Chapter 237 237

Chapter 237 237
Gab drove the car smoothly along the quiet road, heading toward Uncle Blade’s grave. I glanced at the side mirror and saw two of our pack warriors’ vehicles following behind us, close enough to protect us but far enough not to crowd the road.

I sat in the front passenger seat to keep Gab company while he drove. 

Meanwhile, Jasmine and Kiara had completely taken over the back seat. The two of them were chatting nonstop, laughing over the smallest things as if they had been best friends for years.

I couldn’t help smiling, but at the same time, I missed having my girl beside me.

Not that I had a choice.

The moment I tried to get into the back seat, Jasmine crossed her arms, looked me straight in the eye, and told me I wasn’t allowed back there because she needed “girl time” with her new best friend.

Just like that, I got kicked to the front seat.

I let out a sigh, loosened my seatbelt a little, and turned around to face the back seat.

“Are you doing okay back there, princess?” I asked, my voice gentle as my eyes met Kiara’s.

Before she could answer, Jasmine leaned forward with a dramatic smile.

“Yes, I’m doing absolutely okay, my prince!” she said in an exaggerated, high-pitched voice.

She burst into laughter, and a second later, Kiara couldn’t hold it in anymore. She laughed too.

“Hey!” I pointed a finger at my sister. “I wasn’t talking to you!”

Jasmine only laughed harder.

“Why do you always have to interrupt every time I’m talking to my girlfriend?” I asked.

I leaned over the headrest and stretched my arm into the back seat, trying to give Jasmine a playful smack on the arm.

She let out a dramatic scream and quickly scooted away, pressing herself against the opposite door so I couldn’t reach her.

“Gab!” she cried between laughs. “Tell Jason to stay away from me! He’s assaulting me!”

Gab glanced at me for a second before looking back at the road. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“Jason,” he said calmly, “leave her alone and sit down properly. Don’t make me pull this car over.”

“It’s fine, Jason. Really, I’m okay,” Kiara said. She gave me a sweet, reassuring smile that instantly melted away my annoyance.

I stretched my hand out as far as it could go. Kiara met me halfway, sliding her small hand into mine. I brought her knuckles to my lips, pressing a gentle kiss against her skin.

“Now I can face forward in peace,” I said with a triumphant smirk. I threw Jasmine one last angry look before turning back around and settling properly into my seat.

Behind me, the girls' conversation started up again.

“Anyway,” Jasmine said, grinning at Kiara, “I have so many things to show you and teach you from now on. We’re going to have so much fun together.”

The second those words left her mouth, I spun around so fast I nearly pulled a muscle in my neck.

“No! Absolutely not! You are not going to teach her any of your crazy garbage, Jasmine. 

Jasmine placed a hand over her chest, pretending to look offended.

“Excuse me?”

“Yes, you heard me,” I shot back. “There is nothing positive about your lifestyle, and I know it!”

Kiara covered her mouth, trying to hide her smile as she watched us argue. Gab too was laughing.

“Calm down, Jason. Take a deep breath,” Jasmine said with a smug grin, folding her arms across her chest. “Kiara is my friend. Yes, she’s your girlfriend, but don’t forget that your best friend, Marcus, is my boyfriend. I let you two have all your lovey-dovey moments without interrupting, so do me a favor and let me and Kiara have our girl time.”

I opened my mouth, ready to argue, but before I could say a word, Kiara leaned forward from the back seat.

“Jason… she’s right,” she whispered. “She’s my best friend now. And don’t worry, I promise Jasmine won’t teach me anything negative.”

Then, before I could respond, she leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.

Just like that, every argument I had disappeared.

A wave of heat climbed straight to my face, and I didn’t need a mirror to know exactly what had happened.

I was blushing.

“Okay, princess... if you say so,” I mumbled, clearing my throat and turning back around to face the front windshield.

“Okay, princess... if you say so, yen yen yen,” Jasmine mimicked from the back, twisting her face.

I swore to myself that I wouldn't let her ruin my sweet, romantic mood, so I chose to completely ignore her.

To pass the time, I glanced at the side mirror to check on our security team. The pack warriors were still right behind us, following closely.

Then, without any warning, Gab suddenly turned the steering wheel hard to the left.

The tires screeched against the road as the car made a sharp U-turn. A second later, we left the main highway and sped onto a narrow dirt road, the vehicle bouncing over every bump.

I quickly grabbed the dashboard to steady myself, my eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

“Gab,” I said, looking at him, “I thought Uncle Blade’s grave was straight ahead. Why did you suddenly turn off the main road?”

“Yeah, it is,” Gab replied smoothly, his eyes locked dead ahead on the dusty path. “But this way is a lot shorter. It's a shortcut.”

Before I could ask anything else, Gab slammed his foot down on the gas pedal. The engine roared, and the car surged forward with an intense burst of speed.

I looked over at his face profile. His jaw was clenched so tightly that the muscles were ticking, and his hands were gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. Why on earth was he acting so incredibly tense?

A bad feeling bloomed in my chest. I quickly checked the side mirrors again. The dusty road behind us was completely empty. 

The pack guards were gone. Because of Gab’s sudden, chaotic change of direction and extreme speed, they had completely lost us.

“Gab, seriously, I think you need to slow down right now,” I said, my voice rising as the car bounced violently over a pothole. I braced my hand against the ceiling handle. “At this rate, you are going to cause a massive accident!”

“Just sit back and enjoy the ride, buddy,” Gab said, his voice cold and emotionless. “And stop complaining so much.”

He didn’t ease off the gas.

If anything, the car only seemed to go faster.

After what felt like forever, Gab finally slammed on the brakes.

The car screeched to a hard stop, sliding across the dirt before coming to a halt in the middle of a wide, empty clearing. A thick cloud of dust rose around us, swallowing the vehicle for a few seconds.

The moment the car stopped, the back doors flew open.

Kiara and Jasmine quickly climbed out, desperate for fresh air.

Jasmine barely made it to a nearby tree before bending over and throwing up. The reckless speed had completely turned her stomach.

I climbed out of the front seat, slammed the door shut behind me, and stormed around the car.

By then, my patience had completely run out.

Jasmine wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve and let out a shaky laugh.

“Gab! You almost got us completely killed with that damn speed of yours! But... I'm not going to lie, it was kind of fun!”

I didn't laugh. I looked around the desolate, empty field. There were no tombstones. There was no beautifully kept grass.

“Gab, where exactly are we?” I asked, my voice sharp as I fixed him with a hard stare. “This doesn’t look anything like a graveyard. And I know for a fact this isn’t where Uncle Blade is buried. We’ve both been to his grave before.”

I took a few slow steps toward him, waiting for an answer.

My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.

Inside my mind, my wolf paced back and forth, growing more restless with every passing second.

For the first time in a long time… I was finding it impossible to trust a single word that came out of my brother’s mouth.

Gab looked at me, his expression unreadable. “You will understand everything very soon, Jason. Just keep—”

“Well, well, well!” a loud, booming voice interrupted from the edge of the woods.

The sound of slow, mocking clapping echoed through the clearing. A tall figure stepped out from the shadows of the trees, walking forward with a sinister smirk plastered across their face.

“Finally,” the person sneered, his eyes locking onto us with a terrifying smile. “Look who finally decided to show up.”