Free Web NovelChapter 74: Chapter 74
*A/N: I apologize for the single Chapter, I’m a bit under the weather. Thanks for reading xx.*
Louis leapt forward and caught Henri, his pounding heart finally finding its way back to his chest. He had given into the unease steadily crawling under his skin after the night got darker and hesitantly called for Henri, when there was no response, adrenaline kicked in and he went searching.
Guilt ate at him when he found nothing but a still lake, Henri’s discarded clothes, and his fading scent. He should have called out for him earlier.
He thoroughly looked Henri over with the light of the lamps brought and was relieved to find that he was unhurt and the blood on him wasn’t his but how had the others gotten hurt? What exactly happened here?
Dio stepped forward to flip Rowe over, expressionless at the amount of blood he had lost while Valentin gagged from where he stood behind Audie.
"What happened here?" Louis finally broke the tense silence.
"We just got here." Audie muttered, stepping forward to give Dio more light.
"All of you?" He prodded, his brow wrinkling at the sight of the injured Alphas on the ground.
"Well, we met Errol here." Valentin spoke up, keeping his distance from the blood.
Louis immediately turned his attention to Errol but Nael spoke before he could.
"We should first take them back to the campsite and treat them, we can have the conversation when we’re back at the warmth and safety of the camp." He said logically, holding Errol tightly.
Louis sucked in a deep breath. "You’re right, Valentin you might want to get out the firecracker given to you." He added, taking the lead.
Audie handed the lamp to Valentin with a muttered warning of, "Don’t drop it this time."
Dio slung an unconscious Rowe over a shoulder with visible difficulty while Audie half dragged Seton, a grimace on his face.
They had left Cedric and Jann to keep watch over the campsite while they went looking for Errol who didn’t return long after Jann already had. What heightened their worry was the fact that Seton wasn’t back either, something had to have gone wrong.
As soon as they got back, Cedric and Jann knew not to ask too many questions and quickly brought out first aid boxes. Fortunately they were yet to start cooking dinner so there was enough water for clean up.
Valentin went straight to his tent for the object that was handed to all the leaders of the groups. It was a firecracker that was to be lit when something happened, professors and trained personnel would immediately ride off in their direction when it was lit.
He had seen how bad Rowe looked, it was the reason he had lost his lamp and currently looked a little green. It would be a messy situation if the Alpha were to die, they had to act fast.
The firecracker went up high in the air, exploding into a colorful show of sparks. Help would get to their campsite in no time, the journey substantially cut short as they would be taking horses.
Seton didn’t seem to have a lot of injuries on him, at least none that bled out other that the jagged cuts on the back of his head.
Rowe on the other hand had to be quickly bandaged up to stem his bleeding. The big Alpha was terribly pale and starting to go cold.
Louis had taken Henri right to his own tent, crouching in front of to watch him anxiously. Guilt settled heavily in layers in his middle as he silently watched Henri, wishing he could have prevented this somehow.
Henri didn’t remain unconscious for long, slowly rousing with a soft groan. The smell of blood made him scrunch up his nose, the cloying smell tickling the back of his throat.
"What’s that stench?" He complained, rising to a sitting position.
"Henri?" Louis immediately perked up. "How do you feel?"
Henri gagged. "Like I’m about to throw up." He grumbled.
He had momentarily forgotten what happened but the moment the nauseating smell of blood hit him so did the unwelcome memories.
Louis sighed softly, if Henri still had his spunk, he was most definitely going to turn out alright but that still didn’t ease his guilt.
"Where’s Errol?" Henri asked.
"He’s fine, he’s in Nael’s tent I believe." Louis replied without hesitation.
"Great, give me some privacy for a bit." Henri muttered, shoving Louis backward so he could zip his tent.
As soon as the tent was closed, he nearly ripped his bloody shirt off him. Wishing he could take another dip in the lake while changing into fresh clothes.
Louis slowly stood to his feet outside Henri’s tent, uncomfortable with the fact that he wasn’t able to see the Omega.
The tent opened slightly only for something to get chucked at him.
"Throw that in the fire." Henri’s voice came from inside the tent.
Louis glanced down at the item in his hand to find that it was Henri’s bloody shirt.
"Some soap would get it right off." Louis murmured to himself.
Henri pushed open a flap of his tent with a serious expression. "So would fire."
By this time, Audie was done bandaging up Rowe. His work was shoddy but it would keep him alive at least.
Errol had come out and insisted on tying up Seton which Nael didn’t hesitate to do, making sure to tie him up in a most uncomfortable position.
Cedric and Jann had been sent off to retrieve Henri’s clothes and they were just returning while Dio situated himself by the fire to keep it alive and bright enough to light the cleared space.
"So are we getting an explanation?" Audie blurted out when they were all seated on the trunks.
Louis had gotten started on dinner and he made Henri sit right beside him, not taking his eyes off the Prince even once like he expected him to be taken away again.
"I was keeping an eye on Seton then I got distracted and lost him." Errol started, fiddling with bandaids his younger brother had piled on his hands when he found out that he was bruised. "I then went searching and found him with a bloody pocket knife, standing right in front of Henri. So I found a suitable rock, waited for the right moment, then cracked his head open." He concluded with a nervous smile.
"That’s when you all showed up, I don’t know how Rowe got there or what happened to him."
A tense silence filled the campsite, the soft sounds of crackling fire and Louis stirring inordinately loud in the thick silence.
Henri didn’t need to look up from the fire to know that they were all looking to him for an explanation. He glanced at Rowe and Seton who were laid on the ground, suddenly upset at how his refreshing bath was ruined.
"After my dip in the lake, Rowe snatched me up, took me to the woods and said he wants to have a talk." Henri started his narration, his narrative style clearly different from that of Errol’s. "Clearly, he’s got the brains of a fish. Seton found us somehow and stabbed him, lots of times." He added in a subdued voice, looking like he might like to gag again. freewebnovel.cσ๓
While Henri looked only mildly inconvenienced by what had happened to him, everyone else listening were visibly horrified.
"Unlike Rowe, who is just a little stupid, Seton is insane, and he talked about going on a trip this night, to heaven knows where. That was right about when Errol showed up." He concluded, already fully recovered from the horrors of his night.
Errol looked a little pale but he was no worse for the wear and if you asked him how he felt about possibly giving Seton brain damage, he would tell you that it was cathartic.
Nael on the other hand was terribly pale, his fingers were threaded through Errol’s fingers although he seemed to need it more than Errol.
Valentin was green and looked like he might like to throw up again, everytime he looked at Rowe and Seton.
Cedric and Jann were quiet and looked very concerned while Dio sat next to Louis, his mismatched eyes fixed on the fire.
Help showed up rather quickly, the professor sent expecting it to be a case of the group of students in question being unable to spend the night in the woods. It was a common experience and he was ready to give them a lecture.
He fell silent however when he was instead shown two terribly injured students. Louis took it on himself to explain the whole situation to them, the professor growing paler as he heard what had happened.
"D-Do you perhaps mean Prince Henri?" He cleared his throat to ask, the people he brought with him already attending to the hurt students.
Louis pointed at Henri who smiled politely. "What do you think?" He asked impatiently.
The professor nearly stumbled. "Y-Yes, of course." He mumbled, going over to whisper something to the support team he brought with him.
Why did it have to be the Prince out of all the possible students it could have been? What terrible luck.
"Does Pri... Henri perhaps want to return to the academy tonight? I can have that arranged."
Louis looked to Henri for his response.
The Omega just waved a hand. "I’m fine. Louis, the pot is bubbling, should that be happening?"
Louis immediately returned to his side to attend to his cooking. If it were up to him, he would put Henri on a horse and send him back to the safety of the academy but it wasn’t so all he could do for now was to not let Henri out of his sight.
The professor adjusted the lapels of his coat and then ordered for the injured students to be taken for treatment, leaving as well with nothing more to do.
