HOWL

21

How long can you stand on a broken branch before it falls?

Silence.

One could hear a pin drop in the deathly silence that had filled the whole arena, mouths were agape and hands had risen to clasp them shut. The people were stunned at what had happened but not one of them made a sound. It was as though they were present and at the same time weren't.

To everyone there, Caine had only shifted into his wild but to Cyane it went beyond that. She had just found out that her friend's life was now on the line hanging on a thin thread waiting to be cut.

Wolves and humans were hardly intimate due to the fact that humans hardly survived the birthing stage.

Cyane's heart began skipping beats snd she was overwhelmed with emotions but anger stood out the most.

She was angry at Caine for getting Malina pregnant but more importantly at herself for not having noticed that he was a wolf.
A wolf could tell another wolf by their scent unless probably they had masked it which she doubted.

Caine had known that Malina was a human and yet he had still gone after her. Caine knew that Malina may no make it but he still chose to befriend her and in the process got her pregnant.

Questions ran like wild horses in her mind. Her village had been a human settlement, if Caine was a wolf that would mean that the Village elder was one too. She had been deceived all this time and so had every other person back in the village.

She lost her footing and rested on the pillar for support while still in pure disbelief.

The match was quickly stopped since Caine had shifted thereby violating the rules. Shifting during a match meant disqualification and though he might have done it to save his skin, he had lost the opportunity to emerge as the victor of the tournament.

"According to the rules of the tournament" a man in his late sixties began speaking, "which states that no man must shift during a match, I hereby disqualify Sir Caine from the tournament, he may please leave"

The arena was still silent as they waited for an action to take place, for Caine to leave as he was told. Caine slowly walked made his way out of the arena while still in his wild. It would have been unwise to shift in front of everyone including children that had come to watch the tournament.

Few minutes after he was gone, the tournament went back to normal and another set of people entered the arena. Cyane was no longer in her right mind and she had to leave the grounds, her footsteps hastened and soon she broke into a run.
It wouldn't be good for neither of them if she restrained this information from Malina, the sooner Malina knew the better.

She got to the front of their house and found Malina standing outside with her hands gently wrapped around her stomach, she had seen Cyane and thought that probably there might have been a problem.

Cyane stood still then she took one step forward and her heart clenched. Another step forward and a tear slipped from her eye. Malina had opened her mouth to say something before Cyane engulfed her in a hug being quite careful to not crush her stomach so hard.

"Cyane" Hearing Malina call her name tore at her heart, "Is there something wrong?"

"Malina" Cyane spoke admist the tears that choked her up, "I'm so sorry"

"I don't understand, what are you sorry for?" Malina broke off the hug and gently wiped away Cyane's tears with her thumb, "Did something happen?"

"Caine's a wolf"