'Thank goodness!' Jihoon thought to himself when Rania saddled her horse in the direction of the west.
Jihoon hated that he would be stuck with her longer and despised the fact that they would complete their mission a little later than planned, but he had to agree that Rania's decision was his saving grace.
He didn't know what would happen to him if the wild woman knew what Jihoon had done to her over the years. Of course, Rania had her suspicions, but walking into the Valley of the Whites would have confirmed it, and Jihoon would be done for.
"Yah!" Jihoon shouted at his horse as he rode after Rania and into the sunset.
He knew it was just a matter of time before nightfall caught up with them. He wanted to complain about hunger, but how would he do that when they had picked berries through Obren and ate more than was needed?
If anything, his pockets were still filled with berries, so he didn't have a reason to complain.
"How much longer are we to ride?" Jihoon asked when he caught up with Rania. He wasn't trying to be a bitch, but he was curious. Rania hadn't said a word to him on their ride, and for a woman who always had something to say, Jihoon was curious.
"We need to get some rest, but it isn't safe here. There are too many rogues and as long as we are strong, there's two of us, we can't take a damn army of annoying rogues," Rania said as she kept riding. She was worn out by a lot of things and honestly, she missed Dalrae.
It had been two hectic days without setting her eyes on the girl who made her happy without putting in too much effort.
Dalrae was Rania's favorite and if Rania hadn't been rejected one too many times, everyone could have believed that Rania and Dalrae were mates.
But they weren't. So as she rode in search of a safe place to lay for the night, and with Jihoon riding quietly beside her, Rania couldn't help but wonder what was going on back home.
She had been gone a little too long. Sure, tomorrow was the supposed alpha camp, the day that she could have run from home, but that didn't make her feel any better. She wondered if her people were listening to Dalrae's commands.
Of course, Rania knew that people loved Dalrae and that made her happy.
At least even if they hated Rania, the Incayon wolves had never had a reason to hate on Dalrae. They had nothing on her, and probably pitied her for being stuck with a psychotic and problematic best friend for an alpha.
Maybe they loved her so much, because Rania had never seen anyone try to lay a hand on Dalrae, or anyone try to do shit to her best friend. Or maybe, no one had dared that, because Rania was always around to protect her.
Maybe they knew if they laid hands on Dalrae, then Rania would burn them without a feeling of remorse. She would make them pay with their lives and she would do it over and again as a lesson.
"Don't worry. She's okay," Jihoon said to Rania as they slowed down. Nightfall had come faster than they both anticipated and it was only right that they found a safe place.
"I'm not worried," Rania said, before adding, "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Of course you do. You miss her, and that's okay. She's the only person who was brave enough to be by your side through everything. I always saw your interactions and anyone with eyes could tell how much you both love each other.
"Don't worry too much, alright," Jihoon insisted and Rania scoffed at his statements.
She didn't know whether to be thankful that he was with her, while she missed her best friend, or amused that Jihoon was trying to make her feel better despite knowing so well that when this mission was over, it would be a fight to the death between the two of them.
"That's funny, coming from you. If only you knew how many times she's helped me plot your murder," Rania let out a lonely laugh, as she used her werewolf sight to see through the dark road ahead of them.
She was listening for some sounds and looking out for caves, or something they would be able to stay in for the night.
"I know I can't count the number of times the both of you have done that, but I know she makes you truly happy. When you talk about her, your eyes always show happiness. The anger is always gone, the smirks, the death threats.
"When you talk about Dalrae, you always look like a normal person, not the unhinged crazy woman who kills like a headless chicken. I like who you are around her, and I hope you stay happy always," Jihoon said, adding the last bit so quietly, that if Rana wasn't a werewolf alpha, she could have missed it.
Clearly, his last sentence wasn't meant to be heard, but Rania had heard it, only that she didn't have a comeback for it. She had never thought that Jihoon of all the people would be supposedly happy about her and Dalrae.
It was crazy. Maybe the journey was making them sentimental fools. However, Rania had to be smart about this. She knew Jihoon was smart and that this was probably a tactic to make Rania open up.
It was something they had all been trained on at some point in their alpha preparations. To try and get close to the enemy when they were weak and exploit their weak points. It was crazy but it always worked. But would it work for Rania?
Would that textbook strategy work on the crazy alpha female of Incayon?
"Whatever you are doing, you should know it won't work on me. Many have tried and they all failed. Emotions are not my weakness and will never be," Rania sighed.
"I wasn't trying to groom you, Rani. I'm just reminding you that Dalrae is safe. No one will lay a finger on her hair. Remember you threatened the werewolf king with his son, if anything happens to her, so obviously, he won't let anyone so much as look at her in the wrong way.
"Don't stress too much. I know it's not in my place to say this, but trust her, like she trusts you," Jihoon said before adding, "I think we can make a stop here. We achieved enough for the day."
Rania looked at Jihoon, her face blank as usual, but her mind was rushing with thoughts. This was the second time Calindra alpha had subconsciously called her Rani. Did he know the truth already or was this a trick to get her to lower her guard so that he could get his revenge for Yanna's death?
What the hell was Park Jihoon playing at?
Rania was confused, but she decided to ignore it. She would wait for him to slip up a third and fourth time, because only then would she be sure that he was playing with her, or he already knew the truth. In which case, Rania would have to do what she never thought she would ever do.
"Yeah, let's take a rest."
That night, Rania and Jihoon set everything up, including the bonfire this time. They didn't want a repeat of the previous night and the awkwardness that had followed them throughout the packs and even outside of Obren.
They could have argued a few times, but they both had their demons to deal with, which is why they rested their heads for the night, in the hope that morning would be kinder.
Maybe they would have better luck crossing the unclaimed lands that surrounded the valley of the whites, but did they?