Peaceful Atmosphere, Bonding Session, and Hidden Fears

Dub. Dub. Dub. Dub.

With my ferocious heart beat, I took in the content of the prophecy she shared with me, and my heart nearly stopped beating.

Tear the skies apart and bring salvation while I have been living in the seventh circle of hell.

It sounded dumb and unbelievable. Let alone for it to be actually true.

After hearing her, I was even more confident that I surely am not the one. I can't be. I don't even want to think about what ifs.

I can't even tear a piece of damn bullies, let alone the skies.

Subtle disappointment settled in my chest after the assurity, and I frowned. Ugh, I should be happy. Even if I am not the one from the prophecy, I still am a lycan and going with them.

Glancing at her determined sparkly eyes, I didn't find it in me to dim that shine, and just nodded along.

"Sure." I half-assed agreed with her, as she scoffed.

"Ugh, fine! Go ahead and don't believe me. When you pass the test, everyone will see for themselves. And when that moment comes, I will have the loudest laugh and even yell 'I told you so'. Don't you dare stop me then-"

She blabbered on and on and on in an exaggerated manner, and I found myself giggling at her antics.

Seriously, I need to know from where she gets all this confidence and boldness.

Cuz ya girl is in a dire need of both.

After walking a bit more, we came into a clearing as the trees parted, revealing a beautiful serene view of the clear stream and a sturdy wooden deck above it.

Since the Alpha had called in elementals from the elves' pack, who were known for their tenacious wood work, the wooden deck stood intact in its original shape, despite the years.

The aroma of earth and water mingled with the scent of the woods, embracing us in a gentle embrace. From here, the symphony of the woods came alive: the soft rustling of leaves, the distant calls of birds, and the distant murmur of the stream below, as the waves crashed against each other, creating a comforting melody.

"WOW!" she gasped as she spun around, taking in the crisp, fresh air of the arriving winter.

The weather had turned a bit chilly, no way near enough to shiver or wrap yourself in warm clothing, but for me, it was. The sun was still shining prior to the setting, but its warmth wasn't as strong as before.

The colorful flowers stood tall amidst the fading greenery, like small bursts of happiness against the backdrop of the changing season. The air carried a mix of crispness and the faint scent of flowers, like a gentle reminder of summer's farewell.

Even though there's a hint of cold, the flowers hadn't given up yet, determined to show their beauty for a little while longer, as much as they could.

Ha, even these flowers were more brave than me. They persisted but never gave up till their dying breath. They withered after resisting to the last.

It was ironic how these withering flowers filled me up with hope.

Caressing one of the blooming flower with a ghost of a touch in a solemn mood, a small smile spread on my face.

Guess I should persist like these flowers, eh?

"I feel at peace just by being here." She took in a greedy inhale of misty dew, and I admired the expression on her face.

So calm. So peaceful. She looked...free. She felt free.

Will I ever be like that?

"Although it has become forgotten, this space was created by our ancestor Alpha, especially for his mate, who loved nature."

I explained to her the mystery behind the gorgeous scenery that never faded.

"Aww, how romantic." She danced around as she sat down on the end of the deck, soaking her legs in the stream.

Following her lead, I removed my sandals as I sat beside her.

This place never failed to make me feel at peace. This place is the witness to all my misery, suffering, and breakdown; and comforted me at all my lowest. I caressed the deck with a sad expression.

I will miss this place a lot. The only thing from this pack.

"Thank you."

My head whipped to Azar as she smiled at me.

"For what?"

"I can see how much this place means to you. So thank you for sharing this with me."

My cheeks heat up as I smiled back at her.

We shared a comforting silence as we observed the gradually setting sun.

"Um, can you tell me about your pack?"

Though the silence was comforting, it was also the anchor of my dark thoughts.

"Sure. Our pack is just like another werewolf, but like a gazillion times better. It's more beautiful, harmonious, peaceful, powerful, and strong than any other pack out there." She proudly sang praises of her pack.

"As you know, us lycans are born with special abilities and powers. We all have a yearly duel competition to find out who's the number 1 lycan, and how much everyone's abilities have improved. The rankings change every year so everyone is always competitive and motivated to move up."

Interesting. Except for the designated number of knights, there wasn't any concept of training everyone in most werewolf packs.

"As the lycan's power is not hereditary, we have a ceremony where lycan parents bite and mark their werewolf children to convert them into lycans. Then the children shares the same power as their parents. Though not as powerful as a naturally born lycan, they are still more powerful than werewolves. So basically werewolves are shit and we are superior in every way."

I huffed out a laugh at her last sentence and absorbed all the information in my mind.

"Who told you about me?" This was the thing I was most curious about.

"No one. Elio, our delta, gathered all the information about you by himself. He is kind of scary, I guess, so no one dares to piss him off. The werewolves here are scaredy wasps, anyway." She shrug like it was the most normal thing.

While I wondered if they also knew the treatment I received here..

Lycans are known to be ferociously protective of their own, so like, if they get to know about my life here, is there a chance they will utterly destroy this pack?..

But, for some reason, I did not want them to know about me. They all think me of as someone powerful and strong, related to their prophecy. Will their perception of me change? I was scared of that.