A ring announces there're five minutes until Asher and Chase will battle for a spot in the Final, as Hayder's opponent. Thalia raises and it seems like the bell was also her sign to go. I don't bother to say anything, neither to respond to her farewell when she trails off to the end of the stands.
"Don't worry, Aline, I know Asher will win," someone says from behind me and I jump like an alley cat on my seat. And not because I was taken by surprise, but because the moment I recognised Tiara's voice someone clicked in my mind. Thalia is going to raid the dhampirs' tents.
And I know it is only her promise to the Alpha that made her adventure on the territory of the monsters that attacked us and nearly killed me. And I'm also well aware that the vampires won't waste the opportunity to fight back on the attack, even if it'll turn the dhampirs' home into a bloody battlefield. Even if the Lycans won't attack the children there, the vampires are well-known for sacrificing their own people to higher the number of causalties the shifters will have to pay for attacking another kingdom. And the Lycans will pay up, because they don't need a war on their hand when they're about to choose their new King. And the blood-sucking bastards know it too.
"By the way, Aaron heard some rumble at the tents about your escape..." starts Tiara but I stop her.
"Are Aaron and Louis there now?" I ask, praying she'll say that they're both safely elsewhere so my conscience can rest and watch my mate bust Chase's butt in the arena.
"Why do you ask?" Comes Tiara's question, probably sensing the panic in my tone.
I don't care about those dhamps, it's not my fault the vampires and Thalia's squad will start a war on their lands. Those kind of fights always have casualties and if its Stevens' and his friends' unlucky day, so be it. It's Taylor's fault for requesting it. It's Thalia's fault for taking the bargain.
And it'll be my damn fault if I stay here and let this happen.
"Is the pack's armoury as lame as the last one I saw?" I say to Tiara, already walking and motioning for the girl to follow me.
As I approach the end of the stands the final bell rings, the curtains are ripped apart by two turned Lycans and my eyes locked with Asher's in an instant. I see the questions on his lips but he can't leave now, as much as I know he wished to.
"Win this. Then come find me."
I turn after I say the unvoiced words and the roar I get in response is enough to give strength to my legs as I run from the arena and don't look back.
***
Tiara opened the double doors of the barn-turned-armoury and I sigh when I see that the Boulder Creek's firepower was only slightly better than what I found in that abandoned pack. I don't give myself time to whine about how poorly werewolves treat their weapons and decide to go on and grab whatever seems sharpened and ready for battle. A set of twin longswords, the silver shining new in the barn's yellow lights catch my attention, along with a nice dagger, which I hide in my right boot and get my phone out to text Will. He must know about the mission and perhaps can help me stop Thalia from making a big mistake.
"You should also grab this," says Tiara and I raise my eyes to see a brand-new bow and a hilt full of arrows in her hands.
"The blades are more effective when it comes to killing a vampire. Arrows take more time," I start saying, but Tiara just pushes the hilt to me.
"The first time you confronted them, you did it with a handful of arrows and walked away from it with a badass story," explains the she-wolf. "When you didn't have it, we nearly thought we lost you. So make me a fool all you want, but I think you need all the good karma you can get, Aline."
"So the bow is my lucky charm? You watched too much Teen Wolf, Tiara."
"Can you just have a little faith, please?"
I want to laugh at that word, but Tiara's hopeful eyes didn't let me mutter a giggle. And then it all clicks into place, the plan clear in my head.
"Go back to your sister," I say as I grab the hilt and throw it on my shoulder. I grab the bow and after a quick inspection I decide that maybe Tiara is right. I can allow myself to have a little faith tonight, only if because I know Asher is fighting right now in that arena and I know he must be aching to have it over so he can see why I ran off from the stands like that. And even I'm not a believer, I hope that this shred of hope I keep alight can travel through whatever matebond he claims we have and help him concentrate on winning the fight. I want him to know my heart's with him, even if I'm preparing to march to enemy lands.
"When the fight is over, tell Asher what happened and where to find me," I tell the girl and I see the fear in her eyes.
"But then they'll find out..."
"Believe me, it's better if they know. I was in secret relationship that caused so much harm for not only me, but my family and I don't want to see you going through the same I did. Even more when your mate doesn't seem to be an ass like my ex, so there's no point in fearing your sister won't accept him."
"He's a dhampir, Aline," argues Tiara, shaking her head in defiance. "Wolves and vampires don't mix. My pack will never accept him or his family. If they find out, Taylor will do everything possible to keep me away from him."
"If you don't tell Asher and gather the others to help us, you may not have a reason to keep that secret." As soon as my words leave my mouth, Tiara's face turn grimmer than I've ever seen the bubbly teen be. "I need to go to stop Thalia from attacking the camp and I know I'll be able to do that. But by the time I get her squad to turn around, the vampires will know we've tresspassed. And besides their wrath for your kind, they hate me and will do anything to make sure this time is the last time our paths meet."
"And you want to ensure that," says Tiara and I nod, seeing the growing judgement in her chocolate eyes. "Are you leaving to save the dhampirs or for your personal agenda, Adeline?"
"Both," I say without thinking twice. "I'll save them and get the answers I need, Tiara."
"You're as despicable as Hayder said," the wolf spits at me and I don't dare to disagree. She's right, I am selfish to a fault, but I genuinely started the plan with the intention of helping her and her mate. The other part didn't come to me until she gave me the bow and remembered me of all the questions I may never get an answer to once I leave Boulder. And I'll forever hate myself if I don't use this opportunity to get an explanation for what happened to me.
I finally get an answer from Will and decide it's time to get moving. "Tell Asher where I went and that I'll be waiting for him," I say before I turn on my heels and leave the barn.
Tiara doesn't follow me or even mutter a sound as I pass through the crown trying to peek at the fight going on in that arena. I'm glad I'm too short to even try to glance his way, because then I may have stopped and did exactly that. And I would've ended up wasting time I'm already running short on. So I cut off all the roars and tearing sounds I hear, all the acclamations and the two names shouted over and over. I head to the forest and start running once I hit the leaf carpet.
My phone rings and I quickly pick up, without losing my pace. "Where are you?" I ask as soon as I answer.
"At the camp," comes Will's reply and I hold my breath before he continues whispering into the phone, "They're not here yet. Hurry up."
"Get the boys out of there. I'll handle the rest," I tell him, jumping over the roots of an old oak.
"You know damn well I'm not leaving the fun so soon. I already told the dhampir boy to get his brother and leave if he wants to live. He and some other teens are already out of the vamp territory. I'll try to keep Thalia on the wolves' territory and maybe avoid a war tonight."
"Thank you, Will."
I see a shadow moving past me and I casually stop, as if trying to catch my breath. "Did you get ahold of Jez or Jonty?"
I raise my hand to my neck, casually stroking it and ready to grab the longsword if it will dare to attack me.
"Not yet."
Among the hunters Thalia recruited for the mission are my brothers. I have no doubt they volunteered once they heard about it, as my mother informed the whole hunter community about my conflict with the vampires. But I'm actually glad they'll be there, because I'll need as many allies I can get to convince Thalia to back down.
"Let me know if you've got news," I say, searching the night-claded woods for any moving shadow. "I'll see you there."
As soon as I hang up, a figure comes out from the darkness. I draw my sword before I get a look at them, and draw a second one once I recognise him. "What the hell are you doing here?