Chapter 12

"Ow! What was that for? " Ace whined after I hit him on his arm.

We were walking back to the Alpha house after having a long, long make out session. Once we started,
it was almost impossible to stop.

For me at least.

"That was for not kissing me sooner! I can't believe how much I was missing out"

"In my defence, if this was two weeks ago you wouldn't have let me touch you " He chuckled, pulling
me closer to his side to give me a quick peck.

I pondered on his words for a while, knowing how true it was. "Good point " I smiled sweetly at him.
"But maybe if you did, I would've warmed up sooner"

He gave me a lopsided smirk and held me in place. "I guess that's my weapon if I should ever get you
on your bad side again" He mumbled and brought his lips to mine again. I gladly returned the kiss since
it was now my favourite thing to do.

A gasp from behind us made us pull apart. I turned to see a woman around mid forties staring at us in
some kind of daze.

Actually, she was looking at me in some kind of daze.

My mind finally cleared, and that's when I picked up her scent. She wasn't a member of Ace's pack,
she was from my pack. I matched her reaction as I slowly stepped towards her. But before I could
reach her, she shifted and ran off in the woods.

I stood awestruck, not knowing what to do or say. Do I follow her? Why did she even run?



Ace gently held my shoulder, and I noticed I had unintentional anger towards him. I jerked away from
his hold and glared at him.

"She's from my pack"

"I know," was all he said, looking as if I just told him that I'm a girl.

"That's all you have to say? You have my pack members captive here and all you can say is I know?"

"I don't have anyone captive Roxy" He tried to sound calm but the vein popping out of his head said
otherwise.

"Why are you upset? You're the one who has people locked up in your pack that DON'T BELONG
HERE! "

"I'm not my father Roxy!" I was taken aback by his tone and volume that I even stumbled a little. "I'm
not my father" He repeated in a softer tone. "And I don't intend on being like him either"

"So let my people go" By now I was already hurt and quite irritated.

He pinched the bridge of his nose as his jaw clenched. "It's not that simple" His voice was surprisingly
calmer than I expected, but I didn't feel any less angry.

"That's bullshit!" I shouted which he obviously didn't like.

"Stop trying to tell me how to do my work when you clearly don't understand!"

I just scoffed at him and shook my head in disbelief. Without another word, I shifted into my wolf and
ran away. I didn't know where I was going, but I had a good sense of direction.

He called after me a few times, but I didn't stop my movements. Luckily my wolf was on my side since
she didn't like the way he talked to us. She also didn't see why he couldn't let them go.



How dare he accuse me of not understanding? I understood clearly. I understood that his father took
what was ours, and even when he was in power he didn't want to release them.

During the week, I actually started to think about ways how I could get back everything to my pack and
still be with Ace. The thought of simply asking him came to my mind.

Maybe if this went differently, minus the shouting, we could've come to some sort of mutual agreement.
I'm his mate after all--pull a few strings and maybe we could be home free. No war, no more
investigation.

But today, that plan just ran right through the door. It was obvious that he was stern about his decision
to keep them. But why?

What benefit could it possibly have to him? Did he want power that much?

He made it clear that he wasn't his father, so I wouldn't jump to conclusions like that, but could you
blame me?

I knew some of my pack members were here, but it didn't quite occur to me until I saw that woman.
She obviously recognized me, even though I was just a toddler when they were taken.

I also noticed that she didn't become a member of this pack. Maybe the former Alpha had some
decency and didn't forcefully make them members.

I guess that's the one good thing.

I ran until I noticed that I was indeed lost, but I wasn't worried. Ace had also shifted and was chasing
me, but thanks to my unnatural speed and all the twist and turns I took, I was able to lose him.

I could run really fast in wolf form. On a good day, I could actually outrun Aiden. It wasn't easy to outrun
an Alpha, but the rage and hurt I was feeling was enough fuel for me to lose him.



I trod slowly with my tongue hanging out as I took in my surroundings. I was still on high alert since I
was in strange lands and alone. My ears perked up as I heard at the sound of running water, so I
followed the sound until I saw the river.

It was the river that marked my pack boundary. I didn't even notice that I ran this far.

I whimpered softly and laid down beside the rushing water. It was nice being close to home. I missed it
and everybody already.

So I just stayed there with my eyes closed, calming myself with the soothing sound of the river and
creatures roaming by.

I was slowly drifting away, but the sound of ruffling made my ears perk up. It could've been some
random animal, so I remained calm with my eyes closed.

"Aiden?"

I quickly jumped up, almost falling into the river as my eyes searched for whoever just called.

On the other side of the river I saw a very confused Jace. He smiled brightly at me and I got excited at
the sight of him.

"Roxy! " He corrected, seeing clearly that Aiden would've been bigger. I barked at him and wagged my
tail, pacing side to side in excitement. I missed them.

~"What are you doing here? Isn't it dangerous out here on your own?"~ he asked through our mindlink.
It was days like this that I was glad I had it.

~"I was upset about something so I went for a run. I didn't expect to get this far"~



~"But is it safe though? Where's Aiden?"~ I internally rolled my eyes. He was always such an over
protector.

~"I can take care of myself Jace. I'm a fully trained wolf, remember?”~ I saw him chuckle from the other
side of the river and shook his head.

~"Okay I believe in your skills. Are you okay though?"~

I huffed out loud, not knowing how to answer that. I was far from 'okay' but I guess I still kinda was.

~"I know the Alpha is your mate,"~ he stated when I didn't respond, shocking me out of my skin.

~"What? Psh no he's not Jace, that's ridiculous,"~ I knew he could feel the panic through the link, but it
was worth a try.

~"Roxy, it's okay. I'm not upset or anything. Just don't talk to Jane while you're on speaker phone."~

Curse Jane and her hate of putting the phone against her ear like normal people.

~"Please don't-"~

~"I won't tell anyone Roxy. I can see how important this is to you."~

~"It's hard Jace"~

~"I know Rox. But you'll make it work, I know you will"~

~"How are you so sure?"~ I felt helpless now that my one plan was ruined.

~"You're Roxy Gilbert. You always find a way"~


62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda