of the room, leaving her all by herself.

"Maybe I should deploy a troop of strong and sharp witted soldiers that can track her down," she thought, pacing around the room.

"If I lay my hands on her, I can make her undo whatever spell it is she has casted on me, but what do i tell Edwin before sending out a troop?" She thought, rubbing her hands against each other nervously.

--------

Edwin walked into his study and rushed to a table that was placed in a corner of the room. He poured himself a glass of liquor, and gulped it down in a go without wearing any expression.

"My lord," one of his guards called.

"I do not want to see or speak with anyone." He sharply replied.

"I understand how you feel but I might have a solution to the issues on ground," the guard said, uncertainty in his eyes.

"A solution?" Edwin curiously asked.

"And what might that be?" He quickly assumed his seat.

"Well, I am not sure if you have heard but there is this great seer in a pack that is not too far from ours," the guard explained.

"A great seer?" Edwin repeated.

"Yes, she resides in the Scarlet pack and according to stories and witnesses, she is indeed a great seer," the guard confidently said.

"A great seer in the Scarlet pack...." He trailed off.

"I have heard some of the elders talk about it in one of the meetings that we had but I just never paid attention to it," He recalled.

" According to what I heard, she tried to warn the alpha of the pack about his son's death but he refused to listen to her and unfortunately for him, the boy died a cruel death," the guard pressed further, seeing that Edwin paid keen interest.

"Do you know anything about the seer herself? Maybe her name or anything at all?" Edwin asked.

"No, my lord. The pack is very careful when it comes to her, they have refused to disclose anything about her background to outsiders," the guard answered.

"Do you think she can help us solve the issues on ground?" Edwin sought the guard's opinion.

"If the stories are true, I heard that she solves every problem that is brought to her," the guard replied.

"But I do not know what the Luna might think of such a thing, that is why I came to you, my lord," 

" Hmm, I see," Edwin thoughtfully responded, understanding the guard, knowing how aggressive and cold Vanessa can be, especially to someone like the guard.

"I really do not believe in such stories and I cannot just trust the words that people carry around, I need to be sure that it is the truth and then discuss with the Luna," 

The guard nodded his head in understanding, he knew that the person that needed to be convinced was the Luna herself and not the alpha. 

If the Luna was convinced, she would know how to convince the alpha into giving the seer a chance.

"I understand, my lord." The guard said.

"Thank you for your hardwork and for being thoughtful." Edwin smiled, waving his hand to dismiss the guard.

Edwin sighed as he watched the guard leave. Although he had no clue has to who the seer was but his heart knew exactly who she was.