On the other end of the line, hearing the demanding edge in Aziel's voice, Irene felt a flutter of nervous excitement in her chest rather than any sense of danger. She tightly clutched the phone against her ear, a triumphant smile spreading across her face as she leaned back against the headrest. She told him exactly where she was waiting, nestled deep behind a thick stand of trees off the quiet back road, a safe distance from the main entrance of the Rhodes pack lands.
In her mind, his breathless tone wasn't born of fury or panic, but of sheer anticipation of what she could have planned next for their success. As the call ended, she placed her phone on the passenger seat and smoothed down the front of her clean jumper, checking her reflection in the mirror one last time. Every second felt like an eternity, but it was an intoxicating wait. She sat in her car with her heart hammering against her ribs, the moment her life would finally change was only minutes away.
