A Spoiled Brat

Chapter 39
Nalani rushed through the castle corridors towards Bertold’s house, her heart was beating faster and heavier with each step she took.

She could not let the wolves injured by that creature bleed anymore.

She had painstakingly tended to them until they were almost healed.

When she entered Bertold’s small house, she found the old healer tending to the wolf. Karina stood nearby, arms crossed with a frown on her face.

“What happened?” asked Nalani.
“You should have been here to help Bertold sooner,” Karina snapped upon seeing Nalani. “I don’t know anything about taking care of injured people.”

Nalani flinched at Karina’s tone. She was getting tired of the constant blaming and condescension, especially since it was Karina’s interference that had provoked the creature in the first place to get angry and attack the wolves.

Ignoring Karina, Nalani knelt beside Bertold, her hands steady as she helped him clean the wound.

The wolf’s blood seeped through the bandage, but Bertold’s calm presence soothed her.

“Here, hold this,” Bertold instructed, handing her a clean piece of cloth. He pressed it gently against the wound, feeling the warmth of the blood under his fingers.

Karina grumbled behind them. “Karyan should not leave this task to me who does not know what to do. Look at the consequences.”

Nalani’s patience was broken. She stood up, turned to face Karina, her eyes glaring in exasperation. “Stop being so selfish, Karina. We’re all trying to help here. If you don’t want to contribute, at least don’t make things worse with your whining.”

Karina’s eyes widened, momentarily stunned into silence. Nalani had never spoken to her like this before.

The silence stretched on, filled only with the painful breathing of the wounded wolf and the low murmur of Bertold as he worked.

“I... I was just trying to...” Karina began, but her voice faltered under Nalani’s piercing gaze.

“Trying to what?” Nalani demanded. “You awakened that creature, and now these wolves are paying the price. The least you can do is stop acting like a spoiled brat and help us clean up your mess.”

Karina’s face was flushed with anger and embarrassment. She looked like she was about to argue, but instead she crossed her arms and turned to walk away to the other end of the room with an angry face.

Nalani took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She knelt beside Bertold, who gave her a small nod of agreement.

Together, they continued working in silence, the tension in the room releasing.

As the night wore on, the bleeding finally stopped, and the wolf’s breathing began to stabilize. Nalani wiped her hands with relief. She glanced at Karina, who had retreated to a corner and barely moved from there.

For the first time, Nalani felt a little bit of compassion. Karina was clearly feeling lonely. That must be why she was trying to communicate with the creature that used to be her father. She slowly walked closer to the she-wolf.

“You must be tired. Get some rest. Caring for the sick takes strength. Have you eaten?”

Karina shook her head, though her face was still grim.

“I have plenty of groceries in my kitchen.” Bertold said from where he stood near a patient’s bed. “You can eat it.”

“Do you have meat, Bertold?” asked Nalani.

“Of course. The best quality. Karyan is always generous to me whenever he’s out hunting.”

“Would you like to eat it raw, Karina?” Nalani turned to Karina again. “Or do you want it cooked. I can cook quite well. In Inverno I used to work in their castle kitchen.”

Karina raised one eyebrow. “Really? So they actually sent the cook as tribute to our alpha? In that case, you should be stationed in our kitchen as well.”

“Enough, Karina,” demanded Bertold. “You shouldn’t be so rude to Nalani. She’s helped so much, she almost died under that thing. You should realize that the creature will remain as it is now, never to return to its former self.”

“You too, Bertold?” said Karina. “You’re not trying to understand my feelings either?”

“Karina....”

“To hell with all of you!” Karina ran out of Bertold’s house sobbing.

“I have to go after her...” Nalani was about to move.

“Leave that spoiled brat alone,” Bertold interrupted. “She should reflect on her rash actions.”

Nalani stood staring at the door through which Karina had passed. Her compassion was not lost.

After all, she understood how Karina felt. Wasn’t she the same? Her parents were dead, her grandmother too. Her life was very lonely.
***

Nalani stirred the pot on the stove, the rich aroma of stew filling Bertold’s small kitchen.

Her stomach rumbled like a reminder that she hadn’t eaten properly for days.

Between tending to the wounded and several other events that followed in quick succession, he had barely given a thought to his own needs.

While tending to the patients, Bertold often urged her to take a break and cook something nutritious.

The kitchen, stocked with groceries, was Nalani’s sanctuary. Shelves filled with jars of spices, dried herbs, and preserved vegetables surrounded it.

The old healer, who was not a wolf, relied on the werewolves in Mond to provide meat and other necessities, while she grew her own vegetables in a simple garden.

The stew was just boiling when Karyan appeared in the doorway, attracted by the tantalizing aroma.

His sharp, piercing eyes scanned the room before finally settling on Nalani. “I can smell it from the courtyard,” he said, out of curiosity.

Nalani smiled and gestured towards the table. “Come, sit down, Alpha. Join us for dinner.”

Karyan hesitated for a moment before stepping inside, his presence filling the small room.

He took a seat, his eyes widened slightly as he surveyed the array of dishes Nalani had prepared.

The food looked different from what he was used to at Mond.

“Your cooking is different,” he said, sniffing the air appreciatively. “It doesn’t smell like what we’re used to here.”

Nalani chuckled as she spooned the stew into a bowl. “In Inverno, our food is more varied. We often adopt the culinary habits of the tribes we encounter in battle. It’s one way of dealing with boredom when not at war. Cook and eat. Trying out new things as we see fit.”

Karyan’s eyes looked full of interest as he bit into a piece of meat stew. “It’s delicious,” he admitted, in a respectful tone.

Nalani nodded, pleased with his reaction. “Thank you,” she said. “I worked in their kitchen once. I learned a lot.”

As they ate, Bertold joined them, relaxed and content.

He too enjoyed the break from his usual meals, savoring the flavors that Nalani brought to his kitchen.

Mita, another human in Bertold’s house, soon joined them even though she was sitting at another table.

“I must apologize to you,” Karyan said to Nalani. His stomach full of good food softened his heart. “I didn't mean to be rude to you when I reprimanded you about Ordas. But I meant it when I said she was a danger to you.”

“I approached her to get information about the person who told her to kill me, nothing more,” Nalani said. “She also has an interesting talent. I think she can tell me how to control my magic.”

“There’s no way she can,” Karyan argued.
“I told you she was just trying to trick you, Nalani.”

“She can control the wind,” said Nalani. “And that’s not a lie. She knows everything that happens because she hears it through the wind.”

“If that’s true, I’m already on guard,” Karyan said. “I’ve moved her to a deeper prison so she can’t eavesdrop.”

“Does the new prison door also contain magic?”

Karyan and Bertold were stunned.

“Nalani, what do you mean?”

“She told me that she couldn’t escape because the prison door contained residual magic that didn’t vanish. She said only I can touch the door because I also have magic power. Others would be stung by the door if they tried to break into it.”

“And you believed it?” asked Karyan, surprised.

“Did the door sting you?”

“Of course not, Nalani. Magic in Mond completely disappeared half a century ago.”

Nalani remembered Lorelei’s garden and what she felt the first time she saw the originally abandoned garden. A kind of echoing call, a subtle rhythm, a gentle vibration at the tip of every leaf she touched. At that time her powers hadn’t even appeared yet.

“Ordas lied to you,” Karyan said irritably.
‘No, she didn’t. Ordas was right. There was still magic in Mond.’ Nalani believed.
***