"Who pulled me out of the lake?" I asked Athena, breaking her out of her own thoughts. She blinked several times and studied me as I attempted to sit up on the bed after moving the sheets aside.
"Nicholas." She responded, and then frowned in thought. "Well, Nicholas and several other warriors. They'd seen you from afar and said they'd almost immediately known something was wrong."
I remembered the flash of dark blue eyes and the almost painful feeling of arms hauling me out of the lake. I rubbed a hand against my stomach, where I'd been gripped. Gratitude for what Nicholas and the warriors had done filled me, and I wondered aloud how I could find them to thank them.
"Perhaps after some rest you could worry about that." Athena said, her lips lifting in a soft smile, which widened when she saw my disgruntled expression. "Some pack nurses may need to visit you later today as well."
My eyebrows furrowed. "Did the pack nurses you speak of visit whilst I was unconscious?"
"Skylar had worked on you for almost a week, healing you and trying to bring you back to consciousness. The pack nurses had come before Skylar arrived, but were unable to do as much as she could. The nurses were unaware of you consuming a potion. Only Skylar discovered this throughout the first several days of her being here with you."
I nodded, and my eyes went to the golden locket dangling around her neck. It was a quaint little thing, and shaped as a heart. Athena followed my gaze and she pulled at it with her fingers.
She leaned forward, and popped it open with her nails. In it was a picture of her mate, the Alpha who had been murdered many years ago. The facial resemblance that he shared with Hannes was obvious.
"Harrison was such a good male." Athena's smile was gentle and loving, and her fingers tapped along the small picture in the locket. "Good looking as well." She studied the picture once more before closing the locket and leaning back into her chair. Her eyes became distant as she said,
"I remembered a particular woman of this pack had flirted with him despite being aware that I was his mate. I had to step in eventually." Athena's lips curved and I resisted recoiling at the gleam that grew in her eyes. As usual, there was an almost intimidating yet strange aura which came from the woman, which was, at times, subtle, but now, as she spoke, it became more pronounced. I've always had an inkling that this woman could be unpredictably dangerous, and now that I'd seen that dark gleam of her eyes, I was a bit begrudgingly intimidated.
However, I somehow knew that Athena would not hurt me.
I reached for the glass of water resting on the bedside table and began drinking it as Athena went on, "She was so disrespectful, that little woman." Her eyes glazed over momentarily and she sighed. "I fed her brain to the crows."
"I beg your pardon?"
Athena blinked, and her eyes lightened to its normal color and focused on mine. Her smile was humourous and her white teeth seemed to shine as she giggled.
"Don't mind me." She stood, and the chair creaked softly as she did so. I forced a laugh, which made her grin, and she waved her fingers in goodbye. "I'll be going to my house to eat my breakfast and will return later. Jeremiah is by the door."
She left, her feet seeming barely to graze the floor and when she opened the door, Yanneek stood outside, along with Helda. They both gave Athena polite smiles as Athena walked by them, and, after Jeremiah inquired about whether I'd like to speak to Yanneek and Helda, they entered, but not without giving Jeremiah a displeased look.
Relief had paled Helda's face when she saw me, and I'd stiffened in the awkward hug she gave me. Yanneek made himself comfortable in the chair Athena had once occupied, whilst Helda chose to simply perch on the bed.
"How are you feeling?" Helda spoke over the noise of Yanneek opening a newspaper, and allowing it to rest on his lap whilst he waited for my answer. Their concern was clear and I managed a reassuring smile.
"I'll be fine. I'm just a bit tired." I told her. As I talked with them further, it became apparent that the entire pack had known partially about my state throughout the week and a half.
Yanneek's bushy eyebrows pinched together. "What was it that made you so ill?" He asked.
"Poisoning." I scratched at the back of my neck and my eyes flickered to the newspaper on his lap, particularly on the emboldened, dark headlines. Because of the angle, it was difficult for me to read the words clearly.
"Poisoning?" Helda echoed. She frowned deeply, and cocked her head. "What was it that you had that was poisonous?"
I glanced briefly at her. "A cake." I straightened and looked between them. "Did you hear about the meeting that's currently going on?"
Helda shook her head after exchanging a puzzled look with Yanneek. "No. Well, some lycans had suggested that we come with them somewhere, but I was busy at the time."
When I looked at Yanneek, he was not looking at us any longer, and his gaze was casted towards the newspaper. "Sad." He muttered. I leaned forward, further examining the newspaper until he decided to hand it over to me.
"Humans from a town in the north have been forced to leave their homes by lycans." Yanneek explained, not looking my way, but towards the opened door of the bedroom. His eyes were narrowed, and I could see some anger rising in them. My stomach knotted and I looked through the newspaper, holding it out so Helda could see it as well.
Apparently, it was estimated that just below one hundred persons had little choice but to leave their homes as a result of lycans applying great pressure for them to do so. Threats by the lycans had been spoken of to the humans, and it had been made clear that consequences could arise if any forms of protesting came from humans.
The reasons proposed for the lycans making humans leave the town was stressed to be alleged, but one of them caught my attention; the lycans wanted to expand their territories and gain more land, and disliked humans being in the areas they sought after. If protestings by humans occurred, many were forced into prisons or even killed. That claim was one which I personally thought to ring true.
When I was a child, it had become very apparent as I'd forcibly leave various towns with my parents that one of the ultimate goals of lycans was to gain much land and territory.
However, what I'd also noticed was that some lycans simply despised humans, and would gladly eradicate their presence just for the sake of it. I'd witnessed men and women who had been no threats to lycans viciously killed before I'd been imprisoned.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, allowing Helda to take the newspaper after I rested it on my lap and met Yanneek's heavy stare. Him, like myself, was angered and saddened by what had happened.
"I've always wondered," I muttered, whilst dragging my knees to my chest and propping back against the headboard of the bed, "If the lycans who disapprove of what their fellow beings do step in and try to demand that they stop."
Yanneek lifted a bushy eyebrow. "Perhaps you should ask Hannes." His voice was rough, and a hint of dry sarcasm could be heard. He looked away when I tilted my head in surprise, and then he exhaled after a long moment of silence.
His hand went to rub at his eyes as he stood, and he looked me over for several seconds, the anger I'd seen previously more controlled.
"I'm happy to see that you're doing better, Olivia." Yanneek said. And he did seem to be, genuinely so. He stepped forward to place a hand upon my shoulder, his smile brief. Helda gave him back the newspaper, a frown tugging at her lips, clearly disturbed by what she'd read. She twisted her body so that she rested her head against the pillow and stared up at the ceiling, whilst I watched Yanneek leave, newspaper tucked under his arm and shoulders slumped.
*******
Only one pack nurse came later that day. Nurse Angel peppered me with so many questions that my head had begun to hurt. Hannes had looked on by the window as she inquired about how I felt mentally, if I had much of an appetite or any other worrying feelings. I was polite throughout her questions however, as I knew she was just attempting to do what she can to make sure that I was fine.
"Make sure you drink a lot of water. What you're telling me seems to be a mild case of dehydration." Angel smiled reassuringly at me when I'd told her about my fatigue and sometimes extreme thirst. She glanced at the Alpha and then back at myself. "If that is all, I suppose I should take my leave."
"Thank you for coming." Hannes finally spoke since he'd come into the room with her, and I watched him quietly as she nodded. I too thanked her, but kept my attention on Hannes. I'd noticed for a while now, the stress on his face, and the repeated clenching of his jaw.
After Angel left, Hannes strode to the side of the bed, and looked down at me for several seconds, the frustration in his gaze evident.
"Most of the pack members have voiced their concern towards your well-being." Hannes told me, the clenching of his jaw occuring again when he paused before continuing to speak, "I told them my reasons for killing Bronwyn."
I moved to make space on the bed, and the bed dipped as he sat beside me almost immediately. I listened as he went on to explain that he did not tell them of the potion that was made with the cake, and instead said that Bronwyn created a cake with ingredients known to be extremely toxic, which was very similar to the truth anyway.
"Most of them were outraged by what she'd done. Others were shocked." Hannes glanced at me, and I felt the way his hand found my own between the sheets, and gripped it tightly. The warmth from his hand seemed to cause pangs of soft heat to shoot right up my arm and I attempted to ignore it as I continued to listen to him. "If what Bronwyn says is true, then there is someone in this pack who, for whatever reason, wants you dead, and finding him or her could be difficult."
Hannes was slowly bringing me closer to him as he spoke, gently so, almost as if he didn't intend for me to notice or feared that I would resist. The pulling of my hand was subtle, but I was pressed closer to him as he carried on speaking, "And so changes will be needed to be made regarding what you do."
I attempted to straighten, to look at him properly, but he, not so discreetly this time, urged me further to him, until his arm was wrapped around my waist to keep me settled beside him.
I didn't struggle, and found myself easing closer to him, until my head rested against his chest. The tension of his body seemed to dissolve, and the slow movement of his fingers against the skin of my waist that had shown after my shirt had partially ridden up was gentle, and almost distracting, but I nonetheless went on to demand softly,
"What do you mean, Hannes?"
************
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Chapters 43-65 are available on Inkitt for free! 💕