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Colby didn't care. Didn't give a single shit.
"What are you asking?" he mumbled into my hair, sounding almost annoyed that I'd brought it up.
I was frowning to myself — had been for the past few minutes. "I'm... I'm asking if it will bother you when Cassie and I go to that other pack."
"The only thing that bothers me is that you're going there almost alone and you said they don't like you."
"It's not that they don't like me, they just didn't appreciate that for a moment they had hope their alpha wasn't going to be alone anymore, but I left barely without giving my name."
"Does he know your name?"
I shrugged. "Maybe?"
To my surprise, Colby snorted behind me, forcing me to roll onto my back and look at his face. He adjusted himself so he was looking down at me, propped on his elbow. "Do you want it to bother me, Ames?"
I huffed. "No, I'm just confused."
"About?"
"Well... the only reason it wouldn't bother you at all is if you trust me but-"
"I trust you," he interrupted simply.
I narrowed my eyes. "There are a lot of meanings for the word trust."
"And I trust you in every single one of them."
My heart stuttered and I didn't even know why. It should have been obvious, in a way; he didn't question the things I did or why, or my judgement. Although he was hesitant to allow Tom to align himself with us, that was due to his own prejudices rather than distrust that I was making the right decision. He was just being stubborn.
Glancing between his eyes, searching for any sign that he was lying anyway, I said, "Then that means you trust me not to break your heart."
He exhaled heavily as he leaned down, so close he could have kissed me if he wanted to. "Yes, it means I trust you not to break my heart."
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"It's somewhere around here," I murmured, surveying the wilderness surrounding the car.
Cassie cast an uncertain glance at me — one of many since we'd turned off the main road and ended up on dirt paths that, to her, probably all looked the same. I was so used to the woods that I'd gotten used to the small differences in trees and where they lay. This route looked very familiar, so I was willing to follow it through a little longer.
"How long have we been driving?" Cassie asked, pulling her phone from her pocket. "God, an hour. We could've run here in less time."
I rolled my eyes. "How would I have given you directions, then?"
"We could have stopped every now and then," she pointed out. "How do you even know this is the right way? Can you smell them or something?"
"I'd have to open the window to smell them. I just recognise the route."
"Didn't you only come here once?"
"I'm good at navigating."
She fell silent as she twisted her head toward the trees, scanning them as if she had any idea what made them unique. I left her to it and began to turn, when suddenly she reached over to grab my arm. I instantly hit the brakes. "Over there," she said.
"What?" I turned my head but couldn't see anything.
Her head tilted to one side. "I can hear people — doesn't sound like hikers, more like someone fighting. A lot of people fighting." Her voice lowered. "You said werewolves fight in groups, right? So maybe they're training."
"Most likely. Let's check it out. I wasn't sure about this turn, anyway."
I rolled down the window slightly and headed toward the sounds I could also now hear. It was definitely a werewolf pack fighting. The alpha, whose voice I recognised even at this distance, was giving out criticism and praise, and sounded fairly agitated. That wasn't going to fair well for us.
As I edged out of the trees into a large clearing, a couple of heads snapped toward us. My first instinct was to roll the window back up and mutter, "Let me do the talking. They know you're a vampire and won't be too friendly."
"I can stay in the car," she offered with a shrug.
"No. Some day they'll need to accept that vampires aren't all leeches. Let today be the beginning of that journey."
I stopped the car and stepped out without a second of hesitation, but Cassie hovered for a moment in her seat before joining me. The pack were gathering together into a defensive group, the familiar alpha at the front glaring at us. I was sure he hadn't recognised me yet, considering most of their stares were directed toward Cassie instead, but the closer we got, the more of them were distracted by me.
Eventually, Ronnie himself met my gaze and his position shifted. "Amira Andrews."
"Hi," I greeted briefly. If they were this aggressive to my companion, I was going to have to make this quick. "Got a minute? I'm looking for some information."
He crossed his arms over his chest, displaying ripples of muscles that definitely weren't there a year ago. "What kind of information? If it's pack business, that pet bat of yours can fuck right off before I say a word."
"Sort of pack business, but not quite. And she isn't going anywhere." Cassie and I stopped about a metre away from them — dangerously close — and I casually shifted half in front of her just in case. Keeping my eyes respectfully on Ronnie, I said, "A pack have been helping a vampire clan by doing their dirty work. Pathetic, really. I was hoping you might have some clue as to who it is."
Ronnie examined me for a long moment. I thought I saw his eyes trailing down my form before he once again took in Cassie beside me. As he considered whether or not to help, his pack were whispering about getting rid of me and saving themselves the trouble snitching might cause.
"The sooner I know, the sooner I'll leave," I added.
"We don't mingle with other packs much," Ronnie replied, "but I've heard the same rumours. Don't know who they are, just that they're a disgrace and no one wants them as an ally."
"How long have they been a disgrace?"
"For a while — not just because of this vampire clan they're hanging out with. They think it's going to change others' minds, but as you know, it's just drawing us further from them."
I sighed. "I was really hoping to get something more specific."
"Why are you looking for them?" he snapped back, impatience in his tone. I already wasn't welcome here, and the longer I stood, the more I felt I was about to get chased off.
"They've been attacking one of our allies on behalf of the clan," I explained with a casual shrug, hoping he wouldn't catch onto the implication. Of course, he did.
"'Our allies'?" He looked at Cassie. "Is this just a vampire in a pack, or are you just like the very pack you're looking for?"
Trying to keep my voice calm, I said, "I don't have a pack, it's just me — and under very special circumstances am I with a clan. It wasn't my choice." I shifted further in front of Cassie now, changing my tone to be stern. "Do you have anything more you can tell me?"
"No." He turned away without another word, motioning for a couple of his pack members to go back to what they were doing. I didn't let the cold shoulder bother me; it wasn't like I'd come here looking for reconciliation or to have a chat. I wanted information and nothing more. This was professional.
"Thanks, anyway," I muttered as I started to lead Cassie away.
The voice of a young werewolf who couldn't possibly have matured yet stopped me, though. "Ask Mama Luna, she'll know."
Mama Luna. That was a name I hadn't heard in quite a while. Looking back at the youngster, I smiled and nodded, and climbed into the car without a second thought. The teen was right: going to other packs was going to be useless. I'd only get rumours from them, no definitive answers. But Mama Luna? She'd know exactly who it is and wouldn't mind divulging to me.
That woman was a saint.
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you were expecting drama huh