Chapter 1, Second part

Unconsciously, he contemplates the long natural eyelashes of his interlocutor as well as her large almond-shaped eyes.

Stupidly, Annalee lets out a shy little laugh and causes her little cub to fall to the ground due to lack of attention.

"I’m sorry."

She lets out a shy laugh and looks around..

"It seems like we are lost in the middle of the forest."

She turns towards him and swallows with difficulty in the face of the desire that is easily read in Cyrus' eyes.

While these two stand quietly at the back of the hunters' field, Desmond stands in the weapons room with Lenore and gets busy.

"About fifty guns, several loads of silver bullets with a much lower rate of gold, easy to identify their main targets." Desmond denotes in his deep voice while writing down the information taken in his notebook. "There is no shortage of accessories, enough to neutralize werewolves, ... avatars."

The hunter approaches the various chains hanging in the void. Curious, he stops in front of the largest chain and takes it in his hands.

"I didn't know that the Acraf also hunted avatars. This surprises me given their great involvement in the defense of nature, a passion greatly shared with the avatars."

He looks at the material with which the accessory was designed. Exasperated, Desmond rushes to reinstall the chain as it was previously, he turns around.

"I should tell Justin to change weapons. They look defective to me."

He arms himself with one of the guns and shoots at the frame hung on the wall facing him.

"He may need it." the frame explodes and Lenore’s damaged photo falls to the ground.

Desmond coughs slightly and stares at the weapon in his hands.

"Her appearance is untidy.." He inspires and throws it to the ground.

Desmond heads to the office to check on Lenore. "I guess this place can’t really please you, or even tempt you." He deducts during his approach in her direction.

Like usually, Lenore acts like Lenore, and doesn't seems unterested by that discussion. Desmond raises the eyebrows and takes a strong inspiration.

" If I were you, I would have taken any weapon, why not an AK47?" He pulls a gun out of his pocket. "Or why not this simple little weapon? Light and easy to manage." He turns the gun in his hand and puts it at the level of Lenore’s hand.

" I would have aimed the guard with it, why not me? Since I am a guard."

Yet she remains disconnected and has no reaction to the gun handed to her. Desmond stands up and glances away.

"I would have tied him up, why not with the avatar's? Then I would have run away, wearing the coat of the guard?" As The guard announces a plan of escape to the famous rose. At the same time, He revolves around her and analysis waiting for a reaction.

A few minutes pass and Desmond remains surprised by the long silence and stability that Lenore shows.

The young man raises his arms in the air as a sign of abandonment. He lightly taps from foot to floor and crosses his arms against his torso again.

"Looks like you’re pretty and smart enough to stay quiet until you’re unsuspected." He pauses on her right.

" You know what I think? " He turns around her steadily, becoming more and more sluggish.

Finally, he stops once standing behind her. "I don’t think you belong here."

This faint murmur comes to the back of Lenore’s ear. It caresses her and at the same time gives her a soft shiver along her back.

Desmond faces her. "I hope one day you’ll find the flame that Justin took from you."

Following these remarks, the guard diverts his interest towards his pocket, he puts his hand in his right pocket and extracts an earring. He restores his interest to Lenore and lowers her hood. Faced with this gesture, the youth retreats weakly and is reluctant.

Desmond notices the disappointment that Lenore shares, but he does not pay attention to it.

"Sorry rose célèbre." He removes the little silver earring she wears in her left ear. "The pain it must cause her. I bet the rumor was wrong. to believe that no."He puts on a whole other earring, this time a light and gold one.

"I know your ear would be better off if you weren’t wearing any jewelry. It’s just, I don’t think I’m in too much trouble because of you. But still..."

He fixes the fine burn that it has the hand to the touch of the silver earring, of appearance; small and harmless. Desmond immediately puts the accessory in his pocket and hands the hood back to Lenore.

"Rose célèbre, Aren’t you tired of standing?...Asking is foolish since I am aware that you struggle with standing."

He allows himself to carry her easily in his arms.

When Desmond feels at ease in his behavior. Lenore unconsciously paled and trembled slightly with her hands. She fixed the void with fear and felt a lot of discomfort.

Fortunately, Desmond ends up putting her rather quickly on the only desk present in this room.

The young hunter walks away from her and concentrates on his notebook.He resumes his observation of the location and loses interest in Lenore, unlike her.

La rose célèbre trembles slightly from the legs and holds a sob when she hurries to put her hands on her knees.

She puts a low pressure, for lack of strength and prays by thoughts so that her nightmare does not come true.

The anxiety becomes difficult to hide and Lenore pushes a weak sob. She quickly brings her hands to her mouth and tries to calm her breathing.

Desmond glances at Lenore and notices; she seems indifferent and neutral.

"I probably scared her into daring to help. She must be surprised. Yet I have no ulterior thoughts towards her or any other werewolf taken hostage."

He traces on his notebook three rows, where he classifies the type of weapons identified and the quantity and quality of each of them.

"The girl whose name I am unfamiliar with, please cry in silence. I am attempting to concentrate." He asks politely during his accounts.

Desmond glances at her interlocutor and finds that she remains neutral, except for her left foot; he betrayed her and trembles.

"The girl is in a serious need, and she has not even aged eighteen"

While it is pain and sorrow that Lenore can feel by experience and Desmond by empathy and compassion.

On the other side of this same building; in which they are, it is regret and pain that Cyrus feels.

"One more guard neutralized." proudly declares Gordon. He claps Annalee’s hand and smiles as she does.

"We’ll have to move him." He leans over to carry the unconscious hunter from the ground.

Delighted with their cunning, he carry it on his back and lets Annalee carry her cub.

Andrew in a hurry, expresses himself strictly towards the two teenagers.

"Annalee, Seriously, is that my little sister you dragged into this? Do you know how risky this is? I’m telling you, if the princess gets hurt? Alpha gets angry, want to see alpha gets angry with his pack and myself? I don’t think so."

They step back from his sight, then freeze and remain patient and attentive.

"Annalee, nice intervention, but I preferred it to be the last. Gordon, good job. " he says more formally.

The three werewolves cast the same look of approval, then they turn to the exit of the field and use their superhuman speed to leave the place quickly without being noticed.

Back in the gun room.

"Desmond." calls out a manly and familiar voice.

Desmond stands up and turns to this speaker.

"If you’re here, it’s to make sure that security is intact and that everything allows you to let our guard down for a night."He halts his steps and stares at Desmond. " Is that clear enough?" He questions him in an cold tone

" obviously !" Desmond strongly endorse. " That’s why I’m in here." he whispers.

He sighs and walks towards Justin; standing three steps from him.

"I noted our weapons as a precaution and noticed that there were not enough weapons against avatars. " He continues sincerely while revealing his notebook and notes.

Mr Curtis casts a vague glance at the notebook and notices several written notes of a very poor and almost indecipherable writing.

He looks up at Desmond and says, " Avatars are not our enemies. Focus on werewolves, they are the only ones likely to bother us these coming nights. Also make sure that a team is ready if Catherine puts her grain of salt in the evening." Following these remarks, Desmond nods, closes his notebook and holds it against him.

Justin turns and crosses the rose with his eyes. Surprised, he quickly turns to Desmond.

"What’s she doing here? You idiot."

Desmond remains indifferent to the high tone of the superior. " It's la rose célèbre. Ernest was called and asked me to watch her." admits Desmond in a slightly trembling voice.

He smiles forcefully and raises his arms in the air in embarrassment.

"I don’t know which cell is her...I had no choice but forced to let her with me."

The experienced hunter breathes exasperation and turns his head to the young lady; sitting quietly without any decipherable reactions.

" Well, I’ll take her to her room." More relaxed, he walks away from Desmond and drives the famous rose elsewhere with him.

Desmond sighs of exasperation, later in the day, he joins his teammate.

" Justin wants the team to stay in the shade." He announced as soon as he came into the living room. His friend turns to him and is attentive. Desmond stands straight and crosses the eye of the huntress. "He wants us to watch over the famous rose, he suspects Catherine to play a bad trick.This evening is being watched closely. Nothing should escape us. Justin’s orders are well taken, I hope."