"In the teeth of a storm, even survival has a price—sometimes paid in pride, sometimes in scars..."
"From our last expedition we discovered two unoccupied areas, however they're halfway across this mountain. With the number of children and elderly in our midst, I predict we'll be halved by the time we arrive." Varian briefed the members of the strategy meeting.
Wren clicked his tongue, "Half? That's generous. If we travel in this blizzard, I'm not sure all our warriors will survive either. I suggest we wait into the next quarter and travel then." He suggested.
But their strategist, Varian shook his head in vivid disagreement. "The river is as good as solid and no plant can withstand the snow. Our rations can only serve us another month, if we're frugal about distribution."
Wren slammed his fists on the table, "So we should lead the people to their icy graves?" He looked across the room at the two other head of staff who had their gaze pointed at the map laid out on the table.
He then turned to the head of the table, to their leader, Ryker, who had but said a word the entire meeting. "Do you agree with that Ryker? Letting the people die in the storm? Is that the cause you roped us all into?" he demanded attempting to rouse a response.
Varian sharply inserted, "There will be no cause if we sit on our arses and await death! The lycans will find our hideout in no time, if hunger doesn't kill us, their claw definitely will. Ryker, we need to leave and we need to leave now!"
Following his words, the other two in the room raised their gaze to Ryker, waiting to hear his decision.
"Eryn, Lirien, what do you both think?" Ryker asked.
Eryn straightened his shoulders, "I have to side with Varian on this matter, after we stole from their storeroom, the lycans won't take that lightly. Any day we could be susceptible to an attack." He started off, earning a grin from Varian.
"Nonetheless, the blizzard is only getting stronger, if we wait it out any longer we might end up trapping ourselves between hunger and the lycans. We've made sacrifices we aren't proud of for our cause. And I fear we still have much sacrifices more to make." He analyzed, reiterating Varian's point.
However Lirien saw things differently, she rubbed her thumb across the scar beneath her lower lip, "I understand that, but the blizzard is far too dangerous to travel in. Just like Wren said, our warriors might not make the trip." She turned to Varian, who had a stern glare pointed at her.
"The lycans won't stop chasing us, if we leave our hideout we give our position away. In the storming blizzard, they're faster, stronger and can shift at will. If we engage them in battle on the mountains, we will suffer a major loss. I say we wait out the blizzard and find some other means to solve the food crisis-"
Varian hissed, "As if raiding travelers hasn't proven futile-"
"That's enough, out of all of you!" Ryker announced, standing up. "I've listened to all you have to say, and while the impending danger is inevitable, there are certain options that are off the table. If thinning out the population is the best you can think of as a strategist Varian, it'd be better to have your sister Lirien take charge."
Varian sharply bowed his head, "That wasn't my intention, I was merely concerned-"
Ryker cut him off, "Come to me when you've thought up a better plan. Till then this meeting is adjourned!" he announced then marched out of the tent, his boots silently crunching against the snow.
Howling winds rattled the tents outside, Ryker's gaze fell to the feeble glow of a campfire against the snow's blinding fury. The women outside were cooking up brunch, and their children perched by the fire seeking warmth, frostbites nipping at their fingertips. It was already midday, the meeting had stretched out longer than needed.
As he trudged through the snow, the weight of leadership heavier than the storm, a thought pierced his mind, "Has she stepped out of the tent yet?"
The intruder's face pictured in his mind, a saddened expression drawn across her face from losing her sister and ending up in a stranger's hideout.
He pinched his chin, 'It wouldn't hurt to check up on her.' He thought, convincing himself that his concern was nothing short of pity. 'After all she is living in my camp even though her stay is unwanted, so I suppose some responsibility falls on me. And if she's dead, someone will have to find the corpse, might as well be me.' He concluded, right before he set off to check on the intruder.
From outside the tent he could hear low grunts and soft pants, was she really crying? The hardheaded wench was capable of that? Had he been too hard on her? According to Elder Jael, her caravan had been raided and she lost her sister in the snow.
Ryker's wolf spirit snarled at him for giving their mate such a hard time. From the inside it could sniff she was covered in salty liquids, tears from her unfortunate predicament.
Imagining her crying, Ryker's hardened gaze softened, he parted the entrance and stepped into the tent, unannounced. "Ahem," he dry coughed, "There is no need to cry we'll find your sister and send you both back home…" Ryker's words fell to the silence at the sight in front of him.
"Aaah!" The intruder screamed at the top of her lungs, she quickly spread her arms over her exposed breasts!
Swiftly, Adrianna turned away from her, her face flushed. "You pervert! What the hell were you thinking barging into a lady's room unannounced?!" She scolded.
Ryker pinched his temples, his eyes trained on the purple dress hooked at her sides, "What in the bloody hell were you doing in my tent? If you're going to strip, do it when you take a bath-"
"You bring me to this far away tent just so you can do this! Do you think that it's okay to force yourself on me just because we're mates?!" She raised her voice.
Ryker clicked his tongue, "I've seen donkeys far more attractive!" He yelled back, but in truth his wolf spirit growled, torn between irritation and primal attraction. The hardness between his legs enough proof of his frustration.
"Brute! Pervert! I can't even change in peace!" Adrianna cursed, the cold making her shoulders shiver.
Ryker parted his lips to retort but strictly noticed the folds sticking out at both her sides. He scoffed, an all knowing look in his eye, "I take it all that grunting from earlier was you struggling to slip into that dress." He folded his arms across his stomach, "Now that I'm closer I see you're drenched in sweat."
Adriana widened her eyes, his guess was right on the mark. "I-I don't know what you mean."
"You don't?" His baritone voice pierced at her facade.
Adrianna raised her nose, "Jael brought me a change of clothes, you walked in unannounced while I was wearing them."
Taking two wide steps he said, "Of course the dress wouldn't fit, you look like you've been feasting for two. It must be nice, having three meals a day. Or in your case four-" his berating was cut short as Adrianna turned around her hand raised in the air.
However Ryker read her moves, he caught her wrist and stared into her fiery glare. A small smile played on his lips, this was the vixen that stole her way into his camp, he felt stupid to have believed her will would break so easily.
"Brute!" She snapped, struggling against his grip. "Let me go!"
"If you keep resisting like this I'll imagine you're inviting my eyes to the show you've got going down there." He said referring to her jiggling breasts. "At least, all that eating wasn't in vain."
"Bastard-"
Before she could utter another word he tore his shirt with one hand then passed it to her with the other, letting her go. "Wear that, it's warm, and hopefully it'll fit." He turned around giving Adrianna full display of the silver scars splattered across his back.
How did he get those? As a shifter his wounds were supposed to heal up completely, unless he was a…
As though he could read her thoughts, Ryker announced, "Get dressed and go help the women with the cooking. It's high time you begin pulling your weight around here."
Throwing the shirt over her head she hissed, "What?! Why do I have to-" Suddenly Orion's words rung in her head, she had to gain their trust, so she could discover the weapon they possessed. The weapon that could kill a Lycan, the weapon that could secure the wolves the war, save Eira and put an end to the rebels.
Gruffly, she responded, "Fine."
Ryker who expected a bit more fight cocked his brows in confusion over why she was being so compliant. Nonetheless he grabbed a shirt on the table and dashed out of the tent.
"Humph!" she folded her arms over her stomach. "Who the hell does he think he is?" The pheromones from Ryker's shirt riled up her wolf spirit, arousing Adrianna's mind with thoughts of Ryker's shirt. It had his scent, and now she reeked of that scent, it felt as though he had deliberately marked her as his.
But that in itself was a foolish thought. To Adrianna he was no better than the Lycan King, and she would pull no stops to return to moonstone, back to her pack, to where she had always belonged.
Author's Note: Comment who your favorite character is and vote for their character personality! See y'all in the next chapter