Slave of the Alpha's Heart

Chapter 3

Lila screamed in agony, finding it difficult to swallow the molten medicine on empty stomach. The bitter syrup coursed through the girl’s body. The earthenware which held the last of the crackling was as dry as a monkey’s butt and Gwen knew Lila’s body would begin to burn up, stronger than before. The lingali medicine was not to be taken without food or the effect was devastating. The pack doctor had instruction. She had given the last of the family’s jerky to the doctor as payment. The doctor had not rejected it. The times were hard and it was difficult to head even the simplest injunction.

What hard luck! She thought sadly.

Her stomach growled like an ogre in the woods. She clutched her breasts and flung the ladle with which she used to administer the drug to her sister, in anger. The coldness of the hearth and the emptiness of the stone tank terrified her.

She placed a hand on her sister to tell her she won’t be gone for too long. Then, she bounced away with heavy strides to the marketplace_ a place she’d love to go with Lila in her heydays.

The market was swarming with beings . It was a warehouse of some of the exotic magical or fantastical creatures of the realm. On a busy market day, one could find rare artifacts like pixie dust or goblin’s gold. The sellers of the common wares like weapons were the were-coyotes and were-bears. Creatures like the vampires and daemons stayed in the dark alleys and struck deals with the humans on bouts of ominous shady deals. The truce that brought the temporal camaraderie was magical and if broken, had an irrevocable death penalty. Evert being brought a special tribal product for sale.

In one section of the market was that of the assorted meat which had a large part of the buyers congregating to it. The meat were mostly cracking ham, mutton, beef and chevron too. Anything aside these type, would mean entering human realms to seek food.

No tribe wanted or was ready for the trouble that would ensue.

Gwen waited as she watched the proceedings of the meat market with her blue keen eyes. The more she waited, the more she wishes Lila was there with her to guide her. Both of them stile together with her sister always coming up with the best thieving plan. At present, she figured she’ll need to do the distracting and the pilfering.

Her stomach rumbled again, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten a nice meal. Nearby, the smell of baked breads wasn’t making her think straight. She did her best to avoid the dark alleys of smoke from a random daemon musk, and keep to the side of the packed aisle and passageways. She didn’t want to be recognized by another thief or a seller.

Gwen counted the time slowly and took a deep breath. She knew she has to time her run perfectly and avoid any form of blockage that might slow down her escape.

She was going to run for twenty minutes in total and with no food on her system. She would only stop to take a breather when she’s through the market gates. It was going to be a run and snatch thing. She thought hard as the sighted the large greased pork hanging by a thin rope by an awning. It would take a family of four to finish the meat in two days. She guessed.

Go!

She dashed In a beeline and in a split second, swiped the hung pork off the rack. Before the owner of the store had realized what had happened, she had made straight for the fruit stores that was located at the entrance of the market. It was the first section on entrance. The bandy brute of an ogre dashed after her, wielding a club and leaving his store to the mercy of other thieves. The chase was on. Three other sellers, seeing what had gone wrong , went after her as well.

Get the thief! Kill her! They shouted in one accord. In a few moment, the market which was slowly warming to the usual activities of the morning, was alive with the tremor of blood lust and revenge.