Scars Of My Lycan

ALCOT'S POV

In my dark hooded cloak, I walked into the market, my eyes taking in the sight of the busy and crowded marketplace. The people here were not like those in the city. Their clothes were not made from the finest of silks but of cheap fabrics, old and ragged. Their faces looked tired and sunburnt as they worked through the bustling crowd, hardly taking notice of me. But then again, that was what I wanted. The reason I had disguised myself from an alpha to a commoner was so that I would be able to mingle and feel the air of the village, which was different from the one in the city.

My eyes caught sight of a fruit vendor, and I salivated at the sight of pomegranate fruits in his big basket. I hurried to him, pushing past the customers that surrounded him.

"How much do these cost?" I yelled over the noise of the crowded market, and the old trader raised his gaze to me before yelling back a reply.

"Ten bronze coins each."

Ten bronze coins? These are super cheap. In the city, these would cost a hundred bronze coins.

"Can I have a few?" I dipped my hand into my pocket to pull out a few coins, which I threw to him.

The trader immediately set to work, and he gathered the pomegranate fruits while his apprentice attended to the impatient, angry customers.

As I waited for the trader, I suddenly felt a weird and cautious movement in the pocket of my cloak. The hairs at the back of my neck stood, and certain that my instincts never lied to me, I released my hand immediately and grabbed the hand of the thief who was trying to steal from me. The person let out a sharp gasp of shock, and I turned my head to look at the culprit. As I did, my eyes met scared, dark hazel ones. As she stared back at me with pleading eyes, I did not let go of her hand and held on even tighter. My mind was full of the idea of how beautiful she looked, even with her haggard looks and the ruffiness of her ash-blonde hair. Her face looked more sun-kissed than sunburnt, and I could swear by my life that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever set eyes on.

"Thief! "It's a thief!" My head came back to reality as someone beside me shouted in alarm, and in a few seconds, people had already surrounded us. The girl looked around her in such fear that I could feel her body vibrate under my hold. Her eyes traveled back to me again, now teary and panicked.

"Good sir, please pardon me." "I didn't mean to steal from you." The girl pleaded amidst the yells from the people.

"Chop off her hand!"

"Lynch her!"

"Cut off her pretty hand! That is the price that must be paid, you thieving swine!

"No please! Please have mercy! The girl began to cry now as she tried to struggle from my hold, but it was only a fruitless attempt. My eyes squinted, and a small frown appeared on my forehead as the sleeve of her dress rolled up a little to reveal a colorful pearl bracelet that beautifully adorned her wrist. This time, my heart missed a skip, and I looked back at her pleading eyes and back to her wrist in pure disbelief.

That bracelet. That bracelet was the same one I had given to the girl from the bridge. It was the same bracelet I had crafted with my own hands and given to Mae. What was it doing with this thief? Did she steal it from Mae too? The dark part of me starts to growl in rage at the idea that she must have stolen it from the original owner.

"Where did you get this?" I asked the girl, and she trembled visibly at the coldness of my voice. She probably thought her life was going to end this instant.

"I promise, I didn't steal it, good sir." "It belongs to me."

My eyes did not leave her for a moment, and then I finally broke the gaze and looked back at the bracelet. It fit her so well and clung to her wrist as if it were truly hers. What if she wasn't lying and it was truly hers?

"Tell me…" I slowly raised my gaze to look at her again. My heart was beating expectantly. "What is your name?"

"Uh…sir…"

"What is your name?" I repeated my question, more stern than ever. "Or I will have your hand plucked off this very moment."

The girl tried to blink back the tears that were falling, but her eyes only betrayed her, and more tears came rolling down.

"M–my name…"

"Don't try to play smart and lie to me." I warned. "You are too pretty to lose an arm."

The girl gulped and took another round of silence before opening her mouth and answering me.

"Mae, good sir. Mae Barrow."