Ella’s POV
Finally, we were leaving. We were going home. I wasn’t going to say that I was going to miss the runaway slaves in this village but I would think of them once in a while.
Liam was fully healed and ready to go home. Asides the concoction from the daisies that had helped him, I had also made him some herbal juices that had renewed his strength. I wouldn’t be surprised if he started to kick ass of enemies if we ever get into any battle anytime soon. That was how much I believed in the medications I made and how strong Liam was.
“Are you all ready to leave?” Kevin asked, looking at our group as his eyes traveled round.
I almost snorted at his question but kept it in check. Who wouldn’t be ready to leave after all we had been through? I could bet my position that the men had been waiting for this day for a long time.
“Yes, Alpha.” The men echoed.
The people came out to wish us goodbyes and as much as we wanted to act cool about it, tears still dropped from the eyes of some people. It was a teary and long-awaited goodbye.
I looked around and saw the leaders of the people talking with Kevin and Liam. I didn’t know what they were talking about but I doubted that I was going to be interested. It was probably going to be about wars, fighting weapons and techniques. I had overheard some of the men talking one day about how strong we were as werewolves and how he had been impressed when he saw our men practicing.
I saw Kevin smile and nod his head and suspected that I might be right. The pack must have gotten a compliment and then Kevin was asked a question. His smile was too bright for them to be talking about wars and strategies alone.
Reluctantly, I forced myself to tear my eyes away from Kevin and looked elsewhere. I could look at him for ages without getting tired.
“There you are.” Avila, the village doctor smiled as she walked towards me. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Me?” I was confused. I didn’t think we had any more business together. We had bonded through our knowledge of herbs and treatment and had swapped notes with each other. I had told her what I knew and had also learnt from her. We had our own goodbye yesterday away from the eyes of everyone. I hoped she wasn’t expecting us to be mushy with our tears and farewell now when we had done it yesterday just to avoid making a show today.
“Yes.” She nodded and laughed at the look on my face. “Oh! Don’t worry! I’m not going to hug you. I forgot to ask you about the last herb.”
“You mean this?” I searched my bag and brought out the pack of herbs I had taken from the first river.
“Yes.” Her face brimmed with excitement. “That.”
We launched into a conversation of how she was going to use it and the type of patients she had to use it for.
We were lost in the conversation that we didn’t know we had additions in our midst until everywhere got rowdy and we heard voices.
“Who are you?” I turned as I heard the question from the leader of the people, their stances the same as they were the night we had walked into them.
I glanced at Kevin and noticed that he was surprised and on guard like the men. I couldn’t blame him. I was as surprised as everyone was too, wondering who these people were and how they had found this place.
I understood that we had found their hideout because it was night and had seen the fire they had lit up but this was during the day and there was no fire. They couldn’t have found this place if they didn’t know that we were here and that made them all the more suspicious.
I could tell that they were from the Utopia town and wondered if they were here to raid the people and take then back to slavery. If that was what they were here, they weren’t going to have it easy. These people weren’t going to become slaves again and as I looked at the other werewolves, I realized that that was the thought in their heads.
I thought of the old man living alone at the outskirts and shook my head. He didn’t know what was going on here and wouldn’t even have the time to hide. Moreover, he was too old to be made a slave but I doubted the nobles of the Utopia town cared. It would be a shame if he became a slave and got branded with that horrible mark again after the stress and dangers he had gone through and fought in the Guchemba jungle to get rid of it and the scars he had to show for it.
Actually, everyone here didn’t deserve to be slaves again after enduring nightmares for a year to overcome the effects of running away from their masters.
I scowled at the crowd, hoping that they saw the anger in my eyes and realized that they wouldn’t be leaving here alive if they wanted to take the people here.
Nobody here deserved to be slaves and definitely not for the second time.
There was silence as both parties (ours and theirs) stared at one another. Strangely, I noticed that the people who had joined us looked uncomfortable and shuffled their legs on the ground with anxiety. It wasn’t like they didn’t want to tell us who they were; they were afraid to.
“Who are you?” Kevin asked as he faced them, his voice louder in case they hadn’t heard the first question though we all knew everyone heard.
I narrowed my eyes as I looked at them and found the answer they were nervous to voice out.
They were also slaves who had run away from their masters. How they knew this place though wasn’t something I knew.