Wedded to the enemy

                                                  I squinted my eyes against the sun. It was blazing extra today. I raised my hand above my eyebrows, shielding my eyes against the sun. Our wooden house was small, with only two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, and a small living hall. I strolled ahead, trying to find peace for my skin under the shadow of a tree. It was a very hot day. 

      I wasn't hunting but I liked to see rabbits wandering, jumping around. Though, my mother didn't consider this. 

     I glanced at our backyard garden. My mother was a healer. I got this in my blood too. I could see all the grown vegetables, herbs, and all essential spices, I was still trying to learn their names and their benefits. It had been years. My mother learned everything from a little age.I wasn't out here under the burning sun to see rabbits. They must be resting under the ground in the holes that called their homes. It must be cool there. Sometimes, I wanted to be a rabbit instead of a wolf. They looked beautiful.

      It's only me and my mother. She goes on a hunt in the evening or at night. I never could get the stomach to kill them, deer and rabbit. I was content to eat vegetables. My mother is an amazing cook. She mostly cooked vegetables for me. My father died when I was a little girl. I hated every member of the Blood Moon pack. His previous leader ordered to attack our pack. Salazar, I had heard his son killed him. Some told it was just a lie. No one knew the truth. Troy! His name is Troy King. The Alpha

       Wild animals destroyed some parts of the garden a few days ago. So, it was my duty to protect our food, herbs. Technically, I'm the scarecrow of my mother's garden. Shouldn't I wear pretty dresses and go out with my mate? Who's my mate? I don't know yet. But, soon, I would. 

          We'll find him, my wolf said. 

       She always consoled me with her sweet words. But my expectations had died. We lived at the end of the Dark Moon pack's territory. My father was a warrior and died years ago. I was five years old then. I missed him, my mother, too. Life was easy with him. 

      "Hi, scarecrow!" My friend Claudia Weiss giggled, coming toward me. She was slim, tall with long dark hair. Her backpack was slung over her shoulder. I couldn't attend school, but my friend homeschooled me. She wasn't just my friend but also my teacher. Kidding! My mother needed a helper. She couldn't afford someone from out. So, I helped her whenever I could. My teachers never complained as they weren't going to get another healer. The tragedy that happened years ago, spoiled our four years of study. But our alpha encouraged us to complete our study. 

     "Haa!" I said out loud with a scowl. It was quite irritating to sit here in the sun. But our garden was part of our life. 

          Source of our happiness!

     "Everyone was talking about King in the class today," She dropped her backpack on the ground and plopped next to me on the ancient wooden bench.

       My wolf growled. She didn't like people talking about him.

      ' Enemy! I hate him.' I called in my head. My growl was audible this time. 

       "Shouldn't they talk about our Alpha Max instead of Blood Moon pack's Alpha?" I asked with coldness. 

      Strange! My wolf, she was giving me a hard time because of the burning sun, as she seemed more bored than me to be here. She wanted to take control and ran deep into the woods. Now she got the gossip and she looked calm. I frowned at her inwardly. 

      "He's visiting here. In. Our. Territory. And call him The Alpha," She slapped hard on my shoulder. 

      I glared at her, rubbing the spot. Claudia was my childhood friend. We did not take offense to anything. 

      "Is he coming to purchase herbs from us? Oh! So nice of you! Thanks for letting me know. I'm gonna charge him extra. Indeed, I'm not giving him anything. Not a single useless hay." I thinned my lips and darted my gaze around. 

      "He's the Alpha," She rolled her eyes. 

      "You told me," I said with a bored expression. 

      "It's a big thing. Some are saying, he'll kill our Alpha or some are saying they have signed the treaty.'' She looked happy with the information. 

      That grabbed my attention. But it should not affect me much. Our life would not change. It could be miserable but I wouldn't expect a better life, "Does not matter," I sighed heavily. 

      "Are you crazy?" She slapped my arm one more time, " His warriors can force themselves on us before we meet our mates." She said, 

       My heart began to drum in dread. My mate was my only hope to pull me out of my boring life. I stared at her. She was looking damn serious. I couldn't come up with anything. Sadness rose inside me.

       'Is the Alpha that bad? '

       'Bullshit!' I heard my wolf growling. 

       'Seriously, we don't even know him,' I growled back. 

       'Exactly! Don't judge him upon people's decisions.'

       " We have warriors too," I retorted. 

       "Not strong like them. Strong Alpha! Strong people," She said, saying the common sentence spoken by Blood Moon wolves. 

       "You seem eager to join them," I muttered. 

      "He's at Alpha's place. I heard from my mother last night. I overheard them, his stepsister Katherine is our Alpha's mate. There's going to be a giant party after the moon ceremony," She muttered happily. 

       "So, they are allies, our Alpha Max and The Alpha, Troy King, " A strange kind of thing rushed through my body. 

       'He's coming,' my wolf said in excitement. 

       "He's our enemy," I repeated the words I had heard in my childhood. My father died fighting with Blood Moon's warrior. Thou, he must be a few years younger than me, doing his training, his father was the Alpha, then. I'm glad he died.