Chapter 213

213 Chapter Two Hundred Thirteen

Lina stood at the threshold of her door fiddling with the applications on her phone. It was something she did every time she was waiting for someone in particular. Another crashing sound came from the inside of the room along with grumbles from the same person she was waiting for... ‘How hard could it be to pick out clothes to wear...’ the girl thought, frustration making its way into her mind.

“What’s going on in there?” Lina jumped back, letting go of her phone in the process at the voice that had popped up behind her. Before taking notice of the person that had successfully sneaked up on her, she had to save her phone, a mission that took much longer than she would have liked. The dynamics involved in catching a flying phone only amused her audience. When she finally had it, she sighed in relief... “Soooo...” and the process started once more... This time the girl didn’t forget she was in the presence of a stranger.

“Derrick, don’t sneak up on me like that,” she slapped the alpha who wouldn’t stop laughing at her...

“What’s so funny?” another voice came. Lina turned to face Crysta.

“Oh, nothing... what are you doing here?” Lina asked.

“She came with me,” said another person behind her, “or more like begged me to let her help in protecting you.” Caden walked up to them and peeped into the room... “Is she always like this?”

Another crashing sound came from the room, forcing all of them to cringe... “Yes, she’s always like this when she’s going to do something she loves. She wants to dress for the occasion and when she’s looking for the clothes to wear, she messes up everything,” Lina groaned.

“Well, she better get herself together. We don’t have all the time in the world. Once it’s time for the bonfire, we will be coming straight back here...” Caden mentioned, getting his head out of the room and leaning against the wall.

Lina counted the number of people that were going with them. Two alphas and one delta... “I seriously don’t need this much protection.”

.....

“Oh, you do. Katie would go on a rampage if something were to happen to you,” Caden replied.

“You don’t think Katie is that petty, do you?” Lina asked the alpha. Curiosity tore through her consciousness. It had been that way since her sister had saved her from the bear’s cave the day before. She hadn’t scolded her as much as she thought she deserved... Everything had been blamed on the two alphas that had taken her out that night as though it was obvious.

“Well, I’m not so sure. We all have something that will make us break. Katie is strong... Strong people usually have one weakness... The ones they care about most,” Caden replied.

“What are we talking about?” a new voice interrupted them from the inside of the room. Honour was finally done dressing up. She had a navy blue scarf around her neck and was dressed in a grey turtle neck and grey sweatpants...

“Are you feeling cold?” Caden asked her.

“Well, I’m not as good at staying warm like everyone else. I still need the insulation,” the girl replied.

“That scarf... Is it?”

“Yeah...” the girl cut her friend off, “It’s my grandmother’s. She would have liked to see the moon lotuses herself, so I’m taking a part of her with me.”

“That’s what you were looking for this entire time. I thought you weren’t going to ever wear it again,” Lina asked her.

“I can’t seem to get rid of it. I don’t want to anymore,” she replied with a hint of sadness in her voice. The girl pulled the scarf back up to her nose and gave it a deep sniff, “Besides, she used it so much that there was no amount of detergent that I could use to take out her scent.”

“Well, the moon lotuses won’t find themselves,” Caden announced, signalling their time to leave. Lina locked the door behind them and the group was soon out of the hotel and into the woods. A lone royal stared at the crew from the top of a balcony.

“You’re running late you know...” Cole said to his mate.

“I know that, Cole. You shouldn’t worry too much about how I’m going to get to them anyway. You know that I can track them quite easily,” the girl inside the room said while she fumbled to get the proper clothes to wear while she was out in the woods.

“Don’t forget to take your bow with you,” Cole reminded her.

“Aren’t you coming along?” Katie asked him.

“No, I will cover for you while you’re gone. In other words, I am taking your post while you’re gone. Now that I think of it, there is something Trevor wanted me to give you,” he said, holding out the walkie he’d been given.

The girl stared at it for a moment, “Communications are down... Do you think the rogues did it?”

“If you’re suggesting I grab a team of wolves to check out the mast, I humbly decline. As for the rogues, yes... I think they took out communications to keep us from calling for backup,” he replied. The girl took the device from him and pocketed it. She’d dressed in a hood and sweatpants... Retrieving her quiver and bow, she bid her mate farewell and was off to find the group of wolves that was out on a hunt...

............

'

Lina and her team had been running through the woods for a decent period of time before Derrick asked for a rest. They had no idea where they were supposed to find moon lotus flowers or where they were supposed to grow, but Honour wasn’t going to rest until she found them. The girl rode upon her friend’s majestic white wolf... a suggestion that Lina had made and wasn’t accepting any objections. Honour had a weak wolf that wouldn’t get them far.

“You have to rest, Lina. I know the flowers are important, but we won’t be able to find them if you don’t have the energy to keep running,” Honour patted the white wolf beneath her, trying to reason with her.

Derrick shifted back into his human form and leaned against a tree, panting heavily, “Someone is out of shape...” Crysta spoke from the top of a coffee brown wolf. Since she was a delta that wouldn’t shift without ripping her clothes to shreds, Caden had offered to carry her.

“I don’t think you’re any better...” Derrick spat back.

“Well, I might be just a little bit better, but you’re right, I’m incapable of covering this much distance without showing a hint of tiredness. These two are in their own league,” Crysta admitted.

“I don’t get it... He’s just an alpha. How does he have this much endurance?” Derrick said in between gasps.

“I’m a beta alpha. Try to keep that in mind next time,” Caden shrugged.

“Since when did you become a beta alpha. That’s a title that goes to the king’s...”

“Spare me the lecture... I know what a beta alpha is and the rules for making one, but as it stands, the current king is losing his grip on the mortal realm. I don’t know how long he has left, but as he slips away from us, his power starts to move on to his son and that’s how this happens,” the coffee brown wolf explained through the mind link.

“Well, that makes a bit of sense...” Derrick replied, before shifting back into his werewolf form and letting Lina lead the way, “Hey Lina, what’s the deal with your sister? There are way too many rumours going about...”

“What rumour are you trying to clear up?” Lina asked.

“Well, let’s see... Forgive how I phrase the rumours or how they might sound. I only heard them from the very people that spread them,” he apologized before mentioning one, “There is this one that says she’s a village girl that was found to have blue eyes and the ability to make them glow...”

“That is a very odd way to phrase a rumour,” Lina exclaimed.

“Yeah, it is... The werewolves are having mixed feelings about her and I’m not sure which side is making more progress. We don’t know much about her and yet she walks around the palace like she owns the place. To many, it’s irritating while to some, it’s the way it should be. She adapted to her new home very fast and doesn’t take smack talk from anyone. It’s the way a royal should be, but I guess none of them expected it.”

“I think I understand what you’re trying to say. Well, if I was to think about that rumour, I would say it’s almost completely wrong. The only part that’s right is that she’s from a remote town and the town is called Brigadia. She grew up there her whole life and knew nothing of her werewolf origin,” Lina explained.

“Well, what makes her worthy of being a royal then?”

“Her blood, Derrick. Let’s not forget what makes one a royal, okay?” Lina replied.

The alpha went silent for a short while before speaking up, “You’ve grown more confident.”

“I didn’t...”

“It’s okay. It actually makes me happier to hear you talk back. I just hope you remain that way when she has to go,” he chuckled.

“It doesn’t matter if she remains that way or not. By the time Katie leaves, everything will be different,” Crysta interrupted the conversation.

“You sound confident. Why do you think everything will be different when she leaves?” the alpha asked.

“Haven’t you felt it yet? Everything is changing... It was the first time that a royal used their commanding tone on anyone. And there were no consequences... That’s only the beginning of it all,” Crysta spoke up.

“Crysta, is there something you know that I don’t?” Lina asked the girl...

“She doesn’t know anything, Lina. She just has one incredible sense of hope,” someone’s voice interrupted them... they all looked to their right and noticed a human figure running with them. It was Katie... and she was keeping up with them.