Chapter 154
ACHILLES.
The plans are set. Ruth and Henry have been dispatched to go to their neighboring packs and tell them about what happened. I have already heard that many people are convinced, and they all have agreed to come to Sangria Amori for safety.
All of this happened in one day. I can’t say that I’m not happy about it, but at the same time, I also can’t feel anything. No pure emotion at all. Not since I found out that Claudia is gone.
I’m in bed right now, but sleep continues to be elusive. Tomorrow, I will be going to Aurora Nightwalker alone and try to gather the people. Ruth and Henry have made their way back, and they will be setting off to another pack tomorrow. Carlos is also going to leave and try to gather people. The only ones left in charge in the pack would be Aristea, and maybe even Nana. The plan is good and I’m so tired that I can feel it in my bones, but I can’t rest.
Everything feels so empty with Claudia gone. I wish I could just wrap my arms around her and protect her from all of this, even though the Moon Goddess has warned me that she will be at the center of everything.
Giving up on sleep, I get up and head outside my bedroom. I go to the kitchen to maybe eat and see if that would make me tired. But just as I’m about to look around, I see Carlos approaching me. He’s wearing his pajamas and a side of his hair is messy, which tells me he’s been in bed. But the circles under his eyes also tell me that we are dealing with the exact same thing.
“I thought you would be here,” he says as a greeting. It looks like it’s going to be another sleepless night for us.”
“Yeah,” is the only thing I manage to say. We both find a jug of wine from the cooler, and I pour each of us a glass. “What’s keeping you up?”
“Everything.” He shrugs, but his face turns serious. “Claudia being gone.”
My hand tightens around the handle. “Same here.”
Silence stretches between us as we drink the wine, but after what seems like half an hour, he clears his throat and speaks again. “I’m sorry it happened. She’s gotten quite close and dear to me too, like a sister. She’s a kind person. She vouched for me and I will forever be thankful for that. I cried about it when I was in my room.”
I look at him closely. “You did?”
He nods. “What can I say? It’s tragic, and she doesn’t deserve it.”
My heart cracks. I know that if I open my mouth to speak now, all the emotions I’ve been keeping at bay would all just come crashing down. I don’t want that. I want to be strong. I want to stay strong. Because as much as I want to drop everything and just focus on saving Claudia, my people need me too. I just don’t want to break down right now because everything would just come crashing down. I don’t think I would be able to move on from it.
“I think you should stay here and welcome the people,” he says. “You need to let it out—”
“No, I can’t, not right now. Not when everyone needs me.” I stare into the distance. “Aristea and Nana would stay here. They can look after the kingdom while we’re gone.”
Carlos narrows his eyes on me. “We’re really going to entrust the kingdom to two old ladies, huh? I never could have predicted this.”
His statement is so absurd that I have to laugh. It feels good to let that out, a small step of positivity coming through and manifesting between us.
Hope is starting to sprout in my chest. For the first time in a while, I feel assured. I feel confident that we are going to make it.
* * *
The journey to the Aurora Nightwalker Pack is long and cold and almost lonely. I still feel like I should have Claudia by my side. That she should be here. And it hurts me that she isn’t.
Still, I try to push it out of my head. I keep taking deep breaths, forcing myself to be hyper-vigilant even with the giant hole in my chest that still longs for Claudia’s company. Memories of her still come to mind the further I get, and the fact that this pack is where we were reunited again….
But thinking about it and feeling devastated all over again will be no use. I need to focus.
With that, I whip the horse to make it go faster. After a while, I reach the gate, expecting guards to stand at the side and apprehend me.
However, the only thing I see is emptiness.
It’s all reminiscent of the Moonlight Grove Pack. The further I go in, the worse it all seems to get. The doors of the shops are boarded shut. The only things making a sound are the windows flapping and slamming on their frames with the strong winds. The mud underfoot is squelchy and wet and pretty hard to walk on, but I trudge on, keeping an eye on the corners and wondering where everyone is.
My heart is in my ears. I can almost hear myself functioning with how silent it really is. I want to call out, but I don’t want to call out for the wrong kind of attention. Meanwhile, so many questions are running through my mind.
Is it too late for me? Is everyone already taken away from this pack?
My fear is just starting to really creep up when suddenly, I hear the sound of a twig snapping in the distance.
I wheel around, and there I see a pair of red eyes staring at me from behind the bushes. I step back, preparing to shift, and in one blink, I see that the eyes have multiplied. They are now all over the forest, surrounding me. It seems that they have already finished dealing with this pack, and the only things left in here are the predators.
I’m trapped, and there are now Rogues hiding in the woods waiting for me to move so they can attack.
The tension in the air is almost palpable. I can almost touch it. My heart continues to hammer inside my chest as I look around, making sure that they’re still a good distance away from me. I can hear their heavy paws hitting the ground as they move closer slowly, so I back into one of the shop walls, thinking of a way to escape unscathed. Anyway, there is no one to save here but myself.
But as though the universe is proving me wrong, I catch a hint of movement on the other building in front of me. I can see scared faces behind the glass windows.
I don’t know if I should be happy or sad.
It seems that the people haven’t left. They are still here, and they are doing such a great job at hiding that I thought the whole place is abandoned.
That changes things. Now I know I don’t just need to escape.
I need to free them from these Rogues.
However, there is one last challenge. I have to move efficiently enough not to kill any of them. And with their number, that might prove to be impossible.
I take another step back. My boot comes into contact with one of the branches and it snaps. The sound of it echoes in the whole village, its emptiness emphasizing the sound and making it seem too much, too loud. Too dangerous.
I sweep my gaze around. One of the Rogues attacks and the rest of them follow until I have about twelve big Rogues rushing to me with their claws and jaws unlocked.