Chapitre 5

"Look at me."

General Astor's words sent a shiver down my spine. Very slowly, I raised my head until I was lost in his earth-toned eyes. I hastily wiped the tears from my eyes.

"So now you're going to tell me the whole story," he said, and to my relief his tone had lost its harshness.

"I- my name is Dana and I am the daughter of the keeper of the western forest. I have no brothers and my father is blind. He can't..."

Fresh tears trailed down the trails of my cheeks and General Astor took a step closer. He put his big hand on my shoulder as if to calm me down. He studied my face.

"So you brewed the potion to hide your scent and pretended you couldn't transform so no one would find out..."

His words hung in the air, but I knew what he meant: that I was a wolf. I could only nod and his hand slipped from my shoulder. General Astor tensed the air out of his lungs and took a few steps back.

He ran his fingers through his strands.

"I couldn't leave him here. He wouldn't have made it," I said, my voice raspy.

"That was very brave of you," he replied. "And very stupid."

"What should I do then? I-"

"Astor?"

We both jerked around as new footsteps approached. The entrance opened and General Astor's right hand man walked in: Edgar. His eyes darted between us in surprise.

"What is it?" the general asked, and I was glad the burden of his attention was off me.

"Um, everyone at dinner is waiting for you," he said uncertainly. Astor turned to me and gave me a warning look that said it all: Our conversation isn't over yet, and don't do anything stupid.

Then he marched towards the exit and passed Edgar. He looked after his superior before turning to me.

"What, do you need an extra invitation?" he asked. His words broke my shock and I hurried out of the tent behind him. With every step, the rolled-up pant legs hissed together. I followed Edgar to the huge tent, from which loud humming came.

As soon as we entered, the mass of smells hit me. The new soldiers sat at long rows of tables and ate from wooden plates. The voices, all chattering, created a deep hum.

I swallowed. At the far end was a table from which one could see the whole tent. General Astor's eyes immediately caught my eye. A tingle welled up in my stomach as I tried to pull away. Delta Ivan was leaning towards him, whispering something in his ear.

"Tell me, you're not exactly the fastest, are you?" Edgar asked and pulled me back to the surface of reality. Only now did the smell of meat and potatoes reach my nose.

Annoyed, the General's right hand held out a plate with more food on it than my stomach could handle at once.

"T-thank you," I said, correcting my voice down.

"Don't get used to it. Next time you'll get your own food," he said. He turned away from me and marched further into the tent. A sinking feeling gripped my stomach as I stood alone in front of the tables. A few pairs of eyes wandered up at me briefly, before their owners turned back to the conversations.

"Dan, here!"

Relief washed through my heart when Luke waved me over from one of the tables. On the other side sat Ulf, who was deep in thought over the meal. With the full plate in hand, I began to push my way through the rows. Suddenly, a force yanked my feet off the ground.

I almost let out a cry of surprise as I stumbled forward. I thanked the moon goddess for not lying down in front of everyone. Still, my cheeks blushed as stifled laughter rang out from behind me. My wolf internally growled with anger, but I didn't dare to turn around. Instead, I quickened my pace so that the sneer disappeared into the distance. I wouldn't let myself be provoked that easily.

I couldn't be conspicuous, and causing drama at dinner in front of everyone was the worst thing I could do right now; after the situation with General Astor. My gaze slid over to his table and as I had suspected his gaze burned through my soul. He knew I wasn't a man. I swallowed as the glow on my cheeks burned harder than before.

"Hey, you alright?" Luke asked, pushing his empty plate aside so I could squeeze into the bench. Although my head only reached his shoulder, Luke smiled at me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, stuffing a forkful of mashed potatoes into my mouth to keep from talking. Actually, I wasn't hungry at all. My stomach was filled with excitement and fear.

"So Ulf, what's it like having a mate?" Luke asked, leaning forward. The older wolf looked up from his meal, longing flashing in his eyes.

"Boy, you can't describe it. You have to experience it," he replied.

"I would, but that's bad here," Luke grumbled, fiddling with his fork on his empty plate. I listened intently to the conversation between them as I ate as much as my queasy stomach could take. Still, my plate seemed to shine not to become emptier.

“Believe me, good things take time. Here," Ulf said, pulling something out of the breast pocket of his new uniform. He unfolded the yellowed paper before showing us what was on it.

I marveled for a second. The grayish graphite lines drew three werewolves, the largest of which was Ulf. Next to him was a woman with long hair and a big smile on her face. She had placed a hand on the shoulder of a little girl who matched the features of both.

"This is my mate and my daughter, Alice," Ulf said, pride blazing in his eyes. I swallowed my bite before intervening.

"How old is she?" I asked.

"This summer she will be five. I just hope I'll be back with them by then," Ulf replied before slipping the photo back into the pocket over his heart.

At his words I had completely suppressed the food. I couldn't get anything through my grief-swollen throat anyway, so I pushed it away from me.

"Don't you want that anymore?" Luke asked sideways, greedily eyeing the rest of the meat.

"Help yourself," I said, laughing, and the wolf immediately attacked the rest of my food. But even that didn't stop him from talking.

"When I find my mate I will be the perfect wolf and take care of her and she will love me forever," he smacked his lips, happy with the extra food. Ulf raised an eyebrow and shook his head in amusement.

"You're barely old enough to fend for yourself," he replied.

"Oh, I'll think of something and if everything goes wrong I'll stay with the army. I'm a good fighter," Luke answered before the last bit of food disappeared in his mouth. "What about you, Dan? Have you had any luck so far?"

"What me?" I asked confused, just shaking my head in embarrassment.

A look I knew all too well burned my cheek. Inevitably, my head turned to the leaders' table. When I met General Astor's eyes, I felt a pang in my stomach. It was as if I could see through its grim facade. I immediately dropped my gaze, the red glowing in my cheeks again.

Could it be?

No, it couldn't be.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. The gaze continued to pierce me relentlessly. What was General Astor doing to me? It had to be the fear that was messing with my feelings.

"Don't worry, boy. you are still young There is no hurry."

"You're right," I whispered, trying my best not to look over, no matter how much my instincts wanted me to.

"And so long we establish the association of wolves without mates. Let's see which of us can get out of it quicker. Like to place bets with me," he said, and peals of laughter erupted around us. I lost some of the tension, too.

The wolves around us started interfering and I smiled. Maybe the army wasn't such a bad place after all. Suddenly Luke put his arm around my shoulders.

"Come on, who else is there?" he asked.

The squeak of chair legs interrupted his glee and our eyes darted to the leaders' table.

"Let Hell Week begin!" General Astor commanded. Luke immediately released his arm from me. I swallowed as I met the brown eyes.