A MAZE OF GREED

The clock hit twice, indicating it was two in the night. Edwin was still stuck in his chamber. He had dinner there only as he waited for the right time.

"Ruth I think Rees should take you into the woods," Thea said, staring at Ruth's reflection in the mirror.

After spending the whole day crying her eyes out in the bed, Ruth had finally taken shower and was now combing her long toffee brown hair while looking in the mirror.

Ruth paused then turned after putting the comb down on the vanity table.

"Do you think that I will get lost in those woods or be a feast of some wild animal?"

Thea noticed how Ruth's tone was different. Perhaps she was still mad at her.

"I am just concerned Ruth."

At the same time, Rees entered the room.

"You do not need to speak to me. And if you don't want me to take you there as your friends then you have to accept it as a guard accompanying his Luna." Rees said in a flat tone, but only he knew how difficult it was for him to bore Ruth's anger.

"L-Luna?"

That was what Edwin always called her. She had asked him what it meant, and he said you will know it soon.

"An Alpha's wife is known as a Luna."

Ruth blinked in confusion again. "Alpha?"

Thea and Rees glanced at each other. "I think you should ask all of these questions to Young Master himself. He will explain it better to you." Thea said.

Ruth was still apprehensive of letting Rees accompany her. But then, if he was ready to walk in silence, then it did not matter.

"I am ready to go." Ruth told.

Mrs Payne was in the living room as many thoughts ran into her mind. When she saw Ruth coming her way, she shook them aside.

"I am going Mrs Payne." Ruth informed her.

Mrs Payne hugged Ruth and whispered. "keep your mind open!"

She repeated the advice that Mr Payne always used to give Ruth. Perhaps he had foreseen this situation, and he was trying to help Ruth understand things easily.

Ida was silently standing in the corner. And when she met Ruth's eyes, the guilt choked her after seeing the disappointment in them.

Rees and Ruth left Rees's home and began walking towards the woods. They walked in silence. Ruth was surprised to see Rees keeping his word.

After fifteen minutes, the silence between them turned overbearing for her, and thus she decided to break it.

"You could have told me, you know."

Rees did not miss a bit before replying. "I could have if I was ready to accept the consequences. And I was not!"

"What consequences?"

"If I had told you before then we would not have conversing so sanely like now."

Hmm... fair enough!

Ruth did not say more after that, nor did Rees try to initiate a conversation.

They reached the decided place at right time. As expected, Edwin was already waiting for her.

He straightened up as soon as he saw Ruth walking his way. She stopped at some distance from him.

Rees bowed to his Master.

"I will be around to take you back." He told Ruth before running away using his werewolf speed.

Ruth watched in astonishment, reminding herself again that he was not a human but a werewolf. She shook her head. Would she ever get used to it?

"You will get used to with it over the time. It is not that difficult." She heard that deep voice that made the hair on the back of her neck stood up.

Turning to face him, she observed him under the moonlight. Seemed like he had not slept the last night. She was not sure, but she thought his eyes even looked red.

Was he crying?

Ruth could never imagine a man like him crying over anything. But then she had seen the tears running through his eyes before.

Inside that mountainous frame and tough exterior lay a soft heart that cared for everything around it. She had touched that heart, occupied it, embraced it.

What caught Ruth's attention was something wrapped around his wrist. She narrowed her eyes, trying to rummage through her memories. Where she had seen it? Why did it feel familiar?

And then she finally got it.

"That's... that's mine!" She pointed at his wrist.

Edwin was confused at first, but when he realised that she was pointing to the brown cloth wrapped around his wrist, he looked at her shocked face.

"Erm... yes. Actually it is your..."

"The dress that you tore that night!" She accused while glaring at him.

Instead of getting nervous, that man had the audacity to smile. He smiled like a fool gazing at that cloth lovingly as if it was the most precious possession of his.

"Yes!"

That was all he had to say.

Ruth stomped towards him, her nostrils flared. "Why the hell it is with you?"

Edwin again looked up at her face. Ruth was taken aback by the intensity of his gaze. It always made her feel weak and helpless.

His gaze made her feel that she was at the mercy of him. And that there was no way she could ever fight with the sincerity in it.

"It is that one thing I have, to keep me and my wolf sane! Because it reminds me of you!"

Ruth was speechless. How could be this man so good with words?

"But... how?"

"It had your scent. It is also something that reminds me of that night. The night when I saw those most beautiful hazel eyes, and unknowingly they cast their spell on me.

I could not see your face as I was mesmerised by the magic of those orbs" Edwin took a step closer while their gazes locked with each other,

"I had only two clues about that enchantress. One was this piece of cloth and the other was her name."

Ruth gulped down her saliva, reminding herself to not fall into his trap that easily.

But how was she going to fight with the way he gazed at her, the way he was standing close was enough to let her be overwhelmed by his presence?

"That was the night I got stuck with a thunder. The night that made me long for something for the first time in my life."

"M-me?"

Edwin nodded his head. "I was not lying when I said you intrigue me at the night of dinner with the Greens. Something was indeed attracting me towards you, but I did not know what it was.

I thought it must be your beauty, the physical attraction. But then I felt something deeper, something stronger, something unbreakable as we kept crossing each other's paths."

Ruth was only listening to him in silence. It was the first time they were having this conversation in such detail.

"You... you are lying." Ruth could not help when her voice slightly shivered with emotions.

"I have promised myself to not lie to you today." Edwin told.

It became hard for Ruth to keep looking at him, so she turned her head. It gave her some time to pull her thoughts together. She was there to demand answers and not fall for his sweet words.

"Edwin, how can I believe you when I know that you have always kept lying to me all this time?"

Edwin clenched his jaw. "I have never lied to you Ruth. I have only hide the truth about my identity. But my love... it was not a lie... never!"

"What I saw last night... I did not fall in love with... him. I fell in love with this." She pointed at him. "It feels like I was with only one half of you and tonight I am here to know that other half. I hope you will not HIDE anything this time."

"I will not!" He said.

Sensing that it was going to be a long conversation, Ruth sat on the branch of a nearby tree while Edwin sat on the other in front of her.

"My name is Edwin Walter O'Dell and I am the eighth generation of George O'Dell Sr. The first son in my family has always been a werewolf leader and so I am."

"Is it a hereditary status like the King?" Ruth asked.

If she wanted to know the man completely, then she needs to learn every aspect of him.

"Although every werewolf leader belonged to the O'Dell family for the last 8 generations, it is not a hereditary title. The leader is chosen by the Moon Goddess- our creator, our mother.

One can not be a leader only because of his family heritage. He or she must possess that superior level of sacrifice, empathy, and natural instinct to kill any danger. One can not have this title by sheer luck, they should earn it!"

Ruth was so fascinated by the devotion and pride in Edwin's voice.

"Women can also be a leader?" As a human, it was a foreign concept for her.

In the human world, a woman was supposed to be under the shadows of her husband even if she was a queen. Her title was only nominal with not many powers.

Edwin smiled. "There are many female leaders in many breeds and the werewolf breed had three in the past. Unfortunately, none of them belonged to the O'Dell family. But I am optimistic that there will be a female leader from our family!"

Ruth's heart warmed when he said our family, although she was not sure if he meant to include her in that "our'.