You Rejected A Silver Wolf
A Bitter Soul

Chapter Nine - A Bitter Soul

Rihanna's POV

The rains came, so we had to move. The caves already had owners, and I wasn't in the mood to fight animals over shelter.

We were in our wolf form. My silver wolf seemed more agile under difficult situations than perfect ones. The omega girl from a clan, named Dara, was struggling under the rain. She was my responsibility, so I had to help. "Climb on me!" I told her. I had learned to break into a mind link earlier while trying to warn her about tigers.

Another perk of silver wolves. I wondered if it worked with Alphas too.

Since we had no pack and were basically each other's pack, we deserved to share a mind link.

"Can you carry me and all those memories you have with you?" She gazed at my bag, then at me. "Don't worry, I'm good," she said, continuing to crawl ahead.

The bag held the last of the memories I had of my pack. They were the only things linking me to my former life. Without them, we would be total savages in this forest where even wilder animals roamed.

Dara was an omega. She was weaker than I was and could die if I didn't help.

"Dara, wait up. There's another cave up ahead," I said, using my sharp eyes to spot it. I pushed her up the hill, climbing toward it.

"Don't worry, I'll set a fire as soon as we get there!" I assured her. She was already shaking violently from the cold.

Once we reached the cave, I dropped my bag on the ground and started a fire. I gave her some leftover meat, still warm, and went to check the cave.

I needed to know if there was already an owner. My eyes landed on an ebony black sword sheath. If I knew anything about the packs under Alpha Wayne, specifically the Red Moon Pack, it was their peculiar obsession with swords. My mind went back to their young Alpha attending Vanessa's birthday and gifting her many decorative swords. This sword sheath had to be theirs.

"Rihanna!"

My head snapped to the entrance, and I rushed to meet Dara, who had called out. When I got to her, I saw a bloody soldier lying on top of her. She was trying to save him.

The man's armor design matched the sword sheath. He was a hunter from the Red Moon Pack. I'd never seen one before.

I dived into my bag and brought out some items to stop the bleeding, along with ointment to hasten the healing process. But when I got close to the soldier, he threw my hand away.

"Let me die!"

Dara's face contorted as she looked at him, worried. "We can help you. Let us help you," she pleaded.

"What use is living? I led my hunters to their deaths, and we couldn't fulfill our mission. If I return, I'll be killed anyway!" he wailed in bitterness.

Yet another bitter soul. I sat beside him and forcefully plastered a bandage on his wounds.

"Kill yourself after this, but I don't want to feel guilty," I said dryly.

He turned his head to face me. "I should die, right?" I had meant my words as sarcasm, but I shrugged. Dara frowned slightly at me. Suddenly, the man pulled out a knife from his boot and stabbed himself. Dara and I jumped away from him.

"Curse the Black Rose Pack! I curse them with my dying breath!" he groaned. Blood poured out, and he finally stopped moving.

I glanced at Dara. Her eyes were watery; she couldn't bear seeing another death. I rushed to remove the bandage I had put on the man. "One who doesn't want to live has no hope," I sighed. I shouldn't have wasted bandages on him.

"You shouldn't have told him to die. He lost his hunters to a dreadful pack. The least you could've done was sympathize," Dara scolded.

I ignored her. Perhaps I hadn't thought much about my words, but the man already looked wasted. He was half-dead anyway. If he was that low mentally and emotionally, he wouldn't have healed himself even if we had tried. "The Black Rose Pack has its problems, but don't you think sending hunters to infiltrate that pack is more dreadful?" I asked her.

She looked away from me. From what I could tell, if the sword and the soldier belonged to the Red Moon Pack, then did they send hunters to kill someone in the Black Rose Pack?

I rolled up the bandage and tossed it back into my bag. "We'll stay here for the night. With what he said, I think we're close to the Black Rose Pack."

That wasn't a good thing. I was a rogue and should be dead. I shouldn't be seen, let alone caught.

"Let's bury him," Dara suggested, referring to the dead man.

I looked down at him in disgust. "I'll bury him. Stay inside," I said. She nodded and began preparing the bedding.

Outside, the rain had subsided, so I needed to hurry. Without the rain, anyone could catch my rogue scent and hunt me.

I shifted into wolf form and lifted the man onto my back. I activated a protective barrier in front of me and made short strides, looking for the dampest spot.

If this soldier was the last of his hunters, being buried nearby would be suspicious to the Black Rose Pack. I dropped him into a swampy puddle and muttered a short prayer to the Moon Goddess to accept his soul-his bitter, rude soul. On my way back, I heard the shuffling of leaves and the snapping of twigs under paws. I growled at the intruders.

Two brown wolves jumped out of the bushes, growling in return. I felt their energy and knew they were of warrior rank. Lana convinced me we could take them, so I dived to attack.

At first, I was thrown off balance, but I recovered and sank my claws into one. The other wolf, hurt by my actions, attacked more fiercely. My dodges and blows were swift and precise.

He tried to headbutt me, but my barrier sent him flying backward into a tree. The other wolf moaned in pain and rushed to help his companion. I snarled at them, warning them to back off, or they'd die for real this time. They fled. "Save us!" someone cried from the bushes.

I hurried over and found two women, tied with silver chains to a tree. Their skin was burning from the silver. In a swift movement, I tore the chains off them.

They fell to the ground and rushed to kiss my feet. "Thank you, Silver Wolf. The Moon Goddess has blessed the land. Thank you."

I had never felt so... important. I helped the youngest one to her feet and let her lean on me. Slowly, I was gaining the pack I needed.

Maybe I should keep saving the weak wolves. Not long ago, I hadn't been so different from them.