SWNOVELS : Chapter 48
~Layla~
Analise was right; I remembered everything when I woke up. I even had the taste of the rose petal tea in my mouth and the scent of herbs from her cottage.
I also vividly remembered everything that she had said to me.
Luckily, Justin didn’t come barging in this morning, so I could enjoy my coffee in peace and ponder on the conversation I had with Analise. I wondered if Justin knew about all of this. Was that why he acted so strange?
”Shit,” I dragged a hand over my newly awakened face and took a big gulp of the coffee. I honestly thought I had found a place where everyone was accepting and nice. Where there was no drama or bullying, and you could just live peacefully. It was weird, but I had barely thought of anyone else since being here, just myself.
I got dressed and opened the door. Outside, everyone was either packing up and going in, or they set up little umbrellas on the ground to protect from the winds that were blowing in.
”Get back inside, there’s a storm brewing,” one of the women said to me as she collected her kids and walked into her house. A storm? How could a storm even break past all the trees?
I closed the door and walked down the road to find Justin. When I couldn’t, I decided to walk to Nathaniel’s house and see if he was there.
The usual silence I was used to when walking into the house wasn’t there this time. I heard giggling and chaotic running as I saw people hurrying to get things done.
”Is everything okay?” I asked warily as I walked up to one of the girls. She smiled and nodded her head.
”There’s a storm coming. We don’t get those very often, so everyone’s really excited.”
”And frightened as fuck,” another one chimed in and glared at the girl I was talking to.
”If a storm gets too big on the outside and the rain penetrates the trees, everything here could flood.” I understood the fear then.
The first girl rolled her eyes and straightened her posture.
”The king will never let that happen. He’ll protect us.”
The other girl scoffed and stared bewilderedly at her.
”He’s a king, Danny, not a god. He can’t control the weather.” They walked off, but Danny stopped and turned her head slightly.
”You can stay here if you want during the storm. They can get pretty scary,” she said with a sympathetic smile.
When they walked off, nobody else really stopped to talk to me or even acknowledge me. They were all too busy preparing for the storm, and they were running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
Walking down the hallway on my way to the throne room, I was hoping to see Justin there, but all I heard the closer I got were hushed voices screaming at each other, so I stopped. Pressing myself back against the corner to stay hidden, I tried to listen in.
”The plan has already been set in motion. There’s no stopping it, and if anybody tries, I want them killed. She is finally here, and her powers are showing, so it is soon time for phase two. When all is said and done, there won’t be a single werewolf who doesn’t know about the Emberclaws.” The voice was angry, seething as he talked about his plan, and I was shivering as I did my best to stay hidden.
”What if she doesn’t agree to do this?”
”She won’t have a choice. Her mind is already erasing everyone she holds dear, and soon enough, given a little time, she will be nothing but supportive to our cause.”
”You’re talking about annihilating an entire species. Don’t you think she will oppose?”
”I thought you were in favor of this. What happened?” He asked angrily, and there was a pause after that.
”I am in favor of this. I’m just not sure that she is.”
”Then make her so.” A phone rang, and I flipped myself over on the further end of the corner in panic.
”Yes?” Nathaniel said as he answered it.
”I see. I don’t think they will pose much of a threat, so go ahead and continue with the plan. Everything will be ready soon.”
He hung up, and a brief moment of silence fell. I held my breath.
”You make her compliant. I’d hate for her to not see the end result of our life’s work.”
”Yes,” I pushed off from the wall and walked out of the house as quick as hell without being seen. The footsteps were nearing, but I started running to my house.
I needed to find Justin and ask him about this. I needed answers. The door to my house swung open as I bolted inside when suddenly my heart fell into my stomach, and I again held a deep breath. Justin sat on the couch. His eyes were dark as he stared at me walking in. He was completely relaxed, which was never good when one was angry.
”Where have you been?” I held the door open in case I needed to make a run for it.
”I… I was looking for you,” I said and exhaled.
”Where?” He asked and slowly stood from the couch. He placed his hands in his pockets and took slow strides over to me.
I shrugged my shoulders and maintained eye contact.
”Here and there, I couldn’t find you, so I came back. I heard about the storm,” I said in hopes of changing the subject, but part of me knew it was futile.
His eyes searched mine, and he got closer. Justin was merely inches away from me as he took his hands out of his pockets and reached up towards my cheek. My eyes followed his hand and I sighed as he cupped the side of my face.
”I’m sorry about this,” He whispered and tightened the grip before everything went black before me.
No…no!
I could see what he was seeing. I was walking towards the throne room and he was hiding behind the corner. He heard what I heard, he saw what I saw.
When I came back, Justin was clenching his jaw so hard I heard a crack.
He stepped even closer, his thumb drawing circles on my cheek as he leaned down.
”We need to teach you how to put up walls.” He said, and his eyes grew somber and hard.
”Stay inside the house,” He ordered and walked past me. I grabbed his arm and stopped him from exiting the house.
”Was it you that he was talking to? Did you know about the plan?” My voice came out weak and trembling, but I was just hoping that I was wrong and that Justin had no idea about any of this.
He looked down at me, his eyes penetrating my own.
”We’ll talk about it later.”
”No, now! What the hell is going on? He talked about wiping out every werewolf-”
Justin’s hand flew forward to cover up my mouth. I grabbed it and tried to pull it off, but his other hand held the back of my head.
”You need to be quiet. If anybody hears that you overheard that conversation, you’re as good as dead. You’re gonna pretend that you have no idea about anything. You’re gonna keep your head down, continue practicing, and pretend to learn nothing. And most importantly, you’re gonna keep your mouth shut.”