A MAZE OF GREED

The Sun was yet to show up in the sky, was still painted in the remnants of the night. The early morning chilled air caused the sleepy heads to nestle deep into the warmth of their bed.

Any moment, some workaholics souls under the control of luck's treacherous hands would wake up to live the same old routine. Work... work... work... earn a little and then repeat. ​​

In the narrowed unlit alleys of the Eastern part of Vincardine, his hurried steps ventured their way through the garbage and sewage water. His mind was too distracted to scrunch his nose in disgust after that putrid smell violated his sharp and heightened smelling senses.

He rarely visited this part of town, and in any other situation, he might have avoided stepping his foot there at all costs, but this time was critical.

His body was taut, and worried lines decorated his forehead. Manoeuvring through the narrow lanes, he finally slowed down when a building apartment came into his view.

He searched for the lights, but there were none. It indicated that the residents were still asleep. A gentle wave of relief washed over his features, but then his brown eyes searched the neighbourhood impatiently.

His supernatural power of seeing clearly in the dark helped him to locate a silhouette well hidden under the shadow of a house. His scent was familiar and powerful.

Rees's shoulders relaxed slowly, but he didn't let his guard down. He walked towards the man obsessed with living in the shadows on light feet. He soon realised that even if he had announced his arrival, the man was too lost in the world of his thoughts to acknowledge it.

Rees stopped a couple of footsteps away from him to watch him, observe him and try to peek into his mind to know what turmoil was going there inside.

Edwin stood under the shadow, his back against the dusty wall of the house. His hands stuffed into his pant pockets, his coffee brown hair unruly as if his hands had assaulted them again and again by raking through them.

His oval face was void of any emotions, and his bright eyes were hidden under the fringes of his hair. The shadows of his high cheekbones gave him the lethal aura like a predator ready to pounce on his prey.

His face was raised a little in the direction of the apartment building. His eyes were set on the window of the third floor.

~"Master?"~ Rees tried to reach Edwin through the mind link for one more time but got no response.

He was hesitant to approach him, the sleeping lion. But he had to. Sighing again, he cautiously stepped near Edwin, gauging his reaction.

"Master..." He called.

"Master..." This time he called louder.

As if broken from a trance Edwin's eyes snapped to Rees, uncertainty and confusion clearly written in them. But as soon as Rees got a good look at Edwin's eyes when his hair glided along with the breeze, he sucked a breath subtly.

Edwin's eyes were still dark, obsidian pupils with electric blue streaks. His beast was still awake, only calmer than before.

"It's... It's not safe for you to be here. The Sun is about to rise. We should return back to the manor before Lord Agustus, or anyone gets to know about... your absence." Rees said in a low and gentle tone, not to offend or irk the beast.

The words fell on Edwin's ears, clear and loud enough but he didn't move. He couldn't.

When he first reached there, his wolf was raging and fuming with frustration and anger. He did not know where to go or what to do to get back his sanity. But a corner of his heart led him through the dirty alleys of the Eastern part of Vincardine to this apartment building.

He followed his instincts blindly like a sheep follows the flock.

When he reached there, he tried to assess the surroundings, his heightened senses were at aid. In between those tens of hearts beating and the scents mingling in the air, his wolf finally recognised the familiarity.

He followed the pull that was buzzing with a strange energy. Any other werewolf might have had a little difficulty in recognising the familiarity but Edwin had not. He was the strongest one, the alpha of all the alphas and thus naturally, his senses were more sharp and powerful than any other werewolf.

The rhythm in which that heart was beating, the scent that the owner of the heart possessed, the pull that became stronger than ever, had the strength to bring Edwin and his wolf on their knees.

As soon as he got as much close to that person as he could, after a few minutes, his wolf soothed. All the aggression, the coiled tension and... the fear slowly subdued as he kept inhaling and feeling, after submission to the energy of the pull.

He didn't realise the speed of time, he enjoyed and relaxed in the circumference of his solace.

And when he weighed the option of breaking into the apartment building to reach that room on the third floor, Rees came asking him to leave.

"Master, everyone is worried. Our men are worried for you, your safety. We were searching for you through the woods for hours now. Please, we have to leave before-"

Before Rees completed his sentence they heard some movement inside a nearby house followed by the lamp that was lit. Someone had woken up.

A rooster crowed nearby, the Sun began to rise from behind the horizon over the calm sea waters of Vincardine.

Edwin, unaffected by these things, stood staring at the window again. Minutes passed by and slowly the lamps lit in various houses along with the hustle and bustle of the morning.

Rees's eyes kept darting to the surrounding, then to his master time and again. Frustrated, he dared to hold Edwin's arm and started dragging the statue of a man before anyone see them.

Edwin didn't protest nor complied. He just let Rees do what he was doing. Before leaving the alley, just before turning around the corner, his eyes, at last, caught the sight he was dying to see since he first arrived there.

The window on the third floor opened, its wooden flaps pushed from inside the room. And like a full moon after the fifteen days cycle, her face came into his view, beautiful and innocent.

Unaware of the two creatures, Ruth scanned the outside while rubbing her palms together. Her toffee brown hair danced gently around her round face, her hazel eyes oblivious yet sad.

A yawn escaped her mouth, her hand came to cover it, palm outside.

In that short moment, Edwin's wolf finally relaxed, satisfied and carefree.

Rees somehow managed to get Edwin to his private chamber without catching anyone's attention and then heaved a sigh of relief.

His men nodded at him sharing his relief, proudly. He had fulfilled his promise of bringing their master back home unharmed and in time.

After talking with his men, he assigned them their jobs and they scampered away to do them. Not wanting to take a risk, he decided to stay stationed outside Edwin's chamber.

Edwin was awfully quiet and cooperative till now, contrary to Rees's expectations. And he knew the reason but he still chided his mind to not think of that possibility.

'No, it can not happen!' He told himself over and over, bombarding it on his mind.

Werewolves had great stamina and they could go without sleep for many hours. Hence, not getting any sleep in the last twenty-six hours didn't bother him but the measure of emotional and mental stress that he had gone through during that time started taking a toll on his body.

He slumped down on a chair in the corridor, near Edwin's chamber, his head in his hands. His heart beat in a rhythm but the pounding in his head had multiplied than before.

And even during that stressful state, his mind drifted to his mate, Thea. He had not expected their mating night to turn out the way it did. He felt it was unfair to her. He wished if he could tell Thea everything that went in his mind.

Although after the mating bond had been established and their souls have united with the bond, he couldn't refuse the urge to be closer to her, to feel her one more time, to have her under him to scream his name.

His erection was uncomfortable in his pants which he had found in the woods after shifting to his human form. They were a size less than his but he had no time to search for another pair.

The woods reminded him of the incident that happened not some hours ago. That distinct and uncommon scent had curdled his blood in his veins. He could never mistake it for anything else.

His mind, now that was not distracted, again started spinning the threads of possibilities and with every guess, the worried lines on his face got accentuated.

He hadn't shared his experience in the woods with anyone yet. He had not got a chance to do that. And the only person he could tell that was not in the right state of mind at that moment.

So, he decided to wait, wait until the devil calls for him.