I looked back at where she was pointing, wondering if it was me who failed to see what she was showing me or if it was her who was accidentally pointing somewhere else. 

" What am I supposed to be looking at? " I questioned as I continued to stare at the ground. With nothing but a small smirk in response, she pushed the branches near the grassy base of the trunk away and that's when I saw it.

It was almost a big rabbit hole or rather a werewolf hole at this rate since Lyla gestured me to follow her. Crouching low, she disappeared into the entrance. With a sceptical deep breath, I crouched down too, imitating her posture and followed her. 

We crawled for the first few minutes and slowly the passage started widening till we were comfortably able to stand in our full size. 

" What is this place? " I asked her as we reached a fork in the cave-like structure. 

The inclination now behind us, the place looked like those rugged caves that formed centuries ago and were lost and buried in time. 

" I guess you could say this is the Laneri pack's escape bunker. It's similar to how people have bunkers in their basements. It's just that we have a cave. " She said, the smile in her voice was audible as she led the way through one of the paths.

Being strangely luminescent, the faint light that came from deeper within danced on the walls and roof as we made our way through it. 

Finally, when we seemed like we made it to the end, growls and whines greeted us as we stood at the entrance. 

" Ninya! " " Alpha!! " " Alpha Ninya!! " " Lylaaa! " The different voices bombarded us as we finally took in the view. 

Everyone from the Laneri pack was sprawled on the cool ground of the cave as they were regaining their energy. On seeing us, they rushed up and made their way to us. Or rather to Lyla. 

" Ninya. " Daen sternly said as she inspected Lyla with a deep frown. " I'm fine, Daen. I'm fine. " Lyla chuckled as she greeted the others, ignoring Daen's frowned face. 

And as if I hadn't done enough to protect Lyla, Daen shot me a quick but scornful glance. If it wasn't obvious that she didn't like me, it was crystal clear now. 

I didn't blame her though. She had all rights to be mad at me. After all, everything that was happening was because of me. But the thing that bothered me was that I hadn't the faintest clue as to why this was happening. 

" The blood on your forehead says otherwise, Ninya. " Pedro said, almost as if he stole Daen's words. Daen pursed her mouth shut without uttering a single word as she silently watched the interaction. 

"Don't worry, Pedro. I'm fine. It could have been worse if Felix hadn't helped me out though. " She said as she redirected the group's gaze to me. The dubious glances now morphed into a little bit of trust as they listened to their alpha vouching for me. 

" Come on, let's get a small break and rest up before we head off again. " She said with finality as she ushered everyone to settle down. 

The pups looked at her drowsily, trying their best to stay awake as they wobbled around Lyla's feet. " You two were amazing today. Now how about my big pups rest up for a bit? " She said to them as she nuzzled them. 

They looked back at her in a daze and gave in happily as they cuddled together and dozed off. 

Genir walked over to us and after checking up on her pups she looked up at Lyla. " Ninya... Get some rest. You too Felix. " She said, addressing me for the first time and taking me by surprise at her motherly tone. 

She seemed to only be a bit elder than us, but her voice was laced with a concerned motherly tone. Later on, Lyla told me that she was the main nurser of the pack before Lyla came along and that she helped Lyla out when Lyla was tending to my wounds too, making me increase my respect and thankfulness to her.  

Reynar, Genir's mate and the father of the pups approached us next after everyone had settled down. Daen and Pedro were sitting close to us, while the pups and the teens along with Genir spread around in a wide circle and rested. 

I took in his appearance in silence. With a muscular built, he stood nimbly on the border of being called either a bulky or large-sized wolf. But what caught my attention were the fresh claw wounds that were caked with dry blood now. 

" Reynar! Are you alright?! " Lyla asked with concern as soon as she noticed them too. Her voice radiating her worry as she moved closer to inspect his wounds. And for some reason, her actions and tone seemed to annoy me.  

He nodded slightly with a smile. " I'm tough, remember Ninya? " He said with a small laugh as Lyla shook her head in defeat and immediately he got down to business. " What are we going to do now? " He asked in a hushed tone as his expressions hardened. 

The one's surrounding Lyla, that was Daen, Pedro and me being in earshot, heard the question. And every one of us perked up and looked at Lyla for her response. 

What was she really planning to do now? There was no way they could go back to their house with these wolves on the prowl, I thought as I waited for Lyla's reply.