Chapter 6: : Chapter 89

~Layla~

I tried to keep my back straight. I tried to walk gracefully in the high heels I was wearing and to keep my head high as we walked over the sharp rocks and over to the leaning rock. Nathaniel was smiling, it made me sick, his fingers were hovering over mine—firm enough to feel that I was following but not enough to keep me from running away. He was simply trusting that I would come with him.

“Careful,” he said as we took the step up on the rock. I lifted the dress to get enough movement and then let it drop down to my feet. He watched as the fabric fell gracefully around me, and his fingers slightly tightened around my hand.

“You look beautiful, I’m glad the dress fits you,” Nathaniel said. I looked down at the red satin dress and drew my fingers over the waves before lifting my head and staring into his eyes.

“Whose dress is this?” I asked him.

His smile never faltered as he walked us over to the center of the rock. His hand snaked around my waist and he turned to face the others. They were watching us, standing like an army of robots, observing our every move without showing as much as an inch of sentiment—not a single smile, frown, or questioning gaze.

“Nathaniel, what is going on?” I asked.

“Please, call me Nate.” He said, and it awoke a memory in me from my first days here. Nathaniel told me that the pack members called him Nate. If I did, would that mean I was a pack member?

’Maybe you should’

No, he’ll think I respect him

’That’s my point. Maybe it’s time we start playing this from the other side. We tried opposing and fighting the rules and the plans but it didn’t work. Let’s try being friends’

Are you serious?

’Maybe the best way to win this is by fighting on the winning team,’ Clara urged

And kill every other werewolf?

’You’re not hearing me! We make him think we respect him and that we’re onboard with the plan long enough for us to gain his trust and figure out a way to get out of this place. We won’t be able to do anything now, not until he puts the plan in motion’

You’re telling me to trust him?

’I’m telling you feign trust’

We can’t pretend with him; pretend doesn’t work when someone has the power to delve into your mind

’It does when they’re so blinded by their goals that they will believe anything that will help get there. Layla, your strength surpasses him, you just need to train the and wait for the right moment to use them’

“Layla, everything okay?” Nathaniel asked, squeezing my hand.

“What is going on here?” I repeated and gulped. Clara’s words were playing on a loop in my head, making it difficult to focus. I didn’t know what the right thing to do was. I knew I couldn’t do this; I couldn’t bring myself to pretend to be his friend. I hated him, No, I despised him. Yet, my heart was screaming out the names of everyone I loved who would be in danger if I didn’t fix this mess. I clutched my stomach when a sudden burst of pain started throbbing and I circled my fingers in the fabric.

“What’s wrong?” Nathaniel asked, his brows furrowed, concern in his eyes

“It’s nothing, the dress is just a little tight.” I responded and squirmed as I tried standing straight.

something was wrong with me, these pain had been occurring more and more over the past week, and it scared me that neither i nor Clara knew the cause.

The sound of wooden sticks striking drums echoed through the forest, causing me to jump in alarm.

The men descended, each carrying a drum suspended by leather straps around their necks, drummin in union. and four of Nathaniel’s women, walked down the path between the pack members clad in white lace sheets with hands crossed over their chests. Their hair was identical, long braids starting on the top of their heads and falling down their backs. Following them were four men and a woman, all dressed in white instead of the black and red like everyone else. They had black marks on their faces and no shoes on their feet. They were desperately trying to seek eye contact with people as they passed by, but every one in the pack turned their gazes away from them. A child, standing in the front with his arms wrapped around his mothers legs, looked at the third man in line. They made eye contact and the child let go of his mothers legs and ran over to him but was pulled back in an instant. His mother knelt beside him and cradling him to her chest, her eyes scanning his. The man hung his head, letting out a sigh and his shoulders slumped as he walked past the weeping boy.

“What is this?” I whispered.

“This is chaos kept at bay.” Nathaniel replied, fixated on the people being led down to the rock. Four more girls followed after the woman, their eyes brimming with unshed tears, but they bit back their emotions.

They stopped, the girls parted ways, two going left and two going right, standing there like beautiful ceramic statues..

The first man hung his head. Behind him stood another older gentleman, and then the third man who had a connection to the boy. I recognized him; I had seen him around the pack in my earlier weeks before everything went down.

’Remember to keep calm’

“Nate,” I croaked, watching as his head turned with an eerie blend of wonder and amusement

“Yes, darling.”

“Are these people part of the pack?” I asked, and he smiled, sending a cold shiver down my body.

“They were once,until they decided to take a darker path.” He replied, ominously. From where we stood we could see one of the few clear reaches of the sky between the trees. The moon’s ghostly light cast unsettling shadows upon the grass.

“What are you doing to them?” I forced the words out in a hoarse whisper.

He slowly shook his head, and raised his hand. The light from the fire hit the blade, and I glimpsed terror in the eyes of the people standing in line.

“Something you need to understand, Layla, is that I ensure we maintain peace. And sometimes, we preserve that said peace by eliminating any threats.

“An execution?” My voice trembled.