Heart Of Life

Chapter 8

Samika's POV

"Yes, but that's not a werewolf's vision!" I tell Devon.

"We can still work with Wolf's vision though," he says as he gives me various art supplies again.

He just said he wants to know the intensity of it, to know if the wolf in me can be triggered through werewolf elements. I don't know how it works, I have no idea.

But I can paint something for now. It's been a while since I have done it anyway. So I pick it all up and sit straight as I look around. We are at the pond and things are beautiful right now.

I take my time as I start painting the pond before me. The lotuses. The greenest grass. The dandelions. The Banyan tree with roots hanging down. Trees with orange flowers on the other side of the pond. Everything is so beautiful.

A pack member comes and stands behind me. I knew it through the sound of dried twigs and leaves when the person was walking. And if it's Cass or Tyler, they would have been talking by now without my permission.

"Alpha" she says and I look at Devon but he tilts his head. Oh yes. Me. Sometimes I tend to forget it.

"Yes," I say as I turn around.

I see a woman in her thirties. She is staring at the painting. She can be staring at anything that she wants but the rule is that she shouldn't be staring at Alpha. All rubbish.

"We need your permission for the Moonfest," she says and she shifts her gaze to the lotuses in the pond.

"Moonfest?" I ask her and then look at Devon.

"Leave," is all Devon says that made the lady bow down once again before leaving.

"Why can't you be nice to one single person?" I ask Devon as I shake my head.

He just shrugs and waits until the lady leaves, probably to explain to me what Moonfest actually is.

"So back when I was a kid I remember it was called a Moon Festival. But as years progressed it is now being called a Moonfest," Devon says and I nod.

"What exactly is this?" I ask him as I turn around, and resume painting the pond and the surroundings again.

"The day we celebrate totally worshipping the Moon Goddess. There is going to be a pack run as soon as the sun sets and the moon shows up. There is also going to be a bonfire. People can drink and dance. Unlimited alcohol that Tyler is in charge of. And at midnight when the moon is the brightest, we pray for her. We offer her our existence as we slice our palms and allow blood to fall down on the pack lands. And then shift into wolf form again and howl until the bright hour ends. Shows that we belong to the Moon Goddess with our blood, body and soul" he tells me.

And I just had to stop painting as I listened to him. Just a few months ago I didn't even know werewolves existed and now the werewolves celebrating a festival is the least I would expect from the race.

"So why do you people need my permission if it's a thing every year?" I ask Devon again.

"Because it's the Alpha who is going to offer blood first and then followed by the pack," He smirks.

With that, all the blood drained from my face. I know werewolves can heal so slicing their own palms means nothing to them. But I am a human. My hand hurts because of it and it takes me days to heal. Even weeks, if the cut is deep.

"Okay. It's time for you take the title back then," I tell him as I walk forward towards him but he walks even further making me stop in my tracks.

Devon is close to me, but takes one more step making him stand closer now. He looks at my painting and then at me, with a smile.

"Nyle was wrong,"he whispers and I look at him in confusion.

"Your vision is far from what he or his i***t sister detects," Devon says and the way he called Alyssa as i***t sister.. it says something is behind it.

"Is there something that I should know?" I ask him and he looks at me.

"Do you want to?" He asks me back and I nod. Of course I want to. It's about Alyssa!

"I f****d her once," Devon says and I opened my mouth so wide that I am sure my lower jaw would have hit the floor if it was not attached to my body.

"What?" I ask him, still in shock.

"Yeah. I regret it though. Not because it was wrong. But because it was horrible. She was horribly noisy," he tells me and I close my ears, refusing to hear another word.

Wow I didn't sign up for this!

Devon just smiles and shakes his head. And then he bursts out into laughter. Something about the way he is laughing says he was just ranting a random lie and none of it was true.

"Stupid," I say and punch his shoulder but he just chuckles.

"Well, I only consider her an i***t because she could have had any guy in our pack. She could have led a life as a werewolf but she chose that human to spend the rest of her life with," Devon shrugs.

"Maybe because she prioritized love over everything else?" I whisper.

Silence wraps around us and he just stares at me. His eyes dug deeper into my soul. The evening sun is making his hair appear a little shiny. He looks perfect.

Devon takes a step closer to me but before he says a word, I see he zoned out for a few seconds. A layer of fog clouded his vision and he explained to me two days ago that it's how mindlink works. That's how a werewolf communicates with another werewolf but they have to be from the same pack to do so.

Once he comes back to normal state, he looks at me with soft eyes.

"Nyle is here," he whispers.

"Oh Thank God!!" I groan as I turn around and start walking towards the pack house only to realize what I did.

I look at Devon to see him stare at the ground, his hands clenched into two tight fists on either side of him. It clearly shows that he is just trying to contain himself.

I don't look back again as I walk further towards the pack house. Nyle is here. I hope he is doing well. I hope he didn't get himself in trouble. I hope he is okay physically and mentally.

Just as I am about to enter the pack house, I hear a wolf howl so loud. And I know it's Devon's wolf. I stood there for a second and watched all the pack members stop what they were doing. They turned towards the direction of the howl and then at me. I wave my hand in dismissal, making them get back to work again.

I walk inside the pack house to see Gladys giving Nyle a glass of water. And Nyle doesn't really look good. He has bruises all over him. Literally on all parts of his body.