Shivers ran down Shalei's spine and she scooted closer to Sebastian like a little animal seeking warmth. Now that she thought about it, the whole situation was getting creepier. As if the appearance of the strange boy who vomited blood wasn't enough, they also had the mysterious figure who had just saved Shalei's life. Could these two be connected somehow?
Sebastian mistook it as her being cold. He frowned at the tattered gown that Shalei was wearing. "Let's discuss this inside." He ordered his men. "Take the corpse with us. We might be able to find what is different about it from others."
"Alrighty!" Keith had pulled on the gloves even before Sebastian finished speaking. The three of them — Keith, Collin and Sven — worked to haul the corpse inside, all the while bickering and swearing.
Well, most of the argument centered around Keith who was having the time of his life teasing Collin which the latter retorted with a burst of angry curses. On the other hand, Sven merely watched their interaction with a faint smile on his lips.
In front of them, Sebastian was holding a fire torch, guiding Shalei's steps carefully amidst the dark, the latter being deep in thought.
"Is there something in your mind, Your Excellency?" Sebastian suddenly asked, bringing Shalei out of her reverie.
What to do, she contemplated. Sebastian was the leader of this group. If there was an intruder or spy, he must be notified immediately… right? To be honest, Shalei had no idea what was holding her back. Telling Sebastian was the right course of action, her logical side proposed.
But if, by chance, her savior was unwilling to divulge his identity, what should Shalei do? After all, that person had saved her life and she couldn't sense any malicious intent from his action. Now that she thought about it, he had done nothing to harm the group. He might not even appear if not for Shalei being in the cusp of danger. In the end, was he a friend or foe?
Shalei tried to word her sentence carefully. "About the person who killed that Infected, do you have someone in mind?"
"Do you?" Sebastian returned the question.
Shalei let out a helpless sigh. "I am asking you a question, Seth."
Sebastian merely hummed, his eyes inscrutable for a second before shaking his head. "No, not at this moment."
Not at this moment? Did it mean that he had his own suspicion of who the culprit might be and he only needed further observation to confirm his doubt?
Shalei frowned and kept the thoughts to herself. Instead, she spoke of what she had gone through before Sebastian found her; the sudden darkness that was eager to worm its way into her, the light-headedness, everything, except the short scene where she was saved by someone who smelled like sandalwood. Sebastian's frowns got deeper and deeper as she spoke and seeing that, Shalei burst out into a fit of chuckles.
"No need to look so solemn, Sebastian. If you keep this up, you will have permanent lines on your forehead." She teased. "Certainly, it won't serve your face justice."
As she had expected, Sebastian's concentration shattered in an instant and he offered Shalei an exasperated look from the corner of his eyes. It made Shalei laugh harder in return. Somehow, teasing Sebastian was fun, and she hadn't had this kind of fun since ages. Goodness, she couldn't stop. She was tempted to lean closer and check whether Sebastian's earlobes were as red as how she had imagined when the space opened up in front of them and they arrived in front of the mansion.
Keith and Collin dumped the Infected on the front foyer and shook their hands in disgust. Behind them, Sven was still rotating the skull in his hand as if it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. Shalei spotted Meagan and went to her instead, gesturing toward Patricia whose shoulders were slumped as she sat on a sofa inside the living room. "Is she okay?"
Meagan gave her a wry smile. "Apologies for making you worry, Your Excellency. Patricia, she… still hasn't gotten used to this kind of environment. Since she was small, I have always shielded her from everything as I prefer her to grow up like a normal girl, unburdened by the fight for survival. She has received quite a great shock today."
Shalei nodded in understanding. Let alone Patricia, she also felt like locking herself in her room so she could get crazy and ruminate about everything she had seen today instead of putting on a tough exterior at a time like this. It was through years of training that her mental state hadn't broken down yet. The Moon's Curse, the Infected, the thrill of today's battle, everything seemed too much like a nightmare.
"You may take her to rest, then." Shalei suggested. "Give her something warm and sweet to drink and tell her to sleep it off. She has had enough for today."
"But—" Meagan hesitated.
There it was again. Shalei frowned. "Meagan, I am not a Princess who needs someone to serve her 24/7. I can take care of myself just fine."
Her words must have triggered some memory in Meagan's mind because the woman's face broke into a smile in the next second. "Right, Your Excellency is such a brilliant fighter. Your courage and wits are very commendable."
"Stop flattering me." She huffed and pushed Meagan into her daughter's direction. "Go to her. I will see you tomorrow morning, okay?"
Behind them, Sebastian and three others were surrounding the corpse, poking and prodding it back and forth.
Keith started with a somber look. "Okay, this is creepy and disgusting. First, there hasn't been any announcement from the government that the Infected has evolved again. But we will not know for sure until the trackers come back and they are late, by the way. Do you think something has happened to them?"
Sven shook his head. "I am not sure but look at this." He showed the back of the skull that instantly made Collin recoil in disdain. "Here, judging by the precision of the cut, it should be done by a sharp weapon except everyone knows that swords aren't recommended if you want to cut an Infected's skull and this is a three head, nonetheless. It's undoubtedly harder and sturdier."
"So are you saying that it's not caused by a sword?" Sebastian asked.
"No, not that I know." Sven turned silent. "Unless it's a laser sword but we don't have any of those in our possession, right?"
"Argh! I am going crazy!" Collin pulled on his hair, frustrated. "First our beacon is destroyed and now, a three head is appearing! Do you guys think it has something to do with…" He gestured to the side. Simultaneously, all eyes except Sebastian turned to Shalei who was talking to Meagan.
Realization sunk into them. They had chosen this location simply because it was difficult terrain for the Infected to attack and moreover, they had the advantage of the higher vantage point to scan the approaching danger. But it had happened twice in a row since last night.
The Infected were getting more aggressive and they fought like they had lost their mind, which was weird because they had learned that those creatures, even with that kind of appearance, had retained a bit of intelligence. At least they knew to scrurry away if the battle was at their disadvantage. But this… this was different. They kept going at it even though they clearly knew that the only option was death.
"And one more thing," Keith leaned forward to whisper. "Have you noticed how the Infected avoided fighting against her? They looked… alarmed, afraid even. Do you think it's her intention? Did she summon the Infected here because she wants to wipe us out?"
His theory was directly met with a punch from Sebastian straight to his gut. Keith choked on his saliva as he staggered backward, gasping. "What was that for, Sebby?!"
Sebastian's eyes were stormy as he spat out. "Don't talk if you don't have clear evidence."
Keith spluttered. "I—I was just making a guess! There's no need to go physical! Anyway, how do you know that I am not saying the truth—"
"Nonsense!" Sebastian closed the distance between them and grasped Keith's collar, growling in fury. "You should know clearly why they are afraid of her! They should be, we all should be—"
"Hey, hey, stop fighting!" Sven went to hold Sebastian back whilst Collin did the same with Keith. However, Collin's short stature made it easy for Keith to shake him away. The Beta's face was red with anger, meeting his Alpha in a head on confrontation.
"You have been so protective of her since day one! Don't tell me…" He sneered. "Do you want to lose your legs too for you to learn your lesson?!"
Sebastian pulled his lips back and snarled, a warning sound that echoed loud and clear. In an instant, Keith's body stilled and his fists clenched, trembling from the effort it took to meet his Alpha straight on his eyes.
It was at that moment of inattention that left the three headed Infected without supervision and its corpse — which was headless and had clearly stopped breathing — sprung up from the floor with a speed that was impossible to comprehend and lunged straight toward Shalei.
Sebastian only saw a dark shadow flashed through from his peripheral vision, followed by Patricia's piercing scream and he turned his head to see the Infected only a few short distance away from Shalei.
His heart abruptly ceased beating, pupils shrinking into slits and before Sebastian knew it, his instinct had taken over and he pounced forward, shedding his human appearance in midair. His limbs elongated and pure white fur grew to cover the bare skin. Sharp fangs grew past his lips which he instantly sank deep into the Infected's neck, pinching it to the ground with a muffled growl.