"What the hell was that?" I bit out as soon as Payton disappeared into the trees.
I would say Samuel stiffened again, but his body never ceased its tension. He ignored my question and called out into the trees for Raven. She immediately reappeared, eyes darting behind her and back to Samuel, who didn't miss a beat. "Stay. I need help with Samantha."
Raven nodded and came to my side, putting her arm around my waist as Samuel removed his. He walked to the edge of the clearing, practically stalking the entire time. When he reached Will's body, he picked him up without hesitation.
"Wait," I called to him, tripping over Raven as I tried to walk. He paused, and I hesitated, not sure what I was going to say before it left my lips. "Don't let him hurt you."
Samuel shook his head and walked back toward us, slinging Will's body across one of his shoulders. "He's going to be out for a while, Samantha." He paused next to the two of us, glancing warily around the clearing. It was deathly quiet for a few moments as he listened intently to every piece of the forest. Eventually, he sighed. "Do you hear anything, Raven?"
She fervently shook her head. "No."
"What did you smell when you were out there?"
"Just our pack. Payton and the others."
Samuel's brow furrowed, bringing me back to my earlier question. I looked at Samuel, expectantly. "What just happened? What's going on?"
He looked at me, but for once, I could tell nothing from his face. It was hard, cold, and emotionless. Samuel ignored my question again, adjusted Will on his shoulders, and walked past the two of us.
"I'm going first. You two stay directly behind me. Don't leave my side for any reason. Understand?"
Raven instantly voiced her compliance, but I could only nod my head. My thoughts were swimming with the encounter earlier, and I wasn't given any time to sort through the currents. That, and the minute Raven acknowledged Samuel, he began moving. Raven darted forward, and I was forced to stumble alongside her. She held most of my weight, as any pressure I put on my ankle was enough to send me to the ground.
The minutes spent getting back to the entrance of the forest were torture. None of us spoke, and the tension in the air was enough to drive me insane. Anxiety crippled what was left of my body, and with any snapping of a twig, any rustle of the trees, another wave of apprehension followed. Samuel had sent the others ahead to make sure it was safe, but that hadn't guaranteed anything. There was no promise, that at any moment, shots wouldn't ring through the air, again.
But, they never did. We ended up on the edge of the forest unharmed. As Samuel has demanded, a car was waiting for us at there. There was no one else around, but the car was running and ready for us to take. He didn't waste a second in leading us to it, and after he scanned the interior, he opened the back door and laid Will across the seats. He took up the entire back row, so the only place left for the three of us was the front.
Samuel opened the passenger door, jutting his chin towards the opening. Raven carried me forward and the two of them helped me slide into the middle seat. The movements sent waves of pain crashing around almost every part of my body, but I refused to acknowledge them. I bit down hard on my lip and kept my breathing steady, keeping myself distracted with counting my breaths. It only took a few of them for Raven and Samuel to follow me into the car.
Samuel got into the driver's seat while Raven positioned herself between me and the door. She inched herself as close to the door as possible, eliminating any space between her and the tinted window. There were a few inches of space between me and her, but as soon as Samuel settled in, space was gone. The car wasn't large, and three people weren't mean to sit up front.
"Where are we going?" I voiced as soon as Samuel stepped on the gas, the car lurching forward with the movement.
He half glanced at me. "To the house."
I felt a sudden lump in my throat. "The," I hesitated. "The pack house?"
"Yes."
Mixed feelings crept into my heart, and I wasn't sure what to do with them all. I'd never been to the infamous pack house, and frankly, I didn't want to. It was an area highly concentrated with countless werewolves, all of whom probably hated me for being a human. Sure, they claimed to live in peace with us, but if that were the case, they wouldn't congregate in one area of town, in the first place.
"We're going in the back door," Samuel started, his voice emotionless. "There's a lockdown room for new shifters. We have to put Will there. You'll go in the room next to him."
"Why?"
"I don't want the pack focusing on him or you. Not until I get everything figured out."
Images of Riley's dead body flashed through my mind. I stole a glance at Samuel, lowering my head in the process. With the images of Riley's dead body, came the memories of Samuel beating hopelessly against his still heart. "I'm sorry," I told him in a small voice. "About Riley."
His fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Raven, I need you to stay with Samantha."
She'd been quiet up to this point, but when Samuel spoke to her, she nodded almost too eagerly. "I'd be happy to, Beta."
He nodded once and took a deep breath through his nose. "Good, now-" Samuel suddenly cut himself off. He half turned to look at me, eyes narrowing considerably. I tried not to shrink away from his gaze, mostly because I had no idea why he was suddenly looking at me. His face was still uncharacteristically emotionless, revealing nothing as to his thoughts or intentions.
Samuel took another deep breath, watching me from the side of his eye. After he exhaled sharply, he spoke again. "Samantha, you're bleeding."
"What? No, I'm not." My voice decided to rise an octave. I did a quick scan of my body, checking to make sure my limbs were all intact. Then, the burning of my side was pushed to the forefront of my mind. I'd been ignoring it, and up until now, I had succeeded.
My hands trailed up my hip and under my shirt, just enough so that I could feel the skin around my stitches. Sure enough, it was slick with blood. "Oh," I breathed, slowly turning my head to look back at Samuel.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel, once more. I watched the speedometer gradually start to rise as Samuel's foot pressed harder against the gas pedal. "Change of plans. Raven, you stay outside of Will's door until I find someone else to put there."
"Anything you say, Beta."
"I'm fine," I protested, my gaze darting between the two of them. "Really. It's probably just my stitches from when I fell." My eyes decided to linger on Samuel. "Besides, you're the one who needs a doctor."
Again, he ignored me. No more words were spoken between us, but the car was nowhere near silent. The hum of the engine was loud in my ears, reminding me of the fact that Samuel was pushing the car to go faster every passing second. I didn't dare look outside of the window, knowing that if I did I'd be resigned to accept that Samuel was going to crash the car.
Of course, we never crashed. In a record amount of time, we made it back into town. The car came to an abrupt halt outside a large building, what I deemed to be the infamous pack house. I couldn't tell much about the outside of the house, but the inside was buzzing. Lights were on in almost every window, on every floor. Shadows ran across them as figures moved hurriedly between each room. A small door was standing open in the middle of the house, with a short stairway leading to it. No one was outside the door, though, and it hung limply on its hinges, swinging with the wind. It looked as if someone had hurriedly run inside and forgot to close the door behind them.
Samuel and Raven were out of the car the instant it stopped moving. Raven was helping me out in the next moment, as Samuel moved to the back to sling Will over his shoulders. Before I could register the pain growing in my side, Raven was moving me forward, following Samuel, blindly. The closer we drew to the door, the more noise met my ears. The hum of voices was evident, but loud shouting and harsh demands accompanied them. I was sure that when we stepped inside the house, a slew of chaos would greet us.
But, it didn't. We slipped inside the door, leaving it hanging open behind us, and dipped to a hallway immediately to our right. Though voices and shouts were louder now, we met nobody to match the voices with. The hallway we traveled was deserted.
It took my eyes a few seconds to adjust to the unnatural light streaming through the hallway, and by the time I wasn't squinting, we were standing outside a lone door. You could tell from looking at it that it was heavy. The steel was pristine and looked ready to hold back an army. Or, keep one trapped inside.
Samuel lifted the handle, grunting as he pushed forward. The door slowly swung open, but before I could tell what was inside the room, Samuel slipped inside with Will, closing the door behind him. I attempted to follow, but Raven held me back. As soon as I tried to protest though, Samuel was back in the hallway. He nodded to Raven, who moved aside and let Samuel take me. She positioned herself next to the steel door, and I had to admit, she didn't look nearly as intimidating as the metal.
Without another second's delay, Samuel whirled me away from Raven and started back down the hallway. Now that my eyes were adjusted, I could see the brown wooden flooring, completed by cream barren walls. We came back to the door we entered, but instead of slipping back into the night, Samuel turned again. We headed down another short hallway, and the further we walked, the louder the voices became.
The hall opened into a large room, and all at once, my senses were overloaded. The light was even brighter here than in the corridor, and there wasn't a single piece of the room left in darkness. We were standing underneath an archway that led into what looked to be a living room. People ran about the spacious room, bumping into each other, screaming profanities, and rushing to their destinations. Many of them were limping with torn clothes, and most them had blood staining their skin.
There was a fireplace covering the entire wall directly across from us. Light colored bookshelves sat on either side, and each shelf was filled to the brim with countless colorful novels. The wall on the right was made entirely of windows, and beyond that, even more activity bloomed. Glass doors opened up to reveal a wooden patio, where all the furniture had been pushed to the side to make room for the people streaming in and out of the open doors.
In front of the fireplace were countless matching couches and armchairs, each one placed in a specific location. Some faced the bookshelves, some faced the fireplace, and a few sat by themselves in lone corners. Fleece and worn out rugs sat underneath each one, protecting the dark wooden floors.
No one noticed our entrance. At least, not at first. Samuel and I stood under the large archway for several moments, taking in the scene before us. Then, he abruptly caught someone by the arm, and for the first time, eyes met our own. The unfortunate soul Samuel had caught was a middle-aged woman with graying hair. Her dark eyes were alight with frenzy, and when she realized who it was that held her bound, the panic increased.
"Beta," she breathed. The word was soft and barely made it out of her lips. As she spoke, her eyes darted to me, but then quickly fell back onto Samuel. Her breathing was heavy, but despite her frantic appearance, she let Samuel keep her bound.
Samuel spoke lowly. "What's going on?"
The woman's gaze darted around the room. "Everyone's just gotten back. You just missed the warriors coming in. They-they were attacked. They were ambushed, and-and didn't have time to get out. We just cleared out the, well, the bodies. We were taking care of the others when another group came in, telling us horrible things. They said-well, they said that the Alpha had died," she trailed off, breathless. "Is it true? Is Alpha Riley alright? What happened?"
"Where is Marshall?"
She hesitated. "I don't-I don't know. Last I saw he was carrying Lane away," she trailed off, again.
"Find him and tell him to meet me in the clinic."
Samuel abruptly released the woman's arm, but she hesitated.
"Are you sure, Beta? That's where we brought the, um, bodies."
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course, it is. Fine. Tell him to meet us in his office, then."
The woman nodded and was immediately gone from our sight. Samuel wasted no time in moving, either. He kept to the back of the room, shielding me from view. I didn't question him, nor did I protest his actions. With the entire house on edge from attack, the last thing they needed was a foreign human in their midst.
My steps faltered as Samuel's pace quickened. He never let me fall though because when he noticed my struggles, his grip on my waist tightened. He slipped my arm around him, holding it firmly with his own. Using his other arm, he half carried me, letting my weight bare down on his leg.
We wound through hallways, climbed stairs, and passed countless doors. I soon lost track of my way, as every door, hallway, and room melded together to look much the same. Samuel didn't pause or hesitate as he traveled the house. His steps were deliberate and his pace quick. Had I been walking on my own, my legs would have failed me long ago.
Eventually, we came to a stop outside a door that looked identical to everything else. Samuel wasted no time in throwing it open and carrying me inside. The room was dark at first, but Samuel flipped a switch and we were thrown into the white, unnatural light, once more.
The room was quaint, and apart from a large wooden desk and deep red armchairs, there wasn't much furniture. The back wall was lined with bookshelves, and another door stood on the wall next to it. Samuel brought me forward and to my surprise, placed me atop the mahogany desk. He pushed aside paperwork and picture frames, clearing the entire desk for me. I tried to protest, but the minute I opened my mouth, he sent me a sharp look. My voice immediately died, and my protests were left hanging in my throat.
Satisfied, Samuel turned away from me and disappeared through the other door in the room. When he came back a few minutes later, his face was even more emotionless than before. He was holding a large first aid kit in one hand, and the other held a hospital pillow and blanket. Wordlessly, he placed the two on the desk next to me, before turning his back to me, folding his arms, and staring at the door.
I waited in silence for a solid minute. Samuel stood motionless and tense. I tried to watch the door with him, but every time my gaze drifted to the opening, it would be brought back to stare at Samuel. More accurately, to stare at his back. He was still shirtless, and his wounds were looking no better now than they had in the clearing. Subconsciously, my hand slipped to my side as I watched the blood drip down his skin. My shirt was damp now, and I knew underneath the cloth my skin looked much like Samuel's.
"Does it hurt?" He abruptly broke the silence.
"It's fine," I lied. The burning had intensified, and it wasn't dying down like before. There was little to distract me, now.
Samuel grunted. "Doubt that."
I folded my arms. "Well, then why did you ask me?"
He half turned to me, then shook his head, and resumed his staredown with the door. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes because, in reality, I had no right to be annoyed. I had no idea what was going on with Samuel, nor why his actions were suddenly so terse. Back in the forest, he'd been beaten down, broken even. Now, he was just gone.
I took a deep breath. "Are you okay?"
"Fine."
"I doubt that," I mimicked, raising my eyebrows.
Samuel let out a heavy breath but didn't respond. For some reason, his lack of words stung.
"What are we waiting for?" I tried again. "What exactly is going on?"
"Marshall."
"Who's Marshall?"
"Pack doctor."
"Shouldn't he be helping the others, then? From what the woman said-"
"He's going to help you," Samuel quickly cut me off. "We have more than one doctor. Marshall is the best for you."
Slowly, I nodded, and finally looked away. His sharp tone was stinging more than his silence. Tension blanketed the room, but I didn't have to suffer in it for long. After another minute or so hurried and heavy footsteps echoed outside our room. When they stopped, the door was swung open to reveal a heavily breathing man.
***
Weird place to end a chapter, I know. On the bright side, the next chapter should be up soon. It just needs a good edit. :D
So, not a lot happened this chapter! More is going to come in the next few. Please excuse the grammar mistakes and anything that didn't make sense. (There was probably a lot.) This was a quick post for me, because y'all have waited long enough for another update, and I didn't have much time to do much more than a superficial edit.
What do you think Marshall is going to be like? Why is Samuel acting like this? What's going to happen to Will?
Love y'all so much! Thanks for the amazing comments and wonderful love and support!! <3
Mquistey