Arana paused her words, taking a deep breath. She was not having a good day. Not at all. She turned her head slightly, her wolf not appreciating yet another interruption. "I need you to try that again, novice. Walk back into this room and try that again."
She heard a soft series of apologies from the same
novice before she heard soft knocking. "I apologize, Pomelia give me a moment."
Arana turned her head again, to see the novice. She was a chatty one who became flustered easily. "How can I help you?"
"Apologies priestess. You are being requested for counsel."
Ofcourse she was. She wore so many hats here she was so tired. She just wished to rest for one day but that wasn't possible. "Pomelia-"
"-He's back. I will call when he leaves again. Thank you priestess!" The line went dead. She sighed. Loudly. She felt like throwing the phone. She sounded scared. Was she scared of the male hurting her or was she just scared about...her situation? She would kill him if he so much as laid a hand on Pomelia's sweet self.
Placing the phone down, she sighed loudly, and sent a small prayer up to the goddess. She prayed for peace and understanding between the couple and change. She hoped that some drastic changing went on with that entire pack, or else Pomelia would be swallowed up by the darkness there.
Following the novice to the temple, she slipped on her mask of perfection. A neutral, kind, relaxed position. She had to be approachable and opening. She couldn't do that with rigid shoulders and a tired face.
Incense filled her nostrils, strong ones. They were purifying candles, holy candles. It masked the stench of the wolves who came to them with problems that smelt foul. She was thankful for those candles.
"Right here, priestess." The novice paused, and bowed slightly.
Taking a deep breath, she held the golden door knob in her hand. It was time to nurse one of the Lycan population into a conscious, good mood again.
Upon entering, she saw a shaved head and white robes. Why was a priest sitting in a room meant for counsel and confession?
"Oh...forgive me, brother. I must have been brought to the wrong-"
"-You don't recognize the stray that keeps coming back to you, Arana."
Her entire body froze. She knew that voice unfortunately. It was the bane pack wolf.
He was a commoner. He did not have the authority to call her by her first name. She told him that before, four times. Four times! She pressed her lips firmly together and closed the door quietly.
She began to hum a tune as she made her way to her seat, she did not like to have silence when he was alone with her. Thoughts...terrible thoughts marred her thinking.
Once she sat down, she stared at him. He had cut off all of his dark hair. All of it. Her eyes widened as she noticed that he had...a tattoo on his head. What did it say? She didn't need to know. It was in a different language...
"How can I help you."
Trent snorted, his legs were spread and his hands clasped together, his elbows resting on his thighs. He seemed tired. "Do you wish not to talk?" He said nothing. "I'll grab my violin. You can meditate on your thoughts while I play."
She could not handle the silence with this man.
Arana rose up from her seat and made her way to the door. Except for she was brutally pulled back. A strong, vice grip was on her wrist. Gripping her tight to the point of pain. She couldn't feel her wrist. Her hand was hot? No cold. What was going on?
"Let go," she said evenly, her heartrate beginning to skyrocket. Her stomach churning. He was touching her. Her wrist was covered, but she could feel his hand through the fabric. "Let me go," she tried again, attempting not to panic. She couldn't panic.
"I want silence," he spoke gruffly, suddenly letting go of her wrist. She snatched it back, cradling it in her other hand. Her wrist was tingling with an intense pressure. "Did I hurt you?"
Arana shook her head, masking the pain in her face with a serious look. "No and I would appreciate if you asked me the proper way for silence."
He sighed. Loudly. "Can you please sit your ass down so I can have silence."
The language. Of course he had to use inappropriate language! "You have no respect for this temple do you? Or anyone in it?"
Arana fought the urge to cringe as he rolled his neck on his shoulders, a series of sickening cracks coming from his body. "I respect you."
"I doubt that, wolf of Bane pack," Arana spoke cooly, wondering if word had gotten to Arrow that this deranged wolf was here with her again. "Can I assist you in anyway? Would you like to confess any sins or wrongdoings?"
This had happened before. He sat for a while, became angry, mouthed off at her. She had shit him down and then he had left. She had to learn how to reign in her anger...and she was attempting to do it.
"No."
It was now her turn to sigh. What were they doing then? Why was she here? Why was he here? "I had blood on my clothes that's why I'm in these fucking Roman robes tent wear."
Arana clasped her hands together. "Your own blood? Did someone hurt you?"
"Does it look like someone hurt me?" He snarled, his canines gleaming as he bared them at her. He reminded her of a caged animal. Confused, angry....hungry. She could see the hunger in his eyes, but what was causing the need? What was he being starved of?
"I'm not sure. Why don't you tell me?"
He began to curse under his breath like the dirty mouthed scoundrel he was. He rose to his feet, scratching at his almost bald head. "I'm leaving. This shit was a fucking mistake."
Arana's anger flared. It was a mistake? What was he talking about? He obviously came because he needed help of some kind and she would always help. Even if this man made her skin crawl and her body feel like it was being thrown out an airplane with no parachute.
"Sit. Down."
He stalled, glaring at her as if challenging her to give him another command. "You came here for help. Sit down and talk. Get the help you want."
Trent, from Bane pack sat down. His eyes were staring her down as if she just cursed his life. As if she just called him a terrible name or maybe even harmed him. Was it that awful for a male to listen to someone? Or was it just this specific male?
"Whose blood is your body reeking of?"
He leaned back in his seat. "How do you know it's not mines."
Did he think Arana was a dolt? She placed her hands in her lap, clutching them together tightly. He was not going to get out of her character like before. When they first met. She saw him as a threat and threatened him with violence, but he wasn't a threat. It infuriated her. She should be scared of him.
"I'm a wolf just like you. I can smell that blood isn't yours. I know you're disturbed about it because you wouldn't be here if you weren't."
The mask of anger slid onto his face. She had triggered his venom mouth. "Maybe I just wanted to look at your pretty face...and other things." His eyes swept over body, almost violently. What was he thinking, what was he doing to her in his mind.
"Stop. Don't you dare look at me like that," she spluttered, looking away from him and trying to find her strength. She wanted to hide from him. She wasn't even supposed to be thinking of what he was possibly thinking... She felt sick, ashamed. She was tied to the goddess, even thinking about a male was blasphemy.
His dark eyes didn't run over her body again, instead they locked eyes. She felt as if she was staring down a mighty predator. If she looked away, he might pounce on her weakness. She was trembling...yet he looked away first.
A yawn left his lips. "I won't look at you like that. Not my fault you're hot. Khan was right, you prudes are crazy."
An image of Arana taking her violin and throwing it at his face had her rubbing her temples. She was approximately one minute from leaving the room, going to the bathroom and yelling into a towel.
"I killed a wolf today for some cash. I traveled three hours. His pack mate hired us because the dead guy was making fun of his mates defect and apparently was a bully to her in her teen years. Broad had a bum leg or something."
This time, his eyes were trained solely on hers. Those dark, deep, eyes. "Do you regret your sin?"
He snorted. "That's not what is killing me. You did something to me. Told me to change myself or we couldn't continue our sessions."
"Yes. You cut your hair? That is a start, but it's a physical one. You need to make changes in your heart." She already explained this to him. What could he not understand? Or maybe he just didn't want to understand.
The bane pack wolf threw his hands up in the air. "That's what I'm talking about! A guy in my pack...War, he got shit from his little prissy mate for doing what we do. You know little brunette you almost threw a knife at me over."
He did not have to add that last part in and somehow she knew he knew he didn't. "He's in the fucking dog house. I haven't smoked weed in a week, haven't killed in a week too. War is fucked up and being hounded by fucking Khan. Khan is an evil fucker, wants to see people suffer. He wanted one of us to go do this job. We got plenty of people to do it. I guess me and War are just the best."
Arana kept her calm. She wanted to leave. She was in a room, with a known killer, murderer. The room was soundproof. She knew this already but it unsettled her that he spoke about it so nonchalantly. She appreciated the truth though.
"I volunteered to do it and not because I wanted to. It makes no fucking sense. War is annoying. Ever since he joined the pack...him and his fucking stuttering and not completing his sentences. Always sad as fuck. I just...I don't know."
"So why is it upsetting you?" Arana was confused. Very confused. She thought this was confusion of his killing, not something else.
He gave her an angered look. "I did something I didn't have to do for someone. He doesn't even have a fucking bed and his mate is all shot out and sad. It's annoying. I already knew if he did the job it would make them even more miserable and annoying as fuck."
Arana understood. She understood perfectly. This angry, lethal, murderer was feeling kindness and compassion and didn't want to admit it. "You helped him when you didn't have to. That's showing compassion."
"I don't know. I guess so."
'Guess so' was a yes to her. She would accept it. She obviously had to take it extremely slow with this male. "You have no remorse for killing a civilian?"
"Nope."
She began to rub her temples again, but was glad. If he had remorse that would make her...enjoy this. It would be his humanity showing. She didn't need to see it so quickly...she couldn't afford to think of him even more than she was now. It was progress though. He did something terrible, awful but it was to help a person he cared about. At least he cared.
"Is that all you have come to talk about?" He nodded his head. She suppressed a growl. "Come back when you have done two more things that you deem presentable or honorable in the goddesses eyes."
He stood to his feet and she remained seated. He was pacing again. "I can't come here just to see your face? You know I'm attracted to you, right?" He questioned her, his dark eyes stalling at her face. She expected him to caress her body with those violent eyes but they stayed above her neck.
"And what would you like me to do with that information?" She snapped, losing her patience and standing up. "You won't act on your alleged attraction to me and I surely won't so please leave your disgusting thoughts to yourself."
Anger flared in his eyes and his hands bawled into fists. Her eyes narrowed at him, daring him to say anything, challenge her statement. "Screw you."
"You or no man ever will. I believe our session is over," she growled out, her wolf peeking out at the rush of fury coursing through their body. Just as quick as her wolf sensed the situation, she had tucked herself back into confides of her mind.
Trent shrugged. "Never know what the future holds...later, Arana."
Before she even got the chance to chastise him for using her name, the door shut. He left.
"Goddess give me strength.."
Why the fuck was Trent like this?
He carefully held the blunt between his fingers as he lit up right in front of the the temple. He was a shit person, yeah he knew that. He had pushed the priestesses buttons just because he could, just because he wanted to see a look other than frustration or annoyance on her face, when concerning him.
When he first came into the place earlier, it was like he had a severed head in his hands. All the priestesses ran from him and a tall priest with hair like the fucking moon popped up out of nowhere. The look in his eyss was clearly of disgust and contempt and Trent could give a flying fuck. He was here for Arana not the other annoying ass prudes here.
When he had demanded Arana for what felt like the tenth time, the man appeared with clothes. He said the only way a bloodied mess was getting to the priestess was if he changed his clothes. So he did.
He walked around in tent wear before the moon dude threw him in a room and told him to wait. Then he smelled her scent and his fucking stomach flipped and his brain felt like it was being sucker punched.
Sarcasm and acting like a fucking ass was what came to him easily. He soaked it in from Khan. All the years of snarky comebacks and asshole remarks Khan gave him had finally paid off. Well not really.
Everytime he was around the woman his emotions went fucking haywire. First he was drawn in by her..just her, almost mesmerized. Then he got mad as fuck because she was so perfect and he knew, he knew that his grimy hands would never go near her. He wanted to fuck the attitude right out of her. She said he never would screw her and he knew that was true and that pissed him off even more. Was he a gentle lover? Fuck no, but for her he would. Or at least try to. That was a dream that was never going to become reality though.
If she weren't in the priesthood he was pretty sure he wouldn't have been able to get with her. His flirting skills weren't even close to Khan's or being a player. Ladies were attracted to his angry snarl and his muscular body. Which he didn't mind, that's how he got off. But no, with the priestess he had to try to smooth talk her, which ended up in disaster all the time.
Trent took another drag of his blunt, before raking his hand over his face almost violently. What the fuck was he doing? He didn't go to confessions, he didn't do this religious shit and he sure as hell didn't chase pussy. Especially ones that were off limits...
Anger began to bubble up within him. He just didn't know what the hell he was doing. None of it. He was lost. A wandering dog looking for scraps...he used to follow Khan blindly but now he was barking up a tree he didn't even believe he was supposed to be near.
Feeling something at his foot, he glanced down. He yelped.
The ground was glowing. A part of the fucking dirty tar parking lot was glowing. It was an arrow? Or an A? A weird looking A. He fished his phone out his pocket and took a picture of it, wondering if it was the high playing tricks on him or he was actually staring at a glowing symbol in the ground.
Glancing at his phone, he cursed. "What the fuck...."
It was on his phone. Instead of doing the logical thing and thinking, he didn't. He threw the joint down, stomped the ground and hopped in his car.
He just got a bad batch of weed. That was it.
As he hopped into the truck, he noticed a clean white pickup peeling into the driveway of the temple. He watched carefully, as two men in white pants and a shirt hopped out. One immediately passed the temple doors and the other took his time. The stench of fear hit his window as he rolled it down to try and heard the man's rumbling.
He was shocked to hear that he was...praying. Trent's interest was piqued and he winded up hopping out of his car and coming up behind the praying priest.
"Yo. What's the problem?" He questioned as the man suddenly froze. He turned around, and whimpered. The man's fear was annoying.
"P-please don't hurt me! What do you want? What do your people want with us holy folk?" The man spluttered, pressing his shaking body against the van.
Did Trent have any idea what the old fuck was talking about? No. "Your people? Who are my people?"
"Y-you are apart of the organization. Not rogues, not pack, that unknown monstrosity!" Yeah, this priest was crazy and Trent wondered if he should put the guy out of his misery...
He decided on not killing the guy in front of the temple. "I'm from Bane pack. What the hell is this unknown thing?"
The man didn't seem any more relieved then before to hear that he was from an actual pack. "It..it's this group of wolves trying to take down pack structures. Their is a threat to all holy temples!"
Could it be that group who Alpha Reese's brother got involved with? He gave the assignment to War but he did hear about it a few times. "You shouldn't get your panties in a twist. Little groups come and go like that." Shit, Trent should know. A few years back he had been plotting with some rogues to kill Khan. Then he chickened out... The little group dissolved though and got thrown in jail by the LPA. Luckily he left before he could get arrested then had to have Khan get him out..
"You're wrong about that...will you let me go now?"
Trent glowered at the idiot. "I'm not touching you, man."
It seemed as if the dummy figured that out, and scuffled away from Trent, running inside. He rolled his eyes and made his way back to his car.
The religious types scared so easily. That little threat wasn't anything more than some rejects banding together to cause some mayhem. After that , it would all be over.
Of course no one believed him though.
************
Oh Trent my darling, why so hostile?
Thoughts🤔
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