Chapitre 14

SUNDAY OF THE 9TH MOON COUNT:

I wiped the sweat from my forehead. It was done. All rubble had been cleared to the side and the area where the house had previously stood was exposed in front of us.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Castor and Pollux stopped next to me and looked at their work. They looked totally relaxed, like they hadn't done all the work in two days. I couldn't keep up with her strength and endurance.

"Thank you," I said with a big smile on my face.

They might not have been very talkative, but they had never complained. The house was gone. Now a new one was needed. I clapped my hands together excitedly.

The sun slowly descended towards the mountains again and emitted a bright red light through the tree trunks. There was still time for one thing.

"Where's your builder?" I asked.

The brothers exchanged a look before Castor nodded. Together we walked through the forest towards the south. Some warriors met us on the way and bowed their heads at the sight of me.

I felt uncomfortable because I didn't know how to react to the respect they were showing me. Should I say thank you? At the moment I nodded inconspicuously at every encounter.

The sun had said goodbye to us and a cloudy night sky came up.

"So who's in charge of the houses here?" I asked.

My voice trailed off and I stopped at the sight that revealed itself to us. I couldn't breathe.

"Demetrius is his name. He lives here. Most of us avoid him as much as possible."

A huge tree house was enthroned between the treetops. It was made of wood and huge windows that were brightly lit. A flight of stairs led up to a kind of front door.

I had seen many houses before, but he hadn't even visualized something like that in Uncle Theo's craziest drawings.

"Demetrius, yes?" I asked, looking back at the twins.

Castor nodded.

Whoever Demetrius was, he must be a big man here in the pack.

"You don't have to come up with me if you don't want to. I can do the rest on my own," I said, turning back to the stairs.

The snow had been swept off the steps. Still, I held on to the wooden railing and started my way up. I stopped in front of the brown door and knocked loudly.

Silence received me.

I looked back at Castor and Pollux one last time. The two had positioned themselves at the sides of the stairs and looked ahead statically.

Suddenly, there was a dull rumble from the tree house, as if someone were about to clear the way.

"Who is it?" a male voice croaked.

"Eh, this is Ephilia," I replied uncertainly.

"Ephilia? I don't know any Ephilia."

The door opened and at first I said nothing. Then I lowered my gaze and a man with wrinkled cheeks and long white hair eyed me suspiciously.

A small cloud of mist escaped my mouth.

"You're Demetrius?" I asked.

He was small. His forehead looked like the bark of a tree, he looked at me so skeptically.

"And you are the Alpha's mate. He already warned me about you," the old man grumbled.

Eros had spoken to him about me?

Creepy.

He turned his back on me and went back inside. My jaw dropped at the sight that awaited me. There were metal devices everywhere that I didn't recognize.

One looked like a telescope on legs, another reminded me of a box with a magnifying glass. Demetrius had to be not only a builder but also an inventor.

Countless scrolls rested between the devices, and books were stacked waist-high at every corner. Distracted, I followed him through the maze of things. The corridor opened into a large room.

I ran my fingers along the tree trunk around which the house was built. The window front offered a wide view of the icy night below us. I looked around in amazement.

Demetrius sat on a stool in front of a drafting table that was angled. Above it hung a light source in glass that I had never seen before.

I stalked over to him to look at the drawing he was working on. The graphite pencil scratched across the paper in perfect lines.

A house.

But it wasn't just drawn on a sheet of paper. The light revealed several thin layers that together formed an image.

"This is madness," I whispered.

This tree house was an undiscovered paradise.

"Madness?" Demetrius replied distractedly. "Yes, many have called it that."

"No, I mean that in a positive way," I added.

I absolutely had to write that to Uncle Theo. That could make his job a lot easier.

"How you mean. When Alpha Eros built his house, he simply ignored me and my advice and built something himself. For my taste it was a bit, how do you say, rustic. I've already summarized some ideas here."

He handed me some sketches of all sorts of houses, one even resembled a castle. As for Ero's house, I couldn't agree. It was beautiful the way it was.

I used to watch Uncle Theo design the houses. This was my chance to learn it myself.

"Forgive me Demetrius, but may I ask you something?"

The old man broke his concentration from his work and eyed me.

"Ask something?" he echoed.

"Can you teach me?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow, slightly amused at my request.

"You want to learn to draw?"

I shook my head.

"I want to learn what you have learned," I replied.

A raspy laugh escaped his throat and Demetrius threw his head back.

"What I have learned? That's impossible," he said, with enough humor in his voice as if it were the best joke he'd heard in his long life.

"Why not?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"I've taught myself so much kid, you've got to be a little more specific," he replied.

"What did you learn?" I asked curiously.

The old man sighed and jumped up from his stool, motioning for me to follow him. I followed him out of the living room into the adjoining room.

A black stove awaited me, along with an anvil, hammer, and other tools neatly hung on the wall.

"I used to work a lot more with metals, but age is getting to me."

My eyes fell on the glassy silver bracelet around my wrist and I looked back at Demetrius. His eyes seemed to recognize the jewel immediately.

"Yes, Eros asked me to make it, how do you say, werewolfproof . So I polished it to the finest and cast it in liquid glass. That way the beauty is not lost."

A warm feeling spread through me. I ran my fingers over the trailers frozen in motion.

"Thanks."

"Not worth talking about."

My gaze fell on the room beyond, plunged into complete darkness.

"What is this room?" I asked.

Before Demetrius could reply, a bell rang through the house. I jumped in shock.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Damn it, I thought I took that hideous thing off again," the old man grumbled to himself.

We exited the forge room and made our way through the chaos to the door.

"Who's there?" Demetrius asked while peeping through a small hatch on the side of the door. Had he been watching me through that too?

"Alpha Eros has asked for his Luna," came Castor's muffled voice.

"Well kid, I'm afraid I can't show you anything anymore. Maybe next time Eros pays me a visit, you'll just come with me."

"It would be an honor," I replied, bowing.

Demetrius opened the door and a night breeze awaited me. Castor was standing in front of us. He towered over both of us. Demetrius looked like an old dwarf in comparison to him.

"Alpha Eros wants to see you."

My stomach knotted. I nodded and stepped outside.

"I was very happy," I said to Demetrius, who just nodded and closed the door behind us.

I sighed the cold air out of my lungs and descended the stairs behind Castor. Pollux was waiting below. We left the brightly lit tree house behind us and walked into the nocturnal forest.

The further we got from the light source, the less I could see. I stretched out my hands in front of me as the darkness swallowed us. Only the crunching of the snow accompanied us.

I stopped.

"I see nothing."

"Really?" Castor asked.

His voice was somewhere beside me in the darkness. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, really."

"How many fingers am I showing?" he asked next to me.

"No idea. Three?"

"Not correct."

Two could play the game.

"How many fingers am I showing?" I asked, keeping both hands down.

"None. Come on now."

I grumbled in irritation. He took my elbow and led me through the darkness. Pollux was silent the whole time, as if he had merged with the darkness.

Only now did I feel how icy the night was. It was nothing compared to the day. Even the heavy coat and gloves couldn't do much about it. The air burned cold in my lungs.

Thin shafts of light soon lit up the area as we neared the pack house. I was grateful for the return of my sight. We kicked the snow off our boots and went inside.

Loud voices greeted us.

"What's going on here?" I asked while watching the werewolves flooding into the great hall.

"A process."

I raised my eyebrows. New adrenaline flooded my veins. Excitedly, I reached into my pocket just to feel for the square vervain.

"What process?"

Castor said nothing, just followed the crowds to the room. When they saw us, they moved aside and made room for us. What awaited me took my breath away.

On the eminence Eros sat on his golden throne. Below him stood two young werewolves, held back by a few others. A blind man could feel the hatred between them.

"Silence, I've heard enough," Eros growled, instantly freezing everyone in their tracks. "You knew the rules and you both broke them. I won't tolerate anything like that."

His voice exuded authority and sent a cold, hot shiver down my spine. I instinctively reached into my pocket and groped for the verbena. It was as if he had spoken to me. Eros rose from his throne. His gaze was focused on the quarreling.

"Karen, I'm sure you could use some helping hands in the kitchen. If you don't behave, Beta Julien will make your training hell," added Eros.

The boys reluctantly bowed their heads and accepted their fate. I looked over at Beta Julien. He had wrapped an arm around Lucia and looked amused at what was happening.

"Do you accept the verdict?" Gamma Johnson asked, annoyed as ever.

The boys nodded. Chatter of relief erupted from the crowd and the werewolves poured past us and out. Then I felt his eyes on me.

Eros came towards me and I looked away in embarrassment. I really didn't want to keep secrets from him, but this was hardly the right time and place to talk about Verbena; let alone the voice from the tree.

He would think I was crazy if he hadn't already.

"I understand you met Demetrius," he said as he stopped in front of me.

I looked back at Castor and Pollux reproachfully, but they were talking to Johnson and Julien. Suddenly Ero's arms slipped around me and I gave him my undivided attention.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked, ignoring Demetrius. His eyes mirrored the warmth I felt inside.

"Am I correct in assuming you want to explore the territory?" he asked.

My spirits lifted a few degrees and I nodded vehemently.

"Absolutely."

"Then we will leave tomorrow after sunrise."

I almost groaned. Why did it always have to be so early? Why couldn't werewolves ever sleep in? Instead of voicing my thoughts, another question came to mind.

"Just the two of us?"

My tone sounded a little too joyful for my liking. An amused grin tugged at the corners of Ero's mouth. His arms pulled me closer to him.

"Yes why?"

"Just like that," I replied as casually as possible, but internally my stomach was doing somersaults.

"Don't forget, I own all the territory to the infinite sea. It will take a few days."

My eyes lit up and I felt a deep desire for a new adventure. I wrapped my arms around Ero's back and enjoyed the warmth of his muscles. I smiled at him from under my lids.

"Is that supposed to scare me?"

"But on the contrary. I thought you wanted to learn how to survive in the wild," he said, his voice getting hoarse.

I stuck my chin out at him and stood on tiptoe. Our lips were so close I could have just leaned forward to close the gap.

"I accept the challenge," I breathed.

An appreciative growl went through Eros and for a moment his pupils turned black as night. My whole body was pressed against him, his hands under my coat.

"Be careful what you wish for."

Before I could answer, an uncomfortable cough sounded behind us. Terrified, I let go of Eros and jerked around. Heat shot into my cheeks and I wanted to bury my face in Ero's chest.

So just leaned my back against him.

"You can get back to training while we're gone," he ordered Castor and Pollux without a trace of shame. "Julien, John, I trust you."

Beta and Gamma bowed to their Alpha before disappearing. Eros still didn't seem to think about letting go of me. I squirmed around in his arms again and eyed him.

"What were the boys doing earlier anyway?" I asked, changing the subject.

Eros brushed a strand of hair out of my face.

"They fought over a werewolf," he said distractedly.

I didn't miss the mocking tone.

"And that's forbidden?" I asked.

Eros shook his head.

"No, but demolishing half the packhouse in the process does."

Images of Eros wreaking havoc on the room after the fire shot through my mind. As if reading my mind, he continued.

"I didn't destroy anything that wasn't mine."

"Whatever you say," I said, and a deep yawn overwhelmed my body. Tearing down the remains of the house must have cost me more strength than I thought.

"You're tired," he said, and he lifted me into his arms with ease. I had neither the desire nor the energy to resist his closeness. It was no use anyway, so I was able to enjoy the warmth as well.

Eros carried me up the stairs without hesitation and dropped me off in the room I had slept in before.

"Good night, Ephilia."

I watched in embarrassment as he walked back toward the door.

"Good night Eros."

I was able to prove to him that I was very good at taking care of myself. After all, I had been doing this for a long time in my life.

MONDAY OF THE 9TH MOON COUNT:

The first rays of sun lay on my face and gave me cozy warmth. I yawned and stretched my limbs as far as I could to get rid of the tiredness.

We leave after sunrise.

The words of Alpha Eros rattled in my head, clearing the fog of sleep. New excitement spread through me and made my stomach jump somersaults.

I pushed the sheets aside and hopped to my feet. I immediately rushed around to make all arrangements. Should I take anything at all?

My eyes fell on the coat.

I hesitantly took out the verbena soap. Better if she stayed here. I went to my black bag, which still had the recipe book in it, and put it inside. Then I took it and hid it in the drawer of the bedside table.

A loud knock sent a shock through me.

"Are you ready?"

The deep voice of Eros sounded from behind the door.

"Yes, one minute," I said, pulling on the cloak. I grabbed my gloves and slipped the silver bracelet over my wrist. It was too valuable to leave behind.

I opened the door and stood face to chest in front of Eros. I looked up at him and smiled excitedly. He eyed me closely, as if checking I was dressed appropriately.

"Don't we have to pack anything?" I asked, noticing that he didn't have any luggage either.

"We can find everything we need in nature," he said simply, before putting his arm around me.

"If you say that..."

A comfortable warmth spread in me and I pressed the gloves to my chest. I couldn't even imagine what the wild north would be like without a pack. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest.

"Are you excited?" Eros asked.

I beamed at him and nodded. Together we stepped out the door into the morning chill. The sky was cloudless and the sun began to rise.

A perfect day.

I leaned closer to Eros and exhaled a fine cloud of mist. He led me further through the forest, close to the clearing. My gaze focused on the trees on the other side, but there was nothing to be seen.

As if I had only imagined everything.

"Why didn't Julien or the twins enter the clearing?" I asked.

Alpha Eros looked down at me and then at the border that split the forest in two.

"Because of what lurks under the snow."

I looked up at him with wide eyes.

"What's lurking there?" I asked. Had I unknowingly put myself in danger?

"There lurks the reason why this border is not guarded by a single warrior. And that, although silver blood is lurking on the other side: vervain."

His words made me freeze and if it wasn't for his arm around me I would have stopped in shock. No wonder where the voice got it from. It had to grow everywhere there.

I couldn't bring myself to ruin the journey before it even started. I would tell him after we got back.

We continued north parallel to the border. It got steeper and steeper the further we got away from the heart of the pack. The trees slowly cleared and gave a clear view of the path in front of us.

Mountain ranges covered in pure snow sparkled in the rising sun. My breath caught in my chest as I contemplated the beauty of nature.

The winter air was cool on my cheeks, which must already be red. The skeletons of trees stood everywhere, frozen and covered in glittering crystals.

"A winter wonderland," I breathed.

Eros hugged me closer.

"Don't let the beauty fool you."

Then he turned me to him and took my cheeks in his big, warm hands. His eyes searched mine as if to make sure I understood what he was saying.

"And no matter what happens. Don't leave my side."