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Chapter 12

"Fen will escort you over to the house. After our guests are settled, feel free to go over to yours and collect whatever things you need for a few days. But only you Alaya. I could have guards on every door to ensure you do as I say but I won't. I'm trusting you, do you understand me? Do not break that trust," he implored, letting her know that he was being as kind as he could be in this situation. They were not prisoners, well not her at least.

"A few days? And then they will be able to come and go as they please?" Alaya asked as she stood, not missing Fen's move towards her. She glared at him, reminding him that she hadn't suddenly changed her personality. She understood why her father was asking this of her but that didn't mean she liked it. Nor would she be dragged out of here by Fen before she had finished talking.

"I will call a meeting in a moment and then come to speak to you all to discuss where we go next. I'm not going to make a promise I can't keep," he explained. It took a moment for Alaya to realise neither Noah or Neve had risen to leave. Both looking as each other as if they were deciding what their next move would be.

"A few days?" Neve repeated, looking at her brother then at Alaya as if seeking reassurance. Alaya nodded but couldn't keep the guilt from her face. She had told them it would be fine. She doubted basic house arrest was their definition of fine.

"Merely a heartbeat in forever," Noah replied as he stood, taking his hand in hers. She squeezed it, thanking him silently for once again coming to her aid. Neve followed suit and stood up, all three of them moving in unison towards the door.

"Alaya," her father called, stilling her steps with just her name. She turned towards him slowly hoping whatever he was going to say wouldn't affect these next few days.

"Yes father?" she replied but he just stared at her instead of carrying on with what he had intended to say.

"See you in a few hours," he finally said with a slight nod of the head. Alaya knew that hadn't been what he had started to say but for whatever reason he was biting his tongue. She nodded softly back at him telling him she understood.

She ushered both Noah and Neve out into the open air, not even stopping to check and see who else was at home.

"See. Nothing to worry about," Alaya said to the pair as they stood in front of the house. Both of them stared back at her sceptically as if they didn't have the same opinion with how that meeting had gone.

"What did you have to worry about?" a voice asked from behind her and Alaya chided herself for not holding her tongue as her father had done moments before. She turned with a smile plastered on her face, determined to avoid this particular round of questioning. She linked arms with Fen and pulled him out into the path in front, hoping Noah and Neve wouldn't just stand and stare but follow suit.

"So are you phasing or walking us?" Alaya asked as she walked further away from her father's house. She didn't miss Fen's side glances of concern in her direction, as if he was waiting for her to explode. Well she wouldn't be exploding for once. She would be as good as gold until these few days had passed and Noah and Neve were like any other member of the pack hopefully. No point kicking and screaming and demanding it to go her way when in fact it would go the opposite. She knew when it was best to sit back and wait, she just wasn't always great at listening to herself.

"I think it's best that I walk. Don't want you guys to get lost on my watch now do I?" Fen replied sarcastically but Alaya heard the silent question in his tone. She gripped his arm tighter, trying to show him he could trust her. She wouldn't try anything stupid. Not before she had sat down with Noah and Neve and found out what the hell was going on.

"Your human legs still work?" Alaya joked, nudging him softly with her shoulder.

"You need to ask that question after yesterday? Even with a head start I caught you, without phasing," he replied and his eyes flashed a little at the memory. It felt like so much longer than just yesterday to Alaya, felt like she had been a different person then.

"Oh I could easily have beaten you. I just couldn't be bothered," she replied, quickly whipping her hand out from where he held her and legging it off into the distance. Something about Fen invoked the child in her, the little girl who played hide and seek and climbed trees. He made her feel free and safe all at once.

"This is pointless Alaya. You know I can catch you," Fen shouted from behind her, not even attempting to chase her yet, obviously knowing he could catch her within seconds. Alaya turned back towards him, slowing slightly but still at a jog.

"Chicken!" Alaya yelled before turning and resuming her previous speed. She saw the flash of wolf in his eye at the challenge and knew she would need to run as fast as her legs could carry her to have a hope in hell at beating him.

At first she didn't notice how behind he remained, purely focused on running. How the wind felt in her hair. How her legs tensed with each strike of the floor beneath them. How fast her heart started to pound the longer she ran. After a few minutes she slowed, flicking her head behind her in case he was around the last corner but all she saw was empty streets.

Alaya stopped completely, having to brace herself on her knees for a moment as she caught her breath. She kept looking back over in the direction she had run from but still all she was greeted with was emptiness. She hadn't been running that fast surely? Suddenly her stomach dropped out completely when she realised her stupid mistake as her wolf awoke and started to pace once more at the confines of her mind. She had run off leaving Noah and Neve alone with Fen, left her mate. Of course he hadn't chased her, was probably giving them the Spanish inquisition in her absence. The thought worried her wolf all the more. As she pushed and clawed to be free Alaya worried that if she didn't get back soon she would no longer be in control of herself.

Alaya pushed herself off her knees forcefully now her breaths and heart were slightly calmer, trying to help her tired legs carry on. What if something happened to them while she was away from them? Her wolf called at her to go faster, to phase so that they would be able to run not slowly jog like they were now. Alaya was spent though, her energy all used up from before and what was left was struggling to keep control. Her wolf demanded they find their mate. Now! She clawed and raged at the thin barrier that held them separate, part of the ripple when they phased so one side passed through to the other. She could sense her wolf's attempts to find a weak spot along that barrier, looking for a way out of her cage. It scared Alaya and it took all of her energy to hold firm and not release her. It was as if now her wolf knew there was a way out she wouldn't stop looking for it.

Alaya tried to focus on just moving forward, on how her muscles burned in protest, how her breaths and heartbeat once again picked up. But as she reached the spot where she had left them it was empty. She paused, spinning around on herself so fast her hair whipped her in the face. She swiped at it, annoyed at the disturbance when she needed a clear line of sight. Where in the hell were they, she thought to herself, scanning the area around her. Maybe Fen had taken them a different route to the house? Or he had never intended to take them there in the first place.

As the thought took hold she felt her grip on the other half of herself slip. Just for a moment, barely a breath, but it was all her wolf needed to flood her senses just like before. As the sensation rippled through her she worried she would phase, not understanding what this new feeling was. Her breaths and heartbeat calmed, her eyelids fluttering closed but they remained in the human skin they shared like before. And just like that she wasn't scared anymore, not of her wolf, not of anything. She felt the tingle of power in her fingertips, something she had missed the first time when her senses were overwhelmed with Noah so close. But she could feel it now, in every muscle, in every movement she made.

As she opened her eyes again Alaya knew her wolf definitely wasn't fully in control like when she phased. It felt exactly like the first time but different all at once. Her eyes and ears were sharper, heartbeats pounded against her eardrums from surrounding houses, birds shrill morning calls felt like jackhammers to her brain. It was if she somehow had access to her wolf's abilities without the need to phase.

Alaya pulled her hands up to her ears to shield them but it did little to aid her. The light felt too bright as her human mind struggled to deal with these senses. Her wolf was getting impatient to move, not having an issue with this new arrangement.

We have to move. We must find our mate.

The voice inside her mind stilled Alaya, pulling all of her attention to it. It was soft, holding an odd tone to it, angelic almost. Was that her wolf? She had never heard her wolf's voice before, didn't even know she had one in the first place. Sure she had felt her desires before, her urges but it had always been so much more primal. Not like this.

"I can't. I don't know where he is," Alaya replied, feeling a bit odd talking to the air. She heard her wolf's chuckle echo around her head.

You don't have to talk to me outloud. Much like I, think it and I'll hear it. You feel it and I feel it. We are one.

Alaya paused and closed her mouth, trying her best to think out loud.

Ok, Alaya thought, hoping it would work like her wolf assured her it would.

Fast learner I see. We must find Adoff through our bond.

"Who?" Alaya asked out loud before stopping herself, instead thinking the words like before.

Sorry I forgot. But who is Adoff?

It will take some getting used to so do not worry. Adoff is our mate. Noah is his human half. Much like you are Alaya yet I am Adolpha.

Alaya suddenly felt the need to find him grow stronger but it felt more defined, as if she were following a map not aimlessly searching in the street like before.

Alaya allowed her feet to move again although she was unsure which half of her willed it. She focused on the pull that tugged at every fibre of her body, trying to ignore the new scents on the breeze and how it rustled her hair slightly as she walked. Everything was heightened and threatened to overload her as she struggled to focus on the task at hand.

It will get easier. Your body, our body just need to adjust as will our other half once we phase. Having two conflicting sides of us in unison instead of at war for control will be overwhelming at first. We just need to find the balance.

Her wolf's words soothed her and Alaya felt as she retreated a little in her mind, not flooding her like before.

Better?

Alaya nodded, thankful for the respite so she could focus on finding Noah...Adoff whatever his name was. And the closer they got to the end of the trail, the more dread filled her.

Something was wrong.

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