74 Chapter 74: Heavy guil

"Trust me," Irina said, putting a finger under her chin to raise her head. "It's the best option right now. Come back to the academy with me."

The offer was too tempting. Old man Li had proposed that Elize attend an academy for her higher education. Since she never received training in the magical arts or in controlling her wolf, it would be the best option. Besides, he said that given the tense situation of the Island, it was better for her to stay away for some time. Irina had then offered to take her to the institute where she worked. Aileen had opposed the idea, saying that it was too dangerous for her to step outside the Island anymore, since the news of her being the chosen one had reached far and wide. Elize was now as good as a human. In the case of an attack, she wouldn't be able to even defend herself. Irina had quickly dismissed the thought by promising that she'd keep an eye on Elize.

Elize really liked the idea of a change of atmosphere. She also wanted to continue studying. But the fact that Alpha Li had first suggested the idea made her unsure of it. Besides, she couldn't leave Zack all alone.

"I don't know.." She said, looking away. She took a step down and another step and another, distracted by her thoughts.

"Don't you want to start your college education? Hasn't it been some time since you've graduated school?" Irina asked, catching up with her.

"I do." Elize said with a sigh. She had already reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked up at the huge mansion looming above her. "But St Petersberg is a bit far don't you think?" She said gazing at the window of Zack's bedroom longingly.

Irina laughed. She replied, "We're witches silly. There's no place too far for us. Maybe for the wolves…" the witch trailed off, catching Elize's longing look at the window two stories above them.

"Fine, I'll ask Zack." Elize finally replied with a sigh.

"There's no need to." Irina said patting her back. "He has already left with Alex and Meifeng. Her mother is ill."

The reply was like a stab to her heart. Although the reasoning was good enough, he could have at least told her before leaving. Did he not care about her anymore?! Elize suddenly felt like leaving the place was a good idea. 

"Oh..then, when do we have to leave?" Elize asked, biting down on her pain.

"I'll take you back to your place first. You can pack up and then we'll leave right away." Irina said, extending a hand towards her.

Elize took one last glance at the pack house before taking the witch's hand. I guess good things always had to end, she thought sadly as Irina whispered a quick spell.

----------------------------------------------

"By the way, how did the old man manage to tick off the entire Island witches?" Elize asked, stepping over a pile of clothes on the floor.

"When Agatha came to your room, you were gone. They searched the entire Island for you and you were nowhere to be found. But there was a hole in the boundary between the two halves of the Island so the natural conclusion was that he kidnapped you." Irina said, lying on the bed lazily, watching the ruckus from a safe distance.

Hearing the answer Elize scoffed. She found the answer absurd. How did they even come up with that conclusion?

"Kidnap me? He's my mate." She said, looking at her friend with a funny expression. 

Irina shrugged. "Yeah well right now things aren't that simple. At least until we figure this out."

"Figure what?"

Elize bent down to pick up her clothes one by one. She had given up searching for the book by now. It's been almost an hour since they had reached the place. Irina surprisingly knew how to teleport, just like her. In the blink of an eye they had reached her room, without going through any trouble while crossing the boundary spell put up between the two parts of the Island. The witch had told her that teleporting or opening the boundary was the only way someone could get through. 

Being a witch always had its advantages, thought Elize. At that time, she was reminded of her efforts at making a dangerous creature tear open a part of the spell for her to slide onto the other side of the Island a few days ago. Since she had no clue what the creature really was, she didn't tell Irina about her encounter with it. Also, no one asked her if she met such a thing. 

Elize walked over to the bed and dumped all the clothes in her hand into the one bag that she had with her. She looked around the room and realized that she had a long way to go before she zipped the bag close. She turned to the witch and poked her harshly. She still hadn't given the answer to her question.

Irina grunted in protest and squirmed away from her before finally answering.

"Well, a rumor was started among the witches that you were kidnapped. At the same time a rumor was going on among the wolves that the witches had somehow killed their Alpha and Luna for some sort of weird ritual sacrifice." She said in an amused tone.

"What?" Elize asked sitting down on the bed.

She was now more curious than ever. How did two different yet creepily creative rumors spread at the same time in two different parts of the Island which was closed off from each other. This could only mean that someone or something had access to both sides of the Island or there were people on either side of the Island who had carefully planned this out together. But why would the residents of the Island join hands with Alpha Li? Especially the witches? 

Irina suddenly sat up on the bed and looked at Elize excitedly. "Yeah and that's not even the weirdest part. Someone had locked Aileen inside her house with a spell. It was Alex who heard her screams from inside the house when he came by to check on you."

"Alex came by to check on me?" Elize asked, surprised.

"Yeah, Agatha apparently thought that you'd get lonely all by yourself here so.." The witch said with an awkward smile.

Elize suddenly felt guilty. Agatha must have gone to the other side of the Island risking being caught by a bunch of crazy werewolves, all for her. Poor thing, she shouldn't have been so cold to her that day. She suddenly remembered the important part in Irina's explanation. Someone had locked Aileen inside her house! 

"Ohh..so did she break the spell then?" Elize asked, resuming her packing awkwardly. 

"Well, not really." Irina remarked, interrupting her thoughts. "But lucky for everyone, I arrived at the right time." There was a proud smile plastered on her face.

Elize smiled blandly at her friend. Her mind was heavy with thoughts of Agatha. Her guilt was slowly making her thoughts stray in different directions. If what Irina said was true then maybe Agatha didn't mean any harm. But why would she then confine her to the mansion? She was literally babysitting her ever since she got up from her sleep. She had even come to the room to check on her in the morning. A strange thought passed her mind. Was she protecting her from something? 

She suddenly remembered that Irina had said something about masking her scent when she gave her the strange liquid in the vial to gulp down. She also remembered how the wolves on the other side of the Island had reacted upon seeing her. Zack had explained that it was lust. Was she in some responsible for all of that? Was she the reason why the boundary spell was once again raised between the two parts of the Island?

"Why did the wolves start going crazy upon seeing me?" Elize asked nervously.

She feared her guesses were right. But she had to confirm it. If that truly was the reason, then she had wronged both Agatha and Zack through her actions and her words. It would mean that she doubted a loyal friend and made an Alpha tear his pack mates into pieces only to succumb to the madness himself. It would mean that she was the one who was bringing havoc to the Island.

Irina hesitated for a while before giving in to Elize's pitiful expression. 

"It's your blood." She said with a sad look on her face. "I guess when the poison was cleansed from you, the blood was purified to an extent that the magic in your blood was masked and your wolf's scent mixed with a bunch of amplified mating hormones were produced an intoxicating scent that can possibly drive wolves into a frenzy."

"But why?"

"Theoretically this wouldn't have happened if you were not so close to turning. But it could be something else as well, given the fact that you're not an average witch or a wolf. I mean the possibilities are endless."

"I messed up big time." Elize said with a heavy heart.

She had stopped listening after her own question. Her guesses were right. She was the reason for everything. She suddenly wanted to get away from the place before she could inflict any more calamities on the Island. 

"Elize! You're back!" A familiar chirpy voice exclaimed.