CHAPTER 160: HOME

"Don’t think too much. There is no such thing as survivor’s guilt in this case; do you understand? They had a chance to run, but they didn’t take it. It’s not your fault, alright?"

Inez knew that he was right. He wasn’t wrong when he said that there was nothing that they could have done, that the two had enough time to run but didn’t; however, her heart still felt unsettled.

And it continued to feel unsettled as she lay on her bed and tried to sleep. However, that night, Inez couldn’t sleep well. She dreamt of being captured and dragged by the men of the council. She yelped in surprise and pain and woke up with a start.

Inez looked around and when she saw that she was in her lodge and quite safe, she heaved a sigh of relief. But at the same time, her heart was yet to calm down. It was thumping wildly in her chest, which made it difficult for her to fall back to sleep. Sighing, she got to her feet and then walked out of her room. It seemed like she was not going to get any sleep tonight.

However, when she stepped out of the lodge, she ran into Selene, who was accompanied by Laxus. The two of them were sitting out on the porch and drinking what looked like liquor.

"You are awake?" Upon seeing Inez making her way toward her lodge, Selene asked with a surprised look on her face.

"I was having trouble falling asleep," replied Inez as she came over and came to a stop in front of the small table on which sat a board with cheese and meat, with glasses filled with whisky. "You two seemed to be having a hard time as well."

Selene smiled, but her smile looked strained. She said, "I had some things in mind and couldn’t sleep. So I called Laxus to keep me company. Do you want some whisky?"

Inez shook her head and said, "I will have some cheese and meat." She sat down on the empty chairs out of the four and then took a piece of ham that was sitting on the board. She said, "It feels like the territory has gone back to normal, has it not?"

"It does look like everything has gotten back to normal, except there are some who are worried," replied Laxus in a soft voice. "If you look carefully, you can see that some are still awake."

"What are they worried about?" Inez asked softly.

"Their hands are not clean," stated Selene. "Lycans are known for their bloodthirsty nature, and we are much more ferocious against the witches than other shifters."

"There are also lycans who would stretch their hands to the outcast," chimed in Laxus in a gruff voice. "Even though they stopped after the law became more and more strict, that doesn’t mean that they are no longer scared of the council. They fear being caught by the council."

"What happened today was like a reminder of what can happen and what might happen to them if they are caught."

Inez nodded. She turned to look at the lodge that was shrouded in darkness, not far from Selene’s and frowned when she saw that no signs of life could be seen there, as if the person she was searching for wasn’t even there.

"Kill had to go to the council," said Selene as if she knew what was going on in Inez’s head. She told her, "If he were here, then he would have stayed with you."

"To the council?" Inez turned to look at the woman sharply. "Why was he taken to the council?"

"The usual." Laxus scoffed as he raised the glass of whisky and drowned it in one gulp. "Noah has an immense dislike for the lycans, and he takes Kill as the leader of all the minions of hell because he is the alpha of the pack. So he filed the complaint about Kill’s lack of attention towards his pack right away."

He took another shot of his drink and let out a sigh. "Sometimes I really wish I could kill that bastard. Just because he has one tragic memory, he thinks it’s okay to kill every single lycan? Fucking arsehole."

"You cannot kill a council official," Selene spoke reproachfully.

"Watch me."

"Laxus–"

"Is he not worried?" Inez asked, interrupting their quarrel. "He has given me a place to stay. What if something happens to him?"

"Worried?" hummed Selene, holding the glass of whisky in her hand. "I think we should be worried because your kind is one of the rarest in the shifter community. However, you have also saved mine and Kill’s lives; this is something that we cannot forget. So, of course, we will make sure to repay the favour that we owe you."

"And from what I know, Kill is unusually hooked on you," remarked Laxus, swirling the whisky in his glass. "He would never let anyone become a danger to you."

Inez’s siren melted right then and there, and somewhere Inez did too. However, she still couldn’t help but say, "Sometimes I wonder if I should leave; maybe I should live like my kind, in hiding."

Her presence was not a threat to just herself but also to Killian and his pack. She didn’t want to repay their kindness by harming them. What if something like that happened to her and Killian—

As soon as the thought flickered in her head, Inez stiffened. Just what was she thinking? Whatever that was in between her and Killian was nothing but purely physical. So why was she worried about something such as this?

Selene understood what Inez might be feeling after seeing what happened today. She said, "You don’t need to go anywhere. My brother is not a coward who will submit to the council if they touch what is dear to him. Not to mention, the head of the council is our guardian. You do not need to worry about us. We have survived this ordeal, and we will survive many more."

Inez hummed, but she knew in her heart that if something happened to this pack, then she wasn’t going to go down alone.