Chapter 88: _The Blood Oak Woods

Words : 1036 Updated : Sep 26th, 2025

Chapter 88: _The Blood Oak Woods I scanned my gaze around my surroundings, cautious and alert of any sounds and sights that might be suspicious. There was a wide path for walking up ahead— the same path that Kaelos and his delegates had used to accompany me to the pack in the first place. It was also the path that Alpha Katherine had used to head back to her pack some minutes earlier. And if my guesses were correct... The other Alphas who hadn’t yet come out of the pack would use this path as well. To my right was a thick forest with tall, ominous trees, all mostly red oaks whose barks were almost blood-like in appearance. The Blood Oak Woods. "I can’t take the path ahead because that would lead me to other werewolf packs and possibly the Luminari coven," I muttered to myself, shaking my head as I tried controlling my breathing which was becoming rapid by the minute. I couldn’t go back to the Luminari coven. I couldn’t go back home because there was a high chance that they would just ship me back to Kaelos or worse... Give me a punishment. I was basically putting the treaty in jeopardy right now but I didn’t have a choice. Waiting for things to get better for me at the Blood Oak pack would be a death sentence. Suddenly, my ears perked up when I heard approaching cars coming from behind me. I glanced back and spotted a few cars coming from the direction of the Blood Oak pack. Those were definitely the Alphas who came to visit. In a panic, I scurried out of the path and bolted toward the Blood Oak woods, going deep inside until I was away from the road. Fortunately, the cars drove past, causing me to sigh with relief. However, when I rose my head out of the shrubs and dusted off the leaves on my body, I glanced back to take a look at the forest and felt a cold shiver run down my spine. The forest was dark, only partially illuminated by the silver light of the moon filtering through the leaves of the tree above me. Insects and birds flew around once in a while and made noises, forcing me to swallow hard as I thought about the possibilities of other creatures. "There has to be a settlement of some kind up ahead," I mumbled to myself, using my palm to swat a mosquito on my neck. If I could find a water source then I might be able to find people... Hopefully humans or witches. I’ve heard stories of rogue or solitary witches who don’t associate themselves with covens. If I could find a solitary witch, I could seek their help by offering them some of my potions... Or perhaps, my aunt’s grimoire. "Hopefully you come in handy during all this," I spoke to the protection ring on my finger as if it were sentient, brushing it lightly before I continued moving forward. My footsteps were slow and steady on the damp forest grounds, but I made sure I didn’t make any noise for two reasons. So I could listen closely for anything at all... And so that whatever is dangerous out there wouldn’t find me and hunt me down. I’ve heard too many stories of witches creating monsters during the war and I didn’t want to be the one to verify if that’s true. After several minutes of walking endlessly without finding any signs of a water source, I became exhausted and decided to sit under a tree. "I’m guessing Aunt Althea’s grimoire doesn’t have anything like a map I could use," I muttered to myself, drawing out the grimoire from the pouch clutched to my chest. I opened the pages of the grimoire but before I could get engrossed in reading anything, I picked up a sound that made me freeze. I dimmed my eyes, scanning my gaze around as the sounds became more apparent. Whispers... From people! My eyes widened with glee as I closed the book abruptly and shoved it right back into my pouch. I scanned my gaze around the woods until I was able to track the location where the voices were coming from. "Timothy, that’s enough berries for tonight. Let’s go." A female voice said with a groan, sounding frustrated and alert. "These woods are close to the territory of the Blood Oak pack. The Alpha King himself! I don’t want to run into any werewolves." My eyes widened with even more shock as I began putting the dots together. These people are definitely not werewolves. And with such a simple name as ’Timothy’, there’s a high chance that they’re... "Humans," I whispered with a smile, shaking my head as I kept on walking, the voices getting closer. "Oh, relax, dear. The Blood Oak pack is at least an hour’s walk away from here, and they hide behind a giant wall surrounding the place like a prison." A male voice said with a casual tone. An hour? Damn... How long have I been walking for all this time? I decided to draw out my phone just then and saw the time. It was already a few minutes past eleven! "Shit..." I mumbled, placing my phone back into my pouch when I heard a gasp. "W– What’s that?" The female voice asked, causing me to pause as I thought maybe they had spotted me. I raised my hands, slowly walking forward when the male voice spoke up. "Relax, it was probably a deer or something." A deer? At this point, I had finally gotten to some bushes which I pushed aside, allowing me to get a view of the people. They were a man and a woman, both seeming to be in their twenties. They stood at the center of a clearing, both holding baskets filled with fruits. However, just when I was contemplating drawing their attention, my gaze fell on something in the bushes on the other side behind them, causing my heart to jump into my throat. "Watch out!" I yelled out in a panic, but before they could react, it was far too late...

Chapter 88: _The Blood Oak Woods

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