Chapter 18 ~ Christmas Bonus Part 7
Hannah arrives at the room her and Iris are supposed to share a few hours later. It must be around noon. When she steps inside, she sees the TV is on and her friend is staring mindlessly at the screen.
Iris looks at Hannah as soon as she enters the room. She reaches for the remote and turns the television off. She doesn't want her friend to see what she's watching, which is another news report on Ethan. Apparently, he hasn't said a thing to the police and they're struggling to get him to cooperate.
"Hey," she greets as she puts the remote back down on the bedside table. Hannah steps over the suitcases that are still lying in the middle of the room, exactly where they had put them when they first arrived at the hotel.
"We need to talk," she says as she sits down on the bed to face her friend. Iris feels dread claw at the pit of her stomach. Her talk with Kanan might have gone smoothly, but she knew him well and they are closer than her and Hannah.
"I'm sorry for not listening to you, Hannah. I should have stayed in the room like you told me to," she blurts out quickly. Anxiously, she watches Hannah.
"No, it was my fault. I shouldn't have gotten upset over something stupid like that. It's your own choice if you want to go out. Tell me one thing, though," Hannah's expression becomes murderous, "Did that man say or do something that made you uncomfortable in any way?"
Iris thinks back, but she doesn't remember him making her uncomfortable. Even when he asked about where she's from, she never felt any real discomfort. He was only being curios, a feeling she knows very well herself.
"No, he just bought me and Duarte some food and we talked for a little while before he brought me back here," she says thoughtfully. She realises a little too late, when Hannah frowns, that she mentioned Duarte. She slaps a hand over her mouth as her eyes widen.
"Who's Duarte?" Hannah asks, confused. Iris' mind goes into overdrive as she tries to come up with an excuse that doesn't put her with another man or make her sound like a psychopath.
Tell her the truth, Iris. She'll understand, Duarte says suddenly, seeming to sense her panic. He sounds calm, which only freaks Iris out more, but she knows to trust the creature by now.
So, she tells Hannah the truth. The whole, full truth, but only after her friend promises not to tell another living soul. The whole time Iris talks, trying to put her whole experience into words, Hannah just nods her head as she processes it all.
"So, you're telling me that the creature we saw in your room the other day was actually a mythical beast from Olympus, who was sent to earth hundreds of years ago to protect us when a supposed 'dark time' comes along and he lives inside your necklace?" Hannah asks after Iris is done speaking. Hearing it out loud, Iris realises she sounds like a crazy person, but she nods in any case, not knowing what else to say.
"I believe you," Hannah says after a moment's pause. Iris' jaw very literally drops to the ground. She honestly didn't expect her friend to believe her. Suddenly, a spark lights in Hannah's eyes.
"Can I see him?" She asks, curiously eying the necklace around Iris' neck. Now even more taken aback by her friend's behaviour, it takes a moment for the question to fully process in Iris' mind.
She wants to see the magical wolf monster? Even Iris didn't accept him that easily.
"I'm not sure..." Iris trails off, subconsciously wrapping her hand around the stone hanging from her necklace.
"Oh, come on. Please? I just want to see him. Maybe we can all go into town together! He turned into a dog the last time you wanted to go out, right? Why doesn't he do that again? We can all go out for lunch, even!" Hannah says excitedly.
Do you want me to come out, Iris? Duarte asks in Iris' mind.
"Yeah, fine. You can come out..." she says aloud. Hannah's eyes widen in wonder as the stone around her friend's neck glows a bright red, before a bright flash appears and a big red wolf is suddenly standing in the room with him.
"Wow..." she trails off as she studies the strange creature. He looks terrifying, but so peaceful at the same time. He just glances at her for a brief moment before turning his attention to Iris.
"Do you want me to take on another form, Iris?" Duarte asks her. She just nods, glancing at her friend to see if she's still okay. To her surprise, Hannah looks at the large wolf in amazement with a slight smile on her face.
He shrinks and changes colour, suddenly in the same form he was in a few days ago. He looks up at Iris expectantly.
***
As Hannah insisted, they all head out to lunch together. Iris catches her friend staring at Duarte on multiple occasions, but the wolf doesn't seem to notice at all. Instead, he plods along next to the girls as they walk down the street.
The first place they see is a takeout place, and Iris drags her friend over to the building, suddenly feeling hungry. They walk inside and to Iris' surprise, again, no one says a thing about the dog walking with them. She's pretty sure places like this don't allow pets.
They grab a table and place their orders. Iris orders Duarte the same as she'll be eating, and the creature even has the great idea to sit at the table like a normal person. By the look on Hannah's face, Iris isn't the only surprised one by the action.
"So, what are these meetings about? You know, the ones you guys disappear off to every once in a while," Iris asks, trying to make conversation.
"It's business stuff. Mr Kingsley's business stuff, to be more specific," Hannah answers.
"Oh, but why do you guys have to go, too?"
Hannah just shrugs. She doesn't know how to answer that one without revealing something she shouldn't. Before Iris can ask anything else, the waitress comes back with their food.
***
Xavier sits down at the large table in the meeting room, his pack members following suit. He watches the men across the table carefully for the slightest hint of motion. They sit eerily still, though, as they stare back at him.
"Hello, Xavier," Julian is the first to speak. He smirks as he leans forward, resting his elbows on the table.
"Julian," Xavier acknowledges him coldly with a slight nod. The smirk doesn't leave the other man's face.
"You brought a human with you," he says, making Xavier scowl. His pack members tense. The human is their doing, and they know they can get their Alpha in trouble because of it. Not yet satisfied by their reactions, Julian adds, this time directing it at Kanan, "She's quite beautiful. She would make a great trophy, don't you think?"
Xavier can feel his pack member's seething anger from the seat next to him. He gets up quickly, but Xavier places a hand on his shoulder to bring him back down to his seat, shooting him a pointed look. He won't let Kanan's supposed feelings for the human girl interfere with the meeting.
"Julian, behave yourself," the elderly dragon scolds his next-in-command. The younger dragon immediately draws back, respecting his grandfather's wishes. He knows better than to disobey direct orders from a Royal. One day, he'll be in the same position, but for now, he must listen.
"Xavier, thank you very much for coming here. We apologise for not all being present for our last meeting," the elderly dragon shoots his grandson a pointed look.
"Thank you for having me, Gerrard. I'm glad you called this meeting. As for your successor's absence, it isn't a problem. I know how busy he is," Xavier says. The last part is subtly sarcastic and a grin tugs at Julian's lips.
"Yes. You are here because we need to discuss our involvement in the war. We need to reach an agreement about how we will approach the situation and if we will participate at all," Gerrard says. Xavier nods once for him to continue.
"As we discussed in the previous meeting, me and my tribe feel as if the humans will not be able to fight the Rebels. They are rogue mythical creatures. The humans stand no chance."
Everyone around the table voices their agreement, even Xavier. He feels partly responsible for the war, since the few rogue werewolves that exist were the ones who formed the Rebels.
"Gerrard, if I may," the Royal Griffin looks at the dragon for permission to speak, which he grants with a nod of his head, "Us Griffins believe that we should aid the humans. We must, if we want them to survive this war. Even though they are lesser beings, they are an important part of the earth."
Again, everyone mutters their agreements.
"Tobias, it seems like we all have the same thing in mind here. How do you propose we do this without exposing ourselves?" Gerrard asks. The whole room grows quiet all of a sudden as everyone thinks.
"We don't hide. We expose ourselves. The humans will have to accept or fight the war alone," Tobias says finally. The whole room, as suddenly as it had gone quiet, goes into an uproar.
"I agree," Xavier's deep voice breaks through the chaos. Everyone's attentions suddenly turn to him and they stare in surprise. The Royal werewolf never speaks during meetings except when he is directly adressed.
"Let us vote then. Who agrees on the notion of exposing our species to the humans?" Gerrard asks. Slowly, hesitantly, Royal hands come up.
"It is settled then. We will expose ourselves to the humans. They will have to accept our assistance, or fight the war alone. And lose."
*ð*