Thomas's expression was skeptical. What did they mean by he had just killed an Alpha? Was he supposed to just allow Yara to brag about how he was going to kill Calhoun and take over the throne? He couldn't sit and do nothing, he had to do something. And he did the first thing that came into his mind.
He knew that stabbing Yara was never going to be enough, so he had to lace the dagger with a corrosive werewolf poison, so even if Yara ever survived it, he will never be able to transform into his wolf form or shapeshift again. He will survive and become like a regular human.
"What do you mean?" He finally asked, voicing out his concern and confusion. "I did kill the enemy, what else was I supposed to do?"
"Thomas, you killed an Alpha," Evander said. "Two things are involved here."
"Which and which?" Thomas asked.
Felix hummed. "We might have to await the waking of Calhoun to determine what it's going to be. Being the one who killed the Alpha, you have the right to become the new Alpha of the blood pack."
"Eh." Thomas gagged. "That place is so disgusting!"
"Because they were subject to a disgusting man, Yara," Evander said. "But if you're the new Alpha, they become subject to you, and you can make it to become whatever you wish for it."
"Rahu's pack is subject to the blood pack. There are three packs in that one town."
"What?"
Felix nodded. "That's why they're all jealous of Wisteria. We are one pack that resides in one town."
Thomas went silent. Being an alpha was never something he dreamed of and he only expected to be a loyal subject to King Calhoun. What happens when he becomes an alpha? Will he also report Wisteria when they offend him? The thought of ever going against Calhoun made him panic.
"Calm down Thomas." Felix urged. "We will have to wait for the king to wake up. Meanwhile, where did you keep his body?"
"Somewhere far away where no one could guess. I think I should go and retrieve it." Thomas said. Felix nodded and he left. Felix turned to Evander after Thomas had left them.
"Well? What do you think?"
"I think that we have only seen how weak and unready we are when Calhoun is indisposed," Evander said with a shrug. "We have to clean this place up."
"Yes, yes." Felix nodded. "We have to clean the place up. It's too disgusting and we have lost so many soldiers. This Yara is so despicable."
The two men kept discussing the just-ended battle as they walked to the front of the castle which had served as the battleground. There were a few wounded soldiers who were yet to heal, some still standing strong and many were dead. The warriors of the blood pack who weren't injured or dead had fled when they heard that their Alpha had died.
"They look so disgusting," Evander commented, staring at the wounded warriors of the blood pack. "What do we do to them?"
"We take them to the dungeon and lock them up," Felix answered.
"If they die?"
Felix hummed. "Then they die."
"Guards!"
Being the beta of the Wisteria pack, he gave orders to the unaffected guards to collect the wounded enemy soldiers and imprison them in the dungeon. The war had ended, and the castle needed to be presentable for the awakening of the king.
The guards followed Felix's orders and successfully captured the wounded soldiers. They were locked up in the dungeon, which was guarded by the unaffected soldiers.
Felix's decision to imprison the wounded soldiers may have been controversial, but it was necessary to maintain order and ensure the safety of the pack. The king's awakening was a significant event, and the castle needed to be in pristine condition.
Evander was helpless as he watched the guards carry out Felix's orders. He could only stand by and witness the brutality unfold before him. The sound of the gate opening caught his attention, and he saw Thomas struggling to bring in the unconscious body of the king.
He quickly hurried over to assist Thomas in carrying Calhoun's body. Together they took him back into his chamber and laid him in his bed.
"Thomas, you were not supposed to bring him in such an obvious manner." Evander scolded, shaking his head. "what happens if other packs get wind of this? Do you think we can be safe? This is just Yara and there are still other packs out there and they all hate Calhoun."
"This is the safest way to have brought him, Evander," Thomas replied. "Because now they know that attacking in broad daylight is going to be a huge crime."
Evander chuckled. "I don't know what gives you the impression, Thomas. But it's too risky. Don't do it next time."
"Next time?" Thomas reiterated. "Don't say it as if the king is going to be poisoned again."
"Right, right," Evander murmured. That kind of slip was too dangerous. "Anyway, I think we should head out now. Let's see what the guards are up to, cleaning the castle and ridding it of blood."
"You go ahead, Evander. I have to stay and watch the king's body." Thomas said. "Assuming I wasn't here when we were attacked, Yara's bravery was top-notch."
Evander nodded. "Thankfully, you were in the room doing whatever it was that you were doing."
"That's beautiful," Thomas said immediately. "Too beautiful. You can go ahead now."
As Evander exited the room, Thomas got busy with feeding the king the antidote which he had found. He tried to administer the drug to him but he found out that Calhoun had gone back into a state of coma.
"My king." He whispered. "Remember Diana, wake up."
There was no movement at all. No sounds, and it felt as if he wasn't breathing anymore. Thomas began to search for any injuries or marks just to be certain that he wasn't followed and Calhoun wasn't poisoned when he had left to return to the castle and help in the fight.
Turning his body over and over, he saw that there were no scars. He relaxed visibly.
George continued his journey to the unknown place. He had traveled a long distance while on the train and he was grateful for the fact that he wasn't walking. He had spent twelve hours and the train had finally stopped. He alighted from the train and he could only see a vast expanse of greenery.
"Wow." He muttered. The place almost reminded him of what Wisteria looked like in the time of Marjun Montego. He wasn't born then but his grandfather had told him all the stories about it. He stared around the place and he was able to catch a glimpse of a small cottage that seemed to be at the center of the vast area.
He turned and saw a huge tree. He began his journey to the cottage. He had started by walking but then it felt too slow so he began to run. Since he ran faster, he arrived at the cottage in less than two minutes.
The place seemed empty as if nobody lived there anymore. Perhaps Simon had been right about them changing their location.
He peeped into the window of the cottage.
"Hi!" A chirpy voice yelled behind him and he jolted in fright. He quickly turned to find a young girl standing behind him, with her hands at her back, she stared at him with big doe eyes. George was lost in her bright green eyes.
"Hi." He replied. "Uh... You don't happen to live here, do you?"
"Uh-huh!" She exclaimed excitedly, nodding twice. "Why, who are you looking for? You don't seem like someone who lives here."
"How can you tell?" George asked and as soon as the question left his mouth, he felt stupid. It was obvious from the way she dressed that he was different from the towners.
"Duh!" She laughed. "I can tell that you understand now!"
George smiled. "Well, yeah. I can see the difference. But do you live in this cottage?"
"Yeah. I live here with Nana!"
"Who ... What is Nana?"
"Duh!" She laughed again. "Nana is my grandma. Although she is just an old woman who decided to adopt me after I lost my parents. But I call her Nana."
"Okay cool. Can I meet her? I have a message for her from Doctor Simon of Wisteria."
The girl gasped. "Come with me! Thankfully you didn't meet her. She would not want to hear the name of Wisteria. It makes her angry."
"Huh? Why?"
"Well, because Grandpa died while trying to make more potions for that despicable doctor man."
"Des...picable?" George asked. "Do you even know what that means?"
"Does it matter?" She glared at him. "Come with me, Grandpa taught me how to make more potent antidotes and I can just do that quickly for you."
"Annabelle!" An older voice called firmly from inside the cottage. "Who are you talking to again? I hope it's not that stupid bunny you found in the evil magic forest?"
"Uh... Not at all Nana. It's that old cracky nurse again, she missed her way and I have to take her back to the elderly home."
"Oh, good dear." The woman said, chuckling lightly. "I'm so proud of you, doing good all the time. Please help me fetch some nice cookies from the elderly home on your way back."
Annabelle's face paled. Before she would finish the potion and run to the elderly home and run back, her nana would have been all over the whole village searching for her. Then her cover would be blown up, and-
George tapped her and shook a packet of cookies before her. Annabelle smiled.
"Of course Nana! I will get you the tastiest of them all!"
"That's my Annabella!"
"Quick, come on!" Annabelle said in a hushed voice. She led George to the small forest of trees that were behind the cottage. It had a small path that one could follow and as they walked, George could see that the place still had some grasses that had covered the path. It showed that it had been quite a long since anyone trod the path.
Annabelle led him to the largest tree in the forest, there was a small house in the tree. George chuckled. He watched the girl climb the tree so quickly and he had to follow suit.
She began to mix the potion. "So tell me, who needs this potion, and what happened to them?"
"Our king was poisoned. We do not know what kind of poison but by the following morning after taking it, he was knocked out cold."
"Really...?" She asked. "You don't say."
George shrugged. "Simon was the one who said I could get the antidote here. I don't know why he sent me here."
"Perhaps he was hoping to get some spare for himself," Annabelle said, placing the small pot over the single candlestick.
"A candle," George stated. "Why is it a candle? It could take forever."
"That's the last bit. It's not supposed to boil but cook to a certain degree and the perfect degree can only be attained with the help of a candle. A single candle. That way, we can rest assured that we will get the exact temperature."
"Why can't you use a bunch and remove it one after the other till it's just one so you could still get that but faster?" George suggested.
Annabelle shrugged. "I don't think you understood a bit of what I said so I don't think explaining again would change it."
"Haha. Sarcasm." George said. "How long will this take?"
"Oh," Annabelle exclaimed. "Say a few minutes or an hour or two."
George facepalmed. "An hour or two? Who knows it might just be three or four hours even."
Annabelle giggled. "I'm just kidding, it's ready."
She took the small pot down and just as she turned the potion into a small vial, they heard a loud bang on the door. George's instincts kicked in instantly and he got protective of the girl.