In the four days I had spent cooped up in this room under the banner of 'recovery', I spent most of my time looking out of the window.
There were a lot of kids in this pack and they seemed to always be playing. That was the only noise I ever heard in this pack; children's happy cries and wolves howling. It was so very different from my pack.
In my pack, the Shadow Night pack, kids played in parks but not as much as kids here because they were mostly invested in arcades, adventure parks and video games. Plus also, there's a lot of competition for spots in the best schools especially high schools and universities so there is an obsessive study culture. Growing up in my pack, the only goal is to get rich. And if you are already rich (like my family was) then get richer.
So well, how do you get rich the legal way? You go into an accredited university. This means either attending one of the various acclaimed universities in my pack or attending university at the Goldstone pack or the Crystal Heart pack. As crappy as the Goldstone pack was, their universities were beyond lit. It was almost impossible to secure a spot there and if you did manage to, the fees were exuberant or else you were some genius and got a scholarship. If you graduated from a university in the Goldstone pack then a top-ranking job is my pack was left waiting for you.
The Crystal Heart pack was also a very good option but it was more preferred for the arts.
This is why, in my pack, parents force their kids to study a lot from a very young age. They want them to secure that university spot under any circumstance that sometimes it becomes an obsession.
I was a victim of this system.
My parents were obsessed with me securing a spot at a Goldstone university for either architecture, so I could run my father's architectural business empire or software engineering. From as young as I could remember, it was drilled into my head to study and that too, years ahead of the recommended scheme for my age group.
My father was going to secure my spot at the top engineering university in the Goldstone pack no matter what. Even if he had to bribe them to get me in, he would. In fact, he had a trust fund set up just for that university and by that, I don't mean only the tuition, I mean some funds were kept aside for bribery too. My family was wealthy anyway so both my parents could afford it.
Regardless, I hated how my childhood revolved around grooming me to become this technological genius. All those things I was forced to learn from expensive tutors that my parents lavished on to make me better just to achieve their university dream for me which for a long time in my childhood and early teenage years was so drilled into me that it was my only dream for myself too.
That's why being in this pack and watching these children happy and running around constantly with all the joy in the world, I feel happy knowing that they're living their childhood outdoors instead of cooped up in a library. This pack's doing something right with childhood development I guess.
I sat up straighter in my window seat, not liking how I was covered so much in this tunic and pants. For such bogus clothing, the material was surprising light and didn't even feel like I was wearing anything but I couldn't stand the granny panties. Why were they so big? It felt weird feeling the waistband pinching at the belly button.
When the door opened, I turned. It was Tinley with two kerosene lamps in her hands. She was probably here to light the candles in my room. She did that every night and I hated the candlelight. It made the room hot and stuffy but if I opened the window then the candles would blow out and I'd have to relight them again.
"How are you?" Tinley asked and I answered fine, looking back out of the window. How was I supposed to be? I'm supposed to be seducing Alpha Enzo but I hadn't seen him in days and I wasn't exactly allowed to leave this room because I apparently needed to recover. My bruises were still there but the aches had dulled yet, I was stuck here.
"Come, let's go for a walk," Tinley announced and my neck snapped to the side to look at her. "I can't imagine how angsty you must feel having not shifted in days. So come,"
In this pack, they shift a lot, especially at night. That was the only other noise I ever heard besides the happy kids - howling. Especially at night. Apart from those two sounds, it was dead silence in this house and it freaked me out.
I stood up to go with Tinley.
"Do you want to shift?" she asked me. I shook my head.
"No. Maybe some other day," I said.
"Hmm. You're probably from a pack that doesn't shift often then because I don't know a lot of wolves that can go days without letting out their wolves," she thought out loud and suddenly, I regretted telling her that I didn't want to shift.
"It's not that," I start, attempting to correct her perception. "I want to shift but I just still feel a bit weak and I think that shifting would take a toll on me,"
She squeezes my shoulder to comfort me. "You're right. You need to recover fully first before you attempt the shift. But I think fresh air would still do you good so come,"
She takes the second lamp off the table and hands it over to me. I take it. When we are about to leave the room, she reminds me to take my shawl so I pick up the long white shawl and place it over my shoulders. My tunic and lose pants are also white and then she points at the black mary jane shoes by the door. I slip them on, the stockings preventing contact with the skin on my foot.
The hallway was long. There were several doors on either side that lined the hallway in what seemed like a maze of endlessness and I stuck close to Tinley. There were no candles lighting this hallway either. All that was seen was the moon's glory. I was tempted many times to ask Tinley if they knew what electricity was but always decided against it. The last thing I need is to help them narrow down my possible packs.
When we made it to the stairs, there was a ray of light shining from the lower floor.
"Is every one asleep?" I asked Tinley as I walked down the stairs with her. The staircase was grand and filled most of what I assumed was the front room. Even the staircases in mansions in my pack were never this grand. This one felt like it would eat me up whole and I walked down it somewhat wary as I clasped onto my shawl as if it would offer me some sort of protection.
My shawl almost fell off.
"No," Tinley answered finally as she led me to one of the biggest kitchens I ever laid eyes on. It had a huge ass table in the centre that I'm sure could seat at least twenty people on one side.
"But it's so quiet," I noted as she again led me out through what I assumed was the back door. Everywhere was so dark. If I didn't have this kerosene lamp in my hands then I would be in pitch darkness. Not that I wasn't trained to work in the dark. I was but it's a preference of mine.
"Most people aren't at home," Tinley said as she opened the door. "They usually shift at this time and also, even if they were, we prefer to speak in our minds. I think you must have noticed this by now,"
"I did but I didn't understand it because I can't do it," I answered and we both made our way outside.
When we got outside, fresh air greeted me, lifting my clothes in the air ever so slightly and my short hair moved graciously with it as did my shawl, falling off my neck but I caught it before it could touch the floor. I caught it fast, too fast and I stood there hoping Tinley didn't notice that I just used my Assassin reflexes. She closed the door while I fixed my shawl.
"Okay, I'll explain," She said as she came to stand by me and then we both started to walk. The howling started and it sounded like it was all around us, infiltrating the air powerfully. "but before that, expect to see a lot of wolves. A lot of wolves shift at this time so don't be startled if one bumps into you,"
"Okay,"
There were low cut grasses everywhere and flowers all around that stuck out like complementary puzzle pieces to the rich landscape. The wind bristled through them and I watched how they moved to the rhythm of the winds embrace, almost like they were dancing passionately. Then I saw the meadows ahead. Tinley lead us towards there. The moon shone brightly above us and I realised that it would be full soon, maybe after a week.
The howls continued.
"Everyone here prefers to mind link because our mind link is different," Tinley started while I held my hand out to touch the flowers that stuck out. "We speak a very specialised and high-level language when we mind link. It's harder and more complex but it's how we grew up. The story is that the witches hated our Alpha because of what happened in the past. Our first Alpha, Zyan was almost murdered by a witch. This led to a war between our pack and the witches so Alpha Zyan created a complex language with the help of his beautiful mate, Luna Primrose so that our people could always stick together and we wouldn't be infiltrated by the witches,"
"Why did the witches want your Alpha dead?"
Tinley shrugged. "I don't know but my cousin, Enzo knows since he's Alpha. All I know is that we've been at war with the witches since then because they tried to wipe us out and in turn, Zyan killed more than a half of them centuries ago. It was a really long time but it shaped our pack into what it is today. So now, witches are banned from this pack except the head witch/moon priestess Mahsa, I think her name is that because she indoctrinates Alphas and our pack apparently keeps the balance of the werewolf world. I don't know how but it does so due to that, the witches can't cut off ties with us completely and we can't either,"
I think it had to do with that blue moonstone. The witches probably wanted to take it away from Zyan by all means because they didn't want that much power in his hands but he refused and they tried to play dirty by killing him. This must have backfired and overcome with all the new-found Alpha rage blessed by the moon, Zyan must have in turn murdered every witch he found, leading to a full-blown war. I assume they only meet the Head witch and moon priestess because being the moon priestess, she must be tasked with neutrality.
The reason their pack must keep balance too is probably because of that blue moonstone. If the witches push too far, an Alpha could just destroy the stone and thereby, destroy the whole Alpha system like what Logan and Nessa plan to do. Enzo probably knows all this because he is Alpha.
"But witches are banned in my pack. They are punished instantly with no mercy. Any form of witchcraft or association with a witch is also strictly forbidden here. If a pack member is caught engaging in witchcraft or having ties to any witch then they are immediately cut off from the link by our Alpha and exiled from our pack,"
Oh wow. These guys are quite strict. Exile and punishment seem a little too severe for a pack that should be showing everyone the moon's kindness if you ask me. Well, I hope that they never find out about my relationship with Nessa then. That's just another one of my irredeemable connections.
"So yes, our language is so much more complex than the common tongue. We call verbal speech the common tongue and it's hard for a lot of people to transition from mindlink language to simplified speech especially since the only place where people actually need to speak in this pack is at school. It's a requirement there because all our books are imported from other packs and they know nothing about our language. The common tongue is just too simple. I can't tell you how simple it is but in our language, we have expressions that don't exist in the common tongue. Things I couldn't even begin to explain to you. You just have to understand but you never will because you're not one of us,"
I could see the passion in Tinley's eyes as she spoke about this high-level language. I could tell from the way her facial features sharpened that she adored her complex language because of its complexities and it made me envious. What did my pack even give me? Apart from a good education, which I liken more to my parents' money than the pack itself, I can't really say we have anything unique to offer. Even our mate bond rings aren't unique to us. The idea was stolen from the Sapphire pack where wearing a mate bond ring is mandatory.
We stopped at a pond that was enveloped in water lilies and also had land lilies lining it. They were bright colours of white, pink, red, orange and I wanted to touch them. I never knew lilies were so beautiful.
"So don't feel like people here are anti-social and don't want to speak with you or don't like you. Everyone here is extremely friendly but they are just shy because they struggle a lot with the common tongue. You know Indigo kept saying that you were the prettiest thing she ever laid eyes on. She used an expression that I don't know how to translate because the common tongue is hard for me too, sometimes,"
"But you seem to speak it just fine," I tell her with a smile and she smiles back, a blush finding her cheeks and dimples appear on her face.
She lets out some word that sound like gibberish but then she trails off and I scrunch my face, not understanding anything.
"I'm trying to translate what Indigo said. Just wait I'll tell you," she held her finger to her chin and thought while I looked around, holding the lamp up in the air to look at the pond. It was pretty.
"Ah! It means something like 'even the prettiest rose would wither at your feet and would turn to ashes if your hands ever held it'. It's so much easier to understand this in our language, sorry but that is sort of the best way I can translate what she meant. It's not all it means but I can't think of any other expression or explanation in this tongue that fits what she said exactly. Enzo is so much better at this than me,"
I smiled without warning, feeling genuinely touched that Indigo said that. I never would have thought that she would say that but for some reason, the complement makes me happy. I know I'm beautiful but I've never had anyone say it like that before. Especially if they weren't trying to get into my pants.
Suddenly, Tinley grabbed her lamp tighter. "Hey, wait here okay? Someone needs my help. I'll be back. Will you be okay on your own?"
No sooner do I nod does Tinley jet off running and I turn, wondering how she could run in the large black skirt she had chosen for herself today but realising that she's probably used to it.
I look around. This pack is so pretty, so untouched. I focus on the moon's silhouette stretching over the length of the pond and then a water lily floats my way. I place my lamp on the floor and bend forward to pick one lily up then my shawl nearly slips off. I struggle to hold it back from falling off my neck and into the water.
Then I hear a low growl from behind me. When I jump, the shawl falls into the water and I land backwards, onto the grass, almost falling into the pond.
I have a scream stuck in my throat when the largest wolf I've ever seen in my life stands right in front of me, staring me right in my face.
~🖤~🖤~🖤~🖤~🖤~🖤~🖤~🖤~🖤~🖤
Fun fact: Rionna from book 1 and 2 secured a scholarship at the Goldstone pack.
So much going on lately that I'm not even finding the time to write. Hope everyone is safe.
What do you think about their language and what do you thino will happen next?
Thanks for reading! Please remember to vote, comment, share and follow🖤🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤
~Эмма💕✌🏻