Wild Hunt

~ Chapter Twenty-Eight ~

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~ Chapter Twenty-Eight ~

"These scars long have yearned for your tender caress
To bind our fortunes, damn what the stars own
Rend my heart open, then your love profess
A winding, weaving fate to which we both atone

The wolf I will follow into the storm
To find your heart, its passion displaced
By ire ever growing hardening into stone
Amidst the cold to hold you in a heated embrace

I know not if fate would have us live as one
Or if by love's blind chance we've been bound
The wish I whispered, when it all began
Did it forge a love you might never have found?

You flee my dream come the morning
Your scent - berries tart, lilac sweet
To dream of raven locks entwisted, stormy
Of violet eyes, glistening as you weep."

The Wolven Storm, Sharm

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"The Queen of Flowers." Alpha Convel remarked as he held one of the crimson roses between his fingers and bent to inhale its delicate scent. His hulking figure seemed out of place amidst the pastel hues of the manicured bushes. I admired the pretty blooms as they timidly gazed up at the sky and revealed their beauty for all the world to see. The garden was guarded against curious eyes by humble brick walls mounted by ivy. It felt like the forest was attempting to crawl into the secret garden as the wild, unkempt fingers of the weed trailed down the bricks. The crooked vines spread towards the roses, barely kept at bay by the stones lining the flower beds. 

I followed Alpha Convel down the haphazard stone path that led us through the secluded abode. Despite the creeping intrusion of the ivy, the garden was completely isolated from the world. No breeze dared to make the roses shiver and no bird nestled itself among the thorns. It was as if everything had frozen in time. At the centre of the garden stood a stone lady, watching us sullenly. I gazed up at the silent maiden and frowned. My eyes were drawn from the sorrowful arc of her brows to her penetrative eyes that seemed to burrow deep into my soul.

"Do you like roses?" Alpha Convel called over his shoulder. I dragged my eyes away from the unsettling gaze of the statue and cleared my throat.

"There were rose gardens at Lupas. I enjoyed walking through them." I replied distractedly as my thoughts flew to that time in my life. It was not so long ago and yet it felt like years had passed. I reached out my hand to one of the white roses and smiled as my fingertips grazed its velvet soft petals. Convel grunted in acknowledgement.

"Do you know what they mean?" he continued nonchalantly. I shook my head but upon realising he had not turned to face me, I murmured my ignorance. He pressed the tips of his fingers against a drooping blush pink rose and lifted its head.

"Do you know what a rose of this colour means?" he prompted.

"Love?" I ventured to reply. Alpha Convel shrugged as he dropped the flower.

"Sometimes. Often it is young love, inexperienced and lacking meaning." he corrected me as he moved to stand beneath the statue at the centre of the garden. Her unseeing eyes seemed to follow me. I paused at Alpha Convel's shoulder.

"What about a white rose?" Alpha Convel continued, unfazed by the looming presence of the uncanny statue. She held a flowing robe to her chest as she attempted to cover her body. Her ringletted crown was adorned with stone roses. I frowned as I made out an etching beneath her feet.