Greykin Mountain

| 63 | Rising Tensions

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Standing before the pack was the most intimidating it had been since Jackson joined them. Half of them looked skeptical, and the other half appeared confused. And he was sure that what they were about to hear would unnerve them all.

          Damon spoke sternly and clearly, "What I am about to tell you will come as a shock. It may scare some of you, it might even make some of you feel like you need to attack, but I can assure you that there is no need for fear or defensive measures."

          The wolves and people whispered and glanced at one another—all of them had no idea what was about to be revealed.

          Jackson's heart started racing in his chest, and when he spotted Aysel and Elias glowering at him from over by the door to her room, he tensed up, and fear consumed him.

          "While staying in the nearby town, Jackson discovered something about the cadejo that it appears no one knows, not even the Caeleste authorities currently searching for the source of the outbreak. He discovered that the cadejo virus was created using demon blood.

          Every single face among the crowd adorned different variations of shock, fear, and confusion. Whispers grew louder, a thick miasma of uncertainty plagued the air...and then came the flurry of questions. Everyone spoke at once, asking for more information: how did Jackson find out, what if it's not true, how is this information going to benefit them, and did this mean they could find ways to better defeat and or hide from the cadejo?

          "Quiet, quiet please," Damon said, holding out his hands. "There is more."

          They all gradually fell silent and stared at him.

          "It has only just recently come to light that Jackson possesses demon blood—"

          Looks of horror struck their faces; they gasped, growled, and panicked, and some of them looked like they were about to pounce.

          Damon held out his hands again and pulled Jackson behind himself. "He is not a threat," he said loudly and firmly. "Jackson only discovered this information two-three days ago and has zero intention of doing any of us any harm."

          They didn't calm down. Wolves kept snarling, and those in their human form looked as though they were about to shift to better defend themselves.

          The Alpha grunted irritably. "Quiet!" he yelled. His bellowing, intimidating voice echoed through the trees, and a flock of birds sprung out of the forest nearby.

          Everyone fell silent. They all looked just as meek as Jackson now felt.

          "Jackson is not a threat," he repeated. "He has not been raised by demons, trained by demons, or corrupted by those of demon kind who choose to disregard the Zenith's laws."

          Zenith's laws? Jackson frowned, staring at Damon.

          "We believe this is the reason Jackson survived his initial cadejo bite and became a wolf walker. We have also recently discovered that a cadejo bite has no effect on him. Yes, he received a bite today," he called over the scared whispers, "but the wound healed, and he is not infected."

          "He...he's immune?" someone Maab asked.

          "Immune to cadejo?!" Brando called.

          The crowd burst into excited and skeptical murmurs.

          "We have spoken about all of this and are hopeful that this information—in the right hands—might be able to be used to create a vaccine or cure or something to either stop cadejo bites from turning us or eradicate the virus altogether."