Chapter 7

When Azrial wakes up next he finds himself on the hard ground at the valley between the mountains. Azrial felt his heart race as it began to palpate rapidly. With the flower in his hand he felt as though he was at her top of the world. He had seen so much loss and heartache recently and he was glad that things were finally starting to look up for him. He made his way to his feet and began his journey back home. He didn’t know what to expect with the side effects of the plant but he could do nothing but he hoped for the absolute best.

He sighed as he made his way through the thick vegetation of the forest that was situated outside his pack. He didn’t want to think about the sight of his pack members that he was most likely going to be met with. He tightened his grip on his satchel as he gulped, taking a deep breath before letting out a sigh as he shook his head.

He made his way onto the pack grounds and furrowed his eyebrows as he glanced his eyes around and saw that there was no one there. The fires were burning out even though the sun had barely started to rise and he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He didn’t know WHY but he could sense that there was something bad that was about to happen. He was never one to believe in superstitions but he knew that he had a terribly bad feeling about this new situation.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a loud coughing sound coming from one of the tents. He made his way over and the sight in front of him was one that had him crumbling to his knees as there were various people who looked deathly pale who lay on the beds with their eyes sunken in and they could barely keep them open. They barely had any flesh on their bones and he turned his gaze to the side and was shocked when he was met with the sight of the master also laying on one of the beds. He made his way over in a panic as he heard him continue to cough lightly. He grabbed a hold of his head and tilted it upwards slightly as he helped him up into a sitting position.

He felt his heart ache at the sight of how weak and frail the man looked. He couldn’t help but wonder if he had anything to do with this. “What happened?” He found himself asking and he watched as the man continued to cough profusely. ”While you were gone. The sickness came for all of us. There was only so much that I could do Alpha. The people are dying and there is nothing we can do.” he said and Azrial watched helplessly as his vision became blurry.

“There is something that we can do. I have returned with the flower and I will do everything in my power in order to save the people. I will not let any of you down.” He said to him firmly and he watched as a small smile spread across the man’s features but it was clear that he didn’t fully believe the words that he had spoken.

“You have been a good Alpha but now it is time for us to face the reality of the matter. We need to allow nature to take its course and we must return ourselves to the reality of the matter.” He said to him sternly but he didn’t want to believe that he didn’t want to believe that it was over. “Tell me what to do with the flower. I will prepare for it.” He said to him desperately and the maester managed to pull his eyes open slightly as he looked at him with a small smile. “There is no way that thing will work. It is from a world that is much more powerful than our own. You shouldn’t tamper with the course of reality; it will only have severe consequences.” He said but Azrial only growled in frustration at his words.

“I need to do this dammit! I can’t afford to lose my pack.” He said breathlessly as he struggled to stay calm. He watched as the man sighed in defeat and it was clear that Azrial had no plans of backing down. ”You need to extract the nectar from the pollen of the flower and dilute it. You will then give it to the pack members. There won’t be much but once it works on a few they will be able to bite the others and it will have the same effects on them.” He said to him and a bright smile of triumph came over his features.

“Thank you.” He said, “Be careful, I have seen the look in your eyes. It is never anything good. This thing that you care about to tamper with can alter the path of mother nature And she is a vengeful woman Scorned she will not act lightly to you.” He said but Azrial wasn’t listening . He watched as the man became pale before he suddenly became quiet .he didn’t want to think of the word thing possible that would happen as he considered the fact that he was dead. He felt his heart begin to race as it pulsed deeply in his chest.

He made his way out of the tent as he made his way over to the stream that was located near the center of the pack. He retrieved a small vile and filled it with water.

He took out the flower from his satchel and allowed it to be placed on the ground. He crushed it to extract the pollen before mixing it with the water. He had completely forgotten the discarded flower but soon enough he would see just how important it was.

He knew that it was in fact a race against the clock as he rushed back into the tent. He sighed, taking in a shaky breath as he contemplated what he was about to do for a moment before he brought it to the maester’s lips and let him take a sip. He went around the tent and did the same for the others as he did for the rest of the surviving pack members.

It was too late to back out now and what was left was nothing more than a waiting game.