What in the world was it doing here? She asked herself for the thousandth time. She’d worn this bracelet since she was a baby, and a short time during her childhood. It meant so much to her because it was the only thing that reminded her of mama. She never took it off, and although she doesn’t remember much, she knows that she lost it sometime during young cub training, a very long time ago.
Her curiosity couldn’t let her remain quiet anymore, she needed to find out how this got here, and there’s only one person who can answer that question.
**********
The same way she’d left, he was surprised to see her enter the court again, he’d already seen the small ornament in her hand before she reached him.
“Where did you get that?” He asked her.
“I should be asking you this, who does this belong to?”
He looked at her strangely, as if trying to figure out what was running through her mind, he couldn’t get any answers so he decided to tell her the truth.
“It belonged to someone special.”
“Who is this someone?”
He shook his head, “I don’t know her name, but it was a long time ago. She forgot the bracelet with me, and then I never got the chance to give it to her again.”
Her heart moved then, as she recalled how it happened twenty years ago. Oh, Damian…
The next set of words he said then killed all the enthusiasm she felt in her heart…. “Don’t worry… It’s no longer important, I lost touch with that person, she could even be dead for all I know now. Please throw it away, I should have even done that sooner.”
She hid her expression, nodding her head as she tucked the bracelet into her pocket. No use digging up the past, she thought as she walked away from him sadly.
**********
It’s been long, especially with all that’s happened, Samara hasn’t had the time to meet with her partner in person. But this time, because of the crucial matter she wanted to discuss with him, she made sure to overcome any lengths she would face just to come here and visit him. Valledor’s wolf met her in their usual meeting point before he took his human form.
“Greetings Samara, I haven’t heard of you for long.”
She nodded, “I know. A lot has happened since the last time I came here, you won’t believe that I even got kidnapped and almost killed.”
“What? How come?”
“It’s a long story dear, maybe we can discuss about that later, but that’s not the reason why I came here.”
“Did you bring any good news to share?”
“Of course, I did. I brought much more than good news.”
He giddied, “what is it? Let me hear?”
“King Rakur has agreed to join us.”
“Oh! This is fantastic! I knew you would come through, Samara. I am so grateful for having you as my partner!”
“I feel the same way about you too, Valledor, and that’s why I came here, but first, it seems as if you had something you wanted to tell me.”
“Yes,” Valledor nodded. “Apart from it being good news, it’s also a prompt for us to strike as soon as possible before Miranda becomes an alpha.”
Samara’s face etched with worry then, “what is it?”
“King Luther is nearing his deathbed; the physician says he’ll be lucky to even last the week.”
“Oh god, this is wonderful news!”
“Not so wonderful for us Samara, because if he dies, Miranda will inherit all of his powers and become an alpha. We’ll have more to deal with on our hands.”
“Do not worry friend, remember that’s why I came here, we have to do something in order to stop Miranda from ever attaining those powers.” Samara thought of a plan then, “in case we are not able to kill her on time, you have to make sure that the news of the king’s death never reaches the silver pack.”
“Of course, that’s a sure banker. If Miranda assumes her place on the lotus throne, she’ll get her alpha powers. I’ll try my possible best to make sure that never happens. The girl must not find out, not until we have the winning edge over her.”
“Good,” Samara said. “You do just that.”
“So, is there something else you wanted to discuss with me?
“Yes partner. There was something I found out yesterday, something that made me start rushing here the first chance I got.”
“What is it?”
“I found out that the silver alpha wants to sign a treaty with another pack.”
“That’s impossible! The silver pack allies with no one.”
“It’s true. I too wouldn’t have believed it myself until I witnessed Damian himself spending nights in our packhouse. The first was when his wife and I got kidnapped, and then when we were investigating. He’s now so different from the ruthless alpha we heard of.”
“He’s… mixing with others now.”
“Exactly, and for the first time ever, he’s signing a treaty with a pack that had a former pact with his father, the red moon pack.”
“That’s alpha Jireh, I know him well, good friend of mine. Met him three cardinal conferences ago, but what I still don’t understand is how this helps us in our mission.”
“Hold on. I’m getting there, partner. I see an opportunity for us regarding this new pact that alpha Damian has decided to take.”
Valledor’s eyes shone desperately, “I’m eager to hear it. What opportunity do you see here for us, partner?”
“Trust… The one thing alpha Damian never gives, he’s decided to give a little ounce of it to alpha Jireh because his heart has been softened by his dear lover, princess Miranda.”
Upon seeing she had his full attention, Samara continued. “We are going to use that trust to our advantage by getting alpha Jireh to partner with us in our mission. He’s the perfect candidate since Damian sees him as a king of integrity and someone worthy of trust. Damian won’t know what him in the back when he finds out that his partner turns out to be a traitor. He might have even been dead before he finds out.”
Valledor nodded. “I love this plan of yours very much partner, but how do we get king Jireh on board? He’s not agreed to partner with us yet, how do you know he will?”
“That brings me to the reason I came here Valledor, because it’s up to you now; you will be going to king Jireh’s court to convince him to join us.”
Hearing her words, he didn’t waste time in firing a straight answer.
“Absolutely not!”