Chapter 9 EIGH

MORGIANA'S POV The cabin was full of other people I don't know. Well, I don't really know everyone here to begin with. They were all looking at the man in a cot at first but when we arrived, all their attention now is on us. Some of them were looking at me with curiosity in their eyes although I don't know what are they so curious about. Maybe they're curious about the clothes I am wearing. It smelled different. I wonder who the owner of this clothes is. Or maybe they're wondering why I was with Alaris and Laurent. I decided not to bother with the looks they're giving. The moment we arrived at the cot, I saw a man that obviously looked injured. I assume he's the one named Giro, the man I saved that night. I knew it was him because of his resemblance to Laurent. Some people decided to go out of the cabin until there was only me, Alaris, Laurent, and Giro left. Silence covered the whole cabin and I could see Giro deliberately not looking in my direction. "She's here," announced Laurent. "I know," Giro said. I rolled my eyes and looked at Alaris. "I want to go back to my cabin. No one would sneak and murder me in my sleep, right?" I saw how his throat bobbed and how his face darkened. I almost believed he was angry at the thought of anybody killing me in my sleep. "Nobody's killing you in your sleep," he grunted. "Right. You specifically mentioned my death shall be in your hands. Consider me assured." He faced me with furrowed brows. "It's never wise to talk back to me, Morgiana." "Why not? You're not a teacher anymore." He walked closer and he towered over me. My first instinct-probably my wolf instincts-screams at me to run. To seek cover and get away from him as far as possible. Did he become the leader of this group because of this intimidating aura he has? But I am not going to back down. Heck, no. "Stay here. Giro has something to say," he said and before I could even say something, he turned to look at Laurent. "Call Jasper, Eros, and Cali." Laurent did not say anything and immediately obliged. I looked at Giro who was still not looking at me. When I looked at Alaris to complain, he jerked his head for me to sit on the chair next to the bed. When I didn't move, he grabbed my hand and forced me to sit down. Giro finally looked at me. "Thank you," he said, almost a whisper and barely audible. "What?" "Fuck," he muttered. "I said thank you." Who says thank you this way? "You sound more like you're threatening me rather than expressing your gratitude." "I wasn't threatening-" He closed his eyes and stopped himself from saying what he was about to say. He then let out a sigh and got up from his bed to face me. "I was the one who placed you in that cage and I feel so strongly when they say they're killing you. I wanted nothing more than to have you killed." "Geez, thanks." "But then you saved me last night. Those men...they have guns that could render a huge wolf paralyzed. I don't know what they have and how advanced their weapons have become but it has become more dangerous." He looked at me with those serious eyes. "You did not hesitate to save me and no matter how much you say that your did it to save yourself but I am still grateful." I did not expect that. "And sorry," he said, a little less louder this time. "Say that again?" I said and he frowned in my direction. "I said I'm sorry for wishing death on you." I narrowed my eyes in his direction and then to Alaris. This is kind of suspicious. "You're sorry for wishing death on me. Does that mean I'm not going to be killed here?" I looked at Alaris and my voice sounded so hopeful more than I let it on. "No one's killing anybody. Not on my watch." "But you made it so clear last night you'd kill me." "Would you rather I kill you?" "I was just asking because this is very suspicious. Why are you suddenly changing your minds? Did you change your minds because I am also a wolf?" "We already know you are a wolf because you're a hybrid and that is the exact reason why we want to kill you." "Exactly. Why did you change your mind, Alaris?" He went silent at that. It was as if he did have the answer for that but refused to share it. Before I could press him further for answers, Laurent barged in and walking closely behind him were three men with bruised faces. "Holy mother of the woods," I muttered as I saw how badly beaten they were. They all have bruised faces but one of them was particularly more bruised than the others. His eyes were almost covered with the swelling on his face. I don't know what happened to them but I sure am very interested to know. Alaris walked to stand in front of them and I could have sworn they bowed their heads down. "Say what you want to say to her. Especially you, Cali." It took me a while to realize who these men were. They were the three wolves that have cornered me last night. I could only guess the one named Cali was the one who bit my neck, rendering me unconscious. I looked at how authoritative Alaris looked and how easy it was for him to issue a command. The three men were silent for a while and it was Cali who spoke first. "She's an abomination. Whatever happened to our plan that we use her-" A resounding slap echoed across the room that made me gasp. Blood sprayed on the wooden floor as Cali's head turned to the side. "That's not what she wanted to hear, Cali." Cali then looked at me with a hateful face-something that actually made me swallow. I could never understand how my existence is so much of an issue for them. Sure, vampires and wolves have been enemies for a long time but they couldn't be thinking that it was impossible for some of them from different races to start liking each other. There's some kind of spark to it: being attracted to your enemy. "The vampires killed my parents," Cali spat and the thoughts inside my head went black. For a moment, silence filled my head as I met Cali's hateful stare. "They were murdered in their sleep while I was a baby." Then he looked at Alaris. "So you can't force me to apologize to someone who's the same kind as a vampire." "She's a wolf too and she saved my brother," Laurent said. "Be that as it may, Laurent. But I will never apologize to the likes of her. She will never be a wolf in my eyes. Never." Alaris was about to land another punch when I found myself holding the hem of his shirt. It made him stop and he turned to look at me. "A real apology is something that comes with sincerity. From the looks of it, he's not in that state now," I said and I couldn't believe what I was saying. But then again, somehow I could relate to him. His parents were dead and was left alone to carry all that loneliness. He might want to continue wishing me death but I get where he's coming from. "I don't need your apology and I understand why you're angry. But I was taken here against my will. I could have continued living as a mortal, blissfully ignorant to this side of the world and everything would have been fine." I took a sigh. "I did not kill your parents. The next time you pull that stunt on me, I won't make it easy for you, Cali. I promise you it won't be easy." He met my gaze but I have stilled mine and I did not falter. "The three of you are assigned to weapon cleaning for a month," Alaris said and without another word, the three of them walked out of the cabin. "That was kind of you," said Laurent and she grimaced. "I refuse to see any kind of brutality. I've been beaten up both at home and at school. It's not good." When I looked at them, I could see the worried look on their faces and I grimaced even more. "For god's sake. It's not a big deal anymore. I have gotten used to it and now that I discovered I am actually a supernatural, I will not hesitate to claw whoever slaps my face again." The three of them did not say another word which only gave me more chance of speaking. "So, like, what are you here, Alaris? They seem to follow your every command. Are you some kind of cult president or something?" "Cult president?" I heard Laurent choking on his water and Giro covering his mouth. "Yes. That's what I think you are. A cult leader. This is some serious magic shit." "This is exactly some serious magic shit and you dare compare it to a cult?" "What is this then?" "This is a wolf pack," he answered and I raised my brows. A wolf pack. "And Alaris is the Alpha of the pack." "An alpha." I played the word in my mouth. I heard about wolf packs and their hierarchy but I never expected to see it in humans-well, they're not exactly humans. And I realized I am not exactly human either. "So the Alpha basically commands the whole pack. How did you become an Alpha, though?" "You're asking so many questions today. That's a story for another time. For now, I need to hear what Giro saw that night." All of our attention went to Giro. "Tell us what you know, brother." Giro let out a deep sigh. "I think the humans are getting involved." "You're saying some humans know about your-our existence?" "Some of them, yes. This town is swarming with supernatural beings, Morgiana. They're just good at hiding. Some humans know very well of our existence." Alaris crossed his arms. "Who exactly are they?" "The mayor of this town which also happens to be the head of the school where you go."