A Werewolf Fantasy
Chapter 35

She woke up in a dimly lit room that smelled like it had been sprayed with gallons of floral perfume. There was some sort of incense burning on a high stool beside the doorway. Erin was surprised to replace herself alone in this strange room. She had expected that at least one of the other women would be here with her, but now she didn't know what to do. Should she just lay there and wait for someone to come into the room to tell her what to do, or should she go outside and replace out what was going on?

The latter option seemed more appealing to her, so she got up and tiptoed to the doorway to lift the flap and look outside. To her disappointment, the door led to the place where she and Nikjin had shared a meal earlier.

The place was empty but there were torches everywhere, lighting the place up at full blaze. She heard muffled male voices outside but she couldn't make out the words of their conversation.

Determined to replace out what was going on, she made her way across the room to the other doorway and she peeked outside. It was dark outside and she saw Nikjin and an elderly bald man sitting in front of a small burnfire, talking. The man had spindly limbs and wore his animal hide garment draped across one shoulder. He wore a headband with large feathers stuck on one side of it.

From his appearance, Erin guessed that the man must be Zokman, Nikjin's trusted shaman and right-hand man.

"Why not join us, young Luna?" the man said without looking up.

His gaze was still focused on the blazing fire in front of him, but Erin knew that he was speaking to her even though she was hidden behind the door flap and only part of her face was peeking through it.

"You might as well come outside and sit with us instead of just standing there and trying to eavesdrop on our conversation."

Erin froze. How did he even know she was there? Had she made a sound or did he somehow get a whiff of the overpowering floral perfume that was now shrouding her like a cloak?

"You heard the man, Luna. Come outside and sit with us," Nikjin said without turning around to look at her.

There was no point hiding anymore or pretending not to know that she was being spoken to, so Erin stepped outside and took tentative steps to where the men were sitting. Only then did Nikjin turn to look at her. "Did you sleep well?" he asked with a blank face.

Erin felt a shiver of fear run down her spine. This wasn't the same laughing, flirty, happy-go-lucky Nikjin that she had spoken to earlier. Why was he looking at her now as if he had never seen her before?

"Er... yes, I slept well. Thank you for the meal," she said in a quiet voice.

"Sit," the old man said, looking at her for the first time. He pointed at the vacant spot in front of him, indicating that he wanted her to sit there.

She would have liked to argue about how unsanitary it was for her to sit on the sandy ground especially since she wasn't putting on any form of underwear. But the hardness of the men's faces discouraged her from saying a word. She silently walked past Nikjin to sit down on the spot pointed out to her.

"You are a werewolf with two spirits," said the old man. "And you are a detriment to my friend's ambition to become the Alpha King."

Erin was speechless. She looked from Nikjin to the old man and back again.

"I have seen the future and I know that as long as you are here, Nikjin may never become that which he desires to be," said the old man solemnly.

"I-I don't understand," she stuttered. "This war has nothing to do with me. I only came here out of curiosity and I think I have seen enough already. I wish to go back home."

"So, you do not deny Zokman's claim that you are here to ruin my plans of becoming the Prime Alpha?" Nikjin asked her coldly.

"I don't know anything about this. I came from the future to replace out if Devon, I mean Danshak, is my true mate. I have confirmed that information and I believe that means my time here is up.

"I would like to be allowed to return to my true home in Fairbanks. I don't want any part in this war between Vak Smallchief and Nikjin Whitehound."

Zokman's lips curled up in a sneer. "Are we supposed to believe you just like that? Did you not come here to spy on my lord?"

Erin was shocked. "Spy?" She glanced at Nikjin and was terrified to see him looking at her with a murderous stare.

It didn't make any sense to her that he would believe that she was a spy when he knew exactly how she got here and he knew that she would give anything in the world to get the hell out of this place.

She realized then that Nikjin would believe anything that Zokman said because he had unwavering confidence in the man's words.

"Are you deliberately trying to put me in trouble here?" she asked Zokman. "Do you even truly have sorcery powers or are you just messing with your lord's head?"

She heard Nikjin's sharp intake of breath and saw how Zokman's eyes widened in surprise.

"How dare you question my powers?" he asked angrily. "Do you need proof? I will show you one right now!"

He dug a hand into a worn-out leather satchel in front of him to retrieve a fistful of what looked like fine sand, then he threw it into the fire. The substance produced a huge grey mist that became reflective like a mirror. "Look into the mist and tell me what you see," he commanded her.

Erin obeyed his order and she looked at the mist. At first, she could only see her reflection, but then the mist wavered, revealing the forest where she had been before Nikjin came to take her out of there.

However, this forest shows a naked man lying on the ground, groaning while clutching his stomach. He looked weak and visibly dehydrated. Upon close inspection, Erin realized that she was looking at her mate. "Danshak!" she cried out.

"He cannot hear you," Zokman said with a superior smirk on his wrinkly face. "Do you now believe that I truly have powers?"

"Yes, yes, I believe," she sounded hysterical. "Please, let my mate go. He is going to die there if he doesn't get food or water soon!"

"Never!" said Nikjin vehemently.

"But don't you see that keeping him and the others in that place will defeat your purpose of luring them here in the first place?" she asked him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that none of them will survive to see the new moon if you do not feed them and keep them alive until your night of glory. Think, Nikjin. Think! Danshak will die, Weruona will die, the warriors will die and worst of all, Vak will die and there goes your dream of becoming Alpha King!"

"Do not listen to her!" Zokman thundered. "Did I not tell you? This female is only here to derail you from your ambition. The only solution is to kill her right now!" "What!" Erin balked.

"She does have a point," Nikjin mused. "As you can see, Danshak looks as if he only has a few hours left to live and I am sure that Vak must be in the same state then. How will they manage to survive for the next couple of days to come before the full moon?"

Zokman was shocked by Nikjin's doubtfulness. "Oh, please, do not tell me you believe her! What does she know? Vak and his sons as well as the warriors are seasoned fighters who have faced difficult situations before and overcome them all. What makes you think that they cannot fast for a few weeks?"

Nikjin's eyes narrowed. "This was your idea from the start and I am now beginning to see how unrealistic it is. Are you deliberately trying to sabotage me?"

"What?" Zokman asked with a slack jaw. "Why would I do that? What would be my reward for failing you, my lord?"

"I do not know the answer to that, Zokman. Perhaps you should tell me."

Erin could see the frustration on Zokman's face and she was happy that she's been able to throw a monkey wrench into his plans and probably taken a step further to rescue her mate and the rest of the Smallchief clan.

"I have served you faithfully all these years, my lord. Why would I fail you now?" Zokman said in a sorrowful tone. "I am loyal to you, Lord Nikjin, and with my help, you will become the next Alpha King when the full moon rises again." Nikjin said nothing but his expression remained pensive. He grabbed a fistful of dirt from the ground and threw it into the fire, obliterating the mist.

"Please, my lord. Let us give water to the prisoners to give them strength to live another day," Erin appealed passionately.

"I am only your lord when you need something," Nikjin said and got up. "I will send some servants to get water to them tonight. Zokman, you are in charge. Create a safe passage for the servants through the portals and make sure they do not come in contact with the prisoners."

"Of course, my lord," said Zokman. He sounded relieved.

"Come with me, Luna. You will always be with me from now on until I decide what to do with you."

She rose to her feet quickly and followed Nikjin as he made his way back to his longhouse. Erin stole a quick look back and saw Zokman glaring at her hatefully. She knew she had made an enemy tonight and if she was not careful, he would be the death of her in this place.