Moonlit vow

6.Annie

The Wolf King looked down at his youngest son, Kahar, who knelt silently on the ground with his head bowed. This child had always been deeply calculating. Though his expression gave nothing away, the Wolf King had long discerned the darkness and greed lurking in his heart, particularly the hunger for the throne. The Wolf King knew it all too well.

“Kahar, do you think you can play tricks in front of me?” The Wolf King’s words, each one thunderous and commanding, seemed to freeze the air.

Kahar lifted his head slightly, a flash of panic crossing his eyes before he quickly masked it with a forced calm. Lowering his head once more, his shoulders trembled slightly, but he dared not speak in defiance.

“Take him away!” The Wolf King ordered wearily, shaking his head.

Annie quickly stepped forward to untie the ropes binding Kahar and helped him to his feet.

As Kahar walked away, a faint, barely perceptible cold smile appeared on his face. Inside, his heart was as still as dead water—calm on the surface but seething with uncontainable rage and greed underneath. The Wolf King’s rebuke had humiliated him deeply, but it would not extinguish the desire in his heart. The throne will be mine sooner or later, Kahar thought. That woman is Leiand’s weakness—and my perfect bargaining chip. Closing his eyes, Kahar began to craft a series of secretive schemes in his mind. The real battle was only just beginning.

The onlookers, realizing there was no further drama to witness, dispersed at the Wolf King’s command, retreating to their caves.

Leiand stepped forward, taking Iris’s hand and leading her back to the cave.

“From now on, don’t wander around without me, especially at night!” Leiand’s voice was stern and domineering, his words carrying the weight of an unyielding order.

Iris paused, looking up at him. She could feel the power in his voice that left no room for argument, but it also conveyed his unwavering concern for her safety.

“You don’t know how much I worry,” Leiand added softly, his gaze fixed intently on her.

Seeing the way he looked at her, Iris’s lips curled into a smile. “I understand, Lord Leiand!”

Amused by her playful response, Leiand shifted the topic. “We’ll be heading out to hunt soon. We’ve already wasted enough time today.” A trace of guilt flickered across his face—he couldn’t always stay by her side.

“It’s okay. Go ahead and hunt,” Iris replied cheerfully, her tone lighthearted. She understood that, unlike her previous life with supermarkets, food here required effort. If you didn’t work for it, you didn’t eat.

Still, she couldn’t understand why she had to stay in the cave. Wouldn’t it be better if she helped out?

Though Leiand wanted to be with Iris all the time, he knew he couldn’t. Apologetically, he said, “When I return, I’ll take you out for a walk.”

He then turned to a female tribe member standing outside the cave and said, “Please have someone bring some food for my mate, Iris.”

The kind woman looked at Iris and smiled warmly. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring some roasted meat and wild fruits shortly.”

“Thank you,” Iris replied with a smile.

After Leiand left, Iris sat in the cave, her soft feet resting uncomfortably on the rocky ground. She thought to herself that she needed shoes to improve her living conditions. Leiand, being a werewolf, didn’t need shoes since he could transform into a white wolf and roam freely. But she couldn’t transform and had no such ability.

Her mind quickly focused on shoes—how to make them. Suddenly, a method for crafting shoes appeared in her thoughts. After some consideration, she concluded that straw sandals would be the easiest to make with her current resources.

Determined, Iris decided to search for materials around the cave, reasoning that if she was cautious, nothing bad should happen.

As she stepped out of the cave, Annie hurried over, visibly flustered despite being pregnant, and stopped her with urgency. “You can’t go out!”

Iris froze. Could there be wild beasts lurking around the tribe? Was that why it wasn’t safe to leave the cave?

Her mind filled with questions, and the events of the day made her wary of Annie.

“Why can’t I go out?” Iris asked.

Annie lowered her head nervously and muttered, “You and I are both females brought into the tribe.”

Once again, this reason. Being taken wasn’t Iris’s choice, and it certainly shouldn’t mean her freedom was restricted.

If Annie wasn’t confined to her cave, why should Iris be? Iris suspected Annie knew more but was hesitant to speak.

“Annie, can you tell me why?” Iris asked earnestly.

Annie sighed deeply before finally explaining. “Every adult werewolf has their own cave,” she began.

“In our tribe, females are scarce. Not all werewolves get the chance to have a mate. To ensure reproduction, females brought into the tribe are kept together, serving as tools for childbirth.

“Once a female becomes pregnant, she’s taken to the werewolf’s cave to stay until the child is born. If she isn’t chosen as a permanent mate, she’s sent back to her original cave to wait for the next werewolf. That’s why females brought into the tribe are seen as fair game for anyone to bully.”

“Even though the Wolf King agreed to let you and Lord Leiand be together, you haven’t had the tribe’s official wedding. If you leave Leiand’s cave and another werewolf sees you, they’re allowed to bully you. No one would intervene—it’s the rule. That’s why Kahar dared to act that way toward you yesterday.”

Annie’s voice grew heavier with emotion, and by the end, she was crying silently.

The more Iris heard, the more horrified she became. This was a savage world, devoid of emotion, where women were reduced to tools for bearing children.

Was Annie allowed outside because she was pregnant?

But her pregnancy was Kahar’s doing, and Iris couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. It was clear Kahar wouldn’t take responsibility, and the chances of him becoming Annie’s permanent mate were slim.

“Is your child Kahar’s?” Iris asked gently.

Annie’s cheeks flushed faintly as she nodded, her hand resting protectively on her rounded belly. “Yes, it’s Kahar’s child.”

“What happens after the baby is born? Can the mother of the child become the father’s mate?” Iris asked cautiously.

At this question, Annie’s eyes grew blank and distant, her entire demeanor sinking into despair.

She hoped to become Kahar’s mate, but he was fickle and the son of the tribe leader. It was unlikely he would ever choose her as a permanent partner. Her fate would likely be to return to the cave, waiting for the next werewolf.

The thought brought tears streaming down Annie’s face like broken pearls, splashing onto the ground.

“Don’t cry,” Iris said, picking up a soft piece of animal hide to wipe away Annie’s tears. She wasn’t sure how to comfort this poor woman.

After a while, Annie dried her tears and said seriously, “Be careful. If you need anything, just tell me.”

“Alright,” Iris replied, resigned.

After Annie left, Iris stayed in the cave, reflecting on the information she had just learned. The idea of crafting straw shoes no longer appealed to her.

She couldn’t help but think about the fate of the other women who, like her, were "picked up." Surely, they must have been kidn*pped from other tribes. How could they have gone from being cherished in their own homes to mere tools for reproduction in this place? Yet the most puzzling part was that no one seemed to question the unfairness of this system.

This arrangement was clearly detrimental to the tribe’s growth, let alone its potential to develop a marketplace or even evolve into a town. Iris understood that for society to progress, the integration of tribes was key. How long would it take for the people here to realize this?

Realizing that safety was not guaranteed outside the cave, Iris had no choice but to remain inside. The empty, stony cavern didn’t provide her with comfort; instead, it filled her with a deep fear of the unknown and the vast uncertainty of this strange world.

After a while, Annie’s voice called from outside the cave, “I’ve brought you something to eat.”

Hearing her voice, Iris rushed out with excitement, calling back, “Annie! You’re here!”

“Yes,” Annie replied shyly, nodding. To Annie, this was one of the rare moments she felt genuine kindness. Apart from Kahar seeking her out when he needed her, the rest of the tribe ignored her. Even the other "picked" women resented her, likely because she was carrying Kahar’s child.

Iris accepted the bundle from Annie’s hands. It was a freshly killed chicken, still warm. Tonight, she could make something special, and the thought alone filled her with joy.

But her excitement faded when she noticed the guilt in Annie’s eyes. It was subtle but unmistakable.

“What’s wrong, Annie?” Iris asked, puzzled.

“Can… can I be your friend?” Annie stammered, her voice full of apprehension.

“Of course you can,” Iris replied with a warm smile.

Hearing this, Annie’s guilt seemed to deepen. She lowered her voice and confessed, “There was supposed to be a piece of lamb too, but someone took it away.”

Iris didn’t mind. One chicken was more than enough for her. “That’s fine. This chicken alone is more than I can eat,” she said cheerfully.

Annie looked surprised. “But the women in the tribe can eat four or five chickens in one sitting!”

Iris thought about it for a moment. They were werewolves, after all. Even if they could transform into humans, their wolfish appetites remained.

Annie explained further, “In winter, food becomes scarce. Prey hibernates, and there are no wild fruits to gather. Even the women go hungry. So when spring comes, we eat more to make up for it.”

She added, “Chicken doesn’t have much meat—it’s mostly bones. That’s why the tribe prefers lamb; it has more meat.”

Iris was surprised. Chicken, with its delicious flavor, was considered inferior here?

Still, she smiled to herself. As Annie spoke, Iris began to see a new purpose for her life in the tribe. If she couldn’t leave, then perhaps she could improve the lives of those around her. It would be a way to repay Leiand for saving her.