A wave of nostalgia hit Kimberly as she and Arya went around the once little, now big village.
"Bobo, see that boulder?" Kimberly pointed, and Arya nodded. "Anna and I used to sit there and talk about our dreams," Kimberly continued.
She remembered the good old days when things were complicated, but their mother was always there to protect them.
She had such a lovely family, but because of their Alpha, their lives were hell.
Both sisters dreamed of growing up and finding their mates and living their happily married lives, but the thought of leaving their parents behind haunted Anna, while Kimberly wanted to leave the village and spread her wings to fly in the world.
"Your mother was the quiet one, while I used to be wild," she continued chatting about the past, and Arya pretended to listen with interest, while the fact remained that she was still thinking about the dream she had earlier.
"This book contains all my spells."
The book. Arya felt like she had really touched that book and took it in her hands.
"Bobo, are you even listening?"
"What? Yes, I'm listening!" Arya said, though her aunts voice had startled her.
"Really? What did I just say?"
"I... um.... something about the rock!"
"That was twenty minutes ago! What was I saying now?" Kimberly asked.
"Aunt Kim, I don't know. To be honest, I'm tired," Arya lied. She wasn't tired.
"Yeah, you look pretty bad. Maybe we can return back, and you take some rest," Kimberly suggested.
Arya thought that to be strange. Usually, when she lied, she got
caught. But today? Why couldn't her aunt tell that she was lying?
"Bobo? Come on, let's go!"
"Yes, Aunt," Arya said, smiling.
"You want to eat anything?" Kimberly asked when they reached Arya's room.
"No, I'll take a bath, and then we'll see," Arya replied, grabbing a towel.
"Okay." Kimberly said, just as her phone rang. "Oh, it's Pete. Do you want to talk?"
"No. Give him my regards."
"Okay."
Kimberly stepped outside of the room, just as Arya entered the bathroom.
Arya soaked herself in the warm bath water, and the scent of lemons filled the room.
Her muscles relaxed, and she felt every pain, every stress melt away.
The pain of losing her wolf was there, deep in her heart, but the promise of eternal beauty was far more tempting.
But where was this alter?
In her dreams, she saw the path leading to the cave, but not the exact place!
Moonstone. That's it! Since Arya saw her great-grandmother in her dreams, her alter has to be in the pack that she belonged to!
She has to find a way to get into the pack. For that, she has to meet Rodriguez. But would he even allow her to enter?
She's no longer a wolf, so maybe.
"God, help me!" She said, thinking of ways she could try to get his permission to get into her father's territory.
Such irony... she had to take someone else's permission to enter her father's, grandfather's, and great-grandfather's territory.
She pulled herself up from the bath and into the shower.
Many questions ran through her mind... how can she persuade Rodriguez to let... Kane!
The way Alpha Rodriguez looked at Kane that day of the rogue attack let Arya know she's not his only enemy.
They both have a common enemy. The enemy of your enemy is your friend. Arya had heard this somewhere, and now, it is time to see if this saying really is true!
"Bobo? Bobo?"
"Coming, Aunt Kim."
Arya's train of thoughts got disturbed again. Because of Kimberly. Again.
"Pete asked if you were alright. I told him you are managing," Kimberly started saying as soon as Arya stepped out of the bathroom door.
She was dripping wet, wrapped in a towel that looked like it had been thrown into the water, and Kimberly started talking about what her husband talked about? She must be insane!
"Um... Aunt Kim, can you give me some privacy, please?"
Kimberly looked at her. Really looked at her. "Oh God, I'm sorry, Bobo. I'll wait for you to get dressed," she said, feeling a pang of embarrassment.
She went to sit on the bed, as Arya walked into the bathroom again, to wear her clothes.
The plan that had formed in her mind was brilliant. Use Kane as the prize. Alpha Rodriguez would never be able to resist.
The only thing that worries her is her family. What will happen when Alfa finds out that she's behind the reason his father died?
Thinking of Alfa made Arya mad. Did he ask her before jumping in front of the car that was driven by her father?
Did he think before ordering Sinclair to kill Patricia?
Did he think before throwing Rebecca back into prison after she had helped her escape (with Patricia)?
Did he think before making a decision about Bella, her wolf?
No.
All he has done was hurt her. Now it was time for payback!
"Aunt Kim, I'm going to sleep. Leave me alone for some time, please!"
Kimberly nodded and walked out of the room, as Arya pretended to go to bed. The truth was, Arya was going to run away to Moonstone territory.
She slipped out through the balcony with the help of a bedsheet and ran into the woods.
"Curse you, Alfa," she murmured under her breath, as she went through the forest, bare feet, wearing only a light, cotton dress.
In wolf form, she'd have reached the middle part of the trees, without feeling pain in her feet.
She kept running, until she heard whispers. The border security. She had reached the border in no time. A question remained. How would she cross that border, without being detected?
One thing she knew was that wolves got the scent of other animals with the wind. Arya just had to remain in a position where she could avoid the wind blowing from behind her.
No. That would be too risky, since the wind changed directions.
What else could she do? The dump site. Yes, she could use the dump site to cover her scent.
It worked. Arya was out of the Moonsglow pack territory and running on free grounds. She ran toward the direction of the setting sun.
Her only hope was that she would reach the Moonstone pack... rogue pack territory soon.
After what felt like years of running, Arya finally reached the border of the Moonstone territory.
The guards at the door opened the gate. Yes, they opened the gate.
As she entered, she saw Rodriguez coming towards her. This was it. Arya is dead meat!
"You're early!" Rodriguez said.