Neither the scent of leather nor the whir of the car woke me. Rather it was that scent that made my soul crave. And the energy that was pulsing in my body. It coaxed me to believe that it was my calm, my comfort, and my solace. And my body like a naive child, allowed it in without another question. Not like when Dave tried to enter my mind, and it defended. Not like when Somsak tried to inflict pain and it did not allow that pain to touch me.

Somsak was dead. Yes. I had killed him. With my hand. The hand that had shifted. Not a wolf, but something I had no clue.

A jolt threw me over the male on whom I was leaning on. Niran yelled something and Rune replied. I could hear that they were talking something, but I could not understand a word. That soothing scent embraced me tightly. Another scent was next to me, but I was far away from it. I expected Erica to be in the car, but rather it was Mali. Why was she here? She was the Omicron of Summer Coven! She had not been a part of the plan. 

Where was my mother? Where was Aiko? What happened to Erica? And why was I like this?

The hand that was transferring energy to me, wrapped around me and pulled me closer to him. 

"Sleep, Draco," he whispered. "I'll wake you when we are safe."

Niran drove over another speed breaker and this time, I was held securely. 

But the second he had stopped transferring his energy, blaring pain assaulted my system. Every muscle screamed and my skin prickled. Breathing was a tough job. I tried to open my eyes or at least open my mouth to ask some questions, but nothing was under my control. Pain was the highest in my left hand, which he currently held with his left hand. 

As pain rose to its height, I fell down, allowing myself to crash.

**********

"Draco," he whispered. "Wake up."

The pain that had torn me left no mark. Rather, I was feeling a bit light. My body felt right. I  opened my eyes to see the early morning sun rays peek through the tinted windows, casting a muted glow over the male who was holding me. 

I was literally sprawled over him. My head over his chest and my back pressed to his body. Not to mention, our thighs were sticking together. His head was above me and just an inch down, he could place it over my head. 

Mali had gone out and no one was in the front seats. I had to peel myself off this male. 

"Where is my mom?" I asked, clearing my throat. "Where is Aiko? Lawan and Wirat?"

If our awkward position had been a discomfort to him, he did not show it on his face. "Maia was able to get your mother and someone named Kanya out. Nox got Aiko out and she is getting treatment in the hospital. Her condition is a bit worse. Erica drove them in another car. As for Lawan and Wirat, they said that they were leaving for West Coven."

I nodded and massaged my temples. "Where are we? In your place?"

Taurus gave me a slight smile. "As expected, as soon as I began to fight Dave, the star behind him, the one who I was tailing, found my existence and crashed my base as a present. We could not go there."

I blinked. "That star crashed your base?" 

Because of me. Taurus was in this predicament because he helped me. He had been searching for someone, Niran had disclosed that much. Someone who held underground fighting. He had provoked that person now. Could I have not found another way to kill Somsak? I should have lured him somewhere even Dave would not suspect. But then again, my skills weren't in seduction. And even if I had planned to kill him last night, I should not have involved anyone. 

Taurus flicked my forehead. "What is going on in there, Draco? Don't overthink. I helped you knowing this could happen. And what kind of Warrior would I be if I had just one base? It was not even my main office. Don't worry. In this game of cat and mouse, I assure you that he chases me as long as I chase him."

I did not like that one bit. That someone else was playing this game with Taurus. He had been my kill, my prey. Just because it changed does not mean someone else got to chase him. 

He smiled. "What are you displeased about? I already know who it is. You know him too. He is Maru. The one who hired you to kill me."

I sucked my breath. But his lips had that annoying smile. Like he knew what would happen and everything was happening the way he wanted it to unfold. 

"You told me that he is involved in Minoya," I said. "You failed to tell me that he was a star."

He raised his hands up. "Guess that one was on me. I underestimated him. He was not a first-generation star. I thought I would have the above hand. But he clearly has the ability to fight me head-on. I have to look into how he could do that."

I rotated my shoulders and turned my neck from side to side. "Does he know who you are then?"

"Yes," he said. "Among the stars, it was not a secret that we Warriors came down to protect the royal family."

"So..." I twisted the ring on my left point finger. "He knows who you are. What you are capable of. Who will aid your call for help. And yet he attacked your base and got away? What's the full story?"

Taurus winced, and that smug smile left his face. I did not like that. "That is why I said I underestimated him. I did not think he would do that."

"But?"

"But I was prepared for the absolute worst," he said. "After all, he is in contact with someone who could get Levedra. At the worst, he could kill me. So, the absolute worst did not happen."

"That is your absolute worst?" I nearly shrieked. "You dying?" 

He opened his mouth and then closed it as if he realised that speaking another word might land him in more trouble. 

"How do you plan, Taurus?" I asked. "Like this?"

He silently opened the door and got out. "I always have my death as the absolute worst, Draco. As much as I am a powerful star, I never thought I was invincible. I have gone to a number of battles and each time, my life was on the line. I always bet on my life. Don't think much into it."

Before us was Rune's SUV. While Maia was consoling Kenya, my mother was holding Aiko in her arms. Nox leant on Rune's car and was talking to Niran. Rune, on the other hand, was talking to Mali who was sitting on a boulder. It was then I realised that I was in Niran's SUV. 

Swinging my legs, I got out of the car, my boots hitting the wet gravel. Before me, stood the Witch's Peak, beyond which were the East Coven, East Pack and the East Tribe. But on the foothills, was a unique expanse of land where an Alpha and an Omicron shared a land. 

Erica's Alpha to be precise. Alpha Eric Yarrow. 

The huge building in front of me was white, others weren't. Perhaps, this building was used for official work. Trees adorned the spaces between buildings and far away, there were a small park and a decent mall. I was aware that the pack and coven here was not named, but at the same time, it had a reasonable population. Not too much, neither too less.

Erica came out, laughing with a male by her side. Behind her were two more males and a female. Seeing us, the female straightened herself and coughed. The dark-haired male with who Erica was laughing took a step forward and the light-brown haired male smiled at me. The male vampire who was standing there did nothing but glare at the star talking to Niran.

"Brother!" Nox said and went to hug that glaring vampire.

"Who's your brother?" he bit out and tried to back away.

But Nox was successful in giving him a hug. I knew who I was seeing. It was Nox's half-brother, Riley Garcia. The feared Omicron.

Erica then gestured to the dark-haired male. "He is Alpha Eric Yarrow." She then motioned to the light-brown-haired male. "And he is Alpha Sam Halston, Alpha Eric's mate." Erica rolled her eyes at the brothers. "That is Omicron Riley Garcia and the one behind me is Epsilon Sorrel Lane."

She looked at us, specifically at Taurus and then back at her Alpha. She chewed her bottom lip and then frowned. "Why don't you guys introduce yourself?"

Alpha Eric laughed. "No need, Erica. I know who the Second Warrior is. I saw him in the battle of West Pack. I know Nox too. Others, I don't know."

Mali paled, but she stood her ground.

Erica shrivelled like a deflated balloon. "And here I was wondering how to tell you discretely."

Niran turned and gave Taurus a weird look. Taurus nodded and Niran groaned. "I am Niran Chankul." He slung his arm over his mate's shoulder. "This is Rune Bidaya, my mate." He pointed to the female star behind him. "She is Maia, a star under Second Warrior and the two ladies are Kessa Moore and Kanya Saelim. The one unconscious is Aiko Reyes. She needs medical attention." He pointed to me. "He is Draco Stykes. I am pretty sure you know this assassin." Niran then gestured towards the female I last expected to be here. "She is Mali Bidaya, Rune Bidaya's half-sister, the ex-Omicron of Summer Coven."

I nodded at Alpha Sam, who gave us all a smile. "Erica, then you take Aiko to the hospital immediately. I hope you have informed Mina about Aiko?"

Erica nodded. "I did."

He said, "Take her there. I think Sorrel here will help us settle our other guests."

Sorrel nodded to the other female, and Erica got in the car. My mother and Kenya shared a look. My mother said, "I'll go with her. She'll be scared if she wakes up in a place she does not know. And... you need someone with her for the hospital formalities."

With that, Erica left with Aiko, my mother and Kenya. While Riley and Mali were staring at each other as if they had a million words to say, and yet they could not find the right word. It was not like the way Niran and Rune looked at each other. Or Lawan and Wirat. 

Sorrel came forward and broke the contact he had with Mali. "I'll take them to our guest house, Omicron?"

Before Riley could say anything, Alpha Eric intervened. "To our guest house, Epsilon Sorrel. Erica brought them here. And," he cast a sly look at his friend, "As much as our friends are vampires, the majority of them are, Draco is an unshifted wolf. And we have Second Warrior. You had a long journey. Breakfast will be served, but if you want to sleep in and join us for lunch, that is also possible. As for vampires, we have human donors in our territory. You can use them, but the premise is you can never use your venom to hurt them or seduce them. You can use it just to dull the pain. Or if you prefer, we also have blood bags." 

Rune relaxed. "Thank you, Alpha Eric. But I can't help but think... your mate's previous Alpha was an unshifted wolf, right?"

Poor vampire. I had not told him, but then again, he was not available this week for me to tell him. 

Sorrel led us with Alpha Eric and Omicron Riley tailing us. I expected some beef among them, but they were calm. As if it did not matter to whose territory we went to. 

Alpha Sam smiled. "Lyra was. But she is a shifter. Not a werewolf. The two are very different things."

I had not met a shifter in my life. Apart from Taurus, but he was a star. I would not consider him. "Where is she now?" I asked. I wanted to not just meet her because she was a shifter. But something nagged me. Told me with a conviction that I knew her from somewhere. Was she a past mission of mine that I had turned down?

Alpha Sam nodded. "The last time I checked, she and Aries went to search for clues in the Autumn Pack and her sister went over to the Royal lands to check on this."

It was not a long walk, but a calm one. Trees were grown on either side and in this part of the settlement, only electric vehicles were allowed. The scent of fresh-cut flowers thing heavily in the air. A couple of children ran around and some young ones were off to either college or work. It was cut from that picture-perfect painting displayed at expensive art galleries. 

Finally, we stood before a cosy place. White flower-bearing creepers grew on the trellis, and the front garden was filled with a myriad of red and yellow flowers. Huge trees grew above the height of the guest house. 

"But she will be coming to Summer tribe tomorrow," Sam said, stopping before. "If you want to meet her, you can either go there or... if she is free, I can ask her to come here. But she herself will most likely come here in three days."

Before Sorrel could open the door, the door was opened by an unruly teenager and she ran out as soon as she saw us. 

"Wha- Why is she here?" I asked the star beside me.

He sighed. "I could not leave her. Maru was originally after the Royal family. If he wanted to strike, he would kill her. I had Fia and Jarred bring her here before last night. I had another subordinate of mine watch over her last night. Fia and Jarred had to go back to my base. And my subordinate left just now upon learning that I was here."

Putting himself in danger was one. Putting this adorable demon was another. How could he? If he told me that this plan might even harm Antlia, I would have abandoned it. She did not deserve anything bad that was happening in her life. She was supposed to be the pampered princess. 

She smiled widely at us before she launched, "You will do that? You can call Lyra?"

Sam smiled at the princess. "I can. I bet that Lyra will come to you. You have no idea how much she wanted to meet you once the war was over. But... we got some lead in Autumn Pack and she rushed to go there. She terribly wanted to meet you. When I texted her this morning that you are with me, she wanted to skip her meeting in Summer Tribe to meet you. So... I can say, Lyra will come in three days time. After all, there is something important in Summer Tribe."

I fake gasped when I saw her. "You miss her and not me?"

Antlia grinned and threw herself at me. "You are my friend, Dray. Never forget that."

A/N: What do you think? Leave your thoughts below!

Until next update,

~Quill