Free Web NovelChapter 107: Possible Ally
"Calm down," Damon said, sighing. "Most of them have already been killed or have retreated. They won’t be attempting anything anytime soon. Kaine is just there to make sure of this fact. He’s been given explicit instructions to retreat if he finds any suspicious activity."
Nicole could only sigh. There was probably nothing else she could do, now that her alpha had already spoken. She shook her head and went back to tending to Blaise’s wounds.
"I hope you’ve emphasized that to him," she said. "You know how he usually is, keen to impress."
I raised an eyebrow at that. There wasn’t much I knew about Kaine but he definitely did not strike me in such a way. I suppose looks were deceiving― I couldn’t possibly know him better than his mate, after all.
"Either way, Elijah was looking for you earlier in the day," Nicole said. "He said that he couldn’t reach you via the link― no one could. You might want to check in with him to see what it is he wants."
The silver from the mines must have been what was blocking the packlink. I thought it was working just fine― after all, Damon didn’t seem all too worried about Blaise while they were separated in the cave. I had assumed that they were constantly updating one another even while away. It seemed like that wasn’t the case.
Damon nodded, then gestured for me to follow. I looked hesitantly at Blaise― his eyebrows were crumpled and his face was distorted into a grimace. He seemed to be in pain, especially with Nicole dashing alcohol on him as though she was salting an underseasoned piece of meat.
Following my line of sight, Damon must’ve guessed what was occupying my mind. He reached down and, surprisingly, gently took my hand in his. His large hand enveloped mine, tugging me out of the room.
"He is in good hands," he said, nodding at Nicole. "He will be fine."
I turned my gaze from Blaise to him― Damon’s composure was nothing more than a façade. While he looked every bit as composed, I could still see the slight furrow of his brow and the flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. His lips were pressed together in a fine line and even his hand was rigid over mine.
Of course. How could I have forgotten? Damon must be equally if not more worried about Blaise than I was. That was his twin brother lying on the infirmary bed, his own family left. Yet, he had set that all aside in favor of the pack.
Perhaps it was because he had just rescued me, perhaps it was because of the time we spent together ever since we first met, perhaps it was his warming attitude. Whatever it was, I began to see Damon in a different light. He might not be the ideal mate at first glance but I was starting to understand why the people of his pack respected him so much.
I nodded, offering Damon a smile. He stilled a little and I could even see his eyes widening just a fraction of an inch, most likely surprised that I could even offer him such a gentle expression.
"Let’s go, then," I said.
He returned my nod before turning to Nicole. "We’ll leave Blaise to you," he said.
Nicole merely batted her hand, shooing us off without another word. No doubt, she must still be worried about Kaine. I couldn’t blame her. After all, I knew all too well what that felt like.
Damon and I left the infirmary, with me following quietly one step behind at all times. He led me down corridors that seemed both familiar and foreign until eventually, we stopped in front of a door. He knocked, waiting patiently on the other end before it was opened.
Elijah emerged, his dark eye rings nearly completely encasing his eye as he yawned. Raising a hand, he rubbed his eyes, forcing the sleep out of his gaze before bowing slightly to Damon as a form of greeting.
"Alpha," he said. "You’re finally back."
"What is it?" Damon asked.
"Ironclaw sent their reply," Elijah answered, handing Damon an envelope that had already been opened. He cut himself short, glancing skeptically at me before turning his gaze back to Damon. It was only when Damon nodded — a silent approval — did Elijah finally continued. "They are willing to discuss the possibility of an alliance and would like to meet in three days within their lands."
"That is short notice," Damon commented, frowning.
"If I may, Alpha?"
"Speak."
"Ironclaw seems a little suspicious," Elijah said with a sigh. "Our scouts have reported unordinary activity near their borders recently. They have been exporting a large number of various metals― most prominent of all, silver."
I stilled, my eyes widening. We had just escaped from the mines. Did Ironclaw have one too?
"Ironclaw is rich in natural resources," Damon explained, noting my confusion. "They dabble in the sales of metals and semi-precious stones to all sorts of businesses, including humans. That is the arrangement they’ve made with the human town near their lands."
"And what did Fangborne offer to the one near here?" I asked curiously.
A small tug lifted Damon’s lips. "Protection," he said.
"Vampires, wendigos..." Damon listed before pausing dramatically. He tilted his head to one side, grinning enigmatically at me. "And werewolves," he finished.
I sort of recalled Blaise mentioning something similar. Yet, the cocky way Damon said it made me want to roll my eyes. He was ever so confident that if other packs were to attack, Fangborne could definitely emerge victorious. While it was true that Fangborne had been razing various packs to the ground — such as Stormclaw — I couldn’t help but wonder if there was another pack out there that could stop them.
Fangborne could even go against Shadowpelt― that was the leading pack before Fangborne took over. If Shadowpelt wasn’t a threat, then perhaps no one was. Why then did Damon need more allies? Especially with a small pack such as Ironclaw?
"Curious, are you?" Damon teased, watching as my expression changed from one to another. He then turned his attention back to Elijah, handing him the envelope back. "Prepare to depart. We’ll meet with them in three days."
"What about Blaise?" I asked. "Wouldn’t you need him?"
’In case things turn sour,’ I wanted to add. Yet, I kept my lips tightly sealed.
"I didn’t realize you were so impatient to see my brother exhausted to death."
I scowled. "You know that’s not what I meant."
"Whatever you meant, Blaise stays here in House Sirius." He then added, "Elijah, you’re coming with me. As for you, Harper..."
I gulped. Now that Blaise was in House Sirius, I was no longer any bit keen on throwing myself out there on the front lines. Yet, it seemed like Damon had other designs.
"You’ll be coming with me."
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I sat rigidly in the backseat of the car, my hands on my knees and my back rod straight as I stared down. The car jolted as it ran past a bump, rocking back and forth as I tried my hardest to ignore the churning sensation in my stomach.
While I wasn’t sure how far Ironclaw was from Fangborne, I hadn’t expected the need to take a car. Scratch that― I hadn’t even thought that Damon would own one in the first place, much less so many of them!
He had brought dozens of warriors with him, packed in the vehicles as we all headed for where Ironclaw was. In our ride, Damon himself was driving while Elijah sat up front with him. I sat at the back, a seat which I was starting to regret choosing.
An unsettling sensation rippled through my stomach as I squeezed my eyes shut.
"You should’ve sat in front," Damon chortled from where he was in the driver’s seat. If I were feeling any better, I would’ve kicked the back of his seat for sure. "I warned you."
"I didn’t realize we were driving this long," I said, groaning. An unwelcome warmth crept up, accompanied by a clammy sheen on my forehead.
"You didn’t even realize we would be driving at all," Damon corrected.
It was true. I had been foolish enough to think that they were going to sprint the entire way, just like how Damon chose to travel to the borders to look for Blaise.
"You could’ve driven when we went looking for Blaise," I pointed out. "Yet you didn’t. So how was I supposed to know that you actually own a car?" I looked in the side-view mirror, grimacing. "Or an entire fleet, for that matter?"
"We’re not savages," Damon said with a snort. "Fuel is a precious resource. If we drove everywhere all the time, we would constantly need to refuel. Human towns aren’t as wonderful to be in as you might think, little rabbit."
"Didn’t Blaise live with them for a period of time?" I asked.
From the rearview mirror, I could see Damon’s expression darkening.
"That’s why it’s not a good place to visit as a werewolf," Damon said, his voice low.
"They’re just humans," I mumbled. "How bad can they be?"
Elijah shook his head just as a cold laugh ripped from Damon’s throat. The look in his eyes was murderous, filled with killing intent enough to make me shiver. Even the nausea that was building up in my belly had melted into pure fear.
"Oh, sweet innocent little rabbit," Damon mused, laughing coldly. "Humans aren’t as helpless and weak as you imagine them to be. If you ever run into a hunter, that will be the last sunrise you will ever live to see."
