A MAZE OF GREED

*** "Thea, look at me. I will explain everything now. I will not let any harm come into your way, my love! Just trust me!"

Thea's mind and heart were in battle. Her mind was hesitant and scared, but her heart screamed at her to trust the man she was in love with. Her gut feeling told her that he would not break her trust... not anymore.​​

"Okay!" She nodded her head silently, then again, after holding Rees's hand, she walked inside the woods.

The eerieness of the place was tangible. The silence of the night was interrupted only by the chirping of crickets and rustling of leaves.

She had a problem in looking the path in the dark, but Rees had none. He walked confidently without tumbling or losing a step as if he was walking on the smooth road in daylight.

Thea's confused mind was now distracted with her scary surroundings while she tried hard to match Rees's pace.

A sound of an animal sent chills down her spine. Due to her distracted mind, she didn't notice where her feet were stepping. And stumbled upon a protruding branch of a tree.

"Aaaa..." Before she hit the ground, she felt her body lifting in the air.

When she opened her eyes, she realised that Rees had held her bridal style in his arms.

"Rees! Put me down, please." Heat crept up her neck as this was the first time that they were sharing such a moment.

Ignoring her words, Rees's darker eyes stared at her face. "Why did you not tell me that you are having a trouble looking into the dark?"

"I...I..." She couldn't complete her sentence because she didn't know what to tell him.

Sensing her thoughts, Rees again said, "You will tell me everything that comes into your mind from now on."

Thea's heart skipped a beat hearing his words, and before she recovered from that, Rees started walking again with her in his arms.

After a minute, Thea squirmed in his hands. "Rees, enough. Please put me down! You can't carry me like this all the way. Your hands will pain."

But he didn't reply neither did he put her down. After more failed attempts to talk sense into him, Thea gave up and enjoyed the sight of his handsome face while relishing in his masculine scent.

After walking some more distance, finally, Rees stopped. That made Thea look around her and in the dim lights of the moon and the stars, she figured that they were now deep into the woods.

Rees gently placed Thea down on her two feet.

"Rees, why are we here? And what is this place?"

Thea had never been into the woods before and had a picture in her mind that the whole area was covered with trees and bushes. But the place where they stood was cleared of any trees, only grass and small shrubs scattered on the ground here and there.

Holding her by her elbow, Rees turned her body to face him. For some seconds he didn't say anything and just stared into her eyes.

By this time, Thea had got used to his darkened eyes. And while observing them nearly, she could see how dangerous yet attractive they looked.

"Thea, I am now going to reveal my truth to you. I was supposed to do this before but I was afraid that I will lose you. My parents advised me to tell you this secret after marriage but I felt it was unjust for you.

I didn't want to build our relationship on the foundation of lies. But I also had no courage to tell you the truth. And that led to these tensions between us.

I was devastated when you told me that you don't want to marry me anymore. If you have not changed your mind then I would have died-"

Suddenly Thea placed her palm on his mouth with wide eyes. "Don't say such a thing, Rees."

Holding her hand that was covering his mouth, he placed a gentle kiss into her palm. He then held it in his large fingers and placed it on his chest where his heart was beating.

"I mean it, Thea. I would have either turned into a rogue or would have ended up my life when the pain of rejection became unbearable."

"Rees... what are saying? Rogue? What is rougue? I... I don't understand anything. Please stop scaring me!" Her eyes teared up instantly and an unsettling feeling rose in her pit.

"I will tell you everything tonight. No more secrets! But you have to promise me one thing."

"What is it?" She didn't like the sound of it but she had decided to accept what destiny and her heart had decided for her.

Staring deep into her eyes, he said. "You have to promise me that whatever you will see and hear tonight, you will not get scared. You will be patient and not react in hast. And..."

"And?"

"And you will not hate me. Do you... do you promise me that?"

-"I love you and I have realised that my insecurities can not overpower my love for you. I want to spend my whole life with you, Rees."- She had told him that about an hour ago.

Taking a deep breath, she answered determinedly. "Yes, I promise you that I will do what you expect from me and I can never hate you, no matter what!"

Hearing those words, elated Rees and his wolf, and suddenly they both felt confident than before. Their mate was ready to accept them and they couldn't ask more than that from the Moon Goddess.

Not saying another word, he stepped back from Thea by some distance. Thea watched him with a confused mind but she had to be patient.

When there was enough distance between them, Rees looked up into the dark sky and muttered something under his breath that Thea couldn't hear. But he prayed to the Moon Goddess to give him the strength to show his real self to his mate and let his mate accept him for who he was.

He then slowly looked at Thea who was waiting in anticipation for him to do or say something. She looked beautiful standing there with her hands clasped together near her chest and her big doe-like eyes staring back at him.

"I love you, Thea! Don't ever forget that!" He said and Thea couldn't understand the intention behind his words.

She was too engrossed in watching him that she didn't reply to him with words but her presence and willingness to understand him gave away her love for him.

Rees closed his eyes tightly, his body stiffened considerably. His hands curled up into fists. With every passing moment, his face morphed into agony, all the veins in his neck and hands popped up under his skin.

Thea didn't understand what was happening but from the look on Rees's face, she knew that he was in pain.

"Rees... what is happening? Why are you in pain?" She cried unable to watch him in that state.

She was about to run to him when the sound of tearing of clothes fell on her ears. Her watery eyes travelled down from his face to his torso where his shirt had started to get torn into shreds and so did his pants.

With her ragged breaths, she watched with wide eyes how his body had started changing its form.

A loud growl that escaped from Rees's mouth shook her to the core. And her eyes bulged out of their sockets when the layer of hairs started growing on his skin.

Suddenly he opened his eyes and his fists that made Thea stumble back in shock. If she thought that his eyes were a shade darker before then now they had turned brownish-black with black pupils and golden streaks in them.

Long and sharp black claws replaced the nails of both limbs and his face had started to elongate. A fury tail grew from his posterior and gradually his body transformed into a terrifying creature with long canines.

Thea wanted to run from there but she was transfixed at her spot. She couldn't even move her finger, her body was frozen in hysteria.

And before she knew it, there stood a giant grey wolf right where her fiancee was a minute ago. A loud howl escaped his mouth when he thrust his muzzle in the air in an upward direction.

That loud sound broke her trance and suddenly the heavyweight of reality started falling down upon her. The creature continued howling loudly as if it was letting every soul in its periphery aware of its presence.

And when it stopped, its dark and dangerous eyes came to rest on Thea's face.

She sucked a deep breath and felt as if her heart had stopped beating. The intensity in the wolf's eyes was too much for her to bore.

She wanted to scream or make any kind of noise but her senses had forgotten how to function. She was watching a nightmare... it must be a nightmare.

How could her Rees turn into a cruel predator in front of her eyes?***