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"Sebastian?"
"I cannot wait for you to come home tomorrow," his voice soothes me, making my raging nerves settle for a while. "My heart has grown too fond if that is possible."
"Today will go by quick, okay? Just focus on work, and I promise it will be morning before you know it." A smile lights up my dreary face. "I can't wait to tell you everything when I get back."
"Was the trip worth it?"
"At night when I am lying awake, no, but when I am talking with Alpha Kenn, definitely. I have learned so much, and when I get back, I'm sure all of our problems will be solved."
"You sure are confident in what he is telling you."
I watch Alpha Kenn from the guest room window. He is talking with his guards, most likely setting everything up, putting the pieces in place for our test. "It is good information, very useful." Alpha Kenn's eyes suddenly find mine, and he waves for me to come down. "I-I have to go, but I'll call you tonight, I promise."
His tone changes. "Is everything alright? You sound rushed."
"Everything is fine. Alpha Kenn is just ready for me now. I don't want to waste time before he has to get back to work."
"Okay, I'll talk to you tonight."
"Okay"
"Stay safe," he says before the line goes dead, and my heart wrenches in my chest. I place the phone down and quickly leave the room, but in the hallway, my guards emerge and stop me.
"Where are you off to, Luna?"
"Oh, I am just talking with the Alpha again," I lie. "Don't worry. I'll be downstairs in his office. If I want to go for another walk, I'll come fetch you, alright?"
They let me past, and I leave them with my smile before it fades from my face. Rushing outside, I see Alpha Kenn and hastily walk over. He notices me and meets me halfway. "Hurtle in the hallway?"
"No, sorry. I'm here now, so where do we start?"
"I am assuming you dealt with that mate of yours?"
I nod.
"Alright. Right now we are going to walk over to the southern border, where everything is going to happen," he explains as I follow him. "There will be six guards set up around you, shifted, and masked. You will not look at them, or do anything that could suggest that there are others around you. If you are right, if he or someone working for him is constantly watching you, then we might have a chance."
"Wouldn't they know what we are planning then?"
He shakes his head. "Hopefully not. I doubled border-watch and had groups sweep the area early this morning. They found a rogue."
"And?"
"And he refused to say anything, which benefits us greatly. If my Uncle has rogues watching you, then we might have caught today's worker. Hopefully, he goes out looking for him and then falls into our trap. Even if he was not planning on killing you today, the opportunity is just too good to pass up."
We join the trees and my stomach rises. "I'm nervous."
"Remember, if anything happens, the guards are around you."
Sunlight leaks through the trees and sprays in my eyes, blinding me or seconds at a time as we near the border. The trees are nearly bare as the last few leaves hang on. The ones on the ground are sparse, most of them carried away by the wind, leaving no satisfying crunch as I step. Alpha Kenn comes to a stop in the center of a small clearing, hardly anything noticeable.
"Where are the guards?" I ask while looking around.
"They are already in place, hidden with masked scents."
"How do you mask their scents?"
"A mixture of herbs, I do not make it, but too much will kill you, yet just enough will mask a scent for around hour," he explains. "Do not worry about it. You did not know they were here, did you?"
"No."
"Then everything is good. You are going to stand, sit, whatever you please, just stay in the clearing. I will be at the border post. Once everything is done, two of the guards will take you back to the house while my Uncle is brought to me. At the house you can do whatever to want, just do not leave the house, alright?"
"Alright. What do I do if he comes?"
"You don't have to do anything. Let him come close enough, and the guards will attack."
"Okay. When should I be ready?"
"Now," he says abruptly and my heart jolts.
"Now? Wait but—"
"Do not panic. All you have to do is stand right here, if that makes things sound easier. We will wait an hour, and if nothing happens, we will try again tonight."
My surroundings are eerily quiet, making me genuinely doubt if there are guards around me. If anything, I feel alone out here, waiting for my death like cheese on a mousetrap. "I don't know about this."
"No one knows if he is even going to show up. It is just a test." Alpha Kenn looks directly into my eyes before repeating "just a test."
He walks away, leaving me stranded in the ocean of unknown. I watch him until he grows too tiny and disappears from my sight. My eyes discreetly search around the nearby brush for any signs of life, any sign of fur and canines ready to dig into the Alphas flesh. I feel utterly exposed. "Everything is going to be okay," I whisper while imagining myself at home with Sebastian. That is where I will be tomorrow after all of this is over, in Sebastian's arms.
After a while, not knowing how many minutes later, I sit down on the grass and pick at the blades, thinking that no one is going to come. We will have to try again tonight I suppose. Do I actually think the Alpha is going to appear? It is a fifty, fifty chance. Alpha Kenn said the opportunity was simply too good, but he has passed on others before, such as my walk back to the house from the slain guard. Maybe he wants to wait until night time. Maybe he wants to wait in general. I sigh and drop the plucked strands of grass back to the forest floor. An hour has never felt so long. At first, I was practically twitching with fear, but now the entire test seems pointless. The Alpha is smarter than this. He has to be.
A growl snatches my attention, and my head shoots up in the direction of the noise. Immediately, I stand up. "Hello?" I call out, forgetting all that Alpha Kenn told me.
Another growl, louder than before, erupts from my right side as something comes into my view. Suddenly two large wolves come thrashing into the clearing, biting, wrestling, and snarling. Quickly I back away and stare horrifyingly at the battling pair. Frantically, I search around for the guards or Alpha Kenn until more wolves catch my eye. Something is wrong. This is an ambush.
"Alpha Kenn!" I yell and run in the direction we came in. Breathing heavily, I weave my way through the trees before hearing a scream. My feet come to a halt. Another scream. It is a female, and something about it is playing with my head.
We have to get back! My wolf shouts at me, fearing the unknown sensations of death.
I know that voice.
If we stay out here, we're going to die!
Without thinking, I ignore my wolf and rush in the opposite direction, back into the commotion. The voice, I have to follow it. Something inside of me recognizes the sound and will not rest until I solve the mystery.
Staying in the trees and not cutting through the clearing, I follow the cries. Lifeless beasts lay unmoving on the ground, and I only have a moment to look at them, only a moment to picture myself in their place. Another scream bursts in my ears, tugging me away from the fighting animals, leading me further into the unclaimed land. The screams replay in my mind tauntingly, reeling me in. "Where are you?" I call out into the canopy.
"Evangeline!"
My eyes grow wide. Dashing off in the specific direction, all my thoughts flush from my mind. It cannot be. I squint at the figure in the distance. A woman. "Evangeline!" She yells. My face flushes with heat.
"I'm here!" I cry. "I'm here!"
Running towards her, the woman turns, and my eyes cannot register the sight before me. It is a dream. "Evangeline," she motions for me to come, for me to hurry. "We have to go."
Tears blur my vision as I reluctantly step closer to the ghostly being. My hand reaches out to her face, feeling the warmth and life against my palm. "Where have you been?" I ask softly, not knowing how to carry myself. "Where did you come from?"
"I missed you so much," she caresses my cheek, brushing the tears from my hot skin.
"This isn't real," I murmur. "This isn't real, is it?"
Her hands grab my own and squeeze them in her grasp. "I'm here, but we have to go."
"Wait. I-I have a mate, h-he's the Alpha of the Tate Pack just that way," I point with my hand. "And Grandma, she's missing, I-I don't know where she is. The Alpha he's after me just like he's after you. Alpha—Alpha Kenn is going to kill him," I try and explain to her, though none of this feels real. "Where are we going?"
There is a pained expression on her face, and she is battling it. "To your father, he is just over the hill."
She tugs me in the direction, but I stop her. "My mate, he needs me. We have to go to him. He'll protect us."
"We have to go."
I follow her. "Where are we going with Dad? To my mate?"
"Please hurry."
As we head up the hill, my mind feels lost, as if I am not controlling my body or thoughts. "Why do we have to hurry?"
At the bottom of the hill is a man, a stranger. My mother pulls me towards him, though I do not want to go anywhere near him, I do not stop her. When we reach the base, she lets go of my hand, letting my arm drop to my side. My eyes stare at him, confused. This is not my father. "Where is Dad?" I ask her, but she is looking away from me, not giving me any sign that she heard me.
"Hello, Evangeline," the stranger speaks up. "It is nice to meet you properly."
She stays turned away from us both.
"Who are you?"
"I am Victor," he tells me calmly.
"I don't know you."
"Oh, but you do. Just not like this."
My heart begins to race in my chest, and I step away from the older man. "Just get it over with!" She shouts at the stranger, distressed, making my head spin. My eyes shift between the two of them.
"What's happening?"
Abruptly, something heavy and blunt collides with my head, and my body goes limp, falling to the tough ground. My eyes roll up to the sun before a thick darkness overcomes me.