Chapter no 8- Triumph's sleep.

'A lifetime's thirst, at last, slaked deep,

The bitter cup, a triumph's sleep '

Amara

The air was thick with tension, and anticipation. The scent of fur and ozone hanging in the air, carrying a low hum of growls.

Damein looked at me. His eyes flared in anger. I snatch myself off the floor and stand up.

"Go in," He said to me, tilting his head once towards the gates, "Take shelter with the city woman."

"The hell I will," I yelled at him, "I would watch the demise of this man with my own damn eyes, or I will die tonight." If I were in a comic, my ears would be releasing smoke from how fried my brain was with hot rage. My hands ached to wrap around Jacob's neck and watch his eyes as they drained out of life because of me.

If I were a better woman, I would follow Damien's commands and expect him to let me stay. But I wasn't. I will fight; otherwise, all the pent-up anger from years in my land, it would kill me.

What Jacob did today was the last straw.

Damien stepped forward to give me a piece of his mind for rejecting his direct command, but there was a howl. A piercing sound that cut through the air.

Seraphic pack charged forward like a dark tide.

The rain-soaked ground vibrated like an earthquake under my feet.

The sounds of claws hitting the ground and launching forward. Fear is crawling under my skin like spiders. A rush of adrenaline flies over my body, raising goosebumps.

I watch as the two tides merge. I watch the very first Enigma wolf pierce the neck of the Seraphic wolf, and my heart yelps in pain. The head came free, like a gruesome trophy.

The chaos was overwhelming, the scent of blood and mud freezing me.

Damian had approached Jacob away from the battle. It was rule the Alpha's fought separately, and no one was to interfere between them. The Alpha that dropped, loose.

I wanted to laugh. I was a battle, who cares. This was my chance.

I needed to kill Jacob.

A wolf walked towards me. I backed away instinctively. It snarled.

I shifted into my wolf, saved by a second of it attacking me. It was a member of my pack, my home. And he was ready to kill me.

I skid forward, the mud sticking to my claws that I raked across its face and neck. I played nastily.

The wolf wasn't expecting this and stumbled back. I continue to claw at it, finally biting at a shoulder. We rolled on the ground for a while. There was a sharp pain in my arm, and I retorted by biting its neck. I tasted blood and felt utter disgust.

I untangled myself from its body. Its neck is bleeding. I didn't want to kill him, but if I didn't, he would've killed me.

The battle raged on, the rain-soaked world a blur of teeth and claws.

High on adrenaline, I charged forward out of the tides. I was covered in wet mud all over my fur.

My eyes searched for Jacob. I could recognize his white and grey fur anywhere. I spotted him and stopped in my tracks. In front of him was the most enchanting thing I had ever seen.

The fur glistened with the water, black at the roots and crimson at the edges.

It was big. It towered over Jacob, who seemed like a dog in front of him.

I knew who it was.

My mate!

I was so distracted by the sight, when a force crashed into me and a pain surged at my shoulder.

For fates sake! Let me at least enjoy the view while I can.

I back away. Dodged another attack and ran towards Jacob.

There were faint whispers in my ear.

...Kill. him.

...kill. him.

...kill. her.

...Kill. her.

The voices grew, and a sharp pain rang in my head that was unrelated to the little battle wounds I earned.

I lose focus and launch forward and bite at whatever I reached. A clash of fangs met bone in a whirlwind of fur.

I pushed him onto the ground, with me. My claws marking his face.

...Kill. him.

...kill. him.

...kill. her.

...Kill. her.

Before I can bite into his neck, two strong arms wrapped around my ribs and pulled me back.

My skin heated with luscious heat at the contact.

I protested against the grip but it only got stronger.

"Easy woman, Easy!" He told me. I snarled.

Damian was torso flashing me while towering over me.

"This is not what we do in battles," He said.

I looked behind him, The seraphic pack was de-moralized and far less in number than they came in before. They had started to retreat.

There was blood and death everywhere. The battle had ended.

I didn't die.

I was left to live more, to torment more lives.

I was huffing. The air was not cold anymore. In fact my body was heating up in fever.

The pain, numbed from earlier, presented itself with sharp nails. I turned with the left over energy.

Damian had scratches all over his body.

My arm was bitten at the shoulder and forearm. My jacket was shattered and so were my clothes. I was standing there in a few pieces of rags, almost naked. Mud and blood everywhere.

"So, Tell me wild one," Damien said, "Do you want to punish those who have wronged you?" He asked.

The white on his eyes bled red, a storm brewing in his eyes similar to the one above us. A glimpse of madness that defied explanation.

I believe my eyes reflected the same, when I heard him.

I look down at Jacob.

"He took away my home," I spoke, talking a step towards him.

"He killed my father," My voice cracked with another step. My hands morphed into a fist beside me. My feet slipped past the wet mud.

"He took my sister," I was standing above the man guilty of my charges.

"He humiliated me, and made me kill my own pack members,"

I turned to Damien. My eyes conveying what I wanted to say. Yes, I wanted to kill the guilty one. Yes, I wanted to kill the one who wronged me.

Damien had his eyes focused on me, Appraising and assessing eyes. He nod his head once. It was so subtle, if I blinked I would have missed it.

I swing my leg over his body, and stood with my legs on each side of his body. Jacob was groaning in pain, all blood and skin.

I lowered myself and grabbed at his head. I bellowed pulling and twisting it, channeling the pent up rage of fifteen years.

There was a loud crack and the body went limp under me.

I hold the head in my hand for a couple seconds, before I let go. I wanted to spat at him but it was not ladylike.

I move away from him and kicked his lifeless body.

My knees finally gave up and I swing and fall down, breathing hard.

A smile covered my lips.

Triumph!

Damein

Of course there was war. She was here. I told her to leave, but her after effects lingered.

I stood by my men at the gates, waiting for Seraphic pack to approach.

She was gone so it was no use. I wanted to tell the fates.

But the moment I saw her running towards me, I froze.

Moirai be damned. Those three woman, I wanted the punch them in the guts.

I wanted her unharmed, even though I knew it was of no use. I saw Jacob hold her down but I didn't protest for her sake. I heard Jacob call her names, call her his, and I didn't protest for her sake.

I heard her scream and I protested, for her sake.

The battle began, and I stay close to her to protect her. That little vixen denied to leave the battle field.

I saw her fight.

I launched to protect her but he was already ripping at the throat of her attacker.

My divert of attention earned me a couple scratches on my back and a bite in return on Jacob.

I watch as she tore apart Jacob's head and kicked him.

I watch her survive.

I watch her not die.

I watch her smile,

and chills spread all over my body. This was not good.

Chapter no 9- Mummified

'You are but a zenith of an artist's dream

He must have pondered you for ages, a wonder to beam'

Damien

I was so absorbed by her sitting there, Alive. I forgot she was bit, and she was bleeding.

We both stared at each other, my mind blank. Her ember red hair soaked in water, sticking to her body. They were long, wavy and thick. It covered her body like flames spreading their way over her body.

Her green eyes staring into me. I felt if it were possible that I possessed a soul, She could talk to it through her eyes.

I felt for her more than I ever felt for any others. Her pull so strong, she could pull my body towards her and I wouldn't be surprised.

My hands yearned to run into her hair, hold her, touch her.

I wanted to hold her in my arms and not let anything happen to her. I could hold her forever, not letting her leave even if she begged to go.

So no harm could touch her ever.

But it was not possible.

She needed to leave.

She should have left.

Amara

My body was hurt.

Pain burned my body, but it fell into neglect as I held his gaze. The ghost of a smile that held my lips was gone. I was just breathless now.

We both stared at each other, my mind blank.

His black eyes held onto mine like a prisoner. It was a possession I didn't want to get out of.

An Abyss, I wanted to go deeper and deeper into it and never leave.

My hands longed to touch him. Hold him. Ask him about the Isolation in his eyes, the Melancholy in his soul.

Heal him. Bring him to peace, all the while being broken myself. It was a beautiful thought.

For him to be Serene.

But It was not possible.

He wanted me to leave.

I should have left.

.

.

.

Erica was breathing on my head. Her face red, eyes in tears, anger burning in her.

"What were you thinking!" She yelled.

I wasn't. I wasn't thinking at all. And this earned me unbearable pain. My arm was searing, burning with a sensation that coursed through my veins like molten lava.

It took a while for the effect of adrenaline and Damein to leave. And now I was in misery.

My arm was being checked by a nurse. The fields was covered with them, and doctors. Checking up on the injured. Bringing them to hospitals, getting them better.

"There are two deep bites, but it have not shattered bone. You need to have several stitches. You also have fever," The nurse told me, "And you need to be on a course of antibiotics for infection. Can you stand up?"

Weakly, I nod my head. Erica held my other hand and pulled me on my feet.

The sudden movement made my arm jerk and increase the pain ten folds. I cry out.

"Please get her to the ambulance," The nurse asked Erica to which she nodded her head quickly.

"No," I pulled my arm away from Erica.

"I will not go in. I have done enough damage,"

Erica looked like she wanted to slap me. She would have if I wasn't injured.

"Amara. I have had enough of your stubbornness for today. Move your bloody ass to the vehicle," She demanded.

And I was just that. Stubborn. Too prideful to go into his city after he clearly said I would not come back under any circumstances. I had left. I had, knowing I would not see my sister even at her death. My demise was least of my concerns.

"Erica, I will not go, and you know that,"

"And why is that?" Calm and deep. Like there has not just been a war going on, and the groans of the hurt are a faint distant cry. Goosebumps cover my skin.

My head turn to face Damien.

"Why what?" I ask. My heart thumping in my chest.

"Go to the hospital, Amara . You are injured," He hissed. My head almost spins in conflicting emotions. Anger. Panic. Pain. Disbelief. Surprise. Fondness. Affection.

"You ordered me to never come back to the city," I hissed back.

He took a step towards me, and another. He took my arm from Erica, while I tried to protest and pull away.

"What are you doing?"

"I ordered you to leave. I order you to come back,"

"I am not in your city, I am not your slave anymore. I don't follow your orders here," My voice was weak bit I still stood my ground.

I was just being petty at this point and I knew that well enough. I wanted him to persuade me. I wanted him to beg me to come back. I wanted him to feel something. Anything.

Maybe my brain was actually fried, or maybe I was too blinded by pain to think straight.

But there was no begging. There was no persuading. He wrapped his arm under my hips, lifted me up just like that, and started walking.

...?

"Damein?" I gasped.

He carried me effortlessly in one arm. I was too aghast to form words or move my muscles.

My body was beautifully warm, and my mind was stupidly blank and hyper-focused on him.

His arm around me. His chest against mine. My heart was beating against his. Same rhythm. Fast and loud. My face in his neck. My hand on his shoulder. His breath on my shoulder.

We passed the gates.

He walked near an ambulance and unloaded me there gently.

He tucked a strand of hair behind my red ear. He knew what effect he had on me. I could see it on his face. His amused eyes.

"Now you are in my city," He whispered.

"Better start listening to orders now. Inside!" It was order delivered in a soft tone. Soft enough for me to oblige. Also, the pain was killing me.

Two nurses were standing by my side already. They helped me up onto the stretcher and I was dragged onto the ambulance.

So much for persuading.

I was covered in cotton and gauze. My hand had a drip attached. Echo beeping by my head, and my throat was drying up.

They said an infection had started to spread from my arm, and I needed to be under observation.

If it spread further, I had to say good bye to my arm.

My body was burning up in fever.

But atleast Jacob was dead.

It was almost night, and I was feeling a little better. Alex had visited several times, asking if I needed anything. He was a good man. I liked him already.

The infection was not spreading because meds that had my mouth tasting like soap, and the drip that had swollen my arm. I was removed of my rags, cleaned by a washcloth and was given a hospital gown. It was pink. I liked pink.

Erica was asleep on the chair.

The door swing open and in came black hair attached to a very tall body.

Damien.

Our eyes met.

He walked to my bed avoiding making any noise to wake Erica up. He was freshly dressed. His torn white shirt was replaced with a new one. One look and the images of his naked torso rush into my brain.

I wonder if his shirt tear when he turned.

"I brought this," He said, bringing forward a small card board box. I opened it, and there were red berries.

"...?" I look up at him, confused.

"They promote healing, works better than any medicine," I was feeling all the emotions a school girl would feel when her crush asks her for prom.

"Do they taste good?" I ask.

Now he was confused, "You never had them before?" He asks.

"Jacob loved these, so we were not allowed to eat it," I told him.

I take one. It was red, like the name. I take it in my mouth and bite down. A sweet and sour taste swirls my mouth.

My eyes widen a little as I look up at him.

I think I found my new favorite fruit.

"I can see you liked it," A ghost if smile covers his lips.

I take another one in my mouth.

"You can...sit you know, consider this your own city,"

His eyes narrow at me before he looks around for a chair. The two chairs in the room were booked by Erica, one for upper body, other for lower.

His eyes return and he settles on the bed beside me. My thighs touch his back, and I was not complaining.

"How are you feeling," He asks. Is he really being this nice? or the infection actually is spreading making me hallucinate.

"I am good," I nod my head, "My arm hurts, My head hurts, My body is burning up in fever, and I feel like someone replaced my throat with a bark. Its all la la land,"

I smile.

"You are in a good mood," He studies me.

I release a breath. I am always in a good mood unless I am not provoked, which is the only thing he had done everytime we meet.

"I killed Jacob," I look at Erica. "I never thought killing someone would make me feel this good, But it does," I tell him.

He nods his head.

"Also You are not yelling at me to...get the hell out of your city so..., I have a place to stay for a while," I had yet again spoke without thinking. And I had ruined his mood.

His features that were just so relaxed had shifted, his back tensed, his shoulders rigid.

Way to go Amara.

"You can stay,"

Chapter no 10- A welcomed guest

'Your doorstep beckons me, a sweet embrace

Your home, where my heart finds a sacred space'

Amara

"You can stay," Damien said.

My breath caught in my throat in surprise, my mind reeling.

I can stay?

But where?

Did he mean the hospital? Or in his city?

"I...I don't understand," There was a tiny nervous laugh followed by me, "For until I recover or...?"

I let it hang in the air.

For Forever?

"Until you want," He said.

I blink several times. What does that mean? What changed his mind? Does that mean he accepts me as his mate? Are we to live together? Will I accept him as my mate after everything he did?

So many thoughts are brewing in my head, thoughts that need answers. So, I raise my hand and stuff my mouth with berries.

Asking questions meant I would get answers. Getting answers meant there would be yes and no. And I am not sure if I am ready to take either a yes or a no.

Berries are tasty, and they don't give a yes or no.

Red berries. A regard to Jacob's dead body, I can eat his forbidden fruit. His rules died with him.

Damien sat with me for a while, his eyes not on anything particular, though I could tell his brain was deep in thought. "How are you?" I ask him.

The question took him by surprise, or what I could contemplate from his controlled expression.

"Me?" He asked to be sure.

I furrow my brows and smile. "Yes. You. You also suffered some wounds in the battle. How are you feeling?"

"...I...feel fine," He said, "I am a...Lycan, I heal fast."

I raise my brows. Superpowers were nice. I wanted one too. This pain was killing me.

"Must feel really good," I said, running my other hand over my gauze wrapped arm, "Normal people need bitter medicines and have to be mummified in order to recover,"

There was a ghost of a smile on his face. I wonder if he ever really smiles. Or laugh?

And when I look into his eyes. They reflect the only thing I hated about his eyes. Sadness. Misery. Pain?

He was not happy, and somehow this affects me. The urge to change that had returned. I sighed.

To make him happy. Content.

In love with me.

Where did that come from?

"I wish it did," He sighed, "But it doesn't."

More thoughts rush through my brain as I analyze him.

He stares ahead at nothing particular.

"No one ever asked me how I was...before," He spoke.

My heart skipped a beat and I tensed.

"...Why?" I ask.

He looked at me, into my eyes.

"I suppose...no one cared,"

We stare at each other. Unsaid words hang in the air between us, choking me.

Before I could contemplate and overthink everything he said and did, he was standing up. He nods his head once at me and walks to the door.

"If you need anything, ask Gabe. He is right outside the doors, on guard."

He said without turning, so that I was facing his back, and he left the room.

I settle on eating more as I overthink. Thinking burns calories. I doubt if berries had enough calories.

.

.

.

.

Three days I stayed in the hospital, before I was released on bail. I had to fulfill their conditions or they would seize me again.

These conditions included taking the bitter medications, keeping the wound clean, changing to fresh dressings, checking for warning signs of infection returning, and avoiding heavy lifting, exercise, and arm movement.

So just the arm remains seized, the rest of me is free to move on will, that if my body allows me to, in between the pain and lack of energy.

Erica held my stuff in a big bag. My doctor's file was in her hand, and a determined look on her face. It made me smile.

Alex waited for us by the door, and he carefully helped me out of the hospital and into the car.

I look at the tall white building. I never want to return here. Hated the experience. A one star rating, only because the tea they served was good.

The car took us back to the big gates, I was forced to never look at again. They opened for me, welcoming me inside.

"We will be staying here from now on," Erica told me, her face beaming.

"You and I together,"

She was over the moon when I told her Damein had lifted my ban. I am now a free citizen and can come and go as I please.

What I didn't tell her was that I would still leave. Once I heal, I will go back to Seraphic. Whatever the reason was that convinced Damien to let me stay, he still had bashed me. He clearly did not want me here and suspected I would leave even when I was injured. It was out of mercy.

I was thankful to him for showing me such feelings, and I would leave the moment I could function properly.

I would visit Erica from time to time, but I would stay away from Damien.

The thought pinched at my heart. I didn't want it to feel bad.

I wanted to see him. I hated that I wanted to see him. I hated that I hated I wanted to see him. It was a paradox.

Damein was making me crazy.

I got out of the car, and the accused, for my paradox, stood by the wooden main door above the foyer.

He was talking to a bunch of men. All well built, tall, and probably could induce a concussion with one punch to my head.

Among all, my mate still stood out. Taller, larger, stronger, handsomer.

I tell myself to look away, and my eyes settle on Erica. She had caught me staring at Damien. Suspicion coated her face. I smiled in return, like I didn't know what was happening.

"So this place is a pack house and offices?" I ask her to change her chain of thought.

"This is everything," She laughed, "It is a pack house in this wing, and there are offices, ballrooms, libraries. The other wing consists of training lands," She counted off everything on her fingers, "And an art museum,"

She beamed at the last count.

Did I hear her right?

An art museum?!

"Is there?" I wanted to make sure. God! How I miss art. It had only been a few days, and I was craving the smell of paint, the texture of a white canvas as I ran my hand over it.

"Yes. I haven't seen it yet. But Alex said there is,"

She looked at her mate, standing with Damien and his men.

I watch as her eyes shine brighter, and her face grows warmer with red.

"So? How is this going?"

I ask, moving my head between Alex and her, "Is he treating you well?"

She blushed. "He treats me really well," She said, "He shows care and respect. He was so worried about you just because I was worried. He even stayed the nights at the hospital with me, making sure I was provided with everything I needed; everything you need, even though Gabe was present."

I smile. I was very happy for her. She found what she wanted. What she deserved.

Only a part of me wished. Wished I could too get the happy ending she got. Wished I wasn't the cursed one. Wished I wasn't a troublemaker by default.

I push away the thoughts and hug her, making sure I don't hurt my arm in the process. It hurts like hell.

"Who is Gabe?" I ask.

"He is one of the gammas."

"One of the? There are more?"

"Gabe and Anne are twins. They are both Gammas,"

She waited for my reaction, and it was to her liking.

"There is a female in charge?" I ask. She smiled again and nodded her head. "She is in charge of training soldiers. I have seen her once in the field. She is very scary," Erica said proudly.

'Women are feeble-minded and inept,"

"I cannot be associated with something so weak."

And the same man had a woman training his soldiers to be the greatest fighters in the world. The powerful Varkyrs.

I also wanted to see Anne now. Hell, I wanted to train with her. Fighting on the ground was like a drug I tasted the first time, and now I needed more. The danger.

The rush, the excitement, the horror.

It was crazy, and I liked the crazy.

"Should you two ladies like to go inside?" Alex asked, approaching us.

He was smiling as well. Everyone here is smiling.

He wrapped his arm around Erica's back and pulled her closer. They walked in while I followed beside them, taking slow steps.

Damein and I exchanged a glance. He looks away, and so do I.

We enter through the tall wooden door into a large lobby. It was surrounded by stone walls and glass windows. Paintings and sculptures hug the walls. There was a fountain at the center, and further down the lobby was inhabited by a large stair case.

I try to look closely at it. It wasn't the one I used to climb up to Damien that day. But it was in the pack house. So this place has two staircases?

How rich are these people?

Was this lifestyle achieved with hard-earned money or stolen from the taxes paid by the people for land improvement?

Although there were no complaints about the city's land.

Alex explained to me the layout of the pack house, which included the living room, kitchen, dining room, and additional rooms.

He talked, and my brain malfunctioned, causing me to forget the locations and directions. I had always been the kind of person who never understood maps. I always misplace directions even though I have been somewhere a thousand times.

It was surprising how I found my way to Enigma pack all the way from Seraphic with no map or sense of direction.

"The bed chambers are upstairs. Emily will take you to your room."

'Your room'

Damein voices from behind me. I had heard his voice after two days, and it added a delicious chill to my body.

I didn't notice Emily before. She bowed her head at her Alpha.

"Yes, Alpha," she said, and looked towards me expectantly.

Erica helped me up the stairs, being overly protective of me misstepping as if I were a toddler with a concussion.

Sometimes she tends to take up the role of being a mother. I had always been a big brother type of person, though.

We took a few turns around the hall and reached a big wooden door, matching the others around the hall.

It was like a maze, given the vastness of this place.

Erica turned the lock and opened, stepping inside. She switched on the lights, and the room was illuminated, revealing the usual.

A big bed is in the center of the left wall-a window in front of the bed overlooking the planes. A couch and tables, and a bookshelf inhabited one corner.

A cupboard stood on the other side.

Erica helped me to bed. The room was nicely kept and clean. A fresh smell of flowers arose from the vases on the tables.

"You good?" She asked. I nodded my head. She left the room after a few other determined orders on how I need to be serious and take care of myself.

"I am glad you survived," Emily was standing by the bed, adjusting my sheets.

"I am still not sure I will be able to use my arm, though." I joked.

"No, not the battle. The alpha," She whispered the last part. "That day when you came up to talk to him in his bed chambers,"

"Oh, that," I laughed, "Yes, I am glad I survived too,"

"He was worried for you when you were admitted to the hospital," She told me, "He would ask Alex about you."

She was whispering still.

"He did?"

She nodded her head gravely.

"He asked me to prepare the guest room for you and make sure you are pleasant here. He said I was your private help now." She smiled, "Since you are injured and all,"