Chapter 110
“Tell me, what did you pick up from Athena?” Mera asked, breaking the silence that I knew wouldn’tst
long. There were too many questions on our end, and both Isaiah and Mera could feel our rising
curiosity.
We were in the dark colored SUV now, humming down the road we had once stood on as we neared
Isaiah and Mera’s pack. The faint scent of cherries and tobo wafted from the front of the vehicle,
where two dark clothed guards sat.
It was a bit of an awkward fit, with Tori sitting next to Mera and Isaiah, but I refused to let her take
another vehicle. I was no stranger to how it feels when you lose both a mate and a best friend. It was
something I wasn’t willing to risk again, even if we were headed to safety. Tori didn’t seem to mind, and
actually liked Mera as much as I.
My mind strayed to what Mera had asked of me. It was difficult, giving a loose interpretation of a person
based on just a few seconds of information. At times, someone’s emotions were a direct reflection of
who they were as a person. Other times, it wasn’t so simple.
What no one seemed to realize is that emotions aren’t just one-dimensional things. They’re multi-
faceted, and mix with one another to form something new. Anger and hatred turn into this festering mix,
a noxious gas that poisons the soul over time. Joy and fondness, no matter if it’s tonic or romantic,
form longsting connections that allows love to bloom in its wake.
It was this joy and fondness that I felting from Mera as she asked about Athena, though it was
tonic in this case.
“She’s very confident, but not in a headstrong kind of way. It’s more like she’s seen the worst of this
world, but she refuses to let it harden her.” I answered truthfully. I had picked nothing else up, and
didn’t want to give her false information, so I quickly changed topics. “You care about her a lot; I can
feel it. She’s family in your heart.”
“Yes, she is.” Mera smiled fondly, the sight lighting up Isaiah’s eyes. “She became part of my family
when she agreed to be my Beta.”
“Your Beta?” I asked, unable to contain my surprise. My eyes flickered to Alec and Kade, who sat on
either side of me. I was squished between them, their hulking forms taking up nearly ny percent of
the space in the back. I narrowed my eyes and frowned, “You two never told me I could have a Beta.”
“Truthfully, I never even thought of it.” Alec admitted, giving Mera a polite smile.
“It’s not something traditional pack’s do.” Kade nodded, and I watched the obsidian in his eyes soften
as he looked at me. His voice was gruff but there was no mistaking the kindness that hid within them.
“If you want a Beta, you can have a Beta.”
“No, it isn’t something traditional pack’s do.” Mera scowled, but I could feel the pride behind her words.
I could feel Isaiah’s amusement towards his mate’s anger, and wondered if she had ranted about this
topic to him more than once. “Traditions keep us whole as a people, but the ones that inhibit the she-
wolves of this world from moving forward, they ought to be abolished. Starting with keeping us from
positions of power.”
We had been driving for nearly an hour, passing caps of pine and cedar trees. The thick scent of sap
mixed with crisp mountain air. Even with the two guards up front, I tried to pretend that we weren’t
fugitives seeking shelter as we found our way back home.
“So, you both know Jaspar as well, then?” I broke the silence, unable to stop the questions I had from
bubbling on my lips.
“Everyone knows Jaspar, he was arge part of the High Table. Even if he feigned uselessness with his
inactivity. That was perhaps the only thing that kept Marcus from truly suspecting him.” Meraughed,
and while the sound was beautiful, it was both bitter and joyous. “‘Yes, Aurora. Jaspar has helped us a
time or two, and we have returned the favor.”
An odd thought came to mind and I found myself speaking freely, “Did those favors include helping
some white wolves find refuge?”
I had my answer when surprise washed through both her and Isaiah, though their faces were schooled
into identical masks of indifference. I understood the perfected looks of cluelessness, especially when
Marcus held most of the power in this world. One visit from him, and you’d want to fortify your walls,
protect your people.
“We all have our secrets, especially those of us against Marcus and the remaining table members.”
Isaiah said, sounding wise despite how young he looked. He locked eyes with Mera, and the two of
them seemed to fade into their own world. I knew the look, the ssiness in their eyes. They were
speaking through thoughts, having a conversation disconnected from the rest of us. The vehicle was
cloaked in silence for the next two minutes, until they finished their conversation. Isaiah looked back
towards me, worry creeping at the corners of his emotions. “You must forgive us, but we hold high
stakes in all of this. Especially now that a war is brewing.”
“She will understand, Isaiah.” Mera said softly, her eyes never leaving my own. Isaiah was the caution
to Mera’s fearlessness. He was the voice of reason that held her back. I could only imagine how he
handled both Mera and Athena. The thought only made me like the two of them more. “I’m positive her
abilities make her a good judge of character.”
“You’d be correct. I can tell that you’re both being honest, and that you’re very protective of whatever it
is you’re hiding.” I nodded, ncing between the two of them. It was an invasion of privacy, but one I
couldn’t turn off. I could try to ignore the emotions I felt around me, but they washed down my
shoulders regardless. A smirk formed on Mera’s face as I continued, matched by my widening smile.
“Actually, it was your general hatred for Marcus that piqued my interest in you both. I might have never
noticed you if I couldn’t feel what you were feeling. It gave me hope that there were at least another
pack who saw him for what he was.”
“I told you this girl will change things.” Mera grinned wildly at Isaiah, who gave me an apologetic smile.
“I am not an optimist.” He admitted reluctantly, sighing when Mera began tough. “Not like Mera is.”
“I’m not an optimist either. I’m a realist, darling.” Mera chided her mate with an intimate smile. She
looked towards me, and kept her gaze locked on my own. “Sooner orter, Marcus was going to c***h
and b**n. After everything he has done, that much negative energy won’t just knock him down a peg.
It’ll obliterate thedder entirely.”
This was the first time I had been up in the mountains. Each steep incline and decline had my blood
pumping, but it was the rocky slope of the cliff a few feet away that had me breaking out in a coldContent property of N?velDra/ma.Org.
sweat.
Over the course of an hour, every single car on the highway had exited. Just as I thought the forest and
highway would never end, we took an exit towards Vail.
The exit led onto a small twoned road, which lead through the forest and deeper within.
Both Tori and I audibly gasped when we finally made it into town. Mera and Isaiah radiated pride and I
could clearly see why.
The streets were cobblestone, rounded and smoothed without any wear or tear. Robust streetlights
dotted the strip of road we were driving on. The speed limit slowed drastically, giving me plenty of time
to absorb everything. A few men and women walked down the wide sidewalks, towards the smaller
shops that sat along the road. Behind those shops I could see mountainous walls climbing upwards,
capped with snow.
They towered over us, caging us in. Oddly enough, instead of feeling trapped, I felt protected.
The only grocery store in town was a rtively small building, but its huge windows let in copious
amounts of warm sunlight, and the clerk had been one of the nicest women I had yet to meet. There
were two gas stations, a quaint coffee shop with arge chalkboard sign, and even a small hair salon.
We continued through town where the shops and streetmps thinned out. Forest once again
surrounded us, but I could now make out the houses within each cluster of trees. Some of the houses
wererger than others, and sat towards the forests edge. Others were smaller, but had winding
driveways that led deeper into the forest.
Finally, it was our turn to venture down one of these driveways. The guard driving maneuvered the
SUV over the rocky path, towards a little two-story house just a hundred feet into the forest.
The outside of the house had initially been a light shade of baby blue, but whoever lived here clearly
had a fondness for painting. shes and tters were painted across the house, porch, and even
some of the windows.
There were vines of twisting flowers, curls of starving me, and waves of cobalt and sea green. Most
of the shes and paint marks made no sense, but somehow seemed to cohesively go with the house.
The front door, which had once been white, was now various shades of red and gold.
Off to the side of the house was a huge garden, the star of the show being at least a dozen fully
ripened tomato nts.
We exited the vehicle as it rolled to a stop just in front of the wrap around porch. Mera led us up the
stairs, but stopped at the front door.
“This ce is incredible.” I told her, ncing around at the thick trees that shot far into the sky.
“We have been working on this for thest ten years.” Mera smiled proudly.
“You’ve been working on the house for ten years?” I questioned, trying and failing not to give her a
strange look.
“No, the town.” She chuckled, shaking her head.
“I thought the town was the capital of your pack?” I replied, looking between both Mera and Isaiah.
“No. For all intents and purposes, this ce does not exist. While you four are here, you do not exist
either.” Mera said with a proud smile, and though the way she said it was a bit ominous, it was exactly
what we needed.
“I am trusting you with this, not only because I hope it can win us this war, but because I would very
much like to be friends in the future, Aurora. And the same goes for you, Tori.” Mera smiled softly,
though I detected just a shred of nerves. Whatever she was protecting, it was very important. “I did not
tell you the entire truth when we first met. Marcus did take my sister when she was thirteen, but it was
Jaspar Fox who helped get her back, ten yearster. It was a favor he owed me, one of my choosing.
Rescuing Sabine—it nearly had him caught.”
“He rescued your sister from Marcus, ten yearster?” I couldn’t keep the h****r from my words, not
with the way Mera’s heart ached and her throat burned from guilt and shame.
“She is not the same as she once was.” Mera said softly, clutching the doorknob in her hand, pushing it
open. “Apart of her has nevere back from that ce.”
The soft sound of singing trickled through the house, sounding towards the back. We found the source
as we ventured into the living room, and stepped on the thick stic sheets that lined the floors.
Standing across the room, with her golden hair pulled up in a bun, was Sabine. Much thinner than
Mera, Sabine had a wispier form. She was singing to herself, her eyes closed as she shed and
swiped with the paint brush. She made broad strokes down the wall of the living room, mixing pinks
with blues and greens with yellows, as she painted in anguage only, she understood.
“Sabine, I told you I was bringing guests.” Mera said softly, though Sabine still jumped at the sound.
Pain passed through Mera as she recognized her sister’s reaction. “I absolutely love what you’ve done
with the walls. The blues and pinks are just stunning, like a sunset.”
She hid the emotion well, but I could feel the stab of sheer terror that wrapped itself around Sabine’s
neck the moment she had been startled. For that split second, she hadn’t been rescued. She was still
right where Marcus wanted her.
Sabine turned to the four of us, her face slim and cerulean eyes unnaturally bright. They weren’t quite
looking at any of us–more like, past us.
“One Luna has twins, and the other Luna has the cursed son.” She said in a dreamy voice, her pale lips
opening and closing. I could feel Tori tense, and just when I thought Sabine might continue, she blinked
with surprise. “Oh, would anyone care for some tea? It has butterfly pea flowers. They turn purple when
you add lemon juice. How wonderful.”