Chapter 49 The Farm
Zeev
Father has been recruiting more men into the little army he was trying to take down to Teran. He wanted to build a force that would take down Teran. We needed over a hundred men to go to Teran and take down all their power supply companies. In this light, they wouldn't have energy to produce whatever they were producing.
"We still lack over twenty men," Father said, his hands behind his back. He walked along the row of men that stood in the open field with only a thin line of brown clothes around their waists. They stood with heads raised high, looking forward. Chins set in strong lines. Hands straight at their sides. They looked like they were ready for war, and this is how we wanted them to be. Ready, with no fear in them. We would take down Teran.
He walked back up after reaching the end of the line. He stopped in front and looked at me.
"What about those who work in the cornfields? We can have some of them join these men."
I raised a brow. That wouldn't be possible, given that most of them looked like thin pieces of paper that the wind would blow away any chance it got.
"We can't bring any of them here, Father. They are not strong enough. We can't even train them, given the time limit we have."
He considered me for a while and nodded.
"Bring those you think we can train in a short amount of time."
Of course, he wouldn't listen, and I wouldn't stop him either.
I started toward the cornfield where I met Tim. He was the one in charge of seeing that work was done in the field, also ensuring a plentiful harvest.
"I need a favor," I said, joining him by the bench.
"You can go ahead and ask me anything you want, and it shall be granted to you."
Tim smiled at me. I looked at the cornfield. Not many of them were working today.
"Your Alpha sent me to find some healthy men who can join those we already have. And from the look of things, these don't even fit what I'm looking for. Where are the rest of them?"
"Oh," Tim said as he looked at the workers. He pointed to the end of the field. "There is a broken area at the fence. I sent some of them to get wood so that we can block it. We can't let in stray animals to eat our corn even before we get to harvest it."
Fair enough.
"Okay. We have some of them coming up already." He pointed to the cobblestone road that led up to the field. A line of guys walked up, each carrying a fresh log of wood on his shoulder.
"All right, guys. Drop your logs of wood beneath that oak tree and report here immediately."
He pointed to the tree at the center of the farm. The first guy dropped his log, dusted off his shoulders, and made his way forward. The others did so too.
"Fall in right behind him." When they were all gathered, he smiled at me and ushered me forward. "Go ahead."
I nodded and moved to the side of the line, my hands behind my back. I watched the boys keenly. They didn't look that bad. Some of them had more muscle than some of the pack's warriors. Some of them would do.
"Your name?" I asked the first guy.
"Liam," he answered, his gaze straight ahead, not even sparing me a glance.
Liam. I had never heard of any Liam in the pack. Well, it wasn't like I knew those working in the fields.
"Okay. Go to the side." When his eyes flashed to me, I noticed how deep and brown they were. Something like hope flashed in his eyes and he looked relieved somehow. That was it, unless I was reading him wrong. Though I had always been good at reading people.
I proceeded to check out the others. A good number of them would do. But I needed just a few.
"Goth, Kiri, Alex, Manny, Ashron."
I called the names of those I had selected.
"You all will go to the training camp and meet the warriors. Tell Maina that I sent you."
They had just three days to train and we couldn't afford to waste any time; their training had to start immediately.
I sat on the bench next to Tim. It was carved out of a stone that had been sitting there for ages. It was the perfect spot to sit and watch the farm.
We started to talk when someone approached us. When I looked up, it was a lady. I tilted my head to the side to look at her again. Long wavy hair, all tangled and dangling down the sides of her face. She had really dark eyes. What got my eyes glued on her was the look on her face. Her lips were in a thin line, a deep frown on her face.
"I want to go with them," she said with folded arms, almost like she had every right to be taken like the others.
"What did you say?" Tim was the one who asked this time. I couldn't just fathom her guts.
"I want to train with the warriors and go to Teran."
Tim raised a brow at me. I shrugged. She worked in his farm; he should take care of it.
"You can't. It is strictly for men."
She rolled her eyes. And with no fear, she went ahead again to talk.
"I can train with them. We can go together."
"You can't go with them," I said, standing up. "Now, return to what you were doing. If not, go back to your quarters. Don't let me repeat myself."
She stomped her foot on the ground and spun around, leaving the scene.
"Do you have any idea who she is?" I asked.
Tim looked at me. "Not personally, but she is good and does her work well."
Good.
I hadn't taken notice of her before. She was probably one of those who were brought into the pack.
I was about to follow the others back inside when I heard a voice behind me. I turned to see Xanthe walking towards me, a gloomy look on her face. I took a deep breath, waiting to hear what she had to say before I left.
"What is going on, Z? You haven't talked to me or even asked after me since you came back."
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to will myself to calm down. I didn't know how else she wanted me to explain things to her.
"Do you have another girl? Did you find one in Teran?" Her eyes turned dark, as if my not answering her question meant that I actually had someone. That was not something I was going to tell her. She didn't have any right to know about it.
"Why are you quiet? Say something back to me. At least explain yourself. Make me understand." She stomped her feet on the ground, getting frustrated.
"I will let you two talk." Tim tapped my shoulder. I looked at him; he just shrugged and turned in the direction of the farm. He knew about her and the little tantrums she always threw; I guess that’s why he didn't give her the time of day.
"Look, I have to go. I have an important assignment to carry out. We can talk when I'm done with it."
I turned to leave when she grabbed my wrist.
"Come on, you can't leave me here."
"Then let's go together." I didn't have all the time in the world.