Watching the familiar scenes we drove past months ago escaping Pine Moon appear in my vision, my mind wanders back to the ten days we spent sleeping in motels while putting as much distance as we could between us and Pine Moon. Asteria was the one who always chose what motels or hotels to stay at, making sure that we would be safe from any Pack wolf that we stumbled across. Now we ignore the safety we had back then in favor of making it to Pine Moon before Valor and his men can leave to attack Crescent Phoenix – a Pack I no longer have a connection to since denouncing myself as a member of it before leaving on this mission.
I never thought in the span of a few months I would be turned Rogue twice. Never thought I would be unable to link my friends and loved ones all over again. Yet here I am in a van with Rune beside me and Caspian and Odette behind us while two Omegas sit in the front seats. The only wolves I can link are those in my familial bond – Rune, Gale, Asteria, their pups, and surprisingly Jett. That had surprised me when I woke up this morning after two days on the road. To hear Jett's voice pop into my head after not being able to link him.
It turned out that at our first motel stop to give everyone a chance to fuel the vans and get some sleep in a bed, Rune had called Jett to talk about another vision he had and the two had a heart-to-heart moment. Because of that, Rune confessed to Jett feeling more like a father to him than Valor ever did and the familial bond was form. All this while I slept like a log on the hotel mattress.
When I went to link Asteria asking about what we were going to do for breakfast, Jett linked me good morning, making me scream and scare Rune awake. He was up and snarling, prepared to attack an intruder until he realized it was still just us in the room. That’s when I explained that Jett linked me and he admitted to the familial bond being made.
“I can’t believe Valor and Tanya threw a party last night welcoming in their allies.” Caspian mutters in annoyance as a small growl escapes his lips, bringing me from my thoughts. Turning around in my seat, I look at him to see Caspian staring at his phone, the email he is reading reflecting in the sunglasses he wears.
“I can. Tanya is an attention-seeking whore.” Rune replies with a scoff, the two Omegas upfront snorting out a laugh at this. They were a mated pair that came from Pine Moon to join Crescent Phoenix in search of a better life and to get away from Valor and Tanya. When Holten informed everyone about our plans to take Pine Moon for ourselves this pair – Sebastion and Carrie – volunteered right away to not only be part of the driving team but also said they would gladly rejoin Pine Moon if Rune and I were in charge.
“Honestly, I am shocked she even mated Valor. He’s fucked every one of her friends after they turned sixteen and we all thought Paisley would have become his second Luna.” Carrie says from the passenger chair. Surprised by this new information, I motion for her to tell us more. It turns out that before Valor and Tanya became a thing, Paisley was doing everything she could to seduce Valor, wearing clothes that became more revealing by the day in front of him. One day, it worked, and the two were caught many times fucking around the Pack House with barely anyone the wiser. Carrie only knows about this because she was one of four Omegas who caught these two in the act.
“I am willing to bet money on the fact Tanya got pissed Paisley, a Warrior’s daughter, was trying to raise her status and decided to seduce Valor for fun in her goal of becoming a Luna.” Sebastion says with a chuckle, making my eyes wide. It would make sense if this were true considering Tanya was obsessed with Rune for years. If one of her minions stepped out of line trying to be more than what their standing is, I can see Tanya doing everything she could to remind her friends where they belong.
“That would explain why she would fuck Valor behind my back.” Rune agrees with a shrug, pulling me closer.
“But in the end, they did me a favour since I am now with the most amazing woman in the world.” I blush at this comment and try my best to hide it. Caspian fake gags, telling us to take our lovey-dovey attitude to a hotel room while Carrie chuckles from the front seat.
“Alpha Asteria said the next hotel stop will be in two days, so get used to your Alphas being romantic in front of us, Caspian.” Sebastion teases, the elderly wolf’s words making my face heat up a few more degrees from the raging blush on my face. I decide to ignore everyone and instead take out the book from my bag. We still have another three days of constant driving before we reach Pine Moon and as much as I would love to run in wolf form, I know sitting here is for the best.
[How is everyone holding up?] Asteria’s voice flickers through the link, making me smile.
[Good so far. I think we all miss running though.] I answer, feeling the itch to shift creep in again.
[Well in two days we will be closer to Pine Moon and everyone can stretch their legs then. My friend just called me and said that Pine Moon’s patrols have weakened since his last check.] She replies back, informing me of this new information. Shocked to hear another person is joining our battle, I ask Asteria for more information on this friend of her’s but she doesn’t budge, telling me that when we arrive at Pine Moon’s borders in three days, I will meet this wolf that has been keeping an eye on Valor for us.
The link goes quiet after this check-in and I sigh, placing my book down on my lap with the urge to read now gone.
“What’s wrong?” Rune asks, placing a kiss on top of my head.
“Asteria has someone else we don’t know about helping us.” I answer, feeling a little uneasy.
“I know. He is the one that reported about the party that was thrown.” Rune answers with a shrug.
“Wait, you knew?” Turning to face him, I see Rune staring at me with guilt in his eyes. I can tell just from the bond that he did in fact know about this “friend” but kept it from me.
“Asteria told me about it because he is also helping Council Representative Alastor in gathering information. Since it seemed more like a Council operation, I thought the less you knew, the better to keep your stress levels down.” He explains. I take a moment to digest his words before agreeing that he did the right thing. This friend is working with Alastor, not us, by the sounds of it. He probably only called Asteria on Alastor’s request to help us with our upcoming fight.
“So you’re not mad?” Rune asks as I snuggle closer to him.
“No. Thank you for telling me everything now though.” I answer, smiling when I feel his fingers playing with my hair.
“You don’t have to thank me, Brynlee. If you ask me a question, I will always answer it honestly.” He whispers, placing another kiss on my head.
“Now rest up. We need to be ready for the battle ahead.”