A MAZE OF GREED

*A WEEK AGO*

Edwin couldn't help his mind that kept running back to Ruth time and again. He was monitoring her every move closely, especially with the threat of spies roaming Vincardine.

He had that brown cloth again wrapped around his wrist. It helped him to think rationally, and maintain his sanity.

Edwin had his men sent on the trails of those invaders. They had found most of them by now, and the remaining ones should be under his claws soon.

"Master!"

Edwin saw Rees entering his chamber. He nodded at him as an acknowledgement.

"We have found one more of them.. And..."

"And?" Edwin arched his brow.

"And he is sent by the Council."

That came as no surprise. Of course, they would do such a thing.

"Barret Addington?"

"We do not know yet if it is his own doing or the Council is involved in it. But we have found some letters at the man's place that have the Council's stamp." Rees informed.

"Hmmm..." Edwin stayed silent for a while. His mind working the calculations.

"Should we get hi-"

"No!"

Edwin replied firmly: when Rees suggested catching the man.

"We should wait. Keep an close eye on him. Follow him everywhere he go. I think there is something more to it that we can not see just now."

Rees understood what his Master meant.

"Okay, Master!"

Rees ordered his men to keep following the man. He kept Edwin informed of his every move.

*5 DAYS AGO*

Edwin was with Lord Augustus and some other nobles who had come to discuss some matters regarding trade with them. The guests were all humans, except Harold and Douglas.

Edwin wanted to be anywhere but there. He was bored out of his mind and could not concentrate on a word the people were chirping.

His mind found joy in revisiting the memory of his with Ruth in the woods. Every word that she said, the touch of her skin, Edwin remembered everything as fresh as it had happened just a second ago.

The man was smitten!

Suddenly his body turned stiff, his eyes darkened by a shade as he stared into nothingness.

~"Master, the man is leaving Vincardine."~ Rees's urgent voice reached him through the mind link.

Leaving Vincardine?

~"It means only two things Rees. Either he is done with his mission, or he is going to meet his Lord, to inform them about his findings."~

~"Yes, Master."~

~"Keep following him. Do not rely only on our men. Go with them personally."~

~"Yes, Master. I will keep informing you."~

Edwin's eyes changed their colour to their original Cerulean blue. Edwin glanced around him, and no one had noticed the change in his behaviour.

Good!

But he spoke too soon. When he moved his eyes to his left, he found Lord Augustus staring at him intently with narrowed eyes.

Sensing his distraction, Douglas and Harold also turned to face Edwin. The intent gazes of the three werewolves did not bother Edwin at all. He stared back at them, nonchalantly with a passive face.

But his mind was running faster than his heart. He could not keep going on like this. He had to end this investigation as soon as possible and before Lord Augustus intervened.

1 day later, Rees had the man with a big moustache in his hold in Cantonova. To their surprise, they also got someone else.

*PRESENT*

Lester was satisfied after his hunt. The last time he went hunting was when he had to chase the rogues who attacked his mother and crossed the border of his pack territory.

The fourth spy appointed by the councils stayed silent. His body and the moustaches were soaked in the blood of the other two.

Although fun, Edwin had no more time to play this game. He had to finish it soon, for he had many questions and many important things to do.

"Are you not going to say anything even after this?" Edwin asked calmly.

The man did not move, did not utter a single word.

"Fine then!" Edwin mumbled and, with a flick of his wrist signalled something to Rees.

Bowing his head, Rees took the two guards with him and exited the darkroom only to return after ten minutes. They dragged the man chained just like the other spies and threw him in front of Edwin. They then removed the restraints of the fourth spy too.

"I am asking you again. tell me everything in details or..."

"Or you will kill us! You are going to do that anyway then why waste your time and efforts?" The man whom Rees had brought chuckled dryly.

Edwin stared at the both of them for a minute longer.

"Is it your loyalty towards your masters or something else?"

"What do you think?" The man with moustache retorted back.

Edwin shook his head in disappointment. "I can not understand humans. They betray when they were expected to be loyal and they stayed loyal when they needed to betray."

After a brief pause, the man with moustaches said, "It is not always about the loyalty. There is something more influencing than loyalty. And that is belief. We are silent because we have a belief."

Lester, who was still stained in the blood of his prey, came to stand by Edwin. "What belief?" He asked darkly. His wolf was still on the edge, unsatisfied and begging for more blood.

"We believe that the world will be a better place without the werewolves!" The other man spat angrily.

"Really? And who told you that? Your masters- the Garfields?" Lester yelled.

The man who was the spy of the Garfields pursed his lips.

"We know what happened in the great war. How you selfish creatures put the lives of humans on the stake for your selfish motives. And as long as you are alive we can never live safely." The spy of the Council pointed at Edwin.

Edwin had enough of their nonsense. Leaning down, he caught both the men by their throats. His eyes turned a darker shade of blue, and his wolf was on the verge of coming out.

"You do not know shit, you bastards! You know nothing about the great war. The man who built this town of Vincardine, George O'Dell Sr- my ancestor had to sacrifice his everything, just to keep every breed safe and end the war.

My family- the O'Dells- have spent generations and rigorous efforts for keeping the treaty of peace as it is. So do not talk shit when you know nothing!" Edwin was furious, to say the least.

"Do you know who were the main cause of the outbreak of the war?" He asked in a deadly whisper.

The two men, their faces paler than before, tried to shook their heads but their movements were restricted by Edwin's iron-like grip on their throats.

"It was because of the vampires- the Garfields!"

*

*

*

"Yes! Finally! It is done!!" Ruth exclaimed loudly in delight.

"Ruth, why are you so loud? I- Oh My God! Ruth! It is... it is... marvellous!" Mrs Payne, who came out of the kitchen with an annoyed face, became awestruck in a moment when she saw Ruth holding the golden dress in her hands.

"Is not it, Mrs Payne?! Oh, I am so happy! Look how beautiful it looks!" Ruth was overjoyed with the result of her efforts.

She had worked relentlessly for the days and through the nights.

"Yes, my dear! You have done a splendid job here! I am sure Mrs Linlithgow will fall in love with this dress at the first sight. This is the best work of yours till now! I am so proud of you my dear!!" Mrs Payne could not stop praising her. And Ruth deserved every bit of it.

Ruth showed her the details of the dress, and a thought crossed Mrs Payne's mind.

"Dear, can you wear this dress once?" She asked.

Ruth looked at her in surprise.

"What? No, Mrs Payne. I can not." She shook her head.

Although the suggestion was tempting, Ruth knew she could not use others' things without their knowledge.

"Hello Mrs Pay- Oh God! Ruth... this is..." As promised, Thea came to stay for the night. She was speechless, looking at the beautiful dress.

"I... I have never seen anything so beautiful!" She whispered in awe.

Zoe mewed from behind as if agreeing with everyone.

"Thea tell your friend to grant one request of this old woman. I want to see Ruth in this dress but she is not listening anything." Mrs Payne complained, making a sad face.

Thea smiled. "Come on Ruth. You and Mrs Linlithgow are of same frame. It will fit you well and that way you can see if there are any last minute checks to do on the dress."

After minutes of convincing, Ruth finally gave in to the request of the other two women. She was also excited to wear the dress. Only God knew if she could ever wear such an expensive dress in her life or not.

Ruth wore the dress and came out to show the two women. She blushed furiously, hearing their compliments. Zoe also appreciated Ruth's skills and was impressed for the first time by the woman.

Not wanting to mess with the dress, Ruth told Thea to check for any improvements and then changed the dress.

"I will fold it neatly, you do not worry." Thea told Ruth.

Smiling and thanking her friend, Ruth went into the kitchen to help Mrs Payne for the dinner. The next day they had to submit the dress to Mr Cooper, and Ruth could not hide her excitement and hear the long praises for her hard work.

The smile on Thea's face faded as she turned to look at the dress. Her heart turned heavy, a thin layer of perspiration formed on her forehead.

Was she really going to do that with her best friend? Was she really going to betray her friend's trust?

She was conflicted. She took the scissors with her shaky hands, her heart racing fast against her chest. She hesitated, the corners of her eyes moistened.

But she had to do it. For her friend, for her soon to be husband and for the new world that she was going to be a part of!

She lifted her eyes for a moment to saw Zoe staring right back at her. As if she was encouraging her. Zoe moved her head to push Thea and get done with the task.

Thea nodded her head, for she knew what she had to do!