Chapter 179 A little bit of suspicion
>>Seraphina
“Okay,” Azef had all the pack members living in the packhouse assembled in the backyard, “Who took out Seraphina’s door out last night?” He asked
I stood behind him, watching him do his thing.
Yesterday night, we became a couple
I smiled.
I still remember the way he kissed me. I pursed my lips in delight. But it was hard to sleep in the same room after that so Azef left, saying he’d sleep in the guest bedroom.
“We all know there is no such thing as a Banshee roaming around these woods.” He folded his arms, “Banshee’s only ever rarely appear, to the point they are considered a myth.” He looked at all the people standing there, “Whose idea was it?”
No one spoke.
I actually didn’t ask Azef to do this. I was scared out of my wits last night, but what followed because of it made me forget all about it. It’s just that he said he would do something about it in the morning, so he did.
“Loid, Lila, Runy, Tuilum, Hoor, Ben, Out,” He pointed out the members I had gotten close with.
They all stepped ahead
“I heard you were the ones who told her this,” He said and I already felt bad. I did tell him who told me the story and scared me when we were talking in the kitchen, but I didn’t think they would prank me like this.
Was it really them? Why would they do it-
Wait,
Did they do it because they knew I’d go to Azef?
They all glanced at each other, “We apologize Beta,” Lila said and they all bowed, “We were just messing around. We didn’t think she would get that scared.” They all then stood up straight and gave me an even lower bow, “We’re sorry Miss Sera,”
“Sorry,” The rest of them said, making me feel guilty.
“You all will get punished for messing with a guest.” Azef replied.
“Yes,” They accepted it.
“I’m putting you all in the underground dungeon.” My eyes went wide at Azef’s words, “You’ll all receive fifty whips,”
WHAT!?!?!?
Is he out of his mind?!?
Why would he do that?!? That’s too big of a punishment for a prank!!! It was just a prank! And a prank that made us into a couple! He can’t do that!!!
“Yes,” They all calmly accepted it
“NO!” I stepped forward, “You can’t do that!” I came and stood between them and Azef, “That’s too harsh.” I came around and stood in front of him, my back to the rest of the members.
“They need to be punished so no one else pulls something like that again.” Azef said sternly
“No!” I protested, “It was just a prank, you can’t whip them for that!” I shook my head at them, “Besides, nothing bad happened! Why are you going so far?”
He smirked at me, “Yes, nothing ‘bad’ happened,” His words made me blush
“Yes, so there’s no need to do something so extreme.”
“This can not be counted as something extreme for wolves.” He paused and thought about it, “But fine,” He agreed and I let out a sigh of relief. But it only lasted for a mere second, “We’ll put them in the dungeon and starve them.”
“AZEF!!”
“Yes?” He replied calmly
“You can’t punish them!” I folded my arms, “They didn’t do anything bad.” I pointed at myself, “And I’m fine!”
“They still need to get some sort of punishment, since they pranked and lied to a guest.” He spoke calmly but there was a type of confidence in his voice that showed he was firm on his words.
>>Runy
‘She’s so easy to mess with,’ Ben linked his mind with the rest of us.
‘Doesn’t that make her adorable?’ Lila added
‘She actually believes the Beta would give us that severe of a punishment?’ We talked amongst ourselves while the Beta and Seraphina talked.
‘Well, the Beta gotta act his part out so she doesn’t find out what last night actually was for.’
‘But I gotta say,’ Loid added, ‘I liked Miss Sera more now, she’s cute,’
‘I think she might have already guessed why we did that,’ I replied, ‘She may be naive, but she’s not an idiot.’
‘So does anyone know what happened between them last night?’ Hoor asked
‘They slept separately.’ Ben answered.
‘What!?!?’ Everyone’s expression turned sour,
‘Don’t tell me they didn’t do anything!’ Tuilum said
‘After we set the stage for them! They went their separate ways!’ Hoor shook her head in disappointment
‘Is that really all?’ Lila asked Ben
‘The Beta had her scent on her,’ Ben replied, ‘When he came out of his room, I was passing by the hallway. I smelled her on him.’
And then all of us smiled.
‘So they made out,’ Lila smiled, ‘How sweet.’
‘I do want to confirm it though,’ Tuilum said.
‘When do you think the Beta will announce to us that they’ve become an official thing?’ Loid asked.
‘We’ll have to wait,’ Tuilum said, ‘But I’m guessing soon.’ He let out a soft chuckle, ‘We wolves are possessive after all.’
>>Seraphina
“Alright,” Azef finally let the thing go, “Since Seraphina doesn’t want you guys punished.” All of them gave him their attention, “I’ll let you all go with a warning this time.”
Whew!
I let out a sigh of relief.
“Yes, Beta,” They all accepted his order again. I was actually amazed by their loyalty. They didn’t question him at all. Whatever he said, they just took it.
“Beta!” Another man came to the yard, “Are you free now?” He looked familiar.
Where have I seen him before?
“Raye?” Runy called his name when she looked at him, “Aren’t you supposed to be on a lookout?”
“I’ll explain later,” He said, “Sir?” He seemed a little anxious
Raye?!?!
Right! He’s that man who was with Azef when he caught me and Eris on the beach!
“I’m free,” Azef answered, “And I’m coming,” He began to walk away from us, “You’re all dismissed,” He gave a final order before leaving.
I watched him go.
It looked like it was something urgent so I didn’t question him and he left with Raye. The rest of the members came to me though.
“Miss Sera~” The culprits of last night’s prank came and surrounded me
!!!
I sensed their vile intentions right away
“Yes?” I wanted to step away from them when Lila caught my hand
“Let’s talk,” She smiled at me, but her smile looked so sinister.
“Talk?” I looked at her, “About what?” I was already nervous. I had a pretty good idea what they wanted to ‘talk’ about.
“Yes,” Runy said, “Talk,” She smirked,
“About how generous you were for saving us,” Ben said and then they all began to drag me away.
Oh no
I know they don’t want to talk about this. They want to talk about what happened between me and Azef!
I started planning in my head how I’m going to tell them things.
“So, you’re a thing now!” Hoor’s eyes were shining as she asked me the question
“I think we are,” I nodded as I sat on the kitchen counter, “I mean, he said he wanted to be with me.” I paused, “But there was something else,” I slowed down, “It bothered me a little.”
“What is it?” Runy asked.
‘He said he wanted to show me something. And that he’d tell me something after he’d show it to me.” I looked at all of them, “Do you guys have any idea what it might be?”
They all looked at each other, then shook their heads and looked back at me.
“I think he talked to someone in his head, I might be wrong, but it looked like he talked to someone, and then he told me this.” I was hoping to find out what it was. I know Azef was eventually going to tell me, but I was a little curious and wanted some hints.
Was that wrong?
“I’m getting a feeling it might be something to do with Raye.” Runy answered, “He was supposed to be hunting your father.”
!!!
“Oh,”
Right, the thing with my father completely slipped my mind. Azef told me to tell him if my father ever contacted me again. But he never did.
I wonder if they’ve caught him or not.
I went down to get my phone from my pocket
???
But it wasn’t there
Hmm???
I patted my pockets and it wasn’t in the other one too.
Shit
Where did I leave it?
>>Eris
I woke up to the familiar white room. My eyelids felt heavy, weighed down by the fever still in my body.
Blinking against the harsh overhead lights, I tried to gather myself. The white walls and the beeping of monitors made me confused.
Am I in a hospital?
As I looked around, I noticed nurses and doctors moving about, attending to their duties, but when I looked around myself, I noticed I was alone.
The room was a blur of white and metal, and my mind felt sluggish.
But this was an opportunity. If Mom isn’t here, I can ask someone for a phone and call Sera!!
My thoughts were muddled, but I thought I might not get a chance again. Slowly, I swung my legs over the side of the bed, my body protesting with a wave of dizziness. I felt weak, as if every ounce of strength had been drained from me
But I had to move to get someone to help me. The cold floor against my bare feet sent a shiver up my spine, contrasting sharply with the heat of the fever burning within me.With trembling hands, I pushed myself up, swaying unsteadily. My vision swam, and I had to grasp the bed rail to keep from collapsing. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to take a step forward and somehow, I managed to get out of there.
The hallway outside my room was bustling with activity, nurses and doctors hurrying past, their voices a low murmur of concern and urgency. I stumbled down the corridor, my steps unsteady.
My feverish mind played tricks on me, the walls closing in and the floor tilting beneath my feet. I reached out to steady myself, my hand finding the cold surface of the wall.
My breathing was strange too but I still kept going.
Finally, I spotted a nurse's station up ahead. It was busy, nurses answering phones and shuffling through papers, but I saw the glint of a phone on the counter. A surge of hope came over me, my steps quickened despite the weakness.
I reached the station, and knocked on it
A nurse immediately noticed and came out, “What’s wrong?” She crouched down next to me.
“I wanna call my sister,” I whispered
“Awww,” She seemed to find me cute, “You wanna call your sister?” Another nurse popped her head to look at me, “Do we have a phone free?”
“Yea,” The other nurse said
“Do you know the number?” She asked and I nodded. Sera made me memorize her phone number in case I ever got loose and needed help.
“Good,” She took me in her arms and went inside her station.
She picked up the phone and handed it to me, my hands shaked as I grabbed the phone. My fingers fumbled with the buttons, my vision blurring again. I tried to focus, tried to remember the number I needed to dial, but my mind was a foggy mess.
Tears of frustration welled up in my eyes as I struggled to make the phone work.A sudden wave of dizziness washed over me, and I felt my knees buckle. I clung to the nurse, my breaths coming in ragged gasps.
“Oh baby!” She had already noticed how hot my body was, “Maybe we can call your sister some other time?” She tried taking the phone from me and I moved it away and dialed the number.
When I brought the phone to my ear, the nurse let me. The room spun around me, and I knew I couldn't hold on much longer. Just
as I felt myself slipping,
“Sera,” I let out a whisper, “Please pick up, please,” I want to be with you
I want you to take me away
The call went through, I heard the ringing. I waited and waited and waited.
But Sera never picked up