Lucy’s POV
Only five boys agreed to come with us to Moongrowl. The others refused for reasons only known to them. The carriage had been full, and moved slower than it should have, but we all made it back to Moongrowl in one piece.
Saying goodbye to Bloodbath territory had been painful, but there was nothing else I could do. I didn’t have necromancy powers to bring the dead back to life, neither could I turn back the hands of time to the point where things were still good.
Tragedy had struck, and I had to live with the memories of what was, and wishes of what could have been.
When we returned to the pack, I found out that while I didn’t necessarily miss the place, I couldn’t stop thinking about the people I had left. Tessa squealed with joy when she saw me, and practically flew into my arms before I even made it past the front door.
“Lucy!” she exclaimed, pressing her soft cheek into my belly. “Oh, I thought you wouldn’t come back.” She started to cry. “I thought that bad man had taken you forever.”
“Shhh, it’s okay.” I pressed her close, filled with joy at seeing her again. My mind had been wandering to her at different points while I had been captured. I had told Rosa before hand to be keeping an eye on her too just in case something kept me away, and I had made the right decision by doing such.
“She missed you a lot,” said Rosa, standing by the corner as though uncertain whether to come closer. She was dressed in a simple pink dress that complimented her honey complexion. It looked a whole lot better than the drab maid outfit she often had to wear.
I smiled at her. “Thank you for taking care of her. I’ll try to not get kidnapped again.” I went quiet after that, just simply looking at her with all the gratitude I could muster into an expression. Words couldn’t fully express what I felt, but I knew she would understand. She always did.
She replied with a genuine smile of her own, looking more relaxed than I had ever seen her in a while.
Shuffling behind us drew our attention to the five boys that had come with us. Their eyes were wide with awe as they looked around the foyer, taking in all the fancy lights and expensive portraits.
Tessa wiped her tears and looked at them with an innocent curiosity. “Who are they?”
“They’re your new packmates,” I replied, running a hand through her hair.
One of the boys stepped away from the others and came towards us. He had a tall build, even though he couldn’t have been more than 11 years of age. He stared at Tessa like she was an angel that had fallen from the sky.
“Your hair,” he simply said when she stood before us. He lifted his hand as though to touch it, but thought better of it and dropped his hand.
Tessa blinked, still sniffing away the last of her tears. “What’s wrong with my hair?” Her hand went into her wild red curls.
“They’re pretty-like red algae,” he said, smiling wide to reveal a diastema in between his two upper front teeth. “I like them.”
“Oh,” she said, instantly turning the same color of her hair. I didn’t know what I found more endearing: that she had been related to a plant, or that this was probably her first experience with someone close to her own age group.
“Lucy?” Shaun stood behind me. “Can I just have a minute of your time?”
I wanted to tell him no immediately, but the look in his eyes was so genuine that I would have felt like a villain doing such. “Alright.” I gave Tessa a little nudge forward to her new friend and chuckled when she gave a cute little squeal. At least she had made a new friend.
I followed Shaun to a quiet point of the foyer, only to see that his brothers were waiting there also.
“What is it?” I asked, momentarily locking eyes with Scott. He seemed to freeze, before quickly looking away. I turned my attention back to his brother.
“I never really said anything about it, which was an error on my part, but Lucy, I’m sorry I accused you of killing our father. And I’m thankful,” His eyes went to my shoulder, “that you saved me from that arrow that day.”
“I don’t need your thanks or your apology,” I said, already twisting on my heels.
He grabbed my arm. “That doesn’t mean I won’t do it anyway, Lucy. We’re all so sorry about everything that’s happened, and for treating you the way we did. It likely doesn’t mean much to you, but . . .” His uncertainty with everything he was saying pointed to the truth in his words. I’d never seen him so . . . unsure of himself.
Scott and Seth both walked to their brother’s side, taking a spot at either side of him. After a moment of silence, all three of them dropped to their knees with her fists over their hearts.
My breaths came out in short little puffs. “What are you doing?”
“A code of most werewolves that has existed for years, is the blood oath,” said Shaun. ” You spilled your blood for me, and so, it is only fitting that we protect you with ours. Blood for blood. Flesh for flesh.”
I tried to pull away, but he held on to me, skin hot against mine. This close, I felt the full weight of our bond, even if I didn’t fully understand it yet. It tugged at my soul, drawing me close, and begging me to stay near.
From the look in their eyes, I was certain they could feel it too.
“Blood for blood. Flesh for flesh,” said Seth.
Scott followed, the look in his eyes making my blood boil with . . . desire. “Blood for blood. Flesh for flesh.”
The rest of the world fell away, leaving just the four of us. It could have burst into terrible flames and we wouldn’t have taken notice of it.
Three wolves and their one soulmate.
–
After I managed to wash all the grime and dirt off my body, I put on some fresh, clean clothes and slid into bed beside an already sleeping Tessa. Her little pouty mouth was pursed in her sleep, twitching softly as she moved around in the land of dreams.
I closed my eyes and tried to sleep as well, but the triplets couldn’t just leave my thoughts. Their eyes flashed through my mind, the way they had looked at me like I was a goddess while they said their oaths ro me.
The Blood Oath. I hadn’t heard of it in a long time. The fact that it was said by men who until a little while back had been my enemies, made the whole case so surreal. I couldn’t quite believe it.
Blood for blood. Flesh for flesh.
I turned to face the other edge of my bed, hoping that sleep would come and take me away from thoughts of them. Why was I even thinking about them in the first place? Hadn’t I already made up my mind to stay away from them?
Why was my resolve faltering then?