Saved

•• Chapter 1 ••

The wind was hitting my face, and the scenery was extending to the infinite. With my wings, nothing was unreachable. Joy filled my heart as I did a spin before letting myself fall down into a white puffy cloud. Just before I touched the trees, my wings instinctively extended by themselves and I was now gliding over the endless sea of trees. Before long, I gained more and more height. Just before I did another flip, I heard my name being called.

"Keith! Stop fooling around and help us hunt the damn deers!" screamed my best friend Sebastian as the other members of the Aquilam clan stealthily followed a herd of deers.

Sadly, I stopped what I was doing and pouted at my friend as I silently joined the rest of the hunting group. We were following the herd until they stopped in a plain to graze some grass. Next, we separated into groups of two before taking some strategic positions. In fact, each team was composed of a knight and an archer. In our team, Sebastian was the knight and I was the archer.

Before long, I was in position and ready to let the arrow fly straight into whichever deer Sebastian chose. I was only waiting for the signal. I nodded as an answer when my friend pointed at my target. While being coordinated with all the other archers in the other teams, I took some altitude to broaden my field of view. We then patiently waited for the knights to take their own position. They moved their swords in perfect synchronization and did a few intricate movements before giving the silent signal. At the exact same time, we could see five arrows land into five different bodies. When the animals realized what was happening, they started to run away from the dead corpses and as planned, the knights were already waiting for them. They quickly killed five other animals and after a few minutes, we were already flying back to our town.

"It was a good hunt today. Everything was in our favour. Good job everyone!" congratulated Daniel our group captain and my father. "However, Keith..." he sighed in disappointment. "I don't mind you having fun before the hunt, but you were slightly late compared to the others. A few more seconds and you'll have missed your target," he explained disapprovingly.

"I'm sorry father... I promise to work on it," I apologized as I looked down to my feet. Sadness filled my heart knowing I let my father down, but it was sadder to know that he was never satisfied no matter my improvement.

Back at home, we handed all the dead animals to the next team, so they could prepare everyone's meal. As soon as my duty was done, I flew away from my father and from the city. I went to my favourite spot which was the highest tree in the forest. Each time I went there, it gave me a peaceful feeling and the illusion of flying. Sitting on a branch, I watched the sunset as my mind wandered away. Somehow, I started to think about my father and if I was ever going to make him happy and proud of me. Then, my mind wandered to my mate. Not that I wasn't happy or felt loved, but at a time like this, I felt incredibly lonely. I was so into my thoughts that I didn't hear my best friend sit next to me.

"Keith, are you lost in your thoughts again?" Sebastian said with a chuckle.

"What?!" I jumped in surprise before turning around and saw Sebastian behind me. "You startled me... Is it already time to go back?" I asked looking back at the sunset.

"Yeah, if we don't go back now, we'll miss the meal," he said as he appeared in front of me blocking the magnificent view. "Come on, don't make me put you on my shoulders," he joked, well I did hope it was a joke.

I slowly sat up as I lazily extended my white wings. I saw Sebastian glaring at me and made a hand movement to tell me to hurry up. Then, without any warning, I jumped and flew as fast as I could. I laughed when I heard my best friend swear, but when I looked back, he was nowhere to be seen. I stopped and called his name, but there was no answer. Where did he go?

"Searching for someone?" Sebastian's voice resounded, but I still didn't know where he was. "I'm here," he poked my back before adding, "Let's race back, the one arriving first can ask anything to the loser."

"You're way faster than me, so I want an advantage!" I bargained while crossing my arms.

"What do you propose?"

"I want to start five minutes before you," I proposed.

From our position, it would usually take twenty-five minutes to get there. But if I hurry up, I can roughly make in ten minutes. With a miracle, I may be able to make it in five minutes and only then I had a chance to win. If I took ten minutes, Sebastian could easily make it in five to six minutes.

After thinking for it for a while, he finally accepted. So, as fast as I could I flew away without looking back. I forced myself to fly faster than I ever had. However, I didn't know how much time I already used. Suddenly, I felt a rush of air being blown on my back. I looked up and saw Sebastian smirking at me. I groaned and tried to fly faster, but I was already going as fast as I could. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't the case for him. Hence, he easily passed me and landed a minute or two before me at the city limits.

Exhausted and panting, I fell on the ground next to him. That was the reason why I couldn't be a knight. I was too slow and didn't have enough stamina. Some even said my wings were too short and that I should stay at the village helping the injured or the punished to do chores. I refused, of course, and trained hard to be an archer.

Sebastian helped me to stand up, and we walked toward the communal house dedicated to the pack meetings or the meals. Almost everyone was already there, so were both of our families. We sat down next to each other. In front of me, there was my sister, Angela and my parents were sitting beside her. After the King's speech, we all started to eat as different discussions filled the tables.

"What did you do after we had been back from hunting?" asked my dad as he took his glass of wine.

"I..." I hesitated from telling him the truth, fearing to disappoint him again.

"We trained. I helped him practice, and we raced to come back," Sebastian answered for me.

"And I guess you lost," he asked with a frown forming on his forehead.

"Yes..." as soon as I answered, I heard him sigh as he shook his head. "I'm so-"

"If only you were my son Sebastian. You're a dominant, a knight and you don't daydream. With a son like you, I won't be so ashamed," declared my father making me look down as I swallowed back the tears threatening to fall.

Tension went up on our table as I heard some people whispering. I didn't dare to look up and see all those eyes pitying me. I did everything I could to please my father and he was still blinded mainly because I was too submissive. Since I failed to become a knight, my entire existence was a disappointment to him.

When supper ended, the tension was still thick in the air. It seemed like the King heard what my father said and they were now mostly talking about me. As Sebastian and I were walking home, he tried his best to take my mind away from my father's words. It didn't seem to work until he got to the prize of the winner for the race.

"Now, what do I want Keith to do for me?" when I heard those words, I gulped.