A MAZE OF GREED

~"Rees, where are you? Come back to the base as soon as possible!"~

Rees alerted at the urgency in the guard's voice.

~"What is happening there? Master?"~

~"He is out of control again. His wolf has come out and is fighting with us. We don't think that we can handle him for long. Please come back!"~

Rees's heart raced against the momentum of his thoughts. ~"I am coming. Hold on!"~

He closed the mind link as his eyes turned back to a warm brown colour.

"Is it Edwin?"

Lester had already figured the message from Rees's reaction.

"We have to get back fast."

Using their supernatural speed, they ran out of the woods in the direction of 'the great manor'.

Within some minutes, they descended the stairs of the old building with worried hearts. As they neared the cell where Edwin was kept, the severity of the moment dawned upon them.

The dark grey floor was stained in blood. The ear-splitting growls cut their hearts like a sharp blade. They were alert, ready to take the bull by horns. They were confused to see no one outside the cell.

All the cries and screams came from within the cell. With light feet, they approached the cell only to their eyes widen in horror. A mutilated body was sprawled on the ground- its head separated from the trunk. All muscles and flesh are on display, along with a river of blood.

Even after its soul had left the mortal clothes behind, its terrified eyes spoke the tale of its pain. Rees clenched his jaw and hands seeing the reward the guard had received from his master for his loyalty.

Lester cast a sympathised look in Rees's way. They saw three guards, brutally harmed, fighting with a raging beast. And even then, the weakened beast was clearly winning over the three werewolves.

Lester's eyes caught the silver chains lose on the ground. He was shocked that Edwin had put such a force that the thick silver hooks had been uprooted completely from the ground.

The chaos was too boisterous that he felt his ear ringing. What if Lord Augustus or anyone heard it?

"Rees, get the wolfsbane potion, the other one. Fast!"

Lester commanded and ran to help the three wearied and hurt guards.

"We have tried the wolfsbane potion, Milord. But… its not working on him." One of the guards squeezed out the words. His hand was bitten by Edwin's wolf. His blood dropped from Edwin's long canines.

Lester tried to grab Edwin's muzzle. His face had turned into a wolf's, along with the claws and hairs on his limbs. His remaining body couldn't shift because of the lack of energy in him. And that was a relief… sort of.

Edwin growled at Lester, smelling another alpha male near him. Lester had to summon his wolf out to intimidate Edwin's wolf. Not that it helped, but Lester had to try.

~"Edwin… look at me. Edwin!"~ Lester tried to reach him through the mind link. But Edwin had shielded it well with the thoughts and images of a woman with hazel eyes.

Lester had not expected that. He had never faced such a situation before. This could happen only with Edwin. If only the strongest of all had a solution for his problem too!

~"Edwin… listen to me. You have to come back, my friend. Please, listen to me!"~ Lester tried again, pouring every ounce of love and care he had in his heart for Edwin.

The word 'friend' succeeded in catching Edwin's attention. He barred his teeth while hissing loudly, but his struggles mild down a little.

Encouraged by that Lester tried again. ~"She is safe, my Leader. Your mate is safe!"~

Another growl rumbled between the dirty walls of the cell, and finally, he stopped fighting with the three guards. Lester had not left Edwin's face. He still had it between his palms, as if he demanded Edwin's complete attention.

Rees came rushing through the door of the cell, not caring that his arm brushed against the silver bar that burnt his skin. He had no time for that. He intently watched that Lester had somehow managed to get Edwin's attention.

The three guards didn't dare to heave a sigh of relief. They were still scared that their master could turn into a beast within a blink of an eye.

~"Come back to us, Edwin. Get the control back if you want to know more about her."~ Lester said in a controlled tone while staring deep into his obsidian eyes. The blue in them flickered intensely.

~"Ruth?"~

~"Yes, Ruth! She is waiting for you, Edwin. She is calling you to come back."~

Rees and the three guards didn't know what words were getting exchanged between the two alphas, but they only hoped Lester to be successful in his attempt.

~"She is calling?"~ Edwin asked hopefully.

~"Yes. She is. Please calm down and I will tell you everything. She is safe trust me!"~

Even though the three guards looked clueless, Rees had suspected that Lester was trying the hypnotism on Edwin's wolf. It was a lame idea to use that trick on the leader of the breed. But Lester had taken a chance considering Edwin's weak state. And he was succeeding in it.

Rees caught the notice of one guard. He nodded at him, careful to not gain Edwin's attention. The guard understood the signal well. He passed the message to the two other guards with his eye movements.

They couldn't use the pack link, for they didn't know if Edwin could hear them through it.

Slowly and soundlessly, they moved away from Edwin one by one. Lester was using his complete strength to hypnotise Edwin. That helped when Edwin didn't realise that he was not restrained anymore.

Fortunately, the silver shackles were still tied around his wrists. He had only uprooted them from the ground. Rees slowly neared Edwin and Lester step by step. Bending down carefully, he picked up the chains. He stifled the scream as the silver burned his hands.

Sweat rolled down in beads from all his body. His eyes turned red, and tears gathered in them. Biting down another scream, he hooked the silver chains with the iron chains.

One guard, whose leg was clawed by Edwin took the chains, careful to not touch the silver part of it. He then tied the iron chain with the thick and deeply rooted rod outside the cell. Edwin was restrained again, but this time he was not aware of it.

By now, Lester had convinced Edwin's wolf. He had lured him with information about Ruth if he let his human form take control. And his trick worked with the supplementary help of hypnotism.

Edwin's face reformed back to his human shape. The black hairs on his body disappeared, leaving behind the skin with scars and wounds. And now it was only a naked man stained in blood and marks of torture with defeated spirit but hopeful eyes.

He looked through the hooded eyes at the familiar face. "L-Lester?"

Now that Edwin's human form was back, Rees told the three guards to get some medical help and the three men couldn't be more grateful to him.

Lester's eyes were still a dark shade of green as he still had Edwin hypnotised with his power.

"Yes, Edwin. I am glad that you are back!" And he meant it.

Not acknowledging his words, Edwin rushed to the topic of his interest. "She… she was here! I saw her, Lester. I-I saw her. Sh-she was right there." He lifted his hand to point at the slit, but the insufficient strength didn't let him.

"Edwin…"

"I smell her scent, her blood. I s-saw it on the p-plant. She is hurt. My mate is hurt, Lester!" Edwin again panicked, and his eyes flickered between the cerulean blue and dark blue colour.

Rees was worried that his wolf might take back the control. He knew that their leader couldn't be hypnotised longer. His mind was too strong to control.

"Yes… she was here, Edwin!"

Rees gulped down nervously. He didn't expect Lester to tell the truth. He chanted a prayer to the Moon Goddess and only hoped that Lester gets the situation under control.

Hearing Lester's words, Edwin got excited as if someone had blown a new life in him.

"Sh-she was here? Ruth… she was here?" He tried to move his head from Lester's hold, but Lester tightened his grip.

Every passing moment of hypnotism was taking a toll on Lester's mental power. He could sense the pleads of his mind. But he had to bear it for some more time.

"Ruth is a sweet woman, Edwin. She is beautiful. You are lucky that Moon Goddess chose her for you. She is born only for you, my friend. Only for you!"

Edwin was stunned at his words. All this time Rees tried to keep him away from his mate. His destiny cursed him. The Moon Goddess enjoyed his pain. He himself had told his heart that he couldn't have her.

Hearing that she was born only for him for the first time, made his joy heightened.

"Y-you… believe that?"

Lester's heart ached at Edwin's hopeful words. As if he wanted assurance, and encouragement. Maybe he himself had stopped believing that a long time ago.

"Yes, I do Edwin. Do you know what she has left for you?"

Edwin didn't answer and just stared deep into Lester's dark green eyes.

Rees was quick to get a clue. He slowly stepped near Lester and saw him tapping his left foot. That was a sign that it was the perfect time to put this animal to sleep.

Rees's hand reach inside his pocket to pull out the brown piece of cloth. Soaking it in the stronger concentration of the wolfsbane potion, he was ready to knock out Edwin.

But his hand paused mid-air. This stronger concentration was used only when they needed a werewolf breathing his last breaths. Edwin was already weak, and this would cause unimaginable damage.

"Ruth has left this cloth for you, Edwin. It has her scent. Would you like to keep it with you?" Lester said after sensing Rees's hesitance.

Not wasting a time, Edwin snatched that cloth from Rees. Lester knew he would do the same, and hence only a second before, he released Edwin from his holds of hypnotism.

Like a greedy child, Edwin sniffed the cloth in the hope to get his mate's scent. Instead, whatever scent he got lulled him to a deep slumber.

*

*

*

The sound of wheels topping on the bumpy road echoed in the silence. As Lester had said, a coachman was waiting for Ruth and Thea outside the bushes with a carriage.

Thea was content after meeting Rees. She had spent nights awake in his thoughts. And now that she knew that he was safe, she had dozed off with relief.

But Ruth's eyelids couldn't meet each other. The events of the night had shaken her. She had decided not to relive that fear, but she ended up doing just that.

The only positive out of the night was, she had regained Rees's trust back. That brought a smile to her face. She rested her head on the wooden wall of the carriage. And after all the adventure, her eyes drooped due to tiredness.

But the only image that replayed in front of her eyes was the obsidian eyes with dark blue streaks burning in them.