Lycans Of The Woods

Chapter 30

"An Elder had been present when the Beta questioned me about if my loyalties were tied to Corozal or not, which I'd made explicitly clear it wasn't. I won't lie, I got a bit unreasonably upset at the insinuation. When the Beta stepped out of his office, the Elder, I believe his name to be Helmitch Bennett, opened a drawer and handed me the packet and said to keep it in my pocket and eat it later. I think he gave it to me to somehow ease my worried mind." Helda grinned at the memory. "The Beta returned and looked a bit suspicious, but said nothing."

I arched an eyebrow, and lifted the mint into my mouth. It reminded me of the peppermint leaves I'd chew on as a child whilst traveling on foot with my mother and father, but it was somewhat stronger in taste.

Enjoying any mints or sweets had been a rarity when I was child, and my mother and father had only, for the most part, bought what they deemed necessary, which excluded any sweets.

"Have you ever walked any further into these woods?" Helda asked, standing abruptly. Her eyes looked around us, clearly alerted by something which I couldn't see. I stood as well, albeit slowly, shaking my head at her question.

"And I wouldn't advise it either."

Helda and I both turned simultaneously at the sound of Yanneek's voice. He stood a few feet away, with his hands deep into the pockets of his pants. Beside him stood a stoic faced Jeremiah who informed us,

"The Alpha has requested that all pack members excluding the warriors return to their homes."

I frowned, confused. "Why?"

Impatience and worry flared in Jeremiah's gaze. "A neighboring pack has been attacked and calls for the Wildeland pack's assistance has reached us. Some of the warriors and The Alpha will be travelling there, and although the attack isn't happening in this pack, it is possible that violence may come this way and it's important that everyone is kept safe."

Jeremiah waved a hand in a hurried manner, and Helda and I exchanged a quick, baffled look before I began walking back to the house, the others hot on my heels.

********

Dark smoke and fire could be seen in the distance and I could somehow even smell it, despite most of the windows being closed in the house. It had been many, many hours since I'd been told to return to Hannes' home, and what had transpired afterwards had been a bit chaotic, as I'd seen pack warriors running to vehicles, and then Hannes before he too got inside one and left. 

Elijah stayed behind, and currently was in the kitchen in which I stood, along with Athena, who was casually reading through a magazine whilst perched on a stool by the kitchen counter.

"You're bleeding." She murmured, without taking her eyes off of the words of her magazine. I blinked, confused.

"Pardon?"

Athena lowered the magazine, and glanced pointedly towards my palms. I immediately halted any further pressing of my nails into them, and lifted a hand to gaze at the small dots of blood that had arisen from them before moving to the kitchen sink.

"You need to do something to occupy your mind." Athena said, watching as I washed my hands. "The smell of your nervousness has overwhelmed any other scent in this kitchen."