A MAZE OF GREED

Ruth sat still under the shock with two empty glasses and one half-filled glass in front of her. If not for Ruth, then Edwin would have run from there to avoid facing the situation. He had done that before.

Not because he was scared of facing it, but because he did not want to hurt anyone if lost his control. But right now, his mate needed him more than anything else. His presence alone was a great support to her.

Finally, he had said it. He told her why he was avoiding the topic of marriage. And now Ruth regretted asking him that.

When she came to confront him, she had no idea that this could be the reason. They both sat in silence, not knowing how to react in that situation.

That gave Edwin some time to cool down and decide what he wanted to do.

"You should go home. We will discuss it later." He said after what felt like hours of silence.

"No."

He was taken aback by her response. He was about to open his mouth to argue, but she beat him to it.

"I want to know every single thing before I decide what I want. I am not a coward to run from the things." Her voice came steadily.

Edwin observed her for a long minute before he only nodded his head.

She waited patiently, as he paced in his office. Ten minutes later, a knock on the door disrupted the tensed silence and entered Rees. Followed by him, entered Lester, Thea, Elsie and Ida.

"If you want we can leave Ruth." Lester said sincerely.

But she shook her head lightly. She needed as much support as possible if she indeed was going to dive deeper.

They all gathered around the coffee table while Thea stayed close to Ruth. Rees saw Edwin nodding his way. When he pulled something out from a bag, Ruth noticed it for the first time since he entered the office room.

Her head snapped up to Edwin when she saw the black book. The same book that had ignited her curiosity like nothing else.

Lester cleared his throat before he began, "Ruth, you still have a chance to think otherwise. We don't need to go through all this if you-"

"I want to know before I decide." She told firmly, not leaving any room for argument.

Lester nodded his head in understanding. The thick tension in the room was so palpable that it could be cut with a sharp knife.

Everyone except Thea could hear two hearts thumping loudly in anticipation. Before opening the book, everyone closed their eyes, asking for the Moon Goddess's blessings while Ruth and Thea sat silently watching them.

After their prayers, Lester finally opened the black book. Ruth leaned ahead in excitement and with adrenaline rushing through her veins. But her face fell when she saw the blank pages.

She looked up in confusion as she did not understand what was going on.

"The Black book is written in a magical ink. It can be read only with the blood of the werewolf leader." Lester explained.

Before Ruth comprehend what he meant, she watched in shock as Edwin's claws grew in size. Her breath hitched, seeing their size and the sharpness. She almost shrieked in fright when Edwin held his hand above the book before slashing his skin with his claws.

Ruth literally quivered at her place, watching the blood drip on the white pages of the book. Her lips parted in shock to see the words slowly appearing on them.

But more than that, she was concerned for Edwin. But to her surprise, she saw his wound healing on its own slowly.

Now she understood why everyone was worried when his previous wounds did not recover sooner.

Lester opened the right page before looking at Edwin. Edwin did not want to break it to Ruth, but then it was better to tell her himself than let her know from others.

Edwin cleared his throat before he began, "At the time of the great war, people were busy making alliances, changing them according to their best interests and betraying each other. With every passing day, the situation was getting out of control.

At that time, a few breeds decided to stay neutral without choosing the sides. All they cared was about their own people and did not want to do anything with the war and its brutalities."

Ruth realised that it was not a made-up story, and it was indeed written in the Black book. He was just telling its contents in simple words for her.

"The prominent amongst them were the Centaurs." He told.

"C-Cent..."

"Centaurs are the magical creatures, warrior who fight for the balance of power in the world, creatures with high morals, very trustable and reliable." Lester listed their positives in one go as he had always been impressed by those mystical creatures.

Still, the question mark remained on Ruth's face, which Elsie picked easily. "In simple words, Centaurs are the creatures with magical powers. They have the upper body like humans but their lower body is in the shape of a horse."

Elsie flipped the pages of the Black book where a centaur picture was drawn. Ruth and Thea watched in utter amazement, their eyes wide with curiosity.

"She is... a female." Ruth noticed the beautiful warrior who sent some positive energy in her.

"She was the wife of their King. The Centaurs has king and queen instead of a leader and their mate." Rees explained.

"She was also a childhood friend of George O'Dell Sr," Edwin told.

"When the werewolves were losing the battle, our great ancestor asked for her help. He also did not want to involve the Centaurs in the mess as they had their separate realm away from both humans and other supernaturals.

But he was desperate for help at that time. The werewolves and their allies had faced many casualties, and if they wanted to survive through the war, they needed a strong army of skilled warriors."

Ruth felt like she was watching a play narrated by a skilled narrator. She could picture everything that Edwin told, and the reference pictures are given in the Balck book helped a lot for her imagination.

"What happened then?"

She had still not figured out how it was connected to her possible death, yet she was so intrigued by the story that she wanted to hear more of it.

"Did she agree?" This time Thea asked as she was also a new listener to this story.

Edwin nodded. "She did."

Ruth relaxed for some reason after hearing it as if she was the one who got help in a time of crisis.

"But only she did!"

Her brows knitted in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"It means amongst the realm of the Centaurs, only their queen agreed to help the werewolves for the sake of thousands of vulnerable lives and her friendship with the werewolf leader.

But her husband- the king and other Centaurs did not share the same zeal as hers. They were not interested in risking their lives although they are the supposed guardians of peace and harmony in this world."

Ruth's heart saddened hearing that. How a husband could not support his wife if she wanted to do a thing? She was sure if it was the other way round, the queen would have jumped to side her husband within a beat.

"The situation got so worse that it affected their personal relationship badly. The point came when she had to choose between her duty and her heart."

"And?" Ruth asked, balancing herself on the peak of curiosity.

Edwin smiled softly. But she did not miss the sadness in them. Why?

"She chose the duty!"

Ruth did not realise the breath she was holding until she released it quickly after hearing him.

"She left her husband, her people to fight along with others because she believed that if evil is not stopped then it will hunt down every single one!"

Ruth's eyes moved to the picture of the Centaurs queen in the Black book.

"She was a great being!" Ruth whispered in astonishment.

"She indeed was!" Everyone agreed with profound gratitude and respect for that brave warrior.

"What happened next?" Thea asked as Edwin was yet to answer the initial question of why he could not marry Ruth.

"The news spread like wildfire. And the opposing side was outraged because when they asked Centaurs for help, they had denied it, and now their queen was fighting by the werewolves' side.

They thought it would not take long for the king to stand by his wife as everyone knew how much they loved each other. And the war took a disastrous turn.

But with the help of the Centaurs' queen, we managed to recover our losses. Our morale was definitely heightened by her presence. But then..."

Edwin paused. He had heard that story from his grandfather many times. The story that changed the fate of the O'Dell males.

"Then?" Ruth prodded.

"In one eventful battle.... the queen died!"