What does he want?

As the explosion rocked through the space, Thomas threw himself forward, shielding Eleanor with his body. They crashed to the floor of the hallway. Screams and cries of pain emanated from inside the hall. But they sounded muted to Eleanor’s ears, which had been momentarily deafened by the loud explosion. The air was thick with smoke billowing from inside the hall, making it hard to see anything. But as she struggled to adjust her eyesight, she saw a figure standing at the end of the hallway. She could tell it was a man. He was dressed all in black. He stood there, watching, doing nothing. Couldn’t he hear the calls for help from the hall? Why wasn’t he helping? He took a few steps closer, and her eyes fixated on his face. That was when she recognised him. It was the man from the other night, the one who had accused Sophia falsely and later escaped from the prison at Blackstorm. Eleanor had been thinking about him every day since then, trying to crack his identity. She had finally remembered his name from her last life. Jonathan Turner. She was now certain that was his name from when he had accused Sophia falsely in her previous life. She had not yet been able to ask around using the name, but she meant to after the summit. She had not seen him at the summit, so he was not an attending Alpha. What was he doing there, then? Why was he just watching while so many people needed help? She pressed her palms to the floor and raised her body from the floor. Her body hurt from being slammed into the floor, but it wasn’t enough to keep her from rushing towards him. She had to catch him and ask him what he was doing there. She started down the hallway. Her movements were uncoordinated, and she stumbled into the wall a couple of times. But before she could get to him, he disappeared. She cursed as she leaned against the wall, her head woozy. Had he really been there, or had it been an illusion? She closed her eyes, fighting against dizziness. Now, the sounds from the hall were more discernible. The explosion had occurred inside the hall, where dozens of Alphas and Lunas were gathered. Was this Jonathan’s doing? At first, she had thought his grudge was against her or her pack. But now, he had attacked a room full of Alphas and Lunas from all packs. What did he want? All of this would make sense if she knew his origin. She took a deep breath but then stopped. The air was heavy with wolf poison! Pressing her hand to her nose, she looked around. The smoke billowing from the hall was still thick. Where was Henry? “Henry!” she called, using one hand to support herself against the wall. With every step, her head swam, threatening to send her to the ground. “Henry, can you hear me?” She moved back up the hallway, towards the direction he had moved towards when he went to fetch Sophia. That meant he was alright, right? He hadn’t been near the hall when the explosion happened. Despite knowing that, she couldn’t keep from panicking. What if the other gathering had also been attacked? What if Sophia had been injured? Suddenly, a hand grabbed hers from behind. She whirled around, ready to fend off the attacker, thinking it was Jonathan who had come after her. Relief flooded through her as she realised it was Henry. “Eleanor, are you okay?” he asked, his eyes moving all over her body, searching for any signs of injury. “Are you hurt?” “No, no, I’m okay,” she replied, relief palpable in her voice. “What about you?” “I’m good,” he told her. “I came back as soon as I heard the explosion. I was so worried about you.” Eleanor threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. “Are Sophia and Ethan okay?” “Yes, only this hall was attacked.” Eleanor released a shuddering breath. The panic that had gripped her let go. Henry hugged her back, squeezing her tight. Soon, the feeling of dizziness faded. When they pulled back, she no longer felt like her legs would give out beneath her. “What happened?” Henry asked, looking past her and towards the hall’s entrance. “I don’t know,” she said. “I was still outside in the hallway when I heard the explosion. It was so deafening I didn’t know where I was for a moment. And then there was all the smoke and I couldn’t see anything for while.” “I’m so glad you hadn’t gone back into the hall,” Henry said. His brow creased in a frown. “Who has the guts to attack such a gathering? How did they manage to get past security and come all the way here?” Eleanor thought of Jonathan. But this was not the time for that. There were many people inside the hall needing help. Once they saw to them, she could tell Henry about what she had seen.