ZARAMANNI (BOOK ONE)

The day of the highly esteemed party arrived sooner than Zaramann expected. While she wished to gather more mental strength to help her deal with being within a crowd, Zara found something else distracting her.

As she settled into the passenger seat of the weremobile that was meant to take her and Clarissa to Zenrada’s palace, Zaramanni found herself raking her fingers through her newly cut hair.

The moment Clarissa cut off a huge chunk of her hair was something Zara was yet to forget. Though she felt a slight ache in her head when the enormous scissors met her hair, the few seconds that followed greatly soothed Zaramanni’s soul.

And things got better when she opened her eyes.

Her hair, already shoulder-length and not haggardly cut, was no longer the shade of blue it was. As though watching something unbelievably miraculous, which they were, Zara and Clarissa kept their keen gazes on her hair as it began to curl on its own, wearing all the shades of colour it had worn before at the same time.

Every hue Zaramanni had ever seen on her head was incorporated into this new hairstyle and Zaramanni, who was beyond amazed, felt like a new version of herself as Clarissa had said.

After Zaramanni came back from that mental trip to the past and after she gave her hair another pat, their vehicle which followed Beta Zoey’s began to move.

Zara was about to wonder what the palace would look like when she caught Clarissa staring at her.

“What?” Zara queried, her lips wearing a pout after.

The she-wolf, like Zaramanni, was dressed in a plain gown. Apparently, it was bad luck to wear the party attire before reaching the venue. Clarissa made smacking noises with her lips and placed her eyes on Zara’s head again. “I am still baffled,” she replied.

“About my hair?”

“I have never seen anything like that before. Zaramanni,” the seat made weird noises as Clarissa tilted her body in Zara’s direction, “your hair curled on its own. It dyed itself on its own. By the goddess…” Clarissa sounded like she highly doubted her own words. Eyes darting here and there with high confusion etched in them, she continued, “... I have never seen such before. Are you sure you are just human?”

Zaramanni smiled. After stealing a look at the driver who wore a pointed cap, she looked out of the rolled-down window which provided a view of the Crown-Blood Pack city which looked more lively than before thanks to the open skies and increased presence of people, some of whom were surprisingly roaming the streets in their wolf form.

“Answer me,” Clarissa softly demanded, her hand tugging at the softness of Zara’s gown.

When Zara tore her eyes off the nature that infused itself with the city in a beautiful way, she faced the she-wolf and said, “I am human, Clarissa. Ever since I was born, ever since I found myself on Earth, I have always identified as a pure human being.”

“Just because you found yourself there doesn’t mean you were meant to be there,” grumbled Clarissa. Zaramanni expected more mumbled words, but her friend quickly gave up, released a delightful sigh, and said, “I can’t wait to see the palace.”

“And, I can’t wait to see the dress you got for me,” replied Zaramanni, a smirk playing on her lips. Clarissa had kept the view of her party gown hidden from her so much so that the cloth became a mystery she wished to solve.

“Very soon, Zaramanni.” A smooth wink followed and Zara’s right eye itched to return the wink. “Very soon.”

Zara was about to look out of the window and enjoy the passing breeze and the dashing view of the beautiful kingdom when she recalled something. Her blueish eyes fixed on Clarissa, she asked, “Are you certain Isaac will be fine? He has been in custody for too long.” The sides of her eyes wrinkled with great concern. “I have a bad feeling about this, Clarissa.”

“I visited him yesterday with a meal, he is doing well.” The she-wolf intertwined her fingers with that of Zaramanni. Staring at the uniqueness of Zara’s skin, Clarissa’s voice wore a softer tone as she said, “I am really glad you are worried about Isaac. If you and I weren’t here for him, he wouldn’t have anyone to support him. No one would root for his freedom. Since he’s blind, he’ll be cast away as if his life is meaningless.”

“Clarissa, you are scaring me.” Zara’s voice almost shivered to buttress her utterance. Eyes wearing certain distress, she asked, “Why are you talking like that?”

“How?”

“As though you are going to leave me soon.”

Clarissa scoffed and her ponytail curls bounced. “Why would I leave you?” Her hold became tighter, in a comforting way. “Beta Zoey would hang me to death and feed me to his wolf if I do that.”

“That is a little harsh.”

“That’s how much he loves his mate. Anyway, I am not being weird, this is me showing my appreciation because you have done so much for me. Even when I lost my baby…” A sharp inhale was followed by a shaky exhale, “... you stopped me from doing something drastic. Thank you, Zaramanni.” Their eyes met and Zara returned the warmth in Clarissa’s eyes. “Thank you so much. Your presence in my life has been nothing but an absolute blessing.”

Clarissa’s warming words made Zara feel loved but it also reminded the half-fairy of the Dragon’s words.

The Dragon didn’t fail to tell her that she was both a blessing and a curse. That was a scary thing to hear about one’s self… That one could make or mar an entire realm.

“I did nothing, Clarissa,” Zara gave a modest response that failed to capture her true feelings about the she-wolf’s appreciation. “I am just glad you are here with me.”

“Same here.” The solemnity that rested on Clarissa’s face turned into a smile and she said, “I really can’t wait to see you in your dress.”

“As long as it fits me, I am sure it will be good.” Zaramanni meant her response.

~

The drive was not as lengthy as Zaramanni thought it would be.

After fully leaving the Crown-Blood Pack city, all they met were thick, tall trees that danced with the mildly strong breeze in the atmosphere.

That view was interesting to Zaramanni.

When she fixed her gaze on the passing view, she likened it to her life.

In the past, there were certain moments in her life she wished to pass by as quickly as possible. At that time, her wish seemed impossible. But Zara took a deeper look into her mind and she realised that her painful past was something she could barely remember.

Even though the pain that was created was still deep within her soul, the terrible days she spent in high school had become a distant memory, just like the trees they left behind.

By the time the beautiful scenery came to an end, pointy, high roofs came into view. The subtle dark blueness of these roofs traced to a palatial building. The entire structure looked like tons of structural rooms merged and overlapped to form that huge building that gave off dark and graceful vibes at the same time.

A few drives later, the golden gates of the palace opened and Zaramanni’s breath suffered a hitch.

While there were other, not-so-small- and lovely buildings that decorated the far ends of the huge compound, the main structure was a marvel. An unbelievable enormous marvel.

As the entire entourage that came from the Crown-Blood City drove past the smooth grand road that would eventually branch out to three paths, Zara noticed how nature was incorporated into the entire environment.

Though somewhat dry and hardly alive, the carpet grasses that designed the sides of the grand road separated the numerous people who were walking into the kingdom from the many vehicles trooping into the palace.

The barely alive flowers that grew here and there tilted toward the building in the middle and Zara soon placed her attention on it. It was the very building she was admiring from afar and seeing it so close made her realise that distance indeed plays a role when it comes to viewing things.

The huge brass-like doors of the huge building were closed and Zara imagined what she would do if the doors suddenly opened and the Alpha King walked out at that moment. It was highly unlikely that such would happen, but her imagination pleased her greatly. Her imagination allowed her to adequately show King Darren how much she disliked his presence.

The weremobile advanced and Zaramanni noticed the cursive markings on the walls of the tall building. She was about to make sense of the lines when they took a left turn, their vehicle still following Beta Zoey’s.

After a few seconds, another gate welcomed them.

And that was when Zaramanni realized that she was yet to see a thing.

Past the pointy roofs her eyes had just feasted on was a bigger building. Though the overall structure was similar to the preceding one, the high walls of the second building wore more colour- some sort of delightful white which was mixed with a darker shade at strategic places, like the many window sides.

The entire view gladdened Zaramanni who began to wish she could take a picture. But, even if she could, the vehicle dashed past the palace and raced toward a much bushy area which soon led to a clearer view of another building.

This one, compared to the palace was smaller. But the structure which was a basilica of some sort looked huge enough to occupy thousands of people at once.

So, the many souls who were either walking, driving, or perhaps growling toward the four-dome roofed building would have no reason to be cast away from the party.

Clarissa who had been making excited noises that Zara chose to ignore said, “We have to go in through the back. It will be terrible for anyone to see us in these plain dresses. We will change in the room reserved for the Beta.”

“Wow,” Zara found her response to everything she had seen so far. “Zenrada is… wow.”

“I know right? Our entire kingdom is insanely beautiful. Now, I want to see what the insides of the palace look like.”

“I mean,” Zara noticed that their vehicle had stopped, “I thought the entire kingdom would be sort of dull-looking. Considering how you are all werewolves. I didn’t think things would be aesthetic.”

Clarissa scoffed and she reached for the door handle. “I am going to pretend I didn’t hear a word you said. Let’s go in and put on our dresses. The party seems to have started. And, we must not get there after The Alpha King.”

“It’s not like he’ll notice,” Zara retorted while she wore an ugly smile on her lips.

“You can never know, Zaramanni.”

Nothing more was said and the ladies got down from the car which drove off immediately, making room for the next one.

Beta Zoey was nowhere in sight, so Zaramanni assumed he had gone past the doors that widely bent their hinges to usher people in.

Soon, after walking past corridors that oddly had the smell a new book would have, Zara and Clarissa found their destination which was a dressing room that had nothing fancy to look at. Zaramanni, who began to wonder about the mysterious dress she was about to put on, watched as a big man dragged two suitcases into the barely filled room.

Then, the big reveal came.

Zipper sounds filled the air and Clarissa eagerly bent over one of the huge bags to flap it open. When she did, with the assistance of the man, after a few troubled seconds, a beautiful, nice-scented bouffant skirt gown came into view.

It was an almost thoroughly black-coloured gown that had Zaramanni’s jaws rendered open. While her bulged eyes roamed the dress, her breath released and she didn’t even know that she had been holding it.

Then she began to properly tour the beauty in front of her.

She started from the decorated ends of the gown which had golden-brown butterfly shapes attached to it as well as some netted black material. Then, she saw the artistic peplum design that amazingly failed to cover the entire body. The peplum which started from both ends of the front skirt formed several pleatings that curved in a protruding way.

The waist of the gown was firm and also had a little golden brown touch. Stitched to the long sleeves and low v-neck of the gown were lovely and solid rose-shaped materials that added their blackness to that of the gown.

Zaramanni knew she would never be able to explain the beauty of the dress and how it made her feel, but she could not ignore the joy that settled in her heart as she feasted her sight on the black cloth.

“I told you. It is beautiful,” Clarissa said from where she stood, a proud smile on her lips.

Zara’s head was quick to nod. “It is amazing. It is very amazing.”

“Well,” Clarissa and the man began to walk toward Zara with the gown, “it is time for you to shine. Put this on, go in there and become unforgettable.”

A wink followed and Zaramanni laughed.

Her laughter, filled with joy and genuine, was good to listen to.