35. Attack
thirty-five
Attack
*ALANA*
A dragon, the little girl saw a dragon. She never told anyone because even at her young age she knew no one would believe her, like back in the days when no one believed me. I still remember how lonely I felt back then.
I made sure to tell her that I believe her, so she knows that at least one adult does. In general, it seems like most of the adults here failed the kids. It’s not like I can’t understand, but it’s upsetting that we have a whole group of witnesses, and everyone brushed them off because they are kids.
No one believes the children. No one believed me.
My head is hurting from all the thoughts running through it, and the worst part is that Ita and Tynan still haven’t returned. I have no one to talk to, no one to comfort me. I just want Ita to return and smile at me like she usually does. She is such a fierce warrior, strong and beautiful. She has that beautiful long brown hair, always tying it back, full lips and deep brown eyes. And she is fun and kind. She is the whole package.
“Princess Alana?” Alpha Blaine approaches me, successfully pulling me out of my thoughts. “One of my men told me you might have some news.”
“I do,” I say. “Is there anywhere we can talk in private?”
Blaine leads me to his office where we can talk without being interrupted. His future luna, Caitlin, joins us too, and I tell them everything I found out from the kids, minus the little secret Caitlin’s sister told me. They won’t believe in dragons, and I certainly don’t need to out the little girl like that. Not if I can’t back her up in any way, yet.
To say Blaine is shocked is the understatement of the century. “The children knew all the time,” he manages.
“They did,” I confirm. “A child’s eye is innocent; their mind is innocent. They will see things us adults can’t see, before they grow up and lose the ability to see what’s hidden; the wonders of our world.”
“We didn’t believe them,” Caitlin says sadly. “I had a feeling they weren’t lying, but I thought that maybe they just had a bad dream, or their vivid imagination was trying to help them cope with everything that happened.”
“Not all they told me will be true,” I tell her. “As you said, some things they said were clearly their imagination, but the underlying message is clear. Someone enchanted the werebears and probably gave them more power.”
“They must be a bigger group than expected,” Blaine says. “It’s impossible for the bears to attack so ruthlessly without having enough backup. Enchanted or not. Do we know of any bear sleuths?”
“There are no werebear sleuths in this land,” I tell him. It’s a fact I always felt conflicted about. While I’m not a fan of the bears, I’m also against condemning a whole species. It just leads to more resentment.
“Aren’t there some residing in Darkmont Town?”
“The town at the eastern border?” I ask.
“It’s only rumors I’ve heard,” Caitlin says. “It’s said that there are werebear rogues in the no-man's land around the town. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them were hiding there.”
I frown. That’s the place Royan and General Shayan wanted to check on. Hopefully, they were successful and will have news when we meet them.
“At least we now know what we are up against,” Blaine points out.
“That might be true, but how are we going to defend ourselves against enchanted werebears with enhanced powers?” Caitlin asks.
“True, it’s a problem,” I agree. Before we can discuss further, there is a knock at the door. Blaine’s eyes gloss over.
“That’s my beta,” he says, as he gets up to open the door. “He said, Tynan is back on the pack grounds.” He turns to his beta and talks to him quietly, telling him to send Tynan to the office, so that we can catch up with each other.
For a few minutes, the three of us wait in silence, before Tynan barges in. He is in his usual good mood, and just seems to bring fresh air with him. He is loud and brash, but he always means well. Sometimes I get annoyed at his laid-back attitude, but now I really appreciate him being here. Blaine and I fill him in with everything I found out from the kids.
“The children, huh?” Tynan leans back and stretches his legs. “No one ever believes the children.”
That’s what I love him for. In his heart, he is a child himself, just like me.
“I’ve certainly learned from this,” Blaine says seriously.
“But now that we know, how will we react?” Caitlin asks. “How do we fight against an enemy whose powers we don’t know?”
“We can only prepare to the best of our abilities,” I say. “We have good warriors, and we have witches in this country who can support us. Furthermore, we need to dig and dig until we find out who is behind all of this. Knowledge is power.”
“Princess Alana is right,” Tynan confirms. “We don’t know much yet, which is our biggest disadvantage. But, we do have resources and witches we can counter them with. For now, we have to rely on our warriors and prepare them as well as we can. We will send notice to King Gillean for him to inform the other towns and regions of the kingdom.”
Caitlin sighs. “You are right, of course. Thank you for your help. I’m just terrified something bad is going to happen now, while we are still vulnerable and not prepared.”
Her uncertainty is contagious. I’m a fairly positive and happy-go-lucky person normally, but something about the fear in Caitlin’s eyes strikes a chord in me. This pack has just been attacked, then, their neighbor pack was. There is so much lingering trauma, so many losses. The only good thing that came out of it is that the two packs joined forces, and Caitlin and Blaine found each other through their pain.
“We are not leaving you alone,” I say to Caitlin. “We are not just leaving.”
“Thank you, Princess,” she whispers.
Blaine dismisses the meeting soon afterwards to prepare some of his warriors for what’s going to come. It means I finally have the time to tell Tynan about the dragon Caitlin’s sister saw. He gasps when he hears it. “Shit, Alana…”
“I know,” I mutter. “Do you think I should have told Blaine and Caitlin about it?”
“No, I don’t think you should… yet,” he says. “I’m not sure how to proceed from here. That’s nothing I have ever had to deal with, ever.” He pauses. “You should tell Ita when she returns.”
I try not to wince when he says her name, instead I smile. “Good idea. She might know what to do.”
“Yeah, she is our gamma, after all.” He pauses. “Say…”
“Hm?”
“Is everything alright between you and Ita?” he asks.
Oh awesome, how come Tynan out of all catches on, now!? “Why are you asking?”
“Just getting some weird vibes, is all,” he says with a shrug.
“It’s nothing,” I say. When Tynan gives me the stink eye, I sigh. “Alright, alright, we had a little argument.” It’s always better to go with a half-truth instead of a lie.
Tynan seems to buy it. “What happened?”
“None of your business, you nosy kid,” I tease.
“I’m not a kid!” he grumbles. “I have a mate, if I may remind you!”
“Yes, a mate you haven’t told yet that you are fated to each other,” I retort.
Tynan looks flustered. “Right, I forgot.”
“I think the general is an attractive and intelligent man,” I say. “So, I wouldn’t be surprised if he already knew.”
“If he knows, why didn’t he say something?” Tynan asks.
“Maybe he wanted to tease you,” I muse. “Or, he feels insecure about being mated to a young werewolf.”
“Or, he doesn’t want me,” Tynan concludes.
“He strikes me more like the type of man who would be straight-forward enough not to play games, if that were the case,” I say.
Tynan tilts his head slightly, his brows furrowed, then he nods. His eyes light up. “You are right. I need to have faith.” He stretches his limbs. “I’m going to grab something to eat. Thanks for the talk, Alana. You should totally do that with Ita, too.”
“I will,” I say. “Going to wait for her in her room. I need to tell her about the dragon, anyway.” Nothing says desperation more than just sitting around and waiting for the person you are in love with… in their room. It’s slowly getting dark outside though, so I know that Ita will need to return soon. For a while I just sit there on her bed, staring at the window and watching the sunset.
The thought of having a mate always terrified me. In a way, I almost envy Caelan, Endellion and Flinn for the absence of their bond. They can decide for themselves. I know that, in reality, said absence terrifies them and puts a toll on their mental health, though. Not having a mate makes them look cursed.
But choosing someone on my terms sounds beautiful to me.
I’m not like Nevyn and Kilah, who are both dreaming of their future mates. I know that Kilah is sad and desperate that her wolf isn’t awake yet, preventing her from feeling and following her bond. I know that even Eibhlin is eager to meet her mate. Despite her love for all these creepy and mysterious legends, she also likes to read romantic tales.
I’m the only odd one of my siblings. I know who I want, and I wish I could choose her.
However, I also know that Ita doesn’t want to be chosen. That’s the bad thing about knowing someone so well… you know when they are sincere or when they are not. Ita is still out there, not because she still has research to do, but rather because she is stalling. She is going to tell me that we are not going to be a thing… ever.
I know it, but I want to hear it from her.
I can smell her before she even enters the room.
“Alana…”
“You're back,” I say without even turning around.
“Alpha Blaine filled me in on what happened today,” she says. “Good work.”
“That’s not the only thing that happened today,” I say. “Caitlin’s sister told me in private that she saw a dragon.”
“What!?” Ita exclaims.
“She said it was a brief moment, and she only saw how it took off. There was fog all around, so she isn’t sure about the color, but she is sure that she saw one, just like I did.”
“Alana, that’s unbelievable news! Do you know what that means? Not only do we have a second sighting of dragons now, it’s also in this area, the same as you saw one so many years ago. It also means that it was the right decision for you to come here.”
“I know,” I say quietly. “Part of me is so relieved.”
Ita sits down next to me on her bed. She starts opening her hair. It’s wavy and long, and I fight the urge to brush my fingers through it. “And the other part of you?”
“The other part is confused.”
A hint of guilt flashes through Ita’s eyes. “We should forget it ever happened,” she says quietly.
“You started it,” I say. “You made the first step. Why did you play with my feelings if you regret it only a minute after?”
“I don’t regret it.”
“You do,” I say. “Or you wouldn’t have spent a day outside, making sure to avoid me.”
For a long while, it’s silent between us before Ita breaks it. “You have a mate out there.”
“I know, but I’m willing to choose.”
“You are a princess,” Ita says. “The Warrior Princess. You might do things differently than other princesses, but in the core of it there are still choices you can make, and those you can’t make.” She pauses. “It was my mistake. I never should have made a move.”
My heart aches at her words. “Why did you then?”
“I…” She shifts around nervously. “I was weak,” she admits.
“Do you truly not feel anything beyond friendship for me?” I ask.
Ita takes a deep breath. “I fear that we are just trauma bonding. We were both lonely.”
I feel sudden anger filling me. “Please don’t make fun of my feelings for you,” I huff. “You are entitled to your own feelings, but so am I.”
Ita turns to look at me. “Alana, I-“
I don’t figure out what she wants to say, because a loud bell disrupts the silence of the night. One of the warriors blows into a horn. Alana and I both jump up at the same time. Meanwhile, Tynan comes barging in. “There is an attack,” he yells. “It’s the bears!”