Chapter 133: Sisters.

The woods were quiet beneath the moonlight.

Selene stood between the trees with her arms crossed, watching the small group of wolves gathered before her. Their faces were mostly hidden by the darkness, but she knew exactly who they were.

One figure stood slightly apart from the others, a dark cloak pulled over the person’s head and most of his body concealed beneath it.

Selene didn’t need to see the person’s face.

She already knew what it was.

"You’re not going after her yet," Selene said coldly. "I don’t want anyone making a move until I give the word."

The wolves nodded.

"The Rotblood is still recovering. She’s weak, injured, and barely able to move," A faint smile touched Selene’s lips. "But she’s being watched constantly." Her expression became hard, "There’s always a healer with her. Annelise. She has a strong wolf,"

She looked toward the cloaked figure, "That’s your target. "

The assassin remained completely still.

"When the opportunity comes, you kill her first. Quietly. No witnesses, and no mistakes." Selene’s eyes moved back to the others, "And then, you take the Rotblood alive,"

One of the wolves shifted uneasily. "Alive?"

"I want her alive. She’s been unable to awaken her wolf ever since that day," Selene said. "I want her taken somewhere no one will find her. Somewhere she can scream as much as she wants and nobody will hear." Her fingers curled into her palms, "Then we’ll make her pay for everything she’s done."

She paused, glancing toward the cloaked assassin again, "Until then, keep watching. Learn her routine. Learn when Annelise leaves her alone. Learn who comes and goes." Her voice dropped into a whisper, "When I tell you it’s time, you move."

The assassin gave a single, silent nod, and Selene smiled, "Good."

She turned away from them, already imagining Della’s face when she now has her in the palm of her hand. And this time, she would make sure she gets the job done. The Rotblood would face her doom this time, and there would be no one to blame because everyone already wants her dead.

And that child of hers... would never see the light of the day!

.

.

.

"I don’t think I could spend one more second here. I’m not even supposed to be staying here in the first place. I’ve gotten what I wanted from Malachi, and my baby is healing again. There’s no reason left to stay,"

Annelise was already packing up the little they had here, which wasn’t much. Her sack was mostly filled with bandages, food and medicinal herbs she’d been preparing all this time.

"Ugh! But I don’t know if I should leave. Eclipse Crown Pack seems like the safest place right now considering we haven’t been attacked yet and Malachi did say that he was gonna keep our staying here a secret till I’ve recovered,"

"You do know that even the Alpha can’t withhold that news from everyone else for long, right?"

"Can’t he?"

Annelise dropped what she was holding and turned to face her, "He can’t lie for the sake of a rotblood. They’ll think he’s a traitor. Eclipse Crown would be in trouble if he did that. The best he can do is to keep delaying any discussion that has to do with you,"

Della was quiet after that.

"And you’re right," Annelise continued packing, "It’s been almost ten days since the market incident happened, and the news about seeing you at Eclipse Crown must have spread far and wide. Malachi would not be able to hold them off any much longer, so the best we can do for ourselves...is to leave,"

Again, she remained silent.

"We just have to go out there and...start out somewhere. Live in the woods. Survive on wild fruits. I have enough medicine to take us through months!"

Della stared at Annelise for a while, "What does your mother has to say about that?"

Annelise froze for a second, and then her voice became a little quieter, "I haven’t told her about it yet," She sighed, "I doubt she would be happy about it. She’s been glaring at me and would barely speak to me since the day I brought you in. I bet she thinks I’ve somehow morphed into a rotblood too,"

Della felt so sorry.

She wanted to tell Annelise to stay with her mother, but she knew there was no convincing this young woman to stay back.

"Thank you," Della whispered, not knowing what else to say, "For sticking with me. You’re a very good friend I still don’t think I deserve,"

"Well, you’re like a little sister I always wished for so I think it’s all good,"

For a few seconds, Della couldn’t respond.

Sister.

The word slipped so casually from Annelise’s mouth, as though it belonged there. As though Della had always been her sister and there had never been a reason to question it.

Something inside Della cracked, making her chest tighten painfully, and suddenly she couldn’t tell whether the warmth spreading through her was happiness or the ache of wanting something she’d never been allowed to have.

No one had ever called her that with actual love. The sister she once thought she had had ended up backstabbing her so many times, and she had learnt the hard way that her feelings had been fake.

Her eyes burned, and she lowered her head quickly, pretending to adjust something on her wheelchair before Annelise could see the tears gathering in them.

Sister.

She repeated it silently.

"So, we are ready to leave, right?" Annelise asked as she tied the huge sack around her chest.

Della quickly wiped her tears and nodded.

"Good. But I have to see my mother first and let her know that I’m leaving again,"

Della nodded once, then she said what has been on her mind ever since they returned to Eclipse Crown, "Could you...take me to see Lian briefly before we leave? It’s been so long and i—"

"Say no more!" Annelise nodded.

Della felt elated.

She thought Annelise would complain that they didn’t have that kind of time to spare.

Her heart began to pound at the thought of seeing her little cousin again, and she wondered how he was going to react to seeing her after almost three months of being separated from him.

"We’ll take the secret route by the west, and we’ll make a stop by his room as we leave," Annelise smiled, "I’m pretty sure he would be so happy to see you,"