Snarls of fury

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

On the outside, Hera looked fine. She was now squeaky clean, dressed in a simple purple dress and her auburn hair hung in glimmering ringlets over her shoulders and back but on the inside, she was a freaking mess.

She couldn't get the thoughts of the wolf with red eyes out of her damn head. She just kept thinking of the wolf and its heavenly scent. Hera sat on the red couch, cradling her temples which were beginning to ache.

What in the world was wrong with her? Why was she thinking of a wolf so much? It was a damn wolf for f**k's sake. Did she have a wolf fetish now? She let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration?

How did her life even turn into this? From living peacefully in Wardsville with her parents to pining after a damn wolf in Blood-stone. How did one's life even transform like that?

A knock on the door jolted her out of her reverie and before they entered into the chamber, she already knew it was the betas. She literally had no other visitors here except Rune who dropped in very rarely.

Knox and Asha rushed in with worried expressions on their faces and Hera wouldn't lie. She was touched by how worried they seemed to be about her, especially Asha. Her cold and indifferent expression was gone and its place, her eyebrows furrowed with worry.

“Are you okay?” Knox said, rushing to her side on the couch. “We heard what happened,”

He gently took Hera's hands in his own as his eyes glazed over with worry and Asha stood rooted to a spot as usual. “I'm so sorry I wasn't here, Hera. I cannot imagine how much pain you had to go through.”

The sincerity in Knox’s eyes almost brought her to the brink of tears as the memories of her transformation flashed through her head. She never wanted to experience that kind of pain again.

She blinked back her tears and clutched Knox's hands tightly. “It was horrible. The pain, Knox. It was horrible.” She whispered and his face twisted with sympathy.

“I know, I know.” He whispered back and Asha just watched without uttering a word.

“Is it going to feel like that every time I have to transform?” She asked in a small voice and Asha answered this time and even though her voice was still aloof, it lacked the usual coldness and it made Hera glance at her.

“The word is shift and yes, the first few times, it will be painful but after a while, your body will adjust to the pain,”

Hera opened her mouth to speak but it looked like Asha was not done talking.

“I apologize that we were not here for your first shift. I cannot imagine how painful it must have been for you but I can assure you that we will be here to teach you all you need to know about being a werewolf. Knox and I will be here with you every step of the way.”

Asha finished and Hera didn't understand how she could sound so emotionless but emotional at the same time. There was no doubt that Asha was truly an astounding woman.

Hera gave her a small smile which wasn't returned as expected. “Thank you for saying that. I really appreciate it.”

The only reaction she got was Asha instantly averting her eyes and Hera chuckled before turning back to Knox who still had an extremely worried expression on his face.

“Come on, Knox. Don’t give me that look. I'm completely fine as you can see.”

“But I can't help but worry about you, Hera. A werewolf’s first shift can be traumatizing.” Knox said, still holding on to her hands, his baby blue eyes shiny with worry.

“Well I'm not traumatized. I'm okay. See?” Hera said and stretched her limbs which indeed felt good as new.

Knox chuckled, finally releasing her hands. “Fine. I believe you.” He said.

Hera glanced at the two betas and wondered if it would be okay to bring up the wolf she met in the woods. She couldn't get the darn wolf off her mind and she wanted to know why. She cleared her throat first before speaking.

“So, uhm— what color of eyes do werewolves usually have in their wolf forms?”

“Usually yellow, blue—” Knox began but he raised an eyebrow midway. “Wait, why do you ask?”

Asha had also turned her attention to the conversation and she was now listening carefully.

“Do wolves usually have glowing red eyes?” Hera asked with an innocent look on her face. Knox’s eyebrows raised even higher and he exchanged glances with Asha.

“Why do you ask?” Asha asked with an unreadable expression on her face and for some reason, the atmosphere slowly became tense. Hera gulped slightly before she continued speaking.

“Well, when I shifted, I ran into the woods but midway, I smelled something really strange and sweet—” Hera continued and Knox's eyes narrowed slightly at that.

“The scent was so irresistible that I had to find where it was coming from and when I did, I found a big black wolf with red eyes.” Hera said and a small gasp escaped Asha's lips as she exchanged panicked glances with Knox.

Hera raised an eyebrow at their strange behavior. Did they know the wolf with red eyes?

“What happened when you found the wolf?” Knox said in a quiet voice.

“Well, an overwhelming wave of emotions hit me at that moment that I really can't explain. It was so heavy that I couldn't take it anymore and I ended up passing out. I woke up here. In my bed.” Hera explained and the betas just stared at her with wide eyes without saying anything.

“Well?” Hera asked, expecting a reply.

“Well what?” Asha asked and Hera let out a frustrated sigh.

“From your reactions, you two must know who the wolf with the red eyes is.”

“What? No. Of course not. We're just surprised, that's all.” Asha said and Hera gaped at the betas. What in the world was going on?

“Your tale is very surprising and uhm—” Knox began, glancing at Asha. “And intriguing.”