Chapter 229 - Isla And Sophia

The Whiteclaw Hunters Pack's Great Shaman had a successor who didn't quite like to participate in the Lunar Gathering. It was a gathering that mostly focused on destruction and conquest, and he was not the type of man for that.

He only came with the rest of their pack because it was expected from him and only because he actually wanted to reveal some good news. It was a discovery that would change that night.

Silver, who was both a shaman and healer, actually obtained the most precious and potent Moon Desert Flower that special day and raced towards the event proper even though he was late.

He rushed past a carriage and thought he saw a beautiful woman by the window but he carried on.

The lycan was thrilled to present it to his grandfather. The Moon Desert Flower was a sought-after ingredient that was said to have been especially blessed by the Moon Goddess during this specific full moon, and he managed to obtain it.

Most of the lycans assumed that it was able to bless female lycans with beauty, youth, and other surface-level properties. However, its cleansing ability was beyond comparison.

Even witches who were aware of its existence longed to obtain it.

Unfortunately for him, Silver immediately encountered the Beta of the Blood River Pack who stopped him from reaching the Great Shaman at once. "Lucas?"

"Silver." Lucas smiled warmly. While his Alpha, Leland was preoccupied with the meeting, he was tasked to search for a shaman who could help him. Silvan was most likely the person to help them.

Although doing it while keeping the secret that their Luna was half-lycan seemed to be impossible. Lucas wanted to think that maybe Silver would turn a blind eye for them.

"Hello." Silver transformed back into his human form. He quickly gathered some of his clothes from a dry bush and quickly clothed himself. One of his companions passed him the Moon Desert Flower and he held onto it closely. 

"How are you doing?" Lucas eyed the pure white flower's petals with a scrutinizing gaze. Normally, this flower was pure white, but this time, it seemed to have a soft glow.

"What can I do for you?" Silver asked and held onto the flower with a gentle smile.

***

While the Beta of the Blood River Pack was preoccupied with dealing with one of the Shamans from another pack, a beautiful female lycan rushed past them and eventually came to a stop.

Isla grew tired of running and just stopped when she was far away enough from the Lunar Gathering. She fell on her knees and felt the rough sand on them. It didn't actually quite hurt, but she suddenly just burst into tears.

There was no one stopping her from releasing all the pent-up emotions that filled within her. She had tried to be brave and be a proper Luna after the death of her father, but all she did was make a mess out of everything. 

Her own mate was annoyed by her and detested her and there was nothing she could do about it. Even though Elias didn't actually hurt her that much physically when he shoved her, the mere act of it was enough to pain Isla.

Isla tried to bottle everything up and smile, but now she just wanted to cry. It was all of the little things and big things that finally got to her and so she wept.

Right until a voice spoke to her.

"Um, hello?" Sophie greeted her awkwardly from the window of her carriage. She had heard the crying and despite Leland's warning not to go out, she couldn't ignore the cries.

Sophie didn't exactly leave the carriage… So, this was fine, right?

Isla quickly wiped her tears and raised her head. She had been so focused on running away that she didn't notice the carriage. It was strange to have a carriage around the lycan territory, but she thought the woman who spoke seemed nice.

No.

Isla needed to be wary. This was a potential stranger who could be dangerous.

"Who are you?" Isla tried to hide her sniffles but it was clear that she had red eyes.

"Ah, I'm not anyone important." Sophie smiled sheepishly. "I just heard that there was someone outside and decided I wanted to say hello. Are you… uhm, well, I can see that you're not doing well, but I don't want to force you to speak with me."

Isla bit down her lip and felt tempted to do so. "Would you really listen to a stranger's problems and woes?"

"I don't see why I can't," Sophie said. "I think telling a stranger your problem can be quite freeing. Especially when I doubt that we'll meet each other again."

Isla decided to step closer and rubbed her stuffy nose. However, the female lycan suddenly stopped in her tracks and finally caught a whiff of Sophie's scent that exuded from the open window.

"Close the window." Isla's gaze suddenly sharpened on her. "Close it now."

Sophie was taken aback by the change in Isla's tone. One minute it seemed like this woman was so close to tears but now she suddenly changed the tone to a much fiercer one. "What?"

"You're not completely lycan," Isla said. "Other lycans may accidentally catch your scent and realize you're not one of us."

Sophie realized that, but she hadn't expected this reaction. "Why… Why are you helping me by saying that?"

"You don't seem like a bad person," Isla said and smiled sadly. "You could have ignored me while I kept crying but you didn't. Father thinks I make bad judgments about other people, but I can see that you're kind."

"But you've said it yourself that I'm…" Sophie hesitated.

"I've also met some of your kind before," Isla added but then halted as she heard the sound of approaching footsteps from the distance. "Close the window now."

The ex-members from the Blood River Pack suddenly arrived from out of nowhere within the desert night's cold dark fog and both Isla and Sophie recognized them. They mostly came from the Obsidian Sand Pack.

And they were far more than the number Elias originally brought.