Ticket to the price.
[2 Weeks Ago]
“Camilla… Do you know why I have called you here?” Her father asked.
He had summoned her officially, in his capacity as the Alpha of the Bloodmoon pack, and she had to answer as his subordinate.
“I do not, Lord Benson.” She answered.
That’s right. In his presence, she was not his daughter, but merely another member of his pack.
“I want to give you a special mission, Camila, as my subordinate and as my daughter… Do not fail me”
She gulped as she heard this. Her father was known to be brutal to those who fell lower than his expectations. She had also experienced this once or twice in the past, afterward, she failed to repeat the errors she made.
She listened to the words he said, and while everything sounded absurd, she couldn’t question his judgement.
“Y-You want me to become Lord Asher’s mate…?!” She said in surprise.
He nodded.
“B-But how? It isn’t something one can achieve simply by willing it. I have to be chosen by the moon goddess and bound to him by fate…”
“Silence. Enough with such drivel. Such fairy tales of romantics, devoid of any common sense or shred of rationality… I refuse to accept it. Listen to me closely, Camilla. Currently, I have received news that the Wolf King, Asher has found himself a mate. We must act before it is too late. Fortunately, the woman he picked is an outsider, and she seems to utterly despise him. That means we still have time.” Alpha Benson said.
“You will go to the Rockwood Tribe, and win over Lord Asher’s favour. Find a way to eliminate the girl he has taken to be his bride, no matter the cost… So long as it doesn’t expose you or the plan”
“B-But father…”
Alpha Benson glared at her, making her shudder immediately and correct her words.
“I-I understand, Lord Alpha…” She said defeatedly.
“Good, make your preparations and leave immediately.” He ordered.
She bowed and took her leave. As she walked out, Benson spoke to her.
“Know that you are doing this, not only for my sake, or yours but for the entire pack. Having you as the Grand Luna of the entire region will solidify our position among the six Packs. We will have supreme authority over the others, second only to the Wolf King’s.” Benson smiled.
“And most of all, we will become royalty… The highest rank we can attain as a family. Rejoice in this, my daughter, and fulfil your mission…”
“That is all!”
[The Present]
Camilla thought of the past and wondered how she would go about it. After everything that had happened, she only had one safe bet, though even that appeared to be filled with dangers she could hardly comprehend.
Larry.
He was her only ticket to the prize, and she had to complete her mission, no matter what!
Not long after Asher arrived at the scene, he took care of all the Hunters, not sparing a single one. Once he did this, he carried Roxanne and quickly took her to the cave directly beneath his Alpha mountain, to keep her warm and stable.
The cave had a mystical presence that made sure everything within it was always warm and soothing and healed any injured, whether of exhaustion or wounds. He placed Roxanne on the bed there and watched her for a moment. He saw the blood all over her body and winced.
Such an innocent girl… She was forced to take a life. If only he was faster, if only he had realised sooner, then maybe…
“It’s not your fault, Asher” Rita’s voice came from behind him.
She placed her arms around him and higher him from behind. He really needed that. Though was drenched in blood, so was she, the only difference was that hers contained a mixture of her blood and those of the Hunters, while Asher only had the blood of the enemies on him.
“Pull yourself together… Your pack awaits your call!” Rita said to him, releasing her embrace.
She was right, he had to remain strong. If he, the Alpha, appeared weak and shaken by this, what example was he setting for his people?
“You’re right Rita. Thanks… Please look after Roxanne… I’m off!” Asher said, moving to address his people who were recovering, mourning, and also seeing the few who died.
He steeled himself for what he was about to do… He was the Alpha after all.
Time passed, and Roxanne finally woke up. It took some time to explain to her, but Rita did so.
“A-And? What about the pack?” Roxanne asked with concern.
“We are fine… Mostly… Though we lost about 11 of us” Rita said sadly.
“O-Oh… Roxanne muttered.
Roxanne cried but soon sobered up. She listened as Rita narrated the whole story and the aftermath. A while after Asher arrived, the Dax followed, and after a period, the rest came too. They took care of the bodies of the Hunters and properly arranged the deceased of the pack.
Asher was busy handling the situation. As the leader, he had to be strong, so she didn’t get to see him.
“Asher…” She muttered.
She remembered how he came to her rescue when she was about to pass out and gave a little smile. They really were bound.
[The Next Day]
“Today is… Thursday, right?” Roxanne asked aloud.
Rita was cleaning the house, while Roxanne assisted her. Together, they took care of it. From observation, Roxanne found out that there was not really much to do in the first place. Rita was always a clean and meticulous person. The reason for the cleaning was for another reason, so Roxanne played along with it and helped her.
The cleaning only served as a distraction. They focused their attention on the task at hand to escape from the depressing thoughts of what happened the previous day. The invasion of the Hunters and the bloodshed that followed.
Eleven lives were lost on their side, and even though nearly a hundred could be counted among the enemy corpses, the loss on the part of the werewolves was not to be considered small. Roxanne knew some of the people that died… She had spoken to some of them, and she had seen the others talk together.
Fortunately, of the eleven who died, none of them were children. They resembled young adults, close to Roxanne’s age. She didn’t know whether to be happy or sad about this fact.
“They’re called The Guardians. In the unlikely case of an invasion, they make sure to protect the young ones and defend the pack… They mostly consist of young adults who are just learning responsibility. It’s meant to be a relatively easy job since that never happens though… Until now” Rita had told her.
Roxanne smiled tearfully, looking at the people who gave up their lives to protect the young ones. Their sacrifice was not in vain, and despite what everyone else said… They were the true heroes, not her!
Due to Roxanne’s fearlessness and brutal display of power, single handedly holding down the Hunters before Asher came, the pack members revered her even more and told Asher, as well as the warriors, exploits of her fight. The eyes they used to look at her, full of respect and awe… She didn’t deserve it… The dead ones did.
However, what was the point of these thoughts? It only served to make her miserable. She tried drowning it with work, just like Rita, but they kept coming back to her. This couldn’t continue anymore. She had to do something to lift everyone from such a brooding and depressing mood.
“Yes, it is. Why are you asking?” Rita answered tiredly, unlike her usual self.
This was the effect of the battle on her.
“That means today’s date is…” Roxanne counted her fingers as she numbered the days.
“December 23rd!!!” Roxanne exclaimed.
Rita was shaken by Roxanne’s sudden outburst and couldn’t understand the reason behind it.
“And…?!” Rita asked impatiently.
“Then tomorrow is Christmas Eve!” Roxanne stated.
“O-Oh is that so…?” Rita’s voice trailed off. Clearly, she wasn’t interested in whatever Roxanne was suggesting.
However, an idea had already sparked in Roxanne’s head, and she wouldn’t let up no matter what.
“That’s it, Rita! That’s what we have to do!” Roxanne said excitedly to her friend, who was stunned by Roxanne’s bubbly personality.
Roxanne hugged Rita tightly, causing the latter to be flustered.
“W-What are you talking about?” Rita said, trying to remove herself from Roxanne’s embrace.
In the midst of the sorrow and depression, it was obvious the thing to do was mourn. However, Roxanne had had enough of such negativity. She was tired of feeling sorry for herself and giving in to misery. When her father died, she kept the cloud of sadness hanging over her head, it followed her for years
But she had finally been cured of that. If she, if everyone in the pack didn’t take any action now, the clouds would return and stay over everyone’s head.
In such a scenario, she came up with the ideal solution. Instead of focusing on what they lost, they should celebrate what was saved. They could grieve for the ones who had departed, but also they needed to be joyous and grateful for those who remained.
And the perfect season for that was just around the corner.
“Rita, we’re going to celebrate Christmas!” Roxanne declared.
Rita’s face was stunned after hearing Roxanne say this. Was she crazy? After everything that had happened, she wanted to do something like that? But Roxanne wasn’t crazy. Rita realised that after seeing Roxanne’s eyes.
She too had been affected by the deaths of everyone. It hadn’t been long since she came to the pack, but she already considered everyone to be like family to her. That was why… She wanted the ones who were still alive to stop being sad and knocked down, she wanted them all to be happy.
A smile formed on Rita’s face.
“What am I doing? Roxanne’s right. This is no time to be moping about in depression…” Rita thought to herself.
She nodded and smiled as Roxanne released her from her embrace. She wholeheartedly agreed. They would celebrate! They had to, for the sake of everyone who was still alive.
However, one problem remained…
“Roxy… How does one celebrate Christmas?”