His Luna

Intoxicating smell

Few people were gathered on the open field as the gate has closed. The place is secluded from the outside world, it was as if the Trowbridge pack has its own world inside. Contrary to what Kirsty has heard, the inner place does not look old, and they were just the same as the outside world, given the advancement of technology. She could see that the slaves were already gathered in the center and their feet were untied to enable them to walk properly.

Escaping from the place would be an impossible thing to do in this tightly secured area. All she ever wanted was her safety, now that someone knew one of her abilities, her safety is being compromised. Kirsty wanted to see the eyes of the beta to determine his weaknesses that she could use when needed, but the person was so focused on talking to the other men.

Kirsty was pushed by the other slaves to be in their center. She could see that some were terrified by what they saw, and others were emotionless. Even if she was in the situation of doing her best to protect her own life and safety, she wouldn’t deny that the men of the pack were good-looking people, aside from the strength that they were exuding.

Most of the people who were present in the area were males as it was already late at night when they arrived at the place. She couldn’t forget the battle that happened earlier, and it has been stuck in her mind even now that she was inside the pack. It left her in awe as she made her way to gaze at the huge castle in front of her. It was made from stone, wood, and steel. It has intricate detail that can be associated with the family who lead the pack. Kirsty’s inner wolf was awake, but it caught her attention when it was up to something. It couldn’t rest in her mind. It kept on calling for her attention for no reason. And it bothered her as it was the first time that her inner wolf was yearning for something unfamiliar to her.

“Are they going to kill us?” One of the slaves uttered out of nowhere. Fear was visible in her quivering voice and innocent tears were flowing down her face full of dirt.

Others looked in her direction and stayed silent for they also didn’t know the answer to her question. Kirsty pitied herself and the women who were captivated by them. Most of them were younger. This is the reality that Kirsty started to accept when she learned to live alone, with no memories of the past to remember, with no one to ask about her existence, and just accept that she was, indeed, living alone in the cruel world.

“If we follow their orders, we may live longer,” Kirsty answered her. It was the fact that she knew. They were brought here to act as slaves, to follow the pack’s order of them, and to just do what they want to do to spare their life from the possibility of killing them.

“Do you have any idea what we are going to do?” Another one asked her, and this time, this one is not emotional and was determined to just know the answer.

“I…don’t know. But we are not going to be with one another. We will be deployed to wherever they want us to.” Kirsty said as she simultaneously looked at a group of men starting to go out the front door of the castle. The action caught her attention as most of them were on high alert for possible danger.

She started to think that they knew that a rogue has entered their place, and rogues were killed immediately upon their presence. She just doesn’t know why packs of the country have a great disdain toward her kind, mostly the Trowbridge pack that is well-known for their ruthless and heartless Alpha ever living in the current time.

“You caught the attention of the leader of the men earlier when we were in the warehouse…what are you?” The same woman questioned her. To Kirsty, the woman was observant of the happenings in the surroundings, and how much more if they saw what happened during the battle that she healed her wounded self.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She immediately answered the woman and focused her gaze on the front door once more, and this time, it was left open, yet no one go out of it.

“I was not blind to what happened in the warehouse…there’s something in you.” The woman didn’t leave her.

Five men with their lit torches in their hands approached the slaves who were in the center area of the open field. When they arrived in the area, they started to check each one’s knot if they were secured, and after checking, they pull the slave and brought it to the other who was waiting near the open door.

When it was Kirsty’s time, she was looking for the beta in the area, but she lost sight of him. She wanted to know his weakness first so that she could better protect herself, but it was a hopeless want as the person she was looking for was not in the area.

“A rogue…but weak. What is your name?” Kirsty felt a chill run down her spine as the man's breath grazed her ear, his voice dripping with disdain and contempt. It was clear that he held a deep-rooted animosity towards rogues, and she knew all too well the danger she faced at that moment. His grip tightened on her bound hands, ensuring she remained securely restrained.

“What…” She whispered.

“I am asking for your name. Where are the others?” It was visible in his eyes the hatred he has for the rogues.

“Kirsty…” For the second time, the man didn’t leave her side.

“Kirsty what?”

“Lincoln…” She knew that the man wouldn’t think twice about killing her the moment she uttered a word that would trigger the raging hatred inside him.

“Where are the others?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about…” She still gave the same answer to the man. The beta had asked her about the others, but she didn’t even know what he was trying to imply.

“The beta has chosen a rogue one, and the others were all humans. This means you are as weak as the human…makes sense.” Kirsty's heart pounded in her chest as she was forcibly brought closer to the open door. The man's mocking laughter echoed through the air, a sharp reminder of her precarious position. His words cut deep, his disdain for her apparent weakness evident in his callous demeanor.

There was a moment of silence as Kirsty stayed in her place and not until she smelled a very intoxicating and enticing smell she had never smelled in her life. Her inner wolf started to feel unease and was crying and yearning inside her. Her inner wolf was calling for Kirsty’s attention to help her locate the cause of its uneasiness and yearning, but Kirsty remained to calm her physical self even if her inner self were in a great battle.

Draken was informed by his men that Sam arrived with the slaves and the reason why they were late to arrive is due to the battle with the rogues earlier in the forest. The attack was not new to him since he knew that the Wolfsbane are already present in the country, and it provide help to the rogues. He was in his study when Sam called him and entered the room to tell him what happened in the warehouse and the presence of a weak rogue as one of the slaves. He was raging with hatred upon knowing that a rogue was able to enter the area.

“She is harmless and weak. She couldn’t even fight for herself.” Sam said. And he was confident about what he said.

Although Draken trusted his man, he didn’t trust the rogue and her presence in the pack. So, he devised a plan in his mind to let the rogue suffer until she will beg for him to kill her under his own hands.

“I will leave the rogue to your hands. One wrong move and she will lose her life.” He said as his eyes showed great hate. It was still a puzzle to him why Sam kept the rogue.

“Yes, Draken,” Sam assured him.

“What was the reason why you kept the rogue?” Draken turned his gaze towards Sam, his piercing eyes fixed on the beta. The question hung in the air, a heavy weight of curiosity and intrigue. It was a matter that had been gnawing at him ever since the rogue's capture. The life of the rogue is not important to him, but how her presence became an interesting one to the beta.

“When we were battling with the rogues at the entrance of the forest, the rogue was also attacked by her kind…”

Sam's mind raced as he recollected the events that had unfolded during the intense battle at the forest entrance. The memories were etched vividly in his mind, and he felt a surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins as he mentally relived the chaotic scene.

“Attacked?” Draken knew that rogues don’t attack their kind. And now, he started to feel curious.

“Yes, they knew that she was a rogue. In fact, she was wounded, but she healed herself.” Sam looked outside the window, and he hid a detail that he wanted to discover more about.

“And what?” Draken moved to sit on the couch on the balcony. They could see that the mood was not present during the night sky.

“When the rogues saw her, they wanted to trade her for information about the presence of the Wolfsbane- “

"So, the rogues were aware of the return of the Wolfsbane," Draken stated with a mixture of concern and intrigue. Draken's sharp interruption conveyed his realization of the rogue's significance to the opposing rogues. His mind raced with thoughts and deductions as he processed the information relayed by Sam.

“Yes, they are willing to defy and deny the help of the Wolfsbane for the rogue, and this needs to be further investigated-“

“Since the rogue is important to them.” The Alpha declared.

“Yes, so just let me handle this one.” Sam's decision to handle the interrogation of Kirsty alone weighed heavily on his shoulders. He knew it was a risk to keep the information about her healing ability hidden from the Alpha, but he believed it was necessary to validate his findings before informing Draken. The safety of their Alpha was paramount, and Sam couldn't afford to compromise it with unverified information.

“Hmmm. What is that smell…” Draken's acute senses heightened, his nostrils flaring as he detected an unfamiliar scent wafting through the air.

“What?” Sam couldn’t hear properly what the Alpha said as his mind was full of thoughts about Kirsty.

Draken didn’t answer him, instead, he started to follow where the intoxicating smell came from. Draken's eyes narrowed as he focused his attention on the source of the scent. With careful deliberation, he stepped toward the balcony's edge, leaning forward to scan the darkened landscape below. Shadows danced in the moonlight, casting an eerie ambiance over the scene. His inner wolf was also uneasy and was yearning for something that Draken didn’t know about.

He tried to communicate with his inner wolf, but the wolf just wanted him to locate where the smell came from. Draken looked down on what was happening downside, as his inner wolf urged him to find the cause of it. The slaves were already near the open door, and he couldn’t get a glimpse of them. Just as he was about to let his inner wolf control his mind and guide his own instinct, one of his men approached him and Sam on the balcony and informed him that an attack happened in the human territory.

“When did it happen?” Draken was calm yet he was eager to know every single piece of information available at hand.

“Just this time, the head of the warehouse informed us.”

“The warehouse?” Sam interrupted them.

“Yes, humans were attacked by rogues, and they were looking for someone…”

“Rogues only?” Draken knew that the Wolfsbane are behind the attack and the chaos that was happening in the past months.

“One of the hunters in the warehouse caught a rogue in his human state.”

“What else?” Draken started to get impatient about the man’s way of giving information.

“They said that the Wolfsbane is back, and…and that they will kill us all…” Horror was visible in the man’s eyes.

“Did they kill humans?”

“They weren’t successful in killing the humans present in the area, but they leave caution on the streets that they will get back what they own.”

“They own nothing.” Draken spits every single word with rage.

He immediately ordered Sam to secure the presence of the rogues in the underground jail and to call the other men, mostly his trained warriors to gather on his study to talk about the attack since as the Alpha of the pack, they were already under an agreement with the humans to offer them protection and this is under his responsibility. In the meantime, he foregoes the thoughts of where the intoxicating smell came from.