Ascendant Moon

Chapter Three: Authority

Gideon raised his eyebrow at her tone and manner. She was in his cells, but still thought she was in a position to make demands? Maybe it was something inherent of her species. Dex had been right earlier, he had never seen anything like her before. She had long dark grey hair, with hints of bright silver visible even in the dimly lit conditions. Though, he had to admit, that was probably thanks to his wolf sight. Her irises were a shocking cloudy white, with a dark ring separating them from the rest of the sclera. Her ears were long and pointed, similar to the elves he’d seen in fantasy films, only much longer.  

   She must have known the effect her appearance was having, because the next instant, she deliberately split her mouth into a wide grin, revealing rows of pointed teeth. “Glad to know that this,” The woman gestured to herself “works on wolf men too.”

“What do you mean?” Gideon questioned. Admittedly, her appearance was unsettling but neither him nor Dex had given any indication they thought as such.

“I see it in your eyes wolf. The wariness. The slight adjustment in stance when you look upon me. You may not realise it, but you unconsciously recognise the threat. No matter how calm and collected you think you appear.” She kept the wide grin in place and Gideon had the distinct feeling she was doing it on purpose. It sounded like she revelled in being perceived as a danger. “Now are you going to let me out of this cell?” She asked again.

      Why in Fenris’s name does she think I’ll let her out? “You trespassed on my territory and brutally attacked some of my best wolves.” He growled at her. Let her see that I can be intimidating too.

“They attacked me first.” She pointed out calmly, completely unaffected by his growl. “But if they were your best, I would hate to see your worst. The only one that was any good was him.” The woman inclined her head towards Dex.

    Gideon couldn’t help the rumbling snarl building in his chest. Just who did this woman think she was?! She had trespassed on his land, attacked and now insulted his pack. And she still thought he’d unlock the door? There was a tiny voice in the back of his head that pointed out if a bunch of wolves attacked him out of the blue, then he would also fight back, but Gideon quickly silenced it.

“You’ve proven yourself to be a very capable threat. After your actions, why on earth would I unlock this door?”

“If I am a danger, then would it not be better to have me on your side than not?”

“You’re not a threat if you’re secured in the cell.” Gideon countered.

“Perhaps, or perhaps not.”  

      He didn’t like the way she was speaking, as if she knew information that he didn’t. he had no doubt that if this woman set her mind to it, she’d find some way of being a problem, even while locked up. Gideon also considered the fact that he still didn’t know what exactly she was. Yes, he had seen the effects of her fighting skills and her blade, but she could have numerous tricks up her sleeve. And he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to find out what they were. What if she knew some method to incapacitate the whole pack, without even leaving her cell? He couldn’t risk it. Not his pack’s safety. But he also couldn’t just give into her suggestions blindly. He had no guarantee that if he let her out, she wouldn’t go on a rampage either.

“Am I to understand from your statement, that to be on our side so to speak, you’d be willing to help us?”

     The woman nodded. “Your wolves are lacking. They may be good enough against other wolves, but an unrecognised threat like me? They went down quicker than a hobgoblin after drinking a pint of honeymead. That’s fast.” She added after their blank looks. “But I can help you get them trained up. After all, what if next time there are fatalities and the threat gets to the rest of your wolves? What then?” 

     It was a situation he never wanted to contemplate. The images dancing in his mind at her words already caused his heart to clench. What if one day something worse than her came along? How prepared would they actually be?

“Alpha, you’re not seriously considering…” Dex interjected, but trailed off as Gideon fixed him with a stoney stare. He directed the same expression at the woman.

“A day. Give me one day to consider your offer. Until then, you will remain down here.” It would also give him time to research and hopefully figure out what she actually was. Maybe what he found (if anything) would give him an idea as to what she was doing on his territory and more importantly, whether she could be trusted.

“Those are fair terms.” She agreed. “But just know, whatever your decision, I will not be staying in this cage.”

     Well, that settled his earlier suspicions. She was definitely holding back on her full repertoire of skills. Oddly, Gideon found a sliver of respect growing for the strange woman. If the shoe was on the other foot, he’d be utilising the same strategy. Better the enemy underestimated your abilities, than lay them all on the table. “For some reason, I have no doubt you will be capable of that.” He responded to her, hoping she picked up on the insinuation about her skills.

She smirked right back at him. “Then we have an understanding.”

He nodded. “One day.” He reminded her.

“I will be waiting.” She said, continuing to smirk.

      Gideon moved away from the bars and went to step away, when Dex’s curious, untrusting tone suddenly echoed out. “What do you have to gain by training up a pack of wolves?”

    Gideon had to admit, he was extremely interested in the answer as well.

       The strange woman almost shrugged. “It is not as if I have anything better to do.”