'Someone like her!' Eleanor repeated it in her mind, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Zane…" Lucas got to his feet to say something.
"What do you mean?" Eleanor asked before Lucas could say anything further.
"I mean, you shouldn't have come out here on your own," Zane snarled, looking back at her. "You should come with someone who can protect you."
"Excuse me!" Eleanor rose to her feet, wincing. "I can protect myself."
"Oh…" Zane burst out laughing. "I can see how you can protect yourself. That rogue would have killed you if I hadn't killed it. And what did you do after that? You sat here and watched the fight instead of escaping, as if you were watching some interesting show. Accept that you are weak. Do yourself a favor. Don't roam around in the woods."
Eleanor stared at him, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Her chest moved up and down visibly. She knew the pack members belittled her for being weak. She never paid attention to them. But Zane's every word pierced her heart like a dagger. Her eyes turned glassy in a matter of seconds. She had no idea why she felt so bad. For the first time, she wanted to demonstrate how powerful she was. She wanted to say out loud for the first time that she wasn't weak.
"That's enough, Zane," Lucas chimed in. "She is here to collect herbs. That's what she does every day. We can't forbid her from coming out of her house. It is our responsibility to secure the border so that pack members can go freely throughout the pack."
"Seriously, Lucas." Zane frowned at him. "You are now taking her side. And how do you know so much about her? Oh…" He nodded and added, "You are interested in her."
"What? I am not interested in her." Lucas swung his hands in the air in frustration.
Zane scowled at him. He was not sure why he felt relieved.
"I may not be as strong as you are, but I am far more sensible than you," Eleanor said. "I am glad I am not as arrogant as you. You are the future alpha of Moon Keepers. You should be kind hearted, calm, and protective. As the future alpha, you must treat all members of the pack equally."
She sniffed and wiped the tears that rolled down her cheeks. "Thank you for saving my life. But do me a favor. Don't come to save me if I fall in danger the next time." She turned around and walked out, limping.
Zane gaped at her departing form, mouth agape.
"Oh…" Lucas smirked, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "That was bold. I wasn't expecting this from her."
Zane directed his burning gaze at him before walking back to the packhouse.
As Eleanor headed back home, she kept muttering fiercely, "What does he think of himself? Does he think that he can say anything to anybody since he is Alpha's son? Such an arrogant man. Instead of checking on whether I was okay, he began to scold me. Humph… His friend is far better than him. Jerk…"
She let out a deep sigh, wondering how his words could affect her so much.
"This is what everyone in the pack thinks of me… weak," she continued murmuring. "He said nothing new. What is happening to me? I don't give a damn what he thinks of me."
Eleanor finally arrived home. When she entered the house, she noticed Valeria putting green paste on her husband's wound on his chest.
"The rogue troubles in the pack are growing," Evan, Valeria's husband, murmured. "The alpha should deploy more guards on the borders.
"Uncle…" Eleanor walked up to them. "You got injured."
Her anxious voice caught everyone's attention. When they turned to her, they noticed her limping towards them.
"How did you get hurt?" Valeria asked worriedly, her gaze moving to her injured ankle.
"Did the rogues attack you?" Evan asked in a frenzy as he rose from the chair.
Eleanor froze, her gaze wandering from Valeria to Evan. She shook her head frantically. "No… The rogues didn't attack me," she lied, as she didn't want to worry them. "I-I did hear growling. I got scared. So, I was running back home but tripped over rootstalk."
"Oh, dear." Valeria grabbed her arms and made her sit on the chair. "Let me put the paste on your wound."
She crouched down in front of her and removed the ragged bandage. She wrinkled her nose as she checked the wound. The bleeding had stopped, but the wound looked ugly.
"It's quite deep," Valeria muttered as she applied the paste to the wound.
"I am sorry, aunt," Eleanor apologized. "I dropped the basket somewhere in the woods."
"Silly girl." Valeria gave her a smile. "You don't have to apologize for that. I'm relieved that you didn't run into any rogues."
Eleanor's face turned pale. How could she say that she ran into the rogues? She would have ended up killing the rogue, unleashing her power. But Zane came at the right time and stopped her from doing so. He not only saved her from the rogue, but he also saved her from bringing misery to herself and her loved ones. She truly felt thankful to him at this point.
"You are lucky this time." Cecilia's voice jolted her out of her trance. She turned to her and saw her coming out of the kitchen with platters full of beacons and bread.
"If you keep going into the woods so early in the morning, you'll end up running into the rogues one day," Cecilia continued.
"Instead of saying this, you should go with her," Valeria snapped as she stood up and walked into the bathroom.
"Ugh…" Cecilia groaned and rolled her eyes. "I hate waking up early."
"The beacons smell delicious," Eleanor chimed in, a smile on her face. She tried to alleviate the mounting tension. "Let's start eating. I'm starving." She put some bread and beacons on a plate and began eating.
Evan and Cecilia started eating as well, and Valeria joined them later. Their chatter and laughter echoed in the house from time to time.
************************************************************************
Zane paced around in his room, huffing and puffing. He couldn't get Eleanor's words out of his head. No one in this pack had ever dared to look him in his eyes unless they were very close to him. Servants never raised their heads in front of him, not to mention spoke rudely to him.
"Humph, such an audacious woman," Zane hissed. "How dare she talk to me like that? What did she say? insensitive! Am I insensitive?" He frowned, directing his fingers towards him. "I saved her life, and she considered me insensitive! She is insensitive."
He clenched his fists and continued pacing, his nose scrunching up. The more he thought, the angrier he became. The most annoying part was that he stood there like a statue and let her go instead of punishing her for insulting him.
"I swear I'll teach you a lesson," he fumed.
Knock-Knock…
"Who is that?" He yelled, glancing at the door.
"The pack meeting is about to begin," Lucas's voice was loud from the other side of the door. "Are you coming?"
"Oh…" Zane groaned and grimaced, pressing his fingers on his brow. He had forgotten about the meeting. "It is all because of that woman," he muttered. "I should stop thinking about her."
"Yeah… I will be there on time," he yelled, looking at the door. He dashed into the bathroom.