Chapter 68: _Can’t A Girl Catch A Break?

Chapter 68: _Can’t A Girl Catch A Break? Odessa’s POV ***** After the chaos that ensued from the attack by that random witch, with Marcellus taking the hit of a magic arrow that was aimed at me and the South American Alpha King being poisoned by wolfsbane, I was tasked once again to prove my worth. Much to the obvious displeasure of Kaelos, I went to the Blood Oak woods alongside a few guards sent to protect me. My main mission there was to gather the necessary ingredients for a potion meant to cleanse Marcellus’ system from the corruption of the magic arrow and to remove the wolfsbane poisoning from Alpha King Leonardo. But unbeknownst to the pack soldiers who escorted me to the woods, I gathered a few extra ingredients that had no business with my current mission. "Hurry up!" One of the pack soldiers yelled out with an agitated voice as I squatted to pluck a peculiar-looking red flower. But I ignored the man, scrutinizing the flower closely. My lips soon curled up into a smirk. This was the last ingredient I needed for another little... ’project’ I have in mind. "How sure are we that she’s not somehow affiliated with the witch responsible for the attack?" Another pack soldier said with a low tone but apparently, it wasn’t low enough since I could hear him. At that point, I kept the red flower in a pouch I’d carried along with me where I kept other ingredients. "Yeah, you’re right." A female pack soldier muttered with suspicion. "After all, it’s well known that all witches know each other. She might be friends with the culprit for all we know." I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Almost... It was clear that these wolves didn’t mind mixing ignorance with their hate for witches. Anyway, after dusting my ball gown which already had some dust and dirt sticking to the bottom parts, I held it up before turning around to face the pack soldiers. They all tensed up at first but eventually stared at me with disdain in their eyes as I made my way toward them. There were exactly five of them... Four men and a woman. "Are you done with gathering the ingredients?" The female among them queried, squinting her eyes as I approached. I plastered a smile on my face, nodding my head. "Yup. We’re set to go back to the pack and I can get these brewed into potions." The female pack soldier nodded alongside the others but before they could make their way to the black SUV that they had driven us here with, I called them back. "I couldn’t help but overhear what you guys were saying," I remarked, causing them to pause in their tracks. They slowly turned to face me only to meet my cheery smile which had just the right hint of sarcasm as I continued. "You’re under the impression that all witches are acquainted or that we all know each other. But I’d like to point out that your information is a tad bit... Inadequate." I said, folding my arms in front of my chest. The night was dead silent, apart from the chirping of night insects and the occasional hooting of an owl or another night bird. With how hesitant Kaelos had been in letting me come here, I had thought that maybe monsters dwelt here. After all, I’ve heard stories of witches creating abominations of nature and accidentally unleashing them into the wild. Anyway, I sighed before I continued. "While witches try to be united, that concept really isn’t our strong suit. We have covens for structure and order but just like you wolves, we still have rogues or lone witches who would rather do things their own way." The pack soldiers glanced among themselves, but none of them said anything. Meanwhile, I felt a little adrenaline rush from talking to them so openly and boldly. My heart pounded against my chest and I felt like keeping quiet and pretending like I didn’t hear anything. But I couldn’t just stand the bullshit any longer... "In times of war like this, ideologies and stereotypes like what you just uttered do nothing but make things worse. Especially now that your Alpha king is trying to push for peace." I said, my gaze on the female pack soldier whose eyes glinted with a cold light. She ground her jaw, her fists clenching and unclenching but I’d spoken enough already. I cleared my throat, trying and failing to clear the awkward and pressuring atmosphere before I spoke up again. "Anyway, with all said and done. Can we head to the car now? Time’s running out." I proceeded to move forward but the female pack soldier stood in front of me, refusing to step aside even when I stared at her face. Her eyes twitched slightly, and I almost felt like I could hear a wolf-like growl coming from her mouth. I swallowed hard, bracing myself as I turned around her and the other pack soldiers to make my way to the car. Fortunately, none of them did anything funny and simply remained silent as I made my way to the vehicle. "She thinks she’s so smart, huh?" The female pack soldier remarked with contempt, but at this point, I’d already opened the back passenger seat door and stepped inside, closing the door behind me. Eventually, the pack soldiers rushed to the car and stepped in before driving hastily back to the pack. . . When I got to the pack, it didn’t take me long to make both potions, with help from Caroline. After taking the potions to both Marcellus and the South American Alpha King back in the event hall and after convincing the latter and his wife that I didn’t want to poison them, I sighed satisfactorily as I sat on the chair I’d been sitting during the ball before the attack. I used the back of my hand to wipe off the sweat dripping down my face, my gaze going to the bottle of wine that was still on the table. However, before I could stretch my hand and take it, a voice stopped me. "I wouldn’t do that if I were you." I raised my head only to meet Kaelos standing in front of me with a plain expression on his face as he stared at my face. Even though I was annoyed by his intrusion while I tried to rest, my stomach did that weird thing that happened every time I saw him, and I could even feel a blush coming in. Gods, couldn’t a girl catch a break?!