THE BLOOD OATH

THE BOAT TRIP

MAXIMUS

-          “Damn, it’s hot here!” Idris remarked

-          “What did you expected? We are in Underworld.” Dina snapped at him.

-          “What is it in your pack that makes you all so snappy?” Idris said softly

-          “Ihm…” Astera cleared her voice. “Even my human hearing is good enough to hear that remark. Maybe you should reconsider your position. You are outnumbered.” And she started to laugh. Her laugh made me laugh.

-          “Sorry, Alpha!” Idris said to her amused by her joke.

-          “Well, this should be interesting!” Michaya said. “What are we without our super strength, hearing, vision, agility?”

-          “Without our wolves…” Astera said with sadness in her tone.

-          “This is strange, isn’t it?” I continued.

-          “Well, we can consider this to be an experiment to see who are we without our wolves. What kind of beings are we? Are we still confident? Brave? Powerful? Are we still magnificent?” Michaya wondered, classic Gamma style. It is well known that Gammas are the “philosophers”, the “teachers”, the “moral compasses”. But she had a point. Who are we without our wolves?

-          “ Except the magic that runs through our veins, our wolves are as we are. It is said that the wolf is one with the man, it is part of our soul, part of our consciousness, part of our everything. It is our primal nature, our raw nature, it is us as we are, it represents our naked soul in front of the Goddess, and our true selves in front of the pack. So, to answer your question, we are nothing and everything without them. They are just the manifestation of our true nature.” Astera answered.

-          “Well, that is depressing! And true.” Dina agreed. I was surprised of how deep her thoughts are. I considered her a superficial workaholic arrogant and stubborn show off. Now I see that she is also a philosopher. I must confess that it was a pleasant surprise to see this side of her.

-          “Do we even know where are we going?” Idris asked nervously. Idris was a big, big guy. He was a bit taller than me, and more muscular than me, although his wolf, Nick, was a bit smaller than Xander. He always joked around and made everybody laugh, but this time you could tell he was stressed.

-          “Yes. We go to the River. There, we will meet with Kharon and we will pay him to cross us over. Then, the real fun will begin.” Astera told him

-          “have you been here before?” I asked her

-          “Just once. But I took a different ride than the one we used today.” She said with a small frown.

-          “Better change the topic. It’s not something we discuss about.” Dina said.

-          “Sorry if I made a mistake. I did not know… I am so sorry.”

-          “what? What? Are you secretly texting each other? What are you talking about?” Idris asked like a child who’s left outside of an adult conversation. His childish behavior carried such a innocence. I admired him for that. He never faked anything. He’s very much alike Dina. After all, they are both Betas. I’m sure Michaya could bring some balance into his temper.   

-          “moron! What could be the ‘other way’ to come down here?” Dina asked him rhetorically.

-          “Oh. Sorry! Sorry! I did not… Sorry! Alpha Astera… I did not know you… but how? Never mind. Sorry!”

-          “haha! It’s no problem. I thought everybody knew the “dramatic” story of my life.”

-          “I did not want to make you feel bad. Sorry again!” Idris insisted.

-          “Don’t worry, please. You did nothing wrong. Girls, knock it off! Leave the poor guy be! Don’t be mean!”

-          “Sorry, Alpha!” they answered unison, like children when caught doing something silly. 

-          “You should apologize to poor Idris. You both made him feel bad. That’s not cool. He did nothing wrong. Not to mention that he is our guest. Our royal guest, I might add. Show some manners, please! Otherwise, our guests could think we are savages.” she said calmly to them with a soft and sincere smile. They had such a great relationship, even without their link, you could tell that the girls really loved her and really respected her. You could easily say that they would do anything for her. And she would do the same for them.

-          “Sorry, Idris!” they apologized to him in unison, again.

-          “Apologies accepted! No harm done!” Idris said to them.

-          “When I was 9 years old, I was playing in the woods nearby the pack house when I was suddenly attacked by a rogue vampire. He used a magical knife and he stabbed me in my chest, making a long and deep cut. In that moment, I started shifting for the first time. My bones brake, my fur started to grow, my claws came out. All the classical stuff. That usually should’ve accelerated the healing process, and being of Alpha bloodline, the healing process should’ve occurred fast. But as I mentioned, the knife was enchanted so my healing was delayed. In that time I was bleeding out, almost dying, but with my last strength, I, or better said, Saradi, bite his hand off and after that, he had some trouble trying to rip the heart out of my chest. Before passing out, we managed to link dad and we got to see him arriving. He showed up in no time and the vampire did not manage to finish his job. After that, I woke up in the pack’s hospital with this scar on my chest. It did not healed perfectly because of the spell that was cast on the knife that cut me. When I was out, for a few moments, I visited this realm and I remember seeing a river in that direction. This is how I know where to go.” Wow! Even if I knew some part of the story, I did not know she was so young. Not only she could to shift, but she also managed to fight! This is very impressing! Goddess! The strength in this woman! Wow!

-          “Wow!” Was all what Idris managed to say.

-          “wow indeed”. The girls added.

-          “Our Alpha is the strongest, boldest and bravest there is. No offence, Prince Maximus.”

-          “Honestly, none taken.” I said to them. They all smiled. “I remember when I first shifted. I was 12. It was my birthday and also, a full moon. I was asleep, and suddenly I felt my bones brake. I remember as if it was yesterday. So I went in my wolf form into my parent’s room. They started to laugh and they also shifted and we went for my first run. I remembered that I thought I was the youngest wolf to shift. And then my sister told me not to be so cocky, because the “record” has been broken by a she-wolf who shifted at age 9.”

-          “HAHAHAHA” Astera started to laugh, and in a matter of seconds, all started to laugh out loud. Her laugh had that effect. “poor you! I am sorry that I broke your record! It was unintended!” she said with sympathy and amusement in her voice.

-          “No problem. It was a good punch for my ego. It helped me feel less entitled and that helped me become a better Alpha. So, I should probably thank you.”

-          “you’re welcome!” she said laughing. “Look! There it is! We found it!” it was a dark and dirty river, with a small boat on it. We approached the boat and suddenly in front of us Kharon appeared.

-          “who are you?” he asked in a deep creepy voice.

-          “Nobody!” Astera answered. “We would like to go on the other side of the river. If you could take us there, we would appreciate it.” She said to him as she reached for her coin.

-          “what business could you possibly have there?” Kharon asked.

-          “No business. Just leisure” Astera answered. We all smiled. She had a smart-mouth, on that we all agreed.

-          “do you all affoard the trip?”

-          “yes!”

-          “Fair enough. Hop in!” he said to us and we followed his directions. “under no circumstance, do not get out of the boat! Oh! And do not touch the water!” we managed somehow to squeeze and we started the trip. Astera was much smaller than Michaya and Dina. Michaya was about about 6 ft. tall and slim, and Dina was just with a few inches taller than Astera, but she had a voluptuous figure that made her look very imposing. Astera’s small frame looked so fragile. I felt the need to protect her, so I wrapped my arms around her like a boa snake, making it impossible for her to escape my embrace. It felt soooooooo goooood! She gave in and accepted my embrace. She leaned her head on my chest. I felt the urge to kiss her on the top of her head but I resisted. Instead, I was satisfied feeling her heartbeat. Suddenly, I realized that our magic is suspended, meaning that our fated bond is suspended, meaning that… I really liked her. I really have feelings for her. Well, that’s surprising. The ride felt like seconds for me, but hearing Idris and Dina complain about the road, I realize that it was longer than it seemed.

-          “get out! Carefully, not to touch the water!” Kharon warned us.

-          “thank you!” we all said to him and got out of the boat.

-          “It was awful! Longest trip ever!” Dina puffed. “it is awful! Why is it so hot in here?”

-          “well, we are in Underworld… I do not think they have 5 star services here” Idris said laughing.

-          “look!” Astera said to us “on this side, the river seems clear and enjoyable. And over there it is starting to look 'tropical-ish'. Well, what about this for a surprise!” We were all shocked and we started to move forward, arriving to the entrance of the so-called jungle.