Everyone ducked, shielding their face with their forearms. Glass shimmered across the floor, then crunched as someone made their slow approach into the room.
Andrew was the first to lower his guard. A growl escaped his throat as he saw who had invaded.
"Now, now," Callum began, "I'm sure you have your questions. But I don't have time to explain."
"What the hell--"
"I really wouldn't if I were you," Callum's threat stopped Andrew midway. A sharp point glinted in his right hand, "it's made entirely of silver, just like those bullets."
Andrew's lips pulled back as he fought to hold in another growl.
"I didn't show up here to start a fight," Callum continued, "I'm just here to deliver a very straight forward message," he looked pointedly at Andrew, "from my Alpha."
Only then, Andrew sensed the presence of two other wolves. He couldn't recognise their scent nor could he see them. He ground his teeth, his body tense from the pressure of reigning back his anger.
'Victor,' he fired up his mind link, relaying to Victor to keep the defence unit on guard.
"You shouldn't be having so many visitors, you know," Callum looked at the giants in the room, both of whom had moved to protect Heather, "but I guess it's a good thing that they're here. This goes to you, too."
He looked back at Andrew, "my Alpha sent me here to be his eyes and ears. It seems Ray does have a weakness, a very strong one at that."
Andrew's fists balled tighter. His people did that to Ray.
"And your defences are pathetically weak. Consider this as a warning, or else you'll have a hard time burying the next set of bodies."
The anger took him by surprise. Andrew erupted forward, his hand flying out swiftly across Callum's chest. His claws cut through the air, out of reach.
Callum growled, "I told you to be careful." He drove the knife in his hand straight to Andrew's heart.
A deft kick sent the knife flying across the room. Heather stood before Andrew, her eyes glowing red with rage. They stood in silence for a few breaths.
"Darren really ought to keep you on a leash," Callum spat, taking a step back. He retreated until he felt the cool air of the evening on his shoulders and neck. "Packs, as we know it, will change."
Confusion wiped away the anger and frustration from everyone's faces.
"Everything, as we know it, is going to change. That is the message my Alpha has for you."
"Who the hell is he to decide that?" Andrew stepped in front of Heather, an attempt to keep her safe from another attack.
A nerve pulsed in Callum's forehead, his jaws locking painfully tight. "And who the hell were you to decide to--" he stopped short.
The words cracked Andrew's resolve. A sudden feeling of shame and guilt came over him.
"We're the same species," Callum continued, calmer than before, "then why is it so difficult for us to live in harmony? We turn on each other's back for power and greed, we see nothing wrong in killing another of our own people."
Andrew held back an impulse to retaliate, thinking of the pack members he'd lost.
"I know what you're thinking," Callum caught Andrew's eyes, "we're just giving you a taste of your own medicine. We live by justice, you know that, don't you?"
He let that sink in before speaking again. "Soon, there won't be any division between us."
"What are you trying to say? Why don't make your point?" Heather stepped next to Andrew, her eyes still glowing red.
"That there will only exist one pack and one Alpha."
His voice rang through Andrew's skull like a bullet. He barely registered Callum jump on the window sill and disappear into the night.
Heather's thin voice cut through the fog in Andrew's mind. "Alpha Andrew? Are you okay?"
Regaining his composure, Andrew nodded. "I'm sorry about that," he looked at his guests, but his mind was blank.
What else could he say? Callum's words echoed back at him. For the first time in the week he felt completely and utterly alone without Ray by his side.
"Will you care to explain why you're dragging me to your car?" Robyn fought to keep up with Nick's long strides.
A minute ago he had burst into Ray's room, frantically grabbing her hand and attempting to communicate something Robyn only wished she would understand. Then he'd started pulling her, saying he would tell her on the way.
The cold air scratched at Robyn's cheeks. She could barely see a foot ahead of her, the evening was so dark. Orange light blinked twice as Nick unlocked his car.
In that instant, Robyn looked straight into a pair of emerald green eyes, glowing in the distance. The figure was in the shadows, his form barely noticible. Nick sensed it too, stopping short.
After a moment of silence, the eyes closed and then disappeared.
Nick's body visibly tensed.
"Who was that?" Robyn asked quietly, sensing his worry.
He didn't answer. Instead, he opened the door for Robyn, who settled in swiftly, then rushed to his seat. Robyn waited for him to explain. It was when they had pulled onto the main road leading towards town that Nick did.
"We had… Unexpected visitors," he looked sideways at Robyn, "I'm sorry, but if anything were to happen to you then…"
"Then what? And why would they want to harm me? I'm not their enemy."
"They're savage wolves. Completely wild. They wouldn't care who they kill--"
Robyn shifted uncomfortably.
Nick shook his head, "no, I'm not. Nor is Ray or Jasmine--I mean, werewolves aren't generally like that." He looked at Robyn again to see if she was following.
"No, I trust you. I know you guys aren't…like that," she looked outside. They were driving down the same lane she was attacked on the day after the coach accident. It was hard for her to believe she had come to trust Nick of all people. And that she had, in a way, confessed to Ray.
"Who was that we met outside the house?"
Nick gripped the wheel tighter.
"Was it the enemy?"
Nick licked his front teeth, feeling anxiety build up in his chest. Was the pack okay now? He removed his glasses, feeling irritated by them.
"Can you see without them? Don't get me into another accident," Robyn sat up straight.
He breathed a laugh, "I can see perfectly well without them, don't worry."
A moment later, Robyn chuckled. Nick didn't answer her previous questions, and for some reason that unsettled her. Worry lodged in her heart for Ray. She wished he would wake up already.
She was here.
Ray floated in pitch darkness, barely awake enough to recall Robyn's words. His skin still tingled where she had touched him. He wanted so desperately to reach the surface.
Why did she come here?
It calmed his mind a little, having her close to him after so long. At least she missed him, or thought of him. Although Ray couldn't imagine it was safe for her to be there at his pack house.
How did they treat my mate? Did they look at her with the same, uneasy eyes they looked at me with?
His body tingled again, like a million tiny needles puncturing his skin at once. Energy gathered around him, wrapping his body in a lazy swirl. It seeped through his skin, igniting his dormant mind, spreading to every nerve, every muscle in fervour.
It grew in intensity, the heat lighting his body on fire. The fire diverging into fiery red hair, that took shape of his mate. Robyn's hands glided over his body, her skin smooth and vibrant, her hair flowing gracefully around them.
Her brown eyes wide and familiar to Ray. A silky, red gown was draped loosely around her slender form. She looked like a Goddess.
His mind was buzzing, his body electrified like a power plant generating elecetricty. It charged every cell, every muscle, every last inch of his being. In the next second, the energy inside him exploded in a white hot ball.
That night, Andrew had returned back to his pack with bloodied clothes and skin. The night he was consumed by rage, the night that changed his reality forever. Pack members had raised fingers at him, blamed him, but most of all, they were scared of him. Him and his son.
After Daniel banished them from their own territory, Andrew raised his son all by himself. Kept him safe from the suspecting humans, and tried his best to not have Ray feel the absence of his mother.
But that night had left an even greater impact on his son. Andrew tried keeping Ray safe from it all, but at the end, he couldn't do it.
That night was a century ago. An action from his past that he couldn't erase. And now all these years later, his son was paying the price for it.
This night was quiet, so far. In a long time, Andrew felt his real age, his body seeming to be heavy under the evening's stress.
"How did Callum manage to escape? Our cells are locked thoroughly."
Nick recalled Shane, wondering if the cells really were as good as they thought it was.
"I met one of the wolves outside, as I was taking Robyn back," he crossed one leg over the other, adjusting his glasses, "we didn't interact though."
Andrew didn't turn away from the window, his eyes fixed outside--probably scouting the area for suspicious shadows. The baby blue valance curtains in Ray's room fluttered in wake of a cool breeze.
"I think it was the Alpha."
At that, Andrew whipped to face him. "What? Did you see him? Is it… Eric?"
"I couldn't see him that well. But, he had glowing green eyes--just like the Alpha bloodline does," Nick paused a second, then continued. "It didn't look like he wanted to fight. We barely saw him for a second."
"We?"
"Robyn saw him, too," Nick supplied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Suddenly taken down by the events of the entire week, Andrew rubbed his inner eyes, sighing. "We can't get her involved in this. I would never be able to forgive myself if--"
"I know, nor would I."
It was silent for a beat.
"And nor would I forgive either of you."
Surprised, both of them turned to see Ray leaning on his elbow between his satin sheets.
Hey! Hope you guys are doing well ^-^
Sorry for the ridiculously long time I took to update. Nonetheless, I hope you liked this chapter!
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~ Mich♡