A MAZE OF GREED

As soon as the door opened, Ruth was the first one to rush inside, breaking through Rees's hold. She knew that more than consoling her, that hold was meant to keep her at bay from Edwin, to keep her safe.

But she did not care about herself. All she cared about was the man whose heart beat for her.

"Edwin... Edwin..." She called his name as she ran frantically.

She did not need to tell where Edwin was as she could hear loud growls and grunts along with some other loud sounds coming from the basement.

"Ruth stop!" Rees, Lester and Thea were hot on her tail.

Ruth stumbled on the stairs that led to the basement. As soon as she reached the midway, the foul smell entered her nostrils, making her scrunch up her nose. The dim light could not stop her, nor it could slow down her pace.

Ruth saw a dark path ahead with prison cells to both of its sides. Something about that place made her skin crawl in fear and disgust. She had never seen a place like that before.

Ruth's pace slowed as she kept walking on the path ahead. She could hear the noises coming from the cornermost cell, yet she was afraid of someone jumping on her from one of those cells.

She was confused to see all of them were empty and was relieved at the same time. She was afraid of what kind of creatures or dangerous people Edwin put behind those bars.

As she reached the last cell, her heart stopped beating for a moment. In front of her was not her man, her Edwin. But a giant black wolf, whom she had seen that night at the waterfall roared and growled.

His loud sounds made not only her heart but also her soul flinch and shiver in fear. She sensed the others standing just behind her. Their presence brought some support to her messed up mind, or she would have broken down just then and there.

"oh no!"

Thea whispered, watching Edwin's wolf for the first time. She thought Rees's wolf was a big one and dangerous also but now looking at Edwin's wolf, she understood why he was the chosen leader.

That gigantic beast could smash a human under his paw without missing a bit.

Ruth couldn't help but take a moment to observe the black beast. That night at the waterfall, she was too shocked and stunned to pay attention to every detail.

Although she couldn't see much in the dark cell, she noticed how shiny his fur was. It shone under the dim light that came from a small slit at the end of the wall where it met the roof.

Ruth narrowed her eyes as some old memory poked her. After a few seconds, it struck her. She recalled the night when she came to meet Rees with Thea in 'the great manor'.

As far as she knew that was the exact time when Edwin's wolf was in complete power. She felt that peculiar feeling, that call of yearning for the first time that night. Ruth could never forget that feeling... never.

Her heart raced when she realised the eyes she had seen that night belonged to no one but Edwin. He was locked up in this same cell at that time.

Sensing her heartbeats and her scent, the wolf turned around abruptly. He barred his long and sharp teeth in a warning which made even Lester and Rees gulp in nervousness.

Everyone took a step behind instinctively. However, Ruth did not move. She remained rooted to her spot as she stared into his mesmerising eyes.

For some reason, she did not get scared watching him this time. She did not flinch when Edwin made a grunting voice while walking towards her. Her eyes were glued to his as she found herself falling in their depth.

His eyes tried swallowing her whole, pulling her into their world. A world where they were the masters of her will, mind and body.

Edwin's wolf called her so intensely that made her insides tingle to the core.

Ruth found his eyes as the most fascinating and beautiful part of his wolf. They resembled the dark sky in the stormy night, and the electric blue streaks were the thunderbolts cracking vociferously in that dark sky.

Did the Moon Goddess have the same eyes? She wondered.

Ruth felt the heat of someone's body behind her back.

"Ruth, stop looking in his eyes. He is trying to compel you. Break the eye contact with him." She heard a soft whisper of Lester near her ear.

The corner of her mouth lifted in a soft smile. Little did Lester know that Edwin had failed to compel her for long many times.

Ignoring Lester's warning, Ruth took a step ahead. Lester was quick to hold her wrist, but the moment Edwin's wolf saw his hand on hers, he made a thundering growl. It intimidated Lester enough that his hand slipped away from Ruth's against his will.

Thea tilted her head to look at her husband in worry, but he only patted her hand, which was holding his bicep the moment she saw Edwin's wolf.

The black wolf stopped near the bars. His muzzle was so large that not even his nose could fit in the space between the bars. Ruth stopped a few inches from the bars.

They were lost in each other's eyes that the whole world faded around them. From where she stood, Ruth could feel the warm air coming from his breathing, hitting her in waves.

Ruth lifted her hand slowly, still not breaking their eye contact. She pushed her hand in the space between the bars to touch his muzzle.

The wolf made a loud sound at the back of his throat, but surprisingly Ruth did not flinch. She ran her hand through his thick and soft fur. Her fingertips grazed his skin underneath the coat of fur gently.

The wolf growled again loudly, which made Thea panic. But when she looked at the two men, she got confused seeing their expressions.

A sweet scent spread in the air, which Thea could not smell. The growl and touch of Edwin's wolf made Ruth's core pulsate in excitement.

The scent of her arousal hit every wolf around like a smack of an ice sheet in the face.

Lester and Rees turned red, but they did not know how to explain this to Thea, who was waiting for them to pull Ruth away from Edwin's wolf.

They could hear the thumping of hearts of the werewolves who still had not found their mate. It was a dangerous situation.

If any of them got triggered by Ruth's scent, they might try to have her as she was not marked by Edwin yet. One of these two men confessed to themselves as they had never smelled such a strong and sweet scent of any female before.

It confirmed that Ruth was the only one for Edwin! Their Luna!!

Rees was the first one who came back to his senses. The presence of his mate beside him made it easier for him to gather himself.

He cleared his throat before saying, "I think we should leave them alone for a while."

"What?" Thea's head snapped in his direction as she stared at him as if he had grown two horns on his head.

"You mean we should leave Ruth alone with... with this.... humongous predator?!!!" She asked incredulously.

"Shhh" Rees glared at Thea for saying such a thing about his Master. "He can hear you, Thea. Trust me, if you do not want to see a rehearsal of the war then do as I say." Rees warned.

Thea was still not convinced and opened her mouth to argue.

But Lester took her hand in his and began dragging her out of there. Rees did not like the way Lester held his wife's hand, but he kept quiet because he knew there was no other way to make her move from there.

Besides, Lester was already marked by Lady Elsie and thus, Rees had no worries!

Ruth was too occupied to notice that her friends had left her. She finally looked away from the wolf as her eyes began searching for the keys to the lock. She found them on the dark floor. Edwin must have thrown them away after locking himself behind the bars.

Ruth ran to take the keys, but the wolf thought she was leaving him. He began growling and roaring loudly.

Rees ordered all the guards to leave the old building and made sure that no one comes within its perimeter. They could hear Edwin's wolf's noise from above. Thea kept panicking, but Rees assured her that Edwin would not hurt Ruth.

Making sure that every guard was out of the building, the three of them also left after closing the metal door behind them.

"Thea, I think you should inform Mrs Payne that Ruth will not be home tonight," Lester said, avoiding looking at her.

Thea was about to ask why he said that, but he increased his pace to go to his mate. After smelling the scent of Ruth's arousal and feeling the chemistry between her and Edwin, his wolf was desperate for his mate.

"Where are you going?" Rees held Thea's hand, making her halt in her steps.

"Didn't you hear what Lord Lester said?" She raised her brow at him.

"I will take care of that." Rees said before dragging her to their home.

Thea kept asking him what was wrong with him and why they were going home so early. But Rees was annoyingly silent all the way.

Thea could only feel the heat coming from his body, but she was confused.

All her confusion was resolved once they stepped inside their home to spend the rest of the day and the night making love.