CHAPTER 3

"We need to move faster if we want to get there in time," Brad told Cage. Cage grumbled under his breath. "What was that?" He asked with a cocked eyebrow. 

"We could have just left them there, you know. I see no reason bringing them with us," Cage said. Behind them was the female wolf they had just rescued. She was still unconscious which was becoming a nuisance to them. 

They had a mission to accomplish and didn't have the time to cater to a stranger. To top it all, her little daughter was sitting with Brad on his horse comfortably. 

"And what if they get attacked again? Her mother is still unconscious, Cage. It won't do us any harm to assist them. Once the mother becomes conscious, we could leave them in the nearest town." Cage's expression changed. He looked at his brother with a funny expression. 

"What?" Brad frowned.

"You? You are going to abandon them in the closest town?" He asked bewildered. Cage knew his twin brother was softhearted and would never abandon them if they asked for his help. 

"Well if she isn't strong enough, I guess she could accompany us," Brad murmured. Cage shook his head in exasperation. His brother was hopeless. Sometimes he wondered how they could be brothers when they were very different in character and temperament. 

"You're a Lycan, you know. No werewolf wants to be seen with a Lycan. It's like a stain on their image," Cage told him in the calmest voice he could muster. 

Brad rolled his eyes. His brother had never liked werewolves. He thought of them as a nuisance. Hearing Cage's words didn't change his decision in the slightest. He held onto the little girl. She was frightened and looked around with cute innocent eyes. 

"Not another word, Cage. We have a child here," he admonished him. Cage rolled his eyes in annoyance but stopped talking. They were getting close to a small town. A human village. 

"Let's leave them there," Cage told him and pointed to the town up on a hill. He was in a haste to get to their kingdom and didn't want to waste even a second on a mere werewolf. Saving her life was more than enough.

"Hhmm," Brad hummed but didn't comment on his suggestion. Cage was fed up. Why was he being so reluctant to let them go? He wondered. 

He became silent, allowing his brother to do what he wanted. They traveled throughout the night and by morning they were close to their kingdom. 

"We should rest for a bit," Brad announced and stopped his horse. Cage frowned.

"Why? We should be at the palace by nightfall if we continue. Why must we stop?" 

Brad rolled his eyes at his brother's lack of compassion. He pointed to the sleeping girl in front of him. She was tired and had been resting on him for a while now. He could also hear the grumbling coming from her stomach. She must be hungry. 

Cage's eyes softened for a minute when they fell on the little girl. He pulled the reins of his horse and stopped. He knew Brad was going to stop even if he protested. As the elder brother, he had to look after him. 

"One hour," he murmured. "One hour and we'll continue," Cage told him and he nodded. He came down from his horse while Brad brought the girl down like a father protecting his child.

"Do you think she'll be awake soon?" Cage asked him while pointing to the horse carrying Lara behind them. Brad shrugged and went off with the girl. 

Cage walked towards the horse and took a good look at the woman they had saved. He placed his middle finger under her nostrils. She was alive but still very weak. He pulled the cloth used in covering her naked form higher as it had run down during the journey, revealing her back. 

His hands froze midway when he saw some marks on her back. He stared at them for a minute before covering her up. The sight of those marks stirred at his beast within. It made him angry and weirdly possessive of her. He shook his head.

It was none of his business. Cage took the reins of the horses and tied them up to a tree. The young wolf won't be waking up anytime soon. He sighed and walked towards Brat. 

Brat had woken the little girl up and tried to feed her some snacks they had gotten last night. 

"Here, have some bread," he stretched forth his hands to her but she shook her head, rejecting him despite being very hungry.

"I'm not going to hurt you, okay? I'm Brad, this," he pointed to Cage walking towards them, "is my brother, Cage. What is your name?" 

"Desi," she whispered. Brad smiled. 

"Okay Desi, why don't you eat this and we'll continue our journey," he tried to convince her. Cage stood by the side and watched them with his arms crossed. 

"What about my mummy? When will she wake up?" Desi asked. 

"She is very sick right now. We will take her to a healer when we get to my home so you need to eat fast. Your mother's life is in your hands," Cage told her. Desi glanced at him with tears in her eyes. She had always been a shy kid. She took the bread from Brad and started eating. 

Brad stood up and pulled Cage to the side. "You want to take her with us? I thought you didn't want them to come with us," he asked. 

"I'm still not in support of the idea. You were not getting through the little girl so I had to say something," Cage explained. "Besides, we might as well take them with us, the mother isn't healing as a werewolf should." 

"The men must be hunters then. Was it a silver bullet?" 

"I didn't take a good look at it. We'll need to leave if we want to save her," Cage said and walked away. While he didn't like werewolves, he wasn't going to turn a blind eye to an injured woman on the road. 

He watched the little girl try to eat very fast and almost choked on it. He brought out a can of water and offered it to her. She took it without looking at him. 

"We need to leave soon, Desi," he tried to hurry her up. She took little sips of the water and stood up. He smirked. Mission accomplished. She took little steps to him and held his hands. He was shocked. 

"Let's go Desi," Brad called her. She tightened her hand on Cage, choosing him over his brother. 

"Guess it's me over you, huh brother," he smiled and pulled her with him. They walked to his horse where he placed her back on it and got on it. 

"Hiya," Cage yelled and the horse started running, leaving Brad and the injured wolf behind. A few minutes later he hears the horse steps of his brother behind him. 

They rode until nightfall not taking any breaks in between. They got to the palace by nightfall and went to the stables. 

"Call on the healer immediately!" Cage yelled as he came down from the horse. He brought down the little girl that had fainted due to stress. 

"Quickly!" He yelled again at the guards in the stables.