Chapter 3 - Echos of Her

He'd known her since they were children. Of course he knew her. It was his job to know evey member of his pack. She had always intrigued him. She was small, the runt in her litter, yet the only one to survive the illnesses that struck she and her siblings. She had survived the rogue attack that killed her parents and survived living alone when the pack began avoiding her. Nothing good came from Tahla Fayne.

She could not hunt anything bigger than a small mouse or rabbit and was bones waiting to fall apart. She was frail and small, afraid of her own shadow. Yet she lived everytime life threw something at her. She persevered through the worst storms and attacks, through the worst health.

But she was still weak. Weak in the eyes of the pack and weak in the eyes of its alpha.

"Surely there must be a misunderstanding. Varek has never been to The Lunaris," Kaelan wanted to glare at Varek, but his sights remained on Rogan and his guardians. They were all alert and weary of Varek. Their blades yet to be drawn and wolves unleashed. "We've come to seek help-"

"We do not associate ourselves with pack that cast out their own for trivial reasons. Leave. I will not ask again, Varynthian," Rogan hissed.

"What?" Varek was confused. Pack that cast out their own..?

His eyes widened. He had only ever cast out one person for a reason she did not deserve.

"You're awake." Varek's growl shook Tahla. His rejection after their intimate affair had taken a toll on her. He had left her on his floor, making no attempt to make her comfortable or even clothe her.

A fleece was thrown on her back and Tahla noticed the woman who walked in, followed by a man. Varek's mother and beta.

"You were told to leave before anyone sees you. It is past nightfall. You can slip away unnoticed." Maerith threw a small sack that held barely any clothing before she placed a hand on her son's shoulder. "My son deserves better than a runt. This pack is too powerful to fall. Now, dress yourself. Jarek will escort you to the borders and make sure nobody sees you and asks questions."

Jarek stepped forward with hesitation.

"Pl- please, Varek. Whatever I've done, I can ammend my mistakes." Tahla tied the fleece around herself and stood on unsteady legs. Her head spun, but she kept on toward her mate.

Maerith blocked her path with a look of disdain. "She even calls his name without respect. What are you waiting for, Jarek? Take her away!"

Varek watched her plead and kick. His fists clenched and unclenched. His mind was in a haze and it felt as though he was watching himself watch Tahla get dragged away. He felt empty, but he was quick to squash the feeling. He would have to find another mate. One that would suit his title. One that would bare him strong kin.

Maerith patted her son's back and graced him with a smile. "You've done the right thing."

Varek watched the door Tahla had been dragged from, his heart constricting oddly and painfully.

Had he done the right thing?

"Varek," Kaelan was waiting for his friend to say something, anything that would help them understand what in all the heavens was transpiring. The Lunaris beta and guardians seemed to have something rather unsettling against The Varynthian and it did not seem like it would bode well for the alpha pair as they had brought him here.

"Tahla...she's come here?" Varek took a step forward only to be halted by feral growls from the wolves and blades pointed in his direction.

"I advise you to take your leave without question or leave with your life hanging on by a thread." Rogan's threat was sincere and evoked fear in The Syltharian and Varynthian soldiers who had come with their leaders. " Leave. All of you!"

Ravyn gasped. "Wait, please-"

Rogan growled, his bones broke as he shifted swiftly, his men who stood as humans flocked threateningly around The Syltharian and Varynthian soldiers while the wolves stalked behind their beta. Rogan snarled at the intruders and began forward with his soldiers. The decision was made. These people would only leave with their lives if they were lucky.

But that was highly unlikely.

"Still yourselves," a soft voice halted any movement as all heads turned to its source. The Lunaris soldiers immediately put their blades away and stepped back toward the newcomer as the wolves stayed close to their visitors with caution. Rogan stepped beside the woman, his head slightly bowed in respect before turning to the group that stood in deep confusion with bared teeth.

Ravyn's hand touched her lips in surprise and Kaelan had eyes wider than saucers. They could feel the energy change with the presence of the woman. Another silence stretched.

Varek was frozen. He knew this woman, yet, at the same time, he did not. She was not the woman he thought he knew; the weak runt who'd survived the ordeals of the life she was dealt. The small wolf the fates had chosen to lead beside him. The woman he had used for his own selfish pleasure before throwing her into the wild for a chance at finding a better replacement.

This was no weak wolf.

She was no runt.

What she was, Varek could only see now with eyes anew. He'd been blinded by his greed to find a better mate, one to succeed the one made for him and rule by his side. He wanted power and was too naive to see the gift he was given.

The gift he had thrown away for eager hands to pick up.

The gift that stood before him.

She was majestic.

Her dark hair was brushed down her back, it shone with great care, fallen behind her like waves of the ocean at midnight. Her brown eyes, rich and earthy, the colour of autumn leaves. They pulled one in, smoldering with intensity, glowing like amber in the sunlight. Her skin radiated with health and good nurturing, most of it covered in beautiful, intricate ink. They whispered her status atop her skin, leaving no one to wonder who she was to The Lunaris.

"My Sage," Rogan bowed as he turned back, quickly covered by his men in a cloak to hide his state of undress since he had shredded his clothes for battle.

Tahla smiled at the man and touched his arm gently before she turned her eyes to their visitors. Her smile dropped when her eyes met Varek's. She had dreamed of those emerald pools for months before she killed her pains and welcomed the love that came from her people.

"I am Tahla Fayne, Alpha of The Lunaris." Her claim was bold. There was no room for suggestions that she could be anything else. Her tone was powerful. It did not weaver or cause doubt.

This was the leader they sought.

Varek thought his heart would burst from his chest. Nothing could have ever prepared him for this. Nothing had made ever want to make him fall to his knees before, but seeing Tahla now, he wanted to grovel. He'd made a mistake.

She stared at him with contempt. He knew then that groveling would take him absolutely nowhere with her. "Varek." Her voice was even, yet it held a poison behind it.

"Tahla-" Varek's words were halted by snarls from the wolves around him. They were largely outnumbered and he did not think these were all the Guardians the sanctuary had. Just how many people were beyond those borders?

"You- you know her?" Kaelan had shaken out of his thoughts and turned to Varek. This situation was already something bizarre and Varek knowing The Lunaris' alpha spelled nothing but doom for his withering relationship with the sanctuary if their reactions to his friend's name and tribe was anything to go by.

"He did." All eyes turned back to Tahla. Her hands were clasped behind her, toned muscles relaxed.

"How...?" Ravyn's whisper showed apprehension. She was eager to know what relationship Varek had with the sanctuary's leader, but she was also afraid of what it might entail.

Tahla chuckled, but it was without humour. She lifted her eyes to Varek's, a fire burning behind them, waiting to unlease and cause greater pain to the man who had shattered her. Her next words made The Syltharians regret offering help to Varek and bringing him to the sanctuary. It had most likely cost them whatever progress they had made earning The Lunaris' trust.

"I was once a Varynthian."