Chapter 5

• Garridan
• _______
• I cursed in my head when the giant fang buried in my flesh. I moved away, but the damn giant snake pulled away, leaving me a long, ragged wound. It stung so much that I whimpered in pain.
• Litany of curses left my head. I barely noticed that the fight was over, as our enemies had second thoughts at the moment. It was most probably because of the unknown creatures that suddenly portaled in the forest of Lipova.
• I could not tell if it was good or bad, but what I felt was worse. My wound burned, and it seemed to gnaw my flesh further as moments passed by. I observed the gigantic black snake go through another portal, and to my disbelief, the massive white snake shifted into a human being.
• “They’re retreating, Delta Garro.” One of the low-ranking wolves mindlinked me, referring to the Sivvuk Pack.
• I shifted as well, oblivious to my pack members’ stares and whispers in my head. They were also mystified by the appearance of this snake shifter in our midst.
• “Bring Ultima Vasile, the wounded, and the dead back to the pack mansion!”
• I heard Alpha Kronid deliver his order to the rest of the pack through telepathy. I must say none of the two fighting packs won tonight. Was the Blood Moon’s magic somehow a gift to us tonight? With one glance, I knew that Ultima Vasile would be fine in no time, as his leg wound looked superficial, comparing to our pack members’.
• I watched as the now female snake shifter walked to approach me. I had never known such a shifter having clothing on their bodies after shifting into their human form. They were usually naked. If she conjured such a thing, her powers must be great. Was she part sorceress? Tribrids were unusual, yes. They were not common, but it would not be impossible if this massive shifter was in that category.
• She looked maybe twenty-five years old, with milky white skin, maroon eyes, white eyebrows and lashes, and long silver hair that reached the back of her knees. I noticed her tattoos of golden armbands and ankle bands. She looked alluring in her sexy sleeveless see-through nylon babydoll dress with long side slits. She had no other underwear but the G-string. I could not help but feel aroused, but I hid it from her and my fellow pack members’ eyes.
• I cursed in my head. This was not right. How could I want someone like this murderer? She killed my family! She did not deserve even my admiration, no matter how beautiful she was. No matter how those golden tips looked so inviting for my touch and suckle, wanting me to taste them… No, no!
• She healed my burning wound, and I realized I spoke a different language other than Romanian, my native tongue. It was of course odd, because I had never spoken another foreign language, except English.
• There must be something about this woman. She was indeed different. She could heal my wound just like that, and her massive other form was another story. She was a dangerous one.
• I debated with myself whether I should keep her or not. She could be a menace to our pack. What if she was a spy? Her sudden appearance was more than a coincidence while our pack fought against Ultima Danijel’s.
• I need to know, and she must pay for what she’s done to my family!
• “P-pay you w-with my life and body?” Tezy echoed. Her pretty maroon eyes blazed. Strangely, I thought they were prepossessing.
• “You heard me.” I wrapped my hand tighter around her slender neck. Her skin was so soft and silky. My hands itched to run all over her body, wanting to confirm whether the other parts were as silky or even silkier.
• I gritted my teeth, mustering my self-restraint. I must focus and not let my testosterone run wild.
• Using her powers, she pushed me away from her. She heaved, waving a hand. It even amazed me when I was clad in a white silk robe in just a blink of an eye.
• “Don’t be so full of yourself, you little creature! I can reduce you to nothing if I so wish!”
• “You killed my family!” I reminded her.
• “I didn’t mean it! They were just powerless mortals!” she hissed.
• My jaw hung, blinking while staring at her. “Powerless mortals?” I stepped closer to her menacingly. With my full height of six feet and three inches, she had to raise her chin to meet my darkening globes. “They were my family! You killed my sister, my brother, my cousin! If you and that black snake hadn’t interfered our battle, they could’ve been saved!” My hand shot out to hold her by the neck, but this time, she parried it easily.
• “I did apologize for that. I did not mean to kill any of you creatures, whatever you’re called! I regret to even portaled here, but I had no choice! If I hadn’t done it, I would’ve lost!” Her eyes glittered with unshed tears, which made me still. She looked away, blinking and heaving hard. “I am not even sure if my worshippers are being spared at the moment.” She faced me again, as the wind blew. Her long silver hair danced, as though silk curtain. My hands itched to touch it, wanting to feel how soft it was. The strands must be sleek.
• “I don’t even know if I can still go back and see to it that they’re safe!” she added. Her eyes looked fierce and soft at the same time. It was quite bizarre for me.
• “Worshippers?” I mumbled.
• “Delta Garro, bring that shifter with us!” Alpha Kronid ordered.
• “I’m sorry, Alpha Kronid. I can’t follow your order right now. This creature is dangerous! We can’t just bring her to our home and simply put her in the dungeon,” I answered to him.
• “You have a point, but where and how to detain her then?” he queried.
• I saw Alpha Kronid stand behind Tezy, several meters away. A safe enough distance from her. Who knew she might shift again and blow us all up into ashes? She was like a ticking bomb.
• “I know a place. Don’t worry about it,” I assured him.
• “Fine, I’ll leave this matter to you. It seems that you two understand each other. Listening to you two talk like aliens make my head ache. Watching her may be even worse. I think you can handle her, though I won’t even want to risk my neck just to face her, knowing what she can do.” He then disappeared with the rest of the pack members, leaving me and Tezy alone in the middle of the ruins.
• Somehow, I was relieved that the rest of the pack had left. I stared at Tezy for a long moment. She had not spoken, as though she was listening to my telepathic conversation with Alpha Kronid.
• She scoffed a little. “Your Alpha Kronid has a good sense of self-preservation,” she commented.
• Instead of being stunned upon hearing it, it irritated me. “You heard our mindlink, and you understand our language?”
• “It looks like a two-way thing, then. It’s just fair, don’t you think? You can understand me, and I can understand you, thanks to that,” she said, nodding to my scar.
• I huffed at that, gritting my teeth. I could still remember how it hurt earlier. It seemed so long ago, though, oddly. I could not feel the pain anymore.
• Our eyes met once more. I had to stop myself from looking at those golden nipples to focus on the matter at hand.
• “If you don’t want to pay my family’s lives with yours, then how will you repay me?”
• Her peachy lips parted. “Well, I… I…”
• She was either confused, had no words to say, or deny me. Either way, I would not let her go easily. Even though I knew what she was capable of, I would not just let her slip away like a snake she was. I swore she would pay for what she did! A simple apology would not suffice, no matter her reason was.
• “You owe me more than three lives, Tezy Hebbia,” I reminded her. “My other pack members died because of you! For that, you will serve me,” I blurted out.