Obsidian Part I Wattys2020

Chapter 22

Hunters were strange to the human world, many didn't believe them and others did but didn't agree with their ideas. They would be labeled as crazy people most of the time, avoided and shunned from society. However, to us they're not only a threat, but they're quite annoying. They cause so many inconveniences when all we're trying to do is live our lives and make sure we keep the rogues under control. 

I was beginning to grow anxious with the lack of news, no hunters have been spotted and my father still doesn't know who the traitor is. He's starting to believe that maybe the hunters were lying, but then I had to point out how they had information that only another wolf can give. We were all growing frustrated with the search, it made it extremely difficult when we don't even have a clue to go by. No description of the traitor, no information on what pack they're in, nothing. Which is the only smart thing the hunters did, not give us anything to go off of so we could find the traitor and they lose their advantage. 

I let out a breath and rubbed my temples, trying to relieve some of the stress. I had gone through all the documents regarding hunters, even the ones that were from when my grandfather was alpha. Obsidian had kept all of them, thankfully, but they barely give any new ideas. The past hunters were definitely stronger and dangerous, which had me wondering why they wouldn't teach their children to become better hunters. It's like they decided to forget all about us, the war, everything. It was a little confusing to say the least, for years they hadn't shown their faces and now we have new ones, wanting us dead. Someone had to have found something and began getting all the members they could, if we could find the guy behind all of this, we could come up with a better plan. 

"Sylvia?"

I looked up as Cynthia walked in, her face mirroring my own exhaustion, "What's up?" 

"Well, Obsidian is getting better and can be discharged this afternoon. The antibiotic got rid of most of the infection, but he has to continue taking it for next seven days. He also needs to clean his wound every night and change the bandaging on it. But that's not the main reason I came here, I wanted to make sure you're okay. For the past two days you have been hiding in your room, surrounded by documents." 

"I know, it's just....I want to find out who the mastermind behind this all is. How do hunters just disappear off the face of the earth and then all of sudden reappear? Granted, these guys suck compared to their ancestors but they're going to get smarter. It could take a week or months before they actually attack, I just want to be prepared."

She slowly nodded, her lips pursed in thought as she looked at the papers surrounding me. She plopped onto the floor beside me and began reading some of them, her eyebrows furrowing as she went over the information. 

"Seems like they had left some hunters to live when they made a treaty with your grandfather," she mumbled.

I nodded, "I know, but my dad can't find that treaty. Used to be in his office, but it's like it just disappeared into thin air."

"Whoever that traitor is most likely took it, these hunters are breaking the treaty their grandparents made."

"But why?"

She shrugged, "We won't know until we have more details. Which, luckily for you, Luthias might have." 

"Really?"

"Yeah, they caught an interesting hunter, her name is Rosalinda apparently. She's a feisty person but they apparently made a deal. He's known for making deals, even with a hunter."

I leaned back against my bed, "Why would he make a deal with a hunter?"

"She apparently doesn't want to be a hunter, we're not sure what had happened that made her suddenly run from them. But she's pretty cool, just very mysterious."

"I don't trust her," I grumbled.

Cynthia hummed her agreement, "This sucks."

"Yeah, big time." 

We spent another hour going over anything we might have missed, hoping it would help us get an idea on how to prepare for them. However, we came to the conclusion that we won't find anything, they're different from their grandparents or parents. While they aren't as dangerous yet, they have the potential to become more of a threat. For now, we agreed on just keeping an extra eye out and making sure the warriors are ready for anything. That includes conditioning the younger ones and keeping the older ones in work so they wouldn't become out of shape. 

It was wasting our energy to continue reading over old documents, trying to learn more about them when there isn't anything else to learn. We can't figure anything out until we have something new to go off of, hopefully Rosalinda will keep her end of the deal and not screw us over. 

~~~~~~

The day was going by too fast, but I was a little relieved that it meant I was a day closer to going home. While it isn't awful here at all, I was missing my family and pack, I was missing Lin and the bad but fun decisions we made. But I was also dreading it, the pull that was growing inside that made me want to be near Obsidian was getting stronger. It almost hurt to think of not seeing him every single day and being so far from him, it scared me. I didn't want to fall in love with anyone, I didn't want to give someone that power over me, to destroy me with their words or touch. My heart was the one thing I protected on myself, shielded it from anything that could break it and pull me into that familiar darkness. 

Throughout middle school and high school I had drowned in my depression, allowing the negative thoughts to swarm my mind and kill any ounce of positive light. I had taken it out on my body and family, lashing out whenever my mind would break. It took me years to finally find my way out of there, to grow my confidence and strength, to take my life back. I refuse to let anyone do that to me again, to take my happiness away and throw it in my face. 

As Cynthia helped the maids clean Obsidian's room, I decided to go for a run, wanting to stretch my legs. The softness of the earth on my paws felt amazing as I shifted, I shook my fur out and stood in the woods for a moment. Sunlight poured through the opening between the trees, a white butterfly fluttered around some flowers, a chipmunk scurried across the ground, gathering whatever food it could find. I sniffed the pink flowers, scaring the little insect of beauty away. Nature's song relaxed me, causing me to forget about reality for just a little while. Taking a deep breath, I zipped off, sprinting through the undergrowth as dirt clung to the fur on my legs. 

I ran until I couldn't anymore, until my lungs were screaming and my legs were aching. The stress and anxiety of today's issues slowly left my body with each breath. I eventually rested in a clearing, watching the forest around me. The sun's warmth made me drowsy, but I refused to sleep, wanting to stay awake and alert. 

"It's difficult to track you down in the woods."

I jumped up at his voice, my fur bristling as I swiftly spun around and bared my teeth. Obsidian smirked at me, not an ounce of fear showing. I snorted at him as my fur smoothed back down and the tension from my muscle released. Sitting down, I laid my ears flat, showing my irritation for his sudden appearance. He let out a small laugh, his eyes shining with amusement. 

"Didn't mean to scare you," he snickered.

I growled softly, baring my teeth a little before getting up and walking back towards the house. He quietly followed me, looking around and taking deep breaths. He was still a little pale and limping, but his leg was bandaged up, protected from any dirt. His hand suddenly glided across my head, gently massaging into my fur. I growled a little, but he simply ignored me, continuing to stroke my fur. 

"You've been doing a great job of taking care of my pack, thank you," he murmured.

I tilted my head a little and wagged my tail, he smiled at my actions as a strange emotion seemed to take over his expression. He quickly looked away with a slight tint to his cheeks, his jaw clenching slightly. We fell back into the peaceful silence, enjoying each other's company as we walked through the woods. 

A/N: Bleh