Nervous, Alpha Jake intently watched the reaction of the Moon Goddess’ visionary messenger.
Sana Azalea slowly stepped back and turned to Alpha Jake’s direction, her expression, despite calm and graceful, carried a sense of urgency and worry.
“I am now going to reveal what the Moon Goddess has to say for this pack,” she said softly, eyes never leaving Alpha Jake. “Alpha, please step forward and receive the message.”
The cold wind made the leaves sway and for once, the moon in the sky shone with strong traces of premonition, making people shiver and watch their leader stand up in anticipation.
Head high and firm, Alpha Jake walked towards Sana Azalea.
She led him to the vase and finally said, “There are three important messages the Moon Goddess revealed for your pack. First is that there is going to be a drought. The shortage of water in this territory is going to be destructive.”
Gasps and whispers quickly erupted in the pack’s central grounds. Everyone couldn’t help but look at each other in worry.
Alpha Prince Zeke sat straight and listened intently on the side, taking each word of Sana Azalea to heart.
Seeing the different reactions of the pack, Sana Azalea continued. “The beings who can help this pack during this drought season are going to be from a faraway land. It is across the giant Moon Goddess Seed Lake. Once they unlock their hidden power, they can summon the rain whenever they want to – and most importantly, they can help this pack when the pack needs it.”
Alpha Prince Jake deeply frowned and held back strongly. He had so many things to ask but as the rule dictated, they had to listen to all the messages first before raising any question.
“The second thing is that there is going to be a bloodbath,” Sana Azalea spoke.
The rest of the pack froze. Whatever calmness that remained in Alpha Jake’s face completely vanished.
“B-Bloodbath?” he subconsciously uttered, face turning white in shock.
Sana Azalea looked more worried than before, but she kept a sense of grace and power as she continued, “A war is about to unfold among land territories. Starting from within and spreading outside like wildfire… If the decision fails to balance the threat and the hope, this pack will suffer immensely, the land engulfed in flames, and people’s lives taken by force. The ruthless will become victorious, but the untamed will continue to fight until the end.”
She looked at the rest of the pack, eyes filled with a strong sense of hope amidst the alarming worry in them as she said, “A pack with a strong resolution cannot be broken apart or destroyed by any weapon – steel, fire, or tongue.”
Sana Azalea took her gaze away, but before she could look back at the vase and Alpha Jake, she froze, eyes spotting a familiar figure in the distance.
Tall and catching everyone’s eyes as he appeared from the shadows, Alpha Prince Kael walked with two guards on each side and Jed at the back. He looked to be complaining about something, but Jed was eagerly pushing him to continue walking. In the end, Alpha Prince Kael started to laugh and tease Jed. When he looked ahead, he quickly saw Sana Azalea with her eyes on him.
Kael lifted an eyebrow before his eyes narrowed. He asked with a laugh full of curiosity and playfulness, “Now, now. What does that look mean? Did I get any personal message from the Moon Goddess?”
Jed frowned. “There’s no way–” He gasped, his eyes widening as he realized it was the truth. “Keep your head down, Prince! That’s Sana Azalea!”
Kael tilted his head to the side, “But it looks like she has something to say.” Seeing the horrified look on Jed’s face, Kael burst into laughter. He shook his head and patted Jed’s shoulder, “You sure worry a lot. Do you want some calming tea?”
“Prince Kael!”
The sudden stern voice from the central grounds made Kael and Jed stop. They both turn to look at Alpha Jake, who now appeared to release smoke out of anger.
Jed nervously bowed down and greeted, “Alpha.”
Alpha Jake strode to them and coldly looked, especially at Kael. In a low voice, he said, “You are not going to make a scene today, Kael. The person holding this ceremony is Sana Azalea.”
Seeing the lazy smirk on Alpha Prince Kael’s face, Jed quickly interrupted him and stepped forward. “We understand, Alpha. I will escort Prince Kael to sit with his brothers.”
Alpha Jake gave them a firm look before grunting, “Make sure to pay respect to Sana Azalea first.”
“Of course,” Jed said with his head lowered, then he urged Alpha Prince Kael to move.
The tight atmosphere was suddenly shaken and the people around the grounds couldn’t help but sigh and shake their heads. Some servants began to gossip to each other in hushed voices.
“Why is Alpha Prince Kael here again? Isn’t he locked in somewhere as punishment for soiling the Moon Goddess’ temple?”
“He served his time, and this is the Blessing Ceremony, of course he can’t miss it. I heard he’s going to join the Blue Moon Hunt, too.”
“Really? I heard he’s a great hunter. Even other hunters and generals of neighboring packs look up to him because of his skills.”
“With skills or not, the fact remains that he’s crazy. Who would want to be on his team? Or even if they successfully got into his team, who could say they can last? Once, he disowned a servant for misplacing one of his weapons and we never see her again. Everybody believes Alpha Prince Kael sent her to the boars’ den.”
“That’s insane! Sana Azalea has been staring at him since he came. Maybe she thinks he’s a bad omen to the pack…”
“That’s the only explanation.”
Sana Azalea stood straight in the center next to the vase. Her melancholic look cast to the pack lingered more when she glanced in Kael’s direction who now sat a few distance away from the other alpha princes.
Alpha Jake returned to her and apologized, “That is my youngest son, Alpha Prince Kael.”
“I am aware,” Sana Azalea said.
Alpha Jake was stunned. In truth, Alpha Prince Kael rarely attended the ceremony. In the past, he would stay on the border all year round, skipping the event. At first, Alpha Jake let it pass as such he didn’t want to force Alpha Prince Kael to do anything. Despite his unhinged behavior, he was actually quite skilled and helpful to the pack and its security. This made Alpha Jake become lenient to him and allow him to do what he wished.
However, what seemed to be helpful was slowly becoming troublesome. Not only did Kael become more stubborn but as time went by, his actions also became more unpredictable. He fought alongside other pack generals in secret, recruited rogues from unknown places and turned them into his underlings, and now he even soiled the Moon Goddess’ temple with another nameless rogue he found randomly somewhere.
Alpha Jake could only think how much of his son’s behavior had actually reached outside their pack walls. It wouldn’t be a surprise if it also ended up reaching the Moon Disciples’ sanctuary.
Fearing Sana Azalea’s judgment on his son, Alpha Jake tried to divert the topic, “My apologies. We have been interrupted by his arrival. Do you wish to continue, Sana Azalea?”
In the end, only the anointed shaman had the power to follow or make changes to the rules. There was still another message Sana Azalea had yet to reveal.
Yet, when he looked at Sana Azalea, he found her with a strange expression. A flicker of light passed through her eyes. The wind suddenly got stronger and the light coming from the moon above turned brighter.
Everyone fell to their knees in an instant. Colder and more powerful wind surrounded the pack grounds, sending chills to everyone who witnessed an extraordinary phenomenon.
By the time the wind stopped, Sana Azalea, who was the only person who stood still amidst the turbulence, fell to the ground with no consciousness.
“Sana Azalea!”
***
In another room, Naya opened her eyes. Her chest rose and fell in a violent manner as she forced herself to get up. She was sweating all over and her heart raced hard deep inside her chest that she feared it would come out on its own.
She had a dream. But she couldn’t remember what it was.
Wincing, she looked around and slowly took in her surroundings. Letting out low, labored breaths, Naya realized she was in an unfamiliar place. But the scent that lingered on the bed made her halt.
She looked down and grabbed the sheets, taking a whiff of it.
‘Kael,’ she mumbled in her mind, her head becoming muddled uncontrollably. This room belonged to him. How did she end up here?
She could only faintly remember passing out inside the carriage. But before she did, she knew she tried to do what she planned to do – bargaining with that crazy man.
Of course, there was no way he would leave her alone – at least, not without something she could give to him. As most people say, there are no such things as free food in this world. One needed to work hard for it no matter how long or quick that person could execute.
Naya forced herself to stand up. Because her legs weren’t still healed, she fell down in a thud. Gasping and hissing at the throbbing sensation, she pressed hard on the floor and tried to move, almost crawling when she failed to have a better steady position.
The door swung open, revealing Edith with wide eyes.
“What are you doing?!” She quickly knelt down and helped Naya.
Naya released labored breaths while staring at Edith. Why was she here? Wasn’t she Alpha Prince Lorenzo’s servant?
Her thoughts were answered when Edith looked around before she leaned down and exclaimed with urgency, “Actually, I came to get you out of here. Right now, everyone is at the central grounds for the blessing ceremony and Blue Moon Hunt.”
She grabbed Naya’s arms and began to help her up, “Hurry! Let’s leave before anyone comes!”