Female Novel
Chapter 103
“Well, that was an absolute f*****g mess.” Jaspar snorted, cocking an onyx eyebrow at me as he took along drink from his glass. He seemed completely unbothered, more inconvenienced, if anything. It was then that I noticed we weren’t alone. The little girl who had touched me bounced over to his side, placing a protective arm around his leg.She stared at me with hazel eyes, through hair the same color as Jaspar’s.
I gaped at her for a few moments, still sprawled out on the carpet until the world around me stoppedshifting. “She did rather well for her first time, didn’t she?” A feminine voice asked, cool and collected as sheanalyzed me.novelbin
I pulled myself from the floor, finally noticing the woman who sat in the armchair. She wore a tight blackdress, but looked professional with her short heels and crisp shoulder length cut. Her eyes were awarm shade of brown, despite the guarded look on her face. “Yes, she did.” Jaspar nodded, agreeing with whoever this woman was. Before I had the chance tosnap at him, he directed his attention back to me. He tapped a nail against the rim of his glass, keepinga steady pace as he spoke. “I genuinely had no clue how little you knew until today. I might’ve beenable to prevent this entire mess if you had known ahead of time. “Known ahead of time?” I scoffed, “If it hasn’t escaped your notice, I’m trying to flee from this d**n hotel,with my mates. Marcus has officially declared me his prisoner. Things have already gone to s**t, and Idon’t have time to stick around while you tell me the important truth that I should’ve known days ago!” “We have a few minutes, which will have to be enough.” He replied, his tone tense enough that I heldback my retort for a few seconds. “Delilah has made sure to notify your mate’s that you’ll be catchingup with them, should they manage to make it out of the hotel.” I glanced down at the little girl who met my eyes fearlessly and gave me a wave. She looked up atJaspar, a question burning in her eyes. He gave me a single glance before nodding, and placing ahand on her shoulder.
“I’m Delilah, and I’m a white wolf too.” She grinned up at me, missing just a few of her baby teeth. “Ibrought you here! I can go wherever I want, but Dad doesn’t like to let me most of the time.” I cocked an eyebrow at Jaspar, whose gaze hardened. He brought Delilah back to his side and tookanother long drink. “Everyone always thought g******g was Desmond’s thing, but he had no more skill than a child at anarcade. I’m among those you claimed to have sat by while Marcus crept around in the dark.” Jaspargrimaced, but continued without interruption. “I’ve also been crawling around in the dark, getting myhands d***y. As you can see, we both have quite a bit to fight for. I’m no fool, to form an allegiance withyou means risking quite a bit. I’m not one to trust easily, but you are the first I’ve come across that hasa chance against him. I knew it that night, when you drained Desmond Deville of his life.” Part of me wanted to deny it. I wasn’t a k****r, a m******r–but at the same time, I had k****d those men.Even with all of my promises, I knew that I’d do it again if it meant saving the people I love.
“So, this is you wanting an alliance with me and my mates?” I asked, unable to help peering down atDelilah. She was clearly a white wolf, the child of Jaspar. It made me curious as to who the womansitting in the chair was. “Crystal is my beta, a white wolf as well.” Jaspar noted, catching how my eyes had strayed to thewoman. I’m sure my surprise was obvious as it flashed across my face. The twins had told me briefly that theposition of Beta was nearly always given to a man. The rules forbidding women to take on highstanding roles had been abolished nearly sixty years ago, but there were still none being chosen. “Against my better judgment, he is trusting you.” Crystal frowned at me, drumming her manicured nailson the armrest of the chair. She leaned forwards, and I could feel the protectiveness radiating off of her.It was my gift for feeling emotions that kept me from being offended at this last bit. “The information hegives you could destroy thirty years of work. If you betray him, or let this slip through your fingers–yourabilities might k**l me, but you will go down by my side.” “She’s quite abrasive, it’s my favorite quality. ” Jaspar shrugged, making Crystal let out a dry snort.
“What I need to know, is that we’re on the same page about everything. You both clearly know what Iwant. At first, it was my freedom. I just wanted to be left alone, but it’s become so much more thanthat.” I grimaced, clenching my teeth together as the smug face of Marcus Novak drifted through mymind. “I don’t know the full extent of what Marcus is doing, but it needs to come to an end. I want everysingle white wolf to be free, and every ounce of corruption removed from the High Table.” “So young for so many aspirations.” Crystal murmured, her chestnut eyes honed in on my face. “Yeah, well. Human life wasn’t working out too well for me. Turns out, I fare better here.” I snappedback; my words sharp like steel. “Then you’ll find, that we are on the same page, Aurora.” Jaspar said firmly, bringing my attention backto the present. I could feel just a flash of fear behind his cold wall of indifference. Whatever he wasgoing to tell me, it truly meant a lot to him and his pack. “You hold some form of alliance with ZayneNovak, so I assume you know some of what he does. Am I correct?” It wasn’t exactly an alliance, I wanted to say. We more tolerated each other for the sake of gettingthings done on both of our ends. Truthfully, having Zayne Novak as an ally could change everything,but he was too far under the thumb of his father to break free. “You are correct.” I nodded, choosing simplicity over anything else. “He is responsible for getting the wolves to the borders of his lands, it’s the most he can accomplishwithout being caught. I transport those wolves onto my own territory, and give them everything theyneed to begin a new life. They are allowed to leave if they wish, but most stay and build something forthemselves.” Jaspar said slowly, like he wanted me to remember every detail. He glanced towardsCrystal and gave her a friendly smirk, making me wonder if she were a white wolf as well. “Doing thishas given me powerful allies. Ones that have dreamed of someone like you coming along, ones thatare tired of hiding and ready to fight.” “That’s where they’ve all been going.” I chuckled incredulously.“I’m not the only one with white wolves at my disposal, though the ones in my pack work for mewillingly.” Jaspar said darkly, his eyes turning to stone. “Marcus and Sebastian both have white wolveswithin their borders. That is how Marcus discovered your activities. I couldn’t figure out how he had
done it. I watched the security footage nearly a hundred times, but then I found it. Rumor has it, Marcusis in possession of a white wolf that can see your memories through touch. She just so happened to behere today, a few inches from you on your way in the council room.” Jaspar promised to be in touch with us at some point, though he hadn’t exactly given me a glimpse intohis methods. He had given the twin’s an address to go to, a safehouse where I’d be waiting for them. We needed tostay out of sight for a few days, to let Marcus’s troops scatter as they veered farther and farther away.Then, we would emerge from the safehouse and make our way back home. Jaspar was right, alliances were a risky business. He was trusting me with the truth of his pack, and Iwas trusting he wasn’t sending me to a room full of Marcus’s soldiers. “She can only transport herself to places she’s been before. She doesn’t need to roam the place, but asimple foot in the door will allow her free roam.” Jaspar explained, “Staying in the safehouse will giveus a constant connection until you must venture back to your pack. From there, we’ll figure somethingelse out.” It was hard to doubt him when Delilah grabbed my hand in her own and smiled up at me, her child-likeinnocence not tainted from the horrible world we lived in. After seeing the fraction of softness in hiseyes from his daughter, I knew that he had protected her well all of these years. “Are you ready?” She whispered, grinning up at me. “I think so.” I nodded, smiling down at her. The hotel room around me twisted and warped before morphing into something else altogether. ThePersian carpet became white and scruffy, and the antique sofa elongated into a modern lookingsectional. The brick fireplace against the wall was replaced with a long bar that spanned the wall.Decanters and bottles of expensive liquor sat unopened on the shelves. The scent of air freshener and stale cleaner was in the air, telling me someone had been here recentlyto clean the place. I stood just by a panel on the wall that housed at least ten light switches. After a few tries, I managed toflick on the lights. Ten circular lights protruded from the ceiling, making me wince as it bathed the room.
I descended two stairs to where the sectional was and plopped down. It was surprisingly comfortablegiven its flat look, but it did nothing to ease the nerves building in my gut. Waiting was the worst part of all of this. I’d rather be with Alec and Kade, fighting whoever might stopus from leaving. It’d be worth it to know that they were safe, that Tori and everyone else was as well. I flicked on the television that was mounted on the wall, and turned to the next channel for some noise.Within the silence, I could hear every creak and shift in this house. I contemplated grabbing the tablet,and gave in when my curiosity won over. There wasn’t a password as I swiped upwards. The screen brightened as the tablet unlocked, revealingnearly twenty different screens. Live video footage from various parts of the house appeared, even oneof me sitting on the living room couch. I clicked on one that showed the long driveway, all but shrouded by trees. The next tab held a map,with a small section circled in red. I chuckled dryly at the screen. I wasn’t that much farther from thehotel, most likely only a couple hours away. If they were in wolf form, they’d make it here pretty quickly. Assuming no one was injured. From there,my thoughts continued to turn dark. I focused my attention on the tablet, using it as a desperatedistraction. The last tab was on the Internet, and looked like some kind of news channel website. In bold letters atthe top was some catchy title, followed by a long paragraph. I refreshed the page and nearly droppedthe tablet. It slipped through my loosened grip as an image of myself flashed on the screen. It wasn’t just one, but an entire gallery of them. Me pressed against Kade in council room, a look of furyon my face. Another one where I was at the stand, my mouth opened as I declined all three of theiroffers. I felt oddly invaded, but couldn’t stop myself from reading the paragraph beneath the gallery of photos.It said what I had thought. That I was dangerous, a powerful white wolf on the loose. Running from theHigh Table for acts of treason. Marcus Novak had all but declared war on us, all without issuing theformal declaration.
I swiped the news article away, trying to force the numbers to stop swimming behind my eyes. Theremaining members of the High Table were offering a heavy reward for my capture–alive, not d**d.Jaspar was playing his part, staying within the shadows to keep his own operation safe. I propped the tablet up on the table and stared at the screens as they showed me various rooms in thehouse. There was only one camera I was interested in, the one leading directly into the house. As thetelevision droned on in the background, I watched the tablet and waited for my mates to find their wayback to me.