Chapter 68 Why are they looking at me

Chapter 68 Why are they looking at me
Thallyne's POV

The mere sight of the wolf should have terrified me, a wolf that powerful should have made me run but instead, I felt a strange sense of peace settle within me, which got rid of the fear that I was feeling earlier.
When the massive wolf came closer to me, I instinctively held my breath, worried that it was gonna snap me into two just like he did to the rogues but within its eyes, there was clarity unlike the deranged looks on the rogues meaning that it was well aware of the happenings around him.
Then something that I found even stranger happened at that moment
The wolf slowly lowered his head to the forest ground. At first, I thought he was going to attack me, and my body tensed up. I was hoping to try to scramble back to Lucas and Luther even though I knew that they would never have an upper hand against him. Surprisingly, the wolf didn’t lunge at me.
Instead, the enormous creature bent its front leg and bowed at me.
IT BOWED TO ME.
My eyes widened in shock. “W–what…?” I stuttered, confused by its action. The gesture didn't look like it was forced, it was deliberate, respectful—almost like… submission to me.
A wolf was submitting to a mere runt of the pack.
I stared at him with confusion written all over my face. Powerful wolves don't just randomly choose to do that, most especially to people like me.
The wolf slowly raised up its head, staring at me, as if waiting for an order or a response… to which I just slightly nodded my head. Before I could say anything else, I heard the sound of footsteps coming towards me from behind. “Thallyne!” Two voices called out to. Me simultaneously with the same urgency.
I turned my head around quickly. “I'm here.” Lucas and Luther rushed into the clearing, both were now in their human forms. Their bodies were covered in dirt and blood from the fight, but there were no visible injuries in their skin. They looked really worried but the moment their eyes fell on me sitting on the ground, the expression of relief appeared on their faces.
Lucas arrived at my side first. “Thallyne, are you hurt?” His voice was filled with worry as his hands moved quickly over my arms and shoulders, his eyes taking me in,checking for any injuries.
“I’m fine,” I replied quickly, still trying to steady my breathing. “I—I’m okay.”
Luther exhaled heavily as he squatted beside me, running a hand through his already messy hair as he glanced around the clearing. His eyes narrowed when he noticed the two dead rogues lying several feet away. “Did you do that?” His voice had a tone of confusion in them, and he gave me a once over.
I almost burst into laughter but ended up coughing instead. “You are really overestimating me.”
“Those were the guys who didn't join the fight,” he muttered. “How were you able to get away from them?”
“I didn't, the only reason I'm here is because he killed them,” I explained immediately with a smile. Relief washing over me.
Lucas frowned instead. “He? What are you talking about?”
“The wolf,” I said, pointing ahead of me as I slowly pushed myself to my feet. “A black wolf showed up and ..” I turned my head, fully prepared to introduce the stranger to my friends but the words disappeared from my mind.
The spot before me was empty.
The massive wolf that had been standing there a few minutes ago was no longer there, like he had disappeared into thin air.
He is completely gone, when did he leave?
My eyes scanned the trees quickly, confusion flooded through me. “Wait… he was standing right here.”
Lucas and Luther both followed my gaze into the woods before shaking their heads “There’s no one here, Thallyne,” Lucas explained slowly.
“No, I swear!” I insisted, carefully walking forward and looking around the clearing. “He killed the other two rogues and then he—even bowed to me.”
Luther exchanged another look with Lucas. A strange look that made it seem like they were trying to believe me
I frowned at them with frustration. “Why are you looking at yourselves like that? Do you think I'll lie about something like this?”
None of them answered immediately.
Luther's eyes moved once again to the two rogues lying dead on the forest floor. “I don't think she is lying, someone was here. How else would those two be killed so easily.”
“Their necks were crushed cleanly, they were killed with precision,” Lucas’s jaw tightened slightly as he continued. “They didn't even put up much of a fight, which meant that whoever was here was much stronger than them.”
“That wasn’t an ordinary wolf,” Luther said quietly. “Could it be him?” I didn't notice the glance they shared again, nor did I notice the scared expression on their faces.
“If he was the one, he won't let us off easily.”
At this moment, I looked away from where the wolf had come out from. “Thank you.” I mumbled underneath my breath, knowing that he had not arrived, my fate would have been worse than death.
“Come on, Thallyne. We have to leave, we don't know if they had accomplices or other members of their pack… so it wouldn't be good to stay here much longer.” Lucas carefully patted my hair, forcing out a reassuring smile.
I nodded at him, “Are you guys okay?”
They both nodded before answering. “Yes,” Lucas continued with a guilty expression. “I'm so sorry I let you fall off, if I had split my attention, I would have noticed when you did.”
“It's alright, I understand the situation.” I shrugged casually, not blaming him in any way.
“I doubt your Alpha would let us off if he found out what happened here,” Luther said with a slightly teasing voice.
I blushed in embarrassment. “Then it's better we keep this between us.”
Soon, we resumed our journey with me riding on Lucas wolf form once again but this time, there were no more rogue encounters. I kept looking at me, with hopes that I would catch sight of my rescuer but there was no glimpse of him. When we arrived at the Moonmist territory line, I was surprised to see a group of people waiting there, their eyes immediately lit up when they caught sight of us.
Lucas carefully lets me down, before going behind trees to change back to his human form, coming out fully dressed. This only took a few minutes, a few minutes under the scrutiny of the people but nobody said anything to me.
“Welcome back Young Alpha.” The group of people, totally seven in number , chorused, bowing their heads in submission at the same time as Lucas appeared in their line of sight.
“Be at ease,” Lucas said with an indifferent voice, then he turned to me. “Come on, I want to take you to my parents.”
“Mhm.” I nodded, walking besides him while Luther followed behind us. The path we followed slowly led into a wide clearing with various houses, with smoke rising from chimneys. I was stunned because this was a bit different from what we had in Mistveil. A small smile appeared on my face.
The pack was… beautiful.
The houses were built from dark wood and stone, some two stories high with wide porches. Various wolves moved around the pack in both human and wolf form, with children running around, laughing like they had no care in the world while chasing after a young wolf that darted between them. They were playing a game of tag.
A few women stood near a fire pit on the side, talking while watching the kids and roasting meat. It felt like… home and for a moment, I forgot about the rogues, the fight, and the mysterious black wolf that rescued me.
“This is your pack?” I asked quietly, glancing at Lucas.
“Yes,” Lucas replied, but I noticed how his eyes were scanning the area carefully. “You didn't have a chance to see it properly the last time you were here.”
I looked around again, filled with curiosity as we continued walking deeper into the pack, until I started to notice something.
People were staring at us….. no, at me
Not the normal curious glances someone new might get, the looks I was getting felt different. A group of warriors standing near the training grounds stopped talking the moment they saw me. One of them frowned slightly while another whispered something under his breath but I couldn't pick up what he said.
Two women stopped talking, and were watching me as we walked past them. One of them even looked a bit uneasy. The smile on my face dropped. I slowed my steps and leaned slightly next to Luther. “Why are they looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”