A MAZE OF GREED

Lester and Elsie ran into Edwin's office, as soon as they enter the door of 'the great manor', Elsie searched for Ruth, but she was not there.

"Ida took her out of here before anyone sees her." Edwin replied.

Both of them looked at Edwin in surprise. He was not the kind of person who would explain anything, unless he was asked so and, he thought it was necessary.

An empty bottle of wolfsbane potion on the side table and another one finished by half explained how he was so calm after that long. But they could still feel his wolf. He was ready to take control even by a minor trigger.

"Edwin-"

"I want that bastard's blood on my hands." He declared darkly.

Lester took a cautious step towards him. Although Edwin looked calm from the outside, no one really knew when he would flip in a blink of an eye. The last time he did that, it cost Lester weeks of injury in his leg.

"I understand Edwin, but please listen to us first." Lester said, still keeping his guards up.

Edwin pulled away the glass from his mouth and gulped down the potion he had just taken in his mouth. He looked at Lester matching his gaze challengingly.

"You do Lester?"

The sarcasm in his voice caught Lester by surprise. He turned to share a look with Elsie, but she was as affected by the situation as him.

Lester nodded slowly. "I do?!" But it sounded like a cringy question to his ears.

A dry chuckle left Edwin's mouth as he shook his head in denial.

"No, you do not Lester! You can not! You can not understand how I feel, nobody can! You all have your mates with you. One is getting married, one is enjoying time with their mate.

You can hold their hands, you can laugh with them, share your dreams, sadness, thoughts, happiness and pain.

But look at me! Look. At. Me!"

Elsie braced herself as her wolf could feel how disturbed her leader was.

"My mate does not fucking even know what she is to me! I do not even know if I love her, or if she could ever accept me wholeheartedly. I live every day in the constant fear of she rejecting me!" Edwin stood up from his chair as his eyes darkened to a dark blue shade.

"Edwin!" Lester called.

"And most importantly you do not have to see your mate scared, and running while crying begging for help! and when I know the reason of her fear, what do you expect me to do huh?"

Lester and Elsie were speechless.

"Do you still understand me Lester? Tell me damn it!" Edwin threw the glass in his hand with a crashing sound.

Elsie flinched at his action. Her heart was saddened seeing her cousin in that state. She had brought up his topic many times in front of Ruth, but the hatred and insecurities the woman held for him were not easy to erase.

"Brother Edwin... please! Calm down!"

"I. want. his blood!" Edwin repeated this time in the voice of his animal.

Lester tried to touch him, but Edwin held his hand forcefully before it came near him.

"I do not want to harm you Lester! So do not!" He warned.

It was happening again. Edwin was losing his control again and this time without much resistance. Lester looked at Elsie in alarm. And before Edwin knew, she ran to hug him tightly.

"Please brother Edwin calm down and listen to us first. You are right! It is unfair to say that we understand you, because we can not. But I am your cousin and I love you so much. We all care for you and want only your happiness." Elsie said, hoping her words would calm him down.

He had not thrown her away, and that was something at least!

"And we know your happiness lies with Ruth. We all care for her as much as for you. But please do not act impulsively. If you do or say anything to Harold then the truth that we are hiding this long about you and Ruth will be no secret any longer."

Pulling away from him, she looked at him earnestly. "We can not do anything that would compromise her safety. Please brother Edwin calm down!"

Lester was ready to handle the situation if Edwin's mood flipped, but surprisingly he saw him taking deep breaths with closed eyes. He was battling with his wolf. A minute later, his eyes turned to his natural cerulean blue colour and, Lester and Elsie heaved a sigh of relief.

"I can not let him do that again with Ruth." Edwin said.

"You are right, Edwin. We will find some solution to it. Do not worry! For now Ruth's health is our priority." Lester agreed.

Elsie made Edwin sit in the chair again and poured another glass with the wolfbane potion, which he accepted without complaining. They all fell in thoughtful silence.

A minute later, it was broken by Elsie.

"But why Harold is here and what is this meeting with father is about?"

The three of them looked at each other cluelessly, but they needed to know it first!

*

*

*

It took her two days' journey by road to reach the port town, which was a hundred miles West to Vincardine. She waited near the local church to meet a man. He was going to arrange her rest of the journey.

Sitting for hours in the carriage had her muscles strained and sore. Her back ached due to the million bumps and potholes on the way. She was glad that the first phase of her journey to Warthford Island was complete.

After fifteen minutes of waiting, a man caught her attention.

"Miss Florence?"

"Yes?"

The man observed her from head to toe as if he was trying to understand something.

"I was asked for arranging your journey to the Warthford Island." He told.

One of Florence's admirers, a wealthy bureaucrat, helped her with it.

"Yes."

"There are two ways to reach there- one is by sea route, and the other is by both sea route and land route. The first one will take you there in three days, but with the unstable weather these days, it is a risky affair.

And the other one would take you there in four days. It is safer. Tell me which one you would like to prefer, and I will arrange your travel accordingly."

Florence thought for a minute, then said, "I will go by the sea route."

The man was surprised by her choice. "But, I just told you that it is risky. You should take the other way." He suggested.

Florence shook her head. "Every day is important for me and I can not waste time. I am willing to take that risk."

The man nodded after giving her a long look. "Fine then." He took out some money and the paper with a stamp on it.

"This is your fair you will need to pay the captain of the ship and this is the pass that they will ask you after reaching the Warthford Island. Without this you may get denied of the entry."

Florence took them from him, and after studying the paper, she put it in her purse securely.

"After reaching there, a man will take you to the place where I have arranged your stay. He will give you the money for your return journey, and help you with everything you will need there." The man explained.

Florence nodded. "Thank you, sire!"

The man did not move, just stared at her and surprisingly, it was not a sinful gaze.

"May I ask something, Miss Florence?" He finally asked.

"Sure!"

"Travelling alone as a woman to that far land must be important for you. But why? Any other woman would have hesitated and might have declined the idea, or at least would have taken a man with her for her safety. But you... have done none of that." He asked thoughtfully.

Florence smiled. How she would explain to him that even though men played an integral part in her life, she had no man to rely on. She was always alone and on her own through every thick and thin of life.

And when she finally found a man on whom she could rely, with whom she could have the whole world at her feet, someone else was trying to snatch that once in a lifetime golden opportunity from her.

"You are right, sire! This is so important for me that I do not care if anything unfortunate happens with me in this journey. To achieve something, you have to walk through the fire of patience and hard work.

I have achieved many things the easy way. But they all were temporary and never satisfied me. But now I have found something that will stay with me till the last breath of mine and will satisfy me! And to get that, I am ready to walk through that fire over and over again!"

With that said, she began walking in the direction of the port, where the ship would be ready to start its voyage in the next one hour. And that man stared at her back, thinking what would have made this woman so determined.

Whatever it was, he wished she would get it somehow!