The next morning, Agatha gathered all the wolfmen in the inner courtyard of the village. She was standing tall in front of them, and Hope felt the tension growing in the men's hearts. The oppressive silence was unusual, especially with so many noisy wolfmen around. This showed how much Agatha dominated them, even though she was at least the length of a head smaller than the shortest wolfman.
More than ever, Hope felt the fear of change, the fear of freedom. It was something completely new to her, and it seemed unusual and contradictory. What was so scary when you thought about freedom? Wasn't that one of the most basic human desires?
Right on cue, Drake ran his hand over her shoulder to comfort her. Most likely he had felt her fear, the one that dripped inside her soul from the wolfmen. Hope felt that he understood her even if she did not use words to explain anything to him.
