Chapter 2 - Westley #2
Asher and I nodded in agreement and headed into the woods, in the opposite direction everyone else was going.
Asher and I had been doing this for months now, so we knew the ground well.
We knew the hiding spots, the alcoves, and the high locations.
Asher gave me a hand signal that he was going farther up, and I nodded in agreement, signaling that I was going to the right.
Asher and I split, but we stayed within earshot of each other. We made sure to listen carefully for clicks, a part of the training Brandon enforced. We didn’t use it around others, but when it was just the four of us, it was our way of communicating.
I scanned the ground, walking carefully. I took in the way the trees swayed, and my feet sounded against the snow. It wasn’t cold today, but there was a bite in the air. Maybe it was because I wasn’t moving around enough.
The snow crunched under my weight as I moved, and there were no footprints in the snow. Nothing large at least. There were tracks of animals, like a rabbit or a deer, that had roamed by. But there were no large tracks of a hybrid.
I clicked my tongue twice while continuing to walk.
I heard two back in response. I made a mental note of anything that had changed since the last time Asher and I had been out.
I paused as I spotted something blowing in the wind on a bush.
I walked closer, realizing it was fabric.
I ripped it free, taking in the material.
I looked down, taking in fresh footsteps, the size of a human. My stomach dipped.
I looked back, seeing they came from the town, and they were going out into the woods. There were two sets, and it felt like something was being dragged with them. Possibly a person.
I scowled, thinking about the possibility that someone in Belrose was helping the hybrid.
Anything was possible right now. After the shelter burned down and Nora told us a dog there had shifted into a man, we had no idea who to trust. There was certainly an imbalance in the pack, and everyone was on edge.
I followed the tracks into the woods, clicking my tongue four times. I got five in return.
The tracks led around the trees, seemingly without pattern.
They zigzagged and curved around boulders.
They went up the hill and down. As I cleared the treeline and entered a big, open pasture, I spotted two bodies moving.
They were bundled up for the weather, trekking through the snow.
They had a couple of bags slung over their shoulders, and I narrowed my eyes, trying to think of who the hell could even be out here.
I was hurrying after them, needing to know who they were. Not only that, but they could be connected to the sighting.
I took off running, practically sprinting across the land. As I grew closer, I took in their voices, and my heart seized up.
“Hazel, you’ve got to pick up the pace.”
Gabriella looked over her shoulder at her sister, but her eyes quickly flicked to me. They widened as she spotted me, and her entire body froze up. Hazel looked over her shoulder and froze when she spotted me. I came to a stop just a few feet away from them, pissed.
I had tons of questions that were swirling around in my head, and my wolf was growling furiously. I took in their bags again and realized they were running.
“What the hell do you think you are doing?” I snapped.
Gabriella stood up a little taller. “It’s none of your concern.”
“How does your trying to slip away not become any of my concern?”
“Go back to the pack, Westley. You can act like you didn’t even see us.”
“I’m not doing that.”
Gabriella turned, continuing to walk. I moved around her and stepped into her path. “Turn your little ass around, Gabriella.”
“You are not my alpha, so you have no say in telling me what to do.”
“Do you have any idea how this looks?” I asked, waving my hands. “You running off like this?”
I looked at Hazel, and my body froze up in another way. Hazel looked like someone had hit her, tried beating the shit out of her, really. She had a busted lip and a large bruise that covered her left side. She wouldn’t look at me, which was a first.
“What happened?” I asked, looking between the two.
“It’s not your concern.”
“It is!” I snapped back, my hands curling into tight fists. “Why are you running for it!?”
“Because we don’t belong here!” Gabriella yelled back. “No one accepts us. Everyone thinks we are out to get them. No one wants us here, so we are leaving.”
A part of me wanted to yell, but I kept that to myself. I took a deep breath in. “And you think my finding you out here is going to prove them wrong?”
Gabriella shrugged. “It would matter because we won’t be here.”
“And what about your cat? What about your job?” I looked between them. “You’re telling me you want to just leave that behind? Leave your friends behind?” I knew that Jade and Nora had spent time with them. Surely that mattered.
Neither said anything back.
I heard three clicks and scowled. Shit. Asher.
“We don’t have time for this. Turn around and start heading back.”
“No,” Gabriella said. “We’re leaving. We are going somewhere we don’t have to look over our shoulder.”
No, they were going to find themselves in an even worse situation if I didn’t get their ass back to the town before the others found out.
“Gabriella, I’m not asking. Turn around.”
“There is nothing you can say or do that will make me turn around.”
I turned around, running my hands through my hair. I then froze. I turned around and looked at her. “Protection, that’s what you need, right? That could be arranged.”
Gabriella seemed to pause, but Hazel spoke. “That’s just one part of the problem, Westley.”
“Then what else?” I asked.
“For starters, we lived in an apartment that was utterly disgusting. I’ve been jumped. We’ve been looked at like criminals for doing nothing. You can’t fix that.”
I could. I would.
I looked back at Gabriella. “I’ll deal with it. Like magic, it’s all going to be solved.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“We can find you a better place to stay. I can figure out a way to better protect you guys. You can fall under my protection if needed.”
“Are you high?” Hazel asked, looking at me like I was insane. “Let’s say you can magically do that. How is that going to solve our problem with everyone thinking we are criminals?”
“That will take time,” I admitted, knowing that it couldn’t be fixed overnight. “But this is a better idea than you two running off and running into god only knows. You have no idea what is out here. No idea what you will encounter.”
There were three clicks, and they were closer this time. I didn’t have time for them to argue anymore.
I moved, grabbing Gabriella and throwing her over my shoulder.
She screamed and started to shove her elbow into my neck, but I held her firm.
I looked at Hazel, needing her to at least understand with reason.
“Hazel, you need to understand that this is the best option. It’s not pretty, it’s not easy, but it’s the best.”
“Shut up, Westley!” Gabriella screamed, pounding her hands into my back now.
Hazel bit onto her lower lip, seeming unsure. “And what if we can find something better?”
“And what if you find something worse?” I asked, tilting my head. “You guys already lost one home, one pack, don’t give up on this one.”
“Westley, put me down! Stop talking!”
I watched Hazel crack. She slowly nodded her head, and I turned, needing to get us moving back to the town and hoping to god we didn’t run into Asher.