05~You're beautiful

They all stared at Martin in shock as he revealed that the witch who had made the poison was hiding among them. “What do you mean, the witch was here all along?” Audrey asked, her voice laced with disbelief.

Martin nodded. “Yes, she’s been hiding in our pack, gathering information and waiting for the right time to strike.”

May looked around nervously. “How do we know she’s not still there, watching us?”

Martin sighed heavily. “We don’t. That’s why we need to be cautious and keep our guard up.”

Alex clenched his fists in anger. “This is unbelievable. How could they do this to us?”

Martin looked at Alex. “They raided our pack and took over. The only reason we escaped was because of the secret passageway. According to my sources, they were searching for Hercules so they couldn’t fully take over the pack without the previous Alpha being confirmed dead.”

Audrey’s eyes widened in horror. “So they were planning on killing Hercules?” She asked.

Martin nodded grimly, “Yes. And they’ve already started killing elders who defy their new ruling, but it still wasn’t enough to fully take over the pack.”

They all fell into a stunned silence, each lost in their own thoughts about the gravity of the situation they were in.

As may walked towards Hercules’s bedside, the rest of the group watches her in silence, unsure of what to say or do to comfort her.

As she approaches him, she tentatively reaches out and touches his arm with trembling hands. Tears begin to stream down her face as she breaks down in sobs.

“Why did this have to happen to you, Herc?” May cries out. “You’re supposed to be the strongest and bravest of us all.”

She begs him to wake up, her voice choked with emotion, but he remains motionless.

“Please don’t leave me like this,” she pleads. “I don’t know what I’ll do without you.”

The rest of the group watches her from the doorway, their hearts breaking for her. Martin clears his throat and steps forward. “May, we’ll figure this out. We’ll find a way to help Hercules.”

May turns to look at him, her eyes red and puffy, “But how? We don’t even know what’s wrong with him.”

Martin puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. “We’ll start by finding out what was in the poison and how we can counteract it. We’ll do everything we can to save him, I promise.”

May nods, tears still streaming down her face, “Okay. I trust you, Martin.”

“Martin, I think we need to give her space.” Audrey suggested.

They all nodded and moved further into the living area.

Martin turns to Alexandros and Audrey and takes a deep breath before speaking.

“I suspected that Anna and Bradley were up to something, and I was coming to report it to Hercules, but I was too late,” he says, his voice heavy with regret.

Alexandros and Audrey exchange a worried look before turning back to Martin.

“What do you mean they were up to something?” Alessandro asks.

“I’m not exactly sure,” Martin admits. “But I think they were planning something that could have put the pack in danger.”

Audrey frowns. “Do you have any idea what it could have been?”

Martin shakes his head. “Not yet. But right now, our priority is curing Hercules. He’s the key to turning around this war and putting an end to Anna and Bradley’s plans.”

Alexandros nods, “You’re right. We need to focus on finding a cure for Hercules before anything else.”

Audrey looks at Martin, determination in her eyes. “We’ll do whatever it takes to save him.”

Martin gives them both a small smile, grateful for their support. “Thank you. We’ll get through this together.”

The pot on the kettle whistled, so Audrey rushed over and poured the water over the prepared herbs.

“It’s ready.” She announced and took the bowl to Hercules’ bed side by then May has sobered up and was still on the bed gently holding Hercules’ hands.

Seeing Audrey come in with the bowl, she stood up to make a chance for her.

Audrey sits on the bed and gently lifts Hercules’ head up. She placed a pillow behind his head to keep it steady before bringing up the bowl. She stirred it properly and stopped when she was satisfied it was ready. Carefully, Audrey fed the water from the herbs to Hercules.

Audrey becomes frustrated as the herb water keeps dripping down the side of Hercules’ mouth. She tries several times to feed him, but he seems unable to swallow it. After a few moments of struggling, Audrey remembers something she read in a book about nursing sick patients. She takes a deep breath and leans down to Hercules’ level, positioning herself close to his mouth. She takes a mouthful of the herb water and then leans in to give him a kiss, allowing the water to flow from her mouth into his. Hercules swallows the herb water, and Audrey pulls back, a small smile of relief on her face.

“That was... surprisingly effective,” Audrey says, still a little surprised at what she just did.

Alexandros and Martin exchange a look, both grateful for Audrey’s quick thinking and determination to help Hercules. They all wait anxiously waited for any signs of improvement in Hercules’ condition.

After a few minutes, the dark shade on Hercules’ lips and face gradually faded to a lighter color, but not completely. They all sighed in relief, happy that at least a positive reaction was gotten.

May notices Alexandro’s strange expression and asks him if everything is okay. He quickly shakes his head, trying to push the thoughts out of his mind. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he says, clearing his throat. “Just... concerned about Hercules.”

Martin notices the exchange and narrows his eyes at Alexandros. He wonders if there’s something more going on. But he decides to let it go for now and turns his attention back to Hercules.

“Let’s keep giving him the herbs every few hours and see if it helps,” Martin suggests to Audrey. “And we need to figure out how to get rid of that other substance that’s still in his system.”

Audrey nods in agreement, but also can’t help but feel a bit distracted by Alexandro’s strange behavior. She wonders what could be going through his mind.

They all left the bedside and moves to the living room, but May couldn’t bear to see her brother in such a state. and runs out of the room, tears streaming down her face. The rest of the group watches her retreat in silence, unsure of what to do or say. Martin is the first to react and quickly gets up from his seat, following May out of the cabin.

As he steps out, he sees May crouching at the corner of the cabin, her sobs echoing in the stillness of the forest. Martin’s heart shatters at the sight of her pain, and he feels a pang of helplessness. He approaches her slowly, not wanting to startle her.

“May,” Martin whispers softly, crouching beside her. “It’s okay, let it all out.” He places a gentle hand on her back and begins to rub it soothingly.

May looks up at him, tears streaming down her face, and breaks down even further. Martin feels a sudden ache in his chest at the sight of her pain and the sound of her sobs.

“I can’t bear to see him like that,” May cries, burying her face in her hands.

“I know, I know,” Martin says softly, pulling her into a comforting embrace. “But we have to be strong for him. He needs us now more than ever.”

May sobs into Martin’s chest, and he holds her close, offering her the comfort she needs. 

“May, do you want to go for a run? It might help clear your mind.” Martin asked after a while.

She sniffs and shrugged. “I don’t know, Martin. I’m not really in the mood.” 

Martin adjusted his body so he can face her. “Come on, it might make you feel better. We can just run for a bit and then come back.” He suggested.

May sighs “Okay, fine. Let’s go.” She says, standing up.

They walk into the woods and go behind separate trees to change into their wolf forms.

“Are you ready?” May asked through mind link.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Martin’s wolf replied as he stared at May’s grey wolf.

May nudges him out of his lust and leads the way

They start running through the woods, feeling the wind in their fur and the ground beneath their paws.

May twirled. “This actually feels nice. Thanks for suggesting it, Martin.” She said in delight.

Martin growled lowly, “No problem, May. I’m glad you’re feeling a bit better.”

They run through the woods for a while, enjoying the freedom and the feeling of being alive. Eventually, they slow down and come to a stop.

“That was fun. I haven’t run like that in a while.” May said.

Martin purred. “Yeah, it was nice. I’m glad you enjoyed it.’

They change back into their human forms and start walking back to the cabin.

May smiled at Martin. “Thanks for coming with me, Martin. I really needed that.” 

Martin was glad he could help. “Anytime, May. I’m always here for you.” He reassured her.

They sat outside for a while.

Inside the house, Audrey goes in to check on Hercules. The dark shade on his fingers was gradually fading away too, which made Audrey a bit glad.

As Audrey checks Hercules’s pulse, she senses a presence behind her and turns to see Alexandros standing there. She feels a chill run down her spine as he continues to stare at her without saying a word. After a few seconds, she finally breaks the silence and asks him, “Is there something you need, Alexandros?”

He just smiles at her, his eyes still locked on hers, and whispers, “You’re beautiful.” Audrey feels a wave of discomfort wash over her and takes a step back, but Alexandros just takes a step forward, closing the gap between them.

Suddenly, they hear the sound of footsteps outside the room, and Alexandros quickly left Audrey and backs away. Audrey takes a deep breath and tries to compose herself as Alex enters the room, carrying a tray of food.