Chapter 12

The sounds of the morning birds chirping in the trees woke Mia up, and she groaned as she placed the pillows over her ears to stop her from hearing more of the chirping birds. But the sounds of busy omegas going about their daily chores in the pack house would not let her continue her sleep.

"Who wakes up so early in the morning?" Mia groaned as she dropped the pillow and looked over at the hooded calendar clock on the wall. It was almost Eight Am. Mia groaned again. Her pack was not in any way like this. She woke up whenever she liked, not to the sounds of birds tweeting or busy omegas going about their chores.

She got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom, and she was not astonished to see that the washroom was also shades of pink. "Typical," she muttered as she began to get ready for breakfast.

All of her belongings have been kept exactly where they needed to be. After a long while of enjoying the warmness of the water in the bathtub, Mia stepped out of it and walked back into the room to dress up.

A few minutes later, she was walking down the stairs wearing an off-shoulder v-neck corded metallic soft brocade steel blue dress, with the bodice wrapping around her body and the waistband having a rusty gold V shape to fit under the bodice without bulking, closing with a hook and bar. The skirt of the dress was a triangle of fabric with cartridge pleats.

When we got to the dining table, not only Alex was seated there, but Hendrix too. "Good morning," Mia greeted with a smile.

"Morning," Hendrix responded with so much enthusiasm that Alex shot him a look. "How's the bride doing today?" Hendrix asked brightly, ignoring Alex's look.

Mia chortled as she sat down. "Well, I'm fine as always," she replied as she picked up a spoon to have a taste of the custard tart before diving into the roast lamb.

"Of course," Hendrix said with a smile.

Mia smiled back and looked over at Alex, but he was not paying attention to either her or Hendrix.

She wanted to talk to him so badly. She wanted to know what was running through his mind, but she couldn't. She was not even able to read him, considering the fact that he always maintained an unreadable expression on his face.

Alex pushed back his chair and stood up. "Do well to finish your breakfast quickly and meet me outside." "About time you fulfilled the reason why you're here," Alex said abruptly, and he walked away without waiting for Mia's response.

She stared at his retreating figure and then huffed as she looked at Hendrix. "Is he always like that?" She asked him.

Hendrix smiled. Do not be bothered by his attitude. "He's a very sweet man just going through a phase, but definitely not cruel," she replied.

Mia smiled. "Alright," she said as she took a bite from her lamb's pye.

•

Done with breakfast, she walked out of the pack house and found Alex standing beside his horse. He looked in her direction. "You know how to ride a horse?" He asked her.

"If I knew how to ride a horse," She reiterated with a mocking smile. He stared hard at her, and she stopped smiling and straightened her face when she got the hint that it was not funny to him. "I know how to ride a horse," Mia said as she walked closer to where he was.

"What was I expecting?" He muttered as he motioned to one of the gammas outside.

"What?" Mia asked, not hearing what he said.

"Good for you," he said instead, and the gamma returned with another horse. "Hand the horse over to her," he said to the gamma, and he obeyed.

Mia took the reins from him and smiled brightly. "Thank you," she said to him, and he smiled back.

Alex swung onto his horse, and Mia mounted on hers. "This dress isn't proper for horseback riding," she complained as she tried to adjust on the horse.

"Too bad. "I do not have the time to waste waiting for you to change your dress," he said, staring at her. "Now, come along," he added as he turned his horse, stirring it into a gallop.

Mia huffed as she turned her horse, following him. "Where are we going?" She asked as she fell along his side.

"Where the killings usually take place." "You've heard of the altar that was set up for the new moon festival?" He asked her.

She nodded with a smile, thrilled to have him talking to her, even though it was about the unraveling of the mystery behind the deaths of red wolves occurring in their packs.

The altar was a raised platform in the woods where all wolves gather to celebrate the new moon festival, and it was a borderline between their two packs.

"My father has tried to stop the killings that happened there, but it has always been futile," she said to him.

"I had ensured that my pack was safe in a carriage and not under the influence of the red moon, but, to my greatest surprise, they were still found dead, outside the carriage and not even on the altar," Alex replied, thinking deeply.

"This could mean that the killings do not just happen at the altar and that not just the red moon is responsible for them but a human too," Mia voiced out, and Alex saw sense in what she said.

"Come on, we don't have time to waste," he said as he stirred his horse into a faster gallop, and so did Mia.

They got to the altar, and Alex noticed that a cabin had been set up. "I haven't seen this here before," he said, getting the attention of Mia as he swung down his horse.

"My father and yours had it set up, just in case anyone was tired from the dancing around," Mia replied, as she came down from her horse. "The killings of the wolves occurred on this altar," Mia continued as she walked closer to the altar for clues. "There was not a single time in which we tried to stop it from happening that we were successful." "We always meet the wolves dead," she explained.

Alex walked closer to the altar and then looked around the woods. "A barrier must have been created," he thought aloud.

"What? A barrier?" Mia inquired.

"I wonder how it is possible," he said, ignoring her question.

"What are you thinking, Alex?" "I should know about it," she said, staring at him.

He was about to speak when he sensed the strange presence again, but Mia wasn't aware and she kept talking. "Alex, tell me what you're thinking." "This puzzle is for the both of us to unravel," she continued to question, but Alex was focused.

Out of nowhere, an arrow was fired and targeted at Mia, but Alex was quick enough to pull her out of the way, and the arrow pierced a tree. The figure disappeared into thin air, but Mia was not aware of this, and she got lost in Alex's eyes as their bodies collided. They both felt a spark as their bodies almost melted against each other, and with an overwhelming fear, Alex pushed her away harshly.