Under the Devil's Claws

Chapter 11

LAYLA:

I have no words to say to the man who just approached me. I don’t know why I waited but I’m starting to think that I should have just walked off the moment I realized it was him.

Derek... That’s him. The first day on which I set it as an agenda to avoid is when he decides to come to meet me. Guess the plan won’t be any easy as expected.

“Are you here to ask what I am still doing here given that I’m human?” I find myself asking while trying hard not to eye him right in his presence because I sure do want to let him know that I do not deem him special.

He has hands behind him when he proceeds to respond. “No,” he says. “Only here to keep your company.”

“I never said I wanted to be accompanied by anyone.”

“Your expression doesn’t say the same for me.”

Seems I have met with a man who is adamant about something. Wonder when it became a must to be in the presence of someone you so badly do not want next to you.

“Whatever my expression says does not change anything for me. I do not want your company so I will be glad if you just let me go on my own without being disturbed,” was my rebuff. Hopefully, he sees the sincerity in my words because I do not want to have to go over this again with him. He needs to respect my decision.

Like I said before, he is a stubborn one. So in his defense, he says, “Look, I’m trying to change your impression about me because our first meeting was nothing good to write home about judging the circumstances that came with it. So now I’m trying to change that and I’m hoping you would give me the chance to.”

Is this him or someone else talking? What made him come up with the approach? Did he have someone talk to him about his attitude or what? Well to be honest it’s not like his attitude was that terrible, it just pissed me off that he wanted to use my different personality to judge me which I sure would not take lightly from anybody even if that being is the son of the alpha.

I do not even know what to tell him. I could sense the sincerity in his voice but I still have not changed the picture of him in my head. This is why it would be difficult for me to just accept that he indeed wants to go through a new phase with me.

“Let’s see.” I finally utter but then walk out on him before he could get to respond or anything.

My mind seems to be in disarray as I think as I reflect on the conversation I had with Derek just now. I suddenly do not have it in mind to have anything against him. Who knew words could change others' views about someone.

I might have to consider him again even though I have made it an agenda to avoid him at all costs initially. But by considering him, it would mean that whatever I think of him now is necessarily my fault and no one else’s. Mine alone.

*****

RASMUS:

This would have been the perfect time for me to launch an attack on those bastards that took my woman in. Yes, they deserve for their peace to be ruined even if it's just a little and I would not mind giving it to them.

The only reason I have not sent my warriors against them is because of the plan to get back those who were sent on the failed mission. I still haven’t attempted to get them back and knowing the Dark Crescent pack, they won’t be released until after an intervention from citing that they are indeed my men.

Wish I could lay my hands on those that even got my warriors in such a position in the first place. I need to know those that had the mindset to make the mission ruined. I would crush their bones if I have the chance to.

“My Lord,” I hear that call to me while I am still fuming in my seat. And the next thing is that I am looking in the direction of the caller while showcasing the will to explode at any time.

“What is it?” I demand to know.

“I came back to inform you about what you asked me to look into.” was the answer the man gives to me as he moves closer to me. I only watch him do all that while trying to become calm because the rate at which I was fuming now was higher than what I did have in me. I could literally feel the heat all over the place.

“Where is it then?”

“I don’t think it would be possible to launch a direct attack anymore on the Dark Crescent pack. Ever since the incident took place, they have increased the security measures around the pack which means that anything that goes on in the pack would be easily accessed before it ends. So a direct attack would be impossible,” the warrior states. My head warrior, actually. But then adds, “But an indirect one won’t.”

I narrow my eyes at him. Even though I am more than annoyed about what he just informed me about, I still am piqued because I think he has something for me.

“Speak now, because the instruction not to show yourself here after the mission has been redone is still in place for you. And you know that but still decided to show yourself here. So speak before I lose my temper on you.”

“My Lord, since it might not be possible to go through direct infiltration, I was thinking that maybe you should do something that I would consider an easy option for us. Perhaps you could go directly into the pack and then have a meeting with the Dark Crescent pack’s alpha, informing him about your desire to take back that which is yours. If the Dark Crescent’s alpha is a wise man as they call him, I am sure he would release Layla to you without the slightest form of hesitation.”

That was just close to perfect in my opinion. Not perfect because it was well thought out, but perfect because I understand what is going on here.

“So tell me when you have planned this in your head,” I say, much to the surprise of the head warrior who cannot seem to believe what he just heard from me.

“Pardon, my lord,”

“Oh, you didn't hear me well? I will be glad to repeat what I just said to you. But know one thing, if I do repeat my words, then that means you owe me a pair of ears from you because I would like to have that in exchange for saying what I said again.”

The head warrior instantly shakes his head, almost attempting to go on his knee as he apologizes to me, “I am sorry, my lord. Who am I not to hear your words?”

Slowly I rise to my feet. I thought he would be wise enough to know the right thing to do yet he went ahead to make such a terrible mistake that would most likely be the reason I do something to him that he would live to regret for the rest of his life.

“How many times do I have to tell you that you do not just make a mistake around me and think you will go scotfree? If that would have been possible, then the previous head warriors would be standing here in place of you. But because of their respective negligences, I wiped them away from the face of the earth. Are you about to suffer the same fate?”

I watch as his legs become wobbly all of a sudden. I can tell how scared he is now because it is close to apparent now that I am threatening him on a full scale. He never should have made me feel this annoyed as I already was.

I get down from my throne’s position slowly as I begin to take steps up to him. He is completely rooted to the spot while I do so and I am certain that whatever is going on in his mind is to find a way out of here.

“I am sorry, my lord. I truly am,” his shaky voice gets to my hearing but it was more like a melody in my ears for what I have in mind to do.

“You do not need to apologize. I have forgiven you already for what you did. But still, it would not be right if I do not give you the perfect reminder about how things are run around here,”

Finally, I am right in front of him. His head is bowed as I stand in his front. I can smell fear radiating from him.

So I decide to place my hand on his shoulder. “I will consider your suggestion when the time comes,” I say, watching the claws from my hand on his shoulder elongate. That is when I make a swipe right across his face.

The sound that fills the hall after that is his scream of pain.