“Then we will start with wells. It might work out or not, but you need to prepare to work,” Rhys said.
“And we also heard that they managed to survive an attack, protecting themselves against the aurochs,” Lycan said, still standing.
“You have heard a lot,” Rhys replied.
“We actually met with one or two of them. Never thought I’d see a Ravari and a Canid looking out for each other like that. We only ever see that if we’re getting attacked by humans,” Vaikor said. He paused, then added, “We thought of telling you, just in case it would make you happier.”
“I’m not as good as you think. I have my own way of showing my bad side,” Rhys said, stretching.
“They had a lot to say about their Alpha. To them, their Alpha was more of an Alpha than a human,” Vaikor said.
“Can we start moving?” Rhys asked.
“I think they won’t like it,” Lycan replied.
“They don’t have to. They have to be safe,” Rhys said.
“We will need a reason to make them move, or else…”
“I’m sorry, Alpha Vaikor, but if you are not home, then you are not safe. And if you are home, you’ve just reduced the chance of being attacked,” Rhys said.
“No need to apologize. We are equals here—just between us,” Vaikor replied.
“Only those like children, the old, or the blind need to stay in the carriage. The others will walk,” Rhys said.
“Lycan?”
“Let’s go do it. It will be hard, but we didn't go through all that struggle to ignore him,” Lycan said.
Rhys turned to the little girl, taking her hand softly. “So, you’re here. What’s your name?”
“I tried. Seems like she doesn’t want to talk,” Sely said.
“No name?” Rhys asked, looking back at the girl. “I’m good with children.”
“And forgiving, too,” Sely murmured.
“What’s there to forgive?” Rhys said. “If you’re talking about you, I have no reason to kill you. You did some bad stuff, but the others did maybe worse—except the sex, well, at least before they.....” He cut himself off, realizing the little girl was standing right in front of him. He cleared his throat. “You think what you did was bad, but I’ve seen myself do things that would make you want to run away from me.”
“Doesn’t she need to urinate? I mean....” Rhys started.
“Bring her here. You don’t talk like that about girls,” Sely interrupted.
“Cil,” Rhys said softly. “Pronounced like 'Seal'. It will be me, the unwanted human; you, my little and very first Felid friend; and Sely, the older lady who thinks that just because she tortured me and made me pass through some hard-working-up problems, she’s done almost as much bad as I have. But our third friend will never betray us.”
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“Don’t call me old,” Sely said, taking Cil’s hand and stepping outside.
While Sely and Cil were out, Lycan and Vaikor approached.
“We will be going soon. Wanted to tell you that,” Lycan said.
“I have a question, Rhys,” Vaikor said.
“What?”
“Why do you trust Sely so much?”
“Because we are both wanted dead, and because I’ve done more than she ever could,” Rhys replied. “Besides, I always have a lot to do. I don’t have the time or the strength to start thinking about revenge.”
“Okay then. Let us go back, we will meet later,” Lycan said.
They just missed Sely as she returned and placed Cil gently back into the carriage.
“Going in?” Sely asked.
“I’ve been standing all day. Let me walk,” Rhys said.
“Oh,” Sely said, stepping away from the carriage door.
“What is it?” Rhys asked.
“I’m your slave, so I can’t go in,” Sely replied.
“Who said that.....”
“I did. You know what? I don’t think I’d like to be anyone’s slave except yours. I see why the Canids from the Ravari village talk so much about you,” Sely said. “And if we walk together, they will look at us as two people discussing things together—not just one human in the middle of many Canids.”
Everyone started walking. It was true: the two of them were the highlight, hated by most, if not all.
“I never thought of it—how did you find out about me?” Rhys asked as they moved.
“It wasn’t me, it was my older sisters. They talked to someone who said he talked to a Ravari man. Helping or not, some people just can’t let go of the many years of fighting humans,” Sely replied.
“What about my scent? I thought there was a chance they might have picked it up.”
“Yes, so we hid it—or rather, changed it. That’s how slaves are stolen,” Sely explained.
They walked for almost five hours before stopping to rest. By then, Sely was back in the carriage, asleep beside Cil.
Rhys took his seat, but his mind wouldn't rest.
'It’s been quiet, but why would someone from the Ravari village sell me out?' he thought. He stood up and began to pace. 'I helped them. I did all I could. Who is fucking dumb enough—son of a bitch, fuck…'
*We can talk about it,* A voice echoed in his mind.
“Fuck off,” Rhys spat aloud. But by the time the words left his mouth, he was standing right near a group of Canids.
“What did you say?” a male Canid asked, stepping forward from his group of four.
Rhys was about to explain, but decided against it and turned his back to walk away.
“What did he say?”
“Say it, you coward! What the fuck did you say?” the man growled, reaching out and grabbing Rhys by his collar chain.
*Let’s kill them,* the voice urged. *We know we can. You killed knights—this is easy meat, right?*
“Fuck off,” Rhys said again.
He was already surrounded, and the surrounding crowd simply turned a blind eye. 'It’s just a human, after all,' Rhys thought bitterly.
“I’m sorry. I was talking to myself,” Rhys said aloud to the man.
“Talking to yourself?” the male Canid sneered. By this time, the knight was standing a mere whisker away from Rhys.
*I think you can kill him. I mean, it’s just another Canid,* the knight added, placing hands around the man's throat. To the Canid, however, it just looked like Rhys was staring intently at his neck.
Unnerved, the Canid released the chain dangling from the collar.
As Rhys turned around again, the knight appeared right at his right side. *Rhys the savior. You saved them, too.*
“Fuck off!” Rhys snapped.
Once again, the words came out too loud. He was still in the middle of their circle and never saw the blow coming. He was hit—a punch, a kick, a stone, or a stick, maybe even metal. Rhys couldn't tell. His head filled with a horribly familiar sensation—a dull numbness that drifted over him, blurring his vision until everything went quiet. He didn't even feel the rest of the beating.
In reality, the assault drew a large crowd. Dozens of Canids watched from a distance, shouting and cheering.
The commotion was loud enough to bring both Alphas rushing over, but arriving close only made them realize what had managed to unite the Canids so suddenly: Rhys, lying motionlessly with a busted head, his blood pooling on the ground.
Vaikor moved instantly, gripping one of the attackers by the throat. How his hand managed to wrap entirely around the bigger guy's neck wasn't the main question—it was how effortlessly he convinced the larger Canid that he was the far more dangerous between them. He slammed a punch into another Canid's jaw so hard that teeth flew onto the dirt. The sheer power in his voice as he growled made every Canid in the vicinity drop their gaze in terror.
“You will kill him! Let him go, Vaikor!” Lycan barked, grabbing his arm.