Chapter 5 - Run, If You Can.
When she got to the First Borderline, the warriors had found it a little strange.
Why would the Alpha send the Zeta here if they were meant to sign a deal to put an end to the bloodshed? Yet they had seen the stamped pass and they couldn't question any further. Besides, she was the Zeta, the war general, fourth in the rank of power. Too much questioning was a challenge to her authority.
While Zezi settled into the tent that they had built for her, different thoughts kept running across her mind.
Maybe she had been wrong. Maybe he didn't know they were mates. Something about the way he looked at her made her feel like he hadn't known, like he had mistaken it to be some passing feeling.
Yet a part of her told her that was just wishful thinking and she very well knew it.
Or maybe he did know, and he decided he didn't want her, an enemy, just as she had decided that she didn't want him.
Something told her that was impossible but she prayed with all her heart for it to be that. She dreaded vampires and the thought of being mated to one drove a dagger right through her heart.
A message soon came for her, that there was a message for her at the headquarters. She left the tent after a while; something about everything felt uneasy, and what she heard when she was about to enter the headquarter's tent proved it.
"He wants her sent back with immediate effect." An agitated voice said.
"Did he say why?" Another asked.
"Not really, but from some things he said, I think it has something to do with the Vampire King. I can't really tell what it is,” the first one said.
Zezi's eyes flew open and her heart raced.
So, he knew. But of course, he did. It was a mate bond after all.
"She is going to resist, you know that?" Another who hadn't spoken before said.
"She is our Zeta, she will easily overpower us."
"And that is why I told you to get the silver bullet guns."
Silver bullet guns?! What was this?!
"Are you a fool? Not a scratch, the Alpha said."
"What do you presume we do then?"
Zezi didn't wait for whatever it was they had to say. She retraced her steps and slowly disappeared into the night. She couldn't stay here, it wasn't safe here anymore. She ran into her tent, grabbed her bags that she never unpacked in the first place, and fled. She didn't even know where she was going but she knew she couldn't stay. The pack was about to just hand her over to the King. The Alpha must have wrapped a favourable deal around finding her.
She chuckled humourlessly at that thought while she ran across the forest at wolf speed. She couldn't even blame him if he did. It was just her, a pack member, against the whole pack. She tried to imagine what George would be doing. Was he angry? Devastated? Or was he confused? What about her daughter? She was certain that no one would tell her what was going on.
Tears rushed down her face. She didn't even know what she was doing or how far she could even run. Where was she even running to? She didn't know anything but there was one thing she knew.
She was running away, far away. It wasn't safe here, it wasn't safe anywhere.
"There must be some mistake, she is my mate." George finally let out when he got into the Alpha's office. It was dimly lit and smelt of inks and documents. It was quite stuffy for a large office.
It was already in the evening of the next day, and they still hadn't captured Zezi yet.
"I understand how you feel about all this but we need her here to confirm everything."
"Confirm?" George chuckled darkly at that. He knew what this was all about, he was no fool. "That is not what you want to do. I have seen the scrolls prepared, you have crafted another agreement around Zezi." It was getting harder and harder for him to contain his anger now.
"How could you do that?! She is my wife and the mother of my child!" He banged his fists against the table and the Alpha leaned back in his chair.
"I am doing this for the pack."
George chuckled darkly again while he muttered to himself.
"The pack, of course, the pack." Then his eyes snapped to the Alpha, his voice cold. "Would you be doing this for the pack if it had been the Luna?"
Something ticked in Gery's jaw and he slowly clenched his fists.
"I didn't think so."
The Alpha stood up calmly.
"You are not true mates, George."
"There is no difference to me. I love her just as much as I would have if the Moon had bonded us together."
"The way I see it, there is a difference. If you had been true mates, this wouldn't have happened to begin with."
George stepped forward angrily, "You better not go further with plans of handing over my wife to that monster. Don't test me!"
"There you go again with challenging me!" It was the Alpha's turn to be angry. His eyes flashed between two colors. He took a step closer to George, who firmly stood his ground as usual, but for some reason, no one took a step further. It was like they were waiting patiently for one person to be the first to lose it.
The Luna stepped and one look at them made her know that they had been at it again. She sent a glare their way. How could they be doing this when they had bigger trouble on their plates? Gery stepped back, breaking the tension.
"I have bad news."
George immediately became worried, and all the anger he felt disappeared.
"What is it? Is Zezi alright?"
"She is, it is the werewolves we sent after her that aren't."
Amidst everything, George found himself smiling with a sense of pride.
"She didn't kill them, did she?" He heard the Alpha ask.
"No, she ensured she left them alive but that isn't the problem."
All eyes were on the Luna now. If that wasn't the problem, then what was it?
"The King thinks we are intentionally keeping her away from him. If he does anything, we are doomed, Gery." The Luna threw her hands in the air dramatically.
"I tried to speak to her through the pack link. She blocked it off."
"I know, I tried too."
"We are doomed, Gery."
"Don't say that."
"If we don't get a hold of her soon, he will go after her himself. You know what that means? If he gets her first, we have nothing to use to our advantage." She said the last part in a hushed tone, as if she was embarrassed to think of Zezi like that. George snarled at the last statement and she mouthed to him an apology.
Everyone became silent then, each turning in their minds different thoughts.
"I will go. I will find her." George broke the silence.
The Alpha scoffed.
"How? You can't use the mates' mind link, you are not true..."
"I know that but I am that one person she can't hurt when I find her. I know how she thinks too. I am your best bet."
As much as the Alpha didn't want to admit it, he knew he was right. Zezi was a powerful and calculative Zeta. She wasn't made the War General for nothing, and who else had the power to bring her in, other than the mate she had gone through heaven and hell with.
"How do I trust that you will do as you've said?"
"That is up to you, Alpha Gery. It is already tough on me that I am bringing my wife in. Think whatever you will." He flopped down into the nearest chair.
While different thoughts ran across his mind, the Luna and Alpha stood at a corner of the office speaking through the mind link they had.
He stared at the ceiling and he sighed. His eyes became glassy as he thought of what he had to do. The Luna was right; if they didn't bring Zezi in soon, then the Vampires would consider them enemies. They would never see them as subjects ever again, neither would they ever sign that deal for peace to reign.
The Vampires had one rule when it came to enemies too. They never leave them alive, just as they had done for years. He and Zezi had a first-hand experience of what the rule was like. Wasn't that how they became rouges in the first place?
"Alright then. Find her." The Alpha's voice rang through his mind, interrupting his thoughts and leaving him startled for only a second. He had spoken to him through the pack's link, something he hadn't done for a long time. George knew what it meant. It was a subtle reminder that he had control over him.
George stood up and he almost swayed on his feet. His legs felt weak. He nodded, he knew at that moment that he had made a decision.
"Before that, I need to see my daughter and speak to Aunt Alice. She needs to know that I will be gone for a while."