Forty Nine

"I haven't done anything wrong, have I?" Ash asked while walking into the kitchen. "Mila, I am talking to you for goodness sake! Have I done something wrong?" He asked again when she gave him a cold shoulder.

"No, you haven't done anything wrong. I am just mad at myself. I take time telling people who I consider friends all about my problems; I confess my fear to them; I tell them about my hopes; I hope that they will tell me about themselves as well, but when it comes to their things," she quoted midair with both index fingers, "they are none of my business." She chuckled, filled her plate with food, and walked to the dining table.

After Ash understood all that was about, he sighed and then responded in a low voice, Maybe they don't want to talk about it because it still hurts."

"Yeah, right. Because recounting all what I had gone through in Alpha Kilan's hands didn't hurt but entertained me, I must have rolled all over the living room with laughter because damn, my problems never hurt while talking about them."

She sneered, abandoned her barely touched plate of food, and went back to their room. The night sailed by, and none of these two friends knew about it. Although they were sleeping on the same bed and sharing the same quilt, none of them talked to each other. Ash had done everything he could to make Camila talk to him, but she ignored all his efforts.

"Keziah was supposed to be my mate, but she rejected me on our first meeting. I wanted to know the reason why she did all this to me even before giving me a chance to prove myself perfect for her, and she claimed that as the next in line in the alpha duties of her father's packs, she wouldn't want to get married to an illegitimate son like me. It would bring a bad reputation to the pack. That was her excuse," Ash told the angry Camila.

"Will you stop being angry with me now, please? You know I can handle all your tantrums, but not your silence, Mila. Please talk to me just once." He begged her. Camila remained still for a while, and when Ash was about to turn and face the other side, he was engulfed in a warm hug. Camila wrapped her hands around his neck, bringing him much closer to her. She wiped his tears by rubbing her face on his cheeks, and then she buried his head in her neck.

"I am sorry, Ash. I don't know why I was angry with you. I mean, I was angry because you said that Keziah was none of my business, but not because you didn't tell me anything about her. I promise, I would have waited until you were ready if you had just told me that you are still not comfortable talking about it." She whispered softly against his ear to call him down.

"I did tell you that I feel pain when I think about it, and you..."

Caught by her own words, Camila remained silent while gently rubbing his back. When his breath became steady again, she pushed his head backward and wiped his tears away. "I am sorry. I care for you, and that's why I overreacted. Are you hungry? I'll go and make something for you." She said this while swinging her legs off the bed.

"I am not hungry, Mila. I would rather have you here with me. Don't go," he said, pulling her back by her wrist.

"Are you sure? You don't want anything. Even water?" She asked in a concerned voice.

"I am sure. Just get back here and hug me." He called her back. Camila got back, with a giggle escaping her mouth, and jumped back on the bed. Going under the covers, she cuddled closer to him as they both drifted off to slumber with smiles on their faces. The night was shorter compared to all the time they had spent in that secret cave. When the first wolf howled at a distance, they woke up, carried out their normal morning preparation, and retreated to the kitchen to make their breakfast. They ate heavily because they had planned to spend the rest of the day outside. Ash had come up with a plan for how they would secure all the rogues out there in peace without any of them indulging in bloody wars.

"Are you sure this plan will work, Ash?" Camila asked for the tenth time. Ash had instructed that they shouldn't approach with force but with peace. They would sit the rogues down and explain the importance of them joining forces with them. The rogue leaders weren't able to give their members enough food because of the hunters out there, but he and Camila would be able to do that.

"Trust me, Mila. This would work; we would only attack them with words. We will show them how easy things will turn out for them when they agree to be with us. We will let them know the truth: with their leaders, the only thing they would get is protection, but what about food, places to stay, and water? They can't starve, can they?" He asked.

"And how sure are you that they are starving? I mean, we know that it was the gray clan that had access to all the water sources and places where they could get food, but with them out of the way, the other rogues have been getting a lot of food, you know." Camila reminded him in case he had forgotten who was making the other rogues have difficulty finding food and water.

"I know that, but after the gray clan, it's someone else who is protecting the water sources in this forest," he smirked.

"And what's that supposed to mean, Ash? Don't tell me you... but how?" She gasped in shock.

"Well," he cleared his throat dramatically and then sat back on the chair, "when someone was angry with me and didn't want to talk to me, I ventured out into the forest looking for a way to speed up our plans. I knew with the rogues getting everything easily, there was no way they would collaborate with us easily, but if we took the only things that were important to them, they would have no choice but to come on our side." He explained.

"And what's that supposed to mean? Why don't you explain things in detail?" Camila asked with curiosity, closing her brown eyes.

"It's good that I am half witch. With the powers I inherited from my mom, I created a barrier around the water sources. No one can go through it, but only those who have stronger mythical powers like you and me." He grinned happily.

"But there are wild animals still roaming out there. They must be killing them and using their blood to quench their thirst." Camila was still thinking otherwise.

"Come on, Mila, I thought you were smarter than this. I cast a spell around all the wild animals out there, and being their leader, I led them deeper into the forest and cast another barrier around them. It was only when they were all safe and trapped in that circle that I freed them from the spell. Tell me, how will they get the wild animals if they are somewhere trapped in magic?" He asked while turning to face Camila.

"MMh. You won," she said, raising her hand in surrender. "Then, shall we?" She stretched her hand to him while nodding toward the door. Packing their lunch, Ash took her hand in his, and they walked out of there towards their destination. They had decided that they wouldn't be leaving the forest without the rogues by their sides. It was high time they struck because it wouldn't be long before everyone knew what was happening in the woods.

Camila was also pregnant, so they had to make sure that everything was done before her pregnancy became visible. Ash knew that if the rogues came to know about Camila's pregnancy, they would take that to their advantage and try to harm her, but he had yet to tell her because there was no way he wanted to scare her.

"Ash," a loud voice said, jarring him from his half-conscious state of mind.

"What?" He gasped, grabbed Camila by her hands, and shielded her with his back. "Did you see something dangerous?" He cropped to her level, holding both her cheeks while looking at her with concern. When Camila screamed his name, he thought that maybe a rogue had attacked her or had "Get your grip, Ash. You don't have to be negative!" His wolf cut him harshly. "Are you okay, Mila? Tell me." He insisted.

Camila shaked her head negatively and then responded," "It's nothing, Ash. I promise. You weren't listening to me, and that's why I screamed your name to get your attention. I am just hungry." She giggled. Ash sighed in relief and pulled her under a huge tree. He opened the dish he had carried with him and watched her as she ate like a pig that had been starved for years.

"Slow down, Mila. No one will be taking your food." He giggled while wiping the pieces of food stuck on her lips.

"I am full now. We can go," she said while raising herself from the ground. Ash handed her a bottle of water and threw the empty dishes away. Camila had eaten everything and left no crumbs for the mites to feed on! A painful groan resounded behind them, and then they all turned swiftly, their wolves growling in their heads. They sighed when they saw it was a young rogue wolf, probably a year or two old, sleeping in the middle of the leafy path. They rushed to it, and Camila carried him into her arms while calming him down.

"Do something, Ash. We can't let him die." She turned to face the restless Ash.

"Others are coming. We don't know if they are dangerous or not." He said this while kneeling beside Camila. "He is tired; look at his paws; they are burned." He pointed at the little wolf's pinkish paws, which had burned skin all over.

"Aw, where is your mother, cub?" Camila asked while digging her fingers into his soft fur. The little wolf whimpered again, looking at them as if asking for help. Camila whispered something against his ears, and the wolf shifted into a small, trembling boy with ginger-brown hair and big green eyes. "Where is your mama?" She asked him. The little boy giggled and stretched his little finger to Ash, who smiled down at him and kissed his forehead.

"Why are these rogues shifting at this young age? Is it not that a wolf shifts when they are eighteen?" Camila asked curiously.

"Yes, they are supposed to, but with these hardships they had been facing out here, they had to mature at this age and protect themselves." Ash explained it to her.

"Oh, where do you think his mother is? Should we take him with us? Look, Ash, he is a boy, and you love boys so much." Camila spread the little boy's legs apart to show Ash his tiny manhood.

"But what if..." Ash never completed his sentence because a group of brown wolves came running towards them. He pushed Camila and the little wolf they had found behind his back and waited for the approaching group. He raised his hand when they got near, and they all came to a stop while their noses were raised high, sniffing around. "Shift! All of you." Ash commanded through mind-link. Because of his guardian powers inside of him, his command sounded really terrifying towards the group of rogue wolves, and they all shifted without further ado. A group of naked men and women stood in front of him while trembling.

"Where are you going, and who are you?" He asked, his voice deep with authority.

"We are looking for our leader's lost soul, my Lord." A man heavily built compared to the rest bowed ninety degrees at him.

"My Lord?" Ash started murmuring, but a kick from behind made him get his composure back.

"Is this the boy you are maybe looking for?" He asked while signaling Camila to come to his front. The cute little boy jumped from Camila's hands and went to the heavily built man with a wide smile on his face.

"Uncle Kelvin. They saved me." The boy said this while pointing his finger towards Camila and Ash.

"Thank you, my Lord. Thank you, Lordess," the man called Kelvin said, bowing down at them one more time. "We are really glad that you saved the future heir of the Brown clan. To repay your kind act, we will give you anything you demand." The man said this, and the rest hummed in agreement.

"Really?" Camila asked excitedly and then changed her tone to that serious one: "What if you go back on your words?" She asked the Kelvin guy.

"The Brown clan keeps their word." Another voice, deeper compared to the rest and carrying much authority, roared from behind Kelvin.

"This is our leader, my Lordess. He is King Peterson, the leader of the Brown clan." The Kelvin guy bowed first at Camila and Ash and then at his leader, who stepped forward with his little boy curled in his strong hands.

"Nice to meet you, and this is what we want," Camila and Ash said in unison while smiling at each other meaningfully.