After knocking out the human, the Alpha was stunned by the loud scream; his ears were still ringing.
Meanwhile, having already fully recovered from her own scream, Aliana left her room in human form. She was worried about her brother and frightened by the painful noise that had affected her hearing. She asked one of the guards where the Alpha was.
'In the dungeon, interrogating the witch,' the man replied.
Aliana had a bad feeling and ran down the long stairs to the basement, which was full of empty cells except for one. She saw her brother standing upright and looking at the floor. At his feet, she saw the motionless body of the creature that had helped her escape the silver trap in the forest.
"What have you done, Cas?" Aliana shouted.
'Stay away! She's dangerous,' the Alpha warned, telling her not to approach.
"What are you talking about? She's not dangerous,' she said to the Alpha, her voice full of distress.
"The Beta told me that the witch was following you!"
It was at that moment that Aliana realised there had been a huge misunderstanding.
'She only followed me because she wanted to help me treat my wounds. She was the one who freed me from the trap."
Aliana threw herself over Luz's unconscious body, tears streaming down her face. 'What have you done, Cas? For the Moon Goddess, what have you done?' She touched Luz's body and shook her gently to see if she would react, but there was no response.
The Alpha snapped, "Do what you want with the creature," and left, leaving Aliana with Luz in her arms.
The teenager called the guard on duty and ordered him to take Luz's body to the room next door.
Three women followed them in, laid Luz on the bed and cut off her clothes with knives, leaving her body completely exposed.
They filled a tub with warm water and placed the unconscious girl in it.
They bathed her very carefully, removing all the thick mud and revealing her true appearance.
One of the women cried out in pity at the sight of her wounds.
"Put her on the bed," Aliana said. She wanted to see the woman's body to get a better idea of her injuries.
She cried when she saw them. She had a huge bruise on her abdomen and back. There were marks on her neck left by the fingers that had grabbed her. Her cheek, cheekbone, and right eye were purple and swollen; her lips were split and still full of blood. When Aliana lifted her eyelid, she saw the blood-red tint covering the entire conjunctiva.
"Please wake up," I whispered in her ear, but I got no response. She covered Luz's body with a white sheet and called for the healer.
Shortly after, a well-built woman with white hair and no more than 50 years old entered the room and immediately reported to the Alpha's sister.
It was Roxi, the healer. In this world, healers are like doctors who use herbs and spices to treat ailments and healing magic. Their magic was only for healing and had no other purpose. Sorcerers and witches, on the other hand, could cast different types of spells and were more powerful.
The packs across the continent had these healing shapeshifters for serious situations only. Their services were rarely needed when they weren't at war because werewolves generally don't get sick and have an extraordinary healing ability. Small wounds heal in seconds, and more serious ones take only a couple of hours.
Aliana explained everything that had happened to Roxi and expressed her concern that the shapeshifter should have healed from his injuries by now, yet the young woman remained exactly as she had been when Aliana found her in the dungeon.
As the healer approached Luz, she assessed her injuries, took her pulse, and placed her hands on her body without touching her. She ran her hands from Luz's head to her toes. The healer looked at Aliana with a surprised expression.
"She's not a shapeshifter, nor is she a witch, elf, or any other creature from this world," the healer said, unable to hide her surprise. She had never seen anyone like Luz before and wondered what kind of creature she could be.
Werewolves and shapeshifters all had white skin, and their hair varied in color but was always straight or had soft curls. She had never seen these curls before. The inhabitants of this planet also included elves, who were distinguished by their pointed ears and inability to change into animal form.
As for the witches, the only difference was that their skin had a slight green tint.
But Luz was different. Her skin was dark, lighter than a mulatto's but darker than a white person's. It was as if someone with fair skin had tanned to a beautiful dark brown. Her long, black hair was full of curls like fine, thick springs. The most surprising thing about her was the color of her green eyes. No one else on this planet had eyes like hers.
This woman was unique, both physically and in terms of the beauty of her features on the unbruised left side of her face.
Roxi continued moving her palms over Luz's body.
The healer said she had internal bleeding in her abdomen and a brain contusion that was keeping her in a coma.
Roxi applied all her energy to healing her wounds. Roxi managed to stop the bleeding and reduce the swelling in Luz's brain and face.
"Give it time," Roxi told Aliana. "Only time will tell if she survives her injuries."
Aliana was devastated and angry with the Beta and the Alpha for assuming things without asking. She was also upset with herself for not making the young woman's intentions clear.
Aliana spent all her time in the guest room with Luz. She only left to sleep in her own bedroom, leaving an Omega maid to watch over the green-eyed girl in case anything happened to her during the night. However, in the morning, Aliana quickly returned to the room of the unconscious woman.
Following the incident with the young creature, the daily lives of the rest of the pack remained unchanged. The Alpha and Beta were concerned about the invasion of their forest's safe area and the installation of the silver trap, which was inexplicable. They organized field trips to assess whether there were more traps and to find clues as to who was behind this. They considered it a clear act of aggression against their people and enough reason to declare war on the culprits. Therefore, they had to be cautious and gather evidence.
They ordered all their spies on the continent to be on the lookout for any useful information.
Alpha Caspian, Beta Xioma, Gamma Cristian, and the captain of the warrior guard gathered in the war room, where Alpha spent much of his day making important decisions.
In the center of the room stood a large, beautifully carved, round mahogany table surrounded by several matching chairs.
The Alpha's chair was larger and more majestic than the others, with a leather cushion for his comfort. The Beta always sat to the Alpha's right, and the Gamma sat to his left. Other visitors could sit anywhere except in those three seats.
All the men inside the room were large and strong, as all werewolves should be. However, in every pack, the Alpha could always be distinguished because he had a dominant and intimidating aura and was the largest man in the pack.
"Alpha, we found twenty more traps in the forest," reported Alle, captain of the guard.
"We haven't found any signs of black magic on them," said Gamma Cristian.
When the meeting ended, everyone left the room except the Alpha and his Beta.
"How is Aliana?" the Alpha asked.
"She's been locked in the Creature's room for two days," the Beta reported.
"Have you seen her?" He was worried about his sister.
"I saw her briefly when she left for her room, which is next to the creature's," Xioma said. "She's really upset with us about the situation."
"Did you see the creature?" Cas asked.
The Beta sighed. "No, Aliana forbade me to see it. In fact, she specifically said that neither I nor the Alpha were allowed to see it."
Cas frowned, and his eyes darkened.
"No one can forbid me anything. I'll put that brat in her place," he snapped angrily.
"Cas, calm down," the Beta said, dropping the formalities. He was Caspian's second-in-command and had been his friend since childhood. "Give her time. She's still upset about the child. She told me the woman is special and she's scared because she hasn't recovered from your beating yet. The healer treated her wounds, but she hasn't been able to wake the woman up."
At that moment, Caspian remembered the woman's huge, terrified green eyes. The Alpha came to believe that the creature would hypnotize him, so he became even more brutal in his attacks.
"I won't bother Aliana for now. Bring the healer before me. I want to hear from her what she saw," the Alpha ordered.