Soulmate

Chapter 16

They all gathered in Louis' office. Nicholas with Klaus still stuck to his heal ever since they had rescued Maria, two older men around the age of late forties, whom Maria guessed that they were Louis' second and third in command, and two more, younger than the first men, who she guessed were Nicholas' version of his father's men. The Alpha had summoned these people in an emergency meeting, as he liked to call them. Maria was sure that it was for her to talk about what happened when she was kidnapped, and most likely to find out who, and why this happened. As soon as the leader of the pack entered the room, everyone stood up respectively.

"Now that everyone is here, lets begin." He said in a dark tone. Louis sat in his chair, and scattered the pile of paper that he was holding in his hands on his desk. His grey hair, usually well combed and neat, was out of place, and his clothes had clearly been hastily put together. He yawned as he passed a hand in his thinning hair. Louis looked as if he hadn't slept for weeks. Stress had ravaged his face, and probably was haunting him, not letting a moment of peace for the Alpha. He joined his hands together, and slowly gazed at each one of them, carefully examining their reactions.

"Maria, I see you are better." He stated, and Maria anxiously nodded. "It has been long enough since we have informed each other about what has been going on around here."

All eyes landed on Maria, and the tense air in the room rose to an uncomfortable level. She still didn't quite trust those beings, and wasn't sure if she wanted to lose her upper hand. Yet, it didn't look as if she had a choice. She had been dreading this moment, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hide around them. The woman had even made a plan to escape this place, even if she still wasn't quite sure how. Most of her friends were dead, and Jenna was still in the hospital, recovering from her wounds. She felt alone, surrounded by hungry wolves.

The dwarf opened the door, the squeak breaking the silence, and all eyes flew over to him. "Am I interrupting anything?" He asked, while seating himself near Maria. The werewolf guard glared at him as he walked passed them, but he ignored them with all his might, and stared daringly to their Alpha. The guards tensed up, and looked at their Alpha for direction on what to do next.

"So, Kurog, are you settled in comfortably?" Louis asked politely. The dwarf looked at him strangely, and shook his head.

"It's nice and all, but this is not what you wanted to talk to us about." He stated, annoyed by the Alpha beating around the bush with them. "How about we talk about those vampires who abducted this woman, and fix this problem?!" Kurog exclaimed loudly. The room tensed, and all of the eyes of the werewolves flew to Maria. They stalked her cautiously, and she sighed. Kurog stared at them, wondering what the hell was wrong with these people.

"So? We got a plan or what?" He persisted, irritated with the silence of the wolves. He threw his hands up in the air as they kept their mouths shut. "You bloody wolves are good for nothing." 

Louis jumped to his feet, and a few of the guards let out an outraged gasp. Their eyes flashed red, and Maria stood quickly, her hands in front of her to show that she was no threat.

"It's okay. I already know." She said with fear making her voice tremble. "Kurog explained everything..." She whispered. The sound of his name in her mouth was bitter. She had tried to forgive him; she really did from the bottom of her heart. The woman had tried to see his point of view, but it hurt too much and preferred not to think about it too much. Maria just couldn't understand how one could take a life away from another without hesitation. She could barely hurt a fly, and she refused to think of how she would react if she would have to kill someone.

Not being able to stand the awkward silence in the room, Nicholas bounced out of his chair. "When you were held captive, did you find any information, anything at all, of the person that imprisoned you?" He asked. Maria anxiously shrugged, and bit her lip. Then she remembered something.