Chapter 62
November 3rd
“Don’t get any ideas,” Leo said as we walked back to the truck.
“Your army could be so much stronger if you trained up the she-wolves too,” I said completely
ignoring him.
“I said don’t get any ideas,” he replied.
“They don’t all want to be protected. Maria, Elena and Allison were just three perfect examples of
that. Did you not see Maria shoot that arrow? Imagine if you had hundreds of she-wolves able to do
that, you’d instantly have an advantage over anyone,” I said.
He then lifted me up onto the truck.
“We already do have the advantage, Ella. And like I said to my sisters and Allison, I have far more
important things to worry about than she-wolves protesting about not being allowed to sign their
own death warrants!” Leo said his voice getting deeper and eyes getting darker. I took that as a
warning sign to stop making a mental note to pick the matter back up after all this was over.
“Alpha, I just had a call from the main convoy,” the driver of the truck said. “Ayas men are closer
than we thought. There’ll be here before dark falls so we need to get going.”
Nerves were rife in his voice and I looked up to the sky to see why. Dusk was already rolling across
the forest in melancholy folds of grey, plunging the trees into a deep blackness.
Leo looked at me gravely before getting up into the truck, pulling me onto his lap and holding me
tight.
“The vault is only twenty minutes from here,” he said. “We’ll make it.”
I nodded and rested my head on his chest as he took my hand in his.
At Leo’s command, we drove away from the base. I stared at the last tiniest slit of orange slow in the
sky as it grew ever smaller whilst all the men in the truck sat deadly silent.
Ten minutes later, Leo looked out into the forest, his ears pricked and alert. He then signalled the
driver to stop and we came to a slow holt.
We can’t be at the vault yet, surely?
“Le-” I began but he covered my mouth instantly as he and all the other men looked intently into
the trees.
He then made some hand gesture and all the soldiers withdrew their knives and silently began
climbing off the truck.
“Was all this really necessary, Loren?” a voice sneered. “I’d be perfectly happy just killing your Luna
and calling it a day.”
Shit. That was Haden’s voice. How had he got past the defence at the border?
Leo seemed just as confused but he didn’t let it show for long. He pushed me behind him and
forced the praesidium Deae Astra into my hand.
“Come and get her then,” he growled.