Zara’s POV
“Try Beta Ronan again!” I said to Levi as I paced our living room.
“Zara, this was already the eleventh call,” he remarked. “He is not picking up his phone.”
“Try Nic’s number again,” I said, growing increasingly agitated.
Levi sighed, but he followed my instructions. A moment later, he shook his head in frustration.
“The call goes straight to voice mail,” he said in response.
What the hell happened? Why did nobody pick up our calls? Not even Nic’s secretary was answering the calls.
I gasped as another surge of heat swept through my body. It was getting worse. Was it the mate bond warning me that Nic was in trouble?
“Zara, you do not look so good,” Levi said, setting his phone down on the table. “Perhaps you need to go get some rest. I will keep on trying.”
“I just can’t understand it,” I said, feeling as if all the life was slowly being drained out of me. “You had a conversation with Beta Ronan this morning. He forwarded a copy of the contract to you. Why is he not picking up his bloody phone right now? Why is there nobody at Nic’s office, and why is his phone going to voicemail?”
“Perhaps they are simply distracted,” Levi remarked, taking my hand and guiding me to the couch, so I could sit down. “They were attacked last night. They might just be…”
“I need to go there,” I interrupted. “I must see what is happening. I cannot sit and wait around here.”
“No, you can go there,” Levi said, shaking his head. “It is far too dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” My voice trailed off in shock. What was Levi going on about? I was trained well enough to take care of myself. “We have an obligation to assist them. That is what our agreement says.”
“The agreement is only valid as of tomorrow night,” Levi said, looking directly into my eyes. “It has a grace period of 48 hours.”
“What?” Bewildered, I stood up and asked. “What are you saying?”
“This term is included in all of our treaty agreements,” Levi explained. “It is wolf law and cannot be contested or altered.”
“Why?” I queried. “That is dumb!”
“Is it?” Levi argued. “It allows an Alpha to have a chance to change their mind.”
That was absurd!
“So I just have to sit here and wait for the agreement to take effect?” I asked incredulously.
“Yeah, sort of,” he said as he stood up. “Get some rest in the interim. You look like sh*t!”
I gaped at Levi in shock. How was he going to expect me to hold out until then? I need to get in contact with Nic! For crying out loud, he is my mate!
I sighed.
There was absolutely no point in arguing with Levi. I would understand if he did not want to get involved. I will find another way.
“Fine!” I hissed at him. “I will get some rest!”
Levi let out an audible breath as I rushed down the hallway toward my room.
I slammed the door loudly, so he could hear and comprehend how frustrated I was.
“So what now?” Kaya asked.
“We will just have to get away without anyone noticing,” I answered.
“And how do you think we accomplish that?”
“The window,” I replied.
“You have to be kidding me,” she cried out in fear. “It is far too high for you to jump…”
“Not if we shift midair,” I cut her off.
“I don’t-”
“Relax,” I said. “I have a plan.”
“I hope you know what you are doing,” Kaya remarked as she observed me entering my walk-in closet.
“We just need a bag that you can carry on your back,” I explained, shifting items around and looking for something that would work.
I finally located what I was looking for a few minutes later and placed it on the bed.
“How am I supposed to carry that?” Kaya asked.
“Well, when we shift, I am considering having it on my back,” I clarified.
“But it will rip into pieces,” she warned.
“Maybe,” I replied. “But it might not get in the way during the shifting if I extend the straps to the maximum.”
“I do not think that would work,” Kaya countered.
“What else would you recommend that we do?”
Gazing around the room, Kay noticed a similar bag.
“Take that one as well,” she said, pointing with her nose at the bag. “Just in case the bag gets torn to pieces.”
I rolled my eyes and followed her instructions.
I hurriedly packed a few essentials into both bags.
“Are you ready?” I asked, after removing my clothes and packing them into the bag, placing the bag on my back, and moving in the direction of the window.
“As ready as I can be,” Kaya replied.
“All right. You know what to do, then?” I opened the window and inquired.
“Yeah,” huffed Kaya. “You jump out of the window, and I make sure we shift on time.”
“Great, let us do this.”
I hurriedly poked my head out the window to check if the coast was clear.
After grabbing the second bag and throwing it out of the window, I climbed on top of the window still.
“Here goes nothing,” I muttered to myself.
I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply, and jumped.
The wind whooshed in my ears for a moment, and then the sound of bones cracking filled my surroundings.
Kaya’s paws brushed the soft ground beneath me, and she made sure to dash into the forest before I could open my eyes.
“Was it successful? I asked. I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my body.
“Yes,” Kaya declared with pride.
“And the bag?” I asked.
“Seems to be holding,” she answered. “However, I have grabbed the other bag as a precaution. You will need to check it out when we get to the cave.”
Kaya picked up speed and flew straight through the forest.
It always delighted me when Kaya took charge in that way.
I sat back and enjoyed the soft earth beneath our paws while listening to the wind whooshing past us and filling my lungs with the comforting scent of the forest.
Minutes later, Kaya dashed across the river and into the cave.
She lifted her muzzle into the air and sniffed our surroundings-we were by ourselves.
I shifted back into human form, removed the bag from my back, and examined it.
I let out a sigh of relief.
“The bag did not rip,” I exclaimed as I set it on the counter.
I filled the bag with everything edible I could find in the kitchen cabinet.
“Take the kettle, cup, and water bottle as well,” Kaya instructed. “You have no idea how far it is.”
“Wouldn’t it be too heavy?” I asked. I did not want our journey to be too taxing for Kaya.
“Nah,” she replied. “I have the strength to bear that. Simply put everything in the bag so it does not create any noise.”
I grabbed some matches and a few small twigs, so I could start a fire whenever I needed to.
When we were ready, the bag was properly stuffed.
“I hope it will not shred when we shift now,” I remarked.
“We will not know until we have shifted,” Kaya replied. “However, I am certain that it won’t.”
“I hope so,” I uttered as I raised the bag to my shoulders.
“Ready?” she asked, as soon as I moved the bag into place.
“I am ready,” I said, taking a deep breath. I hoped I would not have to repack everything in the other bag again.
Kaya took control and shifted.
When we discovered the bag was still in one piece, I let out a sigh of relief. This was going to work!
“What is the next step in your plan?” Kaya inquired as she made her way to the cave’s deeper side, which leads to the restricted area that leads to the tunnels.
I had never been this deep before, and I felt a surge of excitement.
“I am hoping that you can detect Nic’s scent and follow it.”
Kaya nodded, sniffed, and started jogging down the dark path. We found the four tunnels in no time.
Would Kaya be able to pick up Nic’s scent, or would we get lost in the tunnels?
****