YOU HAVE CHANGED

"What can I do for now…" Licia was thinking hard until she came up with an idea. She looked up with shimmering eyes and ordered Polene, "Polene, please gather all the new maids in our castle. And send a message to the town for all the available women to come. We need to prepare some hot soup and tea and we will also need a large carriage to transport them."

She proceeded to flip through her closet to look for a suitable dress for herself, "And also find me a horse from Alpha's stable. I can ride on a horse myself."

Polene was taken aback by all these sudden orders and asked, "Luna, surely you don't plan on going out there, are you?"

"Of course!" Licia looked at her with a beaming smile and said, "I am going to do what I can to support my husband and my Pack's members."

Polene shook her head, this Luna of hers was unstoppable. Even in such a weather where women would not even want to step outside lest they get themselves dirty, she was planning to go to the river on a horse.

Indeed an oddball she was.

Polene immediately worked on all the orders that were given to her by Licia, she sent a messenger to get all the women in the town ready and immediately gather all the maids in the castle to prepare for the soup and tea that Licia asked for.

Licia asked the carriages to be sent to the bank as soon as they were prepared as she took out one of the finest horses in Enrique's stable.

"Be safe, Luna." Polene was still unsettled on sending Licia alone in the forest in such dangerous weather but the latter assured her that she will be alright and her assistance there was more important than her being locked in the house.

Licia effortlessly rode the horse, she was surprised that she was still good at it after almost not riding a horse for like three years now.

She hit the lash which made the horse run faster, Licia leaned forward to protect herself from the branches and the rain as she rode towards the river.

"Enrique, I am here for you."

"Splosh! Splosh!" Alpha Enrique walked over and placed two more sacks in the barrier, successfully managing to seal every leak and securing the leeves. He sighed and called out, "Otto!"

"Yes, Alpha!" Otto was one of the guarding wolves of the pack territory and the watcher of the river sides. Alpha Enrique asked, "What is the current status of the river?"

"Yes! Things are wrapping up downstream. And we are going steady with the reinforcements upstream." The man reported before adding, "But the current is still quite strong. So, we will have to continue working on them for the time being till the rain subsides."

The Alpha nodded, "Very well!" He ordered Otto to send half of the men from the downstream to assist the workers with the upstream reinforcements.

"Got it, Alpha."

Alpha Enrique was preparing to go upstream now to look at the work progress there. He looked at the faces of the men who were with him now; all of them looked like skeletons wrapped in a thin layer of skin. He knew that these men were at their limits now.

None of them had even barely eaten a meal per day before yesterday and have been working here since the morning. It was a miracle that they were even able to be standing right now. They sure were taking turns to rest but he knew it was not enough for them for all the stamina that was drained.

Alpha Enrique sighed, he didn't want to make these men work so much but this was a matter of urgency. It was not like this could wait till tomorrow, if it could be would not have tormented him like this.

He also thought how easy it would have been for him only if his troop arrived a little sooner. He was literally dealing with such a major crisis with such a small number of men.

He was just about to leave for the upstream when he heard a loud thud behind him, followed by the screaming of his men. "What happened? Is everyone alright?" He asked as he turned around and sprinted back to check on the men.

"Alpha!"

"The leeves! It has collapsed"

The men said as they watched the water bursting in through the collapsed reinforcement in horror.

Enrique stood there as he watched the water flow in, since the flooding was not heavy yet it was not as threatening as it could have been, much to his relief.

"We are sorry, Alpha. The rope that we used to tie it with must have been too weak to hold the sacks together." One of the men said in a weak voice.

"It's over." A devastated voice reached his ears attracting his attention. He turned around to see that the faces of the men who has been working hard on the leeves go have turned pale. Another one said, "It will all topple over before we can repair it again."

"Damn it! And we worked so hard on this. I can't take it anymore."

Alpha Enrique gritted his teeths, it was just a small crack but these men have already given up on their hopes. He couldn't blame them either, they have not eaten and have been in a very depressing situation for the past few months now. Their spirits were extremely down at this point! He didn't know what he had to do now, he could certainly not force them to work anymore after they had given up.

"Are you just going to give up?" Suddenly, a female voice filled with authority spoke out of nowhere. Enrique, who recognised this familiar voice, turned towards the direction of the sound to see Licia standing there in her drenched cloak. Her hairs, which were under the hood, were dripping wet as well, telling him that she had been in the rain for quite some time now.

"Luna?"

"Why is the Luna here?"

The men were not expecting her to come here and were as surprised as Enrique to have her here.

Licia continued, "This crack is only a small section along the entire river. It's too soon to give up. This is the town you all live in, you must protect it with your own hands." She looked down and said, "I know your will must be exhausted by now because of all this work. So, we have prepared some hot tea and soup for you. Please rest a bit in the tents and eat something first. And then… once more… Once more, we can all work hard to protect our town."

The arrival of Licia was like a ray of sunlight to these men who were almost losing their hope in the darkness. The maids immediately served the men with soups and tea, Licia had also brought a few blankets along with her to help the men dry themselves.

She was watching over the men when Enrique came inside the tent, "Licia."

"Enrique! You are here?" Licia was waiting for him with a bowl of soup prepared but when she looked at him, she saw a mask of anger on his face. He said, "When I speak does it just sound like a mad dog barking to you? You crawled out here again despite me asking you to rest at home? Did you already forget that you were sick in bed up until this very morning?"

"What if your fever comes back? If it does, I will abandon all my duties as the Alpha of this Pack and stay behind to watch over you till you recover. And even after you recover, I won't do a single thing for this land."

Licia's eyes stared at the man who was completely drenched and covered in mud. If someone were to see him in his current state, they would have a hard time believing that he is an Alpha of such an important pack.

She knew that his anger was genuine because he cared very deeply for her and he wasn't faking any of it. Licia has grown up with the soldiers and she has closely studied how they lead their life.

A soldier lives the life of a gamble all the time, they are supposed to be always prepared for death as they can never predict when it would be the last time they see this world. A person who doesn't even care about their lives would hardly care about anyone else, but if they do, they would do anything for you.

Licia knew that Enrique had started to genuinely care for her, no one has ever done it since her mother passed away.

She kept mum as she kept the soup on the table next to her and walked over to him. She cupped his cheeks and looked into his eyes with a doting smile, making the man shut up at once.

She thought, "You used to be a ruthless warlord, Enrique… But now, you have changed!"