Chapter 1
Chapter one.
May 26, 1502.
It was evening and darkness began to kiss the earth. The moon was full even though dark clouds hovered around the sky. It seemed it was going to rain soon. He waited patiently for Rania under the love tree. They named this tree after their first night together. Today marked their fourth anniversary as lovers.
Derrick sat under the trees and sighed. He was worried maybe her uncle suspected that she was coming to meet him. “Annoying man” he cursed bitterly.
Rania was a werewolf and her uncle was an alpha. He was against their love right from the beginning. He said he was never going to allow his niece to marry a human. It was a taboo to their old tradition.
Derrick tried his best to impress the pack of wolves but things did not work out well. After many years of trying to separate them, her uncle betrothed her to Zack, the next alpha in line. If there was anyone he hated the most then it would be Zack. A spoilt wolf that went about causing problems for innocent people.
“Derrick” a feminine voice called in a low tone. He stood up from the ground and looked behind the tree. The voice belonged to an average height girl, who was in her early twenties. She was a peerless beauty.
She wore a black shirt, as well as a pair of trousers and a hood to match. In her simple outfit, she looked stunning. Her face turned worried when she noticed a bloodstain on his wrist. “What happened to you? “
He hid his hand under the jacket wore. Derrick did not want her to know of the fight he had with that jerk called Zack. The wolf always got in his way “it’s nothing. I had a little cut on my way here” he lied.
“Let me see” Rania insisted taking a step closer. She wanted to touch his hand but she missed it and ended up in his arms. “Don’t try to be smart, derrick.”
“You are ten times smarter than me, my love” he bends her down, and his hands wrapped around her waist tightly. She loved this and he did not stop there. My matchless beauty.
“Hold me tight” she closed her eyes and smiled. Rania was stronger than him. She was a werewolf and he was a human. There were things she could do that he could not. Derrick hated being called weak. “I want us to talk.”
“It seems like you are not in the mood to romance with me” he helped her to stand on her feet properly again. “What is it that you wanted to tell me?”
Rania took a step closer and covered the gap between them. She kept her hand on his chest. His heart thumped. She almost laughed at his response.
“Stop making me look like a fool, Rania” Derrick embraced her. He felt different whenever he was around her. His mother who was once a member of the pack told him to stay away from wolves. She did but he did not listen.
It was not his fault that he was not a wolf-like his mother.
“I am pregnant for you” she whispered into his ears those word she felt was sweet. Derrick almost fainted. What was she saying? Quickly he released her and took a step backward.
“This is so wrong” he almost shouted. She was not expecting such a reaction from him.
“Why?” Rania was surprised. He was supposed to be happy that she brought such news to him on a full moon. “This is the result of our love; don’t act like you don’t want it.”
Derrick looked at her with frustration. He walked to a stone under the tree and sat on it. This was supposed to be the best night ever but it was going to be worst. They just broke one of the ancient and strongest of all the rules of the wolves. This time they were not going to spare him.
But he was not worried for himself. Rania and the baby were going to face a punishment that they were yet to know. The ancient rule stated that no female was allowed to give birth to a child except she was chosen by the alpha. She would bear the title of an alpha female [Luna] and bore children for him.
“Stop thinking about the rules” Rania walked to where he was and squatted next to him. “We were meant to be together and that’s why the gods blessed us with this child.”
“It’s not the matter of who blessed us, my love. Your safety matters to me.”
“I thought of that before asking them to bless us with a child” she answered patting his back, gently. Derrick bit his lower lips as he stared at the pair of silver eyes that graced his life. She believed that there were werewolf gods who lived above. They have argued about this many times. To him, there was nobody up in the sky. The wolf gods lived on earth; those gods were her wicked uncles.
“What is your plan?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. A thing he always does when he was confused and frustrated.
“I will go and live with my aunt in Akkad. It’s far from here nobody will suspect anything.”
“What about us?”
“You will come later with Cara. She knows the town very well” she replied, leaning on his shoulders. Life will be hell for her if she lives without him. He was her life and she was his breath.
“Forgive me for reacting this way” he embraced her again. “I am scared for what will happen to us if anyone finds out about your pregnancy. Did you tell anyone?”
“Cara is the only one who knows about it. My cousin suspected it but I lied to her” Rania told him. Cara was her elder sister. They lived with their uncle and his family after the death of their parents. Nobody knew what happened to them. They were found dead in the bush. The story was forbidden to tell.
Rania stood up immediately and searched behind them. She felt a strong scent of blood. The smell became stronger as she heard someone calling her name. Nobody knew they were here except for her sister.
“Cara is that you?” She asked looking towards the direction the noise came from.
As the figure drew closer, she was able to identify the person. It was her sister, Cara. She was wounded and could barely walk.
“What happened to you?” Rania raced to where she was and held her. “Who did this to you?”
“Forget about me, sister” Cara coughed as derrick stood up. She felt pity for the innocent human who has gone through hell just to prove his love to the whole pack of wolves and alphas. His efforts were wasted. “Runaway with him. Protect yourself and your child from cruel people.”
Rania was angry. She did not know how to stop the blood that kept gushing out of her sister’s mouth. “Who are they?”
The pack of alphas Cara coughed again. “I don’t know how managed Zack knew about the pregnancy. He reported you to the pack and they are coming for you. You must go away from here.”
“The pack of alphas!” Rania did not understand why Zack had to go that far because of his hatred for derrick. He reported them to the strongest and deadly pack of alphas. Her uncles were not going to spare them. They did not even spare her sister.
“I won’t leave you here. You are coming with us” She insisted.
“Derrick, come here please” Cara coughed and gushed out more blood from her mouth.
His leg was weak but he managed to walk to where she lay. It was a pool of blood. Never has he seen much blood.
“Take her and inform your mother. She will help you to run away from here” Cara told him. “I love you all.”
Before Rania could reply, she closed her eyes and gave up her ghost.
**
Note: Derrick is reborn as Zev.
Rania as Ravinia.
