Holden chuckles as he bends down and looks at me. “Really, I’m glad you came tonight; it made the night so much better.”
“I’m glad I came, too. I think your friends half believed you didn’t have a girlfriend,” I remark lightly.
Especially among the girls, the jealousy wasn’t completely masked. Holden smirks. “Well, you are Aldona; they definitely didn’t believe me entirely.”
I smile as I take hold of his shirt and kiss him before settling back. “Well, now they do.”
“Yeah, for sure.” Ahren strums his fingers on the steering wheel, and Holden gets the hint, moving back. “Bye, have a safe trip.”
Once he shuts the door, I look at Ahren. “You didn’t needto be rude.”
“He talks far too much; I was getting bored.”
“Well, you can’t sleep yet; we need to go to the Blood Moon Pack,” Allie says bluntly.
“That was not part of the plan,” Ahren says sharply, now looking at us.
“Well, it is now, so chop-chop. Drive, chauffeur,” I command.
Ahren tuts, before he starts the engine. “Well, I was planning on going after dropping you two off.”
“Asshole,” Allie frowns at the back of his head.
“So, why do you two want to go there, anyway?” Ahren asks, and although his tone is as light as ever, I can sense him watching us intently through the rearview mirror.
“Well, my prophecy is not one that can be brushed under the carpet, and the ‘tearing of kin’, I’m sure that applied to all. Weallneed to fix things, and I want to be there,” I reply smoothly, even though I’m not being entirely honest.
I have my own reasons for needing to go there, but Ahren doesn’t need to know that.
“Right, then you better hold on tight,” Ahren says as he speeds up, and then there’s a puff, and he’s slamming the brakes, throwing both Allie and me into the seats in front.
“Idiot!” Allie growls, massaging her nose.
I place a hand to my own forehead where I had bumped itand glance out of the window, realising where we are.
Ahren has just teleported us right outside the entrance to the Blood Moon Pack.
TheBlood Moon Pack
Heaven
That’s one way to make an entrance. “You could have just teleported right inside,” Allie says as pack warriors approach the car.
“There are barriers,” Ahren informs us as he lowers the car window and casts the men an innocent smile. “Hi, my family is inside. We are just a little late to the party.”
“We’ll need to do security checks, Alpha Ahren.”
“Of course.” Ahren holds out his hand, slicing his palm with one of his nails that has now become black, allowing the drops of blood to fall onto the device they’re holding. The blood sizzles, and a green light flashes as he is identified.
This is a security device created by witches to confirm a person’s identity. It’s connected to a larger database that is accessed worldwide. Allie and I have to do the same. The car isthen searched before the gates swing open, and we are allowed to pass through.
The entrance of the pack is lined with open land, and we begin our drive through a thicket of trees, down one of the few winding roads. The Blood Moon Pack was once not so big, but today it’s vast with a subpack – similar to the Black Storm Pack.
We drive towards the Alpha Mansion, and I take in my surroundings. The vibe of the Blood Moon Pack is very different from that of the Black Storm Pack. Where the Black Storm has a neat woodland area with several luxurious mansions, not to mention the Rossi Mansion itself, the Blood Moon has a more nature-filled vibe, one that allows you to smell the earth and nature from the moment you cross those gates, where the woods are not tamed, and the roads are still made of dirt. There are no streetlights within the trees; it’s just nature.
We pass beyond the woods and finally reach the Alpha Mansion. The cabin-like villa is made of solid wood, with large windows that look into the rustic mansion.
It’s beautiful in a magical way, and when you step out of the car, you’re not stepping onto marble floors that create a barrier between you and nature, but onto soil that is so rich and powerful that it’s humming, alive with power that is yearning for me to call upon it.
