Wren's Pov

'Her story!' I thought. I had begged her like forever to give it to me, and she vehemently refused. Even the story of how she and Bryce met she once never told me despite always asking. And now she was giving it to me without even asking. This was so unlike her. She laughed which brought me out of my thoughts. The water surely helped. It had cleared her throat a bit and she looked much better.

"My worry twat. What are you busy thinking and worrying about? You have cute little wrinkles on your forehead. Careful, you might just grow old and die before me." She laughed again but it was not funny. I could see her sense of humor was still intact, but death was not something to joke about. Once she noticed I was not laughing with her, she stopped laughing.

"You should learn to take a joke or two."

"Not now Melanie. This is serious."

"Not mom today? Wow! You are salty today."

"My bad, Mom!" I said with so much sarcasm, she literally rolled her eyes in response.

"Since you do not want my jokes, let us go straight to sharing. I was born as Dios Wrenison to both Melanie and Strut Wrenison. I was their only child, and they were the leaders of the Blossom Village. Life was quite peaceful and good. We had good relations with our neighbors and barter trade went quite well for us because of that. We were famous for quite a few things, but the most prominent one was our extraordinary herbs. It grew only in our village hence the name blossom. The herb was known as Rarity because of its rare nature and people from all walks of life especially the healers came to trade for it.

Trade was, therefore, very good for us and we never lacked anything. Our village was the most developed and flourished under my parents' leadership. And I was the talk of everyone in my village. The only daughter of the great leaders. They said I was beautiful, fair and a lovely person. I associated with everyone. But I also liked to be alone. So, I would often sneak into the forest near our village without anyone's knowledge. There was this waterfall that I completely adored deep into the forest. It brought me peace and a lot of calmness. I had been sneaking since I was 9.

So, this one time, I was only 15, I sneaked out as usual. But at my waterfall I found a stranger. The most handsome stranger I had ever met. His back was to me, but I could tell he was good-looking. Tall height wise, broad shoulders, packed arms and a back to die for. His hair was short, pitch black and unkempt like someone had been running their hands in it. It just added to his attractive aura. He looked deep in thought, so I made a quick decision to let him be. He seemed to need the waterfall more than me. I could come back tomorrow. I turned to leave but he spoke out.

'You want to leave, and I have been waiting for you, Dios.' I was surprised. I did not know if it was his deep masculine voice or the fact that he knew my name. Before I could overcome my shock, he added, 'I have been observing you over the years and I must say I like what I see.' And he laughed. My first thought was to run. This was definitely getting creepy, but I was too shocked to move. All this time, he had not turned. I was yet to see his face. He stood up and slowly turned. I swear my heart almost stopped. He was definitely handsome. Round face, deep cut jaw line and the most striking blue eyes I had ever seen. His unruly hair matched his filled with color face." Melanie coughed cutting short her story and asked for another glass of water. I filled the remaining half and gave it to her. She downed the whole glass almost immediately. She cleared her throat, and she was sounding much better. even some color was returning to her face. But for this to continue, she had to eat something. And for the first time since I was born, I was going to cook. She always liked it when I watched her cook, and she loved cooking.

"Mom, let me make you breakfast. You need the energy to finish your story." As always, she threw a fuss.

"I cannot let you cook. You have never cooked in your life. Do not worry, I will make breakfast for us." She tried to get up but she only managed to move her head. Her hands could not even lift her.

"You see, you cannot even lift yourself. Just sit tight and let me make you something. I have watched you way too many times. Am sure I can manage." And I left for the kitchen before she could respond. But before I started cooking, I wrote a note and gave the messenger to take to Bryce. It read, 'Something is wrong with Melanie. Call for the healer.' I did not address her as mom since Bryce hated it whenever I did. It was what always started their conflicts.

However, I concentrated on making breakfast with the hope that the healer would come soon. Whoever that said cooking was easy definitely lied. I burnt myself too many times before I finished preparing breakfast. I made some fried eggs, sweet potatoes, some spinach and a glass of milk. Just how she liked it. I carried it up to her room. She was still sitting, looking better but deep in thought.

"Mom, your breakfast." She eyed the tray and squeezed her face in a very cute way.

"That is too much for me. I cannot possibly eat all." It was my turn to laugh and she frowned.

"Okay then. You eat what you can. What is left after you are done, I will finish." That got her eating. She nodded and attempted to eat herself, but she could not. So, I offered to feed her. What was left I finished as promised. She managed to eat a little bit of everything but the milk. She drank it all. Bryce was not here yet. That had me worried, but I masked everything with a smile so as not to worry her. She was now firmer and ready to continue with her story. She asked,

"Where were we?" She was slowly getting back to herself. She always talked too much that she forgot where her stories had been left off once she paused.

"The blue-eyed handsome man." I answered her with so much sarcasm.

"Oh right. When he turned, I was in a trance. I was glued to the ground just looking at his handsome face. I did not notice he was walking towards me until I felt his breath on my face. He was quite tall. I had to literally tilt my face up to look at him. He bent down a little and whispered, 'I am Bryce by the way.'" I had to laugh at this point. She gave me a disappointed look, but I could not help it.

"I cannot believe you have been describing Bryce this whole time. He is not handsome. He is the ugliest human being on earth." I continued laughing.

"To you. To me he has always been good!" She literally shouted. I had to stop laughing and shrugged my shoulders instead.

"To each their own, I guess. You should continue." She cleared her throat and continued.

"Please do not interrupt me again. Anyway, the way he whispered his name just sent a shiver down my spine. I kept wondering how it would feel if he touched me. I just swallowed hard and looked up at him.

'You are nervous. Your whole countenance is giving you away. You should come down. I do not bite.' That got me back to my senses. I retorted back harshly.

'Who do you think you are to make me, Dios Wrenison, nervous?' He actually laughed which pissed me off.

'Your secret admirer.' And with that, he smirked, turned and left leaving me with my mouth open like a fish. 'Who does he think he is? He is annoying. I hate him!' But deep down I knew I would rather love him than hate him.

Over the next few days, I did not find Bryce by 'our' waterfall. I made sure to go everyday so as to not miss him. My heart and all of me was longing to just have a glimpse of him. After 2 weeks of coming daily, I gave up. And I got angry that he made me make a fool of myself. And I did not want to see him again. But this one day, a month later, I went to the waterfall as usual and there he was with his back to me once again. He was facing the waterfall deep in thought. Upon seeing him, all the anger I had towards him magically vanished. I slowly approached him and thought it would be funny to cover his eyes with my hands from behind. He was surprised at first, but he relaxed, and it was my turn to whisper, 'Guess who?' It did not take him long.

'Oh my. I smell lavender. What's up Dios?' And he yanked my hands from his eyes with so much force that I lost my balance and ended somehow in his lap, in his arms like a baby. How he managed to twist me into that position, I do not understand to date. His eyes were staring deep into mine as if bearing into my soul. And he said the sweetest words I have ever heard, 'I love you, my Dios.' Before I could comprehend his words, he locked his lips with mine and gave me an earth-shattering kiss.

The way his lips were dancing against mine was like they had known each other forever. They had a rhythm of their own that was in sync. His lips were soft and funnily he tasted like lemons. The kiss was long, and we finally had to part for air. That was my first kiss ever. I had never kissed anyone before and that realization made me look down in embarrassment. That got to him, and he sat me up in his lap and lifted my face with his finger.

'Hey. What is wrong? Did I do something wrong?' The look of worry oh his face broke my heart. I shook my head very fast in denial.

'No. You did nothing wrong. It is just that I have never kissed anyone before. That was my first kiss and am super embarrassed.' And I quickly looked down again but he was quick to lift my face once again.

'I am glad to be your first and hopefully your last. And there is nothing to be embarrassed about. You are an amazing kisser.' I just found myself hugging him and we kissed again briefly. After that, we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening catching up and getting to know each other.

I learnt he was Bryce Roberts from the Montes Village, and he was a famous trader in their village. He would often travel round the villages trading different things and his last destination was usually our village. His trip would take approximately 3 weeks after which, he would rest for a week as he distributed his goods to his people in exchange for other things he would use in the next trade. He came to our village to acquire Rarity because most humans believed it kept the wolves away. He told me that is why our village was never attacked by werewolves while those around us suffered in the hands of werewolves.

According to him, Rarity has the compound Aconite, that is very toxic to werewolves, therefore, can be used to make wolfsbane. It could either be liquid or powder and mixing it with silver made it stronger. So, his village used the Rarity to make wolfsbane and they would pour it round their village and in their houses. That protected them. He said rarity was a rare commodity just like Rarity but, Rarity was cheaper and no one who had silver was willing to negotiate. I was happy our village was helping out others. We talked till evening, and he walked me to my village border. I was happy so I hugged him tight, and he promised to see me next month. And that is how our love story began." I had to cut her short. I was surprised.

"Wait a second, you mean to say, your Bryce is Bryce the famous trader? You guys are full of surprises." Melanie just gave me a disgusting look and said,

"I thought I told you not to interrupt me again!" I raised my hands in surrender.

"My bad, mom. You can continue."

"Better. Anyway, over the next few months, we kept on meeting and our love kept on growing. I even stopped going to the waterfall by myself. I would only go if I knew he was coming. He had a specific way of doing things, so I always knew when he was going to be around. And so, I looked forward to seeing him every time. This went on for a year. So, our one-year anniversary was coming up, and I needed to do something special. So, I started sneaking into our bookstore and stealing steamy sexy romance novels. I was the leader's daughter, so no one really paid much attention to what I did as long as I was comfortable.

So, instead of sneaking to the waterfall or sneaking to play with other kids, I was busy learning how to have sex. I thought I was ready. That whole month to our anniversary, I read anything and everything i could get my hands on regarding the subject. So, when our day came, I was ready. The plan was for him to come early complete his trade as the very first person then, send his comrades back with the goods with the promise of joining them soon as he had unfinished business. It was quite a solid plan.

I was 16 now and I felt like a grown woman. Most people were considered adults by 16. But whenever I was with him, I felt him holding back. We would only make out and whenever I wanted to go further, he would respectfully decline and be like, 'Not the right time yet.' I always thought he meant am too young for this. I wanted to do it on my birthday, but we weren't scheduled to meet then. So, we were going to end up doing it on a random day and it was not going to be special.

So, I passed by the trading square that early morning and sure enough, he was there. His goods were being inspected and counted. He winked at me, and I managed a smile without being noticed. I was a child though to be honest so I had done as much preparations as I could. I wore my best everything. Everyone I passed kept looking at me funny. Am sure they kept wondering where the celebration was at. I even had so much perfume on, am sure some people chocked on it. I just smiled at everyone and proceeded to the waterfall. I had to be secretive about it. So, I pretended to be going to the bookstore and took a detour as soon as I was out of sight. So, if anyone was asked, they would say they saw me go into the bookstore which my parents were okay with.

Once at the waterfall, I proceeded to make sure I was not followed and then I undressed and got into the water. This was our norm. Every time we meet, we would undress, not fully though, and get into the water. We would always make out in the water unless it was the cold season where we could not afford to lose any heat or clothing. I removed my clothes, that is, gown, socks and shoes. I was only left with this pair of inner clothing that he got me for my birthday. They were sexy for sure. A bra which was my first to own. It was jungle green in color and had a matching underwear. And when he gifted me, he said I would know the right time to wear them. I thought I had nailed it.

And that is how he found me, in the water and half-naked facing the waterfall waiting for him. I just heard him undress and came up behind me stealthily. I felt his hand touch my waist and he whispered, 'Are you insane? Why are you wearing that?' And instead of answering him, I turned and locked our lips. That kiss was fiery. I put everything in it, and I could feel he was doing the same. I felt his love, his passion, his care and need and I thought I hit the jackpot. But he broke us apart before we could go further.

'You know this was meant for when you are older. The bra can barely fit you because you barely have the breasts to hold it. The underwear I knew would fit because you have the hips.' I was angry beyond redemption.

'You said it was for the right time, and I thought...' I was cut short by a loud bang, like an explosion. And before we could react, we heard a..." She was physically interrupted by Bryce.

"Melanie! Melanie!" It was the panic in his voice that got us.

Melanie's Pov

I could already see the annoyance on my daughter's face. I almost laughed but the panic in Bryce's voice had me swallowing my laughter immediately. He was at our bedroom door in a second. The worry on his handsome face had me worried too. What was going on? He was by my side in a flash holding my hand, opposite of the side Wren was seated. He sat by my right and she to my left which was the side the door was. The 2 people I adored the most just never got along. She was already eyeing the door am sure planning her escape. Bryce on the other hand, had his whole focus on me. He barely noticed her. His eyes were pinpoint. The blue in them darker because of worry. I liked them as blue as the sky.

"My love, I came as soon as I could. And I managed to get ahold of the healer. He is downstairs." It was my turn to be worried.

"A healer? Who asked for one? In fact, who is sick?" But he was not even listening to me.

"That damn meeting! It went on and on and in the end nothing achieved. I kept telling them you were expecting me. It is your birthday but nothing. No one would listen. Then I got the note, and they still would not let me go. I had to send Harrison to get the healer which I should have been the one doing. I should have been here sooner. And for them to say no to my request after wasting my time. In fact, I should have never left. Am so sorry."

I was so confused. What was he talking about? A note? A healer? I was dumbfounded and I only managed to give him the very confused look he seemed to return. He had no idea that I knew nothing about what he was just saying. And the culprit decided to clear her throat, and we all turned our attention to her. She swallowed hard and gave us an innocent look. But I saw right through her.

"You would better speak up before I get it out of you." She gave me a sheepish look and touched the back of her neck.

"Okay then. I am the guilty party. I was worried when I saw that you sick like that. You have been sick before, but this was way beyond anything I have ever seen. So, when I went to make you breakfast, I wrote Bryce a note and have Harrison to deliver. In my defense, I was just worried and acted like the caring daughter that I am." She was already raising her hands up in surrender and looking as remorseful as she could. Bryce on the other hand, was giving her a dirty look for using the word daughter am sure. Good thing she did not seem to notice.

"It is okay. You might as well bring the healer in since he is already here. But after that, you promise to give me and my daughter space. There is a lot we need to talk about." He was about to say no but I gave him my sternest look, and he immediately closed his mouth and swallowed his protest. It was his turn to surrender. I smiled. These two were more alike than they would like to acknowledge. Wren went to get the healer as per the request of Bryce. He never asks anything nicely when it comes to her, so her response is always to roll her beautiful eyes.

My daughter is beautiful. She has striking green eyes and fair skin like me. Her hair is jet black like mine. The only difference being hers is longer almost reaching her waist while mine rests on my shoulders. Sometimes when she is in a good mood, she lets me add colorful highlights to her hair which makes her look so beautiful. They make her eyes and skin pop in a really nice way. Unlike me though, she is tall and quite slender. And she is the most boyish girl I have ever met. She wears nothing in her size. She is always hiding her beautiful body in baggy clothes. I try to discourage it, but she is as stubborn as Bryce. I still remember how I forced the adoption of Wren since he would not agree. But once you stand me and her side by side, you would say I gave birth to her. We look that alike.

Wren walked into the room followed by a middle-aged grouchy man. I had not set my eyes on this man for the longest. About 20 years ago, I was his frequent visitor. I was trying to conceive, and he used to make me herbs that he promised would do the trick. The herbs I took but I only ended up too sick to actually do anything. And the off chance the herbs did not make me sick I would not conceive. And if by chance I conceived, the pregnancy would only last a month before I lost it. And that is how I stopped visiting him and just hoped a higher being would remember me. I had about given up when Wren came to us. She is my little miracle. Her mother's daughter in every way. Our eyes locked. He had aged a little for sure.

"Wilen." I acknowledged his presence in the room.

"Dios. I hear you are not feeling well."

"Well as you can see, am still in bed." I really did not like this man I knew one day I was going to die but I hoped not by his hands.

"If you do not mind, can you ask them to leave? I need to examine you, and I cannot do that with them in the room. Kindly." I looked at my family and they each excused us.

"It is bad, isn't it? I can see it in your eyes." I saw him swallow hard. It is bad I can tell.

"I talked to the gods before coming here. This disease has no cure. Only a way out and you do not have much time. I have the way out here with me. My answered prayer from the gods. Take it when you are ready. It is the way chosen for you to meet them. And please let it be between us. The gods have prepared a place for you. They are already expecting you." And with that he handed me this whitish substance in a piece of cloth. I was confused. How was I supposed to take this now? As if reading my mind, he answered,

"Put it all in a warm glass of water and mix thoroughly until dissolved entirely. Then make sure to drink it all. Do not leave anything behind. And wash the glass after. I suggest you ask Wren to help out with this. She is favored by the gods. But do not tell her the substance is for. Just tell it will make you better. May the gods be with you." He kissed my forehead and was about to leave but I held his hand.

"Will you ask the gods to look after Wren? I know I am not their firmest believer, but she needs them on their side." I had my pleading face on. He removed my hand from his wrist and held both my palms in his.

"The gods already favor her. She has been chosen for a greater purpose. It is the reason the gods allowed her path to cross with yours. She needed nurturing and love, and you did exactly that. I am seer as well as a healer. She has a rough journey ahead, but you have prepared her well. The gods are happy and that is why they are showing you this kindness. You have fulfilled their purpose for you." I was satisfied now. I never believed him but now I did.

"I believe you. You told me that I would hold a baby within my arms and that it would be a girl. That I would watch her grow and she would call me mom. But I never believed you." I could feel the tears trickling down my cheeks. He stretched his hand and wiped them.

"My daughter, it is okay. The time for tears is long gone. I just wish you never stopped coming to see me. I had seen your future. I knew this day was coming. The herbs I used to give you was protection against this. I had seen a future where you and Wren were together until you died of old age. And it was beautiful. She looked after you. She was doing well for herself. Bryce had long left to join his ancestors, and she only had you. She never married, never had kids of her own. Never experienced the kind of love you and Bryce share. And it was lonely for her especially after you died. But the gods had other plans. Your stubbornness was part of their plan, so you stopped coming to see me. Wren has a bright future. She is going to find love greater than what you share with Bryce. She is going to make a family of her own away from here. She is special and you have taught her well. I suggest you finish your story soon but not here, in the forest for her new home shall be built in one." And just like that he left.

I was happy. Wren was going to be in good hands. As soon as the healer stepped out, my family came right in without even asking. No one even bothered to see the healer out. But I understood them. They were worried.

"Bryce, I want to go out for a walk with Wren. We will be back before dark." I looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Only after you eat something. I asked Harrison to get you something from the orphanage kitchen. You are not supposed to take medicine without food." Wren was just giving him weird eyes. She was standing at the foot of the bed looking at us. She looked bored.

"She hates orphanage food. We all know that." She said sarcastically.

"Says the person who was supposed to be eating that same food. Your presence in this house just disturbs everything. I bet she is sick because of you. And that food you are disgracing is better than anything you would dare to cook." I just saw the anger flash in her eyes. Bryce was about to lose his teeth if I did not end this.

"Will you stop that? You are being really mean right now!" I said as loud as I could.

"But she started it!" He shouted back.

"You are not the child in the situation. You should have handled it like the adult that you are. Plus, it is not her fault that you cannot handle the truth. She is right. I do not like the orphanage food but for you today, I will eat it. And I do not want to hear you being mean to each other." Bryce did not like what was said but he chose silence. Wren was still standing at the same position with her hands folded over her chest. She was too quiet for her own good.

As if sensing the need for a distraction, Harrison knocked and announced he had brought the food. I did not like the guy. He is a creep, and I definitely did not employ him. He is Bryce's messenger. Wren went to serve the food as Bryce helped me freshen up. We ate at the dining table, but the silence was deafening. I did not want to stir the pot, so I let them be. We all concentrated on our food. I was feeling much better now. I was even able to finish my food. Talking to Wilen helped. Wren cleared the table and we left. Bryce did not say anything.

The walk was short but quiet. I could feel the wheels turning in her brain. I just chose to give her time until we reached. We often sat under this huge baobab tree but today I had other plans. There was a dam deeper in the forest that used to our source of water when we first built the orphanage like over 20 years ago. We moved to this place 25 years ago. I was 16 then and Bryce was 24. We found the healer on our journey here. He was the one who guided our journey to this place. He gave the name Davidson which is our orphanage as well as our surname. The village we named Davids.

When we reached the dam, surprisingly the water was still clear. It had created its own inlet and outlet. It never gave up despite us giving up on it. I could learn a thing or two from it. But that is not what was surprising me. It was the wide smile on my daughter's face. She was even glowing and for the first time today, I saw a genuine smile, and it melted my heart. I had never let her play with water or go near a water body. I thought she would meet a Bryce of her own and start sneaking off to see him and one day go with him. I know it is stupid, but I could not risk it.

"You know you can dip your cute little toes in, right? I am giving the rest of the story with our feet inside the water." The smile she gave me was one to die for. She helped me sit down first, remove my shoes and dip my feet in. She then proceeded to remove hers and dipped them in. The water reached our knees almost. She dipped her hands in too and played with the water. After a while, she asked me to continue my story. I was glad she was in a better mood because the next part was gloomy.

"Where were we? Oh! The loud bang. I had never dressed that fast in my life before. Thick smoke could be seen in the air, in the direction of my village. I prayed to the higher being to save my people, but I was too late. Bryce was right next to me fully dressed as I started walking towards home. We did not both care if we were wet or how it looked. Another bang stopped us in our tracks. Bryce tried to convince me to run but I am my father's daughter, the next leader. It was my duty to find out if my people were okay.

In my worry and determination, I did not notice the sound of paws coming towards us. But Bryce was keen. He pushed me into the nearest bush and covered us in this weird smelling cloth. He only left space for us to see who was passing on the path. I was about to explode on him, but I heard it too. The paws hitting the ground hard. The ground was literally shaking like an earthquake was upon us. And that is when I saw them. The largest pack of wolves I had ever seen. They were huge no doubt. Taller than even us and they were on their fours. I literally held my breath as they passed. I did not want any of them to notice us.

Once Bryce was sure they were long gone, he uncovered us. A big sigh of relief left my mouth. And I turned to give Bryce a "what the hell' look. He read the memo and explained.

'Well, I have had experiences with wolves before. That is why I usually come for Rarity. Rarity combined with this specific cloth, forms an invisible barrier between us and the wolves. It is like all their senses are clouded and they cannot even sense us.' I was shocked. What kind of sorcery was this?

'So, you mean to say, even if I screamed, they would not have heard me?'

'Yes exactly. Clouds everything and that is our specialty and secret. The reason beside your own village, we have never been attacked by the werewolves.'

'And here I thought you were just good tailors.' I muttered under my breath and pulled him towards the smoke. He almost left his things behind.

Upon reaching the border, the heavy smoke and the smell of burnt flesh welcomed us. We walked around. Dead bodies everywhere. Burnt houses everywhere. There was no sign of life here. I almost did not recognize our house. It was half burnt. There were bodies and blood scattered everywhere outside. They were the servants that worked for us. I did not know where my parents were, so I entered our half-burnt house. Dad was tied to a chair with a knife sticking out of his chest. There was so much blood around him. he had faced a painfully horrible death. Mum was on the couch in front of him. They must have made him watch before killing him. They burnt her and by the signs of it alive. There was nothing left of her on the couch except her burnt shoes.

I felt the tears welling up and I turned too fast I almost fell. I did not know that Bryce was behind me. He caught me right on time. I could not look again. I just buried my face in his chest and cried my heart out. He did not say anything. He just held me and allowed me to grieve. But my crying was cut short by a cough followed by another. The silence that fell. We both froze, barely breathing and listened. Another cough in the same room we were. We both untangled from each other and looked for the source. That was when I saw my dad move. We untied him and helped him lie down on one of the remaining couches. he asked for some water and Bryce got him some.

'Thank you, son, and not for the water but for saving my daughter. If she had not left to see you, there would be nothing left of me. I bless you two. Take care of her for me and always make her happy.' He coughed again and there was blood this time, but he continued.

'It was Sam, the messenger who betrayed us. They had promised him a lot of wealth in gold, and he fell for it. They killed him too. He burnt the Rarity allowing the werewolves in. They burnt your mother alive as I watched. It was horrible. And we watched them tear everyone to pieces and burn their properties. There is a group of humans who hunt them. They are the reason all of this is happening. They hunt and kill werewolves for no reason. The werewolves are just retaliating. They call themselves the Army. Best to avoid them.' And with that, he breathed his last."

Melanie's Pov

I found myself crying. I felt like that little girl who watched her father die all over again. I felt her arms around me, and I hugged her tight. She cried along with me, and she was not one to cry. She only cried when something was really touching. So, my story was touching her. After we were done crying, she continued to hug me and asked me to continue my story.

"I cried a lot trying to wake my dad up. I could not believe he was gone. Bryce was the one who got me out of my trance. 'They are back.' And he removed his cloth and dragged me outside to the nearest not burning bush. He covered us and only left space enough for us to see just like before.

They shifted to their human forms. They stood before us naked and I almost fainted. It was my first time seeing a man completely naked, leave alone the men standing in front of us naked. One of them was really built and his wolf, grey in color, stood taller than all of them. He looked like their leader. He started the conversation. They were about 10-20 men.

'Where could she have gone? That bastard Sam said that she always meets with the famous trader by the waterfall.' I was beyond surprised. So, that is how dad knew. The werewolves must have told him as they were taunting him. I felt really sad and betrayed. One of them strode into our house and came back panicking.

'She must have been her! The Wrenison's body has been moved!' They all rushed inside to confirm. We heard the leader shout for them to fan out and search everywhere. They thought I could not have gone far and they were right. I was hiding in plain sight.

'We have to move. If one of them comes near this bush and decides to touch it, it is over for us. He will definitely feel us. Let's go.' And that is how I left my people. Only I survived that day. Bryce was from the north of our village, so we decided to go South. None of us knew where we were going as long as we had each other and we were safe.

It was a long journey before we reached here. People said all kinds of things. The massacre was on their lips. So according to most, my father was the one who sponsored the Army. He gave them food, weapons and even shelter. I was shocked. I always thought my dad was being a good Samaritan hosting all those strangers in our village. Turns out they were werewolf hunters. It was too much at times, but Bryce was always there. We walked until it was just trees. Forest upon forest and no people. And funnily, that is where we met Wilen.

He was creepy. He appeared out of nowhere and said he had been expecting us. And that he had been chosen by the gods to guide us to our new home. We almost ignored him, but we were too tired to. We barely had food since we got into the forest. Our water had ended a few days ago and we badly needed rest. We followed him out of lacking a better option. We would have definitely died if we did not.

He had a hut in the middle of the forest. A well-built hut with mud and grass and it was fully stocked. He welcomed us inside and made us some porridge as we waited for food. He was a neat guy. Everything was well arranged, including his clothes and tools of trade, each in their corner. He hosted us for almost a week. By then, we had lost track of the days. Coupled up with the exhaustion, we did not even know exactly how many days and nights we stayed with him.

On the last day, he woke up, made breakfast then woke us up. He politely asked us to eat up and prepare ourselves as well as pack our things as we were leaving. In the last few days, we had learnt not to ask questions. You only did what you were told. So, we ate and packed and waited for him to lead the way. He had packed enough food and water for all of us, enough to last us a month. And we began the second part of our journey. We walked for days. We would always camp for the night. He would find us a good place and provide the sleeping gear. Since we found Wilen scary, we always opted to sleep holding each other out of fear that he would do something to us in the night.

Then one day after walking forever, we reached a large clearing enough to be a whole village. What caught my eye was the Rarity growing all-round the clearing. Wilen cleared his throat and said, 'Welcome home,' as he entered the clearing. We looked at each other and followed him. He walked right to the middle with us following suit and he placed his things down. He reached for the bag with his tools of trade. They were weird things; sticks, beads and herbs that he used to pray and make awful concoctions. He knelt down and started praying to his gods in his weird language. All we could catch was 'Bless this land.' He looked like someone having a seizure.

His eyes were closed, hands in the air and he kept on chanting phrases in the foreign language. He was sweating profusely. He prayed for a while until finally the beads and sticks moved to form a circle around him. He opened his eyes, picked the herbs and asked me to take them. He told us to go round the clearing holding the herbs together and touching the boundary of the clearing. As we did that, he continued his chants, and you could see the beads dancing round his head and the sticks were following us behind. After we were done, everything returned to his feet then this blue-like light washed over the clearing. He then stopped chanting, opened his eyes, packed his stuff and rose up. He slowly dusted himself up and said, 'The land is now fortified. It is all yours.'

It was like Bryce, and I could not believe it. We jumped up and down in joy. We hugged each other and almost kissed but Wilen cleared his throat. We both jumped from each other so fast like the other was on fire and faced him. It had been so long since we smiled at each other. It was all about survival. Love would come later. But now the journey had come to an end, and another one was yet to begin.

'In as much as I said the land is yours, there are rules you need to live by. You have the duty to keep the land as fortified as it is. I will be in charge of a couple of things. You need the materials to build this village to something. So, I will be in charge of trade. Most people especially the werewolves are looking for the both of you so you cannot leave this land. I will be trading Rarity to give us all we need. I will also be in charge of anything health. So, in case any of you is sick, you can consult me.

The most important thing is your names. You will have to lose them. But I must unite you two to be one first. Your surname shall be Davidson and so will be the name of the orphanage you will build later. This village shall be known as Davids after the both of you. This land requires good deeds so as to remain fortified. An orphanage is a good place to start. A lot of children are victims of the war between the Army and the werewolves. I believe we can help them. Also, find appropriate names before I return. You wed tonight. Let me go prepare. Your only duty is to find names.' And with that, he left us to ourselves.

I chose the name Melanie which was my mother's. Her legacy had to live on. Bryce refused to change his. He said the name Davidson was already bad enough, he could not afford to lose another good name. His stubbornness started a long time ago. I could not convince him otherwise. It was around midday when Wilen left us. After choosing our names, we just sat down to enjoy the peace. No words were said until Wilen returned. It was already getting dark. He came back with a lot of things.

He handed us some clothes and some ornamental beads. He guided us to each our separate side of the river and asked us to wash up then dress up. There was a river deeper into this forest. I was given a white gown that was too long and too big for me. Bryce was given some black cloak that was funnily too tight for him. If only we could exchange. As if sensing we were done, Wilen appeared. He brought Bryce to where I was, and he made us hold hands.

'I need you both to walk to the center of the river still holding hands. No matter what happens, do not let go each other.' So, we obviously did as we were told. There was no arguing with him. We walked hand in hand from the bank to the middle. We faced each other still holding hands. He stood by the riverbank and started chanting in his language. His beads, sticks and herbs were in the water in front of him. And everything started moving as his chanting grew louder. Even the water joined in the dance. Only thing that was left still were the herbs.

The beads and sticks along with the water were moving towards us. They started a song and dance around us. The funny thing is we could still see. All the water was with us. The riverbed was visible. The water mixed with the beads and sticks was moving around the two of us. I understood then why Wilen said no matter what we should not let go of each other. The force was too great. We really struggled to hold hands.

As for Wilen, he kept on chanting. He seemed to be using a lot of energy. The herbs were now floating above his raised hands. It was a long process. Wilen even ended up kneeling, but he kept on chanting until finally the herbs started moving towards us. it was creepy at first but everything with Wilen was. The herbs settled in between us, touching our holding hands. Wilen stopped chanting as soon as this happened and the water stopped moving. Everything settled back to its place except the herbs. The sticks and beads went back in front of Wilen but still in the water.

'Thank you for accepting and blessing this union. You are now husband and wife.' The herbs moved then and went back to their original position in the water next to the rest. Wilen picked everything and put them back in his pouch. He then asked us to come out of the water still holding hands. At the riverbank, he held our hands together and said,' Welcome to your new life, Melanie and Bryce Davidson.' This man was strange. He already knew the names we were going to choose.

He tried to move but he ended up kneeling down instead. He tried getting up but he could not. He looked exhausted. In a flash of a second, he fainted. We had never been that confused in our lives. He always knew what to do and now we did not know what to do. We decided to carry him back to our clearing. We put him in the center and proceeded to prepare a place for us to sleep and food for the evening. Bryce was in charge of the shelter. He managed to make a temporary shed from the grass and sticks around. I started a fire and put Wilen beside it, so he does not catch a cold. I also used the fire to cook us some vegetables and meat from Wilen's stash.

We ate and slept. I had spread the mats that Wilen had us carry to sleep on. He also had us carry some bed cloths that clearly looked handmade, and we used them to cover ourselves. We only hoped it did not rain and that is how we slept, me in Bryce's arms and Wilen right next to us. He was still out of it, but we hoped by morning he would be back with us. The first night was the most peaceful night I had had since forever. We slept through to the midday of the following day. I was woken up by some strange noise. First thing, I checked my surrounding. Bryce was still deep asleep with his back turned to me. I turned to check on Wilen, but he was not where I left him the previous night. Now, I was worried. I decided to follow the noise. I found Wilen on one end of the clearing busy building. He was the one making the noise.

'You know it is not good to sneak up on people like that.' He had his back to me, so I rolled my eyes. 'And it is not good behavior to roll your eyes at your elders you might just go blind.' The sarcasm just made me laugh. It was good to see him back on his feet.

'Glad you find this amusing. Your sleeping was not. That is beside the point. I am building on this end. The only space I will occupy. Both of you will build on the opposite end of me. Directly opposite. Our houses will face each other. Just that we will be on opposite ends. I hope you got that. Better wake your husband up and start planning. The rainy season will be upon us sooner than you think.' His amusement was long gone and that is how we started life here.

Wilen helped us get everything we needed. We built until it was a whole village. We took in everyone who was an outcast or a stray. The orphanage was built last. It took us a whole year to finish building. And we started taking in orphans too. It offered a source of income for those we took in. And that is how we have grown to where we are. I was unable to have children, so I dedicated my everything to the orphanage until you came along. The rest you already know. And that is my story."

"Wow mom! I think we should go back to the house before your husband finds a way to kill me or worse make me disappear. I can feel his anger all the way from the house." I just laughed and allowed her to help me out of the water and into my shoes. The walk home again was very quiet. It was short and I loved the tranquility in it. As soon as we opened the door, Bryce was on me hugging and checking if I was okay. Wren was right. He was angry but I could also see the worry. It was past midnight.

"You this girl! If something happened to her, I would have found a way to make you disappear." She just shrugged and left us to be. She went to find something to eat am sure.

"Sometimes Bryce, you need to calm down. She is just but a child." He just gave me disapproving eyes but kept quiet. He led me to the chair and held me like his life depended on it. After a short while, Wren brought some food for me. It was simple. Rice and veggies and I knew Bryce made it. It is the only thing he knew how to make really well. She brought her own food also and we ate in silence except for the staring daggers being thrown Wren's way by Bryce. She did not seem to mind.

She cleared the table, and I asked her to help me with my medicine. I gave her the instructions, and she did as I asked in front of us both. I took my 'medicine' and asked her to clean the utensils and the kitchen before going to bed. She knew I always did it to avoid roaches infesting, so she did as I asked. I asked Bryce to take me upstairs since I was tired. I was starting to feel the effects of the drug. Bryce held me in his arms while we were in bed, and he whispered his love for me and kissed my forehead. I slept to the beating of his heart. It was the most peaceful way to go.

Bryce's Pov

It was quite a peaceful night we had. I had slept right through and so did she. She slept in my arms and that felt really good. It always does. But I had to wake up. There was so much to do since the previous day was wasted. We did not even get to celebrate my wife's birthday. Anyway, I could always arrange a surprise party later in the day and maybe exclude that lousy Wren. Melanie would kill me though. I never understand their relationship. She is not a likeable child. The gods know I have tried.

I had to get out of bed and prepare. The sun was still thinking of rising and I did not want to wake her, so I was sneaking around. After preparing myself, I thought I should kiss my wife goodbye. Her skin was super cold. The sun was starting to shine in our room and that is when I noticed she was paler than usual. I felt for her pulse but there was none. Her chest was not moving at all. And for the first time in my life, I screamed.

First one to respond was Harrison. He practically lived with us. I asked him to get Wilen, and he ran to do so almost knocking over Wren on her way in. The hate I have for this girl. She was the one to blame for this.

"You'd better pray my Melanie is okay or the things I will do to you you'll live to remember me." I saw the fear in her eyes, and she took a couple of steps back almost falling into Wilen who was coming in. She stood outside as Wilen examined Melanie.

"Am so sorry Mr. Davidson. Your wife passed in the early hours of the morning." All the strength left me. I found myself on the floor sobbing. In my peripheral, I could see Wren crouched by the door post crying. She had no right at all. This was all her fault.

"You are to blame, and you will pay for this dearly. You are about to feel my wrath. I am Bryce Roberts, and you will surely pay."