[Avira]
I did not realize how far into the night we had spent until the cloud gradually shifted and revealed the moon.
I suddenly felt a burning sensation around my neck which prompted me to clutch my neck in a futile attempt to wriggle the fucking necklace off, but just as it was back inside the Ashen cage, the ugly looking necklace did not yield or come off.
The stranger was on all fours already, ready to shift, and trying hard to not scream even though he didn't have to. I mean who cares if he screamed or not? Or who would dare come into the sacred cave in search of the werewolf that was screaming?
I looked away from the stranger as furs, paws and claws shot out of his form which now was partly human and partly wolf, wondering just how long I would have to suffer with this thing around my neck. I should have made him take the necklace before now, I thought, biting my lower lip as I tried to wriggle the necklace from my neck once more.
The sound of growling forced me to let go of the necklace, and look back towards his direction. He was fully transformed now.
How perfect!
I could already see myself running all the way to God knows where amidst heavy panting so as to keep up with the stranger, and I was already filled with dread.
"Let's go," the stranger said, cutting off my thoughts. His voice as a wolf sounded nothing like his voice as a human. It was far too harsh to belong to him.
"I–I-I…" I was momentarily shaken as a result of the harshness of his voice, and also I wasn't sure how to tell him that I could not travel on foot with the pain on my leg brought about by the snake bite.
"Of course," I said, grabbing the backpack which I was sure contained more food. I wouldn't appear weak to him even though the weight of the backpack was already crushing me, and I was sure I wouldn't be able to travel with it. He had just saved my life, and the last thing I wanted to do was appear weak or give him any more reasons to think less of me.
Speaking of saving my life, I suddenly remembered that I hadn't told him how grateful I was, so I turned towards him, but he beat me to speaking first.
"Strap the backpack to my back," he said in the same harsh voice, and I let out a sigh of relief. His voice had sounded so suddenly that it made me unsteady for a slight second, but I was quick to regain my composure, and I proceeded to strap the backpack to his back.
He started walking once I finished strapping the backpack to his back, and to my horror, he was heading farther into the cave. I still wasn't sure whether or not to believe his tale of gloompetals, and now he was leading me farther into the cave.
Panic seized me as I thought of how dangerous it would be if his tales turned out to be false, or not applicable in this pack. I didn't want to go rogue like the Beta even though that would give me a chance to revenge on the Beta. I just wanted to be out of moonfire pack, and place all of its memories behind me.
"That's the wrong way…" I called out to him with a trembling voice. I was scared alright, but I didn't intend to sound terrified.
He stopped once he heard my voice, and turned slowly towards me. He returned to where I was standing with an unusual slowness while I waited patiently for him.
I noticed his eyes for the first time, large, amber coloured, and gentle, it was nothing like his tone, and I wondered if he was pissed when he spoke harshly some moments ago.
"It's the only way," he said in the same harsh tone, and I raised an eyebrow in surprise. He continued to speak but I wasn't paying attention to what he was saying, my attention was on his eyes which strangely still looked gentle despite the harshness with which he spoke. Maybe that's his wolf's tone, I thought in my head.
"What do you think?" he asked in the same tone, forcing me to pay attention.
"Did you say something?" I asked, even though I was sure he did.
"It's too dangerous to go out of the cave or travel tonight. The warriors will be on guard tonight and the nights after it to ensure you don't get away." he said, after looking at me closely for a few seconds. He then continued his walk farther into the forest, and I followed him this time, wondering what he had in mind or where exactly we were going.
He was right, Alpha Demian wouldn't relent in his decision to have me killed, and so would the warriors. Of course they knew I couldn't have run too far, and was still within the pack's premises, and I was sure there were warriors stationed at various positions, waiting for me. At this point, I needed to survive, and if surviving meant spending the night in this cave, I would do just that.
He stopped again, a few feet ahead of me, probably waiting for me to catch up, and I did. It was night for real this time, and I couldn't tell if the cold I felt was as a result of the chilled weather or fear. The sounds of chirping from the different dark corners weren't helping at all.
Every time the night wind swept through dried leaves, and every sound, strange or not, sent me swirling around with so much swiftness that my neck soon began to hurt.
I wasn't afraid that a pack member was lurking around somewhere because I knew it was impossible. I was afraid that some Spirit being was somewhere around, waiting to make both the stranger and I go rogue. Even though the stranger had sounded convincing with the gloompetals story, I couldn't help the shred of doubt that clung to me like a second skin or the fear that accompanied the doubt.
I wondered if the stranger was afraid as well but I quickly shrugged off the thought. Instead I wondered if he noticed that I was scared, even though I was sure that he didn't, seeing how he kept walking without paying any attention to me.
"We'll bed here." He said some minutes later, stopping. The air had grown colder now, and I shivered. More than ever I felt closer to the very heart of the cave, I felt closer to the most sacred spot in the pack, the Moonfire Hollow.
"Okay," I said simply. I loved the steadiness in my voice and tone, with no trace of fear or relief. I tried not to glance around quickly as I unstrapped the backpack from the stranger's back and looked inside for anything that would provide me with warmth. I was shivering vigorously now, and a single piece of clothing might just be what I need.
I found a black cloak in the backpack, and grinned excitedly as I quickly put it on.
"Thanks," I mumbled and he responded with a low growl.
I sat on the floor, and waited for some time before asking the question I had been dying to ask.
"Thanks for saving me," I said instead.
"It's nothing," he said too quickly, as if he would rather not dwell on it.
"Why did you do it?" I asked finally. He didn't risk his life to save mine just because he wanted to be friends with me. There had to be more to it.
"You should get some rest," he said instead, ignoring my question.