Chapter 26: Poison Lies

"D-do it. T-they t-took e-everything I w-worked hard. B-bite m-me s-so y-you'll k-know w-what I.. I've f-found. H-hurry!" she told me; her breathing was shallow.

My mind and emotions were arguing if I would follow Stacey's wishes. But if I don't, her hard work to help me in my parents' case will be wasted. I couldn't stop myself from crying.

"H-hurry! I. I can't h-hold on m-much l-longer."

I have no choice but to follow her wishes.

I took Stacy's bleeding wrist and bit it.

When blood entered my mouth, the memories of what happened a few hours ago and before that instantly flooded my mind.

"I found something about your parent's case, Raven," she told me while we were at the bar she owns.

I look at the folder in her hand. I wasn't interested in the folder back then, so I told her to keep it and open it if I was ready.

In the other scene, I saw Stacey holding the bell, and she was talking to an older man that looked like a hermit to me.

"I'm surprised you are still alive," the hermit said to her.

"Of course I am. I have someone who will back me up when I'm in trouble," she said, laughing.

The older man glanced at her.

"Hmm! If I were you, you can't be so sure. Werewolves are savage," the old man told her before smoking a cigar.

"Not all of them," she replied. I saw Stacey pulling something from her backpack pocket. "Do you know anything about this bell?" she asked him. "I saw it in a book saying this is a witch cradle. I wonder what it does? My friend told me she saw it inside her territory after the attack. Can you explain why this was found there?"

The man spits his saliva after pulling out his cigar.

"That bell is used to control someone or a group by whoever holds it. Plus, that bell is owned and created by skinwalkers. Maybe your friend was hated to the point that whoever behind it wanted her to die," he replied to Stacey. "The friend you were saying, is she the last remaining Elite?" he questioned.

"Yes. How did you know it?" Stacey asked him.

The hermit put the cigar back into his mouth before he inhaled the smoke and then exhaled it out.

"Of course, I know everything about her. Since day one, I've been watching her," he replied to Stacey. "She and her kind were hated back then and until now. Well, not hated but used," he said. "Or being used."

I saw Stacey confused.

"What did you say?" she asked.

I saw the old hermit was about to speak, but he stopped suddenly and looked at Stacey.

"Go. Hurry!" he told her.

"Wait! What about the thing you want to tell me?"

"Tell your friend to meet me if she wants to know everything!" the hermit said before shooing Stacey away.

Stacey hides in thick bushes a few meters away from the hermit. She finally secured her hiding place and went into hiding just before a woman suddenly appeared.

The woman has strange gray hair and a long flowing red dress. The dress was so red that it was almost as red as her eyes and lips.

The two talked, but Stacey couldn't understand it aside from the word 'survived and protect.'

Stacey had the feeling of wanting to listen more, but since the old hermit warned her to go, she turned around slowly, making sure that neither of the two would see her.

Another flash of Stacey's memory in her blood showed me the direction where this man could be found. I saw her sketching the way in one of her journals with a secret code. I noticed that journal once. She always put that inside her secret compartment.

A flashback of other memories from her blood carried me to a place that is likely the hideout of Lycan. Unlike Isaurians and Elite, Lycan does not live in a pack; instead, they live among humans and act like humans to blend with them.

I don't know how Stacey managed to find this hell hole without even being spotted, let alone smelling her scent, which could be easy since she is human and Lycans can't resist that scent.

Stacey positioned herself into one of the dark parts of the hole where she could see a platform so well. I don't have any idea what she's doing there. She took out a recorder and held it firmly until she saw some figures emerge from the darkness at the platform. There are at least five of them. In my eyes, four of them were men, and the last one who arrived was a woman. They are all wearing hooded cloaks. I couldn't see their faces, but Stacey didn't mind it. She then pressed the recorder button and waited for them to talk.

"We are positive, madam; the other pups survived," one of them said though I couldn't pinpoint who's the one to talk to because their hood hides their face from Stacey's eyes.

"We can not let this happen. We've been planning this for a hundred years. The appointed King must remain in his position until the monster is awakened," the woman said.

"We finally grasp the opportunity to eradicate the wolves; we can not let our effort go to waste. Find the other pups and kill them," the man who sat facing Stacy's hiding place said.

"We won't, Wicca. I already persuaded the puppet we had. We already successfully killed those Elites except for the last remaining girl. Rest assured, we still have the upper hand against those wolves," the woman replied.

"And Lycans are under us. We only need to cast some spell on them, and they will be bowing to us."

"What about the King? Is he suspecting us? The elders?"

"After the failed attack on Alpha. The attention of using rogues became an issue for the palace. Plus, the King chose her as her mate. What can you say, Madam? You've been living with the King since he was a kid. And why is he turning against the plan?"

"I haven't heard anything about suspects, but he rejected the woman we chose for him. He completely ignored the scent we copied from that elite supposed to seduce him. He still chose her."