The Other Animals

Chapter 30

The interior of the black SUV held a thick tension between the two werewolves and the human, Jackson choosing to escape the uncomfortable atmosphere by texting Stephanie, snickering away at his phone. Nikolai had no choice but to focus on the road and stew in the awkwardness, watching William's focused face in the rearview mirror as he stared at the passing scenery. He had been quiet for most of the trip, and Nikolai was almost willing to pay just to know what was going on in that head of his. The last word he had spoken was a goodbye to his son before they left, right before Oliver was about to settle down for a nap in an attempt to combat the lingering headache. It had improved greatly since the rogues attacked, and by the third day, he was starting to feel a lot better. Oliver had taken it upon himself to try and replicate what he had done to the rogue with random objects littered around the pack house- but to no success. The frustration lacing his face every time he tried to move a book, a pen, or even a leaf to no avail, deeply saddened Nikolai.

William wasn't sure if there were potentially others whom Adriano had experimented on, and certainly no way to determine their identity or contact them, so Oliver was on his own for this one.

Nikolai exited the highway and drove towards that same dirt road that had led them to Glacier territory in their last visit, which seemed like so long ago. Time was moving at hyperspeeds, and everyone was cursed to perpetually try and keep their heads above water. Nikolai certainly felt that he was often drowning beneath the weight of it all.

They received the same greeting of stares and wandering glances as they had last time from the Glacier pack members, only now it was accompanied by some friendly smiles and waves. Alpha Hanson was standing tall on the porch with a dark skinned woman next to him, with short, coiled hair in faded jeans and a pale blue sweater. She wore dark red lipstick on her lips, which made her toothy smile even more striking.

Alpha Hanson gave her a kiss on her temple before thumping down the stairs, his jubilant voice echoing as the trio left Nikolai's parent's SUV.

"And what business do you have bringing a human onto my territory? Who the hell-?"

Hanson's question was cut off once William rounded to the other side of the car, now in full display adorning his zip off hiking pants, black windbreaker and Chacos.

"William," Hanson breathed, clapping his hands in front of him and taking a deep inhale. "Disregard my squawking- it's good to see you, my friend! Come, come, my mate Arya is here, you all have to meet her. Isn't she beautiful?"

The middle aged woman chuckled from the porch, shaking her head as she slipped her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. "Honey, remember we had a discussion about this. People here for business do not care about my looks, let's move along now."

"Right, right," Alpha Hanson nodded to his mate before sauntering over to the Evergreen members, leaning in close to evade his wife's prying ears. "See, she always keeps me on track. This whole place would go up in flames without her," he whispered, before motioning them to follow. "I've got some new info about our little friend that I think you're going to like."

The group shuffled through the halls until they reached the same large library as before, Hanson fiddling with the key before unlocking the door and pushing it open with a squeak. The same old, musty air smacked Nikolai in the face, the stench of mildew hanging heavy in the room. He glanced over his shoulder at the two guards taking up his back, only to jump at the sight of Hanson's scary looking beta. She, of course, narrowed her eyes at the man and jutted her chin out as if saying keep walking.

The room was just as much of a mess as the first time Nikolai had laid eyes on it, if not even more so now. A table in front of the cork boards was covered in an assortment of pictures and drawings of what looked like the interior of a building. Standing between the table and boards, Hanson hunched over and smacked his hands against the wood, lowering his head to look at all of the occupants in the room under his brow.