Ella’s POV
“Glad you made it.” Liam beamed as we joined the other guys. “For a while, I though you saw another set of beasts and couldn’t make it.”
I snorted. “If we had seen beasts, you would have heard us fighting them.”
I could see Kevin looking at me from the side of his eyes and knew that he was amused. He shook his head at me and I hid my smug grin. I was really spoiling for a fight, that much was obvious.
I wished we could meet with the rogues so I could get my revenge on them, especially the bastard who had sold me off to slavery.
I glanced at the slave mark on my wrist, hissing low at the distortion on my skin. I thought of Dalsa too and hoped that she was making progress on her journey, better than we were.
I wished I could reach out to her but there was no way to. Our society wasn’t like the utopia town. The world of the supernatural wasn’t built like theirs and I guessed it was because they were mostly humans and didn’t have abilities like we did. The utopia town was a modern world with skyscrapers and fascinating technology. I wished I had some of that so I could reach out to Dalsa.
There was a gadget the count used to put into his ears to back orders at people who were not near him. I was amazed and impressed when I saw that.
I wondered how the cat ladies were coping with the count and hissed at myself for caring. They chose the life they wanted and should be able to deal with it.
Moreover, they didn’t need my help and seemed perfectly fine with being under inhumane control. I was not going to bother with them at all.
“Ella,”
“Hmmm,” I jumped when I felt a hand on mine touching me. I knew without seeing who it was that it was kevin. He was the only one who could do that. The others wouldn’t dare touch me as their Luna and not when my mate was right there with me.
“Have you been listening at all?” Kevin asked.
“Did you say something?” I asked, my forehead creasing in a frown. I had thought we were all moving in silence.
He looked ready to remind me that I had been out of it lately and seemed to change his mind at the last minute.
I was grateful for that. I didn’t want to argue and be nagged in the presence of everyone.
“I asked if you are tired.” Kevin sighed, looking at me. His gaze was a reminder that we still had a lot to talk about. “I was thinking of having us stop for the day. Some of the men wants to rest while others want to keep going. You haven’t said anything.”
I shrugged. “Let’s do anything you want. I’m good.”
He nodded. “I guess we will keep moving forward. I thought it was getting late that we should rest.”
“We can always rest when it’s dusk. For now, let’s keep moving forward.” Andre said. “I want to be home as fast as I can.”
“Or you want to see Selina as soon as you can.” Loki asked, teasing him.
Andre didn’t bother to deny the allegations. “Is there a difference?”
“Oooh!” The men cheered.
I couldn’t blame them. Some of them had mates that they would love to see soon and their mates were eager to see them as well. If I wasn’t beside Kevin, he would be like them or even worse. As the alpha, his emotions and senses were going to be heightened and more showcased than the others.
I could already feel Eric and Lucy reaching towards each other and that was what I made the ache bearable.
The wolves of each man with us must be searching for his mate at the moment and it would be frustrating to not feel them close. I could totally understand why the men were on edge. I also wanted us to be home as fast as we could, even if not for their sakes but for them.
I wished Dalsa had strength in her after we escaped from the dungeon and I wondered if I could have persuaded to fly us all home.
I didn’t even know how her powers works but I knew her wings would be useful for flight. Even if she couldn’t get us all home, she could get some of us. Enough of thinking of her. It was making my eyes watery and that would be a problem if Kevin sees that. He was right. I was in a foul mood and had to snap at it as fast as I could.
“Let’s walk faster.” Kevin announced, realizing that we were slowing down already. “I think we were almost at the third river.” He said as he whipped out his map.
I sighed with relief, grateful that we were not climbing another mountain. I didn’t have enough strength to do that.
“Good. We would roast fishes for dinner and have some bread with it.” Augusta, the appointed chef, announced.
I would have a bath so I could sleep peacefully tonight. Maybe finally I would be able to put the nightmares of what I’ve had to endure behind in my mind and go back to the bubbly girl that I used to be. Freedom was still unreal to me that I wanted to take my time relishing in it but it seemed like I was in a foul mood to my family. I had to snap out of it.
“Hey!” Liam shouted. “I see fire over there.” He said and ran forward. He turned back, his face shining with disbelief and wonder.
We could all see the fire clearly too as we moved forward. Moreover, it was dusk and the fire lighted everywhere up with its brightness. It would be hard for us not to see that unless we were blind.
“I was wondering what the small line between the second mountain and third river is,” Kevin smiled. “I had no idea it was a small settlement that people live in.”
“Who could be living there?” Liam asked. “I wondered what kind of people live there?”
“Who cares? I hope they are nice enough to accommodate us.” Loki said. “It would be nice to sleep under a roof again.”
I agreed with him. It would be nice to sleep under a roof again and have a bath in a decent bathroom.