The Rejected Alpha's Vengeance

[HAWI]

Deep in the temple, Hawi and Malika were still going in because of Malika's sudden determination to figure out what the fuck was in the temple. They had left the Russels outside and weren't worried about them in the last of ways.

But they needed to, a reality that would hit them eventually.

This had been their little break from the chaos around them and they were acting like the world was filled with unicorns instead of leaning towards the stench of death and bloodied wars that had long begun lingering in the air even before they could ever let out what they were thinking.

It was the kind of gamble that could cost them and they knew it too. But even with that at the back of their mind, they had to try and live through this without worrying too much.

After all, they still had the barrier around Sicario and the people were safe, right? Oh they would be in for a shocker, and that would make things either a little too insane or a little normal. Whatever it was, it was coming right at them.

"My thigh stings, fuck," Hawi whined when she felt a sharp unexpected sting on her thighs. It was one she had never felt before and it hurt like a different kind of pain. The last time she had felt this kind of pain, she had just lost her mother.

Surely, she couldn't be losing someone else while she was in the temple trying to explore as a break, right? The fates couldn't be that cruel to turn her back into the broken little girl again, no? Well with the universe, nothing was possible.

"Shit," Hawi signed defeatedly when she couldn't feel her leg move. It was almost like something was lodged in her thigh, but then as she felt it for any object, there was nothing.

Hell, there wasn't even a sign that there was an object intruding into her body. This just didn't make any sense to her, not that anything had made some real sense ever since they had decided to hop on the bandwagon to the craziest show in the realm.

Determined to figure it out by herself, Hawi scratched her thigh, like that would slow down her pain only for it to hurt even more. It was nothing like she had ever expected on this side of the realm.

While she didn't want to ruin their adventure, she knew they had to stop for a moment. Besides, the temple wasn't going anywhere as long as they were either. They had encountered loads of odd things along the way, so this was expected.

Was it really?

Was this how the white wolf felt the sting of something she couldn't quite figure out?

"Keep on the left side, you will be fine," Malika said as she walked over to Hawi to be sure that all was alright. She had expected Hawi to react to the dust and the crazed contents of the hidden hallways of this ancient temple eventually.

So, this wasn't surprising to her, even as Hawi listened to her and watched in silence while she insisted on scratching her thigh. It was almost like this was their new normal and boy did it look interesting. Oh, but if only that was the case for them.

"Well goddamn," Malika sighed as she saw Hawi crush, like she was in real pain. She had been with Hawi and round Hawi long enough to know that while Awuor Hawi was a crazy maniacal beast, there was just something she couldn't do.

And faking a sting this bad with her eyes hooded over and her body hyperventilation was definitely not it for her.

This was different and Malika could sense it from a distance, especially in the dark that they had thrust themselves into because they wanted to use their natural skills as protectors and defenders of the realm.

It was hilarious up until Malika sniffed Hawi's sting and her eyes got darker with worry, while her stance changed from the relaxed one they had been having, to one more serious and protector-like.

'Please don't let it be true,' Malika thought to herself as she assessed Hawi's sting even more. She knew that was a possibility that lingered in the air, but she didn't want 'to confirm it.

But then now that she focused, she had felt her sibling bond come back up, which was confusing hell because her sister had been missing and she thought her Mbali was dead.

If Mbali was alive and Hawi was suffering because of Rukiya this close, then it only had to mean one thing. Then again, Malika had hallucinated enough times in the temple that she wasn't going to think too much about anything at this point.

It didn't matter really, other than the fact that it could have been the magic of the Russels that was fucking them up. It was a twisted reality really but then what the fuck were they even supposed to do then?

"It's Rukiya," Malika said carefully, like the name on her lips was the worst reality check they needed to get out of their misadventures the damn temple. It wasn't the easiest of things for her to say that to her commander.

Perhaps that's why the moment Rukiya's name fell off her lips, she carried Hawi bridal style and portaled them out of the temple, cutting short their adventures. It wasn't what Hawi had hoped for, but fuck was Malika fast with her decision.

This wasn't going to be as easy for them, but they should have long known that, right?

"This is because of her. Maybe the Russels are using her to mess with us, given the alpha is in Sicario and my sister is missing," Malika said as she set Hawi on the ground carefully like she didn't want to upset her.

But then even if Hawi was supposed to be upset, where the fuck was she to even start from?

Was she to reign in the reality of her mate's bond being active this far into the realm when she could have sworn her mate was in Sicario under the protection of the very warriors she had spent years training and molding to be the best?

Was she supposed to accept the possibility that everything she had believed in was slowly turning into one big lie and that life wasn't as easy as she had always wanted to hope and trust?

Oh, but it was a lot for her, but none more than the fact that the love of her life seemed up close. Hell, she was too close to her, but was she or was Hawi hallucinating?

"Malika… you're seeing her too, right?" Hawi breathed as she looked in the sight before her which seemed more like an illusion that could have been well crafted by the bastard Russels.

That wasn't even a fault at this point, because they had seen the Russels do things that even the gods would question for the rest of their lives. This had to be some sort of a joke, but was that it really?

Was the white wolf seeing things that her protector didn't? Because then that would be some wild as fuck reality.

"I'm seeing them," Malika breathed.

"Them?" Hawi asked as she rubbed the dust off of her face.