The Alpha's Cursed Slave

Scent

I stopped just a metre from Lorcan and stood firmly with my front legs in front of him. Looking straight into his eyes, I gritted my teeth. I nodded my head to the north side to get him out of these lands. I didn't want any people to get tangled up under his feet. In one easy movement, Lorcan stood up from sitting to standing. He turned and disappeared into the green trees with a quick step. Without waiting for anything, I turned around and went back to my clothes. Looking at the sun, I could already see that I would not make it home in time. I quickly regained my human form and got dressed. My legs carried me across the meadow towards home in an easy roll. I took one last look towards the forest before entering the village. After a short run I was standing at the gate of my house. I could see my mother sitting on the terrace of the house and looking in my direction. I could guarantee that I was in trouble when she did not find me in bed this morning. I opened the gate and started to walk towards the terrace.

"Where have you been?" Mum's disgruntled voice was in the air.

"I was going to get some fresh air." I said, looking into her eyes.

" I hope that's not a lie." Mum said in a calmer tone.

" I couldn't do that, Mom." I said as I kissed her cheek.

Mum smiled and let me pass into the house. That was how I knew I had escaped my punishment or her raised tone. I didn't want to lie to people close to me, but that was the price of my safety. With a quick movement, I climbed into my room and quietly closed the door. Deciding to take a shower, I found some other clothes and let the water droplets relax my body. I could feel all the tension that I had been feeling since meeting Lorcan finally leave my shoulders. My thoughts wandered between the events of the night. Finally, clean, I put on my other clothes. It was a simple white dress just above the knee. I left my orange hair to dry naturally. It was just below my waist. When I had finished my morning cleanliness, I went into the kitchen where my mother was making breakfast. I looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. Today my mother was earlier than ever, the clock read seven in the morning. That meant she hadn't slept well. Sometimes she still has nightmares about werewolves and the years of the merciless war. But as she would say, at least things are finally in order and not so many people are dying. It is now possible to live one's life, at least to some extent, without having to worry about what the next day will bring. It could be anything: a fire, an unexpected werewolf visitor, refugees from other villages asking for shelter. Those were indeed difficult times, as far as I have heard from my mother's stories.

"Where did you go for a walk?" my mother said, breaking the silence.

" I wanted to get some fresh air, lots of thoughts in my head." I said with a smile.

Mum didn't say anything, just threw an understanding look at the thoughts in my head. She was well aware that I was worried about the journey ahead. While Mum was busily doing something in the kitchen, I fixed myself a cup of steaming mint tea.

"Lilly came by and said not to forget your appointment." Mum said as she put the pancake plate on the table.

"Thank you Mum." I said, taking the plate.

Soon we were having breakfast in silence with Mum, and the radio announced that there was a fire in a nearby village. It is believed to be arson, and there is no mention of the suspects. I wondered, lost in my mind, whether this could really be the case, the cruel and merciless world in which I was born. When I had finished eating my pancakes, I was almost in no mood. It was hard to empathise with the people who had to experience it. Our village is lucky indeed to be part of the 'Moon Pack', whose alpha is Lorcan. Not all werewolves accept these rules of s*****y, some use much crueler and more horrible methods. Of course, this is just talk, and it is rare to see more distant villages or towns. I shook my head to escape the thoughts that were going through my head. I stood up from my chair and cleaned my plate.

"If you going to the village, bring some fresh vegetables." Mom said as she put the coins on the table.

"Sure." I said, putting the coins in the pocket of my little dress.

I quickly left the kitchen and put on my white anchors that matched my white dress. I opened the door of the house and quickly jumped down the terrace steps, heading straight for the local village shop.

"Hello." I said as I entered the shop.

Finn, our salesman, was kindly standing behind the counter. He was quite elderly and had lived in the village all his life and had a passion for farming. Finn smiled and nodded his head in greeting. I hurriedly gathered the vegetables my mother normally needs and, after paying for them, headed for home.

"Where are you going?" Lilly's voice reached my ears.

"Mum asked me to visit the shop." I said, showing her the bag of vegetables.

" When you deliver this, shall we go to Sleepy Lakes?" Lilly said in a happy voice.

"It's going to be a long journey." I said with a smile.

"How did you get on tonight?" Lilly asked curiously.

" Weird." I said in a calm voice.

"Anything unusual?" Lilly asked.

" I met someone else like me." I said quietly.

"In human lands?" said Lilly.

" Yes, that's strange." I said in a calm tone.

" They never appear in their true form." said Lilly in a curious tone.

"The most important thing it was Lorcan." I said in a whisper.

" Are you sure about that? No one has ever seen him in his true form." Lilly said, covering her mouth with her hand.

"I can tell by him eyes." I said, stopping at the gates of the yard.

"Hurry up." Lilly said in an impatient voice.

I opened the gate, and soon I was climbing up the terrace steps. When I got inside, my mother was still in the kitchen cooking something. I put the shopping bag with the vegetables on the table and scattered the rest of the coins on the side.

"Thank you, dear." Mum said, kissing me on the cheek.

I smiled and headed for the door. Before I could take a step over the threshold, my mother's voice reached me.

"Don't forget to come back for lunch." Mum shouted.

I smiled and closed the door behind me and walked towards Lilly who was waiting for me on the other side of the gate.

"You've been gone forever." Lilly said with a chuckle.

Lilly seemed like a perfectly normal girl. Her dark brown hair fell just below her shoulders. She was wearing a pair of jeans that were a little too big and black trainers to go with them. Her shoulders were covered by a black jumper with a white hoodie showing through. She smiled broadly and looked at me with her brown eyes.

"What did he look like?" Lilly said quietly.

" Huge and black as pitch." I said in a calm tone.

We walked towards the "sleeping lakes" chatting. These lakes were called sleeping lakes because their water was very clear but not drinkable. I breathed in a lungful of air when we finally entered the forest thicket. The sun was not very high, but its light was quite sufficient for visibility. We walked through all sorts of places, large trees, tall bushes, swamps, meadows, lakes. I could feel the wolf in me just wagging its tail and enjoying the benefits of nature. From an early age, I loved forests and nature immensely. When I was little, I used to run around a lot, learning about everything around me, how not to get lost, what the trees were like, what mushrooms were like, what berries were like, whether edible or not. You could say I am a child of the forest.

"How do you feel?" Lilly's question drove my thoughts away.

"Fine." I said as I pushed through the bushes.

"How did your wolf react in Lorcan?" Lilly said, grinning.

"At one point I thought I'd lost control." I said, considering.

"What did she do?" Lilly said.

" She just wanted to drive Lorcan out of human lands." I said in a calmer tone.

"Clever." Lilly said with a smile.

We travelled part of the way in near silence, chuckling and reminiscing about all our old adventures. All the school pranks and places we have visited over the years. We have even made a list of these forests and places that belong to people. Of course, you can't do without a mini-map, so you don't get lost as a human being. It has been a truly unforgettable year getting to know such a warm-hearted person as Lilly. I hope she will not change a jot over the years.

After about twenty minutes of walking, a beautiful fruit came into my sight. An open mountainous area with steaming small pools of water inside. Behold the famous sleeping lakes.

"Did you take a dip?" Lilly said as she climbed the hill.

"You must be joking?" I sneered at her.

" I won't miss the chance to have one last swim with you." Lilly exclaimed.

Finally we got a good view of the beautiful water, which was warm. The size of each one is different and the view from the hill was amazing. This is one of my favourite places to be alone. Lilly quickly got out of her clothes and waded into the pool. The weather wasn't particularly warm or hot, but the water there is always at a warm temperature.

"Come on, don't miss it." Lilly said as she threw the water at me.

"Here's to the remaining nine days of freedom." I exclaimed as I stepped into the water with my clothes on.

The warm water soon warmed my slightly chilled skin. I sat half floating next to Lilly. We looked together in the same direction. From here we could see a damn beautiful scenery. Everywhere you could see there were green trees and bushes of all kinds. In places you could see larger pools or lakes. It was like a forbidden land, very beautiful but still dangerous. The land we were looking at from this mountain did not belong to humans. They were the lands of Alpha Lorcan.

"How good it is to get away from all the worries." Lilly said with a smile.

"Soon the summer will be over, and you have to go back to school." I sneered in Lilly's direction.

" Two more months of summer heat and no more worries on my mind." Lilly cheered.

I sat and enjoyed the warm water and Lilly's chatter about her dream job and her someday-to-be boyfriend. My ears picked up footsteps coming from the direction of the village. They were quite close and it wasn't one person, it was a group of them. As far as my werewolf hearing could tell.

" Lilly we have guests." I said in a whisper.

"Who is it?" Lilly said in a whisper.

"A group of people, probably." I said quietly.

"What are we going to do?" Lilly said in a panic.

We weren't really doing anything wrong. We were just enjoying the warm water and the incomparable beauty of nature. In spite of all this, we didn't really like the company of other people. Very close contact with other people has always been stressful for my wolf. I am very glad that I don't feel that way when I am with Lilly. I heard a few rocks fall and looked up towards the sound. Three teenagers, their faces quite visible from the school, came out in front of me.

"Come on, what have we got here?" said a tall skinny blond man.

"Hello beautiful Lilly." whistled the owner of the brown hair.

"What do you need?" Lilly rolled her eyes as she got dressed.

"Just the two of you?" The owner of the brown hair looked around.

" We're leaving now." I said through gritted teeth.

Lilly and I walked at the same pace towards the bottom of the slide. I felt something stop me, so I fell behind Lilly. I turned around and saw the blonde holding my hand in a tight grip. He was taller than me and maybe a few years older, but I wasn't afraid of him.

"Let go." I said, looking into his green eyes.

"I hear you're the lucky one who gets sent into s*****y?" said the black-haired man.

" None of your business" said Lilly angrily.

" You would have made a beautiful wife, but now you are just a slave." said the blonde with a sneer.

"Let go." I repeated in an angry tone.

I could feel my wolf inside me shaking with rage and in one easy motion I wanted to punch that bastard in the nose with my big paw. I took a deep breath to calm the beast inside me and lowered my yellow eyes for a moment.

"George don't be a bastard." Lilly glanced at the blonde holding my hand.

The blonde whose name turns out to be George only squeezed my hand tighter. I gritted my teeth hard, not wanting to do anything stupid and glared angrily at George. A strong wind blew so my sense of smell instantly recognised the smell it had encountered yesterday. I saw George's face go from angry with a smile to white as paper.

"Werewolf." Georgge squealed like a little girl.

I looked in the direction of his eyes and right behind Lilly's back was a black wolf twice her size. He was looking straight at George with his golden eyes. A low angry growl from Lorcan soon came from that direction. Lilly slowly turned around and instantly froze. Each of them knew full well that their lives were in mortal danger. George instantly let go of my hand as Lorcan's wolf took a step closer to me and him. Another loud growl caused everyone to cover their ears and take a few steps back.

"If you run, probably you soon be dead." the black-haired one barked.

"Shut up and don't move." said the owner of the brown hair.

" Lilly come here." I said in a calm tone.

George and his boys had already disappeared. They knew full well that they had no chance to escape. They took the opportunity, while Lorcan was with me, to see if they could get away. Lilly was already standing next to me and looking at Lorcan with big eyes. A large black wolf was standing just a few metres away. With a few slow steps, he approached me and put his black wet nose to my neck, sniffing. My breathing automatically increased as I started to produce more adrenaline. I knew that in this shape I could become his snack with one wrong move. I stood as if I were nailed without moving a muscle and looked at the black fur of Lorcan. The she-wolf in me could hardly contain herself. I could feel her inside me resisting such close contact with Lorcan. I tried with all my might to resist showing myself to her or looking out of the corner of my eye at the situation. I didn't want my secret to be known to anyone else. Then, with a slow movement, Lorcan pulled away and sat down in front of me. He sat there for a few minutes and stared straight at me with his big yellow eyes. I saw his ears move to one side and then the other, catching the sounds around him. Suddenly, with a few quick leaps, Lorcan jumped into his domain. From where I was standing I could see Loran disappear into the thicket of trees.

"Here was a good one." Lilly squealed like a little child.

"We could have died." I said as I regained my breath.

" I've never seen a werewolf so close." smiled Lilly.

" Let's go home before he thinks of coming back." I said in a calm tone.

"His fur looked so soft." said Lilly.

" Let's go," I said waving my hand.

Lilly and I took the well-known road towards home. Lilly and I walked hand in hand towards her home. I guarantee she was still completely stunned by the giant Lorcan wolf she was standing in front of not long ago. My thoughts were also lost in asking her a myriad of questions. I couldn't understand why Lorcan appeared outside of his lands in werewolf form? It was forbidden even to them, such a part of the agreement. I could clearly see from his actions how he didn't allow me to be hurt or insulted by some older teenagers from my school. I knew perfectly well that with one move he could have chewed them up if he had wanted to. My she-wolf was resting lazily after such an unpleasant situation and enjoying the surrounding nature. I also felt a little better after such a not so pleasant situation. In the end, the only plus point was that nobody had eaten me or hurt me.

"You look so impressive too?" Lilly said after a long silence.

"I'm a bit shorter and my coat is the same colour as my hair." I said with a smile.

Lilly has never seen my true shape. It's our little agreement with her, because I would never forgive myself if I wronged her. I kind of knew that my wolf wouldn't hurt her. She was probably the only one my wolf would tolerate. Even knowing this fact, I did not want to risk her health should anything happen to her.

"I wish I hadn't been born human." Lilly dreamed.

" You know very well that it is impossible." I said laughing.

"And you?" Lilly said, rolling her eyes,

" I wish I knew the answer, both my parents are human." I said simply.

This topic has been brought up more than once and more than twice over the years. The reason why I am a human child but a werewolf is still unclear. I never told my parents that I was different. I felt that they were both human, so I didn't bother them about my situation. I can't even imagine how my family would react if they found out about it. They think that I am just a 17-year-old girl going to school and now I am about to be taken away into s*****y.

" It was a beautiful morning." Lilly exclaimed as she walked out of the woods.

Our journey together towards home was almost over, and after a hard journey we finally both sat down on a bench near my house. We sat in the sunshine, hardly breathing, enjoying the warmth.

"Amelia, are you home yet?" Mum's voice echoed around the house.

"Almost." I exclaimed, sitting in the backyard.

"Time for lunch." Mom shouted again.

"Okay." I replied.

" Well what time is it for me then, see you tonight." Lilly hugged me.

" As always." I smiled at her.

Lilly got up from the bench and walked towards the side of the road with a light step. Soon she disappeared behind the nearest house, waving. I got up from the bench and entered the house. My sensitive sense of smell was instantly hit by the wonderful food my mother had cooked. I could tell without seeing that it was her favourite chilli soup. Accompanied by the smell, I went into the kitchen and picked up a bowl of soup full of food. It's the weekend, which is a wonderful time when I can spend more time with my mother and she doesn't have to go to work. Slowly, I started to enjoy the soup and the warm liquid trickled down my throat, making me smile with pleasure. It was the most amazing meal I have ever had, and I knew that my mother was a great cook.

"Dad said he'd be late today." Mom said after the first spoonful of soup.

"Did something happen at work?" I said, looking up from my plate.

" He didn't say anything specific, just mentioned that there's more work than usual, so he have to work overtime." Mum shrugged her shoulders.

" I hope it's okay." I said, furrowing my brow.

" The worst thing could be an injured werewolf brought to us for treatment." Mum said with a sigh.

" I hope it's not that, I've heard enough stories from Dad about how insufferable they can be." I said, rolling my eyes.

" They're people too, just a bit different." Mum sighed.

We finished eating lunch in silence. After thanking her for the food, I got ready for the housework I help my mother with every weekend. I took out a broom and a washing bucket from the storage room under the stairs. Humming an old song my mother used to sing when I was little, I swept the floor of the guest room, followed by the corridor and the kitchen. After a pause like this, followed by a glass of water, I set about dusting the cupboards, windowsills and other surfaces. In the middle of the work, my mother brought me a portion of ice cream from the village shop, which allowed me to refresh myself in the middle of the day. As I ate the ice cream, I watched the wall clock ticking on the kitchen wall. It read well after three o'clock. After the ice cream, the last thing left to do was to clean all the rooms on the first floor. A good hour later, when my hands were beginning to wrinkle from the frequent contact with water, I finished cleaning the house.

"Well done." My mother smiled as she stood in the living room hallway.

" Still not as good as you." I smiled.

I made sure all the supplies were in place after work, then paused at the kitchen. Mum was sitting at the table, writing something in a notebook. Trying not to make any noise, I went to my room. After climbing the ten steps, I entered my small room. I opened the window a little to get some fresh air and made myself comfortable on my bed. The memories of the day flashed quickly through my mind and I stopped at the name George. I couldn't remember how Lilly knew him. Although it probably doesn't matter too much, because in nine days I won't be here. My thoughts were interrupted by a strong gust of wind blowing into the room. I lifted my head from the pillow and looked out the window. I could see black clouds full of rain announcing the approach of a storm. I walked to the window and admired the dark blue clouds hovering over the village. I opened the window and enjoyed the clear cool air. The wind momentarily picked up from the north to the south. I breathed in a lungful of air and my sense of smell detected a very faint scent coming in with the wind. I looked around the second floor of the house for the owner of the smell whom I could not see. Then my eyes turned towards the meadow and the woods a little further from my house. I did not know whether to believe my eyes or not. Far away in a clearing in the forest I could see a large black wolf lying and looking in this direction. My mind was instantly occupied by the name Lorcan.