Aries

There! Another update! Enjoy!

Steam rose from my skin as I stepped out of the shower. Zahra, Silas’ mate, had left a set of clean clothes as she had promised. Taking a towel, I dried myself and ripped the covers of new underwear and bra. Next to it, was a pair of dark blue jeggings and a cream coloured sweatshirt.

Apparently, owning a bar, and a fashion line through your mate had certain perks.

Never had I felt so clean in my life. I had taken things for granted on Western Pack and I was paying a price for it.

I nearly squealed at the sight of the converse Zahra had kept next to the bed. May Amaris shine upon her!

Quickly getting ready, I took in a deep breath and saw the still room. This was much smaller than the one I had back at Western Pack, but it made me feel welcome than anything has in the past few days. Sighing, I pulled the master card of the room and headed down.

Rhaze was browsing through something in a tab while Zahra was making some noodles. From the perfect combination of spices used, I could tell what a cook she must be. I licked my lips and sat on the chair next to my sister.

“Seriously, Miguel?” Silas shouted in an annoyed tone. But I could hear a pinch of nostalgia in that voice. “Even after all these years? I can’t believe you!”

Slamming the door behind him, the vampire came out of the room, which was on the same floor as the kitchen was, and hugged his mate straight away.

Zahra laughed gently and patted his shoulder. When her brown eyes met mine, I smiled.

I could never stop to thank this pair. The place which we had knocked on for Silas had been the bar the green haired vampire owned. He had taken us to his own house which was thankfully away from the city.

“Thank you, Zahra,” I said. “For… everything.”

She shook her head and waved her spoon. “Not me, honey. Thank my mate.”

At this Silas frowned and took his seat opposite to my sister. “Don’t thank me just yet.” Then he raised his voice. “Miguel has a lot of explaining to do.”

At this, Rhaze said without even looking up, “I thought you both would have had the opportunity to talk while we girls were getting refreshed. After all, a girl takes ages, does she not to get ready?”

Silas’s eyes darkened. “Watch your tone, pup.”

“Watch yours,” I growled back, without a single thought. No one threatened my pack. No one.

While Silas was about to say something, Zahra placed her hand over his shoulder. “Calm down, my love. She has been Alpha for less than a week and her control is great than any other Alpha I have seen out there these days. Just don’t try to rile her up now.”

Gritting his teeth, Silas nodded. “As you wish.”

Rhaze slowly raised her head.

He sighed. “If you have not noticed, Miguel takes more time than anybody.”

Then the door through which Silas had come out opened and revealed a fresh looking Miguel. His shaggy beard which he claimed to have cut by a rock was gone and the dirt that had caked his skin abandoned him.

The shine his deep brown eyes had told me the years he has missed. The laughter lines his face had come to life. His muscles were toned yet had thinned. A proper diet ought to see him fine. But how he managed to stay without his muscles getting atrophied was a mystery to me.

“Were you gossiping about me?” he asked placing a hand over his chest.

“Yes,” Silas snapped. “About your ballet lessons and your kolam skills.”

Kolam was a form of art, that involved a lot of dots and complicated pattern around it. Usually, it was drawn before the house with a special white powder. Some said it was to please the Moon above and others said it was to ground the energy the universe had. The truth could lie somewhere in between. Not to mention, some old people could tell what the person or the family was feeling by just looking at the kolam. Whatever it may be, traditionally, it was done by the females of the household.

Miguel smirked. “Damn right. Find one person who can beat me at kolam.”

My eyes widened. I had always wanted to learn how to draw that. Those curves and lines they spun around little dots fascinated me. But I never found the right teacher.

Zahra laughed. “Silas showed me a few examples of the ones you drew back in the days. I have to admit, they are amazing.”

Miguel was pleased with himself. Then he smiled at Zahra. “I never thought a day would come for this idiot to settle down.”

Zahra gave her mate an adoring smile. “This idiot before you was a hopeless romantic. When I wanted to chase my dream of fashion designing, he persuaded me. And by Kamaria, he was persuasive.”

Miguel started at Zahra and then at his friend. “She is not lying, is she?”

Silas groaned. “No.”

At this Miguel gave Silas a proud smile. “You finally learnt your lesson.”

Silas rolled eyes but said nothing else.

Rhaze then asked, “You still became a fashion designer, right?”

The female vampire smiled. “Yes. But I opened ’Shadowlife’ with my friend, after being mated for five years.”

She pulled her chestnut brown hair into a bun and left us to take the noodles. Looking at each other, Rhaze and I got up to help her. Inside the kitchen, I could hear the tale Miguel was narrating, but I tuned it off. Listening to his life story in the dungeon would bring tears to my eyes again.

Zahra was a truly unique female. She had met us and her mate said we needed help. Immediately, she had called her office for some clothes. If she had wanted, she could have called the patrols. Ethan had made sure that we would be known as fugitives. Yet, she stood by us, just because Miguel was her mate’s friend.

Her eyes widened when she saw me enter the kitchen. She chuckled lightly, “I have never met an Alpha who spends time in a kitchen.”

“She can cook,” Rhaze commented. Taking a sniff of the food, she added, “Not this great, but enough to survive on her skills.”

“I bet that’s enough,” I said dryly.

Zahra said, “More than enough. The only reason I know how to cook is because of a human slave our household had when I was seventeen. Poor little thing. I used to cook for her. And soon I learnt that I love to cook.”

Rhaze started at her. “And I have never met a vampire who cooked for her human slave.”

Zahra laughed and sprinkled some last-minute garnish. “My family was linked to my coven’s Epsilon, the second in command. You can imagine the power it came with. I never fit in anyway. They had decided to mate me to the Southern coven’s Theta. When they saw me being so friendly with the humans, they wanted to hasten the process. Then… Silas tumbled into my coven. I literally fled with him.”

I blinked. “Your family wanted to mate to a vampire who was not your mate?”

Zahra nodded. “Power was all they cared about. Mateship was lost. It has been for more than five hundred years. And even more common in the past two hundred years.”

I frowned. “Histories say that one mate cannot live without the other. Yet, I see many defying it.”

Zahra paused her actions and gave me a pointed look. “Your mate rejected you, did he not?”

I held my breath. But looking into her warm brown eyes, I could not help but nod. “Yes, he did.”

Instead of looking with sympathy and pity like I had expected her to, she looked at me with pride, her face adorned with a smirk. “I am glad to know you. Unlike so many, you haven’t fallen in the clutches of despair.”

“Should she?” Rhaze asked.

Zahra chuckled softly and shook her head. “No. I am glad to see a female standing up for her friends though.”

I looked away. “But I did fail my father and a friend.”

Zahra gave the bowl of noodles to my sister and hugged me. “You cannot bear the burden of the world, Lyra. Do you feel like their deaths were because of you? Then prove the memories you have of them, that you are worth their sacrifice.”

I nodded and returned her hug.

Rhaze cleared her throat. “Can we eat?”

Zahra pulled away and led the way out again. I took the plates in one hand and a jug of water in another.

“... vampire,” Miguel said. “Omicron Cathara Rynvor. And a star.”

Zahra’s eyes widened. “Omicron Rynvor?”

Miguel paused from his conversation and looked at the female vampire in confusion. “You know Omicron. Rynvor?”

Zahra frowned and took a seat next to her mate. “I am from Southern coven.”

Miguel’s eyebrows that had joined parted. “Southern coven, you say? Do you know who Omicron Cathara Rynvor is?”

Zahra’s jaws were set tight. “She was called the murderer of a tribe. She murdered her mate then and then her child.” At this Miguel’s face contorted in anger. Seeing his expression, Zahra added, “But Elder Emily says otherwise. She has lived long enough. She says Cathara’s mate was killed by her adopted son and she sought out revenge.”

Miguel snarled. “So that’s what your Omicron has been spewing about Cathara is it?”

I took my seat next to Miguel and Rhaze took it between me and Zahra, completing the circle.

“Miguel… she has not met Cat,” I whispered.

Zahra looked at Miguel, me and then at Rhaze. “You all have met her?”

“It is because of her that I am alive,” I said, looking at the female vampire from the Southern coven. “She saved me.”

Zahra looked away. “I can’t believe it. I was grown up listening to cruel stories of Cathara and here you say she saved your life. I don’t know what to believe.”

Miguel closed his eyes. “Who is your current Omicron?”

“Not mine,” Zahra said sharply. “I left my coven and moved to neutral lands under Royal’s link. I choose to acknowledge only the Monarch and not any Omicrons, Alphas and Zayins.”

Miguel nodded. “Agreed. But who is the Southern coven’s Omicron?”

“Omicron Akira Yildo,” she said. “She is the descendant of Omicron Cathara’s brother.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Cathara had a brother?”

Miguel clenched a fist. “She did. But… he was not well. He had a disease, Sey’s disease. The one in which their fangs don’t function. She said how she did everything to protect him.”

Zahra served us food with utmost calmness. Rhaze coughed a little and Silas poured a glass of water.

The female vampire then looked Miguel dead in his eyes and said, “Tell me everything.”

And he did, without sugar-coating any gory and violence.

*******

It was midnight by the time Zahra was convinced it was safe for us to leave. When she heard the true story of Cathara, she was revolted but shed a few tears as well. Later, she had cried in her mate’s arms, saying how cruel her coven’s ancestors had been.

“We will take our leave,” Rhaze said, standing before their house.

Silas had a set of keys in his hands. “Take it,” he said, pushing them in my sister’s hands.

Miguel shook his head. “No. We will run.”

Silas shot his an annoyed look. “I know what a savage you are. That’s why I am giving it to the girl.”

Miguel sighed and folded his arms across his chest. “We need to run. Lyra can get these anger episodes, seeing she is a new Alpha and we need to be on feet. We cannot confine her now itself. Not to mention, she cannot be in a small box that moves for more than an hour. It will be deleterious.”

Zahra hugged her mate sideways. “He is right, my love. Leave them be.”

Silas did not look happy, but he pocketed the keys. “I hope you know how to reach Varian.”

“Can’t wait to meet Arien,” he said.

I could not help but fight the smirk my lips were threatening to show. In a few days time, I would meet the male who saved me.

Zahra rolled her eyes at her mate and then hugged us all - even Miguel in spite of Silas glaring at her. When she hugged me, she whispered, “Silas’ men, one of them spotted a which following you. Be careful.”

I smiled and returned her hug. “I knew someone was following us. I had a feeling. We shall see.”

She smirked. “It was foolish to follow an Alpha.”

I released her. “Does Silas know?”

Her smirk widened. “I read the message and deleted it. But knowing him, he probably knows.”

I laughed out loud. By Amaris! I loved her.

“What is it?” Silas asked, looking between us.

What is it? Another voice asked in my mind.

“Nothing,” Zahra replied as she went and stood next to him.

Someone is following us, I said Rhaze who managed to have a blank face. A witch, Zahra says.

Let’s see who that bitch is. There was smugness in her voice.

Saying our goodbyes, we left, running with all we had. Varian was someone who might have an idea what happened, or so Miguel and Silas said.

When we were quite far away from Silas’ house, Miguel asked, “Someone is following us, aren’t they?”

When I gave him a bewildered look, he sighed, “I am a shifter and Silas a vampire. Did you think we did not hear what Zahra said?”

I sewed my mouth shut.

“And, kid,” he said softly as the trees passed us in nothing but a blur and Rhaze swiftly running exactly three steps behind me. “I am proud of you that you noticed someone following us.”

*******

It took us five nights to reach the local village near to the Eastern Coven. Five days since we slept fitfully. Five days since we even ate something properly. We had stopped just thrice for water and two times for sleep. How we survived on just five hours of sleep until now, I had no answer for that.

The locals gave us a weird look and moved away when we made our way deeper into the town. This was a small coven, under the Eastern Coven.

The night was quite lively. The moon was half present and the stars were trying their best to compensate for the rest the half of the moon. Lights from many stores winked at us and the street lamps brightly glowed. It was not a secret that the Eastern Coven was rich. Advertisements flashes on big boards and in the list of fugitives, thankfully none of our names came up.

Perhaps, no one heard from Alpha Verir here or Silas might have had something to do.

At the end of the street, was a cheap bar, whose name ’Darkmoon’ flickered. Females and males with cigarette, alcohol and drugs made their way in. A strong stench of sex permeated the air. I wrinkled my nose and saw from my peripheral vision that Miguel and Rhaze weren’t doing much better.

In spite of all of it, Miguel made his way into the bar. I was about to protest, but he had already pushed the door and made his way in.

Should we go in? Rhaze groaned.

Yes, I replied.

Despite the horrible stench and the music that tore my ears, something in me urged to enter. This push was much different than the one I felt towards Ethan. So much different. While for him, I was ready to burn myself, towards this feeling, I wanted to survive the fire that threatened to consume me.

Though I could tell she was against it, she entered ’Darkmoon’ with me. The putrid smell of alcohol hit my nose hard. Licking my lips, I tried to locate Miguel.

The upbeat song that was playing a few seconds ago ended and a raunchy song began. When it did, all the people in the bar gave a loud shout and went to dance, even the ones who were sitting when I entered.

Only three males were sitting at the other end of the bar. Even from this distance and bad lighting, I could tell one of them was Miguel. One male had red hair while the other had hair as dark as midnight. My stomach flipped at the sight.

The dark-haired male lazily swept his gaze across the bar, as though he was the least bit interested in the conversation Miguel was having with the red-haired male. Then his eyes landed on me and I sucked in a deep breath. It was as though he knew I was seeing him.

His eyes were silver, piercing through my soul. He tilted his head and swept his gaze on me, sizing me up. When he looked at my face again, my cheeks burned and my breathing became heavy.

Was he Arien?

He must be. No one else’s eyes could pull me in as his could. There was something about those eyes that made me hold my breath. Even when he had come to meet me alone, I saw something in them. I saw the same thing in his eyes tonight, but I did not know what it was. Was it surprise? Or was it shock?

I inhaled sharply. I could recognise that damned scent anywhere. While Ethan’s citrus scent had been toe-curling scent, Arien’s scent undid me. There was no way I would not recognise that scent anywhere. I confirmed who was there.

He locked his eyes with mine for a few minutes before he turned away chuckling.

What had just happened?

Rhaze pulled my sleeve. Lyra! What the hell is happening? I have been calling you for the past two minutes.

Nothing, I said, somehow without shuttering. Just saw someone interesting.

I could feel my sister narrow her gaze on me. Very well. The witch who was following us just entered this bar. What should we do?

This was the first time she was asking me what to do. She had always been elder to me, taking most of the hard decisions for me, when I was unable to take one. But now, I could not say that it would work.

We will catch her, I said. I need to know why she is following us.

Rhaze nodded. But then again, how was she able to sniff the witch out in this place? I shook my head. This told me how much I had to learn.

I tried locating that dark-haired male, but he was nowhere in sight. Sighing, I followed Rhaze.

She moved through the dancing people and caught a hand. It was then the scent became prominent to me. It was a scent that I had smelt in the Kaleth Grasslands of Northern Tribe. There had been only three witches there. One had been the Zayin, other Tzade and the last Reish of the tribe.

It would make no sense for the Zayin to follow us and the Tzade had made sure to show us she hated us. Was it the Reish who had followed us?

When Rhaze pulled her, I suppressed my smirk. It was Reish. The red-haired witch smiled when she saw Rhaze catching her hand.

“Found me finally?” she asked.

Rhaze was in a trance. She kept staring at the witch as though she was a rare artefact. Her lips parted and she was breathing only because that action was involuntary. Kaina smirked at my sister.

Rhaze! I called in her mind.

But her mind was blank as a new paper. Not a single thought existed other than the witch’s face which she was seeing.

“Rhaze!” I called again and this time she shook her head and glared at her.

“What did you do to me?” Rhaze seethed, tightening her grip over Kaina.

But the witch seemed to be not in pain. If anything, she did nothing to release her hand from my beta’s clutches.

“Nothing,” Kaina chuckled. “You froze on your own.”

Before Rhaze could say anything, Kaina began to pull her towards a table.

Sitting down, she gestured for us to sit. The music switched to a slow sultry song. Few people began to sit down.

“What is it?” Kaina asked.

“You were the one following us,” I said. “You should explain.”

Kaina rose her eyebrows. “Following you? I am the Reish of my tribe. Why should I follow you? Do you have proof?”

“Then what are you doing here?” I asked sharply.

“To have a treaty between the Eastern Coven and Northern Tribe,” she said and I could hear the smile she was trying to suppress

“You are the Reish, not Ayin of your tribe,” I said. “If you wanted a treaty, your Zayin would have sent the Ayin. Not you, the third in command who trains her tribe.”

Kaina sighed. “What if she really sent me? What if Ayin was hurt? What if-”

“I saw you,” Rhaze said softly cutting Kaina. “I saw you for a second while we were running and I had thought I was hallucinating. Now I can be sure that I had really seen you.”

Kaina looked at my sister. After a second she shrugged. “Yes, I was following you. What of it now?”

“Why?” I asked.

Who was she to follow us? Was she working for Ethan?

Kaina said, “My Zayin was worried for your safety Alpha Lyra. She wanted me to protect you.”

I blinked. “Why? Don’t you have a treaty with Western Pack? Does that not say you to hand us over to Alpha Verir?”

Kaina closed her eyes. “I know what it means to be rejected.”

At first, I thought I heard it wrong. It was when I felt my sister’s shock I realised that I had heard it right.

Rhaze’s eyes softened. “Is that why you followed us?”

“In a way,” she replied. “But I really did want to protect you. Alioth was really concerned.”

I resisted the urge to laugh. When Alioth had said that I would get an invite, she had not been kidding.

Rhaze shook her head. “That one had really thought through.”

I laughed. And when I turned to locate Miguel and his red-haired friend, they were stood up and began to walk towards us.

My laughter stopped when they came and took their seats me. One seat was free between the Miguel and Rhaze as the new red-haired male sat next to me. By the similarity of his scent, I knew he too was a shifter like Miguel.

“This is Alpha Lyra?” he asked, looking at me.

I met his stare. I would not back down, even if this male was a shifter. “Yes,” I said curtly.

His lips broke into a smile. “I am Varian. I used to be the Gamma of the Winter Pack about nine hundred years ago.”

I blinked. “Gamma?”

He smiled and hit Miguel’s head. “With this idiot as the Delta.”

My eyes widened. “You were a Delta, Miguel?”

“Of the Winter Pack?” Rhaze asked, matching my disbelief.

“You both are shifters,” Kaina said in a soft voice.

Varian smiled at the Reish of Northern tribe. “Yes, we are.”

Miguel pouted. “You would never believe me. That’s why I never told you!”

Rhaze shook her head. “I still can’t.”

Varian chuckled and turned towards me. “It’s been ages since I saw a shifter. Glad to meet you.”

I nodded. “Pleasure is mine.”

Then he looked at my sister. “How are you related to the young Alpha?”

“She is my sister and my Alpha,” Rhaze said. “I am her Beta.”

Varian nodded and asked the same question to Kaina.

“I am not related,” Kaina said, pushing her russet curls back. “I am here to protect her because she had won the favour of a star.”

“A star?” A smooth voice asked from behind me. The masculinity in that voice made shivers run up my spine. It was the same voice that pulled me from oblivion.

Then he came forward and took the empty seat, as though it was waiting for him. He was the same male who had made my heart race when I entered the bar. The dark-haired male with silver eyes. The one who had a face that I could never forget. The male who saved me. His face was handsome, sharp and defined. If he was this handsome, why had he come to the Dungeons covering his face?

I gulped.

“Who is it?” he asked Kaina.

“A-alioth,” she shuttered.

I internally sighed. Thank Amaris. I was not the only one affected.

A small smirk lit his face and that made my insides twist. “Alioth? Ursa’s daughter.”

Who is he? Rhaze asked me, her voice breathy.

Before I could answer, he looked at Rhaze with a pointed look. “Ask a question concerning me to me.”

I nearly blanched. Who was he? How could he intervene in a pack bond? What race did he belong to?

“Who are you?” I asked, hoping he would know that I was not just meaning his name.

A dark smile curled itself over his face, while his silver eyes betrayed a flash of surprise like he did not expect me to ask that question. “Arien.”

Hey there! What do you think of Zahra, Arien and Varian?

Did you expect Kaina to follow them?

Also, I am having loads of work in the upcoming weeks. I have a very right schedule till the end of Feb.

I can’t guarantee frequent updates.

~Quill