THE LOVE OF A LYCAN

203 CARTIER VILLAGE

With new horizons to pursue

-A Whole New World; Aladin

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The three of them stayed at the bar for two hours. When Raine had been fed and laughed at, they left the bar to continue their trip to the Cartier village.

When they stepped outside, the sun was scorching hot, burning their skin.?It did not take Raine even ten minutes before she was drenched in sweat. The purple cloak that she was wearing made it worse.?Unfortunately, she could not take it off as she needed its protection in order to cover her identity.

"D*mn!?She is sweating like a human!" Fabian scrunched his nose in displeasure. "Can't we just bundle her up? She has been trying to reveal her identity!"

"I did not!" Raine retorted.

At this time of the day, when the sun was directly above their head, the layers of dress and cloak made Raine feel like she was already bundled up.?It was extremely uncomfortable and of course, any normal human would have been sweating profusely by now.

The problem was that Raine was a human being surrounded by dangerous non-humans.?It was a precarious situation to be in.?She could lose her life just with one mistake.

"She is really hopeless." Fabian complained, feeling frustrated by the situation.

Yet Serefina, always a demanding person, actually became unusually quiet.?She let Fabian grumble and say whatever he wanted to say.

Serefina then stopped a carriage that was being pulled by odd-looking horses.?Raine thought this was probably what one would consider a taxi in this era.

"Let's go." Serefina held the door open for Raine and Fabian so that the two of them could go inside first.?After she told the driver their destination, she got into the carriage.

Raine was quite excited to experience such a ride.?The seats were comfortable and the ride surprisingly quite smooth as the two-headed horse-looking creatures cantered off.

In front of Raine and Serefina, Fabian rested his head against the cushioned seat as he mumbled, "The trip to Cartier Village will take at least five hours.?I will just take a nap."

Raine blinked her eyes upon hearing that. "If with this carriage it would take five hours to get to the village… then were you planning to walk all the way there had I not been sweating? How long would it take to get there on foot?" She was afraid to even think about it.

What's with these witches? Do they really like walking that much?

"Don't think too much about it.?He was just teasing you." Serefina looked at Fabian who had already closed his eyes.?She then leaned back against the cushioned seat. "You should take a nap too.?I don't want to stop every now and then just because you needed to rest."

With that being said, Serefina closed her eyes and tried to sleep as well.

However, sleep eluded Raine.?The scenery outside the window was simply amazing and captivating.

Raine opened the window of the carriage to let fresh air in as the carriage sped up.?She was struck by how dazzling this place was.?She saw stone statues lining the road until they reached a crossroad, in the center of which was a grand fountain.The streets were bustling with vendors selling bread, fresh tea and strange food.

It would have been perfect if Torak was here with her,Raine thought, daydreaming about a magical place where there was a real King and Queen.?This place reminded her of her childhood fantasies when she used to believe that there were magic and castles.?So far, magic was true but she had not seen any castle yet.

The sun still shone brightly and illuminated every corner of the street.For two more hours, Raine continued watching as they passed by beautiful sceneries.?In time though, the continual sound of the moving carriage and the soothing wind brushing her face eventually lulled her into deep sleep.?This abrupt journey and the many surprises along the way have exhausted her after all.

Everything has been happening too fast and sometimes she had a hard time keeping up with her new life since meeting Torak.?There were simply too many things that she needed to learn although she had come to understand a few things along the way, too.?Despite all this, Raine knew she was happier now than she had ever been in her last nine years of life.

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"Hey, wake up! We are here." Serefina shook her body lightly to get her attention.

Raine stifled a yawn and opened her sleepy eyes. "We have arrived…?" She asked, her voice sounding rough.

"Let's get out." Serefina said as she followed Fabian out of the carriage.

The sun had almost set, leaving a sliver of gold shade in the sky that was gradually turning dark.

Raine looked around her and was amazed at how this place dazzled at night.?Pixie stones with glowing little gems were encased in lamps placed along the cobbled streets, illuminating the pathways.Red brick buildings rose up into the sky.?Statues of Lycans and wolves made of stone adorned every corner of the street leading to a castle.

Yes, it was a castle!

"Does the Alpha and Luna live there?" Raine asked excitedly.?She was so eager to come close to the gigantic building that looked like those in a fairytale. "Do they act like a King and Queen?"

Raine skipped in excitement and was about to hurry towards the castle.

"Is she always like this?" Fabian frowned, seeing Raine's enthusiasm as he walked beside Serefina.

"No." Serefina replied.?She remembered how timid and weak Raine was the first time she met her. "She used to be very silent."

Fabian looked at Serefina inquisitively. "How were you able to bring a guardian angel out of their village??It would not have been easy with the tight protection of the shadow warriors."

He thought that Raine's strange behavior was that of someone who have been kept away from the outside world for far too long.