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T he night was beautiful. When the Alpha King stepped out of the Tower with her strapped behind his strong back.

Ismena felt the happiest and most secure, especially when the night air caressed her hot skin.

The sentinels guarding the Tower bowed their heads in chronological sequence as he passed by them. Out of the huge gates, he took the path of the woods.

Ismena was surprised at the number of changelings they saw on the pathway to the woods, but then, she wondered why she was surprised?

This is a changeling world. These people are part-animals and they love the woods more than the road. It's fascinating.

Wolfaraine has always been a lover of silence, he can stay the whole day without saying a word.

But, she wanted to hear him speak. She loved hearing his voice .

"The night is beautiful, don't you think?" She asked, initiating a conversation.

"Yes, she is. Just like the night before." He looked up to the sky, "I heard a lot of my people outside, last night. They love a good night because it's a great time to run and play around."

His reference to last night made her go warm inside. Not in an I-wanna-have-sex kinda way but in the I-love-remembering-our-intimate-moment-together kinda way. Guess, her body was still satisfied from the night before.

"I love Naturiah," she sighed, "I love the simplicity and honesty of the people. The love among these people is marveling. You can hardly see the crimes and hideous criminalism of my own world here."

Wolfaraine loved to hear her say that. "Humans hate each other. Humans envy each other too. That is the root of most of those crimes. We do have crimes too, but it's not half as much as humans do."

"Yeah, you're right. I've been here for months, but I haven't heard of crimes around here. Well, except for those crazy changelings that attacked us on that night you were taking me out of the clubhouse in the cougar clan."

"Wild Ones. Changelings turn to Wild Ones when they cannot control their minds, their instincts anymore.

They kill innocent changelings and destroy homes, so we kill them.

" He passed a group of women, who bowed their heads in greetings to him.

He inclined his own head too, as an acknowledgment of their greeting.

Ismena fidgeted with his soft hair and avoided any eye contact whenever the changelings they pass look at her. Their Alpha King is piggybacking her through the woods. She did not want to see what they thought of that .

"You told me that Nalaila is locked up and in chains because she was on the verge of becoming a Wild One—" She cut off instantly, biting her lips hard. Oh, God, she shouldn't have said that!

He'd stiffened slightly. For a few seconds, only the crickets and birds 'talked' around them.

"I'm so sorry about that." She whispered, apologetically.

"It's alright, Ismena. My sister is not some abomination that shouldn't be talked about.

" He took a deep breath, "Nalaila has never killed anyone or she would have been put down a long time ago.

But, she hurt people. We know it's only a matter of time before she killed, so, father locked her up. She's been there ever since."

Ismena felt sad, thinking of Nalaila. It hurt her a lot, thinking of everything he and his sister has been through.

"She's long overdue being taken out for a walk and a run. It's been two years. I am the only one that can take her because she is feral, but she refused to come out with me." He said calmly, trying to mask his pain from those rejections, "She'll bite and scratch and howl but she will not come out."

"Maybe, because she knows she will die if she stays much longer in there without the daylight, the wilds, and the night's fresh air.", He continued, "Nalaila wants to die. I've known it for years."

"I'm so sorry to hear that." She had to blink to keep the tears at bay. He was hurting too, no matter how cool he sounded telling her all these.

"I cannot let her go. I cannot give up on her. I know that and she knows it too. Hence, more problems we have. One of these days, I'll get around to bringing her outside again." Even if it means she'll bite, scratch, and tear at him—he vowed inwardly .

Afterward, to brighten the mood, Ismena started talking about the stars and the moon. It worked because he began telling her the history of the first bright stars to shine in the sky.

Ismena listened attentively and in complete relaxation. Changelings love nature a lot, and with him, she'd come to realize how much she loves it too.

They got to a place with more than a few changelings, and she saw a few other males piggybacking their women too. Seeing how it wasn't so strange here in Naturiah, helped her to stop being shy about it. Instead, she tightened her arms around him.

A walk with him was a memorable one.

And hours after, they returned back to the tower and she was feeling sleepy, he laid her on the bed and kissed her thoroughly on the lips.

He did not try to initiate anything of a sexual nature after that. Instead, he walked to his golden throne-chair behind his desk and began sorting through some papers.

She asked him some more questions about Naturiah and he answered pleasantly, without getting mad about her disturbing him.

When sleep eventually won, Ismena gave in to it with a smile on her face.

She'll never forget this night.

OVER THE NEXT TWO WEEKS

But, in the days that followed, his good mood deteriorated until there was no trace of lightness remaining in his features .

Just the usual; a face made out of stone, coated with heavy frown lines.

That look made him terrifying to everyone including Ismena, even though they didn't see much of each other.

He'd been busy with his duties, both the ones that concern Naturiah and the ones that concern the NAALC business outside of Naturiah.

Apart from that, Ismena had a hunch that he might—he just might —be avoiding her too.

Her hunch only grew when he never slept beside her for the night.

He didn't make sexual advances at her. It might be because she was still recovering from his sexual demands three days ago, but it bothered her that he does not sleep beside her at night either. Instead, he'd sleep in another bedroom.

Then, the next day, Marian arranged out the bedroom next to his and warmly informed her that it was her bedroom. She'd helped her move to that room too.

It was saddening to think that he avoided her so much that he doesn't even want her sleeping in the same room with him.

The thought weighed her down for days afterward, but talking with Sandra and Eline on the phone every day always managed to lift her mood somehow.

Sandra goes on giving her the gist of her experiences touring the clans of Naturiah, while she listens excitedly. Sandra makes the stories so damn interesting, she was not surprised that the woman was a journalist at all.

Of course, she was curious to hear from Sandra how her first meeting with Wolfe went—in other words, her reaction to seeing him. But, her best friend has always evaded that conversation, which only made her curiosity grow .

She'd asked Eline several times, but the cougar female would always laugh without giving her an answer. It was weird but she wasn't worried. Ismena decided that it'll be the first thing she'll find out about once she goes back to Eline's.

When she wasn't talking to Sandra and Eline, she'd spend her day touring the outsides of the big Tower—both within the huge compound and outside the gates.

It was so exciting for her. She managed to find really beautiful places like the flower garden, the fountain lanes, and the large farm at the back of the Tower. Her days were never boring, which helped her to cope with her situation.

On the fourth day, she'd spent hours on the phone with her family. It gave her a whole new kind of happiness to hear Valentina's voice for hours on end, being her usual teenage grump and a cute little noisemaker.

She'd also spoken with her father too. Ismena got the feeling that her father was more worried about her than he was letting on. It made her concerned.

She had to reassure him over and over again that she was safe and sound.

But, speaking with her mother had been refreshing because her mother was happier about how much of a recovery Valentina had made. The hours on the phone with them made her feel light and better.

But the feeling evaporated at night. She was awake after midnight when she heard Wolfaraine's almost-soundless footsteps walk through the hallway.

He hesitated on her doorstep.

Lying under the huge duvet, curled into herself, Ismena prayed inwardly that he'll enter her bedroom .

Her fingers squeezed the covers tightly. She held her breath. She waited.

But, she heard his footsteps as he walked past her door. The sound of his door opened and closed.

Then, silence.

She battled tears furiously until she fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning.

Two days later, Ismena has had enough. It's been nine days since he devoured her like a raving animal in his bedroom, she was done staying in the dark and waiting like a spoilt princess.

If he's tired of her, at least he should have the decency to tell her off to her face!

She was fuming, raving mad all day while she waited for him in the Tower. He'd gone at dawn. She kept her eyes out for the sight of him all day.

But, he did not come back. Instead, it was Alphose that came to the Tower the next day.

She cornered him and asked him about Wolfaraine.

"He is in the jaguar clan. We are building a new Manor for the Jaguar Alpha, it's been going on for months now. The old one burnt to the ground. The Alpha King will be back tomorrow."

"Okay, thank you." She turned to leave, and stopped.

"Alphose?"

He turned and looked at her .

"Do you know what's going on with him?" She asked, trying to keep the sadness from her voice, "Something is going on with him, and you are his closest friend. I know you must have noticed too."

Thankfully, the cougar Alpha did not try to pretend like he didn't know what she was talking about.

He took a deep breath and looked at her, "Yes, something is going on. But, it's not because of you. He is not in a dark mood because of you, Ismena, it's all because of Nalaila." He confessed.

"Nalaila?"

"She refused to be taken out for a walk. The Alpha King is doing everything he can to get the wolf to come out of that dungeonroom on its own, but it wouldn't." Sadness reflected in his own eyes.

"Why can't he force her out?" She asked, confused. Knowing Wolfaraine, he will do anything for his little sister's, even if it means forcefully lifting her out of cage and putting her right back in after a good amount of fresh air.

"A few weeks ago, I would have told you that it wasn't an option but the way things are going now, it seems to be the final option here.

It would kill the Alpha King to have to force her against her will to take a walk.

" Alphose shook his head miserably, "After what happened eighteen years ago, it'll kill him to.

..force anything on her again. Not even what it takes for her to live. "

Suddenly, Ismena understood. Of course, he would never want to force her to walk. Not after everything.

"Thank you, Alphose."

He inclined his head before he turned and walked away .

Although she was relieved that the return of her 'dark knight in frowning armor' had nothing to do with her and the sexual intimacy they'd shared upon his return from the human world, she was still consumed by a wealth of sadness for the rest of the day.

The next day, Ismena heard the bad news.

The Wild Psycho has struck again. This time around, it struck the Elephant Clan, wiping out a whole family and leaving the clan devastated. Not just the clan, but the whole of Naturiah.

Because of that, there'll be a meeting for all of Naturiah's Alphas in the elephant clan tomorrow night.

After Wolfaraine left the tower for his business of the day, she walked quietly down to Nalaila's dungeonroom.

Standing outside the barricades, she watched the wolf sleep behind it. She'd visited a few times during the week and all those times, she worried that Wolfaraine will make his own visit and find her out, but thankfully he still doesn't have any idea that she's been visiting his sister. Thank fuck!

Maybe because she smelled so much like him now, he'd thought it was his scent in his sister's room from the last time he visited. Also, given the fact that he'd informed her how much his sister hated humans, he'll never suspect her of being foolish enough to come here. Even if she is.

Ismena took a deep breath, watching the rhythmical rise and fall of the white furs of the white wolf. Well, whichever one the reason was, it is a great thing she has not been found out.

She spent an hour during her usual thing, Reading aloud for the wolf to hear and even proceeded to talk about her day to the sleeping wolf as if they were having a conversation.

Afterward, as she stood up to leave, she was in deep thought .

She's been coming here for over a month. She has visited a lot of times. She was loud sometimes, and she can even remember a moment or two when she laughed out loud as she narrated stories about her day.

And all those numerous times, the wolf was sleeping. Nalaila was sleeping.

Or was she?

She made a decision then. One that might cost her her life, but one she knows it's time she sees through.

Tomorrow night, after Wolfaraine goes to the elephant clan...she will wake Nalaila up.

She has to plead with her to go out of that dungeonroom to recuperate.