Traversing Worlds

Arc One Ch. 29

Mina glared at Aaron who stood just outside the door of the room Healer Zachary was currently conduction a general examination on Audrey. It didn't take very long for him to come back out and inform them that she was physically fine.

Rage could be seen within her brown eyes hearing this news. "What did you say to my cousin cur!" She demanded.

Aaron took the short she wolf in with a scoff. "I don't have to tell you anything." He said while coming to a quick realization Audrey wasn't interested in Marcus like he'd originally thought seeing the strange and unworried attitude presented by this she wolf.

"You will tell me now or later cur, it doesn't matter much to me though I can promise if you don't speak up now it will hurt all the worst later."

Aaron smiled down at her finding the words she spoke to be less than threatening he wasn't afraid of her promise of pain. "You really want to know?" He asked in a low voice that contained a truly threatening presence.

Her eyes narrowed. "Tell me."

"I asked her to reconsider my mating proposal." The moment he finished speaking she didn't seem to believe her ears.

Her eyes glowed with fury. "She is mine, not yours to have and if you really had asked about a mating proposal she would have reported the situation to me right away. Now tell me the real truth you lying cur!"

His relaxed stance didn't change at all as the smile on his face only grew bigger. "Oh are you so sure about that? She muttered about someone wanting to kill her when she found out about it just before passing out." He said mixing a truth and a lie without batting an eye.

Unable to get a proper reading on him Mina huffed releasing the anger to quell the wolf that was scratching at the surface. Having never been one to feel envy towards the day shifter she wished for a moment that she could unleash her form during the day without the eye of the Moon Goddess watching over her.

"I warned you cur." Leaving that sentence behind she turned and left to inform her mother of the current situation.

Aaron ignored Mina's threat and entered the room where Audrey still laid unconscious. Sitting down next to her bed he held one of her hands and broke down. Recalling the hesitation she showed early, he could only imagine what would have happened to her seeing how casually Mina could threaten him so publicly without batting an eye.

Holding a basket Kira greeted Jon who was sitting tight lipped behind the reception desk. She gave him an ease smile that usually got a smile out of most even if a reluctant one. He didn't seem to notice her presence as he blankly stared silently into space.

She found Healer Zachary in a strange mood as well looking like he was preparing to go into a tough battle. "..." Speaking about the things she had collected and her reason and still getting no response she stepped up and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Healer Zackary it's me Kira, my wrist hurts can you loosen your grip." She asked with a pained voice even going so far as to drop the basket she carried to try prying his hand loose.

Blinking, he finally realized what he was doing and released her wrist. "Ah...Kira I am sorry my mind was elsewhere. Please come on in and tell me what brings you here today." He said in a tight voice.

"Just the killer plants near the stream will be maturing soon, so I thought it wasn't a bad idea to pick some of the common plants there before it happened." She said gathering up the scattered contents that fell out when she dropped the basket.

"Ah is it really that time of the year already, thank you for picking some...I think you picked too much Kira." He said noticing some of the smaller plants had been uprooted.

"Well I was thinking about trying to cultivate some within the pack since they are all relatively harmless plants." To this Zachary nodded having poked his own fingers on multiple occasions even now on the small thorny fibers. "So what has you in such a jumpy mood?" She asked in a casual manner.

"Sorry about that really Kira I had thought you were someone sent by the Wood family. They can be a bit intense about their own." He said though his tone and facial expression implying a lot more.

Knowing that he wouldn't speak more on the topic she changed it to something lighter before bring up things she should keep an eye out for while foraging. Looking through the records he kept and found a few things that were relatively safe to collect alone in some of the more heavily patrolled areas. Kira didn't say much about his choices and simply smiled as she bid him goodbye.

Stepping into the tight hallway Kira thought about the new information she had gleaned about the Wood family. There were a few families she had suspected but most either no longer had the ability to command such power or didn't exist within the pack any longer.

She froze in step and looked up towards the end of the short hallway and cursed the moon.

One of the two doors opened as Aaron exited once he noticed a familiar scent. Kira ducked into the room as Aaron went to greet Marcus who was sweating profusely.

Kira immediately noticed Audrey sleeping on the small bed, she had heard quite a bit about her since arriving in the Pine Wood pack as each inquiry ended with the mention Audrey's name. If you need information she was the wolf you needed to talk to. The only reason she hadn't till now was because of her connection to the Wood family and if she was so good at information collecting making it even more unlikely the Wood family wasn't using her talents already.

Not knowing what had transpired or why she was sleeping in the room Kira watched Audrey open her eyes. Glancing around the room in confusion Audrey's gaze finally landed on her, a mixture of panic and fear filled her green eyes as she started mumbling. "She's going to kill us both." Over and over she repeated this line.

Kira didn't understand what she meant but carefully approached her and place a hand onto her shoulder before gently reaching for her forehead. "It's alright Audrey we are in a safe place here no one can hurt you, are you feeling calmer?" She asked after the older girl's breathing finally evened out.

Audrey looked up at her and nodded. "Yes I am."

"Can you tell me who is going to kill us?"

"Mina she is crazy over that male Marcus but I told her a lie and only just found out he isn't in love with her but you." To the last part Kira rolled her eyes, at best it could be called lusting since he dropped the original when she didn't show signs of a transformation near or on her sixteenth birthday.

"I don't think you have to worry too much don't you have a fine male looking after you right now not in some way connected to your family?" She knew through bits and pieces about her relationship with Aaron who couldn't be considered all that bad.

Audrey looked down showing a depressed expression. "I don't think he will want to accept me after what I've done."

"What did you do that was so bad?" She asked with a skeptical look on her face.

Her head shrunk further into her shoulders. "I never should have gotten close to him being there to find out information for Mina but he was so..." A bright red spread across her face as a feeling of embarrassment came over her. "...eye catching and I couldn't keep away from him even though I knew I should've stayed away." She managed to say after a moment of deep thought.

Kira nodded with an understanding look but before she could say anything else Aaron came into the room. "Do you really mean that?" He asked trying not to sound hopeful that someone would see him in such a way.

Audrey lifted her head up not expecting to have heard Aaron's voice at all. "Yes." The words and emotion left unsaid could be seen in her eyes as tears started streaking down her face.

Kira stood off to one side watching the pair embrace awkwardly mirroring how she currently felt in the moment.