In the Eyes of the Wolf

Chapter 39

Chapter 39

-Pax-

The click of the lock made a shiver go down my spine. My hands were curled into fists and my shoulders were tense. I faced the door with Iris right behind me. The metallic tinge of blood hung in the air, making me queasy.

Another bang came from the door, causing all the nerves in my body to jolt. The door opened, revealing nothing which I could see.

"What on earth?" Farley asked. His tone was odd and he was sputtering a little, as though he was trying to hold back a laugh. "I know we rang the bell, but..."

"We'll explain it," Caspian's voice came from the other side of the door.

I sighed in relief and rolled my shoulders to stop the aching.

"So this is what you did with the place," a light female voice rang out. "Not bad. I can see why Karim was gone for the majority of those days."

"Emi, shush," the familiar voice of Karim said. He entered the building, his iconic loud shoes echoing off the walls. "Good to see you guys."

I waved in his direction and said, "good to hear you." Causing a few chuckles to emerge. "How many people are here?"

Farley scoffed. "Unfamiliar faces? Around ten or so." He returned to my side and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

Unrecognisable footsteps entered the building.

I wrapped my arm around Farley and grasped his other hand. There were many people here, it had been a while since I met anyone new, other than Karim.

"Hey guys," a familiar voice greeted. "Sorry for the short notice. We got the call about the bell when we were on our way out of town."

"Yeah, we're off to see my parents," Aiden added. His voice reminded me that the prior talker was Ralph. "My brother, Harlow, is here too. He's next to Karim."

"It's probably a good thing you came," Farley said. "We think that the wolves just left."

"They were probably intimidated by us," a person, who I hadn't met before, said. "I don't think there were many of them, according to Caspian."

Aiden hummed a little. "This is Moss. He does the majority of the fight training back at the house," he explained.

"Nice to meet you," I said in his general direction. Farley's shirt lifted slightly, so I assume he nodded. "What time is it?"

"It's-" a small click came from in front of me, "-about eight pm."

I blew some air out of my mouth at Aiden's response. I hadn't expected it to be that late.

"I'm going to see my parents," Farley told me and rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand. "Stay with Iris, okay?"

I nodded and dropped my arm, feeling cold when he left my side.

"Once again, sorry for the sudden appearance of us all," Ralph spoke. "They caught up with us a few minutes ago, they weren't ordered to come."

"You can't blame us," a younger voice exclaimed.

"Yeah, we were just worried," a very similar voice chimed in. I would've thought that they were the same person, had they not agreed with themselves. Though, the first one sounded a little deeper.

"This is Channon and Channing. Good luck telling them apart," Ralph said with a chuckle. "No, but you went without Abilene."

"We're not eight anymore," the two said in unison. I was getting the idea that they were twins. Especially if they looked identical.

"No, you're teenagers, and that means more supervision," Aiden retorted.

"Oh, before I forget," Lana exclaimed from the other side of the room. "Pax." I had already turned my head in her direction, her shoes echoed as she strode towards me. "I picked this up on our way out of the house." She took my hand and put a familiar object in it.

"Thank you," I said and smiled towards her. My fingers rubbed over the familiar grip of my cane. "I appreciate it/."

I didn't know what that said about her priorities in the house, or the situation. I was just happy to have my cane in my hand again. Some whispering came from the middle of the room, but I ignored them. They were just curious about the cane. If it were someone on the streets, I would've still ignored it. I had only ever explained to one person what a cane is for, and that was when I was standing in the middle of the shops waiting for Iris to finish shopping.

I sat down on the edge of the bed Iris was in, listening to the various conversations scattered around the room. I got to know the voices and the names within a few minutes. Farley had called me an eavesdropper the first time he saw me doing this, but if they didn't want something to be heard, they wouldn't say it where people could hear.

"Unfortunately," an older gentleman said. "The Russeton pack were great allies of ours a few years ago. It's a shame that some of them resorted to this."

I'm assuming they're discussing what happened at the house.

"It's all because of the rumours," someone explained. "Anyone would want to get their hands on the pelt of a black wolf."

"But it makes no sense," a female said. "We should be protecting black wolves, not hunting them down."

"Abilene, I'm not sure anyone's got common sense in mind," the initial speaker replied. "People aren't wanting to protect the black wolves anymore. They think that they're able to live without them."

"But they can't," Abilene argued. "If there aren't any black wolves then we're doomed."

I raised my eyebrow subconsciously. I didn't know what they meant, but guilt was crawling around in my stomach like a bug. They'd been attacked because of me, again. I was the cause of all the problems that had plagued the pack in the past few months. They weren't bothered until the black wolf showed up.

"What are we going to do?" Caspian asked loudly. "We can't just stay here until the threat goes away."

"We're not-" Rowan's voice became muffled before he could finish his sentence.

"It's a metaphor," Clementine whispered.

"We can't just attack those who want Pax dead though," Moss pointed out. "Unfortunately."

"Yeah, I'm not sure what we did last time would help," Aiden continued. "Unless..."

My head turned towards him; my curiosity sparked. "Unless what?" I asked.

"Unless the humans do want to protect the black wolves," Aiden said. "We could build something, a rescue for them. Werewolves still aren't very in tune with technology."

"-hey," that was Rowan.

"We'd be able to predict which packs will find out where you are, and we'll be ready when they come."

"So you're planning to put my-Pax in a cage for the humans to gawk at?" Farley asked. He strode over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I don't think that's an option."

"Not a cage," Aiden corrected. "A forest sanctuary, so we could call other black wolves and help them. The humans don't need to know anything about them being werewolves, and we have the space."

"As soon as the threat is gone, the wolves would be safer and able to live their lives uninterrupted," a man named Hollis added. "It could be a kind of retreat."

"I don't think this is a good idea," Farley said. "It would point a big neon arrow saying that he's here."

"But it would give them protection. A chance to meet other black wolves," Caspian said. "A chance to go against the hunters. The humans have done it before."

Hello lovelies!

I hope that you've had a good week :D

The question of the chapter today is do you get seasick?

I don't think that I would to be honest- but I really wouldn't know. I think that being on the water would be calming and relaxing, but I suppose I could also see myself turning quite green depending on time of day, amount I've slept and what exactly I've eaten that day :')