I tried everything. Picking the lock had been a failure. I then tried to hack the door down with an axe with dried dead mans blood on it, a weapon used on vampires, but my arms were fatigued after three swings. I sat in the floor for about an hour, drinking water from the mini fridge and working up the strength to pick the axe back up and try it again. As I opened my fourth bottle of water, sun light glistened off of my metal plated bracelet. I looked up and my eyes scanned the room, searching for the source. A small window, just big enough for me to fit through, was expertly placed at the top of the weapons wall. I jumped up and moved into action. I grabbed the mini fridge, yanking the cord from the socket, and dragged it underneath the window. I took a few plastic crates and piled them on top. I then used the step stool by the garage door to get on top of the crates. "Perfect." I said to myself. I pushed the window open and looked down. A few bushes that were lining the side of the house were placed underneath the window. I grinned and pulled myself up. This would be the most daring escape I've pulled in my entire life. I would have to go out head first. I climbed out until I was hanging by my feet out of the window. I looked to my right and sighed in relief to find a drainage pipe there. I grabbed it and let my feet slip from the window. My body twisting awkwardly and painfully but I landed on my butt instead of my head. I got up and twisted side to side and rubbed my butt. "Damn Lycans." I was beyond angry and was strategically plotting out Castiel's murder in my head.
He'd locked the front door but one of the windows on the side was unlocked. I moved the screen away and climbed through. Castiel had left my car keys sitting on the counter. He hadn't expected me to get out. "Serve's his ass right. He'll be the first one I shoot." I snatched my keys up and stormed out of the house. I locked the door behind me before jogging to the car and sliding in quickly. The engine revved and I tore out of the driveway. I slammed the gas pedal down, already doing 100 mph. I was jubilant that Officer Kyle wasn't around.
I got to Drake's house in record time, skidding to a stop in front of the porch steps. There were a few wolves out front and they stood at the sight of my approaching car. I peeled out of the car and slammed the door shut. I pulled the gun from my waist and all of their eyes went wide. "Oh this isn't for you guys. Just Castiel, so if you could kindly direct me to my ass brained mate's location that would be greatly appreciated." I gave them a sickly sweet smile and they all pointed towards a compound much smaller than the main house. "Thank you." I tipped my head and they nodded slowly. I walked quickly towards the house and threw the door open. It was one large room with a imposing steel door in the far corner. There were only four people in the room. Drake, his mate, Maggie, and Castiel. My temper flared at the sight of him. I pointed the gun at his chest and his eyes widened in shock.
"You goddamn ass whole." I moved quickly, shooting a bullet into the floor before his feet. He jumped back and his eyes darkened. "Aurora-" I laughed cynically and shook my head. "Oh no. Don't you start. You left me locked in the fucking garage for hours while you had a little fucking pow wow." I waved the gun around carelessly and I noticed him take a step forward. "I will blow your goddamn brains out Castiel. Do not test me right now." I was bluffing, he knew it, but he didn't try to get any closer. He put his hands up in surrender. "I was only trying to protect you." He said calmly. I shot at his feet again and he moved away from it quickly, moving backwards. "Do you know who I am? I am a Hunter! I can take care of myself. I don't need you to fight my battles! You don't get to dictate what I do with my life. If you ever so much as mention doing something even remotely similar to the shit you pulled today, I will shoot you Castiel. And I shoot to kill. No more warning shots." I clicked the safety on the gun and put it back in the waist of my jeans. Castiel lowered his arms and ran a hand through his hair. "You shot at me?" He asked, wounded. But I didn't care. He hadn't cared when he locked me in the garage. "I did, and I will do it again if I have to." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm sorry Aurora. I realize it wasn't a good idea to lock you in there but my mind has not been changed. I will not allow you to fight in Drake's war. I will not risk your life in that way. If I lost you, I would not be able to live with myself. So you may be here now, but as soon as danger looms on the horizon, I am taking you away." He'd obviously ignored me the entire time I'd been speaking.
"You don't get it do you? I understand you want to protect me, but I'm sorry to say this but if I want to die," I took the gun back out and held it to my head. Castiel growled viciously and the others in the room yelled a collective no. "If I wanted to die Castiel, I would be dead. This war would have happened with or without you being present. I would meet Drake regardless. If we subtracted you from this equation, I would still end up here. I would still be fighting alongside Drake and his pack. I am not a child that you have to watch every step of the way. I've been doing this my entire life. I've killed more things than you have bones in your body, and your wolfs body. I am doing this, whether you like it or not. You can either let me," He'd been walking closer to me with each word, so when I turned the gun on him, it pushed into his chest. "Or I will make you let me." Castiel's eyes were pitch black as he looked down at me. He stood there, staring at me with those daunting eyes for ages before exhaling heavily through his nose. "Fine. But you will be with me at all times. The first time I lose sight of you, it is done. I will find you and we will be leaving." I lowered the gun and put it away. The space remained between us and electricity seemed to dance there. The tension in the room was suffocating. Castiel was trying to exert his force on me but I barely felt it. I was his mate, meaning it had little effect on me.
"Touch me." He whispered so that only I could hear. I hesitated for a moment before taking Castiel's giant hand and pulling him to me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my cheek against his chest. "Please don't threaten my life or your own ever again. My wolf is fighting for control, and he would not be forgiving about this. He want's to punish you." He said into my ear. His lips brushed against my ear lobe when he spoke causing me to relax against him. "Tell him that I still would like to shoot you for locking me in a garage. So he should try to get past it before I turn violent." I said back. I left his arms and approached the table the others had been quietly sitting at. Drake smirked up at me and I couldn't help but smile. He held his hand out for me and I slapped my own against it.
"That was, entertaining." He said pulling the chair next to him out. I plopped down in it and scooted closer to the table. Maggie was grinning like a cheshire cat and Drake's mate was trying and failing to wipe her own off of her face. Suddenly Maggie burst into laughter, clutching her stomach and wiping tears from her eyes. "Dear lord my girl, you sure do give these boys hell. Oh God, Trina have you been hanging out with her behind my back?" Trina, Drakes mate, shook her head and giggled. "Oh no. I wouldn't ever pull anything like that with Drake. Don't have the guts. I'm not that bold Maggie." Castiel sat in the seat next to mine and leaned into me. "It was also very sexy. Te vreau. Vreau mereu, flacără mică." He spoke soft and husky into my ear. Desire spread through my body and I had to tamp down my lust for him. Castiel growled into my ear before pulling away.
"Drake Walters, shall we continue with the discussion?" Castiel said professionally, as if he hadn't sparked a sea of emotions in me. The three of them took their time composing themselves, even repeating certain things that I'd said and bursting into laughter again. Then one of the pack members from the porch came into the room briefly and told Drake what I'd said to them. Another round of laughter bubbled up from the table, and I joined in. Castiel sat with his muscular arms crossed tightly across his chest with a slight pout on his cherry lips.
We finally calmed down when Drake's Beta, which was the man just under Drake and Trina in the importance category, and his third in command entered the room. They'd been out doing rounds and had just been able to get away. Troy was the Beta and Malcolm the third in command. I leaned across Castiel towards Malcolm who was sitting next to him. "Don't you feel a little uh, under appreciated with your title and all? Drake and Troy get cool names like Alpha and Beta and they just pieced together third in command like a second hand dish rag." Castiel's large hand fell gently on my shoulder and he tried to pull me away. I shook him off and glared at him. "Let the man answer the question." I whispered harshly. I was tired, beyond tired, and when I was tired there was no controlling what I said or did.
Malcolm smiled at me and I was dazzled by the whiteness of his teeth. "To be completely honest with you?" He looked around the table. Drake and Trina were engrossed in a conversation about the land with Troy. Maggie was paying no attention. She'd pulled a book from somewhere and was deep into it. Malcolm leaned in slightly, but not close enough where Castiel would possibly break parts of him. "Yeah. The name of the title sucks. But I like having some major responsibilities around the pack. I have a more dominant wolf than everyone in the pack except the people here." He leaned back and I hadn't paid any attention to his answer. Only how young he looked. He was tan, with his hair styled up. He looked to be from hispanic decent. "How old are you, anyway?" I asked and Malcolm faced me again. "I'm 22. A little young for the position, but I've know Drake and Troy for a while." I was shocked and climbed over Castiel to get a closer look at Malcolm. Castiel placed his hands on my waist and pulled me down on his lap. I leaned against him, forgetting Malcolm. "What are you doing?" He asked and I shrugged my shoulders. I cuddled closer to him and he wrapped his arms around me. He laced his fingers together and rested them on my thigh. The last few weeks had taken everything out of me and all I wanted to do was sleep for an entire month. But I'd fought pretty damn hard to be here, I wasn't going to give into sleep until it was over.
"Can we get to the good stuff. I'm beat." I yawned and moved my arm from beneath Castiel's to cover my mouth. I then rested my hand on top of his. Drake nodded and looked at me with somber eyes. He had a soft spot for me, I could tell since the first time we'd met. I just couldn't figure out why.
"The pack is to the east of us and they are called the Southern Border pack, their current Alpha being Kade Stone. The feud my family has had with Kade's goes back generations, to even before this pack was created. One of theirs killed on of ours in a pretty gruesome fight over territory. Word got around to the rest of the family and they took action. They took one of theirs for one of ours. That continued on until a battle was waged up near the Great Lakes. A victor was not crowned, we fought until we couldn't fight anymore. They retreated and we thought it was over. My grandfather moved his family here, away from where the conflict had originated to get a fresh start. But things started to heat up again when Kade came into power. He held a lot of rage for what happened. His family lost respect over it, they were pariahs. They'd just rebuilt their name when he came into power. Now he wants to finish what our ancestors started. My entire family lives here save a couple who are out of the country or who aren't meant for pack life. He want's to kill as many of us at once as he can. He'd been sending men down from time to time, I suspected this. But when a pup was murdered, I couldn't sit by anymore. I declared war. Now it's just a matter of preparing for an attack. We'll be safer fighting on our on ground. So we're waiting. When they come, we will be ready." When Drake finished the room was completely silent. I was half asleep, but was marveled by the story. All this over his family's reputation? How irrelevant could his reason be?
"I say we kick his ass Drake." I pumped my fist into the air weakly and Drake chuckled. "Maybe you should get her to bed Castiel." I nodded against Castiel's chest and suddenly I was moving, my body was shifted so that my legs were draped over one of Castiel's arms and his other was wrapped securely around my back.
"Someone call Henry!" I exclaimed as we exited the room. It had been a while since I'd spoken to him. He would have called even if I forgot to. Something was up with him, but I was too tired to ponder what.
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Listen to "Honey Dip" by Dev to set the mood for this chapter.