She heard how Alpha Zenith treated any rogue that trespassed his territory and for some reason, unlike the others, Dawn found that quite satisfying.
When the other pack members talked about it with fear evident in their voices, Dawn found herself wanting to listen more about it. She wanted to know how this alpha tortured the rogues. Skinning them alive, beating them to their death, hanging their heads on the fortress, and then what else?
Dawn's eyes dimmed and this made the two warriors stare at her, but a second later, she smiled again like nothing had happened.
"So, what are we going to eat for dinner?" Dawn asked cheerfully.
"That's for you." The first warrior pointed to a deer that hung from the woods and placed over the bonfire. From the looks of it, it was almost cooked.
"Oh, okay…" Dawn walked over to the bonfire, but then she stopped when she realized she would eat alone. "I will not eat that alone, right?" The deer would be enough to feed fifteen to twenty people.
"No, the alpha will eat with you, but he is with the beta right now," the second warrior said.
Dawn wanted to ask their names, but they already left when the other warriors dragged them away, wanting to show them something.
Feeling a bit down, Dawn sat near the bonfire and warmed her body. She looked around her and the only thing that she could see was people with unfamiliar faces that surrounded her.
She didn't like to be alone, because it reminded her of what happened today. It was so weird. She would have never thought that last night would be the last time she slept on her bed. She didn't even give a proper farewell to the people in her pack.
To her father…
He abandoned her… again.
Dawn really felt down now. She was surrounded by strangers, going to the north, where she didn't know a single soul. The place that she only heard through what people said and there was nothing good about the north based on the rumors.
Even their alpha was known for his barbarity.
"You don't have any self awareness."
"Huh?" Dawn raised her head and found Alpha Zenith was already sitting next to her. She didn't even realize when he came. He moved so swiftly and quietly for someone with a strong presence like him. Well, maybe he was right. She didn't have any self awareness.
"You could be killed without you knowing it."
Dawn laughed awkwardly. Why was he thinking of the extreme? "If there was an enemy and they could go through those warriors, what chance would I stand to fight them?"
They were surrounded by those scary looking warriors. If the enemy could reach her by bypassing those warriors, she wouldn't stand a chance to fight them even if she noticed them.
Alpha Zenith glanced at her disapprovingly, as if telling her how stupid that statement was, but Dawn simply grinned at him.
"I have never eaten deer before," Dawn said, clearing her throat to change the subject.
"This is your favorite," the alpha said.
Dawn frowned. Didn't he hear her? She said that she had never eaten deer before. How could this be her favorite? But, when she tried it, weirdly enough, she loved it and considered this as her favorite.
In the end, they ate their dinner in silence and she was amazed with this alpha's appetite. He literally finished the whole deer by himself, while she only ate thirty percent of it.
No matter how much she loved the meat, her stomach couldn't hold up if she ate more than this and thankfully, the alpha didn't force her to eat her portion.
"Since when did Zenith like to eat with someone else?" The Beta asked his gamma.
"He doesn't even want to eat with me, but he is eating with that woman?" The gamma frowned. "Why would we go this far to fetch that woman? The alpha insisted for her to be his luna when she is not even his destined mate."
"I don't have any idea." The Beta shook his head.
Later that night, when Dawn was sleeping inside the carriage, she didn't have her usual nightmare, but strangely, she felt a hand caressing her head. This hand was big and callous, but warm at the same time.
The next morning, she was woken up when the carriage started moving. It was very refreshing to not have any bad dreams about the rogues for once. She found herself alone, but there was this deer meat for her.
Dawn opened the window of her carriage and felt the crispy wind in the morning that caressed her face. The morning was quiet and with this large entourage, weirdly enough, they moved very smoothly.
She wondered what would await her in the north, but concurrently, she missed her pack already. She missed her father…
Dawn wondered how he was right now. Did he think about her?
*******************
Alpha Tony not only thought about his daughter, but he actually was trying to find a way to get her back by writing to the king.
"Are you crazy?!" Julia was livid when Tony told her what he was going to do to get Dawn back. "Do you know what they call Alpha Zenith? He is a monster from the north! Are you trying to upset him? You'll put this pack in danger!"
Julia snatched the letter and burned it in the fireplace.
Seeing that, Tony growled at her. "Enough! I will not tolerate it again if you interfere with my business!"
Julia staggered back. This was the first time Tony raised his voice against her. She was terrified to see the rage in his eyes.
"You have to think of Emily too! She is your daughter!" Julia shouted in order to mask her fear for him.
"She is not my daughter!" Tony immediately realized how wrong his words were, but Julia already rushed out of the room, crying.