Chapter 188

188 Chapter One Hundred Eighty Eight

Katie ran faster when she noticed the two sets of footprints. The scent of the bear was fresher than that of the white wolf she’d been searching for. It was only now that she was finally able to pick up on the path the girl had taken. It seemed she had also been running about in circles before she settled into the cave. “Lina...” Katie tried calling through the mind link, but there was no response. The girl had blocked them out. All that was left was a race against time. Bracing herself lower to the ground, the white wolf launched into a sprint faster than she normally ran.

Lina, on the other hand, stood in the centre of a cave, sandwiched by two bears. One was a sleeping cub and the other was the cub’s mother who had only just returned from her hunt. Two fish lay on the ground at the entrance of the cave. They smelt fresh and made Lina’s stomach growl, ‘Not at a time like this...’

The bear growled at her anger written all over its body. The bear took up too much space, blocking all forms of exit that the wolf had hoped for. Fear gripped the girl as she stared at the large angry bear. The bear took another step into the cave, forcing the girl to take a step back. A growl warned her of her actions and she looked behind only to notice the sleeping cub was the next thing she would be stepping.

Lina stepped aside and pushed back so that she avoided the cub. The bear was still for a moment... Katie knew there was no excuse for her intrusion and there wasn’t a thought in the bear’s mind that suggested letting go of the home invader. ‘If only I could speak to animals, this could be a decent negotiation,’ the girl thought to herself.

Her wolf tried getting her to contact the other werewolves to come and help her, but she perished the thought at the influence of Liam’s words, ‘No one will help us when they know we might just die from this. If anything, it will be an opportunity for them to receive information about the death of the runt. The perfect tragic story for the unfortunate abomination of a royal,’ the girl responded to the wolf’s pleas. When it was clear that the girl was not going to let the mind link open, the wolf went dead silent.

The light rumble of thunder reached the insides of the cave, sparking recognition in the girl’s eyes. She knew there wasn’t a chance of a cloud in the sky and there was only one person close enough that could run fast enough to produce such effects. ‘She learnt to control how much energy she uses when running...’ the girl noticed.

The bear sniffed the air and took notice of the change in the wolf’s demeanour. Something was completely wrong and the bear could tell. A loud growl got the young cub to wake up. There was a period of confusion before the little cub ran to his mother, hiding beneath her legs for protection. It was only a moment before a new scent filled the air. The sound of rushing footsteps soon came to a stop. Lina never thought she’d ever be happy to see her beloved sister step in to rescue her.

A large majestic white wolf with bright blue eyes walked into the cave filling the space to the same size as that of the bear, ‘I never noticed how big Katie was...’ Lina thought to herself as she admired her saviour.

Katie was relieved to find her sister unharmed. ‘Those damned squirrels barely put me at the entrance of the cave,’ she grumbled mentally, ‘At least they pointed me in the right direction. Besides, I doubt I could have made it in time if I followed at their pace.’

.....

“So there are more of them. Stay hidden, son, I will make sure these mutts never see the light of day,” the translation of a growl relayed itself into Katie’s mind. She wanted to spend some time screaming at the fact that she’d just discovered an ability she still found no use for... Well, she was just about to try and negotiate for her sister’s life, but she saw no other time she would ever need this power. The more she thought of it, the more she realised the ability was probably going to come in handy much more than she’d initially thought it to be.

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she spoke up, letting Ashley relay her messages, “We mean you no harm. My sister wandered off and got lost. I have come looking for her,” Katie replied to the bear.

'

The bear was frozen for a moment and so was Lina. For a moment, the girl wondered whether she’d heard her sister right. The wolf had just spoken through sounds she wasn’t sure where possible and the message had actually been translated in her mind. It was almost as though the wolf was making actual human words and yet she wasn’t actually doing so... ‘What in the world...’

“I was sure mutts of your kind could not speak the language of the wild. What are you?” the bear asked the hunter. This part of the conversation was completely lost to Lina. The bear sounded like it was growling and Katie barely flinched at what looked like a threat.

“I am one of the moon goddess’ chosen. I have only noticed that I have the ability to speak to animals. I’m actually still getting to understand how it works. Thankfully, I can explain what happened with my sister to you and spare any bloodshed,” Katie tried.

“Oh, you misunderstand. Your sister is not going anywhere. Anyone who enters my cave is bound to be killed by me and that’s how it’s always been,” the bear replied with a low growl of annoyance.

“I ask that you make an exception. That girl is the daughter of the Werewolf King. If you killed her and I told him that she was killed even after trying to negotiate with you, the Werewolf King will not hesitate to send a pack of wolves to hunt you down,” Katie responded.

“So now you threaten me? You’ve got some nerve, chosen one...” the bear spat at her, “The rules of the wild are not the same as those in the big palace you probably live in.”

“I know that, but I know there is a rule of the wild that works in the human world as well. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Kill that girl and the pack will seek revenge for their fallen one,” Katie tried. She had tried asking nicely and was running out of patience with the bear. It was already very late and her sister needed her to sleep if there was ever going to be a chance she could beat Liam.

The bear stared at the white wolf for a moment, taking in the colossal size of the abnormal wolf that continued to negotiate for the release of her sister. “I can tell that you’re powerful. Why don’t you just take your sister for yourself without bothering with me?” the bear asked her.

Katie was shocked by the question for a moment. The girl sighed and let her eyes drop to the small cub that was between the bear’s paws, tucked away in the safety of its mother’s body. ‘Aww, Katie’s a softie...’ ‘Only when it comes to kids...’ Katie defended herself before Ashley could make a big deal out of the situation.

“You’re protecting one of your own, aren’t you? That cannot be a question coming from you,” Katie replied. The bear looked back at the white wolf trapped within the inside of the cave and back at the one that had come to her rescue. The resemblance was impossible to miss. They were related and the one that had wandered off was definitely younger than the other.

“You can leave with your sister,” the bear conceded, stepping out of the cave to let the werewolf out. Katie bid the bear farewell and was soon dashing with her sister, the hotel set as their destination. “Since when can you speak to animals?” Lina yelled through the mind link.

The hunter cringed at the girl’s surprise, “Well, I only found out today when I was looking for you. I need an explanation for that though.”

“Oh, it is said that the chosen ones were given random powers by the goddess. I guess speaking to animals was one of yours. Are you telling me you don’t know your powers yet?” Lina exclaimed.

“I didn’t think I was getting powers from the goddess and I honestly don’t think I want powers from her. I keep remembering what Cole’s ability did to him just for using it. It’s not something I would like to go through,” Katie said to her.

“It isn’t always something that can backfire like that. Look at how resilient he is. You can barely scratch him. That might even be the reason Drake lost in that fight as well as the same reason Frank lost against him,” Lina spiralled off into more thoughts. Katie, however, was worried for her.

“What happened, Lina? What are you doing out here?” Katie asked her, finally letting go of her issues with speaking to animals. It was an issue she’d wish to address another time. Lina’s mode dropped.

Instead of talking to her, the girl ran off faster than they had been running. Katie got even more worried by this reaction and tapped into her Prometheus gift to keep up with her sister. “Lina, please tell me. You’ll get us lost again if you keep this up.”

“You don’t have to protect me whenever something goes wrong, Katie. So just let it go and leave me alone. I can find my way back to the hotel,” the girl yelled back through the mind link. The mind link allowed the flow of emotions if someone focused and Katie had been trying to read her sister since they’d gotten out of the cave. ”

I can’t leave you like this... You’re bordering self-destruction... No one can go through what you’re going through on their own. I hope it doesn’t anger you, but I’m not going anywhere, Lina,” she reached out running beside the slender white wolf. Katie could feel her own bulky wolf getting tired and yet she could tell that Lina was only getting started. ‘If only you knew how impressive you are...’ the girl thought to herself.