[GRANT]
"Hey, wake up."
"What if he's lying?"
"Wake him up."
"Okay, I'm awake, no more magic, please," Grant said, instantly opening his eyes to see that he was surrounded by warlocks who were ready to fry his brains into tomorrow.
He was scared but he wasn't going to say it out loud and he was thankful that warlocks didn't have a super hearing because that would be a little too embarrassing even for him.
"You choked me on your magic," Grant said and the warlocks looked at him wondering if he thought he had a choice.
"What's stopping me from killing you?" Celia asked again, and Grant was brought back to his mission. Now that he looked at the warlocks, nothing had changed about them. They still had stone-cold faces even though he was in some room.
They were glaring at him, and their swords were out. The young wolf was slowly understanding why Greroth was considered deadly. And he was amazed as to how this bunch of cold people had managed to take in the son of Wynter who was crazier than the whole of Udrad.
"Like I said earlier. I'm here for the high priest and the high priestess. This is about Alanor. Trust me, if I'd known I'd almost die from coming here I would have let Ulrike come. But as you well know he's helping Zelina out wi—"
"Great, so he's useless, can I please kill him?" Celia asked Criselda who just nodded like she was giving her approval.
Of course, she knew Grant, but she wasn't sure why he would show up here of all the places. Greroth was not a place for a wolf and everyone knew that, and yet he had taken the journey here.
"Fuck, the things I do for a man who rejected me," Grant mumbled and Criselda let out a sigh.
"What is it, Grant? I won't be able to hold back the warriors anymore if you keep being silent. We both know that won't work out so well for you. Why are you here?" Criselda asked once she sat on the seat that one of the warlocks had gotten her.
Grant wanted to ask which part of Greroth he was in, but the voice Criselda was using was proof that they were not in for any pleasantries, and that too with the young wolf.
"Alanor. He can handle himself, but what if he is being held a prisoner in udrad? We haven't heard shit from him, and you clearly haven't as well, seeing as your people are armed to the teeth despite knowing who I am, and that I came in peace.
"Zelina said to tell you to try and reach Alanor. Maybe, he will listen to you if you go to Udrad. Not to mention the fact that you are powerful and can take out Edison if you have to. We all just want to know if he's okay. That is all, I seek. That is all we seek," Grant said, correcting himself.
He could see the frustration in the warlocks' eyes, and while he wanted to pretend that things would be okay, he knew nothing would. The only way to know if anything would be better was if they could see Alanor himself.
Until then they would just be walking on muddy waters and from their experience, that wasn't the ideal setting.
"Okay fine. Tell Zelina and Ulrike that we'll handle the issue. Tell them we'll send people to Udrad to seek the young Wynter. Meanwhile, tell them to be careful with the war, and that we wish them all the best.
"You're free to go, but eat first. And no, it is not poisoned. As you said, Alanor would be pissed if he knew shit happened to you. And I am not in the mood for a pouting son, alright?" Criselda said and Grant just nodded.
He was famished from the ride but still, he was amazed by how the warlocks handled him. Criselda didn't say another word, instead, she ushered the warlocks outside, while Grant ate his food.
They had also brought him water, and left him with one warlock in the room who looked like he was more than willing to sever Grant's head off his neck. He was muscular and scary, but Grant had to remember that he had come for the mission.
Ten minutes later, the Acrod enforcer was done with his mission and was on his way out.
He may not have known where he was being held, but when he walked out of the room and out into Greroth, he couldn't help but wonder how this place would look so beautiful and yet have such cold people.
Heck, there were even children running around. Maybe they wanted to protect the smiles of those children, but still.
"Thank you for the meal. Where is my horse?" Grant asked the warrior who didn't say a word instead started walking away, and looked back only to signal Grant that he needed to follow him. This place was perfect, but the people in it were borderline scary.
The warrior walked Grant to where the horse was. It had been fed and even watered. Not to mention the pouch of water that was hanging on the horse. It was like they wanted him to not be thirsty on the way. Maybe they were humane too.
One foot in front of the other with his horse beside him, Grant walked out of Greroth, his admiration of the place not changing. He hoped that there would come a time when Alanor would give him a tour of the place, but until then, he could only hope that the young Wynter was doing okay.
"Well, you don't look dead, I say that's a plus," Ulrike said once Grant reached Asteta, the land of the vampires.
He looked like he had had the worst experience, and yet at the same time, he looked happy. It wasn't easy to tell what Grant was really feeling, especially since he had been quiet for the past five minutes.
"Maybe they told him he would be dead by dawn," Zelina said, letting out a laugh so contagious that even Ulrike laughed. Grant wanted to too, but he was still processing what had happened to him.
"I went to Greroth and came out alive," Grant said, proving to Zelina, and Ulrike that he was a traumatized man. They looked pitifully at him, and yet were very proud of him at the same time. He had taken the road when he didn't need to, and had managed to come back with his body parts intact.
That was progress.
"Yeah, you did. I hope you delivered our message," Zelina said and Grant just nodded before recapping what had happened with the warlocks from the beginning to the end. By the time he was done, he could see the wheels in Ulrike's head spinning.
"What?" Grant asked, when the silence became too much for him to bear.
"We need to be ready to ride to Udrad," Ulrike said nonchalantly, like they weren't in the middle of a war. The only way they could do that, was if the warlocks would be coming to help with the war. But was that really the case or was the hound just being crazed?
"But first, we have to push the rogue werewolves into the midlands forest. That is the only way to defeat them," Zelina said, like she was done playing catch with the rogues.
"Great, let's get to it then."
"No wonder you guys were mated to each other," Grant sighed as he plopped on the ground, catching a breath instead of walking beside the two mates who thought they were invincible.