Death Sentence?

Salome gaped. It was as if she had not heard what Beowulf had just said. Her face was blank as if her body had been taken over by some other force. She looked stunned.

The wind blew in through the window flap and that made one of the berries on the table roll unto the floor. The small popping sound that the berry made accentuated the silence that was in the room -- the thick silence. The consequence of what Beowulf had told Salome could be felt in the air.

Salome could hear her heartbeat in her ears. She was already imagining what would happen between them all -- amongst the original Sandulf pack. Salome could not even allow herself to witness the situation in her mind. It was going to be such an altercation between them and Beowulf.

Beowulf's gaze followed the fruit that had just fallen to the floor and he could taste the despair that his twin was feeling at the piece of information she had just heard.

"You know what that means..." Beowulf muttered with a sad smile on his face.

Salome had not recovered from her shock as she stood still near the table.

"Say something, Salo... don't look at me like that..." Beowulf said. He chuckled.

"You are staring at me as if I have just signed a death sentence."

"Haven't you?" Salome responded. Her face distorted in pain. "How can a human be your mate, Beowulf?" Salome asked finally. "Are you even-"

"I am sure," Beowulf cut in. He knew what his twin was about to ask him. "I have never felt anything like that before, Salome."

Salome walked to the entrance of the tent and back to where her brother was. She looked at him for some seconds before she placed one of her hands on his shoulder and used the other to gently grab his chin to steer him around to face her.

"What are we going to do?" Salome asked looking deeply into Beowulf's green eyes. "Do you recall what father said concerning this during our rite of passage ceremony?" she asked again in a very soft voice. Her face moved in pain and her brows creased in worry.

Beowulf looked up at his sister. He could hear all that she was saying and could feel all that she was feeling. He could understand them all -- she was his twin after all. However, at this point, Beowulf didn't have a response for his sister. He could not tell her anything that would make her feel better about his situation. And he knew that whatever affected him affected her as well. They were that close and had been since they were children.

Beowulf Sandulf chuckled -- but it was a sad one that sounded like it had hurt his throat. It had been a glum attempt to lighten the mood in the room and to ease the worry that Salome was feeling. But what he had done had not produced the result that he had wanted. Salome stared back at him with a look as if she was wondering why he was smiling at such a time.

"What do you want me to do?" Beowulf chimed in as he averted his gaze from his sister's face.

"What is there to do?" Beowulf responded.

"A human can not be your mate, Beowulf. It is unheard of..."

Beowulf nodded. He knew all too well what his sister was saying. He knew that she was right. But it was as if they had forgotten that a werewolf didn't have a choice as to who its mate would be.

Beowulf wondered why his life had to be a fight all the time, especially with his father. He could not even begin to imagine what his father would do when this came to light. He walked to the candle that was in a candelabra and struck two red stones on it. The candle ignited and gave the tent a warm but dim glow.

Salome watched Beowulf. His movements were slow and she knew that was because of the new weight that had just landed on her brother's shoulders. When will they ever have a break from certain challenges? Salome wondered.

"Will you tell mother about this?" Salome's voice brought Beowulf out of his reverie.

Though there was no response as swift movements outside the tent caught Beowulf's attention. The sounds were so muffled one would know that whatever had passed knew how to maneuver in the darkness. They knew how to not be heard -- and that was a bad sign for Beowulf.

The dim candlelight that had been lit in the tent went off. It was as if someone had snuffed it out. There was silence suddenly as Salome's eyes widened so that they could fit the darkness in the tent. Her ears stood at attention as well so that she could pick up even the smallest nail drop. But she couldn't hear or see anything.

Beowulf adjusted his sight as well. His eyes shone a bright gold as they scanned the tent. He was almost changing to make use of his werewolf senses. He took a muffled step as well towards the entrance carefully. Beowulf could see that no one was attempting to get into his tent and that was a relief for him. He was really in no mood for a fight that night as many things were on his mind -- someone was on his mind.

"Who-"

"Shhh," Beowulf hushed his twin. There was something going on and he knew that it wasn't something that was good. The hairs at the back of his neck stood still as he waited for what was about to happen next. A part of him thought that there was no threat but at the same time, Beowulf could not shake off the feeling of danger.

"You shouldn't go out there yet, Beowulf, " Salome muttered in a hushed voice that was lost under her breath. However, she knew that Beowulf would've heard her.

No sound was heard again until Beowulf stepped outside the tent.