The Inauguration

The sound of the door opening echoed in the room, but the sound still didn’t draw her out of her focus. She continuously punched the bag harder and harder, the sound of chains echoed in the room and that seemed to egg her on.

She held her breath with every punch, hoping that the frustration, anger, confusion, doubt and mistrust she was currently feeling would finally leave and somehow transfer into the bag so she could beat the hopeless feelings into oblivion.

But it seemed like the punching only made things worse and the only things that changed were her fists, the soft melanin colour was now bruised but she didn’t care.

“Genhji?”, a whisper brushed past her ears, she shuddered.

Her arms fall to her side and she lays her head on the bag. Breathing in and out, she stood there catching her breath mostly stalling not wanting to face him.

His hand brushed her shoulder and he held onto her, turning her around but her eyes remained closed.

“Genhji?” his breath fanned her skin and she sighed opening her green orbs to face those brown ones that always seemed to make her mush.

His finger softly ran across her cheek, “come back to me, love”, he whispered before hugging her and she let him. She didn’t want to admit it to him out loud but at the same, she knew she didn’t have to because he somehow always knew what she was thinking.

She pulled away from him and her breath hitched seeing his blond hair all ruffled up. Her fingers brushed the hair away from his face, and his beautiful pale skin made his brown eyes sparkle to her.

“I can’t allow him to go through what I went through,” she breathed,” I won’t make the same mistake I made all those years ago…I can’t”.

He smiled taking her hands in hers, ” you know you can’t come in between the moon’s blessing love”, he kissed her hands which was followed by a grumble at her bruised hands.

He let go of her hands before walking towards the drawers and pulling out a first aid kit. She sighs, running her hands through her white hair, “I’m fine”.

“Sit”, he ordered before sitting on the mat in front of her, grabbing her hands and laying them in his lap.

She hissed when he rubbed the alcohol into the wounds and watched as he wrapped the band-aid around her hands.

“My father wasn’t the best man, my pack wasn’t known for being nice and running across open fields singing to the heavens,” she told him, not taking her eyes off the band-aid even when she felt his eyes on her.

She had never told him what happened, never wanted to think of it. She didn’t want to acknowledge it because she was scared that if she did then it would become real for her. That what happened…happened.

“No, my father was second in command to the notorious warfare lord Kapral. And just like him, my father believed that humans were below us, nothing but slaves to serve us. He believed that they should worship us but at the same time he was a reasonable man, well that’s what I told myself sometimes”,

"He was a mean old bastard, he beat his wife and kids all because he wanted to toughen us up, said the ‘world is a bitch place, you just have make it your bitch’. In his own weird way, he loved us, would always remind us that but most importantly he would tell us to always remain loyal”, she breathes out when he finally finished with her hands.

He pulled her onto his lap and held her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his torso laying her head on his shoulder.

“They had a plan. Alpha Kapral and Alpha Rubert Volksvisoch. A war to finally conquer over the humans. My siblings and I were to be the commanders of the fleets stationed in different places. Raedwulf was the commander of the second-largest fleet and he was stationed to attack Central Africa, I was to attack Northern Africa and she was to attack Southern Africa while father and Kapral dealt with packs that would try going against us”, she shudders as the memories begin to roll in.

"I remember Solani refusing to go through with it. I remember her begging father to not go through with it, to leave the humans in peace but father wouldn’t hear it nor would he tolerate her disobedience. She had spoken out of turn and he would punish her. Father liked setting examples, teaching lessons even to his own children. I remember her cries that night, the way she begged mama to speak to father, the way she called for our brother to come to his sense or the way she begged for me to stop him,” she clenches her eyes closed, squeezing him not wanting to let go.

“I didn’t because I was scared that he would do the same for me. So I waited by the door enduring her screams until he came out of the door, his eyes had an emotion I still cannot decipher till this day but even if he felt some sort of regret, he walked right past me and I rushed in and I was distraught”,

“Her hands were hanging from the ceiling and her back was bloody. She had passed out during the punishment, she couldn’t bear it anymore. Raedwulf carried her carefully to her room and I nursed her back, we didn’t leave her side that night and the following nights. She woke up two weeks later, she started acting weird not as outspoken as she was, never talked to my brother and I. She would report to meeting and training but go missing days on ends”,

"Raed and I grew suspicious of her behaviour, so he tasked me with following her whereabouts from afar. At first, I didn’t like the idea of spying on my sister but as the days grew closer to the war, the more the suspicion grew. So I finally agreed and till this day I regret not telling Raed the truth sooner”.