Under The Crescent Veil

21. Left, Right, Leader

Trigger warning: mentioning of violence, read at your own risk!

As time went by, more and more people joined in the big tent. Everybody came together for supper and it was then Nyx noticed how many people fit inside. It must have been a couple of hundred people.

It was also then she noticed the stares, stern looks, and angered face directed toward her. It grew to be intimidating. A couple would have been fine, but when so many people were gathered in such a small space that hated you, that deemed to be a problem.

Unintentionally, she went on alert, keeping her eyes focused on critical points to have a full overview of her surroundings. Right then she noticed to large men stepping inside the tent. One of them she recognized as the Alpha that interrogated her when she was captured. "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Dickhead one and two have arrived," Nora said lowly.

Silas immediately scolded his sister as Nyx asked, "What?"

"They are two other Alpha's from neighbouring packs, but they aren't easy to deal with, real pricks if you ask me."

Nora didn't need to tell her that twice. "What are they doing here?" Nyx asked further.

"They are invited for the festival as this is meant for several packs in this region and they unfortunately happen to fall under Silas' patron."

"Patron?"

"Yeah, Silas is a patron Alpha. It is the highest title you can carry in our community and it means he has to watch over other smaller packs as well. There are multiple patron Alphas and together they try to keep all the packs orderly. They invented this system centuries ago to prevent war outbreaks over small disputes... Now the title is degraded to one of a babysitter. All those tiny Alphas do is bicker," Nora explained.

Silas scolded her again. "Nora!" He whisper yelled. "This is not the time." Nora only rolled her eyes and leaned against Andrew enjoying the music.

Nyx looked at Silas. It all clicked in her head why HPS was so obsessed to get information about him. Getting him out of their way would make several packs vulnerable. But the thought of Silas being dead, no longer existing, was a heartbreaking one. It was then she realized she couldn't live without him, he had become such an anchor for her, especially for her mental stability.

Does this mean I want to stay here? Nyx thought.

The thought gave her a bipolar feeling one of comfort and homesick because there was still a part of her that missed the headquarters. She didn't know why, maybe it was nostalgia, but the feeling still lingered.

"What are you thinking about?" Silas whispered.

Nyx jolted in her seat. For a moment there she had lowered her walls and was no longer alert. "Nothing important."

"It seemed to be," Silas teased.

"Just taking in what Nora said," Nyx finally settled on, closing the topic of her thoughts.

The rest of the night they enjoyed the food, drinks, and music. It was a carefree evening, one where no one thought about the war, the pain, and the fear.

***

"I am going to find a toilet," Nyx announced to the group. "There is one just outside the tent, it's not hard to find it," Nora told her.

On her way she looked around her several times, but nothing was out of place or seemed dangerous. She entered a stall and did her business. Once done she casually stepped out on her way to the sinks when a hand was put over her mouth.

In a swift movement she elbowed the person behind her in the stomach, making them groan. It didn't matter though, immediately after she was grabbed by both her arms and ankles, making her immobile. Nyx tried to scream, but her captures had already put a rag in her mouth. Once on the ground it was hard for her to defeat her opponents. She managed to kick one of them hard in the shin, making him fall over. The other three men, however, were quickly there to keep her in place and then she felt a stinging pain in her thigh and quickly after everything turned black.