Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 156: In the wolf’s den

"Would you just stop crying?" hissed the woman, "You are safe now so, what’s the issue?" her voice blared a little louder.

Her Onyx black hair fell to her waist, silky and clearly cared for. Unlike Alpha Cynric’s hair which appeared healthy yet unkempt. It was the case for most wolf men Arabella had laid eyes upon in the short duration of time she spent on their territory.

The women in their clan seemed to take better care of their appearance despite wearing nothing but their fur as well.

"Take these silly boots off!" the woman grumbled while on her knees, tugging at Arabella’s shoes, "Humans, I swear! Always so needy and whiny," she, not so gently, gripped Arabella’s leg and yanked it to see the cut on her calf, "Look at you! Can’t even heal on your own," she clicked her tongue and stood up.

After a long and loud sigh, the woman’s voice resonated once more, "What is it, huh? Is it this cavern? Not cushy enough for your tender flesh?" she marked a pause, a stern look on her, "Speak! Why can’t you stop trembling and crying? A newborn child would have voiced their thoughts more properly than you!"

The woman grew visibly more agitated by the second, face reddening with every word uttered.

"Listen here!" she bent closer to Arabella, "If you don’t stop getting on my nerves right this instant! I swear, in the name of our Goddess that I will-," she’d spat every syllable through gritted teeth.

The wolf woman wasn’t allowed to complete her threats however, as a new voice reverberated throughout those vast caverns. A more brittle yet mature one, although very steady, "Ayyura!"

The so-called Ayyura dared not even whisper at first and spun around to meet the gaze of the old lady that had entered the cave.

"Go help the others by the border. An intruder is trespassing on our land," the albeit tall and firm looking old woman still had a warm air on her.

Ayyra huffed once before storming out of the cave altogether.

The entire time, Arabella hadn’t the courage to look any of them in the eyes and merely sat in her corner, massaging at her still aching wrists.

Eyes mostly cast into nothingness, the tears refused to stop streaming, allowing her heart not a second of rest.

"I named her after our great Goddess of the moon, hoping she’d inherit some of her grace, but alas...," the old woman trailed off, watching as Ayyura disappeared behind the cavern walls.

"My name is Cherreka and you are," Cherreka had half asked in an attempt to get Arabella to speak.

The young woman didn’t even try as the sniveling took over her completely. Cherreka stepped closer before sitting down in front of Arabella, thus forcing her gemstones to lock onto hers.

But there was nothing there... Arabella was simply too far gone for her mind to register anything.

"Speak to me," Cherreka laid a gentle hand on Arabella’s cheek, "What’s keeping you in this state?" she caressed her, "You are safe now. Those people won’t hurt you anymore," she shook her head.

That seemed to do the trick as Arabella’s irises flickered onto Cherreka, but the crying didn’t stop.

"You can do it, my dear. Tell me," the old woman encouraged her while still stroking her cheek.

Arabella’s trembling lips parted and just mouthed inaudible gibberish at first, but then her vocal cords finally seemed to untwine, "I... It was... It was awful,"

"Yes, yes, my dear. It was, but it is all over now. They won’t lay a finger on you," Cherreka moved on to pat the young woman’s head.

"No...," her voice cracked, "It was... They are dead. They killed them. Tore them apart. It was awful!" there was a break between every word.

The crying resumed even louder, but Cherreka looked astounded. Mouth agape and eyes wide, her hand had frozen still on Arabella’s head, "Why yes, dear!" the old woman smiled again, "They committed an unforgivable act and were punished accordingly for it,"

At those words, Arabella’s blood slowed its cadence, causing her entire body to shiver harder as she pulled away from Cherreka, looking terrorized.

"Are you... Crying over the death of your abductors then?" the old woman’s eyebrows furrowed, "Now that is something I did not foresee," she shook her head, "Or is it that you are not used to such displays of violence, perhaps?"

Arabella’s eyes fell to Cherreka’s lap, with no strength left in her bones to elaborate or try to make sense out of things.

"Right, of course you are not used to it," the old woman answered her own question, "Well, let me apologize that you had to witness it. Especially after everything else that had happened to you," she took a deep breath, "We, my kind, tend to... How to say this, solve our problems in the most direct and simplest of ways,"

"Have you ever...?" Arabella trailed off, unable to spill the last words.

"More than I can count. In fact, I fear the smell of blood on my hands will never wash away," Cherreka smiled warmly as though she told the most wholesome of stories, "I partake a lot less in such activities in this day and age, of course. I am a lot more hesitant to take a life. I mean, look at me," she chuckled.

Arabella did look and as a result noticed the lack of fur on Cherreka’s body. Unlike the rest of her folk, she draped herself with fabric, covering more than her bits.

"Oh! this!" Cherreka seemed to pick up on Arabella’s train of thought, "You don’t see a lot of it going around among my people," she pinched at the fabric, "See, the older our people grow, the less our bodies are capable of performing the way they used to in our youth. Although we didn’t know that as not many of us lived for as long as I have," another chuckle escaped her, "Some would even dare say I lived way past my due,"

This chapter is updat𝙚d by f(r)eew𝒆bn(o)vel.com