What now?
Terra
Once, many years ago, I watched as one of my best friends died in front of me. A bear attack was devastating, and his animal succumbed to the strongest. When I went to help him, his body was convulsing, and his eyes were unfocused. But that wasn't what caught on in my mind, it was the moment his soul left his body.
I managed to see his spirit rise, leaving his body empty. It became a shell that would be absorbed by the nature to generate more life.
This is how I feel, empty. My body is cold, and there is no thought that can comfort me.
She is tightly held by my mate's hand, clinging. Even though he is mine. Even though she got in the way of our fate. And he was at her side, forming a common barrier against me. Supporting her. Showing me that I am nobody in his eyes, that she is ultimately the one who has his heart in her hands.
Not me, though.
But Michael was wrong about something fundamental, I saw everything, and I felt everything. His despair at my suffering, and what he would be able to do for me. It is that side of him that must be unearthed. And when I did, neither she nor anyone will be further important to him, but me.
But how to proceed now? What should I do, goddess? Why did you put me in these circumstances?
“Terra, it is clear that you cannot remain in this pack. In a couple of hours, you have created problems that we have never experienced before. I as Alpha will not put the safety of my community at risk for a stranger.”
Here I am, with a hole in my side, and he's saying that I'm the one putting his pack in danger?
“You must leave my territory, and never return. I am entitled to refuse any request to join us. And before you do, I'm telling you that you're not welcome.”
Before answering him, I looked down at my wound and saw that it was almost healed. It still burns, but in a few more minutes it will be like nothing happened. But seeing my side bleeding, and then the ground, where a small pool of blood had formed, the solution I was looking for so much arose. The goddess must have helped me, I knew it was her, telling me to fight for what was mine.
I looked up, and with determination, I said, “That's right Alpha, you are entitled to reject or accept whoever you want, but this time I request retribution. My blood was shed without provocation and I demanded that the culprit be punished. The laws of the wolf so dictate, and even though this is an isolated pack, those same laws apply to everyone.”
When I finished speaking, I felt Michael's fury wash over me in searing waves. I was playing a dangerous game, but what else could I do? Lose him without trying to win his love first? No, that's not me. He is mine, and if the goddess had not destined him for me, I would not be here. He owes me this.
So, armed with more courage, I continue, “I demanded fair treatment. Our race has laws that apply to everyone. Or what Alpha, you guys are above them?”
Of course, since I'm not going to proceed against Laura, I'm just looking to buy time for him to see that we're fated. For him to get to know me.
I observed in detail the austere decoration of the cabin that had been assigned to me. A bed, a small armchair, and a tiny kitchen. That was all. At least I had made it. I had infiltrated and that's what counted.
I closed my eyes, reliving the moment when my beloved mentally contacted one of his wolves to bring me here. I felt that moment as a complete triumph, but at the same time, it was hard, since Miguel's face only showed revulsion, making me feel that everything I had achieved was going to be for nothing.
She and he left the office hand in hand, while I was left with the bitterness of knowing that they will go home, to their daughter, to play happy family. And I stayed back, picking up the fragments of my soul that, although I amend them, the scars they left will surely remain forever.
I walked over to the bed and lay back, thinking about my next move.
Michael will, without hesitation, defend his wife's actions, but that will require a few days for things to settle down and for my case to be presented. However, my task will be to show him how immensely happy he and I could be. Show him how great my love for him is. And that he can also free himself from the burden that he imposed on himself when he joined her. He will never be fully happy without me, and he will waste his existence and this great opportunity for both of us for someone who doesn't deserve him. Someone who is not meant for him.
I closed my eyes and let the dreams of a better future invade me, blocking out my terrible and precarious reality.
In my sleep, I heard a noise, but I wasn't fully awake yet to respond. But the persistent not-so-friendly knock on the door definitely did the trick.
I opened my eyes, which surely had red veins everywhere, and I took off the blanket that was on top of me. I sat up in bed and said out loud, “Wait a minute”. After that, the knocking stopped. I got up and went to one of the armchairs where I had left the coat that Michael had given me the night before. It was the only thing I had to cover my nakedness.
I put it on and headed for the door. When I opened it, a wolf was standing in front of me, arms crossed over his chest. Threatening. I knew that he wanted to intimidate me. Fortunately, all these years on the road had taught me to defend myself. I am not vulnerable as I look, and above all, I know how to counterattack.
“What can I do for you?” I said while closing the buttons of my coat.
The man in front of me, seeing me, made a surprised face, and remained in the same position, until I asked him again, “Is there something you want from me? Or this is a guessing game, and you want me to guess why you are here?”
I raised an eyebrow, waiting for his reaction. And I am not disappointed. He blinked several times and his head moved slightly to the side, exposing his neck. But the funny thing about this and what made me laugh out loud in his face was that it seemed like he was fighting himself not to move further.
Nature always wins in the end in our society, since we are more animals than humans. And apparently, I'm a dominant animal in this pack.
And after that inconvenient incident for him, and with his cheeks red with embarrassment, he clean his throat and said, “Come with me.”
Without waiting for me to answer, he turned around and started walking. I shook my head and closed the door of the cabin to later follow him. And as I did so, I said out loud, “What's the problem with this pack that no one bothers to introduce themselves?”
