Fate's Pawn: Twin Moons

Chapter Five: Starting Positions

A sharp rap at my window made me crack an eye open. My body was screaming at me to stay right where I was and go back to sleep. Ivy was screaming at me too but hers was more of a howl. I moved as if I was ancient and groaned. It might have been wiser to stay up the entire night instead of only getting a few hours of sleep. I was going to suffer.

A muffled groan woke me up the rest of the way and I blinked down at the figure in my closet. My prisoner was still asleep. I tapped a finger as the tapping continued more fierce at my window. With a sigh, I went over and waved to Orchid to go ahead and come in. She had a key to the place, it wasn’t like I cared about her being here. But what was I going to do with this guy?

“Hazel, you’re going to be late!” Orchid was glaring at me until her eyes followed my train of sight. “What did you do now?”

“Prisoner.” I tapped my chin again. “How do I keep him from shifting?”

Orchid’s eyes widened. “You did all this without a plan? What if he gets out and tells everyone? Hazel, you’re crazy,” her last words were in a hiss. I watched as she scanned our surroundings, good she was seeking a way out of this problem as well.

“Maybe I can lock him in the closet?” I poked a finger at the walls. They weren’t flimsy but they were still just inner walls. If Tuff woke up and came to this full senses he would be able to free himself if he shifted, and quite easily.

Orchid glared at me. “Why do you always have to do the craziest things, Hazel? Why can’t you just be normal.” She sighed. “Okay, I’ve got it. I make a tea for myself during my monthly because I don’t like losing control when I’m a wolf. If we can force him to drink it, he won’t be able to shift for at least 12 hours.”

I smacked my forehead with an open palm. I hadn’t even thought about that. “You’re right, that stuff works really well and keeps the crazy away. Can you imagine how much trouble I’d be in if Ivy was given free reign during that time?” I shuddered. “I have some of that myself. Most of them think Ivy is crazier than I am, they really haven’t paid enough attention to know how loyal she is.” I chuckled.

Orchid rolled her eyes but she was already busy in the kitchen. I could hear her shifting boxes and the like. I turned my attention back to Tuff. He was still pretty much out of it. I really wished he had just left me alone last night. I had enough trouble in my life beside having to worry about someone trying to take advantage of me. I didn’t get why they hated me so much when I was just going to another pack anyway, and taking my curse with it.

‘We are poison, a bomb just waiting to go off, that is why. We only bring misfortune, just like how we took our mother’s life.’

‘Shut up, Ivy.’ I didn’t want to hear her right now. I didn’t want to think about the circumstances of our birth at all. But what was I going to do about Tuff? I wasn’t sure if the formula we drank for our monthlies would really work on a male or not. I could force him to drink it, and he might still be able to shift. I hadn’t killed him so maybe the pack wouldn’t demand my blood, but then again this was the pack that had hated me since my birth.

“Okay, here it is.” Orchid had returned with the drink in her hands. “I added something to it to keep him out until tomorrow too.”

That caused me to pause. “You what?”

Orchid didn’t answer me as she tugged my thick scarf out of Tuff’s mouth and started to pour the hot liquid in a little at a time. He winced at first taste but managed to take it all without waking. I was relieved and shoved the scarf back in. “That should do it,” Orchid was frowning in thought as she studied him. It didn’t look like she was convinced this would work either. She jerked to attention then turned back to me. “We’re going to be seriously late, Hazel.”

I bit back the fluttery wings of panic. I had prepared as well as I could. The rest was up to me and my skills. “Well then, let’s hurry and catch up.” I pulled the curtains on my windows so no light could peek through, locked Tuff into the closet, and then locked my place up before running to the starting line with Orchid in tow.

Obsidian greeted us with a flash of his teeth. Both he and his wolf Granite were terrifying, but he had the edge in my eyes. “Hazel, I thought you were going to skip out and miss our little event here.” His eyes slide past me to the flushed form of Orchid and he smirked. “And causing Orchid more trouble as well, I am not in the least surprised.”

“I’m sorry, Obsidian,” I bowed my head as I tried to regain normal breathing patterns.

His lips twisted. “You’re not the only one to sleep in, lucky for you.” He turned away from me and strode down the line nodding at us as he went. “Despite the delay in some of you arriving late,” he glared at me and a few others. “We are finally ready to start, and I as your alpha am here to wish you off as well as to remind you what this means.”

I tried my hardest to not roll my eyes, I blinked them instead, a lot. ‘Are you ready to show them what we’re made of, Ivy?’

She snorted at me. ‘I will not sabotage you, but do not expect me to help you, Hazel.’

Well, it was better than her trying to punish us at least. I shook my hands out as I looked into the forest. My skin was crawling as I thought about all the traps waiting for me. I really hoped I could remember where most of them were.

Obsidian was in the middle of a group of the elders of the clan. Most of the other males had chosen to skip this even. They only wanted to focus on the Great Hunt and hunting us all down, why would they even bother watching to see who came out on top here? My brother was here too. He was quiet as he inclined his head to listen to their soft talk. He looked like his normal self today, I hoped that meant he wouldn’t try to rescind his order to Ivy. I was at the point where I was counting on it right now.

I watched as whatever Obsidian said in his low voice made my brother’s back go straight as he tensed. That wasn’t a good sign. What was worse though is when those dark almost black eyes caught mine and he smirked. Obsidian strode back over to us and the girls around me started to giggle. He came to a stop in front of me his smirk more of a grin now. “We have decided to change things around a little for this season’s race. He pointed a finger at me. “You and Orchid were the very last two here. As such, I’ll let you decide amongst yourselves who will go last.

“Go last?” I demanded more than questioned. “That’s not how this works.”

His glare made me stop before I said anything else. “You’re right, Hazel, but normally the participants feel a bit more respectful to this whole endeavor. In all of my years as leader, I have never seen people arrive late. As such, there’s a penalty. Everyone else will be able to leave on time as normal, those that are late will leave in the order they decided to arrive here. You’ve given yourself an even greater handicap for the hunt tonight.” He smiled at me then and it caused me to shiver inside. “So choose, Hazel, will it be you or Orchid that is last to go?”

The words left my mouth before Orchid could even reply. “Orchid is going last.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw her eyes widen before she straight up glared at me. But that was fine. She’d understand soon enough. Besides, she should trust me a bit more than the initial gut punch reaction she was suffering from. I’d make it up to her. Even Obsidian seemed surprised by my words. For a moment his smirk slipped. He recovered and smiled at me once more his breath fanning my face as he leaned closer. He loved these little moments where he could remind me of my place. “Very well, Orchid you go last, Hazel here will get an entire minute ahead of you.”

I knew what I was doing, I just hoped Orchid would understand.