Soulmate

Chapter 6

Everyone went silent, and listened to Louis talk. Maria could tell he was a man who inspired respect, but she never thought that it would be to the extend of hundreds of people obeying him without question. More men, and women rose from their seats to join him, thirteen of them walked to stand beside him. There were a few words about how Louis was glad about the peace between the people present, yet Maria wasn't able to hear very well. The two women who had harassed her were now listening intently to the men and women beside Louis. Nicholas gave Maria a few glances, questions in his eyes, but the girl was lost in her thoughts to notice. He flinched at a few words from the fourteen in front, worried about his father's reckless choice of letting Maria attend the Wolves Meeting. Lucy had made her way to the two of them, unnoticed, and was standing beside Maria with a smirk on her face. Nicholas looked at her from the corner of his eye, yet stayed silent.

"I see your human is lost. Perhaps I should keep her up to date, and show her how our people deal with those who find out our secret." She said in a smooth voice. The air between the trio became tense, as Nicholas growled at her, in an aggressive warning to the girl.

"Back off, Lucy." He snarled.

"Oh, don't try to use your Alpha tone with me! You know it won't work." She snorted, letting out a loud chuckle.

"I'm not afraid of your father, and I won't hesitate to hit a girl like you." He barked at her.

"Good, thing I'm a woman!" She spat viciously, angry at Nicholas' bold attitude.

"Humph! I'll tell you what you really are, you little b-..." Nicholas grunted. He was slapped a cross the face, as Lucy shut him up in a violent manner. It took the man a few minutes to realise what the blonde had done, and he blinked a few times. A few people surrounding them in the crowd snapped their heads towards Lucy, and growled. Others seemed to join her side, and snarled in an animal manner. Maria felt her gut twist as she questioned if she really was surrounded by humans, or if they really could be some beast of some sort. Lucy didn't seem to be bothered by the crowd's aggressive behavior, she rather marvelled in it. Nicholas and the blonde had their eyes glued to each other, and they started to crouch, moving in a circle like wolves would. Nicholas barred his teeth at her, and Lucy squealed loudly.

"Oh, it seems I have hit a nerve!" She quarreled mockingly. "What? Going to howl for Daddy to jump to the rescue?" She poked him in the chest, causing an explosion of growls and snarls from Nicholas.

"Kids!" A strong voice rung out in the ball room, silencing everyone in one motion. The fourteen men and women walked up to them, with scowls and furious glares on their faces.

"This day is supposed to represent the peace between all of us." One woman scolded the two like children, but they both ignored her wise words, and continued growling and snarling like dogs. The eyes of the two had turned blood red, and the others around them started shifting to a darker shade. Maria had seen this happen before, and whatever caused it, why it happened, it didn't matter. It always meant that there was something bad coming up very soon. Another man beside Louis whispered to him urgently.

"The human doesn't know about all this. Deal with her, Louis!" He urged. Everyone held their breaths, while Maria was on the verge of a panic attack. Louis gave her a look, and walked near her. He gently grabbed her arm, and softly looked in her eyes.

"Maria..." He started. Maria couldn't handle any more, and she swung herself around, and dashed as fast as she could. She lost both her heels on the way, but she was too terrified to stop for them. The door slammed behind her, and she leaned against the door, breathing heavily. As she heard the loud, and heavy click from the door clenching, there was a silence. There was one clear howl, and the other side broke loose with fighting sounds, as well as others like growls from animals, claws ripping trough material, perhaps dresses. Maria panicked and ran outside of the house, putting as much distance from those murderous, mad people, and her. She locked the steel gate, and darted into the woods. Tears rushed down her cheeks, and Maria tripped to fall to the ground. Crawling, and clawing at the dirt, the girl dragged her body against a large tree. She hid her face in her hands, and cried like she never did before.