Chapter 42 WOLF LAND.

MONDAY
I and Tia told Jhan and Jereum about our progress the next day and Jhan was highly proud of how we had managed to pull off such a feat. Jereum, on the other hand, kept a good distance from me but I pretended not to notice lest his pride kicks in. We had already discussed the plan several times and we had gotten into our required clothes. Leya, who was hinting off great amounts of reluctance to follow us, offered to stay behind. I had noticed her slight cringing when we spoke about the topic of the giant wolves.
"It's gonna be okay," I had been repeating these same words to her over and over again but yet my words did not seem to inculcate any form of willingness whatsoever into her. Like her encounter with the red wolf had left her shaken. I gave her a small pat on her blonde hair and kissed Dawn before leaving the house. With Leya at home, Dawn had all the company she could get. They could do all sorts of things together and probably braid each other's blonde hair.
The wolf was right. It was a cloudy day in deed. Like as if it could foretell the weather. I looked around the familiar neighbourhood. No watchers by day only by night. The street we lived on was heavily designated. Most humans that lived in this town, lived at the South side of town and the north side—which is where we lived and were the higher court was located—was heavily vampire colonized.
Because of this, the streets were empty most of the time as we vampires would mostly spend time in the playground. I had asked Jhan, a long time ago, if our lives could b normal enough. He had told me that some vampires, most in fact, didn't serve the higher court and lived closely normal lives with their clan in cloudier and cooler parts of the world. I had wondered what such would be like but I couldn't live it, not yet. I still had to finds my mother, if she was the image that had flashed through my mind, and I also had to recover my lost memories.
We walked in silence and I took the opportunity to recount the plan to them.
"Okay, once we get to the forest. I'll go in—alone—while the rest of you stay dormant. We do not want it to look like an attack of adjudicators because our silver boots may give the wrong idea.
"Once I manage to lure them out, that is when it's safe to come out. Got that?"
Everyone nodded and in one loud crack we were off. The edges of the forest were lined with tall shrubs, the perfect place for someone to hide away from vicious predators. The other crouched down, grim seriousness on their face. Jhan had linked us all up with his mind and I walked into the cool, green environment.
'There would be no need for that...'
I heard th voice of the black wolf in my head and I was sure the others heard it too.
They rose from where they were perfectly camouflaged and approached us.
'Welcome, my name is night,' and I realized that it was just then that I was knowing her name 'and I am sure Kaldar has told you about the matters at hand. We have no time to waste, I shall take you to our leader and hopes he accepts your presence.'
"Wait—hopes?" Jereum asked, flashing a glare in my direction.
'Yes indeed, he sees to handling this matter on his own and has been looking for the proper way to come to your government without arrows being fired into his skull.'
"I see," Jhan said. "I hope he does accept our visit because if he doesn't, we will have a heavy price to pay."
'There is no more time, let us move. Follow me and do not stop if not you might get lost. These forests are more than you think.'
She started to a slow trot and we picked up at a jog. Tia was beside me, her expression worry.
"Everything alright?" I asked her as I dodged around a tree.
"Yeah, there's just something about her voice..."
"She's an overgrown wolf Tia—of course she won't have a normal voice."
"No, like it is familiar... Too familiar."
I looked at her, there was a seriousness to what she said on her face but I couldn't bother myself with that. Tia was seventy years old she must have met people who sounded like the wolf.
We were now on a full on pursuit after the black wolf. We could out run her but we had to keep at its level because she was the one that was leading us. We ran for what seemed to be a full day before the wolf took a hard left and came to a slow stop. I stopped beside it, catching my unrequired breath and the others looked at the wolf with expectancy.
"Don't tell me we ran all those miles for nothing!" Jereum sneered, annoyance quickly growing on his face.
'Down there...' She thought to us. I was the first to walk towards the steeply sloped land. And when I peered over and looked down, I was shocked by what I was seeing. I heard someone walk over to be and when I Jhan looked over, even he was taken aback.
Bellow, at the bottom of the large slope was what looked like a small village. I saw several houses and people that walked about the place.
'Too far into the forest and perfectly hidden from humans. This is our refuge.'
I was too captivated by the scene to pay attention to what the wolf had just said, but Tia, who was peering down at the place beside Jereum, wasn't.
She asked, "Refuge?"
'We have been driven away from our original home by a false ruler. It is this false ruler that wants the remaining of us who stood by Alzaraq, the true leader dead. His intentions are to destroy all demon kind.'
And I knew she meant us when she said demon kind.
'Although I personally prefer calling your kind, vampires.'
And I saw the rising anger on Jereum's face dissipate. No vampire would have liked to be called a demon. Though some of us, or most of us still kill humans. The majority in this town consumed human blood from the hospitals.
'Let us proceed, I will show you my friends and our leader. But keep close to me. My pack does not like vampires, especially on these lands—'
"Lest you didn't know big dog, this isn't your land was much as it isn't ours. So if any one of your quadruped friends try to take a bite out of me, I'll kick 'em so hard there's gonna be silver implants in its head," Jereum said, looking at serious as ever.
The wolf just looked as him. Blankly.
'I understand, but do be prepared to dash out of these forest before you get devoured, limb by limb...'
The wolf leaped down, falling the great distance before landing on it's paws. I looked at the others, giving them a stiff nod before I followed down. The fall was about three hundred meters long but that was no problem when you were a vampire. It was like jumping and landing from three meters of height.
We got down and was immediately surrounded by a crowd of Lupine humans. They all had a red tinge to their skin except a few that shared the same darker skin I and Jereum had. We walked carefully behind the black wolf, avoiding their stares. They were surprisingly well dressed, with some girl even wearing dresses. Most of the men were bbare chested an wore loose trousers.
While the women and girls wore nicer looking clothes but no shoes.
I kept my gaze forward but Jereum kept on throwing his red glinted gaze at anyone who dared to look at him. The area got quieter as we walked through. The children that were playing around in the sand stopped and stared on at us, freighted looks on their faces.
As we walked inbetween houses I saw several Lupines come out of their houses to peep at us and I even saw a mother hide the face of her child behind her body and saying something in a language I did not understand. It was must have been strange for them to see four, armed vampires walking in their homes so casually. They must have felt invaded.
Up ahead I saw three wolves which I immediately recognized were from my encounter yesterday. All except the white one. As we walked through the small village of Lupine, I saw a larger hut up ahead.
We neared the larger hut. I looked at the three wolves that stood clustered up to each other and I saw a girl, she had rich dark skin, like mine, but pure white curly hair. She leaned against the reddish-orange wolf and had a small smile on her face. We locked gazes and I marvelled at her eccentric beauty and appearance. I quickly averted my eyes from hers and refocused my gaze ahead at where we were going.
We stopped just in front of the hut and I heard the rustling of feet behind us. I and my clan turned around to see a leave number of me. They all had a beastial gaze to their eyes and I was sure they hated our presence.
My heartbeat quickened but I knew better than to make any sudden movements or it could be my end. There was no way we could defeat them if they all morphed into wolves. They'd kill us. Jereum already had his fingers wrapped around the haft of his handy dagger and he was about withdrawing it when we heard a loud, gruff voice.
"My brothers! May we treat our guests with a more welcoming spirit..."
The voice came from the hut in front of us and we turned to see a large stout man, reddish skin and pure grey hair.