Chapter 118 - Mystified

Liam was already very tired. "No, we will be resting here," he said as he started to make a bed for her. 

"Resting? But we cannot waste time!" she exclaimed. 

Liam looked at her with a frown. "Waste time? I don't get you Fleur… We can't possibly run all day and all night long." 

Fleur pursed her lips as she had almost told him why she had accompanied him. For her, it was extremely important that she found Adrianna before Cy did. Howard had told her that Cy had been stationed outside of Ed's cottage just to mislead him. However, the moment he finds out the truth, he will rush to capture Adrianna before anyone else does. 

Howard had warned Fleur that Cy was a very powerful wizard and that he was capable of destroying the entire wizard realm. That had been the only reason why he had been chosen to protect the wizard kingdom. By protecting it, his energy would be channelized. However, sometime during his tenure as the military general, he had forgotten that he was just the military general and had deluded himself into believing he was the rightful ruler. He wanted to usurp the queen's throne and had been plotting behind her back. It was Isidorus who had been keeping him at bay all this time. 

Fleur was beginning to wonder whether Cy had come to find out the truth about Adrianna or not. She was worried that he would leave no stone unturned in order to find Adrianna. 

She looked at Liam and said, "I understand. Let's rest. However, I am keen to start early tomorrow morning. Is that okay?" 

Liam smiled at her and said, "Of course. As you say."

During the night, all of his team members shape shifted into werewolves and slept on the cave floor. 

It had started to become chilly. As the night fell, it became misty and the forest mist entered the cave. Fleur tried to stay warm by curling up her body, but she started shivering. While she was being subjected to the chill of the night, she envied her team members who must have been resting in luxury and warmth after having casted some magic. Unfortunately, she couldn't cast her magic in front of the werewolves, or else they might decide not to cooperate with her. 

Her teeth chattered and she couldn't sleep. Suddenly, she felt warmth surround her. A paw had softly pulled her near his furry body and she found herself snuggling into the warmth of a fur so soft that she fell asleep whilst curling herself into his body. Liam smiled at her and rested his head over hers. 

Fleur become so comfortable throughout the night that she would relax and stretch her limbs. But then the cold would pick up and she would again curl up into him. During the process, she kicked Liam several times - all of which he endured patiently. 

In the morning, almost everybody woke up on time except for Fleur who finally woke up when the sun was quite high in the sky. When she woke up, she found that Liam was staring at her while the rest of the pack had gone. 

"Where's everyone?" she asked, startled.

"They've left," he responded with affection in his eyes.

"Left? Now how will we find them?" She started to panic. 

Liam laughed and said, "I have given them a set course to follow, so don't worry. We will catch up once Miss Fleur is ready." 

Fleur sprang up, and within no time, she was ready to leave. Once again, Liam and Fleur set course to find Dmitri and Adrianna. Fleur reprimanded herself for wasting so much time, but she was curious as to how she could have fallen into such a deep sleep. And what was that furry thing that had surrounded her all night? Was that Liam? The more she pondered over it, the redder her cheeks became. 

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The lake formed a beautiful sheet of water as Adrianna and Dmitri walked hand in hand around it while viewing the beautiful autumn scenery. The hills surrounding the lake were lush green with maple, pine, and fir trees. They walked towards the hills' interior to find the lake's origin. While the water of the lake merged with the sky in the lower regions of the lake, it merged with the woods in the upper regions of the lake. Adrianna was intrigued as she had never been to that part of the lake. She went further inside the woods with Dmitri and heard someone whisper as though they were talking to her. She smiled as the voices became louder and clearer. 

"Who has invaded our territory?"

"This is the first time we have been disturbed."

"Let us attack the invaders before they destroy us."

Adrianna turned to Dmitri and said, "Should I tell you one more thing about myself?" 

Dmitri nodded, eager to listen to her. 

"I can hear animals speak," she said as she turned around to communicate with the animals. 

Before Dmitri could react, a brown bear came out of the woods to confront them. Adrianna became alert and halted the bear as she talked with him and convinced him that they weren't there to attack them. The bear left soon after as Adrianna had easily persuaded him, much to Dmitri's surprise. Dmitri had been shocked when he had seen the huge brown bear, but had been even more surprised when the bear didn't attack them and instead left quietly. 

"What just happened?" he asked. 

Adrianna chuckled and said, "I convinced him not to attack us." 

"What else are you hiding from me Adrianna?" he asked, mystified by his wife's revelation.