CELESTINA VILLARAMA’s POV
There must have been some kind of misunderstanding. There’s no way that I’d actually be under divine punishment by the beta of Crimson Moon Pack himself. If there wasn’t, then in that case, was the proclamation of divine punishment required to be said before the sunrise?
“Master Kristoffer!” I yelled out loud as I covered myself with the blanket of my bed. “Damn this place!”
“What seems to be the trouble, Lady Villarama?” one of the maids approached me.
I quickly shook my head even though she couldn’t see me at all. I didn’t even think that there was someone inside my room since I couldn’t sense anyone else other than myself. “Excuse me…” I called the maid, then she instantly moved over to my direction and patiently waited for what I wanted to say. “Wouldn’t Master Siege be frustrated to see that I am still inside the pack house?”
She held the temple of her head, hesitating what answer she would give me. “Lady Villarama, I’m afraid that I can’t give a proper response to your query. It would be best if you’d talk this out with the alpha himself.”
I heaved out a loud sigh as I attempted to walk out of my room. “What is it?” I muttered when the maid held my wrist to stop me from going out.
She hurriedly removed her grip from my wrist, frightened that she’d be seen by someone else. “Both Master Siege and Master Kristoffer have the same thing in common… You must pay close attention to the color of their eyes. It changes to blue whenever they see, hear, and feel something that they dislike,” she informed me.
I smiled at her as I crossed the threshold, proceeding over to the training facility where I’ve been told to head over directly as soon as I wake up.
“Some random woman who doesn’t own a wolf dared to say that I’m her mate,” uttered by a faint voice that shouted authority.
“You’re late!” Kristoffer yelled before I stepped foot on the red mat.
“Kris… I don’t remember asking you to call her here,” Siege said as he hissed, not even bothering to give me a glance.
Their sensing capabilities really are on a different level. Both of them knew that I was on their range without batting an eye on me. “Master Kristoffer, what did you want to—”
“Shut your filthy mouth.” Siege pressed his palm onto my mouth. The impact was too strong for me to handle, making it completely impossible for me to control my balance. “I can’t sense anything from you other than the desire to take your soul away. You’re actually fortunate enough that you’re still standing inside my territory.” His hand traveled down to my neck, strangling me as if he really had the intent to kill me right here and right now.
Just like what the maid told me earlier, Siege eyes really did change its color to blue. He’s most probably not bluffing about what he’s saying.
I can’t breathe…
As I was about to kick him in between his legs, Kristoffer pulled his brother away from me. I continuously coughed as he was forced to let me go.
“Keep your hands off of Celeste, Siege.”
The way that he said those words weren’t enough to give me the butterflies. It only made me tremble as I fell to the ground with both of my thighs shaking. The tension between them seemed to get worse when Kristoffer stood in front of me with one of his arms extended to protect me from harm.
“What a sight to see that you’re suddenly interested in a stranger, Kris,” he scoffed. “But what can you do against me?”
Kristoffer quickly held my hand and made sure that I wouldn’t be able to escape, forcing me to get up. “Can you run?” he whispered to me and I gave him a simple nod before he returned his attention to his alpha brother. “As of the record, I have never won against you in a duel. Not even once, since you never showed me any mercy as a brother. You only cared about your reputation and what the others would say if they see that you’ve been defeated by someone else… Surely, they wouldn’t want an alpha that can easily be beaten, right?” He seemed to be stalling some time for me to gather up my remaining strength.
As if on cue, Kris let go of me and gave me a gesture to run away. If one of them tried to stop me, I know that I wouldn’t even be able to get out of the training facility safely.
Less than half an hour passed by, I was leaning my back on the wall outside the mansion when Kristoffer popped out of nowhere. “Seriously, what’s your deal, Master Kristoffer?” I could no longer suppress the confusion that I had stored within myself.
He held both of my shoulders as he stared at my eyes directly. “Listen, Celeste… You have to get out of the pack house and as much as possible, you shouldn’t return here unless you’ve been trained to the bones. Siege isn’t an ordinary wolf, he’s the alpha. Even if I’m his brother, I wouldn’t stand a chance against him, which is why I chose to run away rather than initiate a fight back there.” He stepped back as I noticed the slight change in his breathing pattern.
“Why are you doing this for me?”
“I’m not doing this for your sake, Celeste. I’m doing this for the sake of Siege. I don’t want to see him killing any innocent women anymore.”
I repetitively blinked after hearing what he said. “W-what do you mean? Does Master Siege kill any woman that he doesn’t like?”
Kristoffer shook his head twice. “Whether it be men or women, as long as you irritate him, he wouldn’t spare a second to take your life away.” He lent me some sort of map which provided a detailed pathway of the Dark Valley’s Territory. “You can think that I’m protecting you, and being locked up under my protection is your divine punishment.”
CELESTINA VILLARAMA’s POV
I lost count just how long has it been since the last time that I was thrown out of the pack house which I believed would completely accept me, despite having the loss of the presence of my wolf. It’s really devastating how I can hear the voice of Celeste, my wolf, but am still unable to transform myself to its form.
There must be some kind of missing formula.
Before Kristoffer and I parted ways, he gave me a warning that I shouldn’t cross paths with the alpha even though we’re not in his territories. The scene back at the first time that I stumbled upon Siege flashbacked through my mind as I held tightly on the necklace that I wore.
“Does Goddess Sarina have a connection with the alpha of Crimson Moon Pack?” I murmured to myself, knowing that no one other than either one of them would be able to give me an answer. “If we’re really mates, then I guess that I’d soon figure out their relationship.”
My brain received a static shock at some point as I tried to recall the image of my parents. Their faces were kind of blurred and I couldn’t even properly see what their physical appearance was like. It’s like they never existed and I was born without them right from the start.
“Are you alright?” a tiny voice of a boy asked from behind.
Turning around, I saw a kid who seemed to be concerned with me as I was about to pass out. He was wearing a checkered polo shirt. He wore eyeglasses that made him appear like a genius one, adding up the fact that he’s holding onto his books. This kid might have been lost in the woods after going back from his academy or having self-study somewhere.
“Y-yeah, thanks.” If I didn’t hear him speak, I would’ve totally lost my conscience back there. “It’s a miracle how you’re not using honorifics this time. Is it because we’re outside the Crimson Moon Pack’s territories?” I asked him, removing my grip on the necklace.
The boy raised one of his eyebrows to give me a confused look. “What are you talking about? I have no connection with that pack, I live on the opposite side of this country,” he replied.
“Aren’t you the same kid who kept on entertaining me back at the mansion?” I asked again, trying to gain the assurance that I needed. However, I saw that he was about to turn to the other side so I immediately changed the topic. “Can you bring me over to your place? I don’t have a home that I can go back to…” I stretched out my arm to his side and waited for him to take hold of my hand.
Anyone would be hesitant if they would actually trust someone they recently met, but for this guy… He hurriedly curled his pinky finger onto mine without any second thoughts.
***
For some unknown reason, the aura of this boy was glowing red in a manner that wasn’t related with the intention to kill. It was rather pleasant and it’s somehow similar to an aura of a person who emits romantic behaviors with their loved ones.
It would actually be kind of weird if this boy were to have a lovey-dovey feeling towards me, right?
“I can sense how wary you are of me, lady,” he suddenly spoke, which terribly disrupted my inner thoughts. “How can you have doubts while walking beside me, knowing that I have trust in you even though this was our first meeting?” he continued, adding more salt to the open wound of mine.
I let out a soft laughter. “Sorry. We just kind of possess opposite traits — I’m not that fond of strangers.”
Silence lurked our surroundings as we finally entered his pack house.
“Shall I set a schedule of your appointment with the alpha?” he questioned, then placed all of his belongings on top of the closest desk.
I shook my head twice, same with both of my hands. “That’s a bit… overboard. I don’t have anything to offer your pack’s alpha. And besides, I’m just a mere wolf who was thrown away by the Crimson Moon Pack’s almighty alpha; I’m a rogue,” I muttered with a soft voice.
The fact that I’m a rogue still doesn’t sink in. I still can’t believe how fast the days have gone by.
“Your rank doesn’t matter here though,” he whispered to himself before facing me up front. “I’m Ice, the Delta of the Silver Moon Pack… and you seemed to gaze upon me like I was a child who knew nothing of this realm.” He smirked to tease me and to lighten up the mood. He might have noticed that I was getting a bit too emotional based on the recent statement that I said. “If you’re not comfortable with meeting our alpha, then, I’d be the one who’s going to be responsible for taking care of you — from your personal necessities, your desires, and everything else that you might want to pursue and accomplish.”
Ice’s words were the exact opposite of his name. The way that he spoke so dearly to me made me think if he’s an actual adult in disguise of a child’s body.
I played with my fingers as I observed how sincere Ice was. Even in a split second, there wasn’t any sign that he was only doing this to me for simple entertainment. His actions were appealing.
As soon as Ice headed over to the kitchen, a dashing knife flew towards my direction, which was able to land a scratch on my cheek.
“W-what was that for?” I exclaimed out of frustration.
Ice leaned on the fridge with one of his hands holding onto the same knife that scraped my skin. “You… are unbelievably weak,” he responded with his chest up to boast that he was undeniably stronger. “That goes without saying that you’re a woman. All wolves should at least be able to sense that they’re in possible risk of danger, no matter what their gender or age was,” he explained, only to imply that I was unworthy of being recognized as one of their kinds.
“You do know how to provoke me well, seriously…” I argued.
The mansion which used to be lit up with thousands of chandeliers began to get dark all of a sudden.
“I wonder if you could see, hear, and feel my presence in the midst of this dim territory of ours,” Ice spoke, echoing all throughout our spot, making it more difficult for me to detect his exact location.
CELESTINA VILLARAMA’s POV
For the first time in forever, I felt the urge that I should take Ice's challenge seriously… believing that this would decide what my fate or destiny would be in the hands and supervision of the Silver Moon Pack's Delta. I remained standing on the same spot even though I knew that there's the possibility that he might be the one on the offensive, despite sounding like he's the one on defense mode.
Focus.
Focus would be my number one priority right now. I let my senses roam free and made my system facilitate how I should avoid all of his incoming attacks.
"Not bad," he whispered directly to my ear, sending vibrations and a buzzy sound inside.
"You're quite easy to read," I commented. "I've already gotten used to your movements and I noticed each pattern that you plan to commence," I proudly uttered.
Thanks to Ice, I was able to realize the fact that I don't have the capability to see the aura of anyone as long as I'm succumbed to the darkness. It also doesn't matter if I know their whereabouts.
No source of light is equivalent to having ultimately no vision of their aura.
Even if it was faint, I knew that a hardened nail was aimed again at me, so I jumped backwards in a swift motion. I clenched my fists when I began to be instilled with fear. I'm not quite sure if it was a mere coincidence or was Ice really trying to aim directly at the position of my heart, since this was the second time.
"Are you possibly trying to kill me?" I asked in the middle of the darkness. "Could it be that you're just pretending not to know who I am?"
"The f*ck are you blabbering about? I already told you that I'm the delta here and I know nothing about the rival territory on the other side of this country. Is there anything special about you that's worth taking your precious life away?" Ice replied, and he doesn't sound like he has the time to be kidding around at all.
The image of Kristoffer popped up inside my head, as if he was calling for me. I attempted to communicate with him in that sense, but it was kind of useless, knowing that we don’t have any reason to have the power to use mind link. Speaking of that beta, I remembered how he warned me not to show up unless my skills are already enhanced.
“Hey, Ice…” I called out to him at the same time that I halted my feet from trying to avoid the consecutive blowing of the nails. I didn’t hear him respond but I sensed how his attacks had stopped heading over to me, so I continued to speak. “Is it possible for you to train me?”
There was a sudden brushing of the serene breeze of the wind before I heard his voice. “If you’re eager to be my apprentice, then I don’t see why not?” Ice answered. A few seconds after he spoke, the chandeliers lit up once again that made me close my eyes slightly for a while. Ice was standing in front of me with a cheeky smile, his aura was still the same. “Why did you suddenly think of having me as your mentor? Did you sense the grim reaper coming your way earlier while I was threatening you with my nails?”
Even though I knew that Ice was simply curious, I couldn’t help but to feel like he was teasing me. “The beta of my previous pack wanted me to train myself before I returned to them. I got rejected by my mate just because of the fact that I have no—”
“You still haven’t switched over with your wolf?” he loudly interrupted.
“I guess so,” I mumbled as I shrugged my shoulders. “My wolf is active and she’s been invading my thoughts lately, but I don’t know the exact reason why I can’t seem to bring her out.” Ice raised one of his hands and held my cheek which was scraped a while ago. The way that he touched me made me feel like I’ve met him somewhere before. Although, no matter how hard I try to recall where and when it was, I couldn’t see any sign that we’ve already encountered one another. “How warm…” I thought to myself, unintentionally saying it out loud.
Ice’s eyes widened. “Do we have some sort of connection? I was thinking the same just now.” He let out a soft chuckle before finally letting go of my cheek. “You’re a weird one. You might have noticed how I continuously attempted to annihilate you, right? Despite that, I’m also the one who kept on misleading those nails so that it wouldn’t reach you at all even if you didn’t move back then… There’s something about you that’s preventing me from harming you at all cost…” He turned around and raised both of his arms upwards. “And the reason behind that is what I’d be trying to figure out as we proceed on with our daily, weekly, and monthly training.”
From this point onwards, I was finally able to feel relieved even if it would just be for tonight. I never thought that I would actually be able to meet someone from this pack, moreso, the delta. I thought that I would be stuck up and would just be scattering around the Dark Valley.
I smiled sincerely even though Ice wasn’t even looking at me. “Thanks, really. I appreciate you.”
“You should rest up for now. We’d start with our official training by tomorrow morning after having our breakfast,” Ice said as he was walking away from the lobby. “Oh, and by the way, don’t be too shocked if the wolves here keep on staring at each and every movement that you make. Our doors are mostly not open to strangers, especially from those who belonged to our rival. It just so happens that my heart was literally soft at the exact moment that I saw you,” he added before totally getting out of my sight.
