Part of the Plan (Book 2 in the 'part of' series)

Chapter 24 into the packhouse

Chapter 24 into the packhouse

"What brought you to the forest?" Aiden asked me as we sat at the kitchen table. It was extremely awkward. I could tell that there were a lot of other people in the house. Partly because of the amount of chairs around the table and partly because I could hear them behind the closed doors.

"I'm...was supposed to be on a date." I looked from Karim to Aiden with a rather timid look on my face. Aidens' eyes widened as he looked towards Karim. "Yes, this is Karim." I gestured towards him with my free hand. "Emi set us up on a date."

Aiden raised his eyebrows before seeming to analyse Karim. It made me even more nervous. When I first met Karim, he had a cool and chill demeanour as we played card games, it was far different now though. His shoulders were stiffened and he had a natural glare on his face.

"You two were..." He trailed off slightly. It was probably one fo the last things that he was expecting. He raised his eyebrows and leant back, a smirk creeping on his face. "Oh wow, I wasn't expecting that." With each word my cheeks got pinker, I told him that I had a date. Maybe there were other aspects which surprised him. It could've been the fact that I was on a date with someone who seemed intimidating or the fact that it was in the middle of the woods. "I'm sorry, my name is Aiden." He held out a hand to Karim which was only accepted when I nudged the man next to me.

Karim gave a small sigh. "Nice to meet you." He retreated his hand and looked around slightly. "So, this place is private property?" The air grew still. Nobody talked or made any move until the kitchen door opened. In walked the person who was next to Aiden earlier.

"Yes." He spoke in a rather deep voice, looking us over carefully. I could tell that he wasn't trying to be intimidating or judgemental. He seemed rather kind, yet very cautious for some reason. "The land has been in our family's ownership for many years." He walked over and stood behind Aiden protectively. "I'm Ralph by the way. It's lovely to finally meet you."

His smile made me calm down slightly. It was back to feeling as though I was just meeting my brother's friends. I couldn't relax completely but the change was significant. "Nice to meet ya Ralph." I gave a small smile of my own. "I'm Harlow, though I guess you knew that already." He gave a chuckle and a nod as someone else entered the room.

I shrinked slightly, the place was rather small and starting to get a little crowded. The man was much older than Ralph and had dark hair. His eyes were kind and light but they seemed a little haunted. I found myself wanting to sit and talk to him. I felt like he would have a lot of good stories to tell.

"Pardon the intrusion." He smiled lightly and clapped his hands. "I'm Lathen, I was told that there were some people asking about the ownership of the land?" His attention was clearly on Karim and myself. I didn't know what to say. I looked towards Aiden for a little bit of help.

"Laten this is my brother Harlow and his date Karim." He had the biggest grin on his face as he said the word 'date'. I rolled my eyes and slightly huffed. "They were walking around the forest when Beaumont saw them." Lathen nodded, I was sure he had already been told this by Beaumont.

"Such a wonderful date it must be." He chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sure that you two are aware of the current threat on the forest. Given that you know Aiden." Aiden opened his mouth before shutting it and nodding begrudgingly. Of course, anyone who knows Aiden would know about the forest being cut down. "We were just curious if you were there for any other reason."

They really must not get many visitors to the forest. I couldn't think of any other reason why anyone would be in the woods. "What other reasons would there be?" He was a lot less friendly then I would've been. I could sense hostility but I didn't know where it was coming from. With a look towards Aiden, he was feeling the same thing as I was.

"Well, the last time there were people here it was to film the forest for the news." Ralph interjected. "To announce the destruction of it."There was a sort of acidicness to his tone. It made me feel bad for being there, even though I was sure that we were not in the wrong.

"We were just on a date though." Karim tilted his head forward a little bit. "Do you come for everyone who steps foot into your forest?" It was something that I was curious about too. I wondered how they knew we were there. Once again, the image of the wolves plagued my mind.

"Not everybody." Aiden scoffed behind me at Lathen's words. "Just those we come across." Lathen was a lot more confident then I had originally thought. "We're being extra cautious. We've had a few disturbances lately along with the filming people." He spoke slowly, as though trying to pick the words carefully.

A noise from Aiden caught my attention. He was tapping his foot rather loudly and fidgeting. "You okay bro?" It felt odd to be talking so casually in a place I had never been before. Aiden's eyes turned to me with a small smile before standing up.

"Karim, do you mind if I talk to my brother for a few moments?" Karim was hesitant but he nodded. He didn't really have any reason to say no. Aiden moved around the table and gestured for me to follow him through the house. I followed him slowly as we left through the door which we entered. Sitting on the stairs.

"So, how'd this happen?"