Chapter 13 Thirteen
Danica could feel her oxygen quickly depleting as Rebecca tightened her hold on her neck. For the woman to look so delicate, she had a massive amount of strength.
Below them, chaos had ensued as Mason shifted into his wolf form and began growling and snapping. The elders, who had remained impassive until now, were yelling at one another, trying to figure out what to do to correct the situation.
"This is what happens when you show insubordinate behavior, little pup," Rebecca sneered, leaning in close to Danica's face.
So Rebecca wasn't doing this because of the claim that she had rogue blood; she was only using that as a reason for her behavior. This was all a show of who was the dominant being.
Feeling her consciousness slip, Danica heard the other consciousness become more aware. She could physically feel the anger at being looked down upon growing within her.
"You think you will catch me off guard a second time?" Rebecca was smiling from ear to ear with glee. "Think again."
Lifting her hands, Danica clamped down on Rebecca's wrist and started squeezing. At first the harpie seemed unphased, but as Danica applied more force, her face started to contort in rage and pain until finally her hand opened.
Letting out a gasp, Danica found herself freefalling toward the ground, which was a good twenty feet below.
A howl erupted as Mason moved forward, jumping up with all his might, allowing Danica to land safely on his back.
"Thanks," Danica muttered before hurriedly climbing off of him and facing the clearly furious Elders. "Sorry for disturbing you; I will be leaving now."
She didn't care if her words were rude or disrespectful. These creatures had a holier-than-thou attitude, and she didn't have the patience to deal with it.
"Stop right there!" came Elder Talon's voice from behind her. "That's a command from your elder!"
With a smirk, Danica looked over her shoulder.
"None of you are my elders. I'm not even a full-fledged wolf."
With that, she picked up her pace and began running away as quickly as she could.
"No, you don't."
As the words rang out around her, Danica felt a hand wrap around her hair, pulling her backward.
Yelping, she tried to turn around and see who exactly had hold of her.
"You don't leave until you're told to."
Of course, it was Rebecca. It seemed that she had already recovered from her shock.
"Let me go!"
Danica's voice held a dangerous note as she clawed at the hand that was holding her unruly black locks.
"ENOUGH!"
The area around her grew deadly silent as the Elven Elder stood from his throne. His face was contorted in rage, and his ice blue eyes seemed to almost have electricity sparking from them.
"Let her go now!" he snapped at Rebecca. Despite his words, she held on. "Right this instance," he added for emphasis as she remained defiant.
Beginning to oblige, Rebecca released her hold and slowly backed away. Danica could easily see from her reaction that she was scared of the man.
"Killian," he barked now, turning his attention to a frozen-in-place Killian. "Subdue your nephew."
Mason, who was still in wolf form, snarled at the elder's words before bounding over to Danica. Pressing his body up against her, he bared his teeth, challenging anyone to come near.
"I'm fine," she assured him, placing a hand on his furry back. "Please calm down; I don't want you getting into trouble because of me."
A whimper escaped Mason as he looked at Danica with incredulous eyes.
With the situation now under control, everyone returned to their places. The Elven Elder had managed to easily bring order back to the meeting. It was clear that he held a good amount of power among the six.
"Now, pup," he said, leaning forward as if he couldn't see Danica well enough. "Where exactly did you come from?"
"Does it matter, Arlo?" Rebecca, who was still fuming, chimed in, glaring at Danica. "Isn't the rule in the world of the wolf to do away with all rogues?"
Due away with all rogues. Danica could feel herself flinching; after all, they had just claimed she had a rogue in her.
"Rebecca I'm warning you," Killian growled. "Let the girl speak and mind your temper. Nothing has been proven yet."
Pouting Rebecca leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms across her chest. Her face looked like that of a child who had just been reprimanded by their parent.
Danica could feel Mason's body rumble beneath her hand as he watched Rebecca with anger-filled eyes.
"Now, child, tell us," Arlo fixed his eyes on Danica.
"There isn't much to tell," Danica admitted. "I wasn't even aware of being a wolf until five days ago, when I turned eighteen. That was the night I was attacked by a rogue for the first time as well."
A shiver ran through her as images of the much-too-large black wolf ran through her mind.
Beside her, Mason whimpered again, sensing her unease. She gave him a small smile of reassurance.
"After that, I've been attacked on two other occasions. One was while in a car on the way back from an outing with Mason. The second was at my home, but it was two rogues that were working together rather than one separate one."
As she spoke, Arlo remained silent, listening calmly to what Danica had to say. The other elders, however, looked like they wished the meeting would end soon, except Marissa, who also seemed interested in what she had to say.
"Do you have any idea why the rogues would go out of their way to attack you in particular?" Arlo asked, making his way over to Danica.
Mason let out a growl as the distance between Danica and the elf lessened. Catching his eyes, she shook her head.
"Is there something you're keeping from us?" Arlo asked, stopping directly in front of her.
"No," Danica said, her anger flaring again at his unspoken accusation. "If you know something, please enlighten me."
This situation was reminding her of her run-in with the shaman Nigel. He too hadn't fully trusted her when she said she hadn't offended a member of the Sarff clan.
"Could it be because you have rogue blood running through you?" Arlo mused.
"I don't know," Danica reaffirmed. "And please stop saying I have rogue blood."
Arlo smiled, "but it is the truth."
"Stop wasting time on her, Arlo," boomed Talon, who had grown tired of the back and forth.
"He's right, Arlo," Rebecca chirped, sending waves of annoyance through Danica.
"Give her a chance," Marissa, who had been watching with curiosity, piped in.
"ENOUGH!"
Everyone's eyes turned to Arlo as his voice rang out around them.
"We shall hold a test to see if she truly doesn't have the blood of a rogue," he continued once everyone's eyes were on him.
Feeling her heart drop, Danica let Arlo's words sink in. A test, they would be holding a test. Then what happened if it proved she did have rogue blood?
Fear growing, she tried to remain calm as she waited for the elven elder to announce what was next.