If someone had told me that I will be where I was right this moment, I wouldn't have believed a single word.

Days passed by as I grew more and more in love with the people. Despite the fact that they were from different families, they were a close knit community with a bond so strong it breached barriers of the extent of human relationship.

They all saw themselves as family and protected one another fiercely irrespective of the age, gender and rank which I realized was a very important issue in a Clàn.

The first few days I spent here were filled with me totally avoiding the mere presence of males. That and taking the time to realize who I really was now that I wasn't blinded by my numbness.

It was so bad that I restricted myself to the confines of my den. I would only come out late into the night when the males must have retired to their beds and stare at the stars before retreating back to my safe haven.

That came to be my ritual for the first few nights.

The nightmares I had were so intense that I wasn't able to sleep most nights. I kept seeing images of the man I killed and guilt and shame would instantly wash over me.

Sometimes I would lull myself to sleep listening to the stories the men told by the campfire as they reminisced their battles and ancient wars.

Other times, when they hear me cry out at night, the females would converge in front of my den and directly tell me stories of Clàns in the Far South and North to take my mind off from my nightmares.

It was strange how their animosity vanished and poof, replaced with an overwhelming devotion and care. They seemed to take me being the White Fairy a huge thing which I found mildly irritating.

Apparently, I was a gift from their god or something and was meant to be a blessing to the Clàn to which I found the basis of that reason slightly ridiculous.

What if someone else with white skin had travelled through time instead of me? Would they have treated the person like I had been treated?

Despite the rapid turnaround in their attitude, I paid no heed to that because their company, most of the time, had provided a sense of security for many tumultuous nights.

I wasn't scared of them per say. They had taken it upon themselves to assure me of their good will through their kind gestures. I was more scared of the possibility of being hurt again. I was scared to open myself up to them only to be stabbed in the back and get hurt again.

Like I had been hurt before.

Now that the numb haze I had erected around my heart was now crumbled to pieces, I was left vulnerable and exposed for all to see for who I truly was.

Weak.

Scared.

Doubtful.

Ugly.

I had never been in the company of so many men without been punished or hurt and whenever I saw those males all at once, it instilled that fear in me once again.

It was a torturous and slow process and I felt like the whole world was coming down on me, but I was able to get over my androphobia.

Not without the help of my friends.

Lao and I instantly hit it off. She provided me with comfort and made me feel like a human being with her sweet nature and warm smile. She was like a ray sunshine in my dark days and always made me smile whenever I felt down.

In her, I found the true definition of a best friend and I have never been more glad.

Elora and Mali became my companions.

Well Mali more than Elora.

Elora no longer glared at me with spite but she acknowledged my presence and didn't give me pitying or degrading looks to which I was grateful for. It was like she was allowing me time to get myself together.

Mali, despite her standoffish nature, slowly became my mentor of sorts.

When I felt like I was going to drown in my sorrows and grief, she pulled me out and showed me that there was more to life than moping about and feeling sorry for myself. She taught me to face my fear head on and not cower from my problems.

I learnt a lot of things from her with my spare time and instantly got the hang of things around here.

With the help of these women and the females of the Clàn, I had gotten properly inundated with their cultures, traditions and their way of life that I no longer felt like a stranger here.

Everything became second nature to me, the way I spoke, my behaviour, the slangs I used to interact with them, even my American accent which intrigued them all was starting to conform with their natural accent.

It was almost as if I had lived here all my life.

The Stone Clàn became a place where I wasn't misjudged for my past deeds and where I was treated with love and care. It became a place where I could breathe freely without looking over my shoulder in fear. It was a place where I could smile, laugh and be myself.

It was my sanctuary.

When I had realized this thought, the last vestige of doubt broke around my heart and I broke down in tears. I wanted to feel everything. I wanted to know how it felt to love and be loved.

I wanted to give myself the chance to experience the emotion because I was lost and lonley without it.

I never knew love. The only thing I had ever felt was pain, sadness and so much anguish. I had acquainted myself with the darkness for as long as I could remember and for a moment, was my safe haven.

Now, I was tired of dwelling in the darkness. I wanted a reprieve from it.

It looked easier said than done, especially when the thought of what I had done weighed heavily on my heart. It was the only thing that held me back, the residual guilt and fear.

There were consequences to every action taken. It was now I realized the magnimity of my actions. The decision to go numb made me become an entirely different person.

A monster.

I became a coward instead of facing the problem head on. By outrightly ignoring the problem I took the easy way out and now that the numbness had faded, the problem was still fresh and raw.

I could still feel it sometimes as it slowly ate away at my mind like a virus. It just showed how utterly weak and pathetic I was.

That was what made me convince myself unworthy of thinking these unimaginable thoughts.

Unworthy of experiencing love.

But there was one person who adamantly disagreed with that.

It was my red-haired devil.

Dwanye.

A smile came to my face and warmth blossomed in my chest when I remembered his face.

These past few weeks I spent getting to know him was one of the best highlights of my life. One I wouldn't trade for anything.

The way his icy blues looked at me with so much intensity and adoration that it sent my heart beating fast. The way his touch sent exhilarating thrills through my body that made me shiver in delight and wanting more. The way I always manage to forget everything whenever I was in his company.

His presence was relieving to my broken soul.

He was like a breath of fresh air and a soothing balm to my open wounds.

He made me feel safe and protected and being with him slowly started to become an addiction. One I couldn't find it in me to avoid, because how could you run away from your home?

My home.

Mine.

The thought of calling him mine came natural to me, like it was simply right. I accidentally called him mine once during one of our evening walks and the instant delight in his eyes made me giddy and reassured of the fact.

Dwanye was just simply mine.

That was the last thought that filtered through my mind before I succumbed to the lull of sleep with a small smile on my face and thoughts of Dwanye.

🐾

I woke up the next morning with a warm smile placed on my face.

I had a good dream last night and couldn't remember the details, but it was about Dwanye and that was enough to make me smile.

I still felt a little bit sleepy so I stretched out my body on the comfy fur. My arms and legs were spread apart like a koala and I didn't even care how I must look like right now, hair askew and bed in disarray.

I turned my head to the right and burrowed my nose into the silky fur letting out a content purr. As I slowly opened my eyes, I was momentarily startled by the sight in front of me that I let out a surprised shriek.

''Gahhhh!'' I instantly rose up.

Now I was definitely awake.

Dwanye stood by the fireplace, arms crossed and legs at ease. His face was a mask of concentration as he stared deeply into the now dwindled embers.

What had he been thinking about?

My shriek jolted him out of his deep thoughts as he turned his face towards my direction. He didn't come closer, he just stared at me with an intense gaze and I didn't know whether to be disappointed by that.

''What are you doing here?'' I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

Dwanye had never been in my den for long periods and judging from the slight shadow under his eyes and the relaxed demeanour, it looked otherwise.

Not that I was complaining. He could come as many times as he wanted and I wouldn't even bat an eyelid, I was just genuinely curious.

Instead of replying my question, he strode forward. His powerful legs quickly ate up the space between us until he was eye level with me.

I immediately flushed at our close proximity and a content sigh escaped my lips from the comfort of his presence.

Gosh! When did I become this pathetic?

Amusement danced between his icy blues and beginnings of a smirk turned up his luscious lips. My eyes were immediately drawn to his lips. Just staring at it was enough to make sinful thoughts pilfer through my mind.

His lips were moving and I vaguely registered that he was talking to me, but I couldn't for the life of me concentrate.

They looked so soft and--

''Rose!''

''Huh? What?'' I replied, finally snapping out of my daze enough to recognize the call of my nickname.

Something must be wrong with me.

His perfect chiseled face stretched into a smug look and the smallest of smiles started to appear.

Dwanye must have caught me blatantly ogling at his lips and the idiot knew judging from the smug look on his face. Even his chest was slightly puffed up in pride.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

Somebody please kill me now!

''Do I have no right to enter your den, Rose?'' He replied in his smooth silky voice. I could never understand why he insisted on calling me Rose instead of my name.

I scowled and looked down. ''I never said you couldn't, was just surprised.'' I mumbled, still a bit embarrassed at my actions.

He raised my chin up and cupped my face, absentmindedly brushing stray hairs from my forehead. As I stared deeply into his eyes that swam with so many emotions, worry, concern, adoration and something else, I finally got my answer.

Dwanye had watched me the entire night. I remembered telling him few days back about my nightmares and how I was still unable to sleep peacefully. He had only replied with a grunt and nothing more.

I was a bit hurt by his response then.

Now, my heart was overwhelmed with happiness and warmth at his sweet gesture.

I unexpectedly threw myself at him and wrapped my arms around his neck, wordlessly expressing my thanks. He chuckled at my enthusiasm and shifted a bit to adjust our weight so we wouldn't fall.

He didn't need to say the words out loud but we both acknowledged his actions.

Dwanye hummed in approval and wrapped his arms around me, bringing me close to him. His knees was in between our bodies and it hindered us from hugging properly.

I wanted to feel his chest flush with mine, I wanted to feel the reassuring sound of his heartbeat underneath my palms. It seemed Dwanye was also thinking along that direction.

With an irritated grunt, he carried my weight with one large muscular arm and placed me on his lap. As my arms were still around his neck, the change in position now brought our bodies flush with one another.

We both sighed in relief and I swore I heard him mumble something along the lines of better before he placed a soft kiss on my forehead.

I smiled sheepishly, barely managing to restrain the urge to giggle at his cuteness.

It was crazy how close we quickly got. At first I wanted to resist the attraction. But as I got to spend more time with him, I found it harder to resist him until I gave in. I didn't know why we felt this way, but I was done contemplating every single thing. I just wanted to lose myself in the feeling.

Surrounded by the warmth of his body and the comfort of his arms as I greedily inhaled his earthy musk, there was no other place I'd rather be.

And like the popular saying that all things must come to an end, the peaceful moment was broken by the sound of a distressed cry.

''Alpha!''

Our bodies both tensed from the sudden alarm, the moment now broken. Without further ado, we sprung up from the bed and instantly made our way out of my den.

The moment we came out, we were met with instant chaos.

Every single person was running helter-skelter in panic. Mostly the women and children. Wails and screams rang through the compound as mothers frantically called out for their children to get to safety. In the distance I could hear battle cries and the sound of weapons clashing against one other.

We were under attack!

I turned to Dwanye in panic. ''Dwanye, what the-''

The look on his face halted any further questions. His entire body shook not with fear, but with unrestrained fury waiting to be unleashed. His muscles were so tightly bunched up that his skin began to turn an unhealthy shade of red. I could literally feel the anger simmering in his body.

It was white-hot, ready to destroy anything in its path.

He wasn't angry, he was raging mad.

He turned to me, eyes harsh but swimming with indecision. He didn't have to tell me. I could tell he was deciding whether to leave me here or to go out there and help his Clàn.

It was a wonder how I could always tell what he was thinking without him saying a word.

I wordlessly nodded my head and tilted my head towards the direction of the battle cry.

''Go, I'll take care of the women and children.''

He didn't move an inch. Hesitancy still swam in his depth of his icy blues.

I placed my palms on both sides of his cheek while I gave him a reassuring smile.

''Warrior of mine,'' I started softly. ''Get out there and do what you do best, be the Alpha.''

All hesitation cleared from his eyes and his face softened at my words. He placed a soft kiss on both palms before he wrapped me up in a bear hug.

''Stay safe,'' he whispered into my neck and with that he was gone.

I turned my eyes away from his retreating back with a wistful sigh and focused on the panicked women.

''You,'' I called out to a teary eyed woman. ''Where the hell is the shelter?''

🐾

I had already ensured the safety of the women and children in the shelter before I rushed back here, unable to sit still and do nothing while the Clàn was out there fighting.

It was a full out war by the time I got to the clearing.

Wolfés against Wolfés.

Stone Clàn warriors against the attackers.

Who were these people and why were they suddenly attacking us?

My eyes frantically searched for familiar faces, hoping to reassure my mind of their safety.

Mickey seemed to hold himself well in a face off with three men. His face was concentrated and hard and he delivered lethal blows to his attacker.

The second guy attempted to tackle him down from the side with his foot but Mickey anticipated the move and jumped up in time to land a round-house kick to his face. I swore I could hear the snap of his neck from the distance as he instantly crumbled to the ground with head turned in a grotesque angle.

Okay, moving on.

My eyes landed on Torin and South Paw. They were backing each other with swords poised in offense, relentlessly slicing and tearing through limbs. Blood sprayed violently as Torin instantly beheaded a warrior that got too close to his blade.

Their combined fighting techniques were fast and efficient and all too soon, bodies began to pile up around them.

I didn't need to worry about them. They had each other's backs.

Now where was Dwanye?

I took a perfunctory sweep across the clearing and noted with relief that we were winning on our side. The Stone Clàn Wolfés fought viciously against the intruder's Wolfés. I could easily point out our Wolfés because they were much bigger than the intruder's Wolfés.

The Stone Clàn Wolfés released their fury and satiated their bloodlust as they brutally tore through the other Wolfés easily. Their ferocious growls rang through the air as they made their dominance known.

They were the predators and they were hungry for their prey.

Pride swelled in me at their show of force and strength. They were showing that the Stone Clàn was not something to be messed with.

We were winning! We were-

Bam!

Something slammed into me. The force was so hard that it threw me away as my body flew and landed painfully on the ground. Unfortunately, there was a rock close by and my head hit it. Hard.

I struggled to open my eyes and fight through the blinding pain but a warning growl cut me off. By the time I managed to open my eyes, I screamed at the sight in front of me.

There was a humongous, black Wolfé currently standing above me as he flashed a pair of lethal fangs in my face.

Fear instantly paralysed my body and I couldn't move a single inch. Because I knew without a doubt that one wrong move and I will instantly be attacked on.

Dwanye! My subconscious yelled.

Thankfully, my yell attracted the attention of the Stone Clàn warriors. When they saw the position I was stuck in, they instantly increased their efforts as they fought through the intruders to get to me in time.

Dwanye!

I couldn't think, I couldn't speak. All I needed was to be in the comfort of his arms.

Unfortunately, the beast did not agree with my actions. It flashed me a warning growl and brought his snout close to my face. I turned my head to the side trying to avoid the drops of drool from reaching my eyes.

I opened my eyes in fear and was instantly relived to see the person my heart had been screaming for.

He didn't notice me at first, too engrossed in a battle with a large male. He had already had the male in a powerful headlock and was about to deliver the final blow. But when his icy blues crossed with mine, they transformed from one of lethal rage to an emotion I had never seen on his face.

Pure and raw fear.

He didn't even finish the intruder off as he flung his weight to the side and ran towards me like his life depended on it.

''Rose!'' He bellowed, never had I heard his voice shake with so much panic and fear. The force of his voice rang through the air and the look in his eyes turned to one of rage when he noticed the beast on top of me.

Dwanye!

I called internally, unable to speak past the ball of fear wedged in my throat.

The pain was starting to increase at the back of my skull and the growls of the beast above my head wasn't helping matters. I desperately wanted to close my eyes but the sound of Dwanye's approaching footsteps gave me a little push to fight through.

Dwanye was now almost close. Just a few metres more and I will be saved.

I took a glance around the battlefield. The opposing side was quickly thinning out with no warriors left to defend themselves. Some started to retreat towards the treeline as they tried to escape, but our Wolfés hunted them down and stopped them from escaping.

The smile that was started to grace my face morphed to one of pure shock. I couldn't even free myself to prevent what was about to happen and panic instantly took over me.

Because standing in front of the treeline was someone familiar. Someone I never expected to see. But that wasn't what caused me to start panicking.

The person held a bow and arrow, in his or her arms, already strung and pointed towards a particular person.

The intended target for the arrow was Dwanye.

And he was too caught up in his desperation to save me to notice his surroundings.

With every last drop of determination, desperation and fear, I struggled and dredged up every strength in me until I broke through and managed to yell out his name.

''Dwanye!!''

But it was too late.

The arrow had already been released.

Tears dribbled down my face as I desperately prayed to whatever superior being existed out there to save the love of my life.

It happened like slow motion as I watched through blurry eyes.

One minute Dwanye was running towards me and the next, he was sprawled over the ground face down. It was just in time for the arrow to whoosh over his head and embed itself deep into the ground.

The relief I felt was instantaneous but it morphed to confusion at the sight in front of me.

Standing protectively over Dwanye was a strikingly, pure white Wolfé and the Wolfé was looking directly towards the treeline as it growled out its warning.

A warning to someone to back off.

The weight on me was suddenly pushed off by a raging Hadö. I heaved a sigh of relief as air washed over my lungs. Without wasting much time, I ran towards Dwanye ignoring the sound of Hadö battling it out with the beast.

I would express my thanks later.

As soon as I reached Dwanye, he was already up from the ground instantly alert.

His eyes desperately searched for me as he looked across the battlefield.

I'm right here.

They filled with relief when he saw me running towards him. I was sure I looked like a mad woman right now, but I didn't care.

I flung myself in his waiting arms and burrowed my face into his wide chest.

His muscular arms automatically wrapped around me tightly, like he never wanted to let me go. He pulled my weight up and wrapped my legs around his waist. As he buried his hand into my short hair he unabashedly burrowed his face into my neck.

He slowly breathed in my scent and the tempo of his heartbeat began to slow down.

I found that he did that sometimes whenever he wanted to calm himself.

I adjusted myself so that I could put my head on his firm shoulder. I placed a kiss at the base of his neck and he instantly shivered in response.

I felt a burst of feminine pride that I was able to bring a reaction out of him.

A small smile tugged at my lips as I opened my eyes, ready to give him a sarcastic comeback, only for my gaze to land directly on the person.

The person had already stepped out of the treeline into the light where I could now see every familiar feature clearly.

My mind wanted to deny the possibility of the person being here, but one look at the familiar smirk that tugged at the person's lips and I instantly crumbled.

My entire body froze in fear and my breath got caught in my lungs. I couldn't breathe because of the raw fear that paralysed my body.

Every bit of sadness, pain, terror and anguish suddenly broke free from the far depths where it had been locked in my heart.

He was here.

The architect of my nightmares.

It was him.




Dun dun dun!!

Who's him?

How did the him get here?

Where did the white Wolfé come from?

Why was is protecting Dwanye?

Why did it appear now?

All these questions will be answered in the next book 'Dark Past'.

Stay tuned for more and thanks for reading!