The rain pelted down so hard that each droplet stung my skin upon contact. Out of the corner of my peripheral vision, a dark figure circled around me. Blurring with blazing speed and an ease that suggested familiarity of the territory, it encircled me and the car in clockwise rotations.

My feet stumbled to the light beams from the car's headlines, projecting like two yellow fog lights through the thick downpour of heavy rain. I didn't get further than a couple of clumsy steps over the uneven clumps of saturated grass when a hard force struck me from behind. I hit the ground face-down, flat on my stomach.

Darkness fell over me as the smell of wet animal fur and mud filled my nose. Pain pierced my shoulders as a heaviness pinned my chest down into the muddy, unkempt grass mounds.

A low growl rumbled sound waves over my body. My back stiffened as a large wolf straddled me. Two thick, coarse brown-haired paws pushed my shoulder blades. A set of white, sharp fangs bared down on me.

As I flinched my shoulders up to my ears, I rolled my head away. A low growl rang out ahead of us. My neck arched up and the outline of Sable's large and familiar reddish brown fur came into view. Matted in soaked clumps, his eyes flashed bright blue and his lip curled back. Stepping closer, he didn't attack, staring down the wolf who pinned me.

Another growl rumbled through my bones but the weighted paws lifted off me.

'Car, Zara!' Cole's tone suggested I move my butt as fast as I could.

Palming my hands into thick, goopy mud, I scrambled up onto my elbows. Pushing up to my knees, I jumped up to standing. By the time I reached the passenger's side, the rain washed away the muddy clumps, leaving goosebumps raised on my skin.

My breath didn't catch up until after I slammed the door shut. With shaky fingers, I brushed away the wet strands on my forehead. My heart rammed so hard in my chest that I shook with the vibrations.

Sable's blue eyes burned as he stared down the other wolf. Nose to nose, both with teeth bared and ears flattened, their bulky forms blurred from rain running down my window. I shivered from more than the cold, tucking my knees up to my chest. Reaching around them, I hand fumbled for any option to clean up with. In our spare clothes bag, I found an extra set of clothes for each of us and a sweatshirt that would have to work as a makeshift towel.

As I slipped my dry shirt over my wet, matted strands of hair, the driver's door opened. To my relief, Cole flung himself onto the seat with a wet squelch. I cringed when his breath broke the silence in short, sharp pants.

"Southern patrol," he muttered as he slammed the door beside me.

His hair dripped trails of water down his cheeks and his eyes glared at me. With trembling fingers, I handed him sweatpants and a T-shirt, which he snatched from my grasp. My eyes averted down to the clothes bag, where I grabbed a pair of socks and dry shoes. As I took his wet belongings and tossed them back into the bag with mine, I reached over and locked the car doors.

"That wouldn't have helped." Cole snorted at my action.

After he slipped my offered socks and shoes on, I reached down into the snacks bag and held out a shaky protein bar like an olive branch.

"I don't want a fucking protein bar!" With a jerk of his hand, he started the car and drove off. "What the hell were you thinking? What did you stop for?"

Oh crud.

Heat burned my chilled cheeks. "Umm... I..."

I set the protein bar down in Cole's cupholder and shifted my eyes forward. "I told you, I saw something... didn't want to hit it, so I stopped." Hesitation rose my chest, which I held expanded because my reason for stopping was stupid.

"Did you see another patrol wolf?" Cole ran his fingers through his wet hair, releasing a few drops of water down the side of his face.

"Umm... a turtle." My cheeks flushed so warm, I was positive Cole saw my blush even in the dashboard's blueish-green glow.

"A what!?"Cole's foot stomped on the brakes and we lurched to a stop. "You stopped - no risked... our safety for a... turtle!?"

"It could've gotten squished." My arms crossed over my chest. "I was planning to see if you'd switch drivers anyways."

"You're lucky I can mindlink with the Southern territory." Cole slapped his hands over his forehead and eyes. "He was ready to tear your head off."

"Why?" I looked at Cole, who looked anything but amused.

His forehead creased with wrinkle on wrinkle and he bared his teeth by how far down his mouth tugged.

More like Cole is the one who wants to rip my head off.

"Didn't recognize your scent," was the shrugged response as his hands lowered. "I had to tell him..."

My eyes closed at his pause. "Tell him what?"

"...that we were on our honeymoon," he grumbled, flipping my eyes open.

If he wasn't so mad at me, then I would've burst into giggles. My Elena wig was trashed when I stepped on the tangled, knotted brown curls while getting back in the car. I considered leaving it discarded in the roadside ditch during the exchange. But instead, the soggy hairball also sat in between my feet.

"It's good that I spoke with him. Everything's clear until we get to the Western territory mountains," Cole relayed through gritted teeth. His hands wrenched the wheel so hard, I was surprised he didn't rip it off. "They tracked a pack of rogues that cut through into the Central territory but we went around them."

Oh no.

My heart stopped not at what he said, but implied.

"What does that mean for everyone else?" I swallowed against the dryness that rose up in my throat, coating my tongue. "Rose and Idris? Raina and Elena? We can't warn them, can we?"

"Elena's too far out of range for mindlinking. All phones are off to avoid being tracked." With that, Cole's knuckles stayed white from his grip on the wheel. "Best we get there as soon as we can."

"For what it's worth," I mumbled into the space between us. "I'm sorry. The... turtle thing."

"I can't imagine anything stupider to lose your head over, Princess. No more driving for you until we're in the Western territory." Cole shook his head, then fell silent.

This time I didn't mind, and as the adrenaline of the night subsided, my body sagged in my seat. Gravity dragged my heavy lids closed and sleep took over.

"Hey... Zara." A soft poke nudged my left shoulder. My head tossed sideways, my eyes squeezed tighter shut, and I mumbled words incoherent even to my sleep-deprived brain.

"Wake up." The poke continued and I recognized Cole's voice.

Of course it's him, we're still in this God-forsaken car.

"I want to show you something, Zara," he prodded further. "So wake up."

"Hmm?" My eyes fluttered open and blinked at the changed view around us.

Morning sunlight radiated through sky blue and pink streaks across the sky and poured in through my window. More importantly, sharp, jagged hills surrounded each side of the narrow road. Instead of the winding, sloping path we'd driven on, the road now curved a lot more through what looked like the start of more mountainous terrain.

For all of the beauty around us, the road was deserted.

"Where are we?" I looked around at our new surroundings.

"South of the border with the West," Cole answered in a low voice.

"This..." I looked forward out the windshield, then sideways again. "...is where you grew up?"

"At the risk of being nostalgic." He actually smiled. "Yes."

"Oh, can we go to the caves?" My eyes widened as a plea slipped into my voice. "I'd... really like to."

His frown showed he was less than enthusiastic at that idea. "Zara, we don't -"

"You said we were safe from the rogues," I reminded him. "Please, ten minutes, I promise."

"I could use a leg stretch." He shifted in his seat, erupting cracking sounds up his spine. "Alright."

The corners of my mouth tugged up. My cheerful expression was short-lived, dissolving when I asked, "Have you heard from anyone?"

As he shook his head, his eyebrows squeezed together and creased his forehead. The long drive and separation from Elena had taken a toll on him, as evident by the dark circles that underlined his sunken-in eyes.

I inspected the new surroundings around us while we drove for another ten minutes. The horizontal jagged rocks that jutted out reminded me of abstract faces, and I smiled at my random thoughts. The road changed from straight and narrow to curved and pitched at incline and decline angles but my eyes and brain both welcomed the different scenery.

After a quick morning snack, Cole drove the car onto an off-ramp, then slowed down and parked. After we stretched outside the car, he led me down a narrow gravel path that jutted between two rocky hillsides.

"Come on." He waved at me to follow him. With his long, confident strides bouncing in his shoes, I struggled to keep up but shuffled my feet faster. "Not much further."

After a few minutes further, the rocky hillsides parted then rejoined at the mouth of a large cave. My neck craned when I arched my head back as we walked to the entrance.

"Is this it?" A rush of excitement flowed through me at the sight of the cavernous, dark hole. He nodded and we turned on our flashlight apps.

While the inside looked like any other normal cave, like the insides of a rock had been carved out, I shoved several broken off pieces of rock around the floor of the cave with my foot to clear a walking path.

Last thing either Cole or I need is one of us to get a sprained ankle.

"Local kids come in and try to find geodes," Cole scuffed one foot as he continued down the mouth of the cave. "But they get scared going too deep into the cave."

"Well, I'm not scared, I'm excited." My pulse thrummed in my veins as we explored further into the cave.

Damp air filled my nose, coating my forearms in a cool, prickling sensation. We pressed further, until darkness surrounded us. I shifted my phone down to watch my footings.

"Not much father," Cole promised a few steps ahead of me. I shuffled my feet along the uneven, dusty cave floor carefully so I didn't trip over anything.

"Stop right there." His voice echoed around me.

I flipped my phone up and gasped.

All around us were jagged rocks that jutted out of the walls and ceiling like bunches of unevenly shaped grapes. Blueish gray in a base color, rivers of dark purple and brown rain over them. They looked like the most tranquil river stones.

"These are so pretty!" I flipped my flashlight all over, until the light landed on Cole's stooped over figure.

He picked up a blunt object off the ground near his feet and struck the cave wall near him with a heavy force. "That's not the pretty side," he said between blows. The slammed contact echoed off the walls.

"Cole! You can't do that!" I scolded him in a loud, shrill voice that echoed around us.

"They're rocks, Zara," was the dry response as he waved one arm around. "And, as you can see, there's plenty."

"We should leave them so others can - oh, you already broke one off." I sighed as he handed a weighted object to me through the darkness between our lights. I fumbled my hand around until my fingers brushed against something rough, cold, and hard.

"If people didn't want them removed, then there wouldn't be stuff like a pickaxe lying around." He flashed his light on to the object in his hand and the silver head glinted in the lights' reflection.

"You didn't have to do that for me - oh gosh!" I moved the rock around in my hands and gasped at what my light revealed.

The blue-gray exterior hid glittering, crystal-shaped structures inside. The angular spires were the prettiest color of sapphire blue. Rotating it slightly, the light refracted and shifted.

"These are beautiful." My lips pulled back at the beauty inside a plain, dull rock.

"Not so against knocking one off now, huh Princess?" Cole's smug voice rang out in the darkness beyond my light.

"No more," I warned him but the smile stayed on my lips.

"Yeah..." The lightness in his voice disappeared. "We should go."

Once outside, the sunlight fractured in the geode and glittered the inside crystals like gemstones. I rolled in it my wrist, catching and refracting the light like dozens of tiny prisms.

"I..." My eyes lifted to his and the sun highlighting the smile he wore.

His cheeks and jaw relaxed, for once, he wore a genuine smile instead of a cocky smirk.

"Thank you, Cole."

Cole and I spent much of the remaining drive into the Western territory's mountains in silence, but this time the space in the car felt less stifling and more comfortable. The more dramatic road conditions and scenery added to the enjoyment.

Cole even traded off and let me drive for two hours. His fingers twitched and his teeth gritted shut until I saw a slight hitch in his jaw and heard his molars grind. Right when my mouth opened to ask if it was my driving, he closed his eyes.

My two hours driving were the scariest and most stress-filled two hours of my life.

I rode the brake pads off in the downhill parts, with twists and turns so sharp I couldn't see around the next curve. My turtle-speed caused a multi-car backup behind us as I leisurely drove around the twisty curves.

But at least now we see others on the road. Even if they're honking at me.

"So..." I breathed a sigh when we switched drivers for the last stretch. "Other than possible answers about your sister, are there any other motivations for you here?"

A strong but cool wind whipped my hair into my face. As I unwound it from my head and pushed it behind my ears, the angry stretch of drivers in the backup queue blared their horns as they passed.

"Possibly," was his curt response as he hopped in and slammed his door.

Cole pulled back onto the highway once the traffic was clear. As I opened my mouth to protest his head shaking at the traffic delay I caused, he added, "I have an order from Alpha Sandolf for some supposed advanced weaponry. Kind of a crap shot, but figured I'd ask while I'm here."

"Alpha Sandolf," I spoke his name slowly. "He's in the South?"

Cole nodded, so I asked, "Why is that a crap shoot?"

"Because everyone," he paused, then flicked his eyes at me. "Almost everyone knows that the Western territory floods their supplies straight to the Central territory, for your father. He supplies the capital, the jobs, the way of life. So, Alpha Fenris is stuck in a pretty tight alliance with Alpha Cassius."

"Alpha Cassius." My eyes widened at how foreign his name reference felt when I repeated his formal title.

"Yeah," was his muttered response.

When a subject change request burned on the tip of my tongue, Cole heaved a sigh and pointed forward. "We're here."

The mountainous terrain out the front windshield opened up to a plateaued valley, where a grand, stone structure nestled.

"Another castle," I murmured under my breath.

The Northern packhouse was also a castle with simple block walls and two round turrets. The one we approached was massive and screamed opulent. Large, intricate spires jutted out from half-hexagonal, white stone-walled turrets that flanked a large central, rectangular tower. The pristine grounds were manicured with golf course-green grass. Not a single stray leaf on the sidewalks.

"Wow." My breath was sucked into the back of my throat while my eyes took in the full grandeur of the Western territory packhouse.

My imagination couldn't have dreamt up a more luxurious home. The tall, gray streaked mountains dotted with forestry was a beautiful, dramatic backdrop.

"If it's not obvious," Cole remarked with a slant of disdain in his tone. "This is where the wealth is."

"What's in your territory Cole?" I asked as he stopped at a large, black iron gate blocking the road access.

A large oval-shaped Sigil sat in the center showed a large triangular shape crossed with a wolf's silhouette. Cole got out, spoke a few words into a voice box outside of the gate, and the doors opened before he got back into the car.

"Mostly farming, with small side trades like food manufacturing." Back to his emotionless statement, he shrugged and slammed his door shut. "With larger families, we're the largest pack in the country."

"So you multiply like rabbits." I grinned.

"Hardly." He snorted. "But your father keeps poaching our warriors to keep us in check."

"Oh..." My smile faded. "I..."

I almost said 'I'd like to see it,' but uncertainty froze my words in my throat.

Do I want to visit the Southern territory?

My thoughts on that suggestion were conflicted. The only reason I was here in the Western territory was for the unanswered questions that surrounded me and Lumi. After my library conversations with Luna Rashida and Elena, the possibility of finding my mate was buried as we unearthed each lie about me and this crazy, fake mate chase.

On the other hand... What if I do have a mate there?

I cleared my throat, peered out the front windshield, and changed the subject, "Where is everyone?"

We arrived at a late evening hour but the packhouse was absent. Not a single body, wolf or human form, was seen on the grounds up to the packhouse. As Cole drove up a narrow road that led to a circular driveway, a smile tugged the corners of my mouth up.

But still, we're driving up like two normal people... werewolves.

Catching sight of it, Cole asked, "What, Princess?"

"This is what it's like to come into a packhouse normally." I couldn't help but joke at our anticlimactic entrance.

"Normally?" His eyebrows lifted up to his browline.

"You know, conscious." Despite the seriousness of the circumstances, we both laughed. The tension in my shoulders relaxed and I slacked my head against my seat.

"You can even walk in on your own feet," he teased. "I won't have to carry you."

"I walked into the North on my own feet - oh, you carried me into the car," I mumbled, heat rising in my cheeks as I remembered my naked introduction.

I'm glad to be clothed too... Even if Cole and I haven't showered in three days.

He nodded, but then his lips lifted into a smirk. "Both times, Princess. You've gotten heavier."

My mouth gaped open with a silent gasp.

"Heavier, what?" I looked down at my arms and legs, which were more toned but I couldn't have gained that much weight.

Especially since chocolate donuts and I aren't on speaking terms yet.

My eyes dragged up, then sideways over to Cole, narrowing at the gleam in his eyes.

Fortunately for me, our conversation was interrupted as the doors opened and four figures exited the packhouse. Dressed in what looked like formal attire, they stood like statues outside the front entrance. They waited under a covered porch nestled under three impressive, two-story arches held up by Corinthian-style columns.

"Is that -"

"Alpha Fenris, Luna Diana..." Cole's eyes squinted forward. "And looks like Tobias and -"

"Meredith," I chirped, pleased that I remembered my crib notes.

"If by Meredith you mean Beta Niran, then sure." Cole nodded out my window as he pulled up and parked the car. My cheeks flooded warm when I saw three males and one female all looked expectantly at us.

Alpha Fenris stood tall in the center, with a crisp, fitted coat over his large, imposing frame. His angular face was clean-shaven and his short, cropped jet-black hair had touches of gray around his ears. His olive-complexion skin was flawless, no hint of crease lines, and his thin lips were pulled into a polite but stoic smile.

Fenris' most striking features were his almond-shaped eyes. They were dark brown but his thick lashes framed his eyes better than any liner I'd applied.

A younger, leaner version of Alpha Fenris stood behind him, with the same beautiful, dark eyes, and olive complexion but rounder facial features. His eyes averted down, curtained by the same dark, thick lashes that I was envious of.

Must be Tobias.

His curiosity lifted his eyes as I stepped out of the car. My heart squeezed around itself inside my chest and my mouth felt dry. A slight breeze fluttered his short, fine hair as black as coal but shiny like obsidian.

He was attractive, except for how his thin eyebrows were creased together in a frown and his mouth wrenched down.

In other words, he looked like he prepared himself for a firing squad.

I'm not that bad to meet, am I?

Lumi offered me reassurance in the only way she knew how.

'Not mate.'

Of course.

"Cole, Miss Zara," Alpha Fenris stepped forward with one hand extended. "Pleasure to have you here, and meet my family..."

He paused and looked behind him. "Most of my family. Meredith and Gamma Silas are currently unavailable, but I hope you will meet them soon."

"Nice to meet you too." I reached out and shook his hand. His skin was cool, chilling my palm and fingers as they clasped together.

His eyes traveled over my appearance with a level of scrutiny that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I fought an internal 'Yes, I know I'm different-looking' sigh that wanted to escape.

"Diana." He waved a hand behind him.

A small-framed, thin, and beautiful woman stepped forward. Her skin was as pale as mine, making her dark eyes almost black. She wore a chilly, impassive expression, like a tiny porcelain doll. Her black hair was swept back from her face but hung long, straight, and shiny. Her bluntly cut bangs framed her eyes like a picture frame and bright red lipstick outlined every curve of her lips.

"Welcome, Miss Zara, Cole." She placed one of her hands, as soft as silk, in ours.

"And this is Beta Niran." The tall, wide-framed man with similar features nodded from his spot by the entrance door.

"And our son, Future Alpha Tobias." All eyes turned to the younger sullen expression, whose gaze remained fixated on me. His eyes darkened the longer he looked at me, raising goosebumps on my forearms and thumping my heart harder.

"Hi Tobias," I pushed out in a pleasant enough voice and stepped to him with my hand extended. "It's nice to meet you."

"No, it's not." He scoffed at my extended hand, spun around on his heel, then marched inside.

With no surprise in his eyes, Beta Niran cast a sympathetic gaze, then excused himself and followed Tobias' quick steps.

"My apologies, Miss Zara." Alpha Fenris placed one hand on my shoulder and spoke into my ear. "He's still working on his manners."

"Understandable." I turned and smiled at both him and Luna Diana. "I can see how it feels like we're imposing. It hasn't been an easy process on both sides, but I'm happy to be here and learn as much as I can."

Lifting my eyes to the majestic, natural backdrop, my voice dropped to a whisper, "Your territory, the mountains, is so beautiful."

"Beauty is one thing." His mouth turned up into a pleased smile. "It's very easily defensible. I look forward to you seeing the silver mines and our impressive laboratory. I'm sure your father would be quite pleased with anything you report back to him on."

"Oh..." My spine stiffened at the idea that I was here on my father's behalf.

Of course that's how everyone else would see my presence. They wouldn't be hospitable if it was only for me.

Play the game, Zara.

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled with what I see here." Exposing my teeth, I flashed my best, fake smile.

"Alpha Fenris," Cole interjected our not-that-pleasant-for-me greetings. "The rest of our traveling group, Idris, Elena, when did they arrive?"

Alpha Fenris' expression hardened as his eyes shifted between us a few times. Clearing his throat, when he spoke, his voice was hesitant.

"You are the first of your party to arrive."