<h4>Chapter 205: The other side of the border.</h4>


    <strong>ter</strong>


    The car hummed beneath us as Rhett drove toward the edge of Ravenspire packnds. I sat in the passenger seat, staring out through the half-rolled window at the trees blurring past. Watching the familiar territory pass by—houses, shops, the training grounds, the school buildings. Everything that had been my world for the past few years.


    And I was leaving it. Even if just for a day.


    For the first time in a long while, I felt both anxious and hopeful.


    "You sure about this?" Rhett asked, ncing at me.


    "I have to know," I said. "I have to see her."


    Rhett nodded but didn’t say anything else. He understood. He’d do the same for his family—hell, he was currently at war with his father over his mother. Family wasplicated. Family made you do crazy things.


    The buildings started to thin out as we drove closer to the border. Trees became more frequent. The road narrowed. We passed thest residential area and entered the buffer zone—the stretch ofnd between the pack territory and the human world.


    Finally, Rhett pulled the car over to the side of the road. Ahead of us, I could see the checkpoint. It was a small building with a gate across the road. Two pack officers stood outside, checking vehicles and people who wanted to cross.


    "Ready?" Rhett asked.


    "As I’ll ever be."


    We got out of the car and walked toward the checkpoint. One of the officers, a middle-aged man with a beard and the build of someone who’d been a fighter in his younger days, stepped forward to meet us.


    "Alpha Rhett," he said with a respectful nod. Then his eyes moved to me as his brows arched in question before returning to Rhett. "We weren’t expecting you today."


    "Morning, Officer Trent. This is my friend, ter Riggs from Duskveil pack. I hope you’re familiar with his family. I’m here to authorise his clearance to cross into human territory."


    Trent’s gaze flickered toward me as I stood next to Rhett. "Clearance?"


    "Yes," Rhett said evenly. "ter Riggs will be leaving the pack territory for personal reasons. He’s been approved under my supervision."


    Trent exchanged a look with the other guard. "That’s a bit unusual. You know we can’t just..."


    Rhett cut in smoothly. "My father approved it, and the Council knows about this. It’s a family matter."


    He handed over a signed document from his coat pocket. It was a forged document, by the way. Alpha Terry had been too pissed to talk to anyone this morning, and since we’d be back at the Academy by tomorrow, today’s the only day I have left.


    I have to see my sister for myself.


    The officer scanned it, then looked up at Rhett again, clearly not eager to challenge the Thatcher heir. "Of course. Just a moment, Alpha."


    He disappeared into the booth while I stood there awkwardly, with my hands shoved into my jacket pockets.


    A whileter, I was invited into the small cubicle, and Officer Trent pulled out a tablet and started tapping on it.


    "Purpose of visit?"


    I’d prepared for this question. "Personal business."


    "Can you be more specific?" Trent asked.


    "Checking out schools to help me know where I would go for further studies after I graduate from Ravenshore."


    Trent looked up at me, "We have a lot of excellent institutions for advanced learning in a lot of ces in our world. Why aren’t you looking into that?"


    "None of them offers the course I wish to study," I replied, holding his gaze.


    I know Officer Trent knew it was a flimsy lie, but with Rhett hovering in the background, he didn’t want to ask a lot of questions."


    "Do these institutions know you’reing?" Trent asked.


    "Yes," I nodded. "I’ll be met by their protocol officer as soon as I arrive.


    Trent exchanged a nce with the other officer—a younger woman who’d been watching our conversation.


    "And did you tell them about your supernatural roots, or are you going as a normal human?"


    "Really, Officer Trent?" Rhett sighed. "This is ter Riggs, he’s an Alpha, next in line for the Alpha seat after his father. Do you think he’s that dumb to expose his roots to a mere human?"


    "It’s just protocols, Alpha Rhett," Trent said in a quiet voice. "There’s been an increase in Shifters entering our world nowadays. If there’s no concrete purpose to leave, I’m afraid, but I cannot grant that."


    "A shifter cannot shift into an Alpha, Trent. If that’s what you’re bothered about."


    Officer Trent sighed. "Fine," and turned to me.


    "How long do you n to be gone?"


    "A few hours. Maybe the day at most."


    Trent tapped more on his tablet. "Any weapons?"


    "No."


    "Any items that could expose our existence to humans?"


    "No."


    "You understand that while in human territory, you’re bound by theirws as well as packw? And that any vitions could result in your clearance being revoked?"


    "I understand."


    Trent studied me for a moment longer, then nodded. "Alright. I’m granting you a seventy-two-hour pass. You need to be back before the deadline, or we’ll send a retrieval team. Understand?"


    "Yes. Thank you."


    He handed me a small card—my temporary pass. "Keep this on you at all times. If human authorities question you, don’t show them this. It’s for pack security only. If you get into trouble with humans, call the pack immediately. We have protocols."


    I pocketed the card. "Got it."


    Rhett and I walked away from the checkpoint, toward the actual border. It wasn’t marked by anything obvious; no fence, no wall. Just a subtle shift in the air, like crossing from one climate zone to another. On this side, I could feel the pack bonds humming quietly in the back of my mind. On the other side, there would be nothing.


    Just me, alone, in the human world.


    We stopped at the edge. Rhett turned to face me, his expression serious.


    "Are you going to be fine?" he asked.


    "I’ll be fine."


    "ter." Rhett’s voice dropped lower. "I’m serious. You’re about to walk into a world where you can’t shift, can’t use pack bonds, can’t call for backup the way you normally would. If something goes wrong—"


    "Nothing will go wrong," I interrupted. "I’m just going to find Riley, talk to her, make sure she’s okay. Then I’lle back."


    Rhett studied my face. "Promise me something."


    "What?"


    "Don’t be rash. Don’t make any rash decisions." He put his hand on my shoulder. "Make sure your sister is still the same girl from before. Make sure she still wants to be found. Don’t just spring yourself on her and expect everything to be like it was."


    His words hit harder than I expected. Because he was right, it had been years. Riley had built a new life. She might not want me showing up and disrupting everything.


    "I’ll be careful," I promised.


    Rhett pulled me into a hug. It was quick but tight. "Good luck, brother."


    "Thanks."


    I stepped across the border.


    The change was immediate and unsettling. The pack bonds that had always hummed in the background of my mind went silent. I felt suddenly isted, cut off. My senses dulled slightly—not enough that humans would notice, but enough that I felt the loss.


    This was how humans lived. Alone in their own heads. No pack, no bonds, no connection to somethingrger.


    I took a breath and started walking.


    The path led through a slight stretch of woods. Birds chirped in the trees. Sunlight filtered through the leaves. It was peaceful and almost normal.


    After about 10 minutes, I reached a small bridge over a creek. The water burbled below. On the other side of the bridge, the woods ended and civilisation began.


    I crossed the bridge and found myself on a tarred road. Cars passed by asionally. Houses dotted thendscape—human houses, with gardens and mailboxes and little decorations.


    I pulled out my phone and opened the map I’d saved. Riley lived in a small town called Millbrook, about twenty miles from here. She worked as a teacher at Millbrook Elementary School under the name Emily Sanders—apletely human identity with no connection to our world.


    ording to my research, today was a school day. If I timed it right, I could catch her during her lunch break or after sses ended.


    But first, I needed to change my appearance.


    I didn’t know who was tailing me, or if anyone was. I didn’t want to bring any harm to Riley, so the best thing for me is to alter my appearance.


    I spotted a gas station up ahead with a public restroom. Perfect.


    I walked in, nodding at the bored-looking teenager behind the counter. He barely nced at me. I headed straight for the men’s room.


    Inside, I assessed myself in the mirror. My hair was styled too perfectly. My clothes were too nice. Even the way I stood marked me as different.


    From my backpack, I pulled out a cap, a pair of sunsses, and a dull grey hoodie. I trimmed my beard roughly with a small razor, brushed some dark dye into my hair, and changed into a pair of worn jeans.


    When I looked at myself in the mirror, I barely recognised the man staring back. He looked more like a weary traveller than a pack-born wolf.