Chapter 13
Zane and I continued sparring until I grew exhausted. I still hadn't recovered from the two weeks in the cell so I decided to take a break. The dark skinned man, Apollo, took that opportunity to show me the weapons table, which was his forte. "So who designed these weapons?" I asked, inspecting the intricate patterns on the swords and axes.
He was quite excitable and had me laughing in no time.
"We have a dedicated family that has been designing them since the start of this pack. They're as old as the alpha's family," he boasted.
He picked up an axe, admiring the beautiful artwork on the deadly silver before he pulled his arm back and threw it at the target. It hit the center of the head shape and he gave me a cocky smirk over his shoulder.
I rolled my eyes at him, walking around the table, examining each weapon and admiring the art pieces on them.
The patterns looked tribal, the delicate swirls and spirals almost looking so out of place such deadly weapon. One of them, however, was not like the others.
It was a small dagger and instead of being a shiny silver, the blade was a dark deep indigo. The handle was made out of black leather that was surprisingly comfortable to hold.
The design of the guard between the handle and the blade was what intrigued me the most. In the center was a pale full moon, drawn in silver with two crescent moons on either side, facing away from it.
It almost seemed to glow in the light as I inspected it. The symbols were similar to the ones on my back, and I wished Diana was here and I could ask her what exactly they meant.
As I held the blade in the low light of the cloudy sun, I noticed how the colour changed from deep indigo to violet, depending on the way the light hit it. I pressed my finger along the blade and was surprised at how deep and smooth it cut my skin. "That's a prototype," A voice spoke from besides me. I turned to see it was Vaughan, the pale man who had been quite sharp earlier. I learnt he was the pack gamma.
"It's beautiful," I admired. "Lightweight and quite sharp. Why aren't there more? I'm sure this could be an improvement from those heavy axes and all,"
He gave me a long look, his face unreadable as he gazed at me intensely with his light eyes. I was confused by his reaction. I thought my suggestion was perfectly valid and logical.
"I mean I'm not telling you how to run your army but-,"
"Luna this blade is made from wolfsbane," he interrupted. I blinked at him, not sure what surprised me more; the title he gave me or the fact that I was holding such a deadly weapon.
"That blade is made mostly of wolfsbane extract with some silver to give it strength," he continued. "Most of the wolves can't hold it for longer than five minutes without getting lightheaded from the smell of it," I furrowed my brows at him. I held the blade closer to my face, taking a quick whiff.
Smell? I couldn't smell anything. Well I could, but it was nothing toxic or putrid. I could smell something strong and earthy coming from the blade as well as the metallic tang associated with silver, but that was it. Was my nose defective?
"I don't think I have the best sense of smell," I muttered. "I think it's safe to say I have a defective nose," I stated, putting the blade back down on the table.
As if to contradict my earlier statement, my nose caught wind of the most heavenly scent. I unconsciously inhaled, my chest suddenly filled with longing and my body itching to seek out the owner of that scent.
I turned my head, to face the the trees where I knew the owner of that scent would be approaching from. After a minute or two, his glorious half naked form broke through the trees and my eyes drank in the sight hungrily.
His jaw was clenched, his lips twisted downwards and his whole body looked tense. As if sensing my gaze, his eyes snapped to me, icy blues latching onto my light brown eyes.
For a moment, I felt the ache in my chest stop and my body relax under his gaze. But he snapped out of whatever trance he was in, his eyes leaving me and snapping to Vaughan besides me.
His frown deepened and for a second, I thought he would storm over my way and demand what I was doing with his warriors, but he didn't.
I was disappointed.
I sighed, shaking myself from my thoughts. The mate bond was messing with me. It was making me into a desperate attention seeker. I turned back to the table, choosing something else to focus on.
I was fighting to keep my sanity. I was trying to be patient, to let him build up the courage to tell me what was wrong, why exactly he was fighting this bond. It was wearing down on both of us.
It was clear Aurelius had issues and from what I observed, it had something to do with his mother. She was never spoken of and Elric has closed off when I once asked about the Luna of the pack.
As much as my heart bled for him and whatever he was going through, I was finding it difficult to not snap and break at all the pain and suffering he was putting through.
I could handle being locked in a cell, but the constant ache in my chest and the constant longing was driving me insane.
Suddenly, I felt exhausted.
"I think you should go home. You need to rest," The soft and concerned tone from Vaughan surprised me and I looked at him quizzically.
He didn't speak further, instead, a wolf approached us, standing opposite me in a militaristic stance.
"I'll escort you to the pack house Ma'am," he grunted.
I gave Aurelius one last look, my eyes easily spotting him over the crowd. He was sparring with a teen pup, holding his limbs and teaching him proper combat.
I knew he sensed my gaze, it was obvious from the way he paused and stiffened, but he ignored it. Feeling a headache begin to form, I looked away, trudging up to the forest to walk to the pack house.