Chapter 22: THE GUARDS

The sky was magnificent.

Maybe it was the effect of being indoors for the past few days but, the second Anna stepped foot out of the pack house through the main door, the first thing that caught her attention was how blue the sky was.

There was no cloud in sight and the sun’s warmth came with a welcomed breeze.

Anna wasn’t sure she had ever seen a clear sky so beautiful in all her years. She could hear the birds chirping and a few flying over their heads.

What a place.

What an atmosphere.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Diane sighed.

“I never get tired of just staring you know,”

Anna blinked herself out of the daze she had unexpectedly entered and dragged her gaze away from the clear skies to look at the girl next to her.

“It is,” She tried to sound unenthusiastic, feeling her cheeks heat up due to her slip-up. So much for not wanting to create any attachments or like anything in the pack.

Anna hadn’t been through the main doors since the first day she was brought here which was almost a week ago, sometimes it still felt like a dream to her that she was in GreyThorn instead of Bullhorn and yes, despite how hard she would argue about being held against her will, she preferred the life Kane had offered her here rather than the constant emotional and physical abuse she got from Yaakov and his pack members every single day.

“You’re really beautiful, Anna!” Diane said suddenly, catching Anna off guard and leaving her at loss for words and actions.

“I—thank you,” Anna smiled. She felt her cheeks heat up again as Diane began to walk and Anna followed behind her.

“I would really love to get to know more about you but, you’re so closed off,” Diane continued, her tone one of discouragement.

“But I won’t force it, I’ll wait till you trust me enough to open up,”

Anna stared down at her moving feet with pursed lips and said nothing.

Anna didn’t want to get close to anyone.

Diane was right, Anna had been closed off from people for as long as she could remember, and even her parents had complained about it so many times and urged her to be better.

Anna didn’t trust anyone and after being abandoned, it just got worse.

“Sorry, I’m dampening the mood again,” Diane laughed awkwardly scratching her forehead and avoiding eye contact.

“Where will we be going first?” Anna said trying to match the girl’s former enthusiasm as they walked. That was enough to get Diane out of the mood she was putting herself into.

“Well, we’re both going to be working at the farms but I think it’ll be nice for you to meet some of the other pack members and introduce yourself properly to everyone, learn what they do, and maybe a bit of how the pack functions,” Diane said.

“This is just so exciting! I’ve never had to give a tour of the pack before!”

Trees lined up the path away from the castle, slowly they left the large courtyard that seemed like it stretched for miles but it actually had an end.

Anna and Diane walked the distance in comfortable silence, soon Anna came face to face with the main gates but not the one she remembers coming through.

“My brother and Tony had to use the back route last time, Bullhorn is quite far if you try to follow the main route,”

“Oh,” Anna nodded in understanding.

Three men stood at the gates, one Anna recognized as the stoic black-haired bodyguard Tony has introduced her to on her first day in GreyThorn pack, Yurk. He stood behind the gates, both hands in his suit pants and his stance looking like he was waiting for someone.

The remaining two stood on either side of the gates, guns strapped to their holsters and their expressions stone cold. They both looked to be in their mid or early twenties.

One had long black hair pulled up into a tight ponytail and striking blue eyes, he had rather thin lips and pale skin, the other was a brunette with brown eyes, his hair shorter than his partner’s. They both wore dark blue button-up shirts and black pants with their black guns at their sides. Scary.

Anna avoided their gazes and huddled in closer to Diane.

She was the alpha’s sister, they wouldn’t do anything to Anna while she was with Diane…right?

The guards at the gate looked so hostile that they made Anna uncomfortable and sweaty.

She closer she got to the gates, the harder she fought the urge to turn back around to hide in her room.

Maybe going around the pack would be too much today?

Maybe she should just bail and make a run for it.

Those expressions…

It was the same ones she got from the pack members of Bullhorn.

“Don’t worry, they have that expression on just so they will look intimidating,” Diane chuckled, “But in reality Drew and Grey are really nice guys when you get to know them,” Diane patted Anna’s hand in reassurance making Anna feel quite embarrassed that the teenager had noticed her fear of the men.

“Thank you,” She said with a grateful smile.

Once they finally reached the gates Drew and Grey, as Diane called them, both gave a stiff nod and opened the gates.

“Hey, guys! How’s your day going?”

The black-haired guard turned in Diane’s direction, his expression softening ever so slightly.

“Good Diane, what are you up to today?”

Diane was all smiles after getting a reply.

“This pretty white-haired lady here is the Wolf Spirit and has just recently become a member of our pack, fix your expression Drew,” Diane said to the brunette who was still practically glaring in Anna’s direction.

“Um…that’s great, nice to meet you,” Grey, the black-haired guard outstretched his hand...the action looked so reluctant that Anna felt sorry for him.

Anna didn’t need anyone to pretend to like her, she didn’t even need everyone to like her...Right?

Anna took his hand with equal reluctance just to prove a point, they shook briefly and immediately let go.

“Nice to meet you too,” Anna replied.

“Drew?” Diane crossed her arms over her chest and pouted her lips as she turned to the brunette who had still not said anything.

Anna felt rather awkward due to his lack of acknowledgment but it didn’t really bother her as much as it bothered Diane.

“When she proves she deserves to be a pack member, then maybe I’ll notice the person you’re talking about,” Drew said begrudgingly.

Anna scoffed and shook her head with humor.

“Cute,” Anna said, “But I don’t have to prove anything to anyone,” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the man that she now considered rude.

“After all, I’m already dying for the betterment of your pack,”

Anna felt Diane’s hand on her shoulder as she spoke, was there for comfort or to shut her up?

Drew’s eyes narrowed as well, he lets out a scoff of his own and looks away.

The gates opened and they walked past the guards to where Yurk was standing.

While Anna passed by Drew, she noticed the tint of pink on his cheeks and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

She wasn’t such a pushover after all.