I Strike Before I Think

Chapter 6

Back in the garden, Kristen paced up and down waiting anxiously for Laurel, she hoped it went well. As much as she hated to admit it, having thought it through, her own way might have led them to destruction. Alpha Earl was not stupid and neither was his Beta, the lives of those men she had proposed they take as hostage might well have meant nothing to the Alpha. What if after going through the trouble, the men ended up showing them the wrong leaves and they went home and realized they had wasted their time? She sighed for the umpteenth time only to hear the annoying voice from behind her,

"Are you not going to have your seat?" Gregg asked for the tenth time.

"Are you deaf? Or maybe you don't hear well in the afternoon? I said to keep quiet. If you have nothing better to say, I will prefer that you stop talking!" Kristen snapped at him.

"I am just concerned. If it's any consolation, you don't have to worry about your sister. Earl doesn't bite." Gregg offered.

"I would suggest that you just ignore me. It would be better if you pretend I am not here. I know my sister can take care of herself." Kristen walked to the farther end of the garden.

"I am not coming to meet you if that is what you are thinking." Gregg yelled after her, "But there is something I have to pick there, I left it there the last time I was here and I just remembered now." He said as he came to stand beside Kristen again.

"Suit yourself." Kristen said, hoping he would leave her be.

After walking around the place for some seconds, Gregg found his way back to Kristen, even closer this time was, and without a note of warning, he pushed her.

"You are stepping on this! It took a whole year for it to grow!" He pointed to a young plant that Kristen had been unconsciously standing on the whole time.

After regaining her balance, Kristen muttered "I am sorry, but you didn't have to push me like that. Be careful because the next time you touch me you might lose your arm. I strike before I think." She stalked away from him.

"This plant is really expensive, it took the gardener a lot of effort to make sure it survived. Quite a pity, I think you have managed to kill it now, did you do it on purpose or…" He paused to look in Kristen's direction, she stopped long enough to glare at him, one hand on her sword ready to strike.

"Well, I will leave the gardener to start with it all over again" Seeing her like that, he raised his hand in surrender and let her have her distance.

"She is definitely not a woman." He muttered to himself.

______

Laurel walked out of the castle furiously, stopping long enough to wait for Kristen who she signaled a guard to call. She was trying to take deep breaths to calm her nerves but it was not working.

"How did it go?" Kristen asked as soon as she got to Laurel.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Kris. Maybe I should have listened to you, I don't know… I… I don't know."

Kristen, sensing that all was not well with her sister immediately, "Hey, don't be too hard on yourself now, I already thought it through, my plan was as good as bad too. I mean you were right, what if they don't mind losing too many men just to get us? And what if we eventually succeeded in taking the men and they ended up pointing the wrong leaves for us to take back?"

"Well, there had to be a way, Kris. There has to be a way." Laurel said again with eyes already clouded with tears.

"He didn't agree to help?" Kristen asked, unsure of what her sister was talking about.

She shook her head repeatedly, "He asked for something in return, Kris. Asked for too much in return."

"Surely you were not expecting he would help us for free? I told you he was going to ask for something in return. What did he ask, is it something we can't give?"

"It's more than we can give, Kris. Way more than the devil would ask."

"Let's hear it. And don't tell me you want to cry, I've told you to get a hold on yourself."

"He asked that I step down as the Alpha and make him the new Alpha while I rule as his Beta." Laurel dropped the bombshell, watching the expression on Kristen's face go from surprise to anger.

"You are joking?" She took a moment to laugh, easing her own tension in the process. When Laurel did not join in the laughter, Kristen looked at her with wide eyes, "That man is certainly a devil if you are not joking, he's worse than a devil. How could a man be so greedy?"

Kristen turned and marched back towards the castle, her hand on her sword ready for battle, Laurel called after her but she ignored and continued towards the door. Laurel had to use a speed she rarely used before she could catch up with Kristen and block her way.

"Wait!"

"What? You are not going to agree to that foolish proposal, are you?"

"No, of course not. There is another alternative though, he gave us two options."

"Hm, that's quite generous of him, spit it out already." Kristen said impatiently.

"He proposed that I become his Luna. That means I either marry him and get the cure or give him my birthright for the same cure."

"That guy is a sorry excuse for a man. Wait, how are we even sure they have the cure here? From what I hear they are more opportunists here than you can meet in a lifetime."

"They have it, Kris. They call it Munsil leaf, said it is their own blessing from the Moon Goddess, that it has been around even before he was born."

Kristen nodded thoughtfully, "Then this journey was not totally in vain, now we know what we are searching for, I say we go back and continue our search in the neighboring packs. I'm sure we will find it elsewhere."

"He already shattered that hope too, he warned me against it. According to him, it would be a waste of time as the cure is 'their special gift' too. And stealing it, according to him, will not work too, the leaves automatically become useless if stolen." Laurel said tiredly.

"That's bullshit. Let's go home, we'll continue the search tomorrow."

Laurel gathered her long dress in her hands and made towards their horses. It was becoming more difficult for her to wear the damned dresses these days, especially when everything seemed to be falling apart around her. She had thought her parent's deaths was the worst thing that could happen to her, but now, she was convinced that that was only the beginning. Maybe more bad things would still happen.

"This is an insult, Laurel," Kristen said as she mounted her horse, "They are deliberately insulting us. The fact that we are women doesn't mean we are totally defenseless and we should make them understand that immediately we deal with this flu. But before then, we will show them that we can get the cure elsewhere. To hell with their stupid proposal." She finished, the anger written all over her face.

"If eventually I decide to get married, it would be a man I know and respect, not that opportunist bastard." Laurel said, trying to control her own outburst

"I am glad you are finally seeing reasons with me. Marrying just anyone would automatically mean you are stuck for life, that is the last thing we want now."

"But what are we supposed to do now?" Laurel asked in confusion.

"I already feel a great deal of hatred for Gregg. I wouldn't mind slitting his throat." Kristen said with contempt.

"Don't tell me you already picked a fight with him?" Laurel narrowed her eyes on her sister.

Kristen scoffed, "He made a fuss about some flowers, the next time he tries to touch me he will not be so lucky, he might lose his right hand." Kristen groaned, disgusted at the thought of it.

"We'll have to avoid them for now." Laurel said with a note of finality.

The journey back home was faster than it had been when they were coming. Perhaps because Laurel had been anxious of what the outcome of the meeting would be then, something to chew on. But now she was afraid of what was left of her people back at home so going back home was not very appealing. Soon, they were in front of their own gate and it was opened for them as soon as possible.

A maid ran to them immediately when they arrived at the hall, there was horror on her face as she stopped in front of them.

"A lot of people are already infected. It is transmittable!" She cried.

"What do you mean it is transmittable?" Laurel asked, puzzled. When her parents had the same flu, it was not transmittable, so why now?

"A lot of people inside the castle already have it, so far, the guards have managed to put them somewhere else away from the rest of us. I am afraid there are more deaths recorded too." the maid said as fast as she could.

"Don't panic, it is going to be alright, get back to the castle and continue with your normal duties. We are going to find a solution to this problem soon." Laurel instructed, hoping she could even believe herself.

"I heard that a neighboring pack, the New knight Pack has a cure for it. I was wondering if you could get them to help us." The maid said hopefully.

"We are already working on it." Kristen said, ushering the maid towards the door.

"When we left, only a few people were infected, I am not sure how long we are going to last if we don't find a solution to this very fast." Kristen said thoughtfully.

Laurel called for a guard. "Get someone to compile a list of the other Packs around us. There might be some nearby pack where we can get the Munsil leaf. That's what we are looking for, Munsil leaves." Laurel instructed.

She made to enter the hall but Kristen held her back, "How about you take a break? I will handle anything that needs attention here. You look like you could use a little break."

"You are the best," Laurel said, giving her sister one last hug before she made towards the main house.