Side Story 2.4 Poisoned

Hans' POV

The moment Jhoanna told me about Hannah, I instantly wolfed out mid-game. Rio immediately understood as he took over as vice captain and let someone else sub in my stead. Could go over to the men's volleyball team since Samuel's their captain, but I don't have time right now, so I just mind-linked him while I'm sprinting my way to her.

'Hannah's in pain again. I'm gonna go there now.'

'I'm coming.' It was the only word Samuel replied.

Tried to contact my mate, but she wasn't responding until I could feel her slowly slipping away after feeling her agony through the bond. That's when I truly panic and hasten my pace.

The moment I arrived, everyone who knew me was beyond shocked. They know I had an important game, and yet I'm here. Just quickly passed by them, even when some were asking what on earth I was doing here.

Didn't even have the luxury of pleasantries to deal with them as I sprinted towards where Jhoanna is.

Where her scent lingers the most.

It was in one of the tents placed outside the school. And there she was, lying on the floor out cold and unconscious. I instantly shifted back and cursed.

"Damn it. No one was even here to accompany her!?" I muttered under my breath as I oozed my phermones. Brushing her soft cheeks, hoping that she would wake up. "Jhoanna?"

Tapped them. "My love? Please wake up.."

No response. Slightly pinched her cheeks and flesh, but still no response. Until I was left with no choice.

Slowly leaned in until my lips were over her softness. Even opened her mouth using my finger and thumb as I parted her chin. When I snaked my tongue inside her, she flinched and kissed me back tenderly. I smiled and slightly pulled back. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes went from droppy until they were wide open. "S-someone was here, Hans."

I trailed her cheek with my fingertips to calm her down. She was shaking all over. My jaw clenched as I growled, "Who?"

"I.. I don't know who.. I don't know him, but it feels like we've met."

"It was a man!?" I asked with hatred for myself. Someone was here, and she could've been in danger whilst she's in that state! Yet I was not there by her side to protect her..

She nodded with her brows drawn together. "More like a demon.."

My eyes widened in shock, and just when I was about to ask her further, we heard screaming outside, and her teammates came here.

"Jhoanna! Let's go! It's dangerous here something-oh, Martin, you're here too," one of her members said.

"What was that out there?" I asked, still hugging my mate in my embrace.

"Something's wrong with this place's land," another one answered.

"Land?" I echoed, a little bit confused about what they're talking about. But then I recalled one event from the past.

All of them nodded, and one replied, "It was like it was poisoned, or worse, dying.."

I lifted Jhoanna into my arms, and she didn't fight back. Not even a single protest.

When we finally walked outside, Jhoanna and I gaped.

"This is worse than the last time," she mumbled. I nodded and looked around as the professors were confused about how the heck it happened. Jhoanna's eyes gleamed, and that only meant that she was having an advanced mind-link conversation. We were about to leave, but she stopped me. "Mom is coming here after fixing Woodhill."

"You mean Woodhill's like this too!?" One of her members asked, shocked beyond compare. Jhoanna grimly nodded and instructed her teammates to leave and go home to their packs. She ordered them to tell her if their lands were poisoned too. Once they agreed and left, my mate tapped my cheek. "You can put me down now. I'm fine."

"No." I lowly growled. "You cannot fool me, Jhoanna. I felt your pain just awhile ago."

She gasped, and her eyes started to get misty. "I'm the worst human alive for letting her suffer that misery for years.."

'No!' Hannah squeaked. 'You have been the best, Jhoanna! Stop belittling yourself! It hurts more than what I have suffered for years."

Joseph howled in distress. Sad that both Jhoanna and Hannah are enduring this kind of pain. I leaned in and released my pheromones all while kissing her forehead. "Both of you are the best. I could never ask for a better mate than you, my love."

Two drops of tears fell from her eyes, and I brushed them off with my lips. "Stop crying; it pains me so."

She giggled and teased, "You are becoming more and more gentle with me with each passing day.."

"If I could hear you laugh and tease me all day long, I wouldn't mind being your slave, darling."

"Hans!" She gasped and shyly looked away. I tipped her chin using my teeth to get her attention and was about to indulge myself with another deep kiss until someone cleared his throat.

"You guys are mad! The world is about to end, and yet you two had the guts to be all lovey dovey!?" Samuel shook his head, but his eyes concernedly glanced at his sister in my arms. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She nodded and hopped out of my grasp. Which I couldn't prevent but only grumbled. She smiled at me and then haughtily looked at her brother. "But you are overreacting; the world is not ending, geez. The land was just poisoned. Mom can fix this. She had done so in the past."

"I'm afraid it is not a simple matter, my dear."

Aunt Sophia suddenly appeared, surprising us. Beside her was her mate, Uncle Jacob. Who, still at the moment, keeps on glaring at me from time to time..

"Alpha, Luna.." I slightly bowed in reverence. Because, really, it's the only thing I could do to at least minimize his hatred for me.

"Now don't be too formal, dear! You're already family!" Aunt Sophia chimed and then instantly sighed when she looked around. "This is beyond awful."

"Indeed, it is," said another female voice behind us.

"Mom!? Dad!" Aunt Sophia gasped. "Thought you guys were roundtripping around cities?"

"Well, the twins sent message using one of my magic tools. Quite glad I made one before leaving. It is best for times like this. Emergencies."

"Y-you mean at Crescent too?" Jhoanna blinked and breathed. Former Luna Anna nodded and caressed Jhoanna's cheek. "It's not your fault, little one."

"B-but it is." She tightly closed her eyes. "I think it is."

"What do you mean, honey?" Aunt Sophia sweetly asks. "You can tell us. Anything. Anything at all."

"S-someone came, mom. He said he would take only my pain, and I'm sure I only gave him that, but now seeing these poisoned lands.. I think this is the pain that I've felt. That.. Hannah endured for so long.." Her eyes misty again, and I instinctively glided my arms at her waist so that she could feel comfort.. Or, at the very least, not fall, as her knees were all wobbly right now.

Everyone's face darkened. Especially her parents'. I almost suffocated with their pheromones, but glad that Jhoanna enclosed me with hers.

"It's him," Uncle Jacob muttered under his breath. "That cmotherfucker."

"W-who dad?" Jhoanna asked. "Do you know him?"

And then they'd told us everything. That she was taken when she was a baby. It is odd hearing stories when she was just an infant and I'm not yet born. It made me want to ask my father and mother why it took them so long to conceive me. As if I could do anything being a baby either.

"Grandmother let him go that day. I only thought it was because he's too weak, or maybe something needed to be done with him." Aunt Sophia sighed, and she lifted both of her hands in the air. Closed her eyes shut and by the time she opened them, her eyes gleamed. Former Luna Anna did the same thing as their Alphas exuded pheromones for them. The land did become fertile, but only for a whole minute as it became dry and bleak again. It had form cracks and is getting worse and worse. Some parts are even showing some tartar or some kind of odd black liquid.

"This is.. weird," Aunt Sophia mumbled. "The other lands that I've cleared today didn't come back to being poisoned again."

"It's the bottle of my agony," Jhoanna mumbled, and the two she-wolves nodded in agreement.

"We need to find it," former Luna Anna commented.

"But how, mom?" Said Aunt Sophia.

"To find it is to feel it.." One cheery female voice emerged.. On top of us.

Everyone looked up, and there's this.. How on earth would I ever explain her clothing or even her presence? Well, in short, I think it is the fabled great witch Naia.

"The last time I checked, I'm the mother, Mother." former Luna Anna groused and folded her arms. Naia chuckled and quickly gave every she-wolf present and even Samuel a quick and soft flick in the forehead. "Hello, my dearest stubborn descendants."

Then she looked at us, male wolves. "And their respective mutts."

Aunt Sophia and former Luna sighed and shook their heads. Which gave me a heads-up that this is a rather common occurrence for them.

"So.. What do you mean by that? Err. Great-grandmother?" Jhoanna hesitatingly asked. Naia gaped at her and quickly said, "Could you call me grandmama dearest? I feel so old hearing you call me that, and it hurts my being."

"But you are old, Mother," her daughter teased and shook her head. "Anyways! Back to the topic! The land, mother! The poisoned fucking lands!"

"Ah, yes, the land. Well, as I said. Just feel it, Jhoanna. Feel the pain and embrace it. Then you'll find the bottle. Once you do, just break it with both your witch's and mutt power." She winked. "The pain won't come back anymore, either to you or to any soil present."

She was about to go, but her daughter stopped her. "And where on earth are you flying off now? Aren't you gonna help us?"

"Jhoanna's the only one who could save everyone right now. Just like Sophia did. And when you did too, my prissy daughter," she shrugged as if being in these kinds of dangers were only a breeze. "But to answer your question, I will find and finish that demon since he already served his purpose." Her eyes narrowed and bid everyone a proper farewell before literally dissipating into thin air.

"I like her," Samuel chuckled. "Can we invite her to the next family meeting?"

------

It's been hours since our last talk with Naia, and we still haven't found the source. I mean, how could we? Naia didn't tell where specifically to look for the bottle, and my mate is the only one who can sense it. Every time she tried to feel it, tears would immediately stream down her face.

So this time, when she did try for once more, I placed my hand in her chest and took the pain using my pheromones and took advantage of the bond.

She flinched and was about to protest, but I kissed her immediately and mind-linked her to continue.

It hurts like fucking hell. Don't even have the words to explain how painful it is. But just that, it really, really fucking hurts so so bad.

Didn't let her show that I was too affected by it, but I knew she knew. That motivated her to quickly find where it was, and she finally gasped, "I found it!"