Defiance

"I would like to speak with you alone, Alpha Hrolf." Ashina said boldly.

A hush silence fell upon the room and almost everyone stared at her in shock. She had dared to speak when their Alpha had spoken. It was rare.

 The warriors who had moved closer to take her to the den paused in their tracks and Hrolf couldn't help but turn around.

He stared at her in a different light.

Her brazenness struck a chord in him. No one. No one dared speak after he, the renowned Alpha of the White Moon Pack, gave an order. But this young maiden had dared to speak. 

The warriors dragged her up violently but they were stopped by Hrolf. He raised his hand in the air - a signal that they were to leave her alone.

Erik and Bjorn turned to face each other in surprise. However, they let her go immediately at his command.

Not only did she speak, but she was also staring at him with so much confidence oozing from her veins. Hrolf erupted into a harsh peal of mocking laughter. With her lips set in a hard stubborn line, she looked defiant. And beautiful.

Ashina swallowed. Her heartbeats thumped in her chest and her fingers trembled. She folded them and kept a brave outlook. If she acted cowardly now, it would all be in vain and she would end up like her parents.

She had to give it a trial. A memory of their lifeless eyes flashed through her brain and she gulped. It chilled her to the bone. Ashina could not end like that. She would rather kill herself than end up as dead meat in the White Moon's territory.

'If I die, at least I won't die a coward.' She thought to herself as she watched him cover the distance between them.

Hrolf narrowed his eyes at her before raising his gaze above her head. With a hand gesture, he sent everyone out of the room.

"Alpha, she could be dangerous." Erik protested.

"Go, Erik. Have you ever known me to be stupid?" He said with an obvious air of pride.

Erik shook his head.

"Then go. I'll handle this." Hrolf said as a small smile twitched on his lips.

"We will go but if we don't hear anything from you after some minutes, I'm sorry to say, we will storm in." Erik said in a tone of finality and turned to leave.

Hrolf watched the other warriors troop out of the large room leaving him alone with the sassy damsel kneeling at his feet. 

He waited for Erik to bar the doors before he crouched on his knees to meet her gaze. Hrolf was sure of one thing, his men would remain at that door. They would not leave until he was done here.

Their loyalty was unlike no other.

Was he always this proud? For some reason, she liked the loyalty his Pack members had toward him. It was unlike this back at Sussex Pack or she would never have been here in the first place.

A small mocking smile twitched on Hrolf's lips as his breath fanned her face. He scanned her body in one glance and let out a soft chuckle. She was trying her best to keep the brave facade but inside she was falling apart.

He knew this but he was impressed by her confidence. 

"How may I help you?" He asked her, staring at her intensely.

"Help? That word shouldn't come from your lips." Her voice dripped with raw sarcasm.

He would give it to her. She was sharp-mouthed and to his surprise, he liked it.

"I am disappointed in you for what you said a few minutes ago. After seeing me in such a condition, all you could think of was the dungeon. You don't even care if I die before daybreak?" 

"And why should I?" He shrugged.

Ashina shook her head in disgust.

"Just when I thought you would help me, you did the exact opposite. I am famished, stressed out, and have been on the run for three days. Yet you treated me like a piece from the dump." She said with disbelief.

That explained why her tousled blonde hair looked dirty with small grasses in them and she reeked of the forest manure. He had guessed right.

 But why was she running? And why did she expect him to treat her any better than he treated intruders who dared show up on his territory? 

He regarded her with a quizzical look. 

"Since this is how unwelcoming you are, why do the rumors paint you in a good light?" She muttered scornfully.

"What rumors?" He goaded her.

Of course, he knew those rumors by heart. They were rumors of how he was a good Alpha who was loved by his people and cherished by even the lowest rank in the Pack.

However, he had to act like a fool to get answers from her. Maybe they would tell him about her, where she was coming from and why he was supposed to welcome her into his home without a thought.

"You don't even know the rumors?" Ashina's eyes widened in astonishment.

"No, I don't. Humor me." Another small smile danced on his lips.

He looked so handsome when he did that. She had no idea that he had a dimple but now that he was closer, she could see it.

He had two beautiful dimples on his cheeks which added to his boyish charm. A small dark tattoo was inscribed on his wrist with his name cast in broad letters. She shook those thoughts away when she remembered that she was his captive.

"Most people say you are a great Alpha who cares for his people. Pardon me, Alpha but you are a complete contrast to what they painted you as." She barbed at him.

Hrolf was enjoying this to his amazement. Anyone who dared speak to him in such an unruly manner would have become mute in a matter of seconds.

He was a good Alpha who ruled his people well but that didn't mean he didn't exert harsh methods when necessary. Her tongue should have been on the floor but her words didn't bother him.

Something else did. It was something she didn't say. He wondered what she had been thinking of before the reply. He felt it in him.

"They were all wrong. I should have known better than to believe the words from the lips of gossip. They do nothing but tell lies. You are no different from Zeeb." She lashed out at him.

There it was. She had finally taken the bait he tossed at her. 

"Who is Zeeb?" He questioned.

If he could get the answer, he would link them up and arrive at the major reason she was here on his land.

"And why should I answer that? I don't owe you any answer, not after the judgment you delivered moments ago." 

"If you really need an answer to that question, find out for yourself." She hurled the words at him.

Hrolf had a link already. Although he would have wanted more so he could get the answer immediately. But he had to do the remaining work on his own which wasn't bad.

He would be intrigued to find out more about her. How interesting that would be. 

"What is your name? You could at least give me that." He asked one final question.

Ashina's gaze lingered on him for a moment before she opened her lips. 

"Ashina. I am Ashina." She replied after a few seconds.

"Ashina." Her name rolled off his tongue in a perfect manner.

Ashina found herself liking the drawl in his tone. She hoped he would call her once more. The sound of it warmed her insides. He called it like a dear name. 

"Ashina…" Hrolf trailed off.

"Yes." She answered him.

"If I find out who your people are and I confirm that you aren't harmful, I will release you." He vowed.

There were three things he didn't joke with. His son. His Pack. His words. He was making a vow to do so immediately after he found enough to let her go.

'But what if she was harmful?' A small voice in the corner of his mind quizzed him.

Hrolf let out a sigh. He hoped that for her sake she wasn't a spy. He hoped that she wasn't harmful or he would have no choice but to do what he always did in such situations - Make the captive suffer and leave them to die in pain.

There were so many ways he could do that.

"No!" She protested.

"Excuse me." Hrolf directed his attention back to her.

"No, you won't release me. You will take me in." She stated her condition.

Ashina earnestly prayed that he would agree to it. If he didn't she would have to beg him because she was scared of Zeeb finding her again. If Zeeb found her, he would kill her for sure.

Was that what he thought it was? Hrolf saw a trace of fear in her eyes. She was afraid. But why?

"What do you say?" She asked almost immediately without giving him a chance to think for too long.

Her life depended on this.

"Fine, I will take you in." Hrolf promised.

He stood up to his feet and studied her carefully. Her actions could also lead him to the answers he was looking for.

"Erik." He called for him.

The door flung open under Erik's hands.

"Yes, Alpha." He answered.

"Take her to the dungeon and give her some good food and water. If she needs anything, give them to her." Hrolf commanded them to Erik's surprise.

However, he dared not question the Alpha. He only wondered what the lady could have said to make him rescind his decision in just a few minutes.

"I will." He affirmed.

Hrolf turned around to leave the room but was stopped again.

"How do I know that you won't kill me? Or that you will live up to your words?" She asked him.

"By this time tomorrow, you will know your fate, Ashina." Hrolf said and walked down the hallway.