ISABEL

TWENTY TWO

Dylan drove through the dirt track in a black Ford SUV with tinted glasses. It was a gift he received from Isabel three days ago for no reason in particular, and it came in handy, as he could go anywhere he pleased without having Xavi drive him there. His current destination was the pack's border, and he was accompanied by Fernando who was giving him directions. It was a two hours drive according to the teenager. There were tall trees on either side of the road. Dylan gazed out the window, beyond the slim trees in front and into the forest. The environment was serenely beautiful and the smell of brisk breeze was addictive. As a clearing came into sight, Dylan wasted no time in turning off the engine. He was tired of driving and wanted to feel the earth beneath his feet again. He climbed out of the car, fiddling around the forest. There were dozens of werewolves patrolling the area. They took turns in keeping guard. Some of the werewolves were standing in their positions, talking to each other while others were either bathing in the small lake close to the clearing or pitching their camps to get some rest. They bowed their heads in respect as Dylan walked past them, going deep into the forest.

"Alpha, slow down" Fernando, who he left behind finally caught up with his pace.

In his excitement to explore the border, he totally forgot about the teenager. He smiled when the young adult pouted angrily.

"I thought you were scared of these kinds of things?" He tried to make an excuse

"With you by my side, I have nothing to be afraid of" Fernando replied

"Is that so?"

It warmed Dylan's heart to know that someone had such confidence in him.

When they were a good distance away from the clearing, Dylan noticed the guards were scarcely positioned in the forest. This could be because they felt the forest was safe. It has always been known that no rogues or unwanted werewolves has ever crossed the territory of the Pride pack. Dylan felt very proud to have Isabel as his mate. Even as a female alpha, the very first one at that, Isabel has managed to maintain the record and reputation of her pack.

Fernando broke off Dylan's thoughts with a gentle nudge in his ribs, earning the latter's attention. The teenager made a gesture for him to look ahead. His eyes slowly followed the direction Fernando was gesturing at, and saw the werewolf he hated most in the world seated on a fallen tree trunk in the woods. Unlike the other werewolves he encountered earlier, this one still refused to show any sign of respect, giving Dylan a strong sense of deja vu. His eyes darkened as his wolf took full control of his emotions. Carlos didn't look like he was going to calm the atmosphere either. Fernando stepped backwards, seeing the rage exploding out of the two werewolves. It was only a matter of seconds before they tore each other apart. Too impatient to shift into his wolf, Carlos lunged towards Dylan, and landed a punch on his chin. Dylan, who at first didn't plan on getting into a fight with the beta for the sake of his mate's reputation retaliated the attack by kicking Carlos on the shin and punching him on the nose. They had an unfinished business to settle. Dylan ducked his head as Carlos threw a careless jab at him. A low snarl slipped through the latter's lips. Frustrated by his inability to overpower Dylan, he shifted in his wolf form and pounced on him, clawing at his face and chest. Dylan desperately tried to push the large wolf off his body while trying to keep his throat out of Carlos' reach. He could feel his angry wolf ready to burst through his skin, but he knew that if he shifted, he would have no control over his animal. He howled in pain when Carlos sank his canines into his neck. That's it. He can't take anymore of the beta's assault.

Dylan triggered by Carlos' bite shifted into his massive form. He bared his teeth at the wolf on top of him, using his limbs to throw the wolf off him, sending it stumbling backwards. The brown werewolf quickly spun around to face Dylan's pale gold wolf. Both werewolves growled threateningly while circling each other, sparks of rage flashed through their eyes as they snapped their teeth. Dylan's massive wolf was the first one to charge at Carlos, slamming him into one of the trees with a heavy thud. Carlos' wolf whimpered from the impact, but scrambled back to its feet. In the blink of an eye, the massive wolves were rolling around in the dirt, snarling and snapping their teeth as they both tried to get a grip on the other's throat. Dylan pinned Carlos to the ground using his paws. An ugly deep cut was running over Dylan's hind limb, but he wasn't fazed. Rather than succumbed to his injuries, an angry roar of dominance echoed through the forest, causing the wolf beneath him to curl its tail in defeat.

Isabel's wolf was restless all morning, but she couldn't decipher why. Her pack was safe and so was her family, so why wouldn't this feeling go away? She called for her cousin, Xavi, to run through the update on the pack's most recent development, because she only gets worked up and on edge whenever the safety of her pack members were at risk. She swung the door to her study open, and pulled Xavi into the room before he could knock on the door.

"Where is Dylan?" She asked instead, after putting two on two together.

She had wracked her brains, trying to think of possible threats to her people, but couldn't come up with any. The one possibility that repeatedly plagued her mind was Dylan's family trying to take him away from her.

"He, uh. I'm not sure where he's at, but I'm certain he's with Fernando" Xavi was unsure how to reply to his alpha's question, so he gave her that short answer.

Isabel wasn't satisfied with her cousin's response, as her wolf was beckoning her to ask Xavi to go look for her mate. The constant whimpers of her wolf was messing with her thoughts, preventing her from distinguishing the real problem.

"Would you just shut up!" She yelled and her wolf went silent.

Xavi who had flinched at Isabel's sudden outburst thinking it was directed at him was concerned with how stressed she looked.

"Feel at ease. I wasn't talking to you" She cleared the air, massaging her temples to relax her tense muscles.

Grabbing her phone on her desk, she motioned her cousin to open the door. The scent of her mate mixed with that of blood suddenly reached her nostrils as she took a single step out of her study, sending her wolf into a frenzy. She strode towards the living room, and was astounded to see her mate wearing a pair of shorts while his body was covered in dried blood. Her eyes snapped to the healing gash on his right leg, causing a deep growl to rumble in her chest. Dylan came to a halt when he heard his mate's growl. He had wanted to avoid her seeing him in this condition, but he guess it was too late now.

"What the hell happened?!"