Chapter Two Kodessa POV

I watched the brothers run away and pondered over what they meant by “My Kind”. I had seen the fear in their eyes when I told them my name. We had never been told what lies on the other side of the River Lethe. We only knew that under absolutely no circumstances were we to cross it.

My father’s voice reverberated through the trees as he made his approach “Kodessa '', he bellowed.

“I am over here, Father, “I have hurt my ankle “, “But not as much as I have hurt my pride,” I said under my breath.

My father was an intimidating man, to say the least, Shoulder length auburn hair, blue eyes and a weathered, handsome face, tall and robust, with a thick dark scar that ran the length of his right cheek. The ladies in our village turned their cheeks and blushed a shade of red when Tobias Keneally walked by.

“Dessa, What have you done to yourself now? ” 

He bent down beside me and gently inspected my ankle. 

 “Oh Father, I was collecting beech leaves for Grandma Ulfred, and as I lent out to grab them, “I fell out of the damn tree”.”How will I ever prove that I can be a Carmentis if I cannot complete a simple task?

“You will be a great healer, Dessa” you are destined to do so, Just as your Mother and grandmother”. “You come from a long line of Carmentisś”,  he brushed the leaves from my hair ``'' You have been clumsy since the day you could walk my girl”, always in a hurry”.  “Always leaving a trail of mess in your wake”!

 “That's because Gwendolyn was always right there in my way” “ Never leaving me alone to do anything in peace”.

 I  shook my head in frustration and folded my arms tightly across my chest at the mention of my little sister. I love Gwendolyn, but sometimes I just need to be alone with my thoughts.

“Gwen follows you because you are her sister, Kodessa, and she loves and looks up to you “. 

So you should show her some kindness and grace”.  

I look at my father’s face and see the anguish my selfishness has caused.

 Ïm sorry, Father”.”I know that I need to be kinder and more patient with Gwen”.

As he drew me into his chest, the memories of my childhood flooded back. In my fathers, arms I have always felt safe.

“Father  - Do you know the ..…?

 Before I had a chance to finish my question 

Viktor Radley, The Sentinels Leader, came into sight. The Sentinels job is to patrol our territory and ensure no intruders enter. They also maintain the order between pack members, break up fights, and report any concerns or disturbances to the alpha.

I did not trust Viktor. Something deep in the pit of my stomach told me to be wary. He was conniving and sneaky.

 A far cry from the type of man his son was becoming.

 “Over here, Viktor.” 

My father rose to his feet as he alerted Viktor to our location.

Vitkorś's face was red, drops of sweat had formed on his brow. He walked up to my father as the remainder of the Sentinels respectfully kept their distance. For no ordinary pack member would ever dare approach the alpha without being invited to do so.

“We picked up their scent Tobias “, “by the time we had reached them, they had crossed back over the boundary line into Ironpoint”. “There were two of them, way inside our territory”.” We must retaliate swiftly, Tobias …. Our pact was broken,… This is an act of war”.

“Do not forget your place and who you are talking to, Viktor”, my Father commanded. “It is I who decides what an act of war is”!

Anger quickly swept across Viktors face, and as soon as it came, it dissipated. He knew when he was outnumbered, and it was not the time to challenge Tobias.

He would never win a fair fight against the alpha.

 ‘Of course,  Tobias, He stammered nervously. “I have acted overzealously. No disrespect was intended. 

My father turns his head, looks at me and asks.

 “Dessa, Have you seen anyone while you've been here? 

” No, Father ”, as I shifted my eyes toward the ground, “I have been alone the whole time, I have not seen a soul”. 

And for the first time in a long time, I lied to my father.

The walk back home was long and silent, and I asked myself why I chose to lie for a boy I didn't know and why I couldn't get Fenis Greyś brown eyes out of my mind. Every time my eyes closed, I could see the outline of his face, the way his raven curls flickered above his eyebrows, and the way my soul saw his soul and seemed to say, “Hello ….There you are ”. And the confusion of why he looked so fearful by the mere mention of my name.

As we neared  Briarwood, I could hear my sisters voice as she came darting through the crowd of villagers eager to see my safe return. Gwendolyn Keneally was 17 years old, Thin and waif-like with long golden curls and almond sapphire eyes. Happy and joyous, everyone in the village adored and spoiled her.

  “Father, did you find Dessa?”Is she okay?”Where was she?”’Gwen gushed as she made her way in front of our father.

 “Gwendolyn Keneally, back off, child and give them some space,“ my grandmother admonished.” Tobias, bring her to my house “. 

My father hastily followed my Grandmother through the cobblestone streets, past the Blacksmiths and through the town square. Grandma Ulfredś house is a modest stone house filled with herbs and plants hanging from the rafters, potions, lotions, dried animals, and crystals filled the room. In the corner near the fireplace, taking pride of place, was an old leather-bound book, the pages tattered and worn. Generations of women from my family had added to its story.

“Sit her down over there, Tobias”, Grandma instructed, pointing to the wooden table in the centre of the kitchen.

”I am fine, itś nothing, really,” I implored as my father gently placed me on the table.

“Hush, child”, 

She took my bruised ankle into her hand and began to scrutinize it.

 “No break, Just a bad sprain. I have just the thing to help it along” Gwen, fetch me the ginger and turmeric, please “.

 Gwen leapt into action. We had helped Grandmother with her healing since we were small girls. No matter what, the affliction people lined up at Grandmother's house. Gwen placed the items in front of Grandmother as she started to put them into her mortar and pestle and grind it to a thick paste. She lathered my ankle in the paste and bound it with a piece of cheesecloth.

 “Leave the poultice on for three days and stay off your feet, Dessa”, 

”But Grandmother, the Regency Dance is on tomorrow night,”  And I have promised Lucian a dance”. 

“I mean it, Kodessa !,” It needs time for the bruising to settle, and you should have thought about the Ball before you wandered off into the forest alone and fell out of a tree”.

I hung my head in shame that my first trip outperforming my duties as a Carmentis had failed so miserably. I shall be the laughing stock of the whole of Briarwood. How was anyone ever going to take me seriously in their time of need, I wondered.

 “Do not fear, Dessa”. Gwen chimed in as she twirled across the kitchen floor.” I shall dance with Lucian as he is the most handsome boy in all of Briarwood and beyond”. 

“ Gwendolyn Marie Keneally”, my father scolded. “That is not the behaviour a young lady should display. You are too young to dance with any boys, Especially Lucian Radley.”

“Oh, Father, I am seventeen. I am not a child”. “You met Mother when she was younger than I”.

“Gwendolyn ...Stop being a brat. Father is right. You are too young to dance with Lucian”. 

Tears filled Gwendolyn’s eyes, and she made haste out of the kitchen, “you will see”, she muttered under her breath as she slammed the door.

Grandma Ulfred shook her head and slowly got to her feet.

 “Be careful with her “, she is as headstrong and willful as her Mother, Tobias. “And we all know how that went.'' Gwen is trying to find her place in the pack and I fear what will happen if we don't support her in that”.

Sadness etched my Fathers face at the mere mention of his beloved Lillyarna. Pain from the loss ebbs through every fibre of his being. Yet, in the sixteen years since she left this world, the longing to hold her in his arms never dims. Instead, rage for the person responsible for her death grows. The need for revenge is all-consuming, and he will sacrifice his happiness to avenge her. He knows he will walk through the rest of his days without a mate.

“I know she is, Winifred, and I will not have history repeat itself”. “Come on, Dessa, let us get you home”.

The walk from Grandmaś house to ours was short. The air was crisp as the sun started to set on Briarwood. Children had been called inside for their supper, the horses tucked safely away in their stables, Wives and daughters were preparing the evening meal, and the men were having their last ale at The Wooden Inn before retiring home for the night.

Viktor Radley sat at the bar with a mug of ale between his hands, and he had been steadily drinking since The Sentinels returned to town empty-handed.  With every drop he swallowed, he seethed in frustration and fury about being chastised by Tobias.

 “His getting soft” If we cannot protect the borders, we are all in danger”.

 “You are dead right, Viktor”, Samuel Howard chimed in, “We need a real alpha, one who isn’t a coward”, slamming his fist on the bar.

“Shut your mouth Samuel, or I will shut it for you”, thundered Christopher Ramsey, the head of the Hunters. “The only cowardice in this pack belongs to the two of you”. 

He pushed back his chair and rose to his feet. Ready to knock some loyalty into the pair of them.

The bartender looked back and forth nervously. At any minute, a fight would break loose and rip the Inn apart.

” Now, Now”, he stammered. Let’s not do this”.

Samuel Howard is unattractive and short in stature. Greasy, limp brown hair hangs aimlessly around his narrow face. His hooded brown eyes constantly dart around the room, never looking at the face of his intended target.

“Viktor, your time is now”, he goaded” Lead the pack, take your rightful place.

”No Samuel, we must bide our time”Viktor hissed. “We need to turn more of the pack against Tobias”.

“Forgive Samuel, Christopher ….. You know he cannot handle his ale .”

A sly smile crept across Viktors face. It would not be the first time he’d betrayed Tobias.Keneally. If the Alpha ever found out the depths that betrayal had reached, he would rip Viktor apart limb by limb. But luckily for Viktor, he has an alliance with someone who despises Tobias even more than he does.

I made my way to Gwenś room aided by wooden crutches and gently rapped on the door.

“Go away, leave me alone.”

“Gwen, until please let me in, We need to talk.”

 “No, Dessa, we have nothing to say to each other “

“Your acting a fool, Gwendolyn….”

Gwen slowly made her way to the heavy oak bedroom door and opened it a fraction. Her blue eyes were red and puffy, cheeks stained with tears. She slowly opened it the rest of the way so that I could enter. I sat down on the soft mattress of her four-post bed, and the chiffon canopy swayed softly in the evening breeze. She pulled the worn woollen blanket our mother made up to her chest as sobs racked her slender frame.

“Oh Gwennie, Whatever is the matter?  “Why are you so distraught”?

 “I hate it here,  Iḿ, not a baby, Dessa!, I am 17, and my father will not let me find my place in the pack. “In four years, the curse will turn me. If I have to go rogue, I will, Dessa! 

“You are treated like a child Gwen because you act like a brat. My calling did not come to me until I turned eighteen “.

“You are not my Mother, Dessa. Quit trying to act like it. You and Father will both see. I will not stay here in yours and Mothers shadows, sheltered and held back by the past.”

“The only shadow you are in, Gwendolyn Keneally, is the one cast by your ego. I am going to bed. There is no talking to you”.

Gwen pulled the blanket up over her face as I slowly made my way out of her room.

“I will speak to you in the morning, Gwen, When you have calmed down”.

I closed her door softly and made my way to my bedroom down the hall. A dull throb radiated from my ankle up to my leg. My room was messy and chaotic. Notes, sketches of plants, flowers and herbs,  and books lay where I had casually placed them.

My bed unmade was a tangle of blankets and pillows as I eased my ankle onto one of the pillows and closed my eyes.

 A pair of gold eyes seared their way into my mind.

I was confused as, why I felt his way.  The image of his eyes haunted my thoughts, and I could still feel the way his arms wrapped around my waist, gentle but firm. His scent, the way his hair danced around the frame of his face, I desperately wanted to brush it tenderly from his eyes. The tenderness of his lips when he spoke my name. So why was this stranger invoking feelings in me that I’d never felt before?

Then the guilt started to creep in, and I had been fated to Lucian since I was sixteen years old. In three years on the Moon after my twenty-first birthday, the curse will take hold, and my transformation will begin. And I will take my place by Lucian side, as his wife.

My father will then make Lucian the Alpha, as he has no sons. Viktor and my father made a pact after my mother died. The details are shrouded in secrecy. I was just grateful that Lucian was nothing like his father.

Lucian was good, kind, and the most handsome boy I had ever seen, Until today until my eyes had stared into the eyes of Fenis Grey.

And as I dozed off to sleep, I knew that our meeting today was fate, and our worlds were both about to change.