Third POV.
"What were you thinking?" A cold voice said.
"I....I..." the man kneeling in front of the person who spoke first said.
Even though the man wasn't facing him since he was seated on a chair made of an oak tree, he couldn't help but shiver in fear since he knew how capable the man was.
"What? I thought that you were so confident in front of the girls and everyone else in the kingdom. What's holding you back from replying to me?" the man seated on the chair asked calmly.
Despite his voice being assuring and calm, there was a hint of murderous glint that couldn't be ignored.
Seeing that he wouldn't be getting any answer so soon, the man turned his chair and looked at the old man kneeling. His eyes were full of disdain. Although the other man saw it from the corner of his eyes, making him feel bitter in his heart, he tried his best not to show his hurt look.
"There was one reason I took in and in the last couple of years, I had always reminded you so that you may never forget the reason as to why you are still breathing instead of being six feet underground. Don't think that just because you are now an old man I would give you some respect and not punish you when you make a mistake!" the man said.
All this while, the man had been kneeling and had not raised his head to look at the man who he considered as his life-saver or benefactor. The man's face didn't have any wrinkles making one think that he was just a middle-aged man if not a young man but upon taking a look keenly, one could see that the hair had already turned white even though it wasn't a huge part of it evidence that he was getting old.
"Don't forget your place, Josiah!" the man shouted as he felt eyes on him.
Hearing the warning, Josiah lowered his head immediately afraid of being punished. After all, the man had never liked anyone to look at him. Since he was a child, he had always envied his life-saver's appearance and the fact that he didn't age despite being more than a hundred years never helped. He wished that he was also lucky like the man but he knew that his talents were limited as they could be snatched from him at any moment.
If it were another person, they would have hated the man, betrayed him or even worse, tried killing him but to Josiah, he regarded the old man as his master and his closest companion since he was a kid.
"Now, you better answer my question before I do something that will make you wish that you had answered me immediately I asked that question," the old man's voice sounded around the whole room.
"We...we...both know how strong y....that family of three is. At that time, I was unable to protect myself from not giving in to their requests or questions. Master, I am really sorry for disappointing you," Josiah said as he started banging his forehead to show his sincerity while apologizing for his wrongdoings.
"You better stop calling me your master! I have never taken any disciples also, you are not worthy of being one," The old man said coldly piercing Josiah's heart.
All of his life, he had always been obedient, working extra hard just to get the old man's praise or approval but never had he heard it even once. He had thought as it passed, he would be able to please the man, make him proud and even be accepted as his only student. But alaas.
"But sir..."
"Shut up!" the old man interrupted him. "I thought that you would do a perfect job and even make me happy since you had been waiting for years for this mission but you've disappointed me. If you had really succeeded in getting everyone's trust instead of making them doubt you, maybe...just maybe, I would have accepted you as my student and even taught you the godly secret weapons."
Upon this revelation, Josiah was shocked because it proved that his teacher didn't hate him as much as he had thought. He couldn't help but smile bitterly when he realized that he had missed the golden chance.
"Now, can you tell me why you are here?" the old man asked as he looked at the man kneeling with strange eyes.
"Sir, I am sorry that I got a slip of the tongue," Josiah said softly with guilt evident in his tone.
"What are you apologizing for?" the old man asked but his eyes were not filled with curiosity at all. It was as if he knew what was going on but insisted on playing dumb.
"Sir, I told them about the book," Josiah said without lifting his head.
"Which book are you talking about?" The old man said while raising his eyebrows and had a cunning smile on his face.
"The Sow of the Blood," Josiah answered.
He later waited to hear shouting or anything but all he got was total silence. With this, he took it as a cue to continue talking.
"Elana has asked me to bring the book back by six in the evening. There were a lot of people present and as you said, they were all doubting me. Failure to not take the book, I will automatically become their enemy. The kingdom and every pack will be after me."
"Why did you tell them about the book?" the old man asked after some time.
"They asked how I got to know about their secrets when nobody apart from their parents knew."
“I never thought that you were that stupid! How could you go out there spitting out things that no one else knows? What if one of the people present at that time is on the opposite side? After all, I know that one elder is working with the rogues,” the old man said, making Josiah’s face turn pale as he had trusted everyone blindly and never took that into consideration.
"Do you expect me to help you clean up your mess and find the book?"