"FORGET ABOUT SEVERINO; what I want to know is whether or not you will perform the ritual."
I gave Lila a careful inspection from head to toe. I never expected her to say those words. At the very least, not from her. She seemed unusual.
"Let's first talk about the things you will give in exchange for my service," I said, motioning for her to sit on another stone table. But all I got was her disgusted expression when she saw the corpse. "Don't give me that look; it's not like you haven't seen a dead body or two."
"Can't we even talk in a nice environment?" Lila exhaled, trying to keep her cool. She was trying hard to stop herself from making faces, but her eyebrows didn't seem to listen. It kept twitching.
I cracked a smile. "This is a lovely environment, a truly lovely one."
She took a deep breath before finally saying, "Fine. As I previously stated, I am willing to risk my life in exchange for the elders."
"I admire your bravery and confidence, but..." I trailed off. "What made you think your life was worth more than four elders' lives?" I tapped my fingers on the stone table, lingered my gaze on the corpse, and said, "I want more than your little life. I want more than what the elders could offer." I stopped tapping and stood up. "I want your and the other alpha's allegiance."
The tips of Lila's fingers twitched. "Allegiance?" she repeated my words as if she didn't understand why I wanted it. "Are you planning a coup? Why do you suddenly want our allegiance?"
"Can't I prepare for something that has not happened yet?" I asked, shrugging. "I just want to make sure that my life is not jeopardized after waking the elders."
"The elders are not ungrateful beings; why would they attack you for saving them?" Lila sneered. "In my opinion, you're just being anxious."
"So?" I didn't argue. "Better safe than sorry, and my instincts have never let me down."
That nightmare I had. I couldn't help but be concerned that something bad was going to happen. I was hesitant about saving the lives of those elderly wolves. I couldn't stop myself from frowning. I don't care if they are the cause of my future problem or not; if they started it, I will definitely kill them. Plus, to be honest, I have no idea what to ask of them. I am uninterested in their lives or in anything else. But I didn't like the idea of working for them for free.
"What now?"
I waited for Lila to speak up, and it took her a few moments to finally respond. "You already have Severino by your side," she said, her teeth clenched. "He will never let anything happen to you as his mate; he is the strongest and will ensure your safety; isn't that enough?"
"No one is omnipotent," I said, waving my hand, "so tell me if you're in or out. Let's stop wasting time."
Lila remained silent again, but her hands did not. I could see her fidgeting fingers. "I'm not going to order you to kill your pack or yourself; just think of it as my desire to make friends in this strange land."
"Who wanted to be someone else's slave?" she muttered, her face dark.
"Ha?"
Did I just say 'slave'? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall using the word 'allegiance'.
"I think you got me and the meaning of the word wrong."
Lila grunted. "Isn't this allegiance led by you?" she snorted. "If that's the case, aren't we just your slaves?"
I sighed and rolled my eyes. Alphas and their sense of self-worth! "Just let me know if you're in or out; I'd like to wrap this up quickly," I said. My patience was wearing thin!
"I don't mind," she said, crossing her arms across her chest, "but don't blame me if the others don't want to."
"That's fine with me; those other two have more brains than you."
She opened her mouth to retort, but I stopped her with my hand. "Let's go back to the summit. Let's have the ritual there," I said as I slid the bag of ingredients into my hand. "I want this done, and also I'm interested in the curse; it's an intriguing one."
I immediately got out of that morgue, Lila following behind. And after some twists and turns, I finally managed to get to the hearth room. Not where I wanted to be, but it would do since Severino and Cross were in that room, sipping their teas leisurely.
"Are you finished with your womanly talk?" Severino asked, setting down his teacup. I could somehow hear a distinct sarcastic tone in the way he questioned me.
"Oh, yes, of course. It was satisfying and successful," I remarked.
"So, are you prepared to return to the summit now?"
I gasped. "You were eavesdropping!" I accused angrily.
"Yes," he replied, "but also no. You shouldn't blame a werewolf for having good hearing." Severino stood up and slowly approached me. "I do want to protest, though. I can protect you without the help of the other alphas. No need to waste your time asking for their allegiance," he whispered in my ears when he reached me.
I could feel his breath as his lips were inches away from my ears. I shivered. His breath tickles me. After which, he looked at me coldly before passing by and ordered, "Let's go. I don't want to waste one further single moment waiting for yet another victim. We need to solve this plague as soon as possible."
I harrumphed, then, rolled my eyes when I saw Lila and Cross looking at me with those profound eyes before following Severino's tail.
Yes, yes, yes!
Find the source of this plague and put an end to it.
Hopefully!
---
The journey back to the summit was peaceful. Unfortunately, my journey after that was not. I hoped I could have enjoyed life before the unthinkable happened.