Those In The Forest

Part 70: Rose

"What the fuck am I looking at?" Bryce furrowed her brows.

          This entire situation is completely fucked. Every part of it. From Reagan being taken and possibly being tortured at this very moment to us having to tell our secret to another fucking human.

           Avah walked before us, and Bryce took a careful step back. I didn't blame her. Eight naked women were standing over her. Bryce's mind was probably coming up with thousands of horrible possibilities.

          "This is strange, I know. But it's all for a good reason," Avah started. She took a step back when she heard Bryce's heartbeat picking up. She was panicking, but she remained unphased in her expressions.

          "You said this involved Reagan. Where is she?" her facial expression hardened. "Did you hurt her?" she looked back at me and my mates.

          Still confused as to why we were naked, she seemed to care more about Reagan. I like that about her—it may be the only thing I like about her.

          "Are we really going to tell her? Can we trust her that much?" Ivy asked through the bond while studying Bryce.

          "Reagan would. We all know it. This is, for her, a risk we will have to take. Bryce won't accept any other excuse, so the truth is all we have." Iris concluded.

          Clenching my fist by my side, I took a deep breath, and once I exhaled, Celia let a rip.

          "Reagan has been kidnapped, but someone who isn't too fond of our... pack." Celia stared. I saw the confusion wash across Bryce's face at the mention of our pack.

          Her top lip twitched. "Excuse me."

          Karina gestured to all of our bodies. "We are naked for a reason, and it's not to make you uncomfortable." Karina snarled, mostly at herself. She didn't want to do this, but Reagan is a part of our pack, and as an Elder, she has to do everything she can to help her. 

          "What I'm going to tell you is going to be hard for you to process, but I'm hoping for the sake of my Runt... I mean your friend, you'll just believe us. We aren't human. We are werewolves; there are many of us, but we remain hidden from humans. We don't involve ourselves in your wars, politics, or everyday lives. There are other special people in your world, such as witches and many more, but for now, we need to stay on the topic of witches and us. Werewolves hide in the forest so as not to disrupt your way of life, and we hope you do the same for us. But, Reagan... she is intertangled in our lives. She is human, but she is a descendant of Lycans, and because of that, she was able to mate with my Runts. She's been taken, and the only ones who can help us locate her are you and a witch in the city. You met her once. I'm begging you to help me find the missing piece of my pack. If I lose her, I will lose my way of life. I will lose a piece of myself that no one will ever fill. Please, Byrce."

          We all stared at Karina in stunned silence. She has never been one to vocalize her feelings fully. At least not to us, and we knew past trauma could be the reason for such behavior. Hearing her ask for help from a human is... shocking, even more shocking than she begged. 

          Byrce tilted her head to the side, looking at all of us, studying each of our faces, trying to find a lie. When she found none, I saw the panic.

          Her breathing picked up, and her fingers fidgeted at her waist. Her concern wasn't towards us, though, I could tell. If so, she would have tried looking around to find an escape for herself so she could run away. No, her concern was all to do with Regan being in trouble, and seeing the pain in our expressions sealed the truth in our claims.