Ella’s POV
I knew that I had been the one to suggest that we go through this path but as we kept on walking along the unknown path, I found myself wishing that I was right and it led home.
I really hoped that I wasn’t leading the men to their damnation. I realized a minute ago that I had made a decision as the Luna of the pack and the weight of being a leader and having the lives of these men resting on my shoulders was a huge responsibility that I didn’t mind taking a break from even though I had just started.
I realized how tensed Kevin must have been as he led us through the mountains and rivers to get us home, knowing that we could survive or die. It must have been a huge burden on him. I preferred being a physician than being a Luna at the moment. It was comforting knowing that I could save others with my skills than knowing I could lead them to their death with a bad decision.
“It will be fine.” Kevin said, slipping his hand into mine.
I smiled at him, hoping he was right. I was grateful for his support even though I was the one to suggest that we go through here. It was either that or spend weeks or months trying to find a way we could build another bridge over that gap before we could go home.
I loved that we were sensitive to each other and could be of help to ourselves in situations like this.
“This road is long.” Andre groaned after two hours of being on this path and not seeing a single tree or building.
I sighed. There was nothing else here except bare lands since we had been walking. I was tired as well but I didn’t want to voice out my complaints when I had been the one to suggest that we walk through the path. I didn’t want to discourage them when I needed to get them moving.
“Let’s take a break.” Kevin said an hour later.
“Yes.” All the men echoed and I hid a smile at their readiness. They must have been dying for those words and hoped that he would say that.
Kevin didn’t hide his smile and chuckled out loud. “You should have told me that you were tired. I would have suggested a break minutes ago.”
“We didn’t want to rest because we kept hoping that we were getting closer to home and almost there.” Andre explained.
“It seems like the longer we walked, the farther we were to getting home.” Cephas sighed. “It’s better we rest and not just keep on walking till we get drained.”
“We will get home soon.” Kevin encouraged.
Damien sighed. “You don’t know that for a fact. This place isn’t even listed on the map.”
“I know we would get home soon. There must be a detour somewhere around here.”
“Are you sure?” Damien asked, teasing Kevin. “What if there is nothing but a long walk to forever?”
Kevin flipped out. “I’m not sure but don’t keep on asking me and frustrating me. I know that we will get home. Can’t you believe that? Even if it doesn’t lead directly to home, it should lead somewhere and we can find our home from there. Do you have any other idea?” He smiled at the blank look on Damien’s face. “I thought as much. Shut it, Damien and keep on walking while you hope as everyone does that there is a way home from here.”
Damien gulped and kept quiet.
Liam sighed. “The alpha is tired so stop teasing him, Damien. We are all tired and overstressed so keep the teasing down.” He turned to Kevin. “Don’t be mad at him. You know how Damien can be at times.”
Kevin ran a hand through his sexily disheveled hair and sighed. “I’m sorry I had to make you go through all this stress. I’m sorry for taking you far from your family. I want to go home as much as you want to. Or do you regret being here?”
I was shocked at Kevin’s apology and as I looked around, I realized that I wasn’t the only one. The others looked as stunned as I was or even much more. The Kevin that I knew wasn’t one to apologize and I realized that he had to be stressed for him to have done that.
His sudden apology wasn’t what was making my heart thud loudly in my chest though. It was the question he had asked afterwards. I was tensed and curious to know what their answer was.
Damien blushed and had the decency to look embarrassed. “Why would you ask that, my lord? Ella is part of the pack and even if she wasn’t the Luna, I would have offered to go to her rescue after finding out that she was kidnapped and sold to slavery. I wouldn’t have sat still flexing at home when a member of the pack is suffering and treated as less than human.”
Tears sprang to my eyes at his words and hoped that they wouldn’t all change their minds if they found out that I might also be a member of the Blue River pack.
Kevin slipped his hand into mine and smiled at me. His eyes seemed to say much more than his lips could ever say. He seemed to sense what was on my mind from my reaction to what Damien had said.
I nodded at him, telling him that I understood perfectly what he was saying.
We continued on our journey and kept on walking. I didn’t have any hope that the journey was going to be different from how it was yesterday so I didn’t have any expectations. If there was no expectations that we were going to get home today, I wouldn’t have been disappointed that we were still here after nightfall.
“Oh!” I gasped as I saw a hut far in the distance. It was the only building there and still far off but that was hope to me. We had been walking along this path since yesterday and didn’t see anything until this.
The resounding gasps around me proved that I wasn’t the only one who had seen the hut.
“Do you see that?” Damien asked, his voice reeling with excitement. “Does anyone else see the hut?”
“I see it.” Cephas confirmed.
“I saw it too.” I chipped in.
Loki grinned. “Maybe there is someone who lives there. We can go into the hut and find out if there is a way around this place. A human should tell us something if there is no answer on the map.”
“I hope so.” I sighed.
We continued walking, our paces faster than it was before because of the hut we had seen. It took us thirty minutes to get to where the hut was despite how fast we walked.
“Hello!” Kevin shouted as we got to the entrance of the hut. “Hello! Good evening. Is anyone here?”
We moved around the hut, shouting in turns to get the attention of anyone that might be in there but we got no response.
“I don’t think anyone is here.” I said after fifteen minutes of intense shouting without response. If the hut wasn’t the only one here, we would have been a huge distraction to the neighbors around here if they were.
“Did they go out?” Loki asked.
“We don’t even have an idea if someone lives here.” Kevin said, still looking around. Maybe he was hoping that someone would pop out from hiding like they were playing a prank on us and ask us what we were looking for and who we were. From the look on his face, I suspected that was how he felt.
He was right though. We weren’t sure if someone lived here. From the exterior and how dusty the place was, I doubted that anyone lived here and if someone truly stayed here, they had to be indecent pigs who were comfortable with dust, cobwebs and refuse that seemed like they had been swept to the entrance by the wind which passed through months ago.
I prayed that someone was staying here as I would like to know if there was a way for us here that we could walk through to get home. My slippers were worn out from the journey and the spare one was nothing to write home about. I knew that the others were not having easy too. I saw Cephas wincing as we walked yesterday and knew that the soles of his shoes must have given up and stones and sand were slipping inside and gritting his heels off. I overheard Andre talking with Liam about how his clothes were getting threadbare and how he wished he could sew them.
He couldn’t ask me if I could help him with the repair as his lord’s mate and even if I wanted to offer, I didn’t think that we had needles and thread that could do the work.
We had to get home, much more faster than before or else we might have to travel back home in our wolf forms if all outfits get worn out. I didn’t have that much clothes to pack from the count’s house and Kevin didn’t buy much as well, not knowing that it was going to take us centuries to get home.
“There is only one way to find out if someone is living here.” Liam said, squaring his shoulders and assuming a warrior stance. “We go inside. Cephas and Loki should come with me. The rest of you should stand guard and watch over the alpha and his mate.”
I almost laughed out loud at his commands. The rest of them should watch over the alpha and his mate? I wondered what they would be protecting us from. It wasn’t like there was anything or anyone here with us. As far as this place was concerned, we seemed to be the only odd ones out by being the living souls. Everything else here seemed dead and as I watched Liam walk in with the other two, my heart rate sped up again and I hoped that they were safe.
If the outside felt as dead as this, I didn’t want to imagine how it would feel inside. It must be creepy.