~Emily~



The lion's huge paws pressed me down to the floor.

I could feel the lion power stronger than any of the Lycan warriors I train with.

I turned my head slightly and I saw that the lion had lowered his head, his mouth was like a bowl full of blood near my neck.


His pupils were staring motionlessly at me, seemingly with some curiosity, and his huge teeth were almost in front of my eyes. I could feel the blood and heat inside the lion's mouth, as if I was going to be torn apart the next moment.

Fear made my body tremble, watching a lion up close and watching it from outside the cage were two completely different experiences.



I lifted my head to look at Rowan, and I found him standing at the edge of the cage, looking at me and the lion with cold eyes, not coming to my aid.

No! I can't die here! Steph needs me. If Rowan won't help me I'll help myself.


Suddenly a wave of conviction gripped my heart. I struggled frantically, but even though I used all my strength, the lion's huge paws were still firmly pressed on my body.


When I was about to despair, I suddenly found that the lion's paws seemed to loosen a bit, and the next moment the lion's paw came again with more force, slapping my body back to the ground.

But just before I was about to stabilise my body, another force pressed me to the ground, and then I was slapped by it to the other side again.


Is the lion treating me like a ball?


I never thought I would be treated like this.


The lion slapped me from left to right, then from right to left, and then my body rolled around on the ground under his tremendous force, trying with all my might to hold myself steady but it was in vain.


My strength became less and less, and the lion was about to take me off my feet.

Just then I noticed that the lion's movements seemed to have stopped, and the power that was controlling my body disappeared.


I lifted my head slightly and noticed through the corner of my eye that the lion had gone to the other side.

.What's going on? Did the lion get tired of playing and wanted to leave me alone?


'That's enough for today Emily!" Rowan walked to the cage and opened the door for me.

'Why didn't you help me?" I asked, my voice stern and my brows furrowed at him.


'You didn't need it, the lion isn't going to kill you"

Rowan said, acting like it's fine going into a lion's den.


'Well I need to go and see Zayne, so I have to go right now, we'll catch up later"

Rowan said, taking a few steps away from the ground.

'And by the way, I'll need you to go out later to the forest and grab me some strong sticks for your next training"

'Me? I can't. I never gone to the forest by myself"

I was a bit reluctant to go out to the forest, especially by myself.


'You'll be fine Emily, as long as you don't go deep and remain at the border areas, you have nothing to worry about" Rowan said in his reassuring voice.

He makes everything look easy even if it's not, sometimes it's nice but other times, it's just like he's lying.


Rowan walked away, retreating his steps away from me and the fields until he faded out of my sight.



~Rowan~


She actually took the training?


I told Emily the news that she was going to train with the lion straight after I had gone off to drop the two rogues Zayne caught sneaking into the kingdom.

Those instructions were from Zayne himself.


I had expected her to walk out on it, but instead she agreed to come.


She turned back to her room to dress and then I walked to Zayne's training ground.


I stood at the centre of the fields patiently waiting for Emily.


After a short while, I caught her figure walking to me from afar.


I thought about her progress these days, and these changes really surprised me, before she faced the lion, but I was scared that way.


But to become strong, courage alone is not enough, when I opened the lion cage to start training, without the slightest surprise, Emily was pounced on directly to the ground.


Although Emily's speed and reflexes were up to that of a junior samurai, her opponent was a lion.

In order to capture this tiger, and to make it obedient, I don't know how much me and Zayne wasted, Emily was naturally unable to escape at all.


But this time I frowned slightly, Emily was pounced after just a moment of struggle, but actually already about to give up.


I saw the lion's huge paw pressed on her body, she fell to the ground without struggling, there is no reason to worry a little in the heart.

Could it be that this training was too harsh for her, after all, it was a lion.

Many of the Lycan warriors here were no match for the lion, let alone a human like Emily.

The urge to get the lion off Emily's body appeared in my heart, but my reason told me not to do that.


The lion soon releases Emily from his firm hold after a while of struggle in vain for Emily.


'That's enough for today" I walked to the cage and opened it for Emily.

He raged out at me for refusing to help her, her voice stern and harsh.


Glancing at my stopwatch, it was already 12:00 noon.

I have to meet up with Zayne right now. So, that means I'll have to leave Emily to herself.


She'll be shattered, maybe I can give her a task to do.


'Well I need to go and see Zayne, so I have to go right now, we'll catch up later"

'And by the way, I'll need you to go out later to the forest and grab me some strong sticks for your next training"

Giving Emily a task at the forest ought to improve scavenger instinct.


Emily was a bit reluctant, a tinge scared of going to the forest by herself, understandable so.


But after a nice talk to her , she had a change of heart.


I left the training grounds at once to meet up with Zayne.

Zayne really didn't tell me why he wanted to see me so a bit of curiosity stirred up in me.


I walked upstairs to Zayne's room and gently knocked on his door.


'Hello, Rowan. You're a bit late" Zayne opened the door and stood in front of me. He was dressed in casual clothes.

'Sorry training went a bit late"

I explained to Zayne.


'Come in!" Zayne showed me to his room before taking a seat on his couch, spreading his legs across it.

I took a seat on a wooden chair just across from him.

'How was the training with Emily?" Zayne asked.

A question I was expecting: knowing Zayne so well. After all he was the one who suggested the idea of Emily training with his pet lion.


'To be honest, not so good. But I think the lion might just be too much for her"

I suggested it to Zayne as he took a sip from a cup of wine on his table.


'You might be right. But considering our situation right now.

Almost everyday a new death or disappearance occurs, it's not safe for Emily if she's not well trained."


'Yeah, you're right" I completely agree with Zayne. The kingdom hasn't felt so insecure in a long while.


'So, why did you call me here?" I asked, going straight into the business at hand.


'Okay, I need you to keep what I tell you between us, OK?"

Zayne lowered his voice, and leant closer to me.

Whatever it is, it must be really discreet for Zayne.

'OK, I do"


'OK, we have reported Griffin, missing"


'He went missing over a day ago on outside patrol.

I have a feeling whoever left those two guards unconscious must have done something to him"


'What? So what now?" I still couldn't believe my ears.

Another disappearance, if the people in the kingdom hear about this, they would freak out.


'Searching the castle premises, we only found his torchlight and a pair of his boots.

So I need you to search around the areas outside the castle and see if you can find anything helpful"


'Okay sir!"

I stood up from the chair at once. I turned to leave, retreating my steps back to the door.


'Rowan!" I was about to leave when Zayne called me with his deep stern voice.


'No one must find out about this!" Zayne said.

'Yes no one will!" I said in an assuring tone before leaving his room.


~Emily~


I hurriedly walked down from the castle in the direction of the forest.

My heart was racing, as a mix of anticipation and excitement stirred up in me.

As I walked down hill, the firm wind of the day blew against my face, calming my racing heart a little.


The distance between the castle and the forest borders was longer than I initially thought.

I've only ever crossed the divide on horse.


But after a long while of walking, my muscles were strained and my mind tired. Looking up to the sky, it was already getting dark.


The sun was soon to disappear leaving room for the moon and its stars and for darkness to cover the kingdom.


Time was now against me, I had to act fast.

I rushed into the forest and searched for suitable branches, her fingers brushing against the rough bar of the trees.


The forest was really peaceful, more than I had ever expected.

But as I moved further, the orange fill of the sunset disappeared into the shadows of the night.

After a while of searching, I spotted a cluster of sticks lying near a fallen log.

In excitement, I tiptoed to the log and knelt down to collect them.

'Woah!"

I instinctively said, my lips parted and my eyes wide open.

I stopped for a moment to marvel at the glittering stars that hung above in the sky.

The sight was truly something to behold.


'What is that?"

A small tunnel just to my left caught my attention.

Its front was heavily covered with leaves making it almost impossible to navigate.

Whoever owns the tunnel probably didn't want anyone else to know of it.


'I'll check it out"

Curiosity got the better of me, once again. I fixed my attention on the tunnel and carefully walked towards it.


I gently cleared out the leaves from the front of the tunnel and stuck them in my head.

Glancing through the inside, it looks alot more larger than the look on the outside entails.


I stuck my whole body into the tunnel and ventured deeper.

The fresh smell of fragrance reached my nostrils.

Someone was here not too long ago, or maybe here right now.

Venturing deeper, I spotted a small room by my right, it was dimly lit with a fire torch.

I walked into the room and picked up the torch, I shone at all the corners of the room.


'What?! No! Impossible!!"

I said out loud my voice laced with shock and disbelief.

My eyes caught the lifeless body of Flora,laying at one corner of the room. I moved closer to her, and lowered myself to my knees.

I gently placed my two fingers ringers on her, to check for her pulse.

'She's alive!" I said with relief.


I have to get back to the castle, but pulling back with me will waste a lot of time, and right now I don't have time.

I'll just rush to the castle and call for help!


Without any hesitation whatsoever, I rushed back outside the tunnel and walked back to the forest exit.


'Where do you think you're going?"

A stern voice came from behind me.