Chapter 120

Chapter 120: Ayla I was numb as I stared out the window, watching rain trail down the glass. We were out of Greytooth territory now. I could feel it.

“I’m sorry, Ayla,” Alpha Harden said again. “Truly, I am, but this is the only way to keep you safe.”

I didn’t say anything. I hadn’t said anything since we left the city.

“He wanted to come with you, you know.” Alpha Harden said. “He didn’t even hesitate. He would have given it all up.”

“What stopped him?” I said hoarsely.

“Reality,” he replied. “There’s no way the Waar Pak won’t know he’s your true mate now that you made your relationship public. If you both disappeared, they’d have an array of people to go through to find you both. They’d go after the pack, his family, even his allies.”

I closed my eyes. I’d never want that to happen. I tried to focus on the coolness of the window against my face. Thunder rumbled outside as the rain became heavier. The storm was getting worse. I knew how that felt.

“Alpha, we’ve got flood warnings coming up.” Gamma Blake said. “We’re heading right into this storm, and it’s going to hit hard. I think we should find somewhere to wait it out.”

I felt Alpha Harden’s eyes on me, “There’s a motel up the road,” he replied. “We’ll stop there. Let Ms. Garner get some sleep.”

Chapter 120: Ayla I was numb as I stared out the window, watching rain trail down the glass. We were out of Greytooth territory now. I could feel it.

“I’m sorry, Ayla,” Alpha Harden said again. “Truly, I am, but this is the only way to keep you safe.”

I didn’t say anything. I hadn’t said anything since we left the city.

“He wanted to come with you, you know,” Alpha Harden said. “He didn’t even hesitate. He would have given it all up.

“What stopped him?” I said hoarsely.

“Reality,” he replied. “There’s no way the Waar Pak won’t know he’s your true mate now that you made your relationship public. If you both disappeared, they’d have an array of people to go through to find you both. They’d go after the pack, his family, even his allies.”

I closed my eyes. I’d never want that to happen. I tried to focus on the coolness of the window against my face. Thunder rumbled outside as the rain became heavier. The storm was getting worse. I knew how that felt.

“Alpha, we’ve got flood warnings coming up,” Gamma Blake said. “We’re heading right into this storm, and it’s going to hit hard. I think we should find somewhere to wait it out.”

I felt Alpha Harden’s eyes on me.

“There’s a motel up the road,” he replied. “We’ll stop there. Let Ms. Garner get some sleep.”

I didn’t want to sleep. The last time I slept, everyone I loved decided to ship me off to goddess knows where.

I knew they were trying to protect me, and I appreciated that. But I was sick of it. I spent ten years protecting myself and my mother and sister from loan sharks, bookies, homelessness, and starvation. I should have had the choice.

So I wouldn’t let them take it from me.

We pulled into the parking lot of a motel as I started to formulate a plan. Gamma Blake got out and ran into the front office to rent a room for us. He drove us to a room at the end. Alpha Harden covered me from the heavy wind and rain as we ran from the car.

It wasn’t anything special, but that was fine. We didn’t need anything fancy. It was just someplace to take shelter. I sat on the edge of one of the beds and tried to think of my next move. Alpha Harden said it was a two–day drive to the safe house they had arranged. I wasn’t going to let them get that far.

“We’ll give it a few hours for the storm to pass,” Alpha Harden said. “But we’ll need to drive straight through once we get back on the road. So you should rest while you can get comfortable.”

“How do you command someone?” I asked without looking at him.

“Theo said you were coming into your abilities,” Alpha Harden replied. “You’ll need to be careful with that.”

“Then show me how,” I said. “Theo gave me an idea on how to use it, but I have to concentrate too hard. That didn’t really help when I needed it.”

Alpha Harden sat on the opposite bed, leaning back against the headboard casually.

“Do I have to be looking at someone for it to completely work?” I asked. “I wasn’t looking at my attacker. It slowed him down, but obviously not enough.”

“It just wasn’t strong enough,” he said. “That’s fine for some things. You need to know how much strength to put behind the command. And no, you don’t have to be looking at them. You only need the intent to direct it toward them.‘

”

“But you do have to speak the command?” I inquired.

“Yes, or send it through a mind–link,” he clarified. “But that may take you a little bit to figure out. It’s hard to send that energy through that connection.”

“It doesn’t seem like I won’t have anyone to mind–link with anymore anyway,” I said under my breath.

I slid farther up onto the bed. Gamma Blake sat in the chair on his phone.

“Why you?” I asked. “Is Randy working for you?”

“Not directly,” Alpha Harden said. “The Onyxcrown weren’t just allies. They were personal friends. I knew your father well. He spent some time with the Blue Fang Pack. We were all devastated by their loss. My family started hunting members of the Waar Pak Society. My brother heads a group dedicated to bringing them down. Randall works for him.”

“Is this group how you learned about the Blessed One tale?”

Alpha Harden nodded. “Yes, it was part of the Waar Pak’s objective.”

“Why?” I asked. “What was so wrong with my family that they wanted them destroyed so badly?”

“Because they believed that the Dominis family would make themselves kings,” Alpha Harden said. “They thought the Onyxcrown would take control of all the packs. They believed they would do this with the help of the Blessed One. The moon goddess reincarnated on earth.”

“Wait,” I said. “Are you saying they think I’m the moon goddess? That‘ s the stupidest thing I ever heard.”

Alpha Harden chuckled. “You heard the story. But yes, that’s what they believe.”

“What about you? You’re so convinced I’m the Blessed One. Do you believe I’m the moon goddess?”

“I believe you are blessed. There is something about you that makes you remarkable,” he said. “And you have abilities that no one else has. The Dominis family was known for that. They are the oldest known werewolf bloodline. So, it’s more likely you inherited much of your family’s gifts. Either way, it makes you powerful.”

“But I don’t want to take control of the other packs,” I said. “I just want to live my life.”

“We’re trying to allow you to do that, Ayla,” Alpha Harden said kindly. “We just need you to trust us. Now, get some rest.”

I laid back on the bed, not bothering to take my shoes off, and turned my back to them. I thought about everything I had learned over the last few days. Determined to find something that would help me take back my life.