Chapter 3 Elsie's Wolf

• Elsie, her heart quickened with terror, cast her gaze upon the surrounding woodland, where only the gentle whisper of leaves met her ears.
• Suddenly, as if from a dream, a melodious voice echoed within her mind.
• "Greetings, Elsie, I am Daphne, your wolf ... "
• Elsie responded incredulously, "Daphne? You're my wolf?"
• "Yes, forgive my tardiness. Circumstances have ensnared me, preventing our communion. It was not my intent," Daphne's voice carried a burden of remorse.
• "And what were the reasons for your confinement?"
• Elsie's spirits soared with joy and curiosity. She rejoiced in finding her wolf! Could this portend the arrival of her fated mate? And what mystery confined Daphne, an enigma yet to be unveiled?
• "All shall be revealed in time," Daphne evaded, reluctant to dwell further, pausing briefly before adding, "Find sanctuary before nightfall. My strength wanes, and my appearance is fleeting. There is more than one Rogue prowling this forest, a perilous threat to you, especially now with children."
• "What?! I bear a child?" Elsie exclaimed. "But I lay with a stranger only last night ... "
• Daphne spoke softly, "Believe me, though improbable. Children stir within you, a gift from Selene."
• Yet amid her perplexity, Elsie detected a faint rustling in the distance.
• Approaching, it seems ...
• "Elsie, don't linger. Depart swiftly from this place," urged Daphne.
• Suppressing her doubts, Elsie rose and departed from Dark Moon Forest ...
• Ten cycles of the moon waxed and waned.
• Within a weathered dwelling in Frolida, Elsie endured the pangs of labour.
• With a cry, the babies were born into the world.
• Juliet cradled the newborns, still bearing the marks of birth, casting a piercing gaze upon Elsie, lying exhausted upon the bed.
• "Juliet, return... the children to me. " Elsie, pale as snow, struggled to rise.
• Juliet withdrew, avoiding Elsie's outstretched hand. "Elsie, you consort with savages, bear their untamed progeny, and now it is a blemish upon the Blue Moon pack. As daughter to the Alpha, it falls upon me to cleanse our name!"
• "No, they are not feral spawn, but my cherished babies ... " Elsie struggled, endeavouring to rise from her bed to protect her offspring, only to be thrust to the ground by Juliet.
• Having just endured childbirth, Elsie was frail, while Juliet had long since roused her lupine vigour, formidable and robust.
• The force of the kick threatened to fracture Elsie's ribs.
• She uttered a muted groan of anguish, and as her gaze lifted, she saw Juliet methodically dousing the room's every corner with petrol from a canister.
• In terror, Elsie queried, "What wicked deed do you intend?"
• "To immolate you!" Juliet declared, igniting a match and carelessly casting it to the floor before departing with the twins clutched tightly.
• The flame met the volatile fuel, swiftly engulfing the apartment in a conflagration.
• Juliet exited the blazing inferno, casting a fleeting glance over her shoulder before fixing her gaze upon the wailing infants cradled in her arms, her impatience evident as she chastised, "Cease your lamentations! Were it not for being the progeny of Leonel, I would have consigned you both to the flames."
• After a pause, Juliet continued, "Yet with your aid, my ascension to Luna of the Scarlet Veil Pack is assured."
• Ten moons prior, as Tom impatiently awaited Elsie's return to prepare for their departure, he dispatched Juliet to the Eclipse Hotel to hasten her.
• Little did he anticipate that she would encounter Leonel's entourage there.
• In both human and lupine domains, Leonel was a figure of renown.
• Not only was he the preeminent magnate of Frolida, his enterprises spanned the globe, and he stood as the formidable Alpha of the Scarlet Veil Pack!
• At twenty-four, he remained mateless, the hope of every unwedded she-wolf in Frolida.
• It was then that Juliet learned the truth—that the man Elsie had spent that fateful night with was none other than Leonel, not some wilderness rogue, but the esteemed and potent Alpha of Frolida—Leonel!
• How could one such as Elsie, lacking even a lupine bond, dare aspire to such a regal union!
• In her astonishment and envy, Juliet swiftly devised her plan—Leonel must believe that the one who had sacrificed her body that night to save him was none other than myself!
• Certainly, they were as twin as the moons, Elsie and she, mirrored in countenance, in stature, and in the very essence that wafted about them. Should Elsie vanish from this mortal coil, none would fathom the clandestine substitution enacted.
• As for these twins, they would be wielded as her most potent instruments to approach Leonel in times hence ...
• Within the domicile, Elsie found herself ensnared amid a conflagration, teetering on the brink of unconsciousness, when an urgent summons resonated within her mind.
• "Elsie, awaken swiftly, flee from this inferno!" It was Daphne.
• Struggling to maintain cognisance amidst the flickering blaze, Elsie weakly parried, "I am spent, devoid of strength; escape eludes me ... "
• "I'll aid you, Elsie; trust in me!" Daphne's cry rang out with urgency.
• Suddenly, Elsie's frail form was not engulfed by the scorching fire's heat, but by an inner fervour coursing through her sinews and marrow!
• A compelling force drew her, her bones stretched and swelled with alarming rapidity, threatening to tear her apart ...
• "What transpires within me?" Elsie queried in trepidation.
• Daphne's voice, gentle yet resolute, offered solace, "Don't be afraid, I'll guide you through your maiden transformation, though the hour is fraught ... "
• A surge of formidable power surged within Elsie's being. In an instant, her feeble frame not only stood but effortlessly traversed the infernal conflagration, leaping through a casement.
• The wind's lament echoed in her ears, and Elsie embraced a newfound vigour hitherto unknown.
• Only upon evading imminent peril did she cease her flight, contemplating her own lupine claws.
• Had she undergone metamorphosis?
• Elsie saw in awe her pristine white fur. Her lupine guise, a white wolf—stronger than any alpha? How could this be?
• Before she could voice her bewilderment to Daphne, her lupine form faltered, reverting once more to human guise.
• "Elsie, forgive me, this marks the extent of my aid ... " Daphne's voice waned faintly within her mind.
• "Daphne, Daphne?"
• Yet, no matter how fervently Elsie beseeched, Daphne did not answer again.
• In an abrupt turn of events, a well-known ache surged anew from within ...
• More children resided within her womb!
• Subsequently, wails akin to newborn kittens resonated through the air as Elsie brought forth her third and fourth offspring.
• It transpired that she carried not merely twins ...
• Her trembling hands tenderly embraced her two surviving infants.
• For these cherished little souls, she pledged unwavering fortitude in the face of any adversity.
• Elsie clenched her teeth, her gaze ablaze with steadfast resentment.
• "Juliet, Tom, I'll reclaim all that you have wrested from my grasp, bit by bit ... "