HAPPY DEEPAWALI TO ALL :D

On this auspicious day I wish you all success, happiness and prosperity :D

God Bless!

Chapter 14 for you :)

This chapter is dedicated to @GraceSClarke for the beautiful cover on the side >>> Thanks Komal :)

Please read the synopsis of THE SHREWD WOLVES posted at the end :)

****

“No one blames her.”

“That never matters,” said

Alec. “Not when you blame

Yourself.”

Cassandra Clare, City of Lost

Souls (The Mortal Instruments,#5)

TEMPLAR P.O.V

I woke up to hear Everett shouting at full volume from downstairs. Pushing back the covers, I rushed downstairs to see what pissed him off so much.

“This is the second time. Second time that someone has tried to attack the temple under your watch” He thundered at a shivering guard.

I stopped midway and gasped audibly. Everett, Cam and the guard, Klaus all turned to look at me. “The temple has been attacked?” I asked in shock. “Second time? Why wasn’t I informed the first time?” I demanded staring at Rett.

“You were already tense, I didn’t want to worry you” Rett whispered and I winced. It hurt every time.

“I deserved to know” I said feebly. “What exactly happened?” I questioned.

“The first time, someone burned the lawn and last night, someone left a message on the temple door” Keith said agitatedly. “I don’t know how they are getting this far into the territory”

“Klaus swears that he didn’t see anyone crossing the territory” Cam added and I looked at Klaus.

“I do my duty well. I don’t sleep at night and neither do my boys” Klaus, a forty year old chief guard of the pack territory spoke in a whisper.

“I know. I trust you. You have been doing a great job for the past seven years” I said softly and Klaus sighed. “No one was able to attack the temple at night from the past seven years because Klaus and his team are really good” I told Everett.

“Then is it an insider’s job?” Rett queried.

“Looks like that” I said with a shrug. “Please just… just take me to the temple. I want to see what happened” I requested and Rett nodded.

After freshening up, I requested Rett to drive me towards the temple. Since I knew my speed at running wasn’t as good as it was before because my wolf was still taking time to recover.

When I reached there, I found Keith yelling at someone. He looked furious as his eyes were pitch black and his hands were clenched to form a fist. Ophelia who was standing beside him was looking at the guards with a frown on her beautiful face.

As I walked towards the temple, with Rett and Cam, everyone spread apart to make way for us. My eyes widened as I saw the lawn in front of the temple. The beautiful green patches of grass were burnt and the ground was now covered with dead, dry grass.

I gulped as I saw it.

Who dared to do that to my pack temple?

“Templar” Ophelia called and I diverted my gaze to look at her. When my eyes collided with hers, Ophelia turned to look at the temple door.

 I stopped on my tracks as my gaze dropped on the temple door.

The magnificent temple door, made out of pure sandal wood, had a message written in on it with black spray paint. I couldn’t read the message as the door was open.

“Close the door” I commanded and two guards stepped forward to do it.

NEXT TIME IT WILL BE THE STATUE.

“Next time” I said through gritted teeth staring at the temple. A familiar sense of rage filled up inside me and I desperately wanted to punish the person who had the audacity to step into my territory and do that to the temple door.

Such disrespect would not be tolerated.

How dare the person threaten to attack the statue? It will not happen as long as I am alive.

“How did this person get so far into the territory?” I snapped furiously.

“Are you sure it’s no one from the pack?” Rett asked in a whisper, standing beside me.

“I trust everyone in my pack and I know no one will dare to do this” I said furiously. “But…” I purposely raised my voice so that it would be audible to everyone present there and said, “…someone from outside has crossed the territory, somehow managing to hide themselves from the guards.”

When I turned to face the guards, I found each and every one of them staring at the ground, and slowly shaking their head in denial. There were twenty two of them and I was sure one or the other guard must have seen the person.

No one has managed to hide themselves from Klaus’s team for the past seven years and the chances of that happening now were less likely. The only reason I could sleep peacefully at night was because I knew for sure that Klaus and his team were nothing short of excellent.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke softly, “I know one of you must definitely have seen something suspicious. Which is why, I am begging you to please step forward and declare so. You don’t have to be afraid of anything because no one in the pack will punish or badmouth about you. I can give you my word on that.”

Minutes passed by and no one stepped ahead. Feeling hurt by their behavior but at the same time wondering if they really missed the intruder, I closed my eyes shut. When I opened my eyes, I said in a whisper, “There are children in this pack. I am sure none of you want to watch them hurt. This attacker was already able to get close to the temple.”

“How far is temple from your house? Please think of that and help us” Keith added.

“If you help us, we can surely stop these rogues before they can cause much serious damage” Rett piped in helpfully. As I looked at him, I couldn’t help but smile warmly.

“Any clue will be helpful” Cam slotted in. “Something unusual then usual will also be of great help.”

At that moment, a guard, Nate, stepped forward. “What did you see Nate?” I asked hopefully.

“I didn’t see anything. But, I… I heard a sound yesterday… of footsteps scrunching some leaves. When I went to check in, there was nobody there.”

“You went alone?” Rett demanded.

“I went with him” another guard, Walt, replied. “When we found nothing, we thought it must be caused by breeze.”

“Did you check everywhere?” Keith questioned with a growl.

“Yes, everywhere” Nate replied sincerely.

“Alright” I said in a whisper thinking this was a dead end.

I properly looked at the message. The handwriting felt a little familiar but I wasn’t sure whose. I couldn’t exactly point out because this font size was large.

Sighing I came to the conclusion that everything was a dead end. The handwriting, the guards hearing a noise…

I was sure it was a dead end until another question popped in my head, “What time this happened?” I asked both Nate and Walt at the same time.

“Around 3.00 A.M” Walt answered.

“And which side of the territory were you guarding?”

“East” Close to WhiteField.

“Whoever else were with them, please step forward” I requested and immediately seven of them stepped forward. I stared at each and every one of them. I knew them all by their names and I also knew I could trust them with my life

“Any else found anything suspicious?” Rett asked before I could and all shook their head except for one guard.

“Edward” I called the guard and he turned to face me. “Did you find anything suspicious?” I queried walking towards him.

Hesitantly, he nodded. I stopped when I was facing him. “What was it?” I asked curiously.

“I saw who did that to the door” he spoke silently and I blinked. Every single head turned to look at Edward.

“You what?” Rett roared.

“You saw who did that to the door and yet you kept quiet all this time?” Keith questioned outrageously.

“Why didn’t you say anything when we asked earlier?” Cam grilled.

“Because I was told not to tell anything until I was asked” Edward replied honestly.

 “By whom?” I demanded. I wanted to know who dared to do that. And most importantly, why would Edward listen to the person.

“By you” Edward replied and I blinked.

“I’m sorry what?” I shook my head and stared at Edward in confusion. Did he just say, I ordered him to not tell anything about what was done to temple?

“Is this some kind of a sick joke?” Rett demanded through gritted teeth.

“He is out of his mind” Keith spat. “Gone insane”

“What did you just say?” Ophelia asked in disbelief.

“Shut up” Cam snapped. “I was actually expecting an honest answer from you.”

“But it is Templar” Edward protested pointing his index at me.

“How dare you point you finger and accuse my mate?” Rett snarled viciously.

“Edward, tell us honestly, what did you see?” I asked him.

“I saw you” Edward whispered shakily. I placed my palm on Rett’s chest to stop him from attacking Edward. When Rett turned to glare at me, I shook my head.

“Edward” Ophelia called gently. “Tell us everything from the start”

“Mom, what’s wrong with you? Why are you even listening to th-” Keith stopped talking after Ophelia held her hand in front of his face and asked him to stop.

“Tell us everything Edward”

“Yesterday night, when I took a small break for a drink, I found her standing near the temple. I saw the door and when I asked her, she told me she did it” Edward said and I narrowed my eyes. I don’t remember any such thing. All I remember was that I slept early last night. Actually, I sleep very early every night from the past few days.

“Drink? Alcohol?” Ophelia said shaking her head at Edward in disapproval.

“How many bottles did you have for drink?” Keith asked cocking an eyebrow.

“Only one” Edward said flushing deeply.

“I think you were high after that one” Cam muttered frowning at Edward.

“No… I saw the Luna. She told-” Edward was cut off when Rett punched him square in the jaw.

“One more lie comes off your mouth, then I am going to cut your head off” Rett threatened furiously and Edward whimpered.

Taking a deep breath, I stared at Edward. Why would he lie about something so big? Why would he blame me?

“According to you, Templar wrote the message on the door?” Ophelia asked Edward in suspicion and he nodded slowly as a reply.

“I said…”

“Rett don’t” I incised when Rett was about to lunge at Edward.

“What?” Rett snapped at me. “He is lying and you know it. You were in our room, sleeping” Rett said with a frown. “I know it.”

“I agree. He is lying” Keith said glaring at Edward who was staring at his own feet. “For god’s sake, he was drunk and I think he is making this up.”

“I am not. I was not that drunk” Edward denied hotly. “I saw the Luna. She told me she did it.”

“Why are we hearing this? He was drunk last night” Cam said scowling at Edward.

“I agree” Rett affirmed.

“What else did Templar tell you last night?” Keith asked mockingly.

“She told that she was doing this for the pack.” I gasped and looked at Edward through narrowed eyes.

Really?

Until now, I was not sure what I had to do with his words, but now I was convinced he was making this up. As if, I would do something this outrageous for the welfare of pack.

“Throw him to the prison” Rett commanded and immediately Klaus and Cam held Edward.

“I am not lying, Alpha” Edward pleaded. “The Luna was here and she did it. She told me…” Edward’s voice faded as Cam and Klaus finally took him away.

“Unbelievable” Ophelia said sadly. “I cannot believe he would lie about such a thing. Did he forget that it is because of Templar we have this statue?”

“He was drunk” Keith said with a scowl.

“Are you okay?” Rett asked me in a whisper and I nodded. “Don’t worry about him. He is lying and we all know it.”

“But that’s the thing. Why was Edward lying about this?” I asked with a frown. I seriously wanted to know why Edward would dare to lie about something so big. Why would he put the blame on me? He knew when I am blamed, no one will believe him, yet….

“He will open his mouth after some good beating” Keith said through gritted teeth.

“Don’t” I warned. “Don’t do anything to him. Just… just let him stay in the prison. Hopefully, he might explain why he lied when he gets suffocated in the prison.”

“That’s a good idea. Let him stay locked up inside the prison for few days” Rett agreed with me and I smiled thankfully.

“Alright.” Keith said. “But if he still doesn’t give a good reason, then he has to bear the punishment.” Keith muttered.

“Keith” Everett called. “Assign new, efficient guards specifically for the temple tonight” Rett said and Keith nodded.

He called out few names and I watched them. Each wolf was highly compatible and I knew they would do their duty proficiently.

“Good choice” I said to Keith after he instructed them the rules.

“When one person takes a break, he will inform it to everyone” I stated and everyone nodded. “Your duty is not to find the culprit. Your main duty is that you should keep a watch on the temple. Understood?”

“Yes” they said in chorus and I smiled proudly.

Afterwards, I dismissed them so that they could get their much needed rest.

I wondered where Jan and Terence where but thought that they must be asleep as it was only six in the morning now and the sun just rose.

Before leaving I stared at the temple door and wondered why Edward would say I did it. I don’t even remember coming to temple from the past few days. Why would Edward tell such a lie?

I don’t know what I did last night. I don’t remember the dreams or nightmares that I had because I was out like a log. In fact since I get tired very easily these days, I sleep very quickly too.

However, I knew that whoever this culprit was, he would definitely come out in the open either tonight or when Edward confesses. I just have to be patient.

“Keith” I called before he could leave the place. “How is Trudy?”

“She is fine. She was sleeping when I came here. I didn’t want to disturb her and I am glad I didn’t wake her up. She would have thought Edward had gone mad if she had seen this.” Keith said smirking.

“I wonder what that spitfire would have done?” Rett muttered beside me and I playfully glared at him.

“She would have knocked Edward out. I still can’t believe why he would blame Templar” Keith pondered and I shrugged. “Anyway, hope he regains his senses soon. It will be good for him” Keith sighed. He turned and was about to leave but stopped and whirled to look at me, “Oh yeah, she emptied the pickles” with that said Keith ran towards his house.

My eyes widened while Ophelia laughed after hearing what Keith said.

“It would have taken at least two months for me to empty the bottle” I said in shock.

“Don’t forget Trudy is pregnant and pregnant woman eat a lot. I know about it and you will too when you get pregn-” Ophelia stopped mid-sentence as she realized what she was talking about.

I turned an ashen shade below my skin as I heard the last part of her sentence. When you get pregnant…

I already did and I lost my baby too. Blood rushed through all my veins and goosebumps appeared all over my body.

The walls that I have built mentally, to prevent myself, started crumbling and I placed a hand on my chest to stop the pain I felt in my heart.

“Templar, I didn’t mean…” Rett growled warningly, cutting Ophelia off. He then placed an arm on my shoulder and started walking towards our car.

As I sat on the passenger seat of the car, I closed my eyes shut. I decided to block everything around me. I didn’t want to know about anything. I just wanted to bury myself deep in guilt. Guilt I felt about losing my baby.

I had tried to act as if everything is okay since yesterday, but the pain and guilt I felt over losing my child was too much.

It would take a long time for me to forget about it and even much longer time, to forgive myself over it.

I don’t know what I should do about my wolf. I just hoped she recovered soon. I could feel her presence constantly, but it was like she had built a wall, blocking everything around her. She was there, just in the corner and not responding to any of my demands.

If she was there, she would help me to in dealing with this heart wrenching pain I felt, but now I didn’t know what I should do.

Please Goddess, help me overcome this.

****

Hope you liked it :D

So, here is the synopsis of THE SHREWD WOLVES-

Konrad King, an evil wolf, was created by the rogues to kill the she-wolf, who has a gift of manipulating all the five elements. Killing the she-wolf isn’t easy especially when there are five Alphas’ protecting her. However, he has been planning for years and just when he is ready to put his shrewd plan in action, another Alpha steps in for the she-wolf’s protection.

Darya Kenrick, an Alpha’s sister, has been playing Russian roulette with her life ever since she shifted for the first time. Having tolerated enough of Konrad’s shrewd games, she decides it’s time to settle the score. However, before she could make any move, she finds her mate, who is the Alpha of a rival pack.

Quillon Sanders, Alpha of Serene Pack, is hunting for two wolves. A she-wolf, who had dared to send him an outrageous gift and an evil wolf, who goes on killing innocent wolves. When his search comes to an end, he discovers that the she-wolf is his mate and the evil wolf, is planning to kill her.

To kill their mutual enemy, Darya and Quillon must keep their personal differences aside and join forces. But are they both capable of killing Konrad, who can hypnotize any wolf he wants?

Are Darya’s gift’s powerful enough to protect Quillon and her from Kornad?

Can Konrad kill Darya, especially when he knows that Quillon is stronger and shrewder than the other five Alphas’?

Please tell me if you liked this synopsis. The Shrewd Wolves will be posted in the first week of November J

Next update on 28th October and I have decided to enter Calming Cortez in Watty’s 2014 :)

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Love you all :):-*