Those In The Forest

Part 80: Rose

"Absolutely not," Celia said, throwing down the deer she killed. Lennox was right behind her, tying the deer she killed to the others they hunted.

          Hazel and I stood beside Ivy and Iris, our arms crossed in thought. We knew Iris's idea was decent—at least an idea that needed to be considered.

          "Why would it not be a good idea?" I asked, confused. "I mean, at the moment, I'm not even sure she remembers she killed Gya. Soon, those memories will come crashing down on her. She'll see what she did as something horrible when it was in self-defense. Killing Alan... it could help her."

          Hazel nodded her head. "Yeah. Iris is kind of right about all of this. Allowing her the right to at least decide to kill him will help her. She's hurting, and she knows who caused that pain. I'm sure she was on the verge of killing him before he escaped. I assume the fucker used Gya to get away, and that's why she is dead and not him."

          "The first time a human came on our land, you four lost your shit. He was some ignorant, stubborn human who said he would out that we were living in the mountains. You were fourteen at the time, and your hormones were running rapidly inside you. Within minutes, you shifted and ripped him apart. Afterward, you continued like it was nothing. You felt threatened. Despite what we may feel, deep down, we know we are mainly animals. Reagan doesn't feel that way. Not completely, anyway." Celia argued.

           Lennox finished up and stood beside her. "Who was the first person you killed after you shifted for the first time, huh?" Lennox asked curiously. When Celia glared at her, she threw her hands up in surrender. "I'm not saying their idea is good or even if we should consider it. All I'm asking is for your input. You shared the same fate as Reagan, so give us your reasons as to why it may not be a good idea."

          Celia ran her hands over her face. "It was a month after I shifted for the first time. Karina was... away on a hunt, and I was alone. I had been having nightmares for the past month and was struggling to sleep. Karina came back with someone, a witch. Her name was Alona." Celia gulped.

          "She found Karina on her hunt and said she knew why I was the way I was. We invited her in, we spoke, and she acted like a friend. That is until she tried to poison Karina. She wanted Karina in limbo, both on the verge of life and death, so she could make me sick and drain me of my blood. I was so furious and angry. I had never felt so angry, but my mate was in danger, and I snapped. Before I could stop myself, I shifted, and my teeth were in her throat." Celia said, not making eye contact with us.

          "And how did you feel after that? Bad? Good? Relieved?" Iris asked eagerly.

          I was honestly there with her. I wanted to know what we could do for Reagan and what would happen if certain things occurred.

          "I felt good, but I felt bad that I felt good. That's when Karina urged me to hunt more. That's why I can beat the other packs in fights. It's a drive. Karina was so proud of me that I loved that feeling so much that I was willing to do anything to feel it again. Reagan would have killed one of us the day we found her, and she would have liked it." Celia exhaled.

           Lennox just smiled. "That just proved you are more like us than you were human. That also proves that the Runts are right. How about we ask her? See what she feels like she needs to do. No one made these decisions for you, so we should do it for her."

          It is on a rare occasion Lennox is on our side. I felt as if she wasn't because she liked to piss us off. I was pleased she didn't see this as a moment to tease us. 

           "Knowing it felt good killed me. I just want to protect her from herself. I was on the verge of hating myself. I don't want that for her." Celia said sadly.

          I shook my head. "We won't allow that. Reagan is... spectacular. With us on her side, she'll do just fine." I laughed to myself. "It would also help you you let us see her."

          She waved her finger at us. "Uh - uh. She decided you needed to stay away, too. I am not fully to blame."

          We all grinned.

          "I mean, you partially are," Iris said jokingly.

          She groaned and walked away. "This is why I hate it when Karina is gone. You all always gang up on me," she whined. "Speaking of her, we should hurry and get back. Her, Avah, and Dean came to an agreement."

          "And that is?" Ivy asked tensely.

          "Dean is trading his sire for peace. He wants to come back to Washington permanently." Lennox answered for her.

          "If Reagan agrees... she will not be merciful." Celia said grabbing the deer.

          "Good. It's deserved." Hazel said roughly. 

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When we got close to the cabin we could hear Reagan and Bryce laughing. It was such a beaustufl sound. I loved hearing my mates laugh. Whether it was my doing or something else. It brought me so much joy to know they were happy.

          Lennox and celia took the four deer to the meat shake to skin and gut it. The laughing got louder and they stopped and looked at us and back at the cabin.

          "She's downstairs." Lennox pointed out. "Don't spook the girl. Alright?" she looked at all of us individually.

          Smiling we nodded our heads.

          It was her way of giving us permission. It's just now we also needed reagans.

          Rushing to the door, the laughing died down. I heard Reagan whisper to Bryce that we were outside the door.

          "Why don't why just come in?" Bryce asked in laugh.

         "They're waiting for me." Reagan said softly.

           Bryce hummed. "If you really want to fuck with them you should tell them they can't come in."

          Reagan laughed. "Maybe another time." her breathing started to pick up. "I actually really want to see them."

           She knows we can hear them. That's why she's doing this. She's messing with us, tyring to see how much control we have. And as bad as we want to run inside, we promised we would do this on her terms.

          "Please." I said through the bond. It was a soft plea for her to have some mercy on us.

          "Come in." 

A/N: Love ya! See you in two days!