Natalia’s P. O. V

I didn’t want to believe it.

“Unless the pack you escaped from is one of our allies, I’m sure we can be of help.”

I doubted it, “It’s the Lightwood Pack.”

He shook his head, disgust briefly crossing his face, “No, that’s definitely not a pack we associate with.”

I wrestled with the grin threatening to invade my face and willed my heart to slow its pace, “I would definitely appreciate your help, but I’m not sure of what I could offer you with your standing.”

Larger packs didn’t typically ally smaller ones, or even currently non-existent ones in my case. Sure, I’d hoped to find stronger allies than the victims of the Lightwood Pack’s shenanigans, but I’d known it would be a sizeable hurdle to cross.

I hadn’t hoped to stumble into a golden alliance like this.

“I know a strong Alpha when I see one. And having ties to another species is beneficial, no matter how estranged you may be from them, having grown up without your mother.” The same disgust peeked through his features again, lingering a bit longer this time, “Besides, I’ve never been fond of them.”

And just like that, the pack that I was yet to even create was an ally of the second largest one in the country.

We finalized the details of our collaboration. I informed him about Timothy, and how he was meant to be believed to be the Alpha instead of me, the idea of a secret Alpha greatly amusing him. He had the idea of officially becoming allies on the first day of the next winter Werewolf Ball, which would garner plenty of attention. I loved the idea, and with the more minor details to be left for when we actually became official allies, I was free to leave their territory.

“Thank you so much.” I bowed my head to him.

“No need, we are allies now. I look forward to seeing the kind of leader you become, Avarielle.”

I was escorted to the edge of the territory, the atmosphere of my departure in stark contrast from that of my arrival.

Once at the edge, I said goodbye to the guards and began to make my way back.

After about ten minutes of walking, I noticed Kaesha and Hailey’s scents, and not long after, I was face to face with the both of them.

Hailey barrelled towards me with a hug, “Oh, my gosh, Ari! We were worried sick!”

“I’m so sorry guys,” I told them once she released me, “There was this wolf that came from nowhere and passed out in front of me, so I had to take her back and then-”

Kaesha continued, “And then the pack thought you’d done something to her so you had to wait till she woke up to confirm your innocence before they let you leave.”

I blinked, “Yeah…”

“I made Hailey undetectable so she could do some recon, instead of just rushing in guns blazing to rescue you.” She explained, “Since neither of us think you’re in the habit of knocking girls out for sport, we decided to let things play out and see what happens.”

Hailey nodded, “I wanted to get you out of there pronto, but Kaesha made the call to just watch, and I’m so glad she did. I can’t believe you managed to get us such a massive ally.”

I could barely believe it too. The scorned packs were one thing, but teaming up with the Claw Moon Pack was, as Hailey had said, massive. Not to say that I hadn’t believed we could accomplish what I’d set out to do a year ago, but I’d very much expected to have to have to make some sacrifices for my goal.

But this made it feel tangible, like I could almost taste the satisfaction of spilling Clark’s blood already.

I smiled, “All that’s left is to go get our members.”

Since Kaesha and Hailey had already picked up my things on their way, she decided to teleport us back to the house.

“The fuck?” Timothy yelped, holding his chest, “Where were you guys? I had to climb in through a window, and I’m sure that was a fun show for the neighbours to watch.”

Kaesha snickered at the image while, Hailey her mood having notably shifted at the sight of him, wordlessly vacated the living room.

As I explained everything to him, Timothy had a glint in his eye that I was almost certain reflected my face too.

“This is might turn out better than I’d let myself hope.” He said, a wicked half-smile on his face.

With the high of the golden egg of an alliance, I realised that Timothy’s presence here must mean that he’d found the sanctuary.

“You said you wouldn’t come back till you’d found it…”

His half smile morphed into a full one, “Well, I’m back, aren’t I?”

“Damn, today’s a good day, ain’t it?” Kaesha said from the fridge as my own wicked grin beamed.

“This is better than good, this is monumental! Things are finally shifting!” I said, with something of a giggle. My body heated up, but not in the panic inducing way I was used to. I took a gamble and let the flames burst from me in little spheres that swirled around me almost like excited sprites.

“Whoa…” Timothy gaped, while Kaesha who emerged from her rummaging through the fridge looked on in a mixture of awe and pride.

“How are you doing that…?” Hailey’s voice came from behind me.

“I have no idea. I was feeling warm, so I just… let it out, I guess.” I responded, watching the flames dance around me.

I knew negative emotions made my ability flare up, but I’d never experienced this with positive ones.

‘Maybe because you’ve never let yourself feel this positive this strongly before…’ Candy suggested.

If she was right, it wouldn’t shock me much, the idea of my strongest positive emotion having anything to do with the Lightwood pack left a whisper of dissent that settled in my belly.

I shook my head and the fires flickered out. I had demons to slay and a pack to destroy, so of course I’d feel happy taking a step closer to crushing them.

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“Let’s go get our members.”

Hailey’s P. O. V

I emerged from my room at the sounds of fascination and fire. Ari sat on a couch opposite Tim, orbiting her as if she were a celestial body.

I’d seen her practice with her fire before, but I’d never seen her doing anything like this.

“How are you doing that…?” I asked, then started moving around the couch so I could see her face.

“I have no idea. I was feeling warm, so I just… let it out, I guess.” She said, looking just as fascinated as the rest of us.

With the little fires floating around her, her gorgeous hair, and the glow of her eyes, she was positively ethereal. Then a look of dissatisfaction crossed her face, and she shook her head, the fires flickering out with the movement.

“Let’s go get our members.” She said with a slight hardness that made me wonder if I should be worried.

While Timothy was raring to go at her call to action, Kaesha pulled the brakes, “How about we go tomorrow. I’m sure both of you are tired from your adventures and my magic could use some time to recharge.”

Neither of them put up any fight at the suggestion, so it was settled on that we’d leave for the Sanctuary tomorrow.

“Get some rest, it’ll be a bit of a journey.” Timothy announced as we all retired for the night.

The Air BnB we got had three bedrooms. When Timothy had been away, Ari had slept in his room, but since he was back, she stayed with me instead.

“Are you excited about tomorrow?” I asked as we settled under the blanket.

Her expression was a mixture of things I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but she smiled, “Yeah. And a little nervous…”

“Don’t worry, Ari. I’m sure you’ll have people lining up to join our pack. We might even empty out the Sanctuary.”

She laughed at the idea. “I hope you’re right.”

I smiled, “I know I am. Just get some rest and we’ll go put our best foot forward tomorrow.”

“Alright. Goodnight, Hailey.”

“Goodnight.”

The next morning came and the heavenly smell of Ari’s cooking coaxed me out of bed and to the kitchen, where she and Tim were, already showered and fully dressed.

“Good morning, Hailey.” She greeted with the flip of a pancake.

“Good morning, Ari.” I glanced at the dining table, where several open Tupperwares full of food were cooling off, “What’s going on…?”

“Well, Timothy floated the idea of packing some food for the trip and I thought we could take some to share with some of the wolves at the Sanctuary.” She replied as he moved over to a different pot and grabbed some more Tupperware.

My nose wrinkled at the fact that it’d been his idea, but it was admittedly a good one and would probably help our chances with the people at the Sanctuary today, “That’s a great idea. Need my help with anything?”

She shook her head, handing Tim the food she’s just packed to place with the others on the dining table, “No, I think we’re good. Thanks though, you should probably go wake Kesha up so the two of you can get ready. Don’t forget to wear something comfortable and maybe pack something to sleep in.”

“Okay.” I said then went to do just that.

Half an hour later, having woken Kaesha and up finished getting dressed, I stood in front of the mirror, contemplating my hairstyle. I finally settled on two French braids and was weaving my fingers through my hair when Opelene spoke.

‘So, you’re still not talking to Tim?’

I rolled me eyes, ‘What do you think?’

She was silent for a while and just when I was about to ask if she was okay, she spoke, ‘You know we can’t be with Kaelin forever, right?’

‘Why not? He’s kind, caring, and most importantly, not a hot-and-cold asshole that pushes me away one minute then expects me to come crawling back the moment he decides to get over himself.’

‘He’s not the one for us.’

I finished off the second braid and tussled the whisps of hair escaping near my ears, ‘Well, Tim should’ve thought of that, huh?’

Especially before he basically called me an attention whore to my face.

She sighed, ‘Yes, you’re right. But I also think we should maybe give reconciling with him a shot. It’s not like he hasn’t tried, and your refusal to acknowledge his existence kinda makes things awkward with everyone else too.’

She was right in that he’d definitely tried to bridge the gap, but I wasn’t ready to give him the time of day. The less I interacted with him, the less I’d be reminded of those awful things he’d told me and the less I’d relive the feeling of everything I hated about being in my own home.

‘I’ll try to keep things less awkward,’ I conceded. I’d definitely seen Ari and Kaesha share uncomfortable glances on more than one occasion, ‘But I won’t be anything close to friendly.’

She sighed but the conversation stopped there so I took that as her dropping the topic.

By the time Kaesha and I were done, Ari and Tim had everything ready to go. With the beautiful spread of her gourmet food and her magnetism, our chances of gaining new members were looking pretty good.

“I can keep these in a storage till we’re close, so we don’t have to carry them all the way.” Kaesha said, waving an arm over the containers of food. They vibrated for a few seconds, so fast that I thought they were about to explode, then faded out of existence.

Tentatively, I placed my hand where one of them had been, feeling nothing.

“Impressive.” Ari commented, while Tim gave her a pat on her shoulder.

Outside, I saw that Ari had done more than just make food; she’d also packed some camping gear for us. Two foldable tents and four sleeping bags were rolled up tightly next to four large water flasks. Tim moved to carry them, but Kaesha waved an arm over them, casting the same spell she had earlier.

Once Kaesha had masked her scent, it didn’t take long for us to depart. We trudged through the woods, Tim leading the way. Since it had taken him several days to find the Sanctuary, I knew we were in for long journey.

Most of the journey was uneventful. When Kaesha brought up how long Tim had been gone and joked about not trusting his navigation skills, he explained that most of his trip when searching for the Sanctuary had been spent going the wrong way and assured us that we’d be there by the end of tomorrow.

The problems came when night fell.

We’d already set the tents up and were sitting around the makeshift campfire Ari had lit for us, finishing off the food she’d made for us earlier, when the topic of sleeping arrangements came up.

“I don’t think I can stay with Timmy tonight.” Kaesha said, before anyone else could give their suggestions, “I know he turns in his sleep and I need my beauty sleep.”

“Okay…” Ari said, drawing the word out. She looked at me, likely searching my face for the visceral discomfort that twisted in my core.

But I smiled.

“It’s okay.” I said, keeping the quake out of my voice. I’d told myself I’d be civil, and I’d already succeeded at making things consistently uncomfortable between the four of us for weeks. Kaesha needed her rest, likely so that she could use her magic properly tomorrow, and I needed to suck it up and deal with the proximity to him.

Sleeping next to him.

In a tent.

For the entire night.

“I can handle one night of dealing with him.” I continued, hoping I sounded nonchalant and not deeply shaken.

“Are you sure…?” He asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

I turned to him, keeping my gaze on his forehead, “Mmhmm.” I nodded, “I don’t love it but it’s just one night and we’ll both be in sleeping bags.”

“Okay, I guess it’s settled then.” Kaesha said, the empty bowls vanishing from her and Tim’s hands, “Just let me know when you two finish eating, so I can send your bowls away too. I’m gonna go get ready for bed.”

She got up and padded away to one of the tents, unfurling her sleeping bag inside it. Wordlessly, Timothy got up to do the same in the other tent. At some point, the two of them wandered off to the nearby river with their toothbrushes.

Once they were far enough away, Ari spoke, “You know I could stay with Timothy if you’re uncomfortable. He’s the biggest and I’m the smallest, so it’d probably make more sense space-wise too.”

I shook my head, “Seriously, I’m okay.”

She raised a brow.

“I’m serious.” I sighed, “I’m not thrilled, but I figured that my avoidance of him has already made things difficult for everyone so far, so I’m manning up and dealing with the fact that we’re all on the same team here.”

She still didn’t look convinced, but her brow lowered, and she took the last bite of her food, “I just hope you know what you’re doing.” Then she went off to get ready for bed.

I hoped so too.