DYCLAND stares at the sleeping she-wolf on the bed of twigs. She's snoring softly and looks so peaceful while slumbering.
As his eyes roamed on her, she reminded Dycland of the mystical wolf spirit his clan always talked about over the bonfire.
The elder Werewolves of the clan used to describe the wolf spirits as powerful female wolves. These mystical creatures do not belong to any rank. They are the power themselves.
The elders used to say that wolf spirits have bodies made of smoke and blindingly bright under the Moon. They have ghostly tails trailing behind them, softly like falling leaves when they walk. Their fur coat waves in the air like the ocean's waters.
"Exceptionally beautiful," as the elders put it in a simplest word.
Dycland walks lightly around sleeping Cassia. His eyes trained on her.
The pads on her paws look so fluffy that it makes him want to give it a squeeze. Her fur coat, a mix of gray and white, looks soft and shiny. Against the soft light from the torches, it looks glowing and glossy. Her tail is gray with white fur tips like her ears.
Dycland halts even to her face. With his nose, he nuzzled her head softly, waking her slightly.
He saw her eyes flutter open, squinting over him. Her natural ocean colored eyes meet his forest green ones.
For a moment, it seemed that everything around them stopped and it was only them present.
The magical moment was shattered when Cassia jumped and got off the bed. She made a decent distance between them. Angrily, she bared her teeth.
Even when she's growling at him, Dycland finds her beautiful.
The fur on Cassia's back stands in spike. Her tail between her legs and her ears dropped back on her head.
Dycland walked slowly round the bed, making his way to her.
She growls. As Dycland takes steps forward, Cassia steps back with caution. Her angry eyes on him.
"Who are you?" She speaks through his mind.
"Dycland," he answered.
"What are you doing here? How did you find me?"
". . . scent."
"Liar!" Snarled Cassia. "The falls diminished the smell!"
Is she saying that because that's what the bird told her? That's not very informative.
Dycland keeps on trying to get close to Cassia while Cassia intends to keep their distance by inching away.
"A small amount of your scent will still leak from this cave with the amount of scent you're emitting," he told her.
"Liar!" She snarled again.
It's true. The way she smells right now is enough to knock down a Berserker. Berserkers can't handle too much scent from an in-Heat female Werewolves especially this much. It makes them go wild and crazy.
In fact, the cave already reeks of her.
"If that is true, why can you still stand?" She growled.
"I am an Alpha."
Saying that much explains a lot.
Alpha Werewolves can handle any amount of scent from in-Heat female Werewolves. Unlike the other Werewolves rankers, the Alphas have the biggest cup to fill before getting affected by the scent.
This also comes with great discomfort and irritation to the Alphas.
As it is needed for an Alpha to take in a large amount of scent to be affected, many female Werewolves will try to fill that cup to make the Alpha mate with one of them. The scents, different from each one of them, causes the Alpha's dizziness and headaches.
A true great discomfort that drives the latter irritated.
The cave's wall is just behind Cassia now. She was so focused on keeping the distance between her and Dycland that she did not notice he's already driving her to the corner.
One more step and she'll be in the place where Dycland wants her to be.
Dycland advances, making Cassia do that one step back. Her behind bumped lightly on the wall, making her flinch.
She turned around and realized that she's cornered.
Before she could move away from the wall, Dycland stepped in front of her and blocked her ways.
Cassia snarled at him while cowering.
"Go away!" She screamed in his head.
"You. . . smell great, it's bothering me," Dycland thought out loud.
Even in her wolf form, Dycland can imagine her gaping at him with her human form's face expression.
". . . what?"
"It's bothering me because you're the first person in-heat whose scent I do not mind at all. You don't make me dizzy. It's nice that it's concerning," he explained bluntly.
He saw her whiskers twitched cutely.
". . . are you serious right now?" she asked, breathlessly.
He tilted his head. "Do I look like someone who jokes around?"
Cassia went silent. She's still cowering under him while in her eyes, Dycland knows that she's scrutinizing him.
This lady's a judgemental.
Dycland sighed as she was not speaking.
"Come on, I am not going to do anything to you," he said.
Cassia arched her back. Her fur is standing up. "Like I'll believe that!" She snarled.
Dycland ran out of patience. He feels his eyes getting hot. His emotions are high, and reacting to it is his eyes, turning to color red.
No. I can't let her see my eyes. She'll be more scared. I am here to tell her that I'm just here to keep my word in exchange for an explanation. I need to calm down…
He closed his eyes and inhaled.
A mistake he shouldn't have made.
All the way from where they are to the entrance of the cave are now covered with Cassia's scent. It was so thick that Dycland's eyes snapped open the moment he took a deep breath.
Sh-t! Her scent—it's all over the place!
It was too late to react. Dycland staggered on his feet. He got dizzy from the sudden inhalation of a lungful of air. He tightly closed his eyes, trying to hold on to sanity.
If he gives in, he'll attack her for sure!
That can't happen! No!
What he did not realize is that he had been covered by Cassia's scent from the first time they had met back in the glade. She has been filling his cup since then, and standing next to her like this, inhaling the scent in the air around her, are the last steps to finally fill his cup until it's full.
He did not know but she was luring him to come to her from the very start.
RAVEN got it all wrong.
The falls was not a safe place to hide for Cassia. It was placed in that spot as the perfect place for mating. The moon rises from the east of the Dome C, where the mouth of the cave behind the falls faces.
If that is so, the moonlight will be reflected by the water like a thousand crystals everywhere. That will surely trigger Cassia's Heat more than ever. She may not be able to handle it alone if that is the case.
"I need to get her out of there," Raven muttered to himself, gritting his teeth.
He helplessly hopes that there'll be clouds in the sky or at least for the moon to not shine too much since it's the Crescent Moon tonight.
That will buy him and Cassia some time to change location.
But still, thinking how that stinky dog lied to him and used him…
It was that same Werewolf who told him to tell Cassia about the cave behind the falls. How it is perfect for hideout when in Heat Cycle; that the force from the water falling from above will extinguish the scent…
Remembering what the informant looks like, he has snowy white fur, blue eyes, and gentle demeanor. He resides meters away from the Ivy Cave at a house atop the tallest tree branches here in the jungle.
'And I even say 'thank you' to that brat! Grr! I'll remember that dog! I'll claw out his eyes and give it to the crows! Hope he dies!'
Cursing himself, he stretched his wings in the air and glided down, missing a branch by inches. He glided sideways into the back of the water falls. He transformed mid-air, landing perfectly with his human legs at the cave's entrance.
The moment his feet touched the ground, all the hair in his body stood up.
There's something in the air that is arousing and at the same time chilling.
Raven shivers. He rubbed both his arms and walked on in. He would have loved to call out for Cassia but he bet she'll be in too much pain to hear him.
The torch's light makes his shadow dance on his feet. It's eerie and at the same time entertaining.
"I never thought that this cave would run this deep… is it because I'm walking?" He muttered looking around.
The first time he go in here was in his bird form. He was in a hurry to make the bed and make it habitable for someone like Cassia who loves bed more than anyone he knew, so he flew in and out with speed.
Now that he's on foot, it seems the end is so far.
As he trudges onward, the air thickens. It's not cold but the hair on his neck and arms keeps standing up. Something is definitely up.
Did someone get a whiff of Cassia's smell and get in?
That would be bad.
Raven looked back. He can not see the entrance anymore. But the light from the torches gives light to the cave's darkness. Its red-orange hue that surrounds the place assures him of vision. He looks down on his dancing shadow and his eyebrow shoots up.
Blue… light? H-hold on… is that blue light?
He gapes at the tiny blue dot twinkling alone on his shadow. His vision widened its scope. Soon, it was not just one blue dot but two, then three. Then the twinkling blue dot was all around him.
The wall, the ceiling, and even on the floor of the cave have tiny twinkling blue colored dots, dancing. The whole place looks like the sky full of stars under the orange tinted sky. It was beautiful to look at. Mesmerizing even, but Raven can not appreciate the view.
He stares in horror at his surroundings.
This is why the air here is different from what I imagine! The air's thicker when it shouldn't be! It's the first night of the Crescent Moon! Why is it shining so much like this! The moonlight got in!
He has no time to stall now. He needs to get Cassia now.
He continued on, running. To make it quick, he transformed to his bird form and flew, zooming in deeper into the cave.
The end of the cave where the make-shiftbed Raven made lies was just around the bend passing the big block of rock. Raven glides and was about to call Cassia out when he heard a sound.
Instinctively, he hides behind the rock and keeps his beak shut.
What was that?
He leaned in his ear to where the sound was coming from, listening in.
His beak falls open when he distinguishes the sound he's hearing.
The gasps, growls, and that yucky wet sounds are all so familiar to him he does not need to know what makes that sounds.
He shut his eyes tightly in disgust, wishing that he could shut his ears too to mute those vulgar sounds.
So, somebody got in, he thought in horror.
He's worried about Cassia, but he does not want to see a live mating of two Werebeasts!
How do Werebeasts mate, anyway? Do they do it in their human form or their wolf form?
He gasps realizing he's thinking something so vulgar of him!
That is not it, is it!? This is not the time to worry about such a thing! It's Cassia! Cassia! He castigated himself, shaking his head.
Summoning all the little strength he has, he flaps his wings a little. He put one clawed foot on the rock's pore, enough to let him pop out his head over the rock itself.
He keeps his eyes shut first, egging himself to be brave to peek a little.
It's to ensure Cassia's safety! If the beast she's mating with is hurting her, I'll peck him to death!
Slowly, he opened one eye.
What he saw at the end of the cave will forever be burned in his mind.
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