Read with BonusRead with Bonus

The Strange Gift

"Mr. Ockrapticuiz the Third, I'm pleased that you've taken the risk and shown the courage to attend my gathering. Truly, I am. However, I cannot accept your gift. I am merely one of many werewolf kings; we all have a claim to what you possess. I believe it would be better for you to retain it, just as your father did, and your father's father," King Michael, Alorea's father, declared.

Ockrapticuiz bowed, a broad smile stretching across his wrinkled face. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

"Nevertheless, it's been an awfully long time since we last saw one of your kind among us." The king continued, relieved that the guest did not insist on offering the peculiar gift. "I would appreciate it if you stayed with us for a few more days."

"Your wish is my command, Your Majesty." Ockrapticuiz bowed once more, then stepped back from the kings and queens. Other guests were waiting in line to present their gifts.

As Ockrapticuiz exited the stage, he cast another glance at Alorea.

"Why is he looking at me like that?" The princess mused aloud, unaware she had spoken her thoughts.

Zoe heard her and looked surprised. "Who? That strange mortal?"

"I don't recall him ever visiting here before..."

"Nobody remembers his previous visit. The last time anyone saw him was when his great-grandfather departed..."

Alorea listened as Zoe repeated the same story. It made no difference to her. Because even in her past life, she could not recall any peculiar person presenting a strange gift to the king. This man definitely hadn't appeared on this day. How could she expect Zoe to understand, or anyone else for that matter? Alorea was the only one who knew the future, the only one who knew this event hadn't occurred.

First, it was the boy with the letter, now it was Ockrapticuiz with his unusual gift.

"I need some privacy..." She distanced herself from everyone, including Zoe, seeking solitude.

Alone within the thin walls of the royal passage, she tried desperately to recall anything she might have forgotten. But nothing came to mind.

"No way! I can't be mistaken, can I?"

She reached into the pocket of her glamorous dress and pulled out the letter from the peculiar servant.

As she read through it, she realized it was a declaration of love. Or something of that nature. It was nothing more than some arrogant words strung together in the hope of impressing her.

"It sounds like something Prince Scorpio would write." She tore the paper apart, angered that she had even bothered to read it.

"He's just a servant." She sighed, reassuring herself that she had nothing to worry about. He was merely a servant of the Rising Sun who had come to deliver Prince Scorpio's message. Perhaps she hadn't met him in her past life because she had given so much attention to Scorpio that he hadn't felt the need to write her a letter.

"Pull yourself together, Alorea. It's time to return to the party."

She steeled herself and was about to return when she was startled by an unexpected presence.

Blocking her path was Ockrapticuiz, tall and dark, his long grey hair falling beside his face, smiling.

"What is this?" Alorea was taken aback by his sudden appearance. Only God knew how long he had been standing there, observing her.

"Forgive me, princess," the man began in his deep, gravelly voice. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just really wanted to meet with you personally."

"And why would you want to do that?" Alorea kept her distance from this man. For all she knew, he could spell trouble for her.

"Because I've heard so much about you. Your elegance, your beauty, none of the stories are false."

What was this now? Had he also journeyed all this way to ask for her hand? A dance? A kiss? Marriage?

"I'm sorry, but you're too old..."

"Be careful, princess," the man interrupted. "By now, you should know how much your words can shape the future. Am I right?"

A lump of cold saliva slid down Alorea's throat, sending a shiver through her chest. She stammered, at a loss for words.

"No.. what... How did you..."

"You've cheated death, princess. But this new life you have is worse than death. After we die, we rest. But you have to start over, and your future this time may be even worse than the last one, far worse than Nathan."

She recoiled instinctively. How did he know all these things? What kind of power did he possess?

Ockrapticuiz reached into the large hole beneath the left side of his voluminous cloak and pulled out a wooden box. It was the same box he had presented to the king earlier.

"I brought this gift not for the king, but for you, the one who has cheated death. I hope that one day you will be able to cheat the brooding hate within you, or even the love that once lived in your heart."

He placed the box in her hands, then turned to leave.

"Wait! I have so many questions. Aren't you going to answer them?"

"When the time comes that you need me, you will see me again." And he vanished into thin air, becoming one with the dust.

Alorea was left with nothing, no answers to the thousands of questions she had. Just an ancient wooden box that her father had previously rejected. A box she had no intention of accepting in the first place, forced upon her by a mere mortal with the power of teleportation.

If anyone found this box in her possession, it could ignite a war between her kingdom and the other werewolf kings.

She clutched her chest and murmured, "What should I do, White Flur? Keep it? Dispose of it?"

White Flur was the name of her wolf, her other half. But since her reawakening, it seemed that White Flur hadn't returned with her. Now, more than ever, she needed White Flur and couldn't bear her absence.

If White Flur hadn't returned to life with her, then the claws in this box were useless to her. Why had Ockrapticuiz given them to her?

Voices echoed in the distance, and Alorea quickly hid the box beneath her dress.

"Princess? Are you here?"

It was Zoe. If Zoe found Alorea here, she would discover the box. No one knew Alorea better than Zoe, a single glance would be all it took. So, she quietly made her way to her room where she stashed the box in a secret hiding spot that no one was allowed to touch.

There she left it. Instead of returning to her father's banquet, she stayed in bed for the rest of the night, anxiously awaiting the sounding of the war trumpets in the morning.

In her past life, she remembered how her father spent the entire night persuading the other kings to join him in waging war against the usurpers in the Giant pack. This was the same war that paved the way for her marriage to Nathan, and that war was about to begin again.

When the Giants proved to be far stronger than anticipated, the other packs gradually withdrew, leaving the Night Wolves alone to face their nemesis.

Just when everything seemed lost and the Giants were on the verge of victory, a new alpha emerged like the sun. His name was Nathan, and within a few months, he and his red ladies became the most feared entities.

He offered to help the Night Wolves, but in return, he demanded to marry their princess. Alorea had no choice. To save her kingdom, she had to become his queen. But she didn't know that she would become his slave instead.

"That won't happen again!" She declared to herself. "I have to stop this war!"

If she stopped the war, then she wouldn't have to marry Nathan two years from now. She would remain the beautiful Alorea she had always been, and she wouldn't be a slave to any man.

She got out of bed, ready to get dressed.

"Zoe!"

Her maid entered almost instantly, having waited anxiously all night for the princess to wake up, worried about her health.

"Dress me."

"Now?"

"Do it. I need to see my father!"

The king was in his council chamber, his queen and the prince by his side, deliberating on how to attack the Giants when the door burst open.

"Alorea?" Marianne exclaimed in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Allister, Alorea's brother, asked.

She looked around at everyone's faces, unsure of how to express her intentions.

"What do you want, child? We're in the middle of a discussion here." The king had run out of patience.

"I want to go to the Giants!"

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter