Chapter 33: Chapter 33

Getting to the Library which was way bigger than two chambers combined, Belinda and Megan came in contact with King Talos’ friend.

Not only the largeness of the library surprised Belinda, the beauty of it was also unspeakable. The art on the ceiling consisted of beautiful flowers, the highly decorated shelves there were in the form of pillars and the smell of old and new books.

Belinda was surprised to see that the king’s friend was way older than the king himself. He had only Grey hair, both on his head and chin. He walked very slowly in his very long white robe, showing how old he was.

He has bulge eyes and it looked like it was going to fall out by any slight movements of his head. His mouth was hardly seen because his long mustache covered it.

“Mr. Theron.” Megan called him with a wide smile.

“Princess Megan. It’s been a while since I saw you. How have you been?” Mr. Theron answered. His voice sounded dry and thin.

“I have been so busy with affairs at the palace lately. I have been preoccupied with hunting and taking care of a friend like a sister to me. Mr. Theron, meet Belinda. Belinda, Mr. Theron.”

Belinda lowered her head in respect and acknowledged him. “Good day, Mr. Theron. It’s very nice to see you.”

“Good day, Miss Belinda. I have heard so much about you.” He responded.

“Really?” Belinda raised her brows in awe, and he answered with a nod.

“The King has ceased to talk about you to me… since you arrived into this kingdom, down to yesternight, when he was told about your first transformation.” Mr. Theron further explained.

“Hmm.” Belinda nodded.

“I must say I’m happy for you and scared at the same time.” Mr. Theron added as he walked past both of them. Belinda looked at Megan in confusion, waiting for her to explain what she was going to do.

“We’ll walk with him.” Megan said to her, and they both began to walk behind him, keeping some inches away from him as they walked.

“Why do you say you’re scared, Mr. Theron?” Megan asked.

“You of all people should know why. This breed of people has always caught your interest since you were very little, and I made sure not to withhold any information about them from you.”

After speaking, he took a halt in front of one of the large shelves and pulled out a book. He stretched the book forward to Belinda.

“Take it.” He uttered.

Belinda took the book and stared at it. Nothing was written on the hard cover, but the color of the book was red. On this particular shelf, almost all the books were red, which left her wondering how he got to know the right one to pick.

‘How many years has he been here?’ She pondered.

“More than half of my lifetime.” Mr. Theron said.

“What?” Megan asked, trying to understand what he said.

“She asked how many years I have been here, and I answered. I have been here more than half of my lifetime.” He stared at Belinda.

“But… I thought about it. I didn’t…”

Megan chuckled and nodded. “You don’t have to say anything before he hears, Belinda. Once you have some thoughts about him, he tends to hear these thoughts.” Megan revealed.

Belinda’s jaw dropped in disbelief and gazed at Mr. Theron as he reached for the second book, on a different shelf.

He walked back to where they were and past them, to a table at the center of the library. Megan reached for Belinda’s hand and pulled her to the table.

“I bet you have no idea about who you really are, and that is why you’re here.” Mr. Theron uttered, collecting the book with Belinda and opening it.

“It all started in the A.D, about 1850 years ago, in the Kingdom of Merania. A king and Alpha, Mandlenkosi and his wife, Pantoran ruled and they were blessed by two children. A boy and a girl. The king and queen got very busy with the affairs of the land that they hardly had the time to educate their children about their way of life. So, something terrible happened…”

Mr. Theron looked at Belinda to see if she was paying attention to what he was saying, and he saw he had her to himself. Belinda hardly blinked because she felt if she did, she'd miss some part of her history.

“Their children, Anomander and Jessica fell in love with each other and laid together. At first, they kept it a secret, but when Jessica got pregnant, the news spread like wildfire. The royalty, alongside the council in the kingdom, found out her brother was the father, and they had to judge them.”

“Their parents tried to keep them safe, but there was little to nothing they could do as the final say was on the council. After lots of pleading from the Queen, they decided to spare their lives and the unborn child, but… they placed a curse on this unborn child, and banished them from the kingdom.”

“The time of delivery came, and Jessica gave birth to a normal child. Her and Anomander were happy that the curse didn’t come to pass and that their love prevailed. Everything seemed fine, until their child’s first transformation after his eighteenth birthday. They expected a normal wolf, but they saw a red-furred wolf, driven by rage and thirst to kill… The curse wasn’t gone after all. It was real.”

“The name of this child was Armaros, meaning the cursed one. Your ancestor.”

“So… my ancestor was cursed?” Belinda asked.

“Yes. His parents hated the kind of wolf he was and sent him away, somewhere very far from home. He had to do everything on his own and even started a new family and pack. But when the people of the Merania kingdom heard he was alive, they tried to kill him, and they attacked his pack. He was killed, but some of his people escaped and they spread across the face of the earth, to hide.”

“After many years, no one heard anything about red-furred wolves, and they were believed to be extinct until yesterday, when we found out you are one of them.” Mr. Theron stopped talking and waited for Belinda to say something.

“This is why I have so many enemies and must be kept safe?” Belinda further inquired.

“Yes. If outside this pack or kingdom, it is heard that you’re a red-furred wolf, you’ll be killed. People believe you’re a threat.” Megan answered.

“If that is the case, why did King Talos spare me?”

“He spared you because we all believe you’ll be useful alive rather than dead. Red-furred wolves are believed to be the strongest of all wolves and they are very good fighters, we just have to curb their thirst to kill and destroy anything they hate. Here, you’ll help us fight by joining our army, and then we’ll protect you from enemies.” Mr. Theron further explained.

Belinda looked at Megan, and Megan gave her a reassuring nod.

“It’s going to be alright, Belinda. Even though you were cursed, it’s a blessing to be exceptional. You even have healing abilities. Don’t let this weigh you down. I have always admired you.”

Megan reached for Belinda’s hand and gave it a light squeeze. Belinda let out a feeble smile and nodded.

“So what’s next? What do I have to do?”

“Train. You need to train yourself to use your exceptional strength and endurance. Megan will take you to the barracks, where our armies are.” Mr. Theron uttered, and they both nodded.

They heard the door of the library open and close, and they turned to look at who it was. They saw prince Damon walk in with a smile.

Belinda creased her brows and gazed at him, wondering why he was in such a good mood.

“What did I miss?” He asked, still smiling widely.

“Literally everything. We are done here and heading to the barracks.” Megan answered.

“Mr. Theron! How are you today? It’s been a while.” Damon greeted, and Theron nodded.

“Yes, it has been a while. I’m happy to see you’re doing well, Prince Damon.” He answered, staring at him.

Damon smiled again and looked at Belinda. His smile made Belinda blush, and she lowly hid her face from his loving gaze at her.

Mr. Theron narrowed his eyes at them, trying to phantom what was going on between them. He could sense something fishy, but he ignored it and looked away.

“I have to get busy now. If you have any questions, Belinda. You can come to me anytime.”

“Thank you, Mr. Theron for your time. I’ll come to you when I have any questions.” Belinda answered. He nodded in response and waddled away.

“Hey…” Megan tapped Damon’s chest. “What’s up with you?! Why are you in a good mood?”

Damon scoffed and looked at Belinda. “Let’s get out of here.” He uttered, and they all headed out.

“Where is Miss Maisie?” Belinda asked from him.

“Did you expect her to stay after seeing you? She looked like she saw a ghost and ran out of the palace. I even asked her to walk with me but she couldn’t. I believe she wouldn’t come back here anymore. She knows she isn’t safe here.” Damon uttered with pride and happiness.

“So, she’s out of the picture?” Megan asked, wanting them to fill her in the details.

“Yes. I acted like I knew nothing, but she isn’t that stupid to think I wouldn’t know about what she did, so she ran off. She probably didn’t hear from her sister before coming here.”

“She won’t come back here.” Belinda said with a chuckle.

“No, she wouldn’t.” Damon and Megan chorused.

As they hit the road to the barracks, Megan’s eyes fell on Isla, who was busy tying some sticks at the other end of the field.

“She needs to suffer though. She never liked Belinda from the very beginning. Shouldn’t she have a dose of her own medicine too?” Megan uttered as she glared at Isla.

Belinda and Damon looked up, and when Damon saw her, he clenched his jaws in rage.

“I’ll go and talk to her. If we’re going to keep this from our parents, then she needs to be curbed. Threatening her should do. Take Belinda to the barracks. I’ll meet you there.” Damon said and began to approach Isla.

Isla lifted the sticks and turned to leave. Immediately she saw Damon standing very close to her, the bundle of sticks fell from her hand.

“Prince Damon.” She called nervously.

“We need to talk.” Damon answered with a cold stern.