Chapter 63

063 – A Glimpse of His Soft Side ALTHEA.

“Oh, Spirits! Blade! I told you I’m not leaving this territory!” I yelled in frustration at him for the hundredth time as he shoved my clothes inside my luggage, and I kept pulling them out.

We’re playing a game of tug of war, and up until this moment, no one was winning.

He wanted to leave this place as soon as Kingston told us that Lucien had taken Alpha Stone to the underworld, and Lucy had followed them. But before she left, she told Kingston to make sure I was safe because her father would come for me.

With the shield up, I thought I would be safer here, but Blade thought otherwise. But what does he know?

“You have no say on this one, Althea! We’re leaving! We’ll go to a safer place where the demon lord can’t reach you!” He snapped at me, tugging the last pieces of clothing from my hands before shoving them inside my bag. He zipped it up and threw it by the door, where it landed with a loud thud.

“This is my life on the line! Why do you get to decide for me?”

“I’m not going to let another mate die before my eyes, Althea. Even if that means putting myself in front of you to catch all the fire! I will fucking do it if I get an assurance you will come out of this alive!” His jaw twitched as his eyes dilated into darkness.

I swallowed and opened my mouth to speak, but the words got caught in my throat. How do I retort back from that?

“Get moving! We don’t have all night!”

“But we will be protected from here. We are more vulnerable if wo go outside the territory.”

“Do you think your shield can protect you? How long have you been doing shields? I’m not a witch, but I’ve met a lot of them.

Unless you are a hundred years old, I don’t think you alone could hold back a demon lord from entering this territory. And I’m not going to take fucking chances just because you think you can! Now get your ass rolling and pack your witchy gadgets, or I will do it myself!” 1 I rolled my eyes at him, but I hurried to the desk, where I laid out some of my potions and books. I carefully gathered the runes in a small black pouch and placed them in my pocket before I tucked the rest of it in a black bag I kept handy all the time.

Blade knew fairly well I didn’t want anyone touching my things, and despite being annoyed with him at the moment, I was grateful he remembered not to touch them.

“But where do you think we can go? I’m sure I’m not safer in the mountains than I am here.”

“You mentioned your ancestors being part of a coven. I knew a coven of witches somewhere in Salenda. We can start from there, and maybe they can track which coven your family belongs to, or maybe they will take you in.” His voice was calmer now.

“But how about you?” I asked, making sure my voice didn’t break, although my heart clenched in pain.

A coven of witches, according to my mother, was not allowing werewolves to live with them. They accept them as visitors for a few days but never accept them as members of their communities. And if any coven accepts me, that would mean Blade would be on his own.

“What about me?” He asked, slipping his hands inside his jeans pocket, but his eyes avoided mine.

“Where will you go if we find a coven to take me? I’m not sure they are willing to take you in as well.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m used to being alone. I will survive.”

“I thought Alpha Stone paid you to protect me? Why will you abandon me?” I had no idea how I got the courage to ask him. I wanted to push him away, yet the thought of not seeing him anymore was making me uneasy.

“If you didn’t realize it, Alpha Stone is not here anymore. So I am doing this for free now.”

My chest heaved. I wanted to be mad at him, but he was right we both didn’t want each other.

“Just as long as you’re safe, then my work is done. We need to get going. Because I’m sure he’ll come back for you soon.” He didn’t wait for me to reply as he opened the door and slipped out before adding, “I will just pick up my bag, and then we’ll go.”

♡♡♡

Blade and I walked down the stairs together to the main hall of the packhouse. He was carrying all our luggage while I carried my bag for my witchy things. I knew the moment I agreed to help Lucy, I was already putting one foot on the ground, but it was my only way to free my grandmother from the demons. So even if this would cost my life, it was worth it. And I knew Lucy would never fail me.

The only thing I was not prepared for was Blade.

I was ready to risk my own life for my grandmother, but I was not sure I was ready to risk his life to protect me. Even if I didn’t want the bond he was saying existed between us, I still didn’t want any harm to come his way.

We finally reached the main hall. The Beta and Gamma couples were already there, waiting for us, together with Alpha Audrius and Luna Helena. The packhouse felt gloomy and eerie. Everyone was still in shock, but we had no time to mope around.

As Alpha Audrius said, they had a whole pack to protect.

And Blade was right – once I was gone here, the pack would be at a lesser risk from Lucien’s wrath.

“I hope you didn’t have to go, sweetheart.” Luna Helena held my hands before she pulled me in for a hug.

“This is for the better, Luna Helena. We should think of the innocent lives that will be caught between me and Lucien.”

We pulled away from each other as she nodded her head, tears welling in her eyes. Don’t hesitate to give us an update. Just so I can rest easy knowing you’re both safe.

Laira walked up to us and handed me a regular cellphone, not the new smartphone, but the one where you have to press the number multiple times to get to the right letter when texting. “It has my number and Lena’s too. Call or message us. I chose this one because it’s handy and just for calling purposes.”

I smiled at her and hugged her. “Thank you. Please let us know if you have news about Lucy and Alpha Stone.”

The females nodded their heads while all the males were silent, their lips pursing into thin lines.

“We should go. The farther we are when he comes back, the safer Althea will be.”

“I tanked up your car and loaded extra diesel. It’s on your trunk.” Beta Collin informed Blade “There is also a basket of food inside your car. So you don’t have to stop and can just keep going.” Lena added.

My eyes watered as I smiled at all of them. My heart clenched in pain at just thinking of how they were all feeling right now with the absence of their Alpha.

“I’m sorry for what happened with Alpha Stone... I somehow felt responsible...” I started, but I was immediately cut off.

“No. No. Don’t say that. When we welcomed Lucy into our lives, we knew what we were getting into. And Kingston told me you linked Adan’s life to Lucy.” The Luna’s shoulders shook, but she kept talking while tears trickled down her face. “It’s the only thing that’s keeping me sane right now. I know as long as he’s linked to Lucy, Lucien will not touch him. So, thank you.”

She hugged me again, and I did my best not to cry as I smoothed my hand over her back.

“Be careful. And when this is all over, you’re welcome to come and stay with us.” The Luna added.

I nodded my head in response, but this time, I couldn’t keep the tears from falling. It would be nice to come back here. I had lived alone in the mountains with my mother for so long, maybe having other people around me would be wonderful too.

“Thank you. We should go now.” I pulled away from her, and the Luna gave me a kiss on the cheek before I said my goodbyes to Laira and Lena.

I heard Alpha Audrius giving instructions to Blade about the route he could take. He was listening to him and nodding his head at him, but his eyes were on me.

I smiled weakly at him, and he motioned for me to come to him, which I did. I didn’t object when he took my hand and clasped it with his as we walked out of the packhouse and down the steps to his car, which was waiting for us by the grounds.

There were four cars outside, aside from his.

10/14 Gamma Kingston ordered his men to escort us to the exit, and by then only two cars would follow us until we reached the nearest neutral city.

To be honest, I was not sure what they could do to help us if Lucien cornered us, but Alpha Audrius and Beta Collin wouldn’t hear of it when Blade refused escorts. They wanted to ensure that we were protected and that we would arrive safely in the neutral city.

Blade didn’t argue more. He opened the passenger side and let me in. I thought he would just leave and go to his side immediately, but he didn’t. He fixed my seatbelt – our faces were just inches away from each other.

Once he was done fumbling with my belt, his gaze locked with mine. “Althea, do you trust me?”

I should learn to trust Blade, so I nodded my head in response.

“Words. I want to hear words,” he said grumpily.

“I trust you, Blade,” I answered in a soft tone. I had no energy to counter his grumpiness at the moment.

“I want you to remember that when the time comes that I ask you to do something.” He added, and it made me bite my lower lip, all the while, his eyes never left mine. “When we step out of this territory, it will just be you and me. I want you to trust me enough to tell me your plans and what you are thinking. Am I understood?”

“Yes...” I answered in a hoarse voice.

And then he smiled, something he never did in my presence not too wide but not forced either. A real smile, just enough to make my heart somersault in my chest.

And then he did something I wasn’t expecting from him. He leaned forward, bridging the gap between us, and placed a soft kiss on my forehead while his hard, calloused palm rubbed the skin of my arm so gently that it felt too sensual, sending shivers down my spine – down to my core.

“Good. Now, be a good little witch and stop defying me so we can have a peaceful trip,” he said as he pulled away. A smug smirk was back on his face, and it just made me roll my eyes, but I decided to shut my mouth because my core was still throbbing from his touch.

Blade slid into his seat, and I waved goodbye to the people on the steps as we drove off. The moment the packhouse was out of my view, my gaze shifted to look at the man driving the car. I could only see the side of his face.

Blade looked dangerous, but the way he smiled earlier showed me a glimpse of his soft side – or maybe I was just imagining things. He seemed to be too cold and distant.

12/1 13/14 I closed my eyes and leaned back in my seat. I knew a dangerous time was ahead of us, and I had no idea if I would come out alive. But if I do, I hope Blade does as well.