Chapter 122: Reshford Chronicles

Immediately, the village turns into utter chaos. One of the women starts throwing stones at them, and within minutes, a group of armed men--probably local vigilantes--appear with guns and silver knives.

They start shooting at the two huge, confused wolves, hitting Adrian square in the shoulder. But Aiden is too determined. They keep pushing forward, weaving between houses, trying to lose their pursuers without harming anyone.

Then suddenly, the side door of a small, two-bedroom house flies open.

"In here! Now!"

A young woman stands in the doorway, eyes wide, but she doesn’t look scared of them at all.

Adrian and Dorian, though skeptical, don’t have a choice. They quickly jump into the house while the girl slams the door shut, bolting it and yanking heavy curtains across the windows.

Outside, shouting continues. Men yelling for them to come back, calling them evil wolves.

Inside, the three of them stand in tense silence.

The girl turns on them. She looks irritated. "Are you both dumb? How could you speed into a human village in your wolf forms?"

Adrian and Dorian, breathing hard, exchange confused looks. Who the heck is this girl, and why is she scolding two huge wolves without fear?

"Aren’t you scared of us?" Dorian asks.

She stares at them like the question is absurd. "No... why would I be?" Then, as if suddenly realizing, "Oh, about that..."

She closes her eyes, and when they open again, they’re unmistakably wolf-blue. An Omega.

She folds her arms and looks between their shocked faces, still completely unimpressed.

"But that’s not the point," she glares at them, "The point is...what on earth are the both of you doing here?"

---

The girl turns on them, looking completely irritated. "Are you both dumb? How could you speed into a human village in your wolf forms?"

Adrian and Dorian exchange awkward looks. The girl sighs when neither of them answers.

"Seriously? You could’ve gotten yourselves killed. Just wait, I’ll go get you both something to wear."

She strolls deeper into the hut, emerging with two big pairs of sweats and some faded, old T-shirts.

"Sorry, these are the only big ones I have."

They take them gratefully, while she turns to give them some privacy, as they’ll be naked after the shift.

Dorian is the first to shift back.

His brown and grey wolf steps away from the window before his body begins to change. Fur disappears beneath his skin as his bones shift, his body stretching back into his human form.

He throws one of the shirts over his frame. It’s a little tight, but it’s still comfortable.

A second later, Adrian shifts too.

He also picks up his own set of clothes. "So...what are you even doing here? What about your pack? Why do you live in a human village?"

The girl sighs. "I’ve been living here for years. Almost since the day I was born?"

"Why?"

"Because I’m a half-werewolf."

"Half?" The room goes a little quiet. "Half-werewolf?" Adrian repeats.

She nods. "My mother is a human, while my father, he’s a werewolf. I was born here. My father used to live in a nearby pack, but he left because he didn’t want the Alpha to know about my mother. Because you know...humans and werewolves aren’t exactly encouraged to mix."

"Mating between a human and a werewolf, is that even possible?"

That makes the girl finally turn to them again, and at first she’s looking at them like they’re complete idiots--until her eyes fall on Dorian in his human form.

She stares at him with open interest, eyeing his wide shoulders and handsome face.

Dorian also doesn’t shy away from her gaze. He looks flustered, and then he smiles at her in a nice, genuine way. Not the usual playboy smile he gives girls.

She breaks the silence. "I’m Hannah."

"Nice name..." Dorian responds, taking her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Adrian behind them rolls his eyes at the scene, although he’s happy his cousin has finally found someone he seems to like.

Someone that isn’t Adrian’s mate, that is.

He smacks Dorian’s back when they stare at each other for too long. "Focus! We have more important things to think about."

That seems to break the moment. The girl pulls her hand back first, her face red as a tomato. "Yeah, he’s right. Wait--what are you guys even doing here?"

Adrian and Dorian exchange hesitant looks. But Adrian isn’t really worried about telling her. In fact, Aiden is so relaxed around her, almost like he knows she can help them.

Eventually, Adrian breaks the silence with a long sigh, then tells her everything. How his mate was kidnapped, and why they hoped to go to Rashford to find her.

The moment he finishes, Hannah’s face pales. "Rashford?"

"Yeah." Dorian says, "why, what’s wrong? You look pale."

She looks toward the window, watching the shadows of the villagers moving outside. "Because my mother was human and my father was a werewolf, they thought I was something special."

Adrian’s expression changes. Is this going where he thinks this is...

"My father, he was a powerful wolf, but he suddenly disappeared. And my mother tried to keep me hidden. But it worked only for a while."

"What happened?"

"They found out what I was. My mother always warned me not to show anyone my abilities, but I thought she was my best friend. I shifted in front of her...and that’s how we got exposed."

She looks down guiltily. "I was taken after that. My mother died trying to protect me from them."

"From who? What did they want from you?"

The girl gives him a humorless smile.

"They wanted to test me, see if I had any special abilities.

She taps her arm. "Blood. Tissue. Bone scans. Injections. Shifting tests. Everything they could think of."

Dorian’s face falls when he notices the needle scars on her arm. "How long?"

"Two years."

She says it casually, but they can notice the slight tremble in her fingers.

"Two whole years?"

"Yep." She shrugs. "It was hard at first, but I got used to it."

"No, you didn’t!" The words leave Dorian’s mouth before he can stop himself. He scratches his neck when he realizes. "What I meant is...no one should have to get used to that. I’m so sorry all this happened to you."

Adrian watches how flustered Dorian is and shakes his head before turning back to her.

"I’m also sorry that happened to you."

"It’s fine." Hannah shrugs again, passing them both bottles of water, which they happily take. They’ve been running for hours; they’re completely thirsty.

After drinking, Dorian clears his throat. "So, was there anything unique about you?"

The girl looks at him. "Nope. I wouldn’t be here if there was." She pops the cover off her own water bottle. "Boo hoo. I’m just a regular Omega. They spent years sticking needles into me for absolutely nothing."

The amusement drains from their faces. She notices and immediately waves a hand.

"Don’t look at me like that. I’m fine."

"You don’t look fine," Dorian says.

She rolls her eyes. "Well, I’m alive."

She walks away before either of them can say anything else.

Adrian sighs. "So you’ve been living here alone?"

"Not exactly. My friend comes here occasionally. She’s also an Omega. I don’t know where she goes, but I always keep my doors open in case she comes back."

"Does she know you’re a werewolf?"

"She does. But the others don’t know. If they do, I die. Especially in this village, they hate werewolves."

Dorian glances at Adrian. "We can just go out in our human forms. They won’t know, right?"

"Right." She nods. "Just act normal and you’re good to go."

They continue chatting for a moment, sharing food and all that. Eventually, she sighs loudly, breaking the moment.

"I didn’t want to say anything...but this girl Nyra you said she’s your mate?"

"Yes."

"What’s her ability?"

Adrian immediately becomes guarded. "We don’t know if we should--"

"Then don’t." She cuts him off.

"But whatever it is, I think she was taken by the same people that took me..."

"What?" That finally gets Adrian sitting up. "Are you sure? W-that means you know where Reshford is?"

"Reshford is just the name of a human town. But yeah, I might know where the experiment house is, but I have to warn you, it’s heavily guarded, and their technology is far more advanced."

She looks toward the locked door. "You will you will need to there. As if your life depends on it."

Adrian takes a step forward. "Why?"

The girl looks him straight in the eyes.

"Because they won’t keep her in Reshford for long. If she’s been taken by the same people that took me, and she really is a powerful wolf, she would be transferred to another lab."

"Fuck!" Adrian runs a hand through his hair. "So what do we do now?!"

"You need to go." Hannah replies. "Now!!"