A MAZE OF GREED

After jumping out of Ruth's hands, her cat strolled down the roads of Vincardine. The street male cats who were on her watch since she began coming with Ruth at Mr Cooper's shop, followed her.

They tried wooing the black and white beauty with golden eyes, but she did not spare them even a glance. She turned her head away from them, ignoring their calls for mating. She walked proudly in her head in the clouds.

The male cats followed her to some distance but then stopped when their territory was about to end. Even those street animals knew not to cross the line of the woods.

But brave or mad, whatever it was, Ruth's cat strutted to enter the woods. She yawned, opening her mouth wide, then licked the part of her whiskers with her tongue.

She walked on her fours, looking around the tall trees and the ground which was covered by fallen dry leaves, grass and weakened branches of those trees..

Her pace slowed as she sniffed the air around her. It had a strange scent idling in it. The scent never failed to raise her hair and tail in the alert. The air screamed danger, but she did not stop.

She kept walking till she found three figures resting leisurely on the thick branches of a giant tree. If she was a human she would have rolled her eyes at them.

Men, irrespective of their race, prioritise their comfort in any situation. She was not even late, yet these three men could not stand on their feet till she arrived and found comfortable places to rest their giant bodies.

"Finally our kitten is here!" Lester exclaimed as he was the first one to spot her.

Rees shared his humour and laughed along with him. Their laugh died down when the cat stopped moving.

Her face and body started transforming, her size increased. Her fur disappeared under smooth tan skin. Her claws shortened to nicely done nails on the long fingers.

Her tail vanished, the hair on her head turned into brownish-black curls. Her mouth shifted, and when the transformation was complete, a woman was in front of them bent forward on the ground, her hands and feet touching it.

She gracefully stood up to her full height. The woman had a striking appearance and carried an aura that was full of confidence.

A playful smile stretched on her lips as she ignored the two men and focused only on the one who lay on the branch with closed eyes.

"Good morning Edwin!" Her voice matched her confident personality. She was everything that a woman fascinated but would never dare to be in fear of society.

Edwin slowly opened his eyes to be greeted by the sun rays that fooled the tall trees and passed from in between them.

Edwin stood up then jumped on the ground from the branch to stand on his strong legs. Recking his fingers through his coffee brown hair, he took a couple of steps ahead.

"Good morning to you too Zoe! And it is Lord Edwin for you. I will not bother to remind you again." He said nonchalantly.

Instead of getting offended by his stern words, her smile broadened. She roamed her eyes from his head to toe, taking in everything he had to display and offer her eyes.

"You look good from the last time we met, LORD Edwin!" She commented, walking closer to them, her hips swaying smoothly as she walked.

Zoe had that grace in her movements that were rare to see. Her senses were sharp, her moves deliberate.

She was happy that Edwin had gained more weight, his muscles had bulged. His face had regained its original charm. He looked just the same as she had seen him decades ago and fell for him in their academy years.

Ignoring her words, Edwin came straight to the point. "How is Ruth?"

Zoe's smile faltered a little. She had waited for years to hear him calling her name with the same emotions as he did now. However, the sad part of the story was he had not had her name on his lips.

Edwin did not care what she felt, but Lester noticed it.

"She is fine." Zoe answered casually.

Edwin narrowed his eyes at her and crossed his arms over his chest. Zoe's eyes followed his every movement in awe.

"Elaborate."

Zoe rolled her eyes, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation.

"She is smiling, talking, working, sleeping, is taking good care of her cat, Mrs Payne and has rejected Rees's offer. Is that enough elaboration for you Lord Edwin?!"

Edwin clenched his jaw.

"What? But why?" Rees asked.

Zoe shrugged her shoulders. "I do not know pal. She just do not want to come anywhere near an obnoxious man... ever!" Zoe smirked the way Edwin's body tensed hearing that.

"Zoe! Do not forget whom you are speaking with." Lester warned.

"Oh come on, Lester! These are your beloved Ruth's words and not mine. How can I call the man I am desiring for decades obnoxious?

Only a fool can say that. And humans are the biggest fools on the face of this world."

Watching Edwin's silence, she felt courageous. She swayed her way to the right where Edwin stood. Her cat-like eyes did not leave his face.

Stopping right in front of him, she peered deep into his eyes. "You deserve someone better Edwin. She is a good soul, I agree. But she is not capable of being your Luna and reign the werewolf world.

You need someone who can understand you, support you, empower you and love you the way you want. Forget about the mate bond, many of us have done that before. You will not be the first one.

You have someone way better than her for you, waiting for your acceptance."

Rees's eyes widened when Zoe boldly leaned further till she was at a hair's distance from Edwin's face. She looked up at him with a seductive smile, but her eyes... they were filled with nothing but love.

She had always been in love with Edwin. He caught her attention the very first moment when she laid her eyes on him- just like almost every girl in the academy.

He was tall, handsome, charming, powerful, and to top it all, he was the leader of the werewolf breed, the alpha of all the alphas. What else she could have asked more than that?

She tried befriending him, but he was never interested. He was a very reserved young boy. Hence she used Lester to get to him. And that worked to some extent.

Since then, she was praying and hoping that one day, he would reciprocate her feelings. And after years of distance when he finally called her, it was not because he missed her or realised her love.

It was because he wanted her to protect another woman who was destined to be his mate, yet she hated him from the bottom of her heart.

Rees gulped down nervously as Zoe was about to meet Edwin's lips, but before it happened, her body went flying in the air only to fall on the ground hard. she grunted in pain, her eyes wide in shock.

Before she could pull herself together, Edwin was right in front of her with his supernatural speed, squatted down near her. He grabbed her chin in his iron hold to make her look at him.

Zoe shuddered to see his obsidian eyes, the blue fire flickered in his orbs, his canines out of his mouth ready for attack.

"The one who you think is not capable has the power to tame the animal in me. She is the one the Moon Goddess has chosen for me.

You are right, Zoe. She is everything I do not deserve because I am not worthy of her kind heart. Yet I want her, and I will have her.

The next time You think any low of her, remember who she belongs to." Edwin's spat fire burnt her painfully.

With teary eyes, she tried reaching his face with her hand. "Edwin, I- aaaahhhhh"

Her cry ringed in the woods that made the birds flew away in fright. Edwin glared at her, his other hand twisting her extended hand that made her face contort in absolute pain.

"This is what happens when you make me repeat myself. It is Lord Edwin for you, Zoe. I will not tell again."

Zoe panted, trembled like a street cat stuck in the heavy rain and frostbiting coldness.

"My apologies, Lord Edwin. P-please forgive me!" She breathed out.

Throwing a last heated glance in her way, Edwin let go of her and walked back to his place.

"If you do not want to repay my debt then the choice is yours. But you will also need to face the consequences. I hope you choe the best!" With that said, Edwin disappeared from there using his supernatural speed.

A minute later, Zoe again took her cat form and ran out of there with her front paw injured.

Only two men were left behind with wide eyes, and their mouths opened aghast.