Chapter 2: His Precious Parchment

Arisara

How could I let HIM see me like this?

After my b*astard husband forced himself on me, I just wanted to curl up into an impenetrable shell, like a green Siamese pill bug, and cry. Lying my bony back on reeds of bamboo, I swallowed the tears caused from his heartlessness. The saline droplets purified my heart which had been tainted by the man I was forced to wed. This time I let out a horrifying scream in desperation to find some relief. However, this time my shame was not a secret. Anurak saw me.

Days before their execution, I promised Anurak’s mother, I would be a role-model for their son. Although he doesn’t know what I look like as a wolf, the indignity in my soul was too deep to comfort myself in that fact. The little boy I used to walk with to the street market, chomping on fresh durian, hands interlocked, humming blissful melodies, heard my moans and howls. Thonburi has changed so much since then. With my husband soon-to-be in charge of the pack, the future will only be worse for Anurak; it would be better if he escaped this treacherous land for good. I didn’t want him to endure anymore pain, and I didn’t want him to endure mine.

In an effort to lead him to safety, I darted to the grove where Anurak was distracted by bat flowers. He was headed towards my husband and wouldn’t stand a chance against a fully developed adult. With my canine mouth ajar, gasping desperate breaths, I rushed instinctively towards him hoping he would identify me through my eyes.

...

Anurak’s vulnerable purple eyes, the shade of mangosteen, locked onto me. My body was wincing from the pain deep into my abdomen, yet blood was dripping from my cheek. When did this happen?! Why couldn’t I remember this wound?!

“How dare you attack him,” Manow, my she-wolf condemned, misunderstanding my intentions.

I didn’t intend to injure my best friend. “It wasn’t what it looked like!” I retorted.

All of a sudden, I inhaled a dreadful scent, that of rafflesia. I must have stepped on one in my haste. It’s the rarest plant in Southeast Asia, yet I manage to encounter one! Truly, a putrid day.

“So you really think killing your mat-“

“We’ll have to talk later, Manow! One more second in this manure pit and we’d both die from asphyxia!”

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed my husband gaining ground on me. My husband, who I even hate referring to as that, wasn’t a threat to catch me since he refused to shift. He claimed those who rely on their wolf to outduel others aren’t strong enough to begin with. If you ask me, I think he has performance anxiety. However, he could have easily tracked down Anurak who was too feeble to run at the moment. And, if he was re-captured, my father wouldn’t be so kind to wait four more years to kill him.

Without hesitation, I bit a fallen branch on the jungle floor, throwing it in the direction of relative safety, hoping to cajole Anurak to run that way. Intelligently, like the boy I aways remembered, he limped off into the shadows. Sadly, it’s safer to run deeper into an untamed jungle with venomous predators lurking at every corner than coming in contact with my bestial husband.

After taking in a final glance of my childhood friend, I turned around, sprinting towards the distant light shining outside the jungle. I have to make it back to th-

“What the h*ll?! Get off me you stupid serpent!” Oh, how I hated these dastardly creatures.

Opening my eyes ever so slightly, daring a peak towards the slimy substance around my paws, I realized it wasn’t a snake coiling around me, but rather a leather bag. It looks exactly like the mauve colored satchel Anurak always carried with him. Whatever was inside must be of great importance, and a further reason why I could not let my husband or father discover it. With the bag firmly in my mouth I charged toward the packhouse. I needed to lock this safely away. I could only hope my father wasn’t there when I arrived.

...

The mood in Thonburi was somber as the sun was casting its last shadow into the town square. Executions were not uncommon, but Weepa and Parunchai were not any common wolves. Although those in the pack today would never know, Anurak’s parents were the first Luna and Alpha of Thonburi. When my father, Parunchai’s Beta at the time, threatened a coup due to a disagreement in pack principles, Anurak’s father peacefully handed over his title. Weepa and Parunchai remained as pack nobility for many years, amassing many loyal followers in that time. That’s why today’s ceremony felt as if the soul of Thonburi had been battered to a pulp.

As I neared the packhouse, I shifted back to my human form to avoid permeating suspicious behavior. I needed to find a change of clothes like NOW, since my husband ripped mine off and left my macadamia-toned skin vulnerable. I scurried by the night-market Jatujak with the agility of a shadow dancer, avoiding my packmates selling their day’s lot of live fish, knowing one encounter in my disheveled state would bring too much attention. Luckily, all the merchants were busy with customers, a common occurrence in recent years since my father opened trade routes in the South China Sea. While I was ecstatic for Thonburi’s economic good-fortune, I was more thankful that no eyes were on me.

I identified an elderly woman in the distance selling chiffon casual wear. Her eyesight must be failing her because she greeted me oddly. “Welcome, sir, please take a look at my offerings!”

Either she was blind, or she was trying to tell me something, as I stood bare-skinned an arms-length away from her. On the cusp of an existential crisis, I select the teal evening gown adorned with yellow frangipani buds and blue elephants.

“An excellent choice: The evening gown with frangipani and elephants. Yellow and blue is my favorite combination!” the elderly saleswoman exclaimed with an innocent grin.

So she can see! If I wasn’t in my current predicament I would give her an earful, but instead I was faced with another problematic situation: no money. Carefully opening Anurak’s satchel, which was expertly situated in front of my groin, shielding my most vulnerable asset, I rummaged the pouches praying to find money. Alas, as more eyes began turning towards me, I waved five Siamese baht into the air, thanking my dear friend for saving me from complete dishonor. I paid the judgmental merchant and quickly changed into my new flamboyant outfit.

Elusiveness wasn’t my strong suit, as I usually found myself in some sort of puzzling predicament, however maybe my lunar year’s resolution not to skip ‘mandatory’ wolf training finally paid off. I rolled my eyes at the words ‘mandatory,’ because when you are the destined Luna of the most powerful pack in Southeast Asia, you can basically get away with murder.

“What are you doing outside of the packhouse this late? Didn’t I warn you this is the time Rogues like to strike?”

OH SH*T! Dad!

My lips, trembling rapidly as if I was stranded naked in the Arctic, signal to my dad, ‘Hey, your daughter’s guilty!” In an effort to distract him I blurted out, “Wow, I can’t believe someone who spend 100,000 baht on an Arowana! Talk about a bad return on investment! By 60 that fish will be dead!” After it was too late, I bit my tongue, realizing my dad was almost 60 years old.

Brace for impact.

“What the h*ll is that on your face?” my dad followed up, completely ignoring my jab at his elderly age.

“Oh, Jaoying, let me borrow her makeup! I know dark eyeliner isn’t usually my style, but I thought it was appropriate to match the mood of the day.” My answer didn’t satisfy his fuming expression. There’s no way....It didn’t carry over when I shifted. Could it have?! I’ve never been wounded before as a wolf. How could I be so stupid!!!!

Incrementally, I lifted the palm of my left hand, touching my fingertips to my cheekbone. With one eye shut, and the other one wincing in fear, I looked down at my index finger, smeared with crimson-colored blood.

“You have five seconds to tell me who hurt you before I KILL EVERY NEXT PERSON I SEE!” My father, not very self-aware, caused the whole market to pause and look directly at us. In an effort to quell the curiosity, he craned his neck, giving the onlookers a stare of vindication. Thonburi’s citizens are well aware of my father’s merciless behavior. He killed his best friends this morning, so what was stopping him from killing a stranger? The market resumed to its previous clamor as I tried to give an answer that would please my father.

“I was sparring with Mee Noi earlier during training. I didn’t block fast enou-“

“You really expect me to believe that bullsh*t you’re spewing! When was the last time you even attended sparring practice!”

Yep, another oversight on my part. My attendance issues were well documented by the pack’s training specialist: Chavoret.

“What’s that you have with you? Surely that ragged bag wouldn’t be that of a future Luna.”

As I attempted to shield the satchel behind my torso, my father clawed at the bag that belonged to Anurak. Hastily unclasping the pouch, he pulled out parchment with an illustration on it. It made sense that drawings would be in Anurak’s satchel, seeing that since we were young, he always preferred to doodle than carry conversation. It was his refuge from socializing, which he wasn’t very good at.

My father, with eyes dilated and hands shaking vigorously, flipped the parchment around.

Anurak’s parents.