"What are you doing to me?!" Sally's voice cracked with pain and confusion as I wrapped the torn fabric around her wounded leg, tightening it with perhaps more force than necessary.
"Nothing," I replied flatly, my hands steady despite her struggles. "I'm just bandaging your wound."
Kael's massive wolf form pressed down on Sally's smaller yellow body, his weight effectively pinning her to the ground so she couldn't squirm away from my ministrations.
His dark eyes remained fixed on me, waiting for further instructions.
"Stop right now!" Sally panted beneath Kael's bulk, her voice strained. "You are just wasting your time. I don't need your help, human!"
I didn't even glance up at her protests, continuing to wind the makeshift bandage around her injured leg with methodical precision.
"Doesn't matter," I said simply. "I am just giving you a favor."
Sally struggled for a few more moments before the weight and her own exhaustion finally overcame her defiance.
She let her head drop to the ground with a defeated thud, her yellow eyes closing as she looked toward the others standing around us.
"Fine," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Do whatever you want, but I will leave the moment you are done with your things. I cannot stay here. Especially not with that psycho Lila."
'Here we go again.' I could practically feel the temperature drop around us as Sally's words hit their mark.
Sure enough, Lila's pale eyes blazed with renewed fury. Her muscles tensed like a coiled spring as she took a step forward, silver hair catching the moonlight.
"You are dead, Sally!" Lila snarled, already moving to attack.
"Javrian," I said calmly, not even looking up from my bandaging.
Instantly, a strong hand shot out to grab Lila's wrist, stopping her mid-lunge.
She trembled with barely contained rage, her pale eyes darting between Javrian's restraining grip and my focused expression.
Her jaw clenched so hard I could hear her teeth grinding as she glared at me—the human who had just commanded their pack leader with a single word, and he had obeyed without question.
But I ignored Lila's burning stare, keeping my attention fixed on the wounded wolf beneath Kael's weight.
"Sally," I said, my voice carrying that same matter-of-fact tone that had become my signature, "why are you provoking us to kill you?"
Sally's yellow eyes snapped open, meeting mine with genuine confusion. "Who is provoking you? And why would I even need to provoke someone like—"
"Nngh!" she cried out as I deliberately pulled the bandage tighter, cutting off her words mid-sentence.
"Hey, stop it! That hurts!" Sally yelped, trying to pull her leg away.
I slowly stood up, clapping my hands together as if cleaning dust from them, and looked down at her with satisfaction.
"You are good to go," I announced simply.
Sally sighed with obvious relief that the ordeal was over and tried to move, only to find Kael still positioned over her, his massive frame blocking any attempt at escape.
An awkward silence spread through the group as everyone's attention turned to the large black wolf who remained firmly planted on top of Sally.
"Hey," Darius called out, breaking the tension with his characteristic lack of filter, "Don't tell me, Kael... are you enjoying pinning her down like that?"
Every woman in the group—myself included—frowned and turned toward Kael with a visible eye twitch, judging his character, whose wolf eyes widened in panic.
"What nonsense are you talking about, bastard?!" Kael's voice boomed with indignation as he glared at the younger wolf before he shot back, lifting himself away from Sally in a panicked way, realizing his character had just been shot by his own friend.
Darius held up his hands defensively. "I meant like... you're enjoying tormenting that traitor, right?"
'Oh.' The clarification hit everyone at once, and I felt my cheeks warm slightly as I realized where my mind—and probably everyone else's—had gone with that comment.
"Ahem."
I cleared my throat softly, my gaze shifting toward Sally who had somehow managed to stand despite her injuries.
She was limping heavily, keeping her bandaged leg raised as she walked on three legs like some wounded animal trying to escape.
"Where are you going?" I called out, my voice cutting through the tense mountain air.
Sally halted mid-step, her yellow eyes turning back toward me with that same guarded expression. Her body language screamed exhaustion and defeat as she replied, "Aren't you done? You told me I can leave."
My frown deepened. After everything that had just happened, after the way these people clearly had history with her, she was just going to... walk away?
"What the hell?" I said, crossing my arms despite the handcuffs still binding my wrists. "Aren't you a woman who returns her favors? I helped you by bandaging your leg. That means you also have to bandage me when I get injured. And until I don't need that favor returned, you follow me."
A slow smirk spread across my lips as I watched realization dawn in Sally's wide yellow eyes.
'Hook, line, and sinker.'
Her mouth fell open slightly as she understood what had just happened. The way her ears flattened against her head in her partial wolf form was almost comical.
"I... you..." she sputtered, clearly recognizing that she'd just walked straight into my trap.
My smirk widened. Sometimes being raised in a political household had its advantages. You learned how to bind people with their own words, their own principles.
Sally's jaw clenched visibly as she processed her predicament. Finally, she turned away with a frustrated growl.
"Forget it," she declared, her voice sharp with annoyance. "I will break this principle of mine."
'What?'
My confidence faltered as I watched her actually start to limp away again. I hadn't expected her to just... abandon her own moral code rather than follow me.
"Wait—" I started, stretching out my bound hands toward her retreating form.
But before I could finish the word, the air around us suddenly became suffocating.
A sharp pressure filled the mountain clearing, making everyone freeze in place. The kind of pressure that spoke of barely leashed power and absolute authority.
"Didn't you hear her?"
Javrian's voice cut through the silence like a blade, calm and deadly serious.
"My wife said to follow along."
The word 'wife' hit me like a punch to my gut, making my entire body lurch forward, grabbing my stomach.
'Whose wife?!'
I whipped around to stare at Javrian, my mouth opening to protest this ridiculous claim. But before I could get a word out, Sally's shocked voice filled the air.
"What have you done to him?" she asked, her yellow eyes wide with genuine confusion and something that might have been fear. "Why is Javrian acting this way?"
And naturally, those words seemed to unlock something in the rest of the pack.
"Exactly!" Lila's voice rang out, sharp and accusatory. "We might not be on the same page about other things, but I agree with that traitor on this!"
"Indeed, indeed," Kael nodded sagely, his massive frame somehow managing to look concerned despite his injuries.
"Everyone, one after another," Vera murmured, shaking her head. "This isn't normal behavior for our leader."
"Yes!" Lila practically shouted, pointing a finger in my direction. "She has definitely done something to our leader!"
In the span of about thirty seconds, I had somehow transformed from a confused bystander into the primary suspect in some kind of mind-control conspiracy.
'What the hell? What did I even do?!'
I looked around at their faces—all of them staring at me with varying degrees of suspicion and concern. Even Sally, who barely knew any of us, was nodding along with their assessment.
'This is ridiculous!'
Before I could voice my protests, Javrian stepped closer and placed his finger gently against my cheek.
The simple touch made me look up at him, my eyes pleading for him to explain the situation to his pack instead of making it worse.
"Hey," I said softly, trying to catch his attention. "Can you explain this to them? Instead of creating more misunderstanding?"
But instead of addressing the growing concern of his packmates, instead of clarifying anything, Javrian completely ignored their remarks and said something that made my soul want to leave my body.
"You are cold. You will catch a flu this way. Let me warm you."
My mouth twitched so violently I thought my face might permanently spasm.
'You screwed the misunderstanding over, you beast!'