Filed To Story: Destined Bond with My Forbidden Alpha Novel (Alpha Alexander & Selene)
He would be closer to leaving this place and be able to warn the party as well. But the wound on his arm was deeper than he expected. He needed to treat it before the blood loss caused an issue for him.
It would need to be cleaned and stitched, which he couldn’t do out in the open. Not while there was a chance that the bats or another creature might smell the blood in the air.
He needed shelter; unfortunately, he knew exactly where to find it.
It wasn’t the safest option. He knew that very well. But any one of the empty houses could provide him with the refuge he needed to treat himself. He would only need to be there a short time. Just long enough to clean and stitch the wound. There was no point in risking staying any longer.
He swallowed as he saw the gates to the village. He hesitated for a moment but then took a deep breath. He had been close by the night before, and at the time, he saw no movement, no creatures. The village had been clear.
With any luck, it remained so.
As Myka and the children worked together to pack up the camp and prepare for the long hike up the mountain, Selene was gathering her own supplies when she heard a voice whisper through her memory.
‘Remember to leave me a gift of bread and salt from time to time to show your appreciation.’
She looked down into her pack. Then, she pulled out a piece of bread wrapped in a napkin she had saved to eat later.
“Myka,” she called.
“Yes?”
“Do you have any salt?”
Myka furrowed his brow and tilted his head. But he pulled the pack off his back and rummaged through it until he found a small tin.
“Of course,” he said, handing it to her. “Hard to make a good stew without some salt.”
Selene took the tin with a nod of thanks. She looked around, unsure of what she was looking for, until her eyes landed on an old tree. The roots had grown out of the ground around the base of the tree in such a way that it appeared as though there was a small entryway.
It seemed fitting.
She knelt before the tree, unwrapping the piece of bread and laying it at the small door. Then, opening the tin, she took a good pinch of salt and dropped it over the bread.
“What are you doing?” asked Sadie.
She had become curious when she heard Selene ask for the salt. Breakfast was long over, and all the food had been eaten or put away. It made no sense that Selene would already be hungry. So, Sadie watched, and when Selene knelt before the tree, she scooted closer to observe.
“I am showing my appreciation,” Selene replied.
Sadie furrowed her brows. She looked at the piece of bread on the ground and then back at Selene.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
Selene looked back at the girl with a smile.
“The last time I came to these mountains, I met… something…” she began. “It looked like a child but was ancient and powerful.”
Sadie listened with great interest; unbeknownst to Selene, so did everyone else.
“It helped me that day,” Selene continued. “It helped all of us.”
Selene took a breath. The Leshy was a terrifying being. It had said, more than once, that it was willing to kill the entire werewolf population without a thought, and she believed it could. But it had also taken pity on her. Destroying the mound so she wouldn’t have to when it saw how killing the wolves of Moonguard had affected her.
“It didn’t have to. It could have killed me or any of us… it could have just gone back to sleep and let me face the monsters waiting for me,” she said. “But, instead, it chose to help.”
“Does it live here?” Stefan asked, stepping forward.
Selene turned, surprised to see Stefan, the other children, and Myka standing close and listening. She couldn’t help but smile at the looks of curiosity in their eyes.
“I don’t know much about it,” she replied. “But a friend of mine that did said that Leshy, that’s its name, is like a forest spirit. It doesn’t necessarily live in just one place. It’s everywhere and nowhere at the same time.”
“Could we see it?” another boy asked.
“You wouldn’t want to,” Selene said, shaking her head. “Leshy is a powerful and ancient being. When it is awake, that means that something is very wrong. Just being awake, its power could cause problems across the world. So, it’s best for everyone if it continues to sleep and we never see it again.”
The children looked at each other with wide eyes and concern.
“No need to worry,” Selene said with a smile. “After helping me, Leshy went back to sleep.”
The look of relief that passed over the children was almost enough to make Selene laugh out loud. Of course, it was an appropriate reaction, but it was also quite adorable to see.
“Why the bread and salt?” Sadie asked.
Selene looked back down at her small offering.
“I’m not sure,” she replied honestly. “When I thanked Leshy for its help, it just said to leave it some bread and salt to show my appreciation from time to time.”
Sadie stood up and pulled her backpack off her shoulders. After rifling through her bag, she pulled out a small brown package of crackers.
“It’s not exactly bread,” Sadie said as she removed two crackers from the package. “But it’s got the same basic ingredients, and it is already salted.”
Sadie placed the two crackers beside Selene’s bread and looked up at her.
“Do you think Leshy will mind?” Sadie asked.
Selene smiled, placing a hand on Sadie’s shoulder.
“I think Leshy would be quite pleased by your gift,” she said.
Soon the other children asked to place their own small offerings. Myka gave those without snacks in their bags a small chunk of bread to add. Soon there was a small pile of bread, crackers, and pretzels.
“Sleep well, Leshy,” Stefan whispered, adding a handful of pretzels. “I hope we never have to meet.”
Stefan was the last to make his offering. The rest of the group had already moved to start the climb.
“That sounded a little rude,” Sadie said as Stefan joined them.
“It wasn’t rude,” Stefan replied, pulling his pack back onto his shoulder and walking past her. “Selene said that if Leshy is awake, it means bad things. So, I hope it doesn’t wake up any time soon.”
“Yes, but you’re still telling an ancient and powerful being, out loud, that you don’t want to meet it,” Sadie said as they all began hiking up the mountain. “That seems like an inside-your-head kind of comment.”
“I didn’t mean it in a rude way,” Stefan said, turning back to look at her.
He was a serious boy, and often this was the cause of many misunderstandings with the other kids. And even more often, this fueled Sadie’s slightly sadistic humor.
“Yea, but…” Sadie said, leaning down and whispering in his ear as she passed him. “What if you offended it?”
Stefan’s eyes widened, and Sadie giggled as she continued walking.
Behind them, Selene couldn’t help but laugh as she overheard the conversation. It reminded her of all the times she and Bell had ganged up on and tortured Axel.
She watched as Stefan shook his head and rushed to catch up to Sadie. They had each struggled and faced hardships they never should have. But in the end, they were lucky to have found each other and Myka and Peter.
Selene looked up at the mountain ahead. She took a deep breath and watched the others moving up the trail. Was she doing the right thing?
‘I love you, always.’
Alexander’s voice whispered as the moment replayed in her mind as it so often did. The roots falling over his body, dragging him back into the darkness.
Selene clenched her jaw and stood up straight. She took another deep breath through her nose, slowly pushing it back out.
This was the right thing, the only option. Moonguard was special. This was where the Goddess fell, where Leshy had woken. If anywhere in this world still held a connection to the ley line, it was here.
Selene pulled her pack up onto her shoulders and started after the others. It didn’t matter what lay ahead. She would keep them safe and still find what she was looking for.
It was the right choice. It had to be.
The hike up the mountain took longer than anticipated. Between the children needing to rest and the natural difficulty of the terrain, the pace of the group had to be slowed much more than Selene had hoped.
Looking at where they were on the mountain, she knew that if she went straight up, she could reach the village in only a few short hours. But, to keep the others safe from danger, she would first need to take them to the lake.
While the children sat and drank from their water bottles, Myka approached Selene.
“Hey,” he said, smiling. “I know this is taking a bit longer than planned, but we can still make it up today.”
“It’s all right,” Selene said. “We need to do what is best for the children, which means taking a slower pace.”
Myka was surprised and glad to hear her response. He knew how badly she wanted to explore the village and the mound. But perhaps he had been right about giving her something else to focus on. She was naturally protective, and she was good with the kids. This trip could be a turning point for her.
“You’re right,” he said. “But I was thinking, I know you said it wouldn’t be great for the kids to explore the village.”
Selene looked up, meeting Myka’s eyes with concern.
“And I agree,” Myka said quickly, seeing the look she gave him. “But I know how much you wanted to get there today. Right now, it will take us the rest of the day to get to the lake, and the sun will have set by the time we set up camp.”
“I know,” Selene said with a nod. “As I said, we must do what’s best for them.”
“And I appreciate that consideration,” Myka replied with a bright smile. “As well as choosing to go to the lake because you know they want to go fishing.”
When Selene had told him the plan, he was surprised. He had expected to go straight up the mountain rather than curving around to hit the lake. It was the faster route to reach the village, but Selene had insisted that the lake was the best camping option.
Selene nodded and looked away.
“But how about this,” Myka continued. “Let’s adjust our course.”
Selene turned back to him.
“What do you mean?”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?