For the first time, Alana looked nervous.
Her fingers drummed anxiously against the wheel and she pressed hard on the accelerator, her eyes bouncing from window to window as she scanned the road and any movement in the forest that surrounded us. We had been on the road for a couple of hours now, but we were still riding through the vast woodland of Northern Shadow territory.
Unlike when we ventured to the human town with Alana, we were headed northeast. Well, that's all the information I was able to gather anyway, and it was from Lilo, who was probably feeling pity for me after my useless attempts at getting Alana to crack. I was the only one who didn't know our final destination and the longer we drove, the more antsy I was to find out.
"Why do I have to sit in the middle and little legs over here gets the window?" Marcel complained, throwing his head back against the headrest with a dramatic groan. I scowled at his words. I really wasn't that small contrary to everyone's opinion. "I won't be able to feel my legs by the time we get there."
"Stop whining. You deserve discomfort." Alana snapped.
He muttered under his breath, something I couldn't hear, and Alana's knuckles turned white on the steering wheel.
Rowen reluctantly forced Maiko and Marcel to accompany us, much to their discontent, and Alana's as well. They had a small argument about it before we left and probably would have gone on for longer if we weren't in such a rush to leave. I wasn't sure if they would be of any help considering we weren't the best of friends, but Rowen was quite aggressive in their conversation before we left and while I didn't exactly agree with his methods, they seemed to listen to it very well.
Suddenly, Alana slammed her foot on the brake abruptly, almost coming to a complete stop, but the car still slowly inched forward, resembling the pace of a snail compared to the speed we were going. I frantically looked out the window for any signs of a threat, but there was nothing there. Just a couple of deer harmlessly prancing through the trees.
She really had to stop doing that. You would think she would be capable of such with her enhanced abilities, but I suppose she had her limits too. At least this time it was subtle enough for my back to remain on the seat.
Despite the lack of any threat, the others exchanged grave looks, their bodies tense and alert as their eyes glazed over. There was something wrong. Their body language told me that much, but it had to be something I couldn't sense. Not yet.
I waited for them to explain what was going on, but the car stayed silent as they communicated through the mindlink. The only thing that gave away anything were Marcel's facial expressions that would change every now and then as he furrowed his eyebrows in thought.
I let out a heavy sigh and crossed my arms, clenching my teeth together. Once again, I was excluded and it was hard for me to understand why they were keeping so much information from me. It wasn't like I was some random stranger catching a hitchhike. I mean, for all we know, not telling me could put us all in danger.
I opened my mouth to speak my mind, but when I looked at my fellow passengers a bundle of nerves arose within me and I clamped my mouth shut.
Alana was one thing. I had grown comfortable with her over the past couple of weeks, but the others...it was easier in thought.
I instantly was disappointed in myself, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything about it. I sunk down in my seat and watched them communicate through the mindlink, sulking in my loneliness and wishing more than ever that Helios was here with me. I was always left out, but it never mattered because he was always there. No matter how much I tried to convince him to join his other friends, he chose me.
"Marielle." Alana abruptly said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "We are about to cross the border into no man's land."
Finally, something.
"That's good, right?" I piped up, standing up straighter in my seat.
"There's a blockade of wolves waiting on the other side. We're not leaving here without a fight," Alana exhaled, her eyes unusually weary as she looked at me through the mirror. I instantly deflated, my mouth growing dry with the news.
"We should have left earlier," Lilo said, quietly.
"You think," Alana said sarcastically, sending her a pointed look. Lilo blushed as she looked away.
My heart raced in my chest and I was overtaken with dread. I was hoping Alana was joking about us being potentially attacked during our journey, but I should have known better. Alana never jokes.
However, something didn't make sense.
If we were being attacked, they would strike within pack lands, right? I didn't doubt word reached any ear that would listen amongst the pack members even out here on the far outskirts, but why would they wait until we left the territory? They would have striked by now.
"Who are they?" I swallowed hard.
They exchanged looks again, adding to my feelings of isolation amongst the group, before Maiko chuckled darkly and rolled his eyes.
"Of course, Rowen didn't tell her shit," he grumbled. I studied my lap as my face heated. My mate kept me out of the loop, too, apparently.
"What did Rowen tell you?" Alana questioned me and I shifted uncomfortably as all eyes locked on me.
"That I wasn't safe here and..." My hands shook."...my family was sent to the cells. Everyone thinks we're responsible for the attack."
"Weren't you," Maiko snapped, glaring out the window.
"Maiko," Lilo hissed.
"What? It makes sense. I don't understand why we're forced to sacrifice our life to protect her when she should be executed with the rest of her filthy blood." He growled, speaking the most he had since we started driving. Tears blurred my vision as I tightened my fist. I wished he would stop. "If she wasn't Rowen's mate, it would have been taken care of by now."
"I'll let your brother know exactly how you feel if something happens to her," Alana snapped before her hard eyes turned on me. "Don't let him talk about you like that. He clearly has no respect for you."
I looked away. She was right, but I wasn't her. Alana could say whatever she wanted and no one would bat an eye, but that wasn't the same with me. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I didn't have insane abilities or fighting skills. The little respect I earned came attached with my mate's powerful status and even that went so far.
"A lot of people are missing. It happened the same time you disappeared in the woods." Alana explained quietly, her hands tightening around the wheel. "This isn't just between our pack anymore. Everyone's desperate to find who's responsible and a few packs have stationed warriors in case the potential suspect tries to escape."
"It wasn't us." I emphasized. I was tired of being accused of something we would never do. We weren't even allowed contact with the outside world. How could we even orchestrate something like that?
"It doesn't matter. They need someone to blame and like Maiko said. It makes sense. Your bloodline created demon wolves and you were stupid and did exactly what I told you not to do."
"I didn't have a choice," I defended myself.
"You always have a choice. You just refuse to face it."
Her words stung like hot needles. She could never understand how hard everything was for me. I was being thrusted into their world. It wasn't the other way around and everything was happening so fast. I couldn't tell what move was right or wrong. The least she could do was not make me feel worse than I already felt.
All of a sudden, the trees began to clear among the edge of the territory. Small figures started to form in the far distance and the mouth of the forest opened into miles of grassland. A lot of figures, actually. I leaned forward to get a better look, my fingers digging into the back of Alana's seat to pull myself forward. It looked almost like a full army. I immediately became very nauseous.
"What's the plan?" I asked, my voice rising in pitch.
"The plan is for you to stay in the car." Alana said as she side eyed me due to my proximity.
"What if something bad happens?"
Her eyes darkened.
"It won't. You'll be safe. Don't worry about it." She gripped her wheel tighter. I was scared it might snap.
"I'm talking about you, Alana." Maiko snorted, but I ignored him, not backing down. I didn't care what he thought, I was far from joking.
"It wo.."
"You don't know that and you won't tell me anything else." I argued.
"Because anytime I do, you fuck up."
"That was one time."
"Look how it ended." she muttered.
"Alana, please. I want to know what to do." I tried once more, pushing down the defeat coming on.
"If somehow something happens to me, Lilo and the boys know what to do."
"But what if you need my help?" I insisted. She looked at me like I grew another head.
"I won't need your help. Ever."
"You don't know that," I repeated with more emphasis.
"You're crippled from fighting an immature hybrid. Even if you were in good condition, you wouldn't be able to help. You'd just make everything worse."
I thought back to when she and Helios escorted me to the ball. She told me I could bargain for my family's freedom in exchange for the cost of losing my soulmate if I was challenged by another pack member and there was no doubt that I would be. Every unmated female would take the opportunity, but she said I had a chance. I could win.
"That's not true. You said-"
"Fuck what I said, Marielle. We lied." Alana snapped.
"Helios wouldn't lie to me." I hated how my voice cracked. I hated how affected I was. I hated how she wasn't even fazed that her words were hurting me.
"He knew you would get yourself killed if he told you. You let your emotions screw you. That's what makes you weak."
I sat back against my seat, locking my arm to the side to refrain from punching the smug look off of Maiko's face. My body shook with anger, but my chest ached with pain. A hot tear left a trail down my cheek and I blinked heavily to keep the rest of them at bay. I didn't want anyone in this car to see me cry.
If we weren't suddenly high speeding into a large crowd of people who wanted to tear me limb by limb, I would jump out the car just to get out of this stuffy car.
"Alana," Lilo called out hesitantly, sending a worried look her way. "We can't kill anyone. That would declare a war."
Alana clenched her jaw and pressed harder on the gas. Lilo casted a worried look in her direction.
"Rowen's already dealing with enough shit as it is and he just got back home," Lilo urged.
As soon as we crossed the border line, Alana pressed hard on the brakes stopping just a few feet away from the formation of warriors. My stomach churned when I saw their cold black eyes, their fur standing tall as they waited in anticipation.
"I'll handle this," Alana growled, ripping the car door open. "Alone."
Her boots dropped to the ground, crunching against the fall leaves. Low snarls broke through the air, but Alana took her time, cracking her joints casually as if she wasn't about to go and fight a group of forty elite warriors.
She craned her neck towards me and tilted her head, her eyes lighting with hot fire.
"If you leave this car, I'll kill you."
With that she tossed off her jacket into her seat and slammed the door shut, not even bothering to shift into wolf as she slowly approached them with an annoyed sneer. Lilo immediately locked the door behind her.
My body tensed with fear and I squeezed my fist together as the pack of wolves ran towards her with ear shattering howls, but Alana was fast, blending into the wind itself as quickled disabled wolf after wolf. Her movements were far more advanced than any combat we had ever engaged with and I was flooded with burning emotions. She was right, I was nowhere near the level she was and it was even more frustrating knowing I might never be.
"Try not to take what she said to heart. She's going through a tough time right now," Lilo said, drawing my attention to her. She smiled sympathetically at me when I didn't respond, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear." She really cares about you, you know."
"I can really tell," I muttered sarcastically, the small whimpers from outside turning my stomach.
~~
Heyy!! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I apologize for accidentally publishing a few of the chapters early yesterday. I had a planned schedule, but I don't write as fast as I thought I did lol and I forgot to change it. I am really excited what's coming next and I hope you are, too!