I AM SO SORRY OHMYGOD. I HAVE NO EXCUSE FOR HOW LATE THIS UPDATE IS. SCHOOL STARTED AND I PROCRASTINATED LIKE CRAZY. ALL I CAN DO IS APOLOGIZE & THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME. <3
#508 in WEREWOLF <---------- THE FACT THAT I'M EVEN LISTED IS TOO MUCH, YOU GUYS ARE LITERALLY SAINTS. I FEEL LIKE CRYING. BRB while I drown in my tears of happiness.
I SUGGEST YOU LISTEN TO THE ABOVE FOR THIS CHAPTER. BLESS CELTIC.
We all stood as Naveen approached, hands still clasped behind his ramrod back. He was unusually stiff and his face seemed to twitch, whether it be from my obvious friendliness with wolves that surpassed my lowly rank or my blatant disrespect with Kean, I didn't know.
As if a sudden heavy weight fell upon my shoulders, I blanched as I went over his last words.
Alphas.
They were Alphas-- all of them? Even Atlas? I had disrespected, glared at, and sat with a ring of Alphas? I was beyond mortified as my skin molted into a pale canvas of clammy, sweaty flesh with a sickly glow. I swallowed and bent my head as Naveen's gaze locked onto me like a predator daring its prey to fight back.
I glanced back as noise echoed behind me. The Alphas all rose from their wicker chairs. Kean stretched his arms, a grin splitting his face, while Asah and Atlas merely rose from their chairs-- in unison, of course-- and walked to Naveen in stoic silence.
A large, dark hand was placed on my shoulder as I too, stood. Kean's head rested over my shoulder as he whispered in my ear, "Show time."
"All who are competing are down below, though they are mingling among other commoners-- shall we divide them now?" Naveen asked the others as he strode to the edge of the balcony. Atlas padded to him, perching himself as he overlooked the throng of people milling around below.
He scoffed, "Do as you wish, it does not matter how it's done-- the outcome will be inevitable."
My fists balled at my sides. Yeah, the outcome would be me being whisked away and oppressed by some testosterone jacked male who'll no-doubt dictate my every move. Hell, if there was any other outcome, I swear, I'll hop on one foot while singing the toddler song yankee-doodle in front of Naveen.
"Do you wish to travel down there now?" Naveen gestured to Atlas, a bitter edge to his voice.
Kean looked taken aback as he clapped a hand on Atlas' shoulder, "I didn't know you were competing?"
Atlas glanced over his shoulder and spared me a calculating, yet otherwise placid look. "I found the prize.. particularly interesting."
Asah snorted, I fumed, Kean grinned.
I was both livid at Atlas' description of me as a "prize", and Asah's blatant distaste towards me. The bitter taste of blood entered my mouth as I pressed my teeth roughly into the soft flesh of my cheek. I held my vengeful tongue in check, knowing Naveen would give me a sound beating if I spoke out. Finn had been a victim of one of those once before, and it was safe to say he had never crossed that line again.
"Je vais peut-être participer dans la compétition ainsi! Perhaps I will join in the competition as well!" Kean boomed, his ever-present grin seemingly growing bigger than his poor face. I couldn't deny he was a beautiful man; his exotic skin and voice and that warm way he spoke, a way that somehow bled warmth into my bones.
But I narrowed my eyes despite his overjoyed attitude. My rage came to a broil and I felt myself internally cursing every male wolf on the earth. How dare he treat it like some-- some game! Like he'll be winning the apple bobbing competition at the annual pack fair!
"Silence!" Naveen's abrupt, booming yell startled me from a mental picture of me pushing Kean off of the balcony. "Will every male choosing to fight for the right to mate Novalee, please gather in the center of the fence; all those not participating, please exit the pen. The ceremony will commence shortly."
Novalee-- how I despised that name. I hated when people referred to me as Novalee, a name my father had chosen out of respect of his dead, crabby Great-Aunt who had died decades before I had been born. Sadly, both of us had been stuck with the unfortunate name of Novalee, which was likely the reason she had died angry and full of spite.
I mean, it wasn't too bad of a name, unless you got stuck with dumb phrases like, 'Aww, Novalee is such the little novelty' or ' Novalee, you're a cutie' . But those weren't anything compared to the horrible nicknames I had acquired, and had the misfortune to constantly correct. Nicknames like Leelee, or Lee, and the one my mother's sister Aideline had given me, 'Lalee '. They were all annoying and unnecessary, people could just refer to me as Nova, as in a super (I'd learnt what those were during the infrequent visits from Aunt Aideline and her husband, the human Astronomer) and just leave it at that.
So you can imagine my embarrassment when Naveen blurted out my ridiculous full name to the entirety of the population surrounding us, and then listening to the multitude of snickers and chuckles elicited from the crowd. Even the good-natured Kean let out a snort (to which I seriously considered pushing him over the railing for). Atlas merely spared me look, emotionless, blank, but a look nonetheless, which I took for some sort of profound amusement. And then there was Asah. From the little amount of time I had known her, I already knew she wouldn't play this one off in silence like Atlas.
No, Asah was more forward, she bellowed and laughed, keeling forward as her black hair whipped around her and clung to her sweaty face. Her thick, tangled hair was wild when she looked up at me, her cheeks colored with mirth.
"Novalee! What kind of redneck name is that?!" She splurged out, her eyes narrowing as tears beaded at their corners.
"Pretentious bitch." I muttered to myself crossing my arms over my chest. I had never been one to utter my vulgarity and contempt towards someone out loud, but the heat consuming me made me feel more confident and volatile.
Asah's laughter died off like I had struck her with a rock. Her eyes suddenly narrowed to malicious slits. "What did you just call me you bumpkin?"
I had no idea where the ferocity in me had slowly garnered, but when it lashed out, it was akin to a raging fire, spitting its burning flames, breathing in Asah's scent as its fuel and spewing out embers and thick, tarry smoke. With the tension running between us, I knew at some point both of us would be gnawing out the other's marrow at some point. I just didn't expect it to be so soon.
I launched myself at her, claws shoving out my useless, blunt human nails as my hands went for her face.
My reaction had been so instantaneous that everyone stood still in shock while I slammed her to the ground. Blue eyes took everything in in slow-motion; I watched Asah reel back in absolute astonishment. My hands curled around her throat, and scalding adrenaline and abhorrence choked up my throat and spilled into my mouth.
Her hands clawed at me, and I ripped at her hair and aimed a well planned strike to that impertinent mouth of hers. I raised my arm, ignoring the sharp pain along my abdomen and swung. Unfortunately, I was yanked back by two burly arms and my swing fell short, my claws just barely scraping deep enough to draw blood.
I howled with fury and struggled in my captor's arms, yanking my head forward and then throwing it back into their unfortunate mouth. They grunted, but their hold remained firm. I frothed like a wild animal, my voice mutilated by my changing vocal chords so a crude mix of growls and profanities exited my mouth instead of the disorganized slur of eloquent curses I had initially planned to assault her with.
If ya can't kill her with claws, kill her with cusses.
A hand went over my eyes and I began to struggle ferociously for a few more moments before falling limp. Covering the eyes of a panicked animal usually did the trick in calming them down.
Slowly I felt my claws contract back into my fingers, and I knew new, flush nails were starting to slowly cover where they once were. My throat constricted a few times, and I had the uneasy feeling of having a collar tightened around my neck as my throat resumed its usual shape.
The hand dropped from my eyes and went to restraining me with a firm hold on my shoulder. When my vision was returned to me, I was met with the sight of a beat-red Asah and a peeved looking Atlas. He held her by her arms, crossing them behind her back as she jerked forward towards me. Her lips were pulled back and some of her teeth had been replaced by glittering canines'. A low growl spewed from her lips and Atlas jerked her back, pulling her arms further behind her.
I looked down at the dark arm restraining my waist and glanced back at Kean. Blood trailed from his nose down to his chin and his lip had a nasty cut. Although the wound had already stopped bleeding, he was grinning from ear to ear and I had a view of crimson on white as his blood stained his teeth.
"Bon coup! Good hit!-- you've got a hard head, that's for sure!" he chortled, eyes gleaming with amusement he shouldn't of possessed.
I felt ashamed I had lashed out at him; however, I appreciated the good-natured humor he stacked onto the list of things I liked about him.
However, my gratification was short-lived when Naveen stomped over, his eyes burning and his hands clenched like chucks of impacted granite.
"This is a ceremony!" he spat, "you are expected to behave in a well-mannered fashion, not like heathens intent on drawing blood." He was yelling at both Asah and I, and both of us lowered our heads-- me more so than her.
"And you..." My head jerked up and our eyes clashed together, though I quickly tried to find any point on him to train my gaze that wasn't his ferocious stare. "You are just a mere pup, a hindrance to this pack. I'll be more than glad if the winning male's territory is miles away from here!"
I felt tears brim in my eyes and hung my head in shame, by body slumping in Kean's hold. I had fvcked up one too many times lately, and now Alpha detested even the sight of me.
"Your parents should be ashamed of you. Hell, even Remus should be ashamed to have a descendant such as you." I felt the tears spill over and stream down my face, dribbling off my chin like ice in a spring thaw. But his berating wasn't over yet, "You're nothing but a low, weak, insolent--"
"That is enough Naveen." My head jerked up to look at the person who had spoke up. Asah stood, her arms now free as she glared at my Alpha. "She-wolf has learnt her lesson," she gestured with her hand towards my stomach and I followed her directive. "A punishment I have dished out."
I gasped and reeled back into Kean as I noticed my slip had been shredded and stained crimson beneath his arm. How had I not noticed that before? I gently parted the fabric and hissed, my stomach had been sliced open by claws, and was only just beginning to heal.
I glanced back up at Asah and watched as she wiped the blood from her cheek, "That would have been a terrific hit if you could have followed through, little She-wolf." I blushed furiously and looked away.
"You should get cleaned up." My gaze shot to Atlas, his lips drawn in a firm line, and his eyes smoldering as they remained locked on my bloodied clothes. I instantly covered my bare flesh, my skin flushing even more. "Uh, yes. Good idea. Um..." I trailed off, looking around us.
"I'll help you." Asah rolled her eyes and strode towards me, grasping my upper arm and steering me inside. She walked me past a resting Ear, who immediately stood and wagged his tail at my presence, and then made some sound of disapproval upon noticing the state of my slip. Those poor ladies worked so hard to doll me up, and now I looked like a shredded newspaper with a bloody headline.
I pet Ear upon his approach, silently reassuring him I was alright. Asah continued to tug me along, only sparring a glance at Ear before striding on down the narrow hall. Ear followed closely, his head at my legs and the tips of his fur occasionally dancing along my skin.
She banked a hard right, yanking me like a doll behind her. My hip collided with white, marble counter-top and I let out a pain-filled grunt and clutched the spot. No doubt a bruise would be quickly forming.
Her tan leg quickly peaked from beneath her dress and kneed Ear in the head when he made to enter the bathroom.
"You," She aimed a hard finger at a shocked, blinking Ear, "stay out here." And then the door was slammed in his face and a long whine echoed through the corridor. She glanced up at me, her brows furrowed, "How to put up with that lump?"
I shrugged, "He grows on you-- like a pimple that won't disappear." She snorted and locked the door.
I looked into the mirror; the blood had seeped through more of the sheer, white fabric, but beneath I could see the clotted blood forming along the cuts. The slip was suddenly torn off of me and I squealed as I was naked beneath Asah's penetrating gaze. I quickly wrapped my arms over me, despite the fact many wolves had seen my bareness over the years, and nakedness wasn't that big of an issue for us. But, something about Asah's scrutiny had my hair standing on end and my toes curling into the tile.
She threw the bloody scrap into the bathtub and turned back to the sink. She pushed me out of the way so that she could open the cupboard door below the sink and reach in blindly with a searching hand. She pulled out a bottle and set it on the counter alongside some cotton balls.
I instantly retreated against the wall and let out a hiss of refusal.
"Oh shut your snout, She-wolf." Asah snapped, her eyes narrowing as she twisted the lid off the rubbing alcohol. I've had that sh*t poured on me before, and my instinct told me to steer clear ever since.
She poured some on one of the cotton balls and turned to me, her hand on her hip, eyes daring me to disobey or be fussy. She pressed it against my tingling stomach, which twitched back in recoil from the strong, burning liquid.
"F*ck!" I yowled, my feet slipping along the tile and I slid into the wall behind me and smashed my tailbone off of the bar used to hang towels. Tears sprung in my eyes and I groaned, one hand clutching my stomach, the other cradling my bruised rear.
She quickly advanced towards me and wiped down along the cut, sparing no time in clearing off the majority of the dried, caked on blood. I watched as flakes of newly forming scab floated to the floor.
The stinging subsided and Asah took a step back and admired her handiwork; a fresh, flesh-pink scar was all that was left. Asah ran another cotton ball under the water and then cleaned off the remaining alcohol.
My hand tenderly massaged my backside as she ran her eyes up and down my figure. I squirmed and muttered a snappy, yet unconfident, "What?"
Plump, pale lips pulled back to reveal a very cat-like smile. "Am I making you uncomfortable, She-wolf?"
I flushed and shook my head, "Of course not, like I'd be intimidated by you." Something about the smile she gave me told me she didn't believe any of the bullsh*t I had just spewed out.
"Come, we will dress you then." She turned and strode out the door, leaving me in a naked, panting heap against the bathroom wall. Did she expect me to walk out there naked?
Her head peeked back in with that feline smile curling her lips, "Oh, would you like something to cover yourself?"
I didn't trust my voice so I nodded slowly. She threw something at me and I fumbled to catch it. I instantly held the fabric up to my bare parts-- which was all of me at the moment-- and gave her a scathing look.
"Well, chop-chop, we haven't all day for you to dawdle-- there's a ceremony waiting."
I glared at her for reminding me and held out the royal purple... blanket? I gave her a questioning look and she sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's a cloak, one from my homeland. You wrap it around yourself-- no, over your hair. Here, let me do it."
She ripped it from my grasp and draped it over my head and then wrapped it one way around my naked body while wrapping the other section over and around so it hung over my shoulder.
"Now hold it tightly together; we'll get you something more appropriate to wear in a minute. Be quiet for the remainder of that time."
"S-shouldn't," I cleared my throat and recollected my voice, "Shouldn't I don ceremonial robe?"
Callous eyes snapped to me, daring me to speak again. I shut my mouth quickly, but the word for a female dog was on the tip of my tongue and I quickly bit it back and swallowed it sourly.
Soon there was a knock on the door and I tightened the cloak around me when Asah opened the door. A lousy head of blonde hair peeked in, and a fresh-faced youth nearing her teens peeked in. She kept her head low but gazed up at Asah expectingly.
"Iory, fetch another slip from downstairs." Asah said, her voice unexpectedly soft.
The girl stood there, unmoving, and my uncomfort grew. It seemed Asah's impatience also grew as she quickly snapped at the girl, "Well, what is it?"
The girl's blue eyes glanced at me quickly but she said nothing.
"For fang's sakes, speak child!" Asah bit out grabbing the girl's shoulder and standing her up straight.
As if a trigger was struck, the girl's head turned to appraise me and she curiously began to blurt out questions like clockwork,
"Is it tru' ya're the lass from the ceremony?" her heavy Irish accent didn't go unnoticed by me.
"Y-yes?" I answered unsure.
Her head cocked to the side,
"How old are you?"
"W-why does that-"
"Are you going to have sex with the male who wins?"
"P-Pardon me?!" I gasped. Who was this girl and where was her sense of propriety?
"Do you want to be with a mate?"
My patience had worn thin and I snapped, "No! I don't want to be here, and no, I don't want to have a mate. I've had more experience with males in the last week than I'd ever wanted to have in my entire life!"
Asah and Iory both looked at me, eyes wide as I struggled to recompose myself. Obviously my outburst had even been enough to silence the annoying child.
"Okay." She popped the word between baby-pink lips and then suddenly disappeared, shutting the door along with her.
I looked at Asah, knowing she would also bear an onslaught of questions for me as well. "Well, it's your turn-- ask away!" I gestured pathetically with my hands, not yet having caught my breath.
She lifted her shoulders and looked away, focusing on putting away the rubbing alcohol and flushing the cotton balls down the toilet. "So you're not too excited about this, I presume." She had her back turned to me, but for once her voice sounded almost commiserating.
I snorted, and felt the beginning of tears prick my eyes, "What, you thought I'd be overjoyed at the thought of men fighting each other over who will own my future?"
"Well..." She trailed off uncomfortably.
"Great, thanks." I laughed dryly. Glad someone thinks I'm more than a shallow, empty-headed female.
"If it makes you feel any better, I too was forced into a ceremony like this. "
I turned to her, astonished. I was surprised to see her hunched over the counter, hands gripping the marble as if it was the only thing keeping her from collapsing on the tile floor. Asah appeared strong and bold, with a silver tongue that could lash even the most fortified souls. Someone like her had once been in my situation? It was hard to believe.
I grew the courage to ask the most prevalent question in my mind, " What happened?"
Those brown fingers flexed and then clenched into the counter-top, and I swore I heard an almost inaudible sob come from her throat. "My pack lived in an isolated part of Bahrain, far from humans and further in the desert than most would prefer; but, we were used to it-- in fact, we thrived. My father was, at the time, reigning Alpha for many years-- longer than most males. I had just began my first heat cycle and, though it was no where near the pungent-ness of yours, it was strong.
My father believed that as a reigning Alpha's heir, I was to be fought for. So the ancient ceremonies had been planned and the males in all the surrounding packs were to come. Our territory was fairly large, and we took it upon ourselves to protect the humans from wolf-harm."
Cold air was sucked quickly between my teeth, giving me a cotton-mouth effect. Wolf-harm was rare, but it sometimes happened when wolves held grudges against humans and sought to enact revenge or contempt by killing innocents. I had only heard stories, but I didn't know packs actually had to protect humans from other wolves. Most of us chose to merely keep our distance.
"Many wolves in the area were feral."
Feral - wolves who had no loyalties, alliances, nor affiliations with anyone other than themselves or their young.
"We were constantly chasing off wolves from human settlements, and so we had developed quite a hatred built up against us by them. Male wolves came from all countries, those who caught wind of an Alpha daughter being held up for ceremony was a rare thing, and many males jumped at the chance to claim a female without the hassles of wooing her.
Males came from Jordan, Libya... all over the Middle East. It was amazing, yet I was anxious-- scared that I would be taken far from my home. I had tried to run away and wait it out, but I had been found among the human settlements every time. I knew there was no escape.
The battle lasted hours, long after the grueling heat of day and well into the quaking, frigidness hours of the night. One male had triumphed; a man hailing from Ireland, with skin as white and freckly as the snow I would soon come to see. His name was Faolen, little wolf, and he unusually had a last name: Gray. He was the most beautiful man I had ever met, eyes like the green emeralds my father had kept dear to him throughout the years, and hair as ashen and beautiful as soot.
I fell in love with his sweetness and even temper, and the more I got to know him, the more I realized he was nothing like the the ruthless way he fought in the ceremony. We traveled back to Ireland, where I learned he was Alpha of a clan hailing from the mountains. It was cold, but I had never seen so much green in my life. He was just like his homeland: harsh and cruel when needbe, but soft, sweet and quiet; yet, he was also exuberant and filled with this life that just thrummed in his veins like blood."
I watched as tears freely flowed down her face and she laughed, reminiscing. I knew that the story had a dark twist coming, and I knew it had shaped her into the lithe, snappy wolf she was today.
"We were so happy, even though his clan didn't agree with him turning down fellow pack to mate with me. I soon grew round with his child, and I could just feel that life force that Faolen had running through me, growing in me each day. I hadn't believed my life could have ended up so perfect. And then... he was slaughtered."
Brown eyes met mine in the mirror, and they grew hard and sharp, like a butcher's knife freshly sharpened for the chop.
"He... he was slaughtered by feral wolves... enemies of my father. It seems during my father's reign, he had executed a feral child. An innocent. For that, the feral's killed an innocent in return.
The pack was devastated, and determined to remove me. Remove the one who had indirectly caused Faolen's death. But I was determined to fight for my rank, and after my son's birth, I fought with tooth and claw for position of Alpha."
Those cold eyes that hadn't yet left mine blinked, and then studied me as if from a distance.
"And I won the right to rule, by my determination and strength I succeeded. Now, I have a son, Mack, who has those green eyes filled with life; The eyes of Ireland."
______________________________
AGAIN I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
SORRY.
I sincerely hope you'll forgive me AND I PINKY SWEAR I WILL UPDATE AGAIN THIS WEEK .
I love you all, and I couldn't be happier with all the support I'm getting from readers.
Also please comment some improvements you think I could make, as I would LOVE your input!
bless,
Achidna