Chapter 31

Flora’s P.O.V

Coming to a sudden halt, I turned back to my human form, falling to my feet as my legs gave out from under me.

But then Clay was right beside me, taking me into his arms, in his human form as well.

“Clay…you need to heal?” I looked at his bloody form and went to place my hand on the gash on his abdomen, but he shook his head.

“Not now.” He stood up with me in his arms. “We need to get out of here first.”

I chanced a glance at Andre’s wolf as he lay sprawled on the forest floor, the heaving branch lying a few inches away from him. His form was massive, much larger than Clay or any other wolf I had seen and it was almost impossible to have a werewolf this large. This was the first time I had ever seen one so big and now that I had sensed the power from the wolf, I knew Andre had been lying about his age. He had to be the same age, or even older than Malachi.

Any wolf that old and powerful wasn’t defeated this easily. Clay was right; we had to run for now. It was foolish to think that we had the opportunity to defeat him and attacking someone when they were down was the biggest form of cowardice in the world.

Clay took me to my bag that I had dropped a few feet away and I quickly took out a dress and put it on since the one I had been wearing was now in shreds. Once I was dressed, Clay and I took off running in the opposite direction.

The sky was clear tonight as well and the fog that I often saw in the distance was gone. So it was easier to find our way to the old broken mansion that the rogues called home.

The weather was windy, so it was an advantage that by the time Andre woke up, our scents would’ve been erased from the air. And we also made sure to take a diversion through the area in the forest that had several eucalyptus and cinnamon trees. They would have messed up our scents even further.

Twenty minutes later, we crossed the threshold of the broken gate and were welcomed by several red eyes. I halted behind Clay, unsure if the rogue wolves would attack or back down. Surprisingly, they bowed their heads and moved out of the way. It was also at this time that I noticed something interesting, but I stayed quiet until we were inside the house.

“There are lanterns!” I gasped as I looked around the abandoned mansion once again.

The first time I came here, it had been a rainy night and the darkness has been so vast that it had seemed impossible to see clearly. But even then I had remembered entering a dusty, dirty room filled with dried leaves and dirt and absolutely no light. That same room now looked comfortable enough to live in.

There were lanterns at different corners and placed on top of broken furniture and crevices. The room was also cleaner, like someone had actually swiped the floors and the stairs had been mended. The light helped me look at the house properly and I think this was some kind of a pack house with several rooms and other arrangements. Was this the house that first held the Lindersay wolf pack? Before the castle was built? Or did this belong to another pack that moved or were killed?

“This way.” Clay pointed to a room upstairs and I was glad that the stairs still held as I walked on them. The slight squeaking was fine but it held.

Even surprising was Clay’s room. Not only was it clean and well lit, there was an inflated mattress, covers, suitcases, water purifier and even basic necessities inside the room. All for the comfort and well being of the rogue Alpha.

“Malachi.” I whispered, remembering how he had told me about helping Clay adjust to his new life.

“He brought everything.” Clay said from beside me. “I’ll wash and change. You can change here.”

“Thank you.”

He was using the fireplace to heat water, as far as I could tell from the makeshift pots and structures that he had arranged to place the pots on. The fireplace also kept the place warm.

I tried avoiding looking at Clay as he crouched down next to the fireplace in all his naked glory to heat some water for me. But what worried me was the trail of blood that he had left all over the place. His wounds weren’t healed, but they also needed to be disinfected first.

“You need to wash up quick.” I told him. “You’re bleeding out.”

A low grunt was all I got for an answer as he stood up with the warm water and left it in front of me before grabbing a pair of pants from the suitcase and leaving.

Someone was being moody; I frowned as he left the room. Was it because he wasn’t completely in touch with his humanity yet?

I guess I’ll find out soon.

******************

Malachi instructed his guards to send the injured wolf to the infirmary at once. He would contact Mercy, their only healer as of now, to take care of Andre and make sure his injuries healed on time. And then he will talk to the man.

No matter how rashly he had acted, Andre was still a guest, a person who he had asked for help personally to guard the perimeters of his castle as Lindersay has had the shortest amount of new recruits this year in a century. The castle had needed security due to the lack of staff and as many a soldier had opted to leave for their packs rather than stay behind.

Contacting mercenaries under a temporary work contract, only for a couple of years till the recruit numbers went up, had seemed like the best choice for the pack, especially since Lindersay had the biggest shrine. But now, looking at the huge black wolf being carried away on a stretcher, Malachi couldn’t help but regret his decision.

“Thank you for taking care of our General.” Spoke a man with red hair and icy blue eyes. He wore the clothes that were designated to all of Andre’s men and he was almost as tall as Andre himself.

“Your General works for me.” I reminded him. “And everyone who works for me is under my protection.”

“Alpha…aren’t we to go in search of who hurt the General?” The man frowned. “If you give us the command, I’ll arrange for a team immediately.”

Malachi gave him a small smile. “What is your name, son?”

“Henry…Alpha.” He gave a small bow.

“Well Henry, we do not follow the rules of an eye for an eye, here. If so, none of us would have eyes left.” Malachi gave him a pat on the back. “Your General made the mistake of acting on his own without informing me. In my pack, I must always be informed of every single detail that goes on. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Alpha.” Henry bowed once again and it made Malachi curious about something.

“How long have you worked for Andre?” He asked to the boy’s surprise.

“About twenty years, Alpha.” He stuttered a bit. “The squad was created around that time and we had all joined him willingly. We had all lost people to rogue attacks and when Andre proposed to make a squad that took care of those who needed help from rogues…we all agreed.”

“Twenty years, you say?” Malachi narrowed his eyes at the spot where they had found Andre not ten minutes ago, before turning back to the boy with a smile. “You may go now, son. Look after your General well.”

“Yes, Alpha.” The boy left with one last bow, leaving Malachi alone in the forest, except for a couple of his guards that remained at a respectable distance to give their Alpha privacy.

Andre had been lying and he had more than a few secrets.

It was clear from the size of his wolf that he wasn’t only half a century old. Wolves did not become that humongous until they had at least reached their second century on this planet. And Andre was just as big as him in his wolf form.

But what troubled him more was the scent he got from Andre’s blood.

It help power and a lot of it. But what was made Malachi even more puzzled was the fact that the power was extremely familiar. It felt like the same power running through his veins.