Fire And Ice

Chapter 66 - Closer

Natalia's P. O. V

I didn't want to believe it.

"Unless the pack you escaped from is one of our allies, I'm sure we can be of help."

I doubted it, "It's the Lightwood Pack."

He shook his head, disgust briefly crossing his face, "No, that's definitely not a pack we associate with."

I wrestled with the grin threatening to invade my face and willed my heart to slow its pace, "I would definitely appreciate your help, but I'm not sure of what I could offer you with your standing."

Larger packs didn't typically ally smaller ones, or even currently non-existent ones in my case. Sure, I'd hoped to find stronger allies than the victims of the Lightwood Pack's shenanigans, but I'd known it would be a sizeable hurdle to cross.

I hadn't hoped to stumble into a golden alliance like this.

"I know a strong Alpha when I see one. And having ties to another species is beneficial, no matter how estranged you may be from them, having grown up without your mother." The same disgust peeked through his features again, lingering a bit longer this time, "Besides, I've never been fond of them."

And just like that, the pack that I was yet to even create was an ally of the second largest one in the country.

We finalized the details of our collaboration. I informed him about Timothy, and how he was meant to be believed to be the Alpha instead of me, the idea of a secret Alpha greatly amusing him. He had the idea of officially becoming allies on the first day of the next winter Werewolf Ball, which would garner plenty of attention. I loved the idea, and with the more minor details to be left for when we actually became official allies, I was free to leave their territory.

"Thank you so much." I bowed my head to him.

"No need, we are allies now. I look forward to seeing the kind of leader you become, Avarielle."

I was escorted to the edge of the territory, the atmosphere of my departure in stark contrast from that of my arrival.

Once at the edge, I said goodbye to the guards and began to make my way back.

After about ten minutes of walking, I noticed Kaesha and Hailey's scents, and not long after, I was face to face with the both of them.

Hailey barrelled towards me with a hug, "Oh, my gosh, Ari! We were worried sick!"

"I'm so sorry guys," I told them once she released me, "There was this wolf that came from nowhere and passed out in front of me, so I had to take her back and then-"

Kaesha continued, "And then the pack thought you'd done something to her so you had to wait till she woke up to confirm your innocence before they let you leave."

I blinked, "Yeah..."

"I made Hailey undetectable so she could do some recon, instead of just rushing in guns blazing to rescue you." She explained, "Since neither of us think you're in the habit of knocking girls out for sport, we decided to let things play out and see what happens."

Hailey nodded, "I wanted to get you out of there pronto, but Kaesha made the call to just watch, and I'm so glad she did. I can't believe you managed to get us such a massive ally."

I could barely believe it too. The scorned packs were one thing, but teaming up with the Claw Moon Pack was, as Hailey had said, massive. Not to say that I hadn't believed we could accomplish what I'd set out to do a year ago, but I'd very much expected to have to have to make some sacrifices for my goal.