After Hamish had left them to return back to the amusement park to fetch the things that he left behind, Amber then turned to Erick, who was inwardly pleased with Hamish's little scheme. "Shall we go then?" she asked, smiling.
Erick grinned as he wrapped an arm around Amber's waist. "We shall."
A few hundred metres away was a little park. At the entrance, there was a garden archway that leads to the inside of the park. The park was like no other, where just as one enters the park, they will be greeted by an appearance of a water fountain. Miniature green bushes bordered the water fountain with a couple of wooden benches on the side. There was a large space of green grasses where people could play around and have a small picnic there. The pathway was made of random rocks and pebbles that started from the entrance to several areas of the park. Since the park wasn't that big, there wasn't much to see; other than the water fountain, grasses and trees. Apparently, the park was built suited for those who wanted to come and relax and enjoy nature.
It was a couple of hours after lunchtime, hence why there weren't any people around as it was empty. The young couple and the wolf could already feel a little breeze in the air as they walked inside the park. The air around them was so comfortable that even Erick could finally feel Dane stirring inside him.
He froze as he visibly trembled and said softly, "Dane…?"
Amber, who was walking with him, arm to arm, noticed his sudden stillness and stopped. She tilted her head towards him and peeked at him through her lashes. "Erick, what's wrong?" she asked.
Erick blinked his eyes and then gave her a forced smile. "It's nothing, don't worry." he reassured, giving her a pat on the hand.
Inside, he continued to call for Dane, who in the end, growled and told him to be quiet.
Erick then asked him in his mind, how he has been, why he hasn't been answering his calls for days and so forth. Dane just silently said sorry and that he was still recovering. He himself did not know what had happened, Dane confessed. Other than the fact that he knew that it has something to do with his soul.
While they were having a conversation in Erick's mind, Amber, who noticed Erick's inattentive attitude just ignored him and played along with Luka.
After they had walked further in and towards the open lush green grass, Erick immediately guided Amber to a slightly shaded area, underneath the tree. He sat down first and then gently pulled Amber to his side.
Amber cocked an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
Erick let go of Amber's arm and put his arms around the back of his head as he leaned against the bark of the tree. "Relaxing."
Amber rolled her eyes as she stood up. "Well, I'm going to play with Luka," she said, as Luka walked around her, nudging for attention.
Erick just nodded as he waved them away. He then closed his eyes as he pretended to doze off. In reality, he was still talking with Dane in his mind. He was worried that Dane might mysteriously disappear to sleep or to recover without him knowing.
Although it wasn't long, the three of them had a relaxing few minutes, enjoying the sun and the wind.
It was then, Erick's eyes suddenly opened wide-eyed. 'Dane, did you feel something?' he asked in his mind as he sat up straight, looking around him with caution. Amber was still playing around with Luka, oblivious to the unforeseen tension that Erick was feeling.
'Yes, be careful! Call those two back to safety!'
Before he could shout out to them, suddenly, there were two men standing before Amber and Luka.
Surprised at the sudden appearance of these two men, she became even more surprised when one of the men suddenly grabbed Luka by the neck and held it up. "This doesn't smell like those mangy mutts," one of the men, who held Luka up said.
"You idiot. That's just a normal wolf," the other man admonished.
The former ruthlessly threw Luka aside, hitting a nearby tree.
These two men were wearing a black cloak that covers their body from head to toe. The hood of the cloak was pulled down to hide their faces. The one who had thrown Luka away was a muscular man with ripped arms and a deep voice. While the other man sounded young and has a smaller body than the former. The muscular man stood tall at 6 feet high, whereas the other man had only reached his shoulder.
The muscular man stretched his arms up, accidentally pushing his hood back, showing his chiseled and strong face. He wore a stubble with a dark man bun. He laughed out loud when he realized that his face was revealed to them. "Haha! Oh my bad! Seems like I've been exposed!" he guffawed as he put his hands on his hips.
The other man let out a heavy sigh as he too pulled his hood back, revealing his young face. He looked like he was around Erick and Amber's age with his equally thin face and lanky body. His blonde hair was of medium length, slicked back with green eyes.
Amber was shell-shocked at their ruthlessness. Erick had already ran past her and immediately pulled his arm back to punch the muscular man. Unfortunately, the man was faster than Erick as he caught Erick's fist and threw a punch himself.
Erick quickly dodged the attack as he caught the man's fist. The punch was very strong. If he hadn't used his power to withstand the force, his arm and hand would have been broken.
"Get out of here, Amber! Go and look for Hamish!" he yelled out over his shoulder.
"What's going on, Erick? What's happening??" she shouted back, looking scared and confused. "And what about Luka?"
"Questions later, go now! I'll take care of Luka! Just go!"
Amber quickly turned around. She took a quick look at Luka, who was still unconscious, lying beside the tree. A tear slid down her cheeks as she thought of how much in pain Luka must be.
However, before she could run away, the young man suddenly appeared before her. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, with an evil smile on his face.
Her eyes widened, she tried to turn around to escape from the young man. But she was too late. The young man had already held her by the neck and pulled her up, leaving her hanging.
She quickly tried to grasp the man's hands, trying to pull them off but his grip was too strong, it was like trying to pull a truck from a hole.
Erick was busy fighting with the muscular man when he saw Amber being attacked.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Amber!!"
Without any hesitation, he immediately shifted. Furs began to grow on his body and legs as his teeth began to grow into fangs. His eyes glittered in amber, blazing with fury. Once he has fully shifted, he growled angrily, ignoring the torn clothes at his feet.
"Oh ho ho! He finally shifted!" the muscular man laughed as he watched, pretending to be amazed. He then took off his cloak and shifted as well, not caring whether he had torn his clothes too.
Within seconds, there was another grey shifter, standing in front of Dane, a bit taller and more burly.
Though, before the shifter could do anything, Dane had already appeared before the young man who had Amber in his grip and punched him.
The young man was slow to react as he unwillingly loosen his grip and flew a few metres away. Amber, who nearly fell to the ground, was saved by Dane, who had her in his arms. Amber looked at him with her widened eyes. She did not expect to be princess-carried by a shifter.
Numb, she could only stare at the shifter who was holding her quietly, even though waves of questions flooded her panicked mind. The shifter quietly put her down and said gently in a raspy voice, "Now, go and find Hamish."
Amber nodded, still wide-eyed.
The young man was struggling to get up and wanted to block off Amber but he was still too dizzy from the throw. The grey shifter was also slow to react and was surprised to see his young teammate being thrown off far. Fury and annoyance filled the shifter's eyes as he gnashed his fangs.
The shifter immediately rushed out to block Amber as well. But before he could reach her, Dane had already blocked his path and growled, "You're fighting with me.