The Secret Pull

Chapter 13 - Hide

GABBY  -

I jumped at the sound of thick metal shutters slamming down in front of all of the packhouse windows. Men, women, and children were moving quickly in different directions. The sunlight from the windows was now blocked and we were now plunged into darkness. I swung around to see Paul pulling his shirt off before grabbing a hold of me. "Follow Josiah into the tunnels!" he ordered before he smashed his lips onto mine. The surprise of his sudden kiss and the tingling sensation that it left on my lips left me fixed in the spot where I stood. My face leaned towards his as he pulled away.

I could see the anger in his eyes. Although I knew it wasn't directed towards me, it still made me feel afraid. "Why?... What's happening?" was all I could get out. Paul was already running towards the exit doors. Dread crept into my heart.

"We have intruders," Josiah grunted as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me away, in the direction of a door to the left. I was close behind him as we followed a crowd of people who quickly descended a staircase nearby. I turned back to the exit doors that Paul went through. Fear had now enveloped me. I wondered how much danger he was in, and how much danger we were in. My thoughts went back to the violence of Paul being ambushed by wolves.

Were there enemy wolves here?

I gripped Josiah's arm as I followed him quietly and quickly down the stairs. As we went further down, the steps and walls changed from wood to rock. It became significantly dimmer. Bo was starting to cry and Josiah was gently reassuring him everything was going to be ok. It was comforting to me too because I didn't know what was happening or where we were going. We stopped our descent and were now weaving through wide tunnels carved through the rocks. Despite the dirt floors and rock walls, there was dim lighting mounted on the ceiling above us. I was astonished at how they were able to construct something like this. How did they avoid being lost in this maze?

"Here, take him!" Josiah quickly places Bo in my arms and pushed me through a metal door into a large cavern. Before I could object, two older men closed the door between us and placed a large metal bar into some brackets that barricaded us inside. When I turned away from the door I could see there were steps carved into the cave that led down to a large clearing. Small lights cast an eerie reddish glow on the stalactites on the ceiling. Bo was now crying softly in my arms. I looked up to see that twenty people were sitting on seats carved from the rock walls. I scanned the dimly lit cave for any familiar face as they all stared back at me quietly. I just stood there trying not to be afraid and swayed with Bo crying in my arms. I kissed his forehead and tried my best to soothe him.

A dark-haired teenage girl in a soccer uniform rose from a stone seat against the rock wall on my right. "Luna please sit here". Her hand gestured to where she was just sitting. There were several girls in the same uniform sitting down as well. I sat down quickly and motioned for her to squeeze next to me. "Thank you, Luna," she whispered as she squeezed in close to me.

I turned to her and quietly asked, "Why do you call me that? What is a Luna?" She gave me a surprised look as if I should already know the answer. I felt so stupid even trying to whisper in a room full of werewolves. I wish Paul was here to answer these questions. I am confused and scared. The young girl seemed to sense my anxiousness.

"A Luna is the female Alpha of the pack, the Alpha's mate," she quietly revealed. I nodded, pretending to understand, but I was still confused. I wondered how she knew about me. Did Paul send out a press release or something? I looked around in the dim light at everyone else in the cave. They all seemed to be listening to us but pretending that they weren't listening. "Is it true that you're a witch...and that you can kill wolves...and heal them too?". I gave an uneasy laugh at the way the questions just spilled out of her.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Grace" she blurted.

I looked up and saw everyone looking at me before I turned back to face her with a small smile. "Yes Grace, I am a witch". I didn't see any need to hide it. They all knew I wasn't one of them and apparently, they heard all about me. "I am a nurse and I work to heal people. Sometimes I use magic." I watched the young girl's face for a fearful reaction but there was none. She looked in awe. It was the first time that I ever admitted that to anyone. "I don't run around killing wolves but Paul needed my help," I explained aloud, not just to Grace but to all of the wolves around me. Grace nodded at my words.

I held onto Bo tightly as he was crying harder and began squirming in my lap. I needed to calm him down. I scanned the cavern in front of me and saw a small rock a few feet away. "Look at this Bo," I said cheerily, with my cheek resting on his forehead. I made the rock levitate with the flick of my wrist, I brought it towards us. I could see everyone's eyes on the rock and me. When I could tell I had Bo's attention, I turned it into a butterfly. I tried to ignore the gasps from everyone in the cave. Bo stopped wiggling in my arms and became transfixed. This distraction was working. He started to giggle and so I picked up several more rocks.