KAEL.
We’d been driving for almost two hours, and Adessa had fallen asleep. She was tired from all the running and hiding she’d been doing these past few weeks, so I let her sleep while I did my best to keep myself awake.
I could take my sleep once we were on our way to the north. For now, I needed to get us as far away from here as possible.
I was almost at the Bellouf Theme Park when my phone rang.
It startled Adessa. Adessa’s hands flew out in the air as she gasped for breath. My hand went to her thigh, tapping it twice before rubbing it gently.
“I’m here…” I mumbled loudly enough for her to hear while the phone continued to ring.
She turned her head in my direction, and when she saw me, it was only then that her shoulders relaxed, and she sank back into her seat.
I smiled at her before I spoke. “Rasmus is calling. You can go back to sleep.”
She shook her head before she leaned her head to the window, crossing her arms across her chest, her eyes focusing on the dark road in front of us. “I want to listen.”
I picked up the phone, pressed the speaker button, and placed it on the dashboard. As we had discussed, I wouldn’t talk until he started by saying my name. “Kael…”
“Are they gone?” I asked.
“Yes, and those assholes are not investigators nor representatives from the King’s Court.”
“What do you mean?”
“They were Draco’s men.”
“What the fuck?” I could not stop myself from exclaiming as anger brewed within me, especially when I felt Adessa move from her seat. When I looked at her, she had a worried expression on her face. “Why are they looking for her? They shouldn’t be meddling with this anymore, as it was already raised with the Court.”
“Exactly. They tried to deny it, but my Beta recognized one of the men as part of Draco’s entourage and alerted me. I requested documents to show they had rights to the inquest, but they couldn’t show me anything. It appeared that someone had tipped them off that you were using Mom’s car.
That was also a possibility. I got careless when I took her car home with me.
“Did you check if Aunt Aria is safe?” Adessa asked.
“Yes, I have people around her home. Plus, I drove that car back to the packhouse since I drove there using the car you were driving now. So they saw that car parked here, and if they were thinking Kael is here, then Mom is safe from them for now.” “SO, where are they now?”
“I asked them to fuck off and kicked them out of the territory. I made sure they exited the same border they came in, far away from the border and route you took.”
“Thank you.”
“I gave Draco a midnight call.”
“You did not,” I said.
“I didn’t say anything about you. I told him he was an asshole for sending his men in my pack in the middle of the night for some nonsense shenanigans. The asshole just fucking laughed.” “Did he say anything about me or Adessa?”
“Yes.”
“Say it,” I said as my hand crawled to Adessa’s, clasping it with mine before giving her a gentle squeeze.
“He said he was convinced that you and I are helping her, and we better hide her good or turn her over to the King’s Court.”
“Or he’d be her worst nightmare if he catches her first.” I finished for him. I was used to this kind of threat from Draco even before we became Alphas.
“Yup…” He replied. “And I told him to shove his mouth into his own ass.”
“But we know he won’t stop looking for her.”
“I never doubted that just to get on your nerves. So you need to be careful, as two groups are looking for you now.”
“Make sure no one knows I’m heading to the north.” I reminded him.
“Did you tell Dexter and Landon?”
“No. I can’t trust anyone.”
“Even Landon? Come on, man. That man will lay down in the bed of fire for you.”
“I know.” I let out a breath. Landon and I were a tag team during our university days, and Rasmus would hang out with us most of the time “But the less he knows, the less danger he’ll be in. So it’s up to you to
work around what you and
make sure you don’t tell anyone in my pack.”
“Got it.”
“When are you driving there?”
“Give me two days. I need to make sure everyone is ready here and Mom is secured.”
“I’m sorry for dragging you and Aunt Aria to this mess, Alpha Rasmus,” Adessa spoke.
“Don’t worry about it. I owe Kael a lot. It’s the least I can do.” He replied, and we talked a little more before the call ended.
Adessa didn’t say anything and remained silent, but I knew she was still awake.
“I saved Rasmus in a burning house when we were younger.” I broke the silence between us.
She tilted her head to look at me before she spoke. “Is that why you have burnt skin on your back?” “Yes,” I replied.
It looked like I didn’t tell her about it
when we were married, but it was not a surprise. I didn’t want to talk about this part of my life. “I saved him, and in the process, I lost the chance to save my mother”
“Oh, Goddess…”
My eyes watered, but I did my best to focus on the road. “We were at the cabin in the territory. Mom was in a room upstairs, taking a nap, while Rasmus and I were outside. We walked further, trying to hunt animals. When we came back, the house was burning. We didn’t talk about it, but we both rushed inside, catting for my mother. I had already reached the stairs, heading towards my mother’s room, when a log from the roof fell on Rasmus, trapping his leg. I didn’t hesitate to come back to him and pull him out of the log. He couldn’t walk, so I carried him out. When I was about to go back, I couldn’t anymore. The fire had already consumed the whole cabin.”