178 Chapter One Hundred Seventy Eight
Kyle had learned how to make his late-night communications at will. It was becoming second nature for him to find himself talking to his alpha in his sleep. He sat in the mental space heâd reconfigured, waiting for his alpha to show up. He knew nothing of what was happening in her life... It didnât bother him no matter how much he wanted to know about her life. After all, he had nearly cost her the lives of countless humans that sheâd sworn to protect.
Sheâd gone and betrayed the only person that cared to know what colour was his favourite, what food he liked to eat, what dreams he had for the future. A tear went down his cheek as the memories of the past went through him. They were so near and yet so distant. Heâd singlehandedly destroyed everything heâd built with her. A mission to be a spy for the rogue king had split his mind and ripped his heart in two.
âI envy you, Ashley,â he whispered into the darkness.
âWhat was that?â a feminine voice rang out. Katieâs voice rang out clearly into his mind and it still bore the same amount of kindness it always had. She didnât bear any hatred towards him and sometimes he let it get to him that they could go back to being the friends they once were. He allowed light to filter into the mental space heâd created, allowing a scene of a beautiful forest to spring to life.
âI was just thinking out loud. How are you, Alpha Katie?â Kyle greeted his alpha.
The girl looked around their surroundings trying to get her bearings while Kyle merely watched her, seated by a tree. âIs this where you actually are or did you manage to alter everything somehow?â she asked him.
âNo, I was able to alter everything you see. I am not actually here. Your plan worked... a little more than I thought it would. I have rejoined the ranks of the rogues, however, they have so many secrets even amongst themselves that it seems I am unable to find out much. I am sorry about that,â he responded.
âItâs okay, Kyle. You did what you could. Could you at least tell me if youâve laid your eyes on the rogue king just yet?â she asked him, curiosity getting the best of her.
âThe rogue king left early this morning for the kingdom of Lycaon. Iâm not sure if that means that the base I currently am is located in Sirius. I canât tell much considering they wonât let me know the location of this place without the rogue kingâs permission,â he replied and then went on to narrate everything that had happened that day. âI was sure to tell the story exactly the way you wanted me to. Are you going to tell me why you had me lie about you possessing one Prometheus gift? If theyâd checked my memories on that...â
.....
âThey would have found the lie to have been true. Considering what kind of wolf you are, anything I tell you becomes the truth. It doesnât matter if you know what the truth is or not. If I say something, then that is what it shall be,â Katie cut him off. The boyâs eyes widened in realisation.
âThatâs very sneaky of you, Katie. I like it...â the boy smirked.
âOh, shut up, Kyle,â the girl chuckled before getting into deep thought once again. I will inform the hunters of this development. I hope everything goes according to plan.â She sighed.
âIs the might rogue killer actually scheming in the background?â Kyle asked her, wiggling his brows.
âYou make it sound creepy... Stop getting any ideas, Kyle. Iâm only doing what wonât get me into any more trouble than required. Cole made me promise to keep from making any irrational decisions. Now Iâve got to play most of my moves smart. Itâs very hard to keep up with everything thatâs going on. It was only recently that I discovered my sister was going to go up against one of the alphas in the pack to try and prove her dominance as a royal. Itâs a stupid idea. I mean, we are trying to fight a real enemy and here are these wolves having rivalry amongst themselves.â
Kyle couldnât help but laugh at the girl, âItâs like youâre forgetting about the relationship you had with Dexter. The two of you were always trying to prove who was above the other. Dexter clearly knew who was more powerful, but his hard-headed nature wouldnât let him give up,â the boy explained.
âAnd he continuously kept trying and trying to get me off guard. Just how many visits to the infirmary was he going to have before he realised he was never going to beat me,â Katie sighed.
âWell, if you would ask me, Iâd say that was his way of getting your attention,â Kyle replied. The bit of information got Katie off guard. When she thought more about it, Dexter had felt like a nuisance at some point, but that made him all the more common in her daily activities. She had to deal with his antics until a time that she warned him to get him suspended.
âWell, I never noticed what he was trying to do then,â Katie smiled. Their time was coming to an end.
âOne more male that did that was Lionel. I know I wasnât there at the Founderâs Festival, but from the previous ceremonies, I could tell that boy wanted you to notice him so badly,â he replied.
Katieâs cheeks got flushed, âDexter and Lionel are two different cases,â she argued, her image fading even more from view.
âHow so...â Kyle asked. He could sense she hadnât told him something about Lionel, but time wasnât on their side. Theyâd already spent an hour in this mental space and Katieâs mind was shifting into a deeper form of sleep that couldnât let her keep this up.
Katie held her tongue as she vanished from view. Lionel had confessed his feelings to her during the Founderâs Festival and that wasnât the same for Dexter... was it? âUgh, what is wrong with all of them? I was the most feared hunter in the whole of Brigadia.â she felt like screaming out. The scent of her mate calmed her mind and she was fast asleep in minutes.
............
âKatie, you might want to wake up,â Cole nudged the beauty that slept on his chest, âWow, you slept really deep. Are you okay?â
âYeah, Iâm fine. I just... didnât detect any trouble during the...â her mind went blank when she looked out the window. Out over the horizon was the largest water body sheâd ever seen in her life. It stretched as far as the eye could see. Seagulls cawed in the air. The sun was only rising and it made a beautiful reflection on the surface of the waterbody.
âI take it youâve never seen the sea before,â Cole took note. The girl nodded and continued to watch as the bus took a turn away from the waterbody. Katieâs senses began to flare up. There was a lot in the woods that brought her senses to flare up like this. She put her hands to her head to soothe the continuous inflow of information. âAre you okay?â
âYeah, Iâm fine. Just way too many creatures in the woods,â she responded. Cole couldnât help but stare at the girl in awe.
âYou might have been stuck in a remote town your whole life, but youâre closer to nature than any of us that have had the chance to be in nature,â he mused. The voices in the girlâs mind started to go down as she adjusted to the different creatures in the woods.
Sandra sat by Jason with her hands folded. âA game reserve... How barbaric? When do we get to the hotel?â she asked the man beside her.
âWell, we still have quite the drive left to get there, to be honest. The reserve is so large that we might as well have finished half the journey,â he responded, holding in his laughter.
Sandra turned to him with a blank expression on her face. Her idea of a reserve could not have been more inaccurate. She looked out the window and managed to get different glimpses of the wildlife. Birds of different colours tended to their young, while others hunted for food. Some of the just lazied around their nests. The girl looked beyond the treetops and caught a glimpse of a bushy tail dashing into the woods as the bus passed by. The reserve... She pulled her phone from her pocket and pulled up a map... The reserve was easily fifty miles across...
âWho has the power to designate all this land untouchable?â the girl mused.
âDo you still think making a reserve would rob the creatures of their wild nature?â Jason asked her with a smirk on his face.
âYou could have at least told me it was this big. I didnât think it was this big,â she groaned.
âWell, now you know.â Katie opened the window to let in the wind that whipped her hair backwards. Just as sheâd expected, the air in the reserve provided a thrill of the wild that only called out to her. She wanted to run through the woods, a look Cole could read straight through.
âAnd here I thought I was a fan of the wild,â Cole chuckled.
âWell, you could join me for a run when weâre free,â Katie replied with a wink.
âArenât you the one who keeps saying Jeremiah is always tailing us?â Cole asked.
âWell, weâve been on a bus for hours. Heâd also need time to catch up to that. I donât know what means of transport heâll use, but heâll definitely be here by the end of the day,â she chuckled.
âYou say it like heâs a friend that youâre counting on...â
âOh no, I still want to make him taste dirt. I just know he wonât be making any dangerous moves,â she replied.
âWell, that would have been the case when Frank was always around to protect you...â Cole replied... âI guess thatâs accurate,â the girl thought to herself. She didnât have the protection of Cupid Shooter anymore. Although, for some reason, that didnât seem to faze her.