The Heartman warriors had finally returned to the lobby, weary and worn. Their recent search had been long and unproductive, filled with countless encounters and disappointments.
Watching that two of the adopters they held captive have refused to say any word concerning their former Luna, Heartman regrouped everyone in the lobby and wanted to stop the search and go back to the pack house.
One particular warrior slumped against a stone wall, his muscles aching from all the unfruitful search and journey.
But as he leaned against the wall, he felt something peculiar, like a little button beneath his fingertips. A shiver coursed through his body; afraid he had endangered everyone's lives. With a curious glance, he traced the source of the vibration.
He turned towards the wall and, with his other hand, used his fingertips to graze the wall, trying to see for himself what it'll lead to if he removes his finger.
His instincts kicked into high gear immediately, and he couldn't get a hold of what will happen. He carefully called the warrior beside him.
"Can you come forward towards me a bit?" he asked in a low tune.
"Ok, is there a problem, and why are you staying glued to the wall when you clearly asked me to come?" the warrior asked, getting annoyed by his gesture.
"I just placed my hand on something now; I don't know if I should be happy or crying about its outcome. Can you get the leader for me?" he asked with a pale face.
The warrior's heart skipped a beat as he heard what had happened. Moving aside, he ran towards the leader of the pack warriors and whispered into his ears.
The pack warriors' leader's eyes became alert and swiftly moved towards Heartman, whispering the information into his ears.
"One of the warriors just saw something on the wall; we don't know yet if it's harmful or good news. He's afraid to push the button-like space or remove his hands from it, so he sent another person to pass this message," the pack warriors' leader narrated.
"Where's this warrior, and how does he look like?" Heartman asked.
"He's one of the newly recruited warriors, sir, and he has speed and agility; that's why he was added to your search, Alpha Heartman," the pack warriors' leader explained before he'd get on Heartman's bad side.
"He's standing at the end of the lobby, close to the back door, sir," the pack warriors' leader said, bowing down his head.
Immediately, Heartman moved to the place and found the warrior's fingers still glued to the wall. He inspected it and found nothing attached to it or connected to anything harmful.
"Raise your finger, warrior," Heartman commanded.
Looking in disbelief, the warrior slowly raised his finger and revealed the little button on the wall. Heartman smiled a little; he had always seen these kinds of portals hidden but never thought this building would have one, as it looked big enough, and they already saw a prison in the house where slaves and betrayals of the pack were kept.
"So where does this passage lead to?" Heartman soliloquized.
He put pressure on the button and smiled, fulfilled when the walls gave a vibrating noise. Most of the young warriors were afraid, but seeing the walls moving to one side, revealing a dimly lit passageway concealed behind it. A secret passage—a clandestine path unknown to the warriors until now.
The warrior's eyes widened with a mix of excitement and apprehension. He knew he had stumbled upon something of great significance. Realizing the gravity of the discovery, he couldn't help but smile alongside Alpha Heartman.
Heartman reached out to him and roughly rubbed his head, holding him closer to himself. Every other warrior shouted and started singing chants calmly to celebrate.
Though the search had been unfruitful, there was no way they wouldn't get something from this passage since it was hidden. There must surely be reasons for it to be hidden in such a manner.
Most of the warriors continued celebrating because they already lost hope of finding anything in this search but were just being motivated by Heartman and pushed by the hope he had while at the same time wanting to perform their sworn oath to the throne to protect and stand beside their Alpha in plenty and few, during war and in peace.
Their eyes shone in excitement; it would've been a mess for them to go back home without any fruitful report even if no one knew their whereabouts. But it's already dawn, and the people will most likely be awake and performing their duties now. So it'll be disappointing to go back empty-handed after secretly leaving the pack house and keeping a few warriors and guards behind to watch over the people in the pack.