Chapter 16: Brewing Conspiracy
1041 Words
"Is he being serious? Why is he so stupid? Can't he see the signs?!!" A grey-haired woman exclaimed as she watched Kendrick walking away from the car with the rest of the group through a glass orb.
"I've heard spiritually insensitive humans never heard of a stubborn and ignorant werewolf. How can he not see the blatant sign in front of him?" Another woman dressed in a grey cloak replied while mixing a potion at the side of the dark, thatched house.
"What do we do? Do we leave him to continue the journey?"
"We can't," the first lady replied with a frown. "He can't enter the blue mountain... Not yet."
"And you know we can't do anything to him... We can only warn him from afar or mess with the car... We are not allowed to mess with people, or else the restraints will be activated."
"I'm not sure why you are so concerned about him," the last woman, who had been sitting alone in the middle of the room, knitting, replied without looking up at the other two. "At the end of the day, he's the son of that power-hungry monster."
"But he's different!" The cloaked lady replied.
"Is he really?"
The room fell silent at her words, and the grey-haired lady let out a sigh.
"Still, for the sake of our plan, we can't allow him to die at this time."
"I suppose you are right," the third lady replied as she finally placed down the sweater she had been knitting. "There's still a way for us to solve the problem."
***
"How is Father's condition?" Collon asked with a smile as he walked into the ward to see Nancy checking Alpha Elton's condition.
"For now, the poison has stopped spreading. Although the poison is starting to adapt to the drug we gave him. I'm not sure he'll last longer if we don't get the witches to find the right cure," Nancy finished grimly, placing the clipboard on the side table. "The antidote we made is only delaying the inevitable."
"You still haven't detected what the second poison is?" He asked, and she nodded.
"We have checked all our records, but we haven't found the poison. I'm thinking it's a very uncommon poison or it's not from this part of the country."
"Unless we find it, we can't find a cure for it, and that's why we need the help of outsiders... Those familiar with herbs and poisons." She added with a forced smile.
Collon’s smile faltered for a moment, but he quickly composed himself, stepping closer to the bed where his father lay, pale and unmoving with his brows creased together as if in pain.
"And Kendrick thinks he’ll find that cure on the Blue Mountain?"
“That’s what he said. He took some of your father’s blood samples with him so the poison could be tested by the witches.”
“Hmm…” Collon nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly. “And do you believe he’ll succeed? Will he be able to get the cure?”
"Don't you think it's reckless for him to depend on and put the life of the Alpha into the hands of those unreliable witches?"
Nancy paused before answering. “If there’s anyone who can, it’s Kendrick. He’s reckless, but he doesn’t give up. I'm sure he'll find a way to make unreliable people reliable.”
Collon smiled again, this time more softly, though something unreadable lingered in his expression.
“Let’s hope so.”
"Well, I'll leave you to it. With my father's condition and Kendrick's absence in the Pack, most of the work falls on my shoulders. If you need anything, do let me know."
"I will."
As Nancy turned back to her patient, Collon slowly walked out of the room, the smile disappearing completely as soon as the door shut behind him.
He let out a sigh and placed his hands in his pockets as he walked out of the Pack hospital and towards the training ground.
As he got close to the training ground, he stood behind a tall tree, his hands still buried in his pockets as he watched the warriors train. Soon a warrior walked away from the training ground and passed to the other side, turning around until he was standing behind Collon.
"What did you find?" Collon asked without taking his eyes off the training ground, his eyes particularly focused on Helen countering her opponent's continuous attacks.
"It appears they will take longer than expected," the warrior replied. "Their car broke down this morning, and Beta Kendrick, with some of the men, started journeying on foot."
"What about Lian and his group? Any news from those who went after them?"
"No, we don't have need yet."
"Then continue to watch both of them."
"Yes, sir," the warrior replied and went back the way he came.
Collon continued watching the training for a few more minutes before turning away towards the Pack house with an unreadable expression.
Helen, who had sensed someone's eyes on her for a long time, looked up after pinning her opponent down. She noticed Collon's back walking away in the distance, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
"You can let go now," the coach announced as he noticed Helen was still pinning her opponent down.
Snapping out of her thoughts, she stepped away from her opponent and shifted back to her human form.
"I'm sorry; I got distracted." She apologised with a bow, and the coach hummed.
"I understand why you would want to be out of the house, but I honestly think it's too early for you to come to the training ground," the coach advised with a frown.
"Your performance today was sloppy. Even though you won, your emotions were all over the place, and you were only aiming for your opponent's vital spots. If he had been any weaker, he'd have been sent to the emergency centre."
"I'm sorry, coach," Helen replied, her head bowed, hiding her emotions as her fist clenched the helm of her fitted training outfit.
"You can take a break from training for a few days. Do some other things in the Pack and then come back when you've gotten your emotions under control.”
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