Page 57 of The Alpha's Mates

"We ready to go?" Atlas asked as he and Reese walked up.

All our eyes landed on her. Though she looked well rested, there was pain on her features. Leaving Emma when she was injured wasn't easy on our mate. "Yes," she told us, a determined look chasing away the grief. "Let's do this."

Soren nodded and turned back to Jessu as he approached "Make sure they're safe here."

Jessu nodded. "Nothing will harm them while we live."

Just the fact that he was willing to give his life for the members of another pack was an indication of how important this quest was. It was a last chance for us all. The urgency within us felt almost supernatural. It was why we weren't questioning things. Why we knew this was the right path. What we had to do.

Griff was the only one who came out to see us off. He and Atlas exchanged words while I undressed and shifted, eager to get on the road. The others quickly followed and soon our wolves were running free over the plains.

We ran, avoiding villages, shifter and human alike. It was going to be a long journey where we'd push ourselves to the limits, but at the end there was a shining beacon of hope. It was as though the Moon Goddess had left it there, shining inside us all, to guide our way. To fortify our spirits. Shaking my shaggy head, I shoved the fanciful thoughts out of my mind. We had a long way yet to go and I needed to focus on the path in front of me.

The miles flew by beneath our paws, the wind ruffling through our fur. The sun rose higher in the sky and began to set again.

We need to find somewhere to rest.

We acknowledged Atlas's thought and I looked around for a place that would be suitable.There.An outcropping of rocks broke up the endless rolling hills of grass. It was as good a place as any, and better than the open plains. We'd be exposed here. At least there we could find some shelter from prying eyes.

We slowed our pace and made our way over to it, one by one slipping into the shadows. As soon as we were out of sight we shifted and dressed. The rocks rose up on either side of us, a tiny pathway in between them providing some shelter. We all sat down with our backs against the stone, legs stretched out in front of us, and ate some of the dried meat we'd packed for thejourney. We wouldn't risk building a campfire out in the open like this.

"How much longer?" Reese asked.

Atlas chuckled at her question. "You sound like a pup, asking when we'll get there."

She stuck her tongue out at him, but there was a playful smile on her face once it was back inside her mouth.

"You've made this trip before," Soren told her with a grin.

"We didn't exactly go in a direct path," she argued. "It took us four months to make it from Laccifer to your woods."

Laccifer was a larger human settlement at the very northern tip of the Cobalt Sea. "That's only about a month's trip," I told her.

"Not when you're going from village to village, and hiding out in between," she replied.

"Fair enough. It should take us eleven days, if nothing goes wrong."

They all glared at me. "Why would you say that?" Reese asked. "Now something will go wrong."

It was my turn to chuckle at her superstitions. "If things are going to go wrong it won't be because I said so. It'll be because whoever, or whatever, abducted the Moon Goddess realizes what we're up to."

"Oh my Goddess," Reese groaned. "Can someone shut him up before he has us mired in bad juju?"

"Bad juju?" Atlas teased. "Where did you learn that term?"

She gave him a toothy grin. "I met a shaman lady at the edges of the Cobalt Sea. It’s why I took the chance of even going near Laccifer. She was the one who told me I should consider a change in scenery. It was because of her I took the chance on heading to the mountains, though I would have eventually because all the seaside packs were beginning to hunt us."

"Then we're grateful to her," Soren said, giving Reese a heated look.

We wanted nothing more than to drag her back to our home and seclude ourselves inside our bedroom with our mate. End of world schemes were getting in the damn way. There wasn't much we could do about it.

"Can you teach me to start shielding my thoughts now?" Reese asked.

"Sure," Atlas replied.

"And as soon as we get to the Dreiken Wood, we'll start showing you more fighting techniques, too," I promised her.

She shivered and looked away. "I didn't like going through there."