Page 38

IN A TROUBLED, CHAOTIC MIND.

I t was that voice again.

That soothing, peaceful voice which It has come to look forward to since she started visiting here.

How long has passed? How does time work?

It does not know. Holed up in a dark room where it was never night or day, It has no idea how time works.

But that voice soothed It. Most times, in the past, It does not listen to what that voice said, It only listens to the voice.

Not only because the voice is soothing, but also because the voice jests a lot. She does not give important news, she just goes on and on and on, about anything and everything.

The first time It got past the distinctive human scent and listened to that voice, It recognized it instantly.

The girl from the labs.

It is Her.

It does not know her name, but It knows it's the same girl. The same voice.

This chaotic mind never forgets.

That voice sat in front of Its brother's cage to tell him stories a long time ago. In that hell. They always listened. Not just Its brother...all of them.

That voice had been too soothing. Too Angelic...if angels existed.

It still is.

Tonight, that voice came with a story that drew It in. The story made this chaotic mind hurt.

The story that made this chaotic mind bleed.

When Nalaila opened her eyes, Ismena stopped breathing for a few seconds. Quickly, she wiped the tears from her eyes, just to see clearly.

The wolf uncurled its body and rose to its full height. It put a paw in front of another and another and another until it stood at the very front of the bars that separated them.

Ismena held her breath. The first thought that popped into her mind was; that amber eyes looks so much like his. Like Wolfariane’s .

For a moment, she had no idea what she was expecting. What was going to happen.

Will she roar in rage at her because she's human?

Will she break through the bars and eat her alive?

But, Ismena didn't run. She forced herself not to.

Instead, she just stood and looked carefully.

They watched each other, quietly. Silently.

Wolfaraine and his Alphas spent hours scouting around the area the Wild Psycho had attacked in.

They extended their search, combing the entire area. But they were still unable to come up with anything, not even a scent. They'd sniffed the corpse of the victims and their belongings which the killer might have touched while carrying out the crime. Yet, they got nothing.

It was frustrating. It was excruciating. It was tormenting.

Finally, when it was really obvious that they were getting nowhere with the search, he gave the order for them to wrap things up.

They did so.

Afterward, the Alphas took the bodies of the dead out and buried them.

It was well after midnight by the night they headed back to the manor house of the Elephant Alpha. They all lowered themselves to whatever seats they could find. A few sat on the floor, while some even sat at a table .

No one was looking for comfortability when there has been a brutal murder not just of a person but a whole family of six. There was silence filled with mourning and no one bothered to break it.

Unlike when they come together for a meeting in the Meeting Hall of the Tower, no one was attempting to make jokes.

Head Sentinel Rodarh walked torpidly towards the firepit and made a fire for them to keep warm.

"We continue this investigation tomorrow." Wolfaraine declared at last, "Everyone should get some rest. We are no good to this case if our senses are dull from lack of rest."

That said, he walked past them towards the other door that leads to the balcony. Outside, he closed the door behind him. Resting his hands on the rails, he stared out at nothing but darkness.

His head was pounding—has been pounding for the past few days too. But, it had gotten worse. He was so tired, that he could feel it in his bones.

But, he was too restless to sleep. His heart was in a rage after seeing those corpses. In pain.

So much on his mind, he doubted if he would ever get a peaceful sleep when he decides to lie down and close his eyes. He highly doubted that.

"You should try and sleep too, Alpha King. I can practically feel the restlessness of the King Wolf." The deep, familiar voice of Adanel came up from behind him.

Wolfaraine did not turn. "I used to do a better job of guarding my emotions."

"When you are well-rested. Not when you have gone seven days without sleeping or going for a run, and more than that period of time without the sexual touch of your mate. "

It does not seem like the wolf wanted to hurt her, Ismena thought.

It boosted her hope. It elevated her courage.

She took a step forward, closer to the wolf, watching its movement. The wolf did not react aggressively or anything. That's a plus.

Another step forward. And another. And another.

Ismena stood in front of the bars. Now, she is within grabbing distance. With quick reflexes, it can grab her and twist her neck.

Then, hellooooo...Death.

But the wolf didn't. It just watched her, with glassy, amber eyes.

"Hi. I-I'm Ismena. I'm sorry for waking you up if you were ever sleeping." She cleared her throat, "You are the first wolf I've come this close to. Well, there is your brother, but he was raving mad at me at night. After fighting Wild Ones, I rode on his angry fur-back on the way home."

Damn, this is the worst time to blab. But then again, whenever she was nervous, she might as well be wearing a crown for Blab Queen.

"Don't blame me, please. I tend to blab a lot when I'm nervous, you know.

" A nervous laugh, "You hate me and you hate my kind.

It's actually foolish of me to be here but I had to try.

Even if I'm scared, and I know you know I am.

You can smell it, but I can't help myself.

I mean you can reach out through this thing and tear me apart. "

What are you saying, Ismena!?

She stretched her arms, palm out, "I'm not saying you should do it, okay? I'm just pointing out what I know you know I know you can do." She licked her lips anxiously, "Anyway, I'm not saying you should do it. I understand that you're mad at the world and— "

She snapped her mouth shut when the wolf lowered its head down a bit until its head became level with her eyes, then it stopped.

Almost as if it was offering her its head...to stroke.

Hesitantly, Ismena raised her hand and stroked the wolf's head.

It did not pull away.

"Oh, my God..." She whispered under her breath. Fresh tears filled her eyes.

The wolf wanted to be stroked.

So, she did. She stroked her hand through the soft furs of its head, touching her tentatively.

"Please fight to live longer, Nalaila. Please." She whispered again.

She saw another teardrop from the eyes of the wolf, and it broke Ismena's heart. If only she wasn't so afraid, she'll steal the key to these bars from the Sentinel in charge, open this gate and take this wolf out herself.

But she was afraid and she wasn't stupid either. A lot could go wrong. She's courageous, not suicidal.

Hours later, Ismena laid under the duvet, trying to get some sleep.

She was smiling as she kept her eyes closed, waiting for the loving arms of sleep to embrace her.

This night felt like a breakthrough to her. She'd reached Nalaila. She felt too happy. There was a euphoric feeling inside her like she'd accomplished something important. And she had .

She might not have gotten Nalaila to change back into her human form, she might not even have succeeded in changing the wolf's mind about going outside, but at least she was able to reach the wolf.

The wolf had allowed her to stroke her head. It had listened to her. It heard her.

It never pounced on her to devour her like she'd feared it would.

Oh, it was an accomplishment, alright! A huge one!

"Good job, Ismena." She praised herself as she closed her eyes again.

Wolfaraine did not even bother to ask how Adanel knew all those. The male is the head Sentinel of the werewolf clan.

If anything happens to him today, he's much as capable as Cronus to take over leadership of the werewolf clan as the strongest werewolf.

But then again, the leadership will go to Cronus because he is older. Even if Adanel is stronger.

"What are you doing out here?" Wolfaraine asked instead.

"I needed the fresh air." He shrugged, "It's hard being in there."

"It's bad for Rodarh and Onaries." Adanel groaned, breaking the silence, "Rodarh is the head Sentinel and he's been leading the clan for months since Onaries went to the human world to attend to some business.

He would be feeling like he'd failed his people.

..especially since this happened on his watch. "

Wolfaraine felt that. It was a burden he understood more than anyone. "Alpha Onaries rushed back to Naturiah today as soon as he heard the news. I cannot begin to imagine how he must be feeling. "

"It's a hard time for the Elephants. But they are strong. They will get past it." Adanel replied in a cool tone.

Silence descended upon them. Tension filled the air.

"Did you ever get past it? Did you ever get passed what happened?" Wolfaraine spared him a glance then.

The male stiffened slightly. Any other person would have missed that reaction, but Wolfaraine wasn't just anybody.

The silence that followed that question was deafening.

"No." The calm reply came at last, "No, I never got past it. But, I'm trying so hard." He shook his head, "It's not easy."

"It is not." Old pains surfaced again. He felt the werewolf sentinel's pains too.

Adanel is the one man in Naturiah that can understand his pains on a personal level.

They were in hell together eighteen years ago. They both lost something precious to them. And he was to blame for all of them.

He lost Nalaila and Pouty in that hellhole. He lost his people too. Adanel lost his mate.

Wolfaraine turned towards him, "I am sorry for what happened."

The male took a deep breath. His lips curved in a small smile that was supposed to mask his pain. "It was not your fault. Humans are to blame for it. We did not drug ourselves. We did not pair ourselves."

"The humans know that you were the strongest and you were our leader, so they paired you with every female available. Every single female in that hellhole...including my mate." He swallowed tightly .

"I am sorry." He repeatedly softly.

He'd carried this guilt among others for the past eighteen years. Adanel has always been less of a talker, calm, and reserved since he was a young lad. But, that day in the lab, he'd almost gone crazy.

Those screams of anguish as another male raped his mate. Those roars of misery, those shouts carved with raw pain.

They'd stayed with Wolfaraine for the past eighteen years.

"Aimee and I were unfortunate." He said mirthlessly, drawing Wolfaraine's attention back to the present. "We just found each other two weeks ago, only be to abduct. It only happened because I was foolish. Aimee's death was my fault, Alpha King. No one else's."

He shrugged, "Aimee did not die from being paired with you.

She died five days later from those drugs that were injected into her.

She was among the werewolves that couldn't survive those barbaric injections.

" Sad eyes surveyed his hands as if he was expecting to see blood.

"I never blamed you for her death. It was all my fault. "

"It was not your fault. As you said, she was captured, unfortunately. Do not blame yourself for what happened. I know your mate will never blame you for it."

"I would have loved to find out about that but she is dead, right? We will never know." Adanel shook his head, "It's a cross I have to bear. Alone. Always alone. For the rest of my life."

He turned to leave and stopped. "I know you don't see it as much, but I see it as a blessing that Nalaila survived that hell. Yes, she is trapped inside her wolf but she is alive. And as long as there is life, there is hope. "

Long after Adanel left, Wolfaraine remained outside staring into the darkness. Staring into the shadows of his painful pasts, and his bleak future.