Chapter 25
Alexandra:
I wake up early on the fifth day and get ready to go to where we left Mason and Nick with Beau. Avery said they should finish today, so we are going to go and wait for them at the bottom. I’m honestly thinking about not making them do the third training.
“They are definitely going to do the next training. We will have plenty of time to do combat training. We are going over advanced movements since they already have combat experience.” Hearing Avery say that through the wall makes me wonder if I said all of this out loud and not in my head.
I leave the room and see Avery standing across from the door in the hallway. “Did I say that out loud?” I question, genuinely concerned.
I do have a habit of mindlinking when I mean to just think about something in my head. It doesn’t seem that far off to start speaking without thinking.
“No, it’s just easy to know what you’re thinking, Alexandra. Usually I can tell just by looking, but with you, that’s not even necessary.” I feel like that's even worse. He always knows what I’m thinking about, so I’m easy to read. I probably need to work on that.
“Are you ready?” He asks, and I just nod my head in response.
We head back to Denali park, and I’m excited to see Mason again. Five days apart was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I want nothing more than to jump in his arms and kiss him, although he probably won’t want that after his journey.
After the drive, Avery and I both exit the SUV and stand in front of it, looking at the path that leads to the parking lot. We have no idea when they are supposed to be coming, and as I take a deep breath, I realize that my chest feels a little tight. We've been here a lot longer than when we dropped them off, but I don’t remember if we're at a higher altitude here.
“Avery, how high above sea level are we?” Avery looks at me confused but answers my question. “Two hundred and twenty-four feet. Why?”
That's nowhere near high enough to cause my tight chest, but it isn’t letting up. If anything, it’s getting worse. I think Avery's noticed because he comes over and places a hand on my shoulder. “Alexandra, are you okay? Your breathing is getting shallower.”
I'm not okay, but I don’t know what's wrong either. I pull my hair up into a ponytail and take off my jacket to see if that's what's causing my shortness of breath. I'm not really that hot, but it felt warm with all of the layers on.
“Alexandra!” I hear my name echo from a distance, but it's getting harder to focus.
I can see Avery’s mouth moving, but I can’t hear anything he's saying. My vision seems to get darker and darker until I can’t see anything anymore.
*****
Mason:
I run as fast as possible when I see Alexandra falling. Avery catches her, but he seems uncharacteristically worried. Nick seems to notice as well and darts past me to get there sooner.
When I’m about 100 feet away, I get hit with a scent. I stop immediately before my instincts can take over. This can’t be happening. Not here in Alaska. Isn’t it too early?
“Mason!” I hear Nick scream for me, and it makes me come back to my senses. I don’t have the phone that V gave me. I didn’t think to bring it here. Before I can worry too much, I start to think rationally.
We're far away from Austin, Avery and Nick are here with us, and it’s better this happens now so I don’t have to worry about it when the challenge comes up.
I quickly close the last bit of distance and grab Alexandra from Avery. “We need to hurry,” I say, not really to anyone. I’ve already lost most of my reason, and I shake my head to try to bring it back.
“Nick, call Cassie and let her know that Alexandra’s heat has started and that we’re in Alaska.” Nick seems taken aback, but Avery flings his arm across to hit him. “Hurry up and call.”
Nick nods and pulls out his phone. I can’t focus on anything but Alexandra. She keeps pulling at her clothes, trying to take them off, and she's running a fever. It feels like she's burning me wherever our skin touches. I keep pulling her hands away to keep her from taking her clothes off. However, it's getting harder to fight my urges. The longer this goes on, the stronger the scent gets and the harder it is to resist.
“Where are you going? The hotel isn’t this way,” Nick questions Avery. Avery doesn’t change direction or even bother to answer Nick. “Did you hear me?”
“We aren’t going to the hotel. We’re going to Beau’s pack. They will help, and they can mindlink Beau to let him know what's going on. It’s going to be a long few days.”
“Can you just hurry up? It’s getting unbearable,” I struggle to say through gritted teeth.
“Almost there. Two more minutes.”
Those two minutes feel like a lifetime. I don’t remember getting out of the car, and I don’t even know how we got to the room. All I know is Alexandra's taking this opportunity to take her shirt off.
“It’s too hot. Please help me. Please.” Hearing her beg is a serious turn on, and I can’t fight my instincts anymore.
*****
Nick:
“We are sending Smiley and a few lower warriors to help. It’s better to be safe since Aiden's last known location is somewhere in Canada. They should be there by tomorrow.” I don’t have anything to say back to her. “Hello, Nick, do you hear me?”
“Yeah, sorry. I'm just overwhelmed,” I admit to her.
“I know. Don’t worry. It’s going to be a while, and all you need to do is make sure that no rogues or other threats try to use this opportunity to attack. In this case, it’s even better since you all have added protection anyways.”
Cassie's grown and learned so much since she left home. I honestly don’t know much about heats except what they tell us in class, and let’s be honest, what they teach in class is a joke. However, now isn’t the time to learn. I will do my job, protect them, for now and find out more later.
“Okay. Just let us know their details, and Avery will set up the pickup,” I say to Cassie since I’ve never had to coordinate anything in my life.
“Don’t worry. The boys know where they're going. They’ve been before. We have a treaty with them.” I’m not surprised after hearing what Beau had to say about V and Avery.
“Alright, hang in there, bro. And I miss you.” I just take in a deep breath. I really miss her as well.
“Miss you too, brat. I’ll call you later with an update.” She just hums before she hangs up.
I smile to myself as I start to walk back towards the packhouse. I stop in my tracks as I see a Jeep pulling up. I stay to watch, knowing that I must be hypervigilant because of Alexandra’s heat. Soon Avery is standing next to me as well, as we wait to see who is going to come out of the vehicle.
Soon two men with tan skin and long black hair pulled into ponytails step out. Avery sneers, and two other wolves from the Alaska pack come out to greet them. “Ivan, John, why the visit today?”
“We heard you have a female in heat. We came to see if you'd like any assistance?”
“We do not.” Avery quickly cuts into the conversation. Both men look at Avery, a little confused, before looking back at the other wolves.
“She is of their tribe. They are visiting from a pack from the lower 48.” They just nod their heads and instead focus their attention on Avery.
One is at least three inches taller than his companion but is also a lot skinnier than he is. Both are short compared to me and Mason. He sticks his hand out to Avery. “Hello, my name is John.”
Avery takes his hand. “Avery.”
“It's nice to meet you. My companion is Ivan; we are—”
“Spirituals are what we call you back home.” Avery cuts him off. He has a tense smile but continues to speak in a nice tone.
“We are not the same as the natives in the lower 48.”
“But you are natives who have remedies and speak to spirits and shamans and think you can help us werewolves, correct?” It’s easy to see that Avery is not a fan of Native Americans. Back in our pack, we had no issues with them. We would even get advice from them from time to time.
Avery holds his stance and waits for John or Ivan to continue. “Yes. Our people are the same, and we come to offer help.”
“We are not the same. We listen to science and medicine.” Now it's John who cuts Avery off. Hopefully, this situation doesn't escalate. “What do humans know of our race?”
“Our doctor knows plenty more than you do, and the female in heat is following in his footsteps to learn how to properly care for our kind. Not speculate and hope, like you do. If that’s all you came for, you can leave.” With that, Avery is done dealing with the situation and explaining himself. He glares in their direction the entire time.
John and Ivan look to the Alaska wolves, who seem mortified by what just happened. “We will take our leave for now. If you guys need anything, let us know.” They both nod in response.
John and Ivan walk back to the Jeep and climb inside. Once inside, John rolls down the window and says one last thing to Avery. “We are on the same team. It would be better for all werewolves if we learned from each other instead of always starting wars. Remember that.”
I’m sure that will go on deaf ears. The Night Stalker pack always starts wars. They don’t need to worry about peace when they're the strongest pack in North America. I’m sure they're working on being the strongest in the world.
They drive off, and I just look to Avery. “Don’t trust them,” he says, and I just nod my head in response, not really knowing what to say. Thankfully Cassie’s voice pops into my head.
“What’s happening? Why are you so anxious?” Cassie sounds anxious herself.
I usually control my emotions better than her, so they don’t affect her. Today is not an example of that. “Sorry, I just watched Avery tear into some Natives who came to offer help.”
“Oh yeah, they don’t do Natives here. They call them spirituals and reject them fully. Makes sense when you have a doctor like we do, though.” She seems more at ease. “So, it’s not about Alexandra?”
“No,” I quickly reassure her.
“Good. Thank you for taking care of her,” Cassie says, and I can’t believe she thinks I would do anything else. Alexandra matters to me just as much as she does to her.
“Of course. Remember, she was the first warrior of the Blue Moon pack first.”
Cassie laughs before our mindlink ends. I’m in for a long week here, it seems.