Page 23 of Rejection to the Alpha King's Daughter

“Nope. Quite sure Marcie and Blake want to kill each other right now.” My reply brings out another bout of laughter from my friend making me growl. I definitely need to give him a good beating later.

“Look, Crysta, it’s a few more hours and then you get to see your new home. I even have a surprise waiting for you.”

“Matrix, I hate surprises.” I remind my friend.

“Yeah, I know, hence why I always like to make surprises for you. Anyway, I have to go. Our friends are helping with getting the pack house cleaned out and we have a few cabins being finished off.”

“Okay, stay safe, Trix. I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Crysta.” With a sigh I hang up the phone and focus on the driving. I haven’t received a call from Albot to open the link back up considering the way they were bickering earlier. If there is an emergency or we need to communicate, he will call my cell phone. For now, I just enjoy the views before me while continuing to my new pack.

???

Looking at the GPS I grin and turn to Alice who is sitting munching on a bag of ketchup chips.

“One more hour, then we are home!” I exclaim, seeing a smile on her face.

“I can’t wait to run in the forest.” She giggles, her eyes scanning the trees as we grow closer to our new home. Turning onto the barely visible dirt road, I check the side mirror to see if the others are following me, thankful when I notice the truck we bought with Blake and Albot inside.

Awwwwooooooooh

A howl sounds in the distance, Alice letting out a whimper of fear as she scoots away from the window to clutch her stuffed rabbit. With a frown, I open up the pack link again.

[Shut it, Marcie!] I call out when I hear Marcie retort to something Blake said. Silence follows as I keep my eyes on the trees before me, wondering if I can sense the owner of the howl.

[Albot, friend or foe?] I aske. With Albot being owned by Hunters for most of his life before Atticus and I rescued him, he is the one with the most knowledge on if a howl is friendly or if we have to fight our way out soon.

[Soulless. It sounds like it is tracking us and reporting to its companions.] My frown deepens, knowing that my brother is the one labelled Soulless King. It doesn’t surprise me that he would have his minions tracking me the moment I enter wolf country. But their pursuit will be for nothing as we will reach what will be our new pack in a few minutes. I can feel the power of the barrier created by the witch Cassandra that Ira and Geminie wants me to meet radiating the closer we get.

Something slamming into my car has me pressing the gas pedal harder, zooming away from what ever is trying to knock my car over.

[Albot?] I call out, looking in the mirror once more to see him doing the same.

[Hot on your tail Crystalline with Marcie behind me.]He reassures. Then I feel it. The barrier envelops me, welcoming me in with a warm glow.

[In the clear. Should be smooth driving from here.] His answer soothes me as I pull over to the side of the road, turning the car off and reaching my hand out to Alice. I can see the terror in her eyes, knowing the suffering and fear that Soulless has brought to her life.

“We are safe now, hun. The barrier will keep them out right now.” My words are soft whispers as I try my best to calm her down. She clings to my hand, breathing in my scent as we sit in silence for a moment.

[You two okay?] Marcie asks, the other vehicles parking beside us.

[Yeah, Alice is scared because of them. You can drive on ahead and we will be there soon.] I reassure everyone, feeling the unease Blake has with his sister being upset.

[Alice, do you want me to come join you?] He asks. I wait for Alice to answer, letting the little girl choose if she needs her brother.

[No, I have mama and Honey here. You make sure our new home is safe.] Her voice is quiet in the link and I sigh, relieved that this event hasn’t ruined the progress we worked so hard for these last two years. Alice clung to Blake for the first five months of living in Toronto, always having a hard time in school with fear of her old pack returning to take her away to be a Breeder. It took months of therapy and taking her out to child-friendly places for her to be able to walk around without Blake by her side.

The others continue on their way once making sure we will be alright, and I pull Alice to sit in the front passenger seat, her stuffed bunny Honey in her arms as we take a moment to relax.

“You ready to go see our new home?” I ask after herbreathing evens out and the fear radiating off of her settles.

“Yes!” With that, I turn the Hummer on and continue driving, this time going at a snail’s pace for Alice to take in the forest that will be ours to explore.

“It’s big!” she exclaims, her wide eyes staring out the window.

“There’s also a lake we can swim in and go fishing.” Her eyes dart to me and I chuckle, reaching out to ruffle her golden hair. This is the reaction I was hoping for. She no longer is the little pup scared of a shadow. Now, she is a pup excited to run free in the woods like any other werewolf.

?Chapter 19-Pack Astraea?

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