Chapter 8

Flora’s P.O.V

A necklace? The heaviness felt like a pendant but I didn’t open my eyes until he whispered in my ears to open them. My hands instantly went to my throat as I felt the chain and then the pendant…

It was a heart. The pendant was attached to a silver chain and the heart was a beautiful emerald green, with a touch of blue at the centre…the exact colour of my eyes. It looked impossibly beautiful…it was a symbol…

Pendant…

Emerald green…eyes…his eyes…

Flora…

“Thank you… I’ll cherish it forever.”

Flora…

*

*

“Flora?”

Gasping, I sat up in bed, only to clutch my head as the world began to spin.

“Easy, easy…” Soothing voice, calming hand on my shoulders.

“Mercy?” I looked at the aged wolf in her four hundreds who had come to my aid in the forest. She was the only wolf in Lindersay whose face showed signs of aging and she had a few white strands in her orange-red hair; she told me they were from centuries of healing. Now, she patted my head affectionately and handed me a glass of water.

“Thank you,” I told her timidly as I leaned back against the headboard after I had finished my water.

“Flora that was a huge risk you took!”

You took a huge risk today and you put not just yourself but also your pack in danger.

The voice came from another man, another face as I stared at Mercy with wide eyes as their faces morphed for a second before disappearing. What was going on? Who was this person? I had never heard this voice before!

I rubbed at my eyes and looked at Mercy once more, this time seeing her clearly. But Mercy had noticed my actions and she looked worried.

“Flora? Is everything alright?”

I hesitated.

Why did my gut feeling say that I couldn’t tell her anything? I had this similar gut feeling about healing Samu-Samuel!

“What happened to Samuel?” I asked in a low voice, scared that it might not have worked.

“Samuel is doing better, thanks to you.” Mercy sighed. “But next time, please inform others when you leave to the forest with such less security. You’re a healer, Flora and a strong one. Rogues would love to get a bite of you.”

A sudden piercing throbbing in my temples had me clutching my head once more, a gasp of pain escaping from my lips.

“Flora! Where does it hurt?” I felt Mercy’s hand on my head and a second later, relief flooded me as her healing power seeped into my blood.

“Mercy? Is Flo-Oh! You’re awake.”

I opened my eyes to Alpha Malachi entering the room. Strangely, he was wearing a white suit and pants with a blue shirt underneath that was a pale comparison to his eyes. Even though he was over four hundred years old, he normally wore jeans and casual wear. For him to dress up…oh, lord! The soldiers! The feast!

“I’m sorry.” I told him in a weak voice, suddenly feeling drained.

“Mercy, can you give us a minute?” Alpha Malachi smiled at Mercy to which she nodded and left the room quietly. And then it was him and me.

“I’m angry, yes, but I’m also relieved.” Alpha Malachi said as he sat on the chair in front of the bed. “You had a narrow escape today.”

I looked down at my hands on my lap. “Yes…I did.”

Joshua’s torn and bloody form lying on the ground was a picture I wouldn’t be able to get rid of easily. It’ll probably haunt me for the rest of my life and I would know that I hadn’t been able to save him.

“We lost a few soldiers today.” Alpha Malachi spoke as if reading my mind. “But the new soldiers are here and the initiation ceremony has been pushed back for tomorrow. Once the new guards take up their position, we’ll be safer and we can counter any rogue attacks.”

“I’m sorry.” I told him once more, knowing that if I had informed others, Joshua could have lived.

“You saved Samuel from the brink of death.” Malachi sighed. “You’re not responsible for anything. I know healers have a bad habit of blaming themselves for everything, but remember that you are a healer. Your life is more valuable than any soldier here and Joshua died trying to protect you. Forget any other reason and just remember that. Can you do that for me?”

Quietly, I nodded my head.

“Good. Daphne is outside, waiting to take you to your room, but before that, tell me about the rogue Alpha you saw today.”

Surprised and horrified, I looked up into the endless blue of Malachi’s eyes. “A rogue Alpha?”

“We had suspicions for a while now, but today, I am sure about it.” Malachi gave a rueful smile. “You felt it too, didn’t you? The power emitting from the rogue wolf?”

I don’t know what surprised me the most; the news of the rogue Alpha or the fact that Malachi had watched me interact with the rogue Alpha. Was that why the rogue fled? Because it sensed his presence?

“Yes.” I answered his previous question. “I felt the power but I thought I was mistaken. They are legends, aren’t they? They aren’t supposed to exist…”

“We live in a time when legends are coming to life and the line between illusion and reality is blurred.” Malachi’s words held an amount of foreboding. “So you must be careful of who you can and cannot trust.”

Once again I was left speechless at how Malachi’s words reflected my earlier thoughts on how I felt I couldn’t trust everyone with the secret of my dreams. I wanted to tell him, but I held back. Right now, the only person I felt I could trust was myself. So I’ll hold on to that gut feeling until I was ready.

Malachi left me with that warning and Daphne came into the room right after, her dark eyes filled with concern as she pulled me into her embrace. “Oh, thank the goddess, you’re safe! I was so worried!”

“I’m sorry for worrying you.” I told her, feeling like coming home.

She helped me walk back to my room while giving me all sorts of advice and an earful for almost giving her a heart attack. My mind was so preoccupied that the only thing I could do was apologize repeatedly and agree to whatever her demands were.

Finally, we reached my quarters and she came to a stop outside my door. There was a distant sound of laughter and cheers coming from the ground floor hall and I had a guess that it came from the new members and the ones who weren’t aware of today’s tragedy, but my head just wasn’t into it. Daphne might not know all the details of what I had seen today, but since she was somewhat aware, she didn’t ask me for dinner and I was thankful for it. I didn’t think I could swallow a bite after all the blood and gore.

“Call me if you need help, okay?” Daphne warned, knowing that I wouldn’t easily call for help, so I gave her a smile and a reassuring nod. Once I had shut and locked the door, I closed my eyes and leaned my back against it.

My entire body felt like it was going numb. The adrenalin had saved me when I had come face to face with danger but now…I felt my head spin with everything I discovered.

A rogue Alpha?

Weren’t we in enough trouble being surrounded by rogue wolves at all times? Now the rogues had an Alpha? How was that even possible? And how had I survived a rogue Alpha? How was I even alive?

Sighing, I pushed off the door and went into my bathroom to freshen up. It had been a rough day and I wanted to soak in the bath for a few minutes to feel refreshed and calm my panic stricken mind.

But when I went to take my dress off, something heavy inside my pocket stopped me. I frowned as I felt the metal in my palm.

That’s strange…I don’t remember putting anything inside my-

The rogue Alpha! He gave me something!

Breathe catching in my throat and with my heart threatening to burst out of my chest, I pulled out the metal and stared at the object with a mix of horror and astonishment.

It was the pendant. The same pendant I had dreamt of while unconscious…

The pendant that he gave me, the man with the emerald eyes.