Eisenhut

Chapter 10

Irina giggled heartedly, "Julia, this is Trudy Hertz, she used to look after you as a baby whilst your parents were out working,"

The old woman looked so pleased to meet me again, and I felt so bad that I had no memories of her. "Oh yes, all of those years ago! Please forgive me, dear, but I am very sick and it is difficult for me to get around much," she held onto my arm for support, as she sat back down on a nearby chair. I found it hard to believe she was once an active werewolf.

"Oh, don't apologise Mrs Hertz, if I had known you were here I would've greeted you," I replied, pretending I recognised her. By the look on her face, it sounded like I had made her day, "so you knew my parents?" I wondered, seizing my chance to hear about my history.

"Of course," Trudy answered, grinning, "your parents were deeply in love," she began to reminisce, happiness in her eyes. "They met when your father joined the pack, about twenty five years ago. He and Tanja were keen hunters, especially as your grandfather used to be the alpha male, the title in which Denis inherited," I raised my eyebrows when I was told about my parents skill, something which had definitely not passed onto me, "after your parents became mates, they wanted to travel the world together,"

"So that's why they moved?"

"Oh no, dear, no one leaved the pack without a good reason. You were born here and you spent the first few years of your life in this very camp. Your mother used to call me your Oma Trudy," she then began to get teary eyed. Irina quickly passed her some tissues, like she knew the moment was coming. "If it wasn't because of those wretched humans, your parents would still be alive and with you. They didn't even do it! They were wrongly accused!" she cursed. I stayed silent. I wanted to hear the wolf's version of the events surrounding my parents' death but from someone else. I could see how Trudy got on well, especially with my mother, almost like they themselves shared a mother-daughter relationship, and how painful it was for her to talk about her.

Luckily, Irina swooped into the conversation, telling me to help was needed in the washroom. I thanked Trudy for her generosity in sharing the memories and got to work. I had spent most of the day in the cabin, socialising with the other wolves my age. It felt amazing to be socialising with people who accepted me.

    Around five o'clock, the females hurried outside for food and I followed, even though I was confused as to why I hadn't left with Sascha yet for our excursion. It wasn't dark, but the sun had become dimmer and more orange as it began setting over the mountain in the distance. I took the food on offer, minus the meat and then scanned around for a place to sit, before taking a seat next to Helene and her friends. It took me a few bites of my food before I realised Dominik wasn't there, or Sascha, in fact any of the Engelhardts. Everyone else was outside eating food, as they wouldn't dare miss a meal. "Hey, do you know where the Engelhardt family are?" I asked Helene. She shook her head, as I thought that family probably scared her.

I wasn't sure which cabin belonged to Sascha, though I assumed it was one of the bigger ones. I stood up anyway, placing my food on the log I was sitting on and wandered around to find him. He didn't seem like the kind of guy to be late or forget about a job.

    I roamed around for a while, until I heard a door swing open and Sascha hopped down the small flight of stairs. He looked stressed, but noticed me straight away, "Julia," he greeted. I was about to greet him back but he carried on walking, "ready for our trip?" I opened my mouth to reply again, but he jogged off into the Land Rover. I stopped for a second. Why was he acting so weird?