Wolves by Ash Faith (ebook reader 7 inch .TXT) 📖

“I am Yulanda, a vamp of vampire Prince Kade Samuels, sent to help guide you, Werewolf Alpha named Ace, to succeed in keeping the territory you have earned.” She practiced her up and down search, delivering a flirty wink and smile before her face returned to blankness and she stepped back into line. “You fit this position well, Yulanda. Next,” I congratulated her performance. Next a much shorter, younger girl stood up to me, confidently. “Hi, I’m Remy, a fairy sent by Prince Kade Samuels, to you, the wolf named Lana, to help you succeed in keeping your own place and control.” She stepped down, but her smile, unlike the others, was true, as was her excitement for the task. I couldn’t help but smile at her cute little introduction and happiness. “You’re dangerously ready for the task ahead, Remy.” “Remember the stakes if you fail ladies.” Randy said from the door of the room, with another figure next to him. Jay, the youngster who’d been begging for Remy’s position for hours on end from the moment I announced its trials.

“I’ve told you more than once, Jay,” I sighed, remembering the word no I had said way too many times for me to count.

“Prince, I promise you, she already trusts me, she won’t trust something like that.” He gestures at Remy, the fairy only replying by sticking her tongue out and blowing a raspberry. Dangerously adorable. Was all she could remind me of, as her small little button nose twitched, flipping Jay off his own feet and slam dunking him into the polished wood floor.

“Careful Remy, I don’t want my floors ruined” I kindly said, interrupting her anger burst.

“My apologies, Prince.” She said, her child-like voice accompanying an apologetic bow could only make one feel like they wanted to just cuddle her for eternity. Fairies. I scoffed in my thoughts.

“Be on your way, ladies.” I ordered, waving my hand in the air as the vamps used their inhuman speed to enter out the door, and the fairy vanishing into thin air.

“I don’t want to hear any more complaints about my choices from you,” I turned to Jay and Randy, “Or you” I pointed my last words at Randy, surprising him.

“I’m not complaining at all” Randy grinned as Jay rubbed his head in clear pain. His whole demeanour suggested he’d seen or known something more about the youngster that made him deserve the pounding. I wanted to question it, but I didn’t have the time.

“I’ll make sure everything stays in place for your return from your honeymoon, Your Highness” Randy said, dragging the slumped boy along with him as he left the room.

Julie mustn’t be told the wolf is in town. It’ll ruin the week I have planned. I smiled at my thoughts, reminding myself of the things I would give Julie, the scenery I would share with her. I just had to make sure she wouldn’t be able to read my lies if she ever mentioned her. Easy.

I woke myself with a moan. Stretching out my hand and going to grab a handful of sheets. I was poorly mistaken. Opening my eyes to see my hand full of leaves and dirt I had just grabbed from the woods floor I laid on. My back cracked as I sat up, dropping the leaves and finding many more attached to the once-clean clothes, now covered in dirt. Brushing off as much as I could, I felt something inside my sleeve. I stood up on my still asleep legs, wobbling slightly but holding onto the tree I’d slept under. Curiosity grabbing hold of me, I shook the object out of my sleeve. Oh yeah, that. I thought, as I remembered the familiar map and confusing scene that happened to be the night before. Keep your guard up, you never know when you’re not alone. Protect the map. My wolf instructed me, pulling my senses back up to their heightened stances. I suddenly got the feeling I was being watched, quickly grabbing my map, and silently walking forward. Let’s see… I opened the map just enough so that I could see it fully, memorising it as much as possible. ‘Therelia’ the old scroll was named, of course, the random ‘ancient’ bullshit Kade was talking about last night. A small red glowing dot attracted my attention, in the middle of what looked like a delicately drawn forest. It was labelled, ‘Beholder’. As I continued to walk, the dot moved. “What the?” I whispered to myself, confused at what the hell had just happened. Wait, someone once told me about a fairy-tale of something like this. Jye, I thought sincerely realising I’d forgotten all about him and the other guys. A tear edged its way into my eyes but I swallowed it away, remembering my promise to them. Jye… Hue… Franky… Lan… Mongo…

“If you ever feel alone,” Mongo’s voice shook my head in memory,

“Or that you need a good friend to trust,” Lan’s voice joined Mongo’s

“Or someone to beat up anybody who’s pissed you off,” Franky’s thundering voice joined the parade,

“Someone to call when you need help, or are lost, promise us you’ll call.” Hue’s concerned voice, shaking my nerves as it too joined from my memories,

“People to call your brothers, your family, we’ll be waiting for you to call.” Jye’s loving voice finished off the memory, as the tear I’d pushed back, flooded down my cheek without my permission. I wiped it away, knowing I should show such weakness, even if I was just the only one here. But I don’t feel like I am.

Shaking my head, I remembered the all too well story Jye would tell. It was a story of supernatural’s, ones I thought once never existed, and their adventures around a different planet. He said they travelled using maps with glowing red dots, that would show their holder where they were on the map. It was just a story, I thought as I willed myself to move again, tracking my steps.

Two steps forward. The dot moved the slightest bit forward.

Two steps back. It settled back into its old position.

Four steps left. It swiftly doubled its previous lengths to the left.

It’s not just a story, I crumpled my brow, realising I shouldn’t think any of our old fairy-tales were just stories. This could be extremely useful, and since I’m it’s… beholder, it could definitely take me where I needed to go. Where I needed to be right now. I traced my finger past the lining of the woods that I must be in on the map, and finding another beautifully delicate tracing of the town. But surprisingly enough, it detailed down to specifics of different houses, restaurants, all things I’d seen recently. Despite the fact that it seemed ancient, the map revealed the modern-day town of Therelia. Who am I kidding, none of this is even surprising anymore. I wouldn’t be surprised if big foot was standing next to me giving me an invitation to a tea party for fucks sake. I rolled the map up, remembering the directions I needed to go, and shoving it back up my long sleeve. I normally hated long sleeves, but, it’s not like I had a choice. I’d stupidly left my duffel bag all the way back at the battle between Jackal and Harold. Smart move, Lana, smart move. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but a promise is a promise, and I never break my promises. As I walked, I was reminded of one more promise I hadn’t broken. “Promise me you won’t forget me,” his voice broke every chain of thought I had every time those words thundered my mind. I never understood what he meant, that day, and I didn’t want to. Something deep inside me told me that if I did understand, I wouldn’t hold back something from him. What that something was, I had no clue. But I had a clue of what I was doing now. I needed to go in town, and do what I spent my free years as an older teen doing. Steal. I did it to survive then, and I guess, it’d be the same now. I needed money, a phone and clothes. And if I was lucky a tent or something like a mattress because I was not sleeping on the ground again, that’d earned me a small back ache I didn’t want again, even though I healed quickly it was still just as annoying as when they occurred for days when I used to sleep on the streets.

The woods began to clear up, as I realised I’d been thinking so hard about the past and things people had said that I’d lost track on how fast the time had gone by, and that I was already on the verge of Therelia. I wish Judy Jennifer had told me the modern name of this place, I thought, knowing for sure people knew it by a much different, more normal name. Daylight shone on my face, forcing me to use a hand to cover my eyes, shielding them from the brightness like the trees had done moments before.

“From memory… there should be one right around here…” I mumbled to myself, stalking the street.

“Looking for something?” a child’s voice appeared behind me, Ew, children. I chose to ignore the kid, there was no way I was looking it in the eye, children were evil in my eyes, not just evil but every time I looked them in the eyes they would burst into tears. I felt a small tug at the back of my shirt, stopping me in my tracks. The snotball had touched me. The snotball. Touched me.

“What do you want, kid? I’ve got to do something important.” I snapped, not even turning to the little beast. Something like steal from your parents.

“Hi, I’m Re- “

“I don’t care who you are. Run off to your mummy and daddy already, before a big bad wolf snaps you up and eats you.” I taunted, continuing to walk on, taking advantage of the fact that the kid had dropped my shirt. A big bad wolf like me, who is hungry after all. Just not for snotballs.  Not daring to look back, mainly because I’d probably see a kid dropped on their ass crying their demonic little soul out.

Hope and excitement drilled themselves through my face as I couldn’t help but smile, my memory didn’t fail me, as I was met with the rusty old payphone barely running on the corner of the street between the café I met Jack and the street of bars. Sliding my feet along and into the payphone my waves of nervousness and excitement crashed against each other. Breaking into payphones was easy for me, I’d done it before without money. Surely, I can still do it, even if it had been a fair few years since. I tested the strength of my nails, making sure they were still as strong as they used to be. Or even stronger, from the events that had gone on since then. They didn’t snap as I pressed them against the metal, forcing another smile. “Still got it.” I whispered to myself proudly, as I