-Jack-
I had a weird dream that night. It started the same way my nightmares always did. Arch was in it, and so was Henry. I tried to save my mate from him, trying to stop the shadow from hurting my love, but I couldn't even get close. Henry only laughed at my futile attempt when he towered over the lifeless body of my mate with a bloody knife in his hand.
But then I snapped awake, nearly falling off my bed in the process. It took me a moment to understand what I was seeing. I was in my bed, yes, but the house was gone. The house and the territory were gone. I stared at the snowy emptiness around me, not feeling cold, even though I was getting covered in snow. There were trees and mountains in the distance. I had to be still dreaming, but this was nothing like I had dreamed before.
Then, a shadowy figure appeared behind the trees and approached me. Not a shadow, as it turned out. It was the gray wolf. I just sat there as he stopped at the bottom end of my bed, looking at me with his yellow eyes. It was... curious.
"Hi?" I muttered.
The wolf barked at me and started running away. I watched him go for as long as I could see it. When it disappeared, I lifted my eyes and jumped back, falling into the snow. There was a pair of giant yellow eyes in the sky staring at me! The second I noticed them, they blinked, and vanished.
And I snapped awake.
Shivers ran down my spine as I thought about the eyes in the sky. Not wolf eyes. Human, but yellow. I had an awful feeling of being watched, and suddenly, my little cabin didn't feel as safe and secure as before.
"Are you here?" I asked with a shivering voice. "What do you want from me?"
There was no reply.
"I'm going mad," I muttered, rubbing my eyes.
"You're not going mad."
Again, I jumped back, hitting my back against the wall. Arch stood at the end of my bed, looking out of the window with a troubled expression on his face.
"Arch? How... How did you get in...?" I muttered in shock, and he turned to look at me.
It was not Arch. He had yellow eyes. When he moved, the outlines of his silhouette were twitching, turning almost blurry. I could almost see someone else standing in his place, like he was covering behind the image of my mate.
"You're not Arch," I nearly spat at him. "Who are you?"
"They cannot know I'm here, or they will try to stop me," he breathed out with an unfamiliar voice that was mixed in with Arch's. "I can only visit you in your dreams."
"So... This is a dream as well?"
"Indeed."
"Why should I trust you?" I asked, squinting my eyes.
"You already do," he said, turning his attention to the window. "You need to stay strong. This place... It's stirred. Something is wrong, but I..."
He stared out for a good moment and then shook his head. "I sense nothing, but the shadows in you gave it away. They've become restless. The enemy is making their move. Soon."
"The shadows in me what?" I asked. "You're talking riddles."
"Danger approaches. I already alerted the Greeks, so they know to keep their eye on their champions. In the meantime, you must stay strong," he said, turning his yellow eyes back to me. "You are still infected, but not for long. We will cast them out soon."
"You're a god," I guessed.
"That I am. And you are a ticking time bomb."
I stared at him. "W-What...?"
"You know what I'm talking about."
"I..." I pressed a hand on my chest. The shadows inside me did not like this man's presence.
"Yes... You are the carrier. The shadows inside you are old, powerful. That is why I need you to stay strong," he spoke, giving me a sympathetic look. "They cannot get out."
"I should be dead," I whispered, finally understanding what he was saying.
And I panicked. I was carrying the infestation of the old world inside me! I was still being used to bring danger on all these people, this pack who had given me a home! I looked up at him, wishing he would snap my neck and end it all then and there. If the infestation started to spread...
"You have to kill me," I spoke, but he shook his head.
"And why would I do that?"
"To stop the shadows!"
He tilted his head, frowning a little. He was... disappointed.
"Noble, but your death isn't the answer. The Harbinger is powerful enough to get rid of them, but your soul is still too fragile."
"Fuck my soul. He needs to destroy the shadows," I said, standing up to face him. "We can't take any risks!"
"Indeed," he said, placing his hand on my shoulder.
I stopped to stare at him. "What... do you mean...?"
"The enemy didn't choose you by chance," he said, stepping away from me. "Stay strong. Do not let the shadows consume you."
He vanished, and I woke up. For real this time.
*****
His words were all I could think about, even after I arrived at work. Thankfully, I only needed to feed the animals and clean their droppings, so I was free to think about what the wolf had told me.
And the shadows inside me... I should've known the infestation Henry left behind was more dangerous than the ones my pack members were carrying. Most of them were already free from theirs, but mine still held onto my soul.
A ticking time bomb... I should be dead. Was my death a risk? Could the shadows get loose if I died? Or was there another reason why I couldn't die? Why did Anthony choose me to carry Henry and the infestation?
I came to one conclusion: gods were fucking annoying.
I tried to focus on my work. It was fairly simple, and I had to admit, I had grown to like working with the animals. They didn't care who I was and what I'd done. They only cared about the food and attention I gave them. There was this big old ram, Danny, that really enjoyed scratches and always came to beg for them after he had eaten. I liked Danny's company more than most of the people around me.
I fed the chickens and watched them scurry around for a while. The noise was unbelievable, but I had grown used to it already. It was peaceful in its own way. I made sure the sheep still had plenty of hay left before getting ready to collect the eggs. There were a lot of them, so it took quite some time to find them all.
After I had collected all the eggs, Ina came in with two baskets in her hands. I greeted her quietly and went to fetch the wheelbarrow just outside the door. She hummed something as she counted the eggs for her deliveries, but it was interrupted with a loud gasp. I stepped back in to make sure she was all right, and found her leaning hard against the wall, massaging her back.
"Are you all right?" I asked, letting go of the wheelbarrow.
"I'm starting to believe I'm expecting twins," she chuckled and let out a deep, dramatic breath. "My back is killing me..."
"Do you need to sit down?" I asked, approaching her carefully.
"I've been sitting around all morning," she said dismissively. "I need to walk around a bit, or this will only get worse. It's not that far to Risa's bakery."
She crouched down to grab one of the baskets, but couldn't get back up again. For a short moment, I watched her curse quietly as she tried to push herself back on her feet. I wasn't quite sure if she'd accept my help, but when it became clear she wasn't getting up, I gave her a hand.
"Thanks," she breathed out heavily when she was standing again. "I definitely need more exercise..."
"Perhaps around the yard, though? It's quite a walk to the shopping street," I noted.
She glanced at me, then at the baskets at her feet.
"I have to take these to Risa first," she muttered. "After that, I'll go lie down..."
I glanced at the two full baskets of eggs. I felt bad for the woman. She really did look like she was going to have twins. There was no way I could just stand by and watch this heavily pregnant woman walk all the way to the center of the town and back. What if she slipped on the snow and fell?
"I can do it for you," I suggested carefully, even though the idea of visiting the center made me feel uneasy, but watching her made my back hurt.
"Are you sure?" she asked with a worried frown. "Her bakery is literally in the middle of the shopping street."
"I'll be fine," I said. "All I have to do is drop these off, right?"
"Yeah, she's already paid for them," she said, still looking unsure. "But you don't have to – it's not in your job description."
"It's called Risa's Bakery, right?" I asked as I grabbed the baskets. "Right in the middle of the street?"
"Risa's bakery, yeah," she said. "Thanks, Jack. I really appreciate this, especially since... you know..."
Since I was scared of her pack members.
"I'll be back soon," I just told her and left the barn.
I spent a few moments cursing myself as I walked through the forest. I had never been in the center before. I couldn't even handle being close to it. And now I was supposed to go find a bakery right in the middle of it?
To be fair, I wasn't as scared of the idea as I used to be. I was getting used to these people. And all I had to do was get in, leave the eggs, and get the hell out of there. I didn't need to talk to anyone. I'd be done in a minute or two.
My confidence faded a little when the shopping street came into my view, but I refused to stop. I'd have to learn to be around these people at some point, so why not start now? No one was going to bite me, after all. I hoped.
As I continued walking, I kept my head down, trying not to draw any attention to myself. I peered at the buildings I passed by, searching for the right shop. I tried to ignore the stares I was receiving, especially the not so friendly ones.
There were... quite a lot of those...
I spotted a group of young men glaring at me. I quickly turned to look away. I could still feel their hatred towards me. I'd done nothing to them... I shook myself. They were scared of what I represented, not me. They were afraid of the unknown, and fear made them angry – I tried to remember that.
But I'd be lying if I said it didn't matter to me. It was really hard to keep walking, but I was too close to turn back now. I could already smell the bakery. It had to be close by. When I finally spotted it, I hurried my steps and reached the door without incidents. I wiggled the door open with my elbow, trying not to harm the eggs, and made it in.
There were three people besides me, and they all turned to look at me. I wanted to shrink out of existence. One of them wrinkled his nose at me, so I swiftly ignored him.
"What happened to Ina?" the shop owner, Risa, asked when she noticed the eggs.
"She wasn't feeling well," I muttered. "Back problems... I brought the eggs."
"Okay..." Risa said slowly, staring at me with curiosity. "You're Jack, right?"
"Uh-huh," I uttered as I put the baskets on the counter. "Have a nice day," I added and hurried to the door.
"But... Wait!" Risa yelled after me, but I couldn't stay there a second longer. "The baskets!"
The door closed, and I couldn't hear her anymore. Ina would understand why I didn't come back with the baskets. I doubted she was in a hurry to get them back – she had plenty of them in the barn.
I tried to take deep breaths as I walked through the shopping street, keeping my eyes on the ground, not lifting them up even once. I reached the end of the street and took the path leading to Ina's barn. The further I got, the easier it was for me to breathe.
I made it. I actually made it. It wasn't that bad, after all. Well, it was bad, but not as bad as I'd thought.
I suppose I celebrated too soon.
"Hey! Thorn!"
I sprung around and saw the group of guys I spotted earlier following me. I could immediately tell they didn't want anything good, so I tried to hurry my steps. And immediately run into someone else.
I looked up and saw an unfamiliar face sneering at me.
"Look who came out of hiding," the guy said with a dangerous gleam in his eyes.
I got surrounded in seconds. They couldn't be a lot older than me. I could hardly breathe. I hoped to see a guard or someone I knew, but we were alone – no one would come down here unless they were visiting the barn.
I turned to look at the guy who had blocked me. I could feel his hatred towards me.
"Let me through," I asked as calmly as I could, trying not to sound weak, even though I was. "I'm just trying to do my job..."
"Your job?" one of them grunted. "We all know your job here is to infect us all!"
"That's not true," I tried to tell him while looking for a way out. "I'm..."
"You're working for the shadow walkers!"
"I'm not!"
"We don't know how you poisoned our Alpha, but you can't fool us. You don't belong here, shadow bitch!"
Someone pushed me hard, and I stumbled past the guy who stood in front of me. I nearly fell, but managed to catch myself with my hands and hurried back up on my feet. And I ran. It was my only option against these guys. They all chased after me, yelling profanities and other nasty things at me, but I kept running.
I thought I was done for... But as soon as the barn came into my view, they suddenly stopped chasing me. I couldn't hear them anymore, but I still didn't stop. Not until I was safely behind the gates. I stopped to close them, and turned back to see where they were, but they had already left. Maybe they were afraid of having witnesses...?
When the adrenaline rush was over, I felt weak all of a sudden, so I leaned against the fence to catch my breath. My entire body was shaking and staying on my feet was hard. My heart was still racing like crazy...
Why did they hate me so much...?
I couldn't do this... I could not do this after all.
I knew some of them didn't like me, but this...? I thought they'd kill me. I honestly thought they'd kill me if they caught me...
"Jack?"
I turned around when Ina called me by the barn. She had a worried look in her eyes.
"Is everything all right?" she asked.
I turned to glance at the empty pathway. I couldn't sense anyone close by.
"I'm..." If I ever wanted to be part of this pack... "I'm all right," I said, took in a deep breath and started walking to her.
"You don't look fine," she said, approaching me.
"It's... It was a bit too hard for me, but I made it. It wasn't... It wasn't as bad as I thought... But I forgot the baskets."
"Don't worry about it, they'll come back one way or another," she said with a smile. "But maybe I should handle the deliveries for now."
"Yeah... I... Yeah..." I mumbled, peering over my shoulder before following her to the barn.