My Mark Is His Posion

12

Chapter 12

FINNLEY'S POV

Everyone seemed to move around the pack house as though they were walking on egg shells.

My brows were furrowed in concern as I walked around hoping to catch up with whatever had happened within the last few days.

Since I was nearly non-existent, I easily blended in with everyone else as they carried out their duties, but something felt... odd.

People spoke in whispers, the hallways were cleared in seconds when someone whispered that an elder was coming and even the children were not running around as much anymore.

Nearly all the people I walked past held their shoulders tensely. Some of them kept flickering their eyes around uneasily while others moved with stiff, hurried steps, as though they didn't want to linger in the hallways.

My heart ached to see what my pack, my own family, had become.

I walked out to the small courtyard and my heart leaped happily when I sighted Elias, one of the wolves I could trust.

He noticed me walking over and quickly met me halfway, his eyes also darting around at the others in the courtyard uneasily.

"Finnley, what the hell!" He said as he clapped my shoulders and pulled me in for a hug.

"I was scared that you'd died. We heard Damon's men attacked again, close to our boundary."

"They're no match for me," I said jokingly and Elias shook his head as he exhaled a laugh.

"I can't believe you're making a joke out of this. Were you successful? Did you find the helper?"

I nodded in response. I had only told him I was leaving in search of someone I was hoping could help Alpha Gideon, but I hadn't told him that the someone was Freya.

"I did, but it seems things have only gotten worse here since I left. What's going on? What have you heard so far?"

Since he worked for one of the elders who was part of the council, I depended on him for information.

"You're not wrong, it is getting worse," he muttered and pulled me to a corner, further from others.

"Elder Reginald... he's been moving suspiciously a lot these days. He dismissed the eldest councillor from his position, saying he needed more rest than to be bothering himself with the pack issues at this serious time, but we all know he was one of the Alpha's valued advisers. After that, he replaced two council seats under the guise of 'emergency protocol'" Elias made air quotes with his index fingers.

"Is he even allowed to do that?"

"I have no idea, but everyone is beginning to suspect a succession," he whispered with a panicked look.

"And there's been no news on Beta Julian ever since?"

"I don't think they're telling him the truth of what's going on, Finn. Otherwise, he would have returned a long time ago. It's possible they're giving him false updates, right?"

I nodded in agreement and sighed heavily.

"There's a new healer too, by the way. Reginald appointed her himself, the council did not vote on it or I would have known."

My heart hammered in my chest as I soaked in all the information.

Things were bad when I left to find Freya, but the last thing I expected upon returning was for everything to become worse. It felt like the pack was about to fall apart, and there was no one to even challenge Elder Reginald's recent actions.

"And how is Cassandra doing despite all of this?"

"Thankfully, she still holds court in the main hall every evening. I think it's the only normal thing happening here. But she never exactly says if the Alpha is getting better or worse, she just tells everyone to keep hoping. Who knows if..."

"Elias!" Someone called, interrupting our conversation.

"I need to go now, Finn. I'm glad you're back in one piece," he said as he walked away and I nodded.

I remained at the courtyard for a while, feeling overwhelmed and wondering if I was right to bring Freya back to all this, knowing she was banished just weeks ago.

How would I even prove to anyone else that I had heard Alpha Gideon call her specifically?

Sighing, I started making my way through the hallway to go back to Sera's cabin but I had barely even walked five steps when a hand suddenly wrapped around my arm and pulled me into a room.

"I had a feeling it was you I'd seen."

My fists were balled, ready to throw a punch or two if necessary, but seeing it was my friend, Bria, I calmed down. She was one of the few who had heard the Alpha call for Freya as well.

"You would have been bleeding from your nose right now, Bria," I told her jokingly. "What's up?"

"Crazy things," she replied with a serious tone as she placed something in my hand. She closed my palm before I even had a chance to see what it was.

"There's a new healer taking care of Alpha Gideon now and I found this odd medicine in her supply kit."

My eyes narrowed with concern and I cracked my fingers a little to see what it was. A small vial with dark colored liquid sealed in it.

"I took a huge risk getting it out of her kit, Finnley, but I was hoping you'd find out what exactly it contains as soon as possible," she said with a shaky voice.

"Bria..."

"I know, it was a silly, stupid move, but I haven't been able to sleep peacefully since I noticed it. And you know I can't run any tests on it in the infirmary or someone would find out."

I closed my fingers around the vial and exhaled shakily. She was right.

"You're the only one I trust with this, Finnley, please be careful."

I could see the panic in her eyes as she spoke, and although I knew I was taking a dangerous risk, I nodded.

As I hurried back to Sera's cabin, the vial seemed to burn in my pocket. It almost felt like I was carrying a bomb that could wipe out the entire pack if I touched it wrongly.

I couldn't be more thankful that Owen was a doctor. If the content of the vial turned out to be what I quietly suspected, it would mean we were dealing with something bigger than us.

The results would either destroy us or expose what I feared most: the Alpha was not just sick, he was being killed by his own, slowly, daily, while the rest of the pack remained deceived.