Chapter 79
NADIA.
After my time with Andrea, Jenny and I went around the shopping center for another hour before we called it a day and decided to drive home.
I was in the passenger seat while Jenny drove, and another car with three warriors was following behind us.
We were just fifteen minutes away from the border of the territory, and we were threading the rough road along the forest line when something white appeared in front of the car.
Jenny made an abrupt halt, making my body jerk forward, but her reflexes were fast as her arm went around my chest to stop me from bumping my head on the dashboard.
“Shit!” Jenny shrieked. “I think I hit someone!”
My eyes widened as my chest heaved while my hands held my stomach, wanting to make sure that there were no pains in my tummy.
I saw Jenny’s eyes flecked with white, letting me know she was in mindlink with someone, and in seconds, the warriors in the car behind us went in front of Jenny’s and immediately crouched down. It looked like they had found someone in there.
“Don’t come out, Luna,” Jenny told me as she slipped out of her seat and out of the car.
I watched as she talked with the warriors with a worried expression in her eyes before a head slowly popped out of the front hood and a figure of a female stood up. She was wearing a white nightgown, which was already almost torn from her body and was too filthy.
I opened the door and stepped out.
“Luna,” One of the warriors blurted out, and immediately the other two stepped beside me as I faced the female. Her face was dirty with dried tears on it, but I could see how beautiful she was.
“Who are you? Are you okay? Did we hit you?” I asked her as my eyes scanned her whole body.
“No. I stumbled and fell, and the car stopped at the exact moment.” She answered in a low voice, and I was guessing she was trying to control her voice from shaking.
“What’s your name?”
“Alexa.”
I extended my hand to introduce myself, but Jenny blocked the space in between Alexa and me as she held my hand back. “She’s a rogue, Luna. Be careful.”
“I don’t smell her.”
“It’s a faint smell. Some rogues know how to cover their scent.” Tristan added.
“Please, Luna. I’m not a bad rogue. I just need help to take this off my neck and you will never see me again.”
It was only then that I noticed the metal shackle on her neck. It prohibited anyone from shifting into their wolf. And it was probably the reason the warriors were not too worried about her presence right now.
I looked at her, trying to read her eyes, but all I saw was the fear she was trying to hide. My heart thumped loudly because I, honestly, had no idea how to act and handle this one.
“I think we should go. Let the men handle this. It’s dangerous for you to be here. It might be a trap.” Jenny held my arm and was about to guide me back to the car when a loud growl erupted in the thin air before two big wolves appeared from the forest line.
Everyone around me moved too fast. Jenny stood in front of me as the three warriors circled us. While Alexa crouched down on the ground and hugged her knees, her whole body was shaking.
The bigger of the two let out a snarling growl, and in an instant, the wolf beside him retreated and disappeared from the forest line.
What’s happening? My eyes were fixated on the black wolf approaching, and I could sense his strong aura. It didn’t take long before the three warriors guarding us started to relax their shoulders.
Tristan turned his head and looked at me, a smirk plastered on his face. “Don’t worry, Luna. It’s an ally Alpha. We’re not in danger.”
And before he could even finish his words, the big, black wolf shifted in front of us, revealing a very naked Alpha Aeon.
My eyes widened, my gaze focusing on his face as he strode forward toward us. His eyes were dilating into black as he stared at the female crouching on the ground a few feet away from me.
Jenny hissed beside me at the sight of Alpha Aeon while one of the warriors moved fast to pick up an extra pair of shorts from their car and handed it to the Alpha even before he could come near us.
He slipped on his shorts without any words, throwing one last glance at Alexa before shifting his gaze to me.
“Luna Nadia,” he greeted, cocking his head, to which I replied with a simple nod.
“Alpha Aeon, what are you doing here?” I asked him.
He pointed a finger at Alexa. “I’m taking her.”
Alexa jolted from her position, and in an instant she was kneeling on my side, her hands gripping my arm, and the warriors sprang into action, removing her from my side. But before I could stop them from hauling her away, another loud growl marred the air, and I knew instantly who owned it.
“Don’t you fucking dare touch her!” Riley’s loud voice echoed around us, and in seconds, he was already clutching me in his chest. My head slammed against his hard torso as he glared at the female who was still on the ground.
My heart clenched at the sight of Alexa. They said she was a rogue, but regardless of that, I couldn’t find anything dangerous about her. If anything, she looked too weak to even defend herself.
My hand reached for Riley’s chest as I slowly rubbed it, trying to calm his heart. “I’m okay, relax.”
“No. Rogues are fucking deceitful creatures. She might be carrying poison and have struck you with it.” He then turned around and looked at the three warriors with us, including Jenny. “Why the fuck is Nadia here and not in the territory or at least in the fucking car?”
“Riley…” I was trying to melt the tension in the air.
“Can you fucking calm down?” Aeon snarled at Riley. “That rogue has been checked. She has nothing on her. I just want her back. She ran away from my Beta.”
“Please, Luna! Don’t give me back to him.
I can be your slave until I earn my freedom.
I’m not a threat, I promise you. I don’t even know how to fight.
Please, just don’t let him take me.” Alexa was kneeling again, her hands clasped together.
Her eyes were pooling with tears, but she was holding them back.
“Enough!” Alpha Aeon bellowed. His eyes dilated again, and in a few steps, he grabbed the female’s arm and pulled her up to her feet.
“No!” Alexa shrieked, yanking her arm away from him as if she had gotten electrified by Alpha Aeon’s touch.
The Alpha grunted in frustration, brushing his hair with his hand. “I’m losing my patience with you.”
“Then just let me go!” Her eyes were blazing with fire. Her approach to the Alpha was entirely different from the way she was pleading with me.
“How do you plan to take her home?” Riley asked, ignoring the hostility between the two.
“Run.” Alpha Aeon answered curtly.
“Five to six hours on your paws and with her on your back? Are you fucking kidding me?” Riley chuckled, shaking his head. His arm was still wrapped around me tightly. “By the time you reach your territory, she might have attempted to run away from you a hundred times already.”
“I hope she realizes by then she can’t run away by foot.”
“Hop in the car. I’ll give you both decent clothes and a car.
You can’t drag a rogue 400 miles and expect she’ll still be alive by then.
Someone will probably spot her or both of you and kill her on the spot.
” Riley said as he turned around, taking me with him without waiting for a response from Alpha Aeon.
“I’ll take Nadia in my car.” He advised Jenny before motioning for his Beta to ride with Jenny. It was only then that I saw Beta Dominic was around.
He then pointed to Tristan as we walked. “We’re not done with this discussion. I want a fucking explanation why Nadia was outside the car.”
I let out a sigh and bit my lip. I had to talk to Riley before he ended up blowing up on them.
I turned my head around and saw Alpha Aeon taking Alexa’s arm, but she shoved him away before she followed us to Riley’s car.
Alpha Aeon opened the car door in the back seat and let Alexa inside before he slipped in. Alexa’s eyes were throwing daggers at him, but the Alpha was just ignoring her.
As soon as we started driving, Riley began asking questions at Alpha Aeon. “Where did you find her?”
“We raided a camping spot, east of Caspian’s territory. We’d been watching them for a while now. We thought they were the ones responsible for the attack at the Blue Meadows Pack months ago.”
“You went that fucking far from your territory and didn’t ask for help or inform the packs surrounding the area?” Riley asked and I could sense his annoyance.
“You know how obsessed Dad is with finding Achilles. Once we spotted him, we launched the attack. The fewer people who know, the better the result.” He let out a deep sigh, resting his head back on the seat while Alexa kept herself at the far end of the back seat.
“Did you catch him?”
“No.”
“And why did you keep this one alive?”
“Riley! How could you ask that?” I glared at him. I was disappointed he would even think of killing Alexa and, worse, ask the question as if Alexa wasn’t around.
“You have a soft-hearted Luna, Riley. She needs to learn the ways of the pack.”
“You still didn’t answer my question.”
“I need her. To get more information.”
“And Alpha Argon was okay with that? I thought his motto was to eliminate all rogues regardless of age and sexuality.” He chuckled, and I almost puked at the way he talked, as if they were just talking about chickens.
“He wanted her dead. I have to bargain for her. That shackle on her neck is keeping her alive. Once it’s out and she shifts, Dad has an order to eliminate her.”
Riley didn’t say anything, but I saw him throw a glance at Alpha Aeon through the rearview mirror. I couldn’t read Riley’s expression, but it was surely something else as he scrutinized the Alpha behind us.
I tilted my head to look at Alpha Aeon and found him looking at Alexa, whose head was leaning against the window and already fast asleep.
There was something going on between them, but I had no idea what it was. But then again, it was hard to read the Alpha’s emotions.
We drove in silence until we were almost at the packhouse and I spoke. “Alpha Aeon?”
“Yes, Luna Nadia?”
“How was your visit with Katarina? When I last saw her, she informed me that you had a scheduled meeting with her.
“It went well.” His voice was cold, but it was too low, as if he didn’t want to answer my question.
“Is she your fated mate?” I asked.
“No. She’s not.” He answered in a cold tone. And I couldn’t decipher whether he was relieved or disappointed.
I felt an ache cross my heart. I already expected this, since Katarina didn’t call me back after the said visit. But a part of me hoped that my best friend would end up being claimed by her fated mate. But all hope was gone.