"Why didn’t you pair with Angela?" Renn asked again, his voice filled with frustration. Kaito clenched his jaw, knowing that if Renn asked one more ti, he might actually lose his patience. They had been on the road for almost three hours, and now they were in Angela’s town, heading toward her forr school. Renn’s voice broke through the silence again. "You did the sa thing last ti and paired her with Hiro. I don’t get it. I’m her boyfriend. I should be by her side."
"I’m driving, Renn," Kaito muttered, glancing at him before fixing his eyes back on the road. It wasn’t even nine yet, but the night was too quiet, the kind of quiet that made him uneasy. He rolled the windows up and kept his focus sharp.
"The other day I thought you’d finally pair with her, but you sent her off with Hiro again. Hiro, of all people," Renn grumbled, lifting a bottle to his lips and taking another long sip. "What have I done to you, bro?"
"Don’t get drunk," Kaito warned, his tone sharper now. Renn had already finished one bottle and was halfway through the second. If he kept going at this pace, he would be wasted before they even arrived.
"I won’t, relax," Renn replied, waving him off before lowering his voice again. "But tell why you can’t pair with her. Did I do sothing wrong? Why Hiro? You know he doesn’t even like her that much. What if he decides to hurt her or tries to teach her one of his stupid lessons?"
Kaito sighed deeply. Just then, a pair of headlights appeared on the road ahead. He tensed, watching carefully, but the two cars swerved off at a junction, heading in another direction. Only then did he answer. "Hiro may give her a hard ti, but he’s still her mate. He’ll protect her when it really matters. I trust him with that."
Renn shook his head, still unconvinced. "I’d still rather be the one by her side," he muttered, his eyes flicking to the rear cara. The road stretched out behind them, empty and silent, and for so reason, that made it feel even stranger. Mistvale would just be waking up, but here the night pressed heavy and lonely around them.
"Turn the music up," Kael’s voice broke in from the back seat, his tone sharp with annoyance. "I’m tired of listening to him repeat the sa thing. I should’ve brought my ear pods."
Kaito chuckled softly and turned the volu up a little, though not too much. He wanted the music to drown out Renn’s nagging without blocking the sounds he needed to hear outside.
"You think I’m being ridiculous?" Renn asked suddenly, twisting around to look at Kael, who was lying down behind his seat. His face softened, though his voice carried the edge of desperation. "You’re probably the last person I should be talking to about this, since you’ve never even fallen in love before. It must sound strange to you, right?"
"Honestly, yes," Kael admitted, his eyes narrowing slightly as if the thought itself surprised him. "I’ve never even seen a girl up close. The academy doesn’t admit them, and I’ve been stuck there my whole life."
"Exactly," Renn said with a small, bitter laugh as he turned back toward the front. His eyes caught the rear mirror, and a sudden tightness gripped his chest when he noticed a vehicle approaching behind them. The lonely road didn’t feel so empty anymore. His fingers tightened around the bottle. "I wish we brought Samuel with us."
"So that the both of you will get drunk?" Kael teased, sitting up straight. "I don’t know why, but he is a good guy whenever you are not around, Alpha Renn. If you don’t believe , ask Alpha Kaito."
"No, he is going to take your side."
They all laughed, but Renn’s eyes shifted back to the mirror. His smile faded. The vehicle was still there, and now it was too clear to ignore. The way it kept its distance but never left their trail made his chest tighten. "How long before we reach Angela’s school?" he asked, his voice serious this ti.
"Less than fifteen minutes," Kaito replied, glancing quickly at his phone. They had the map, though Kael had insisted he knew the way already. "Why are you asking?"
"I think we are being followed, or maybe I’m overthinking," Renn muttered. He closed the wine bottle in his hand and shoved it aside, then checked the side mirror again. The headlights glared back at him. It was a truck, and it was not hiding its intentions. His throat went dry. "Can we just speed up and see what they do?"
Kaito nodded, his hand tightening on the gear as he pushed down on the accelerator. The car surged forward, and within monts, the truck behind them did the sa, keeping up easily. The tension in the air grew heavier. There was no denying it anymore. Whoever was behind them knew exactly who they were.
"Are we going to slow down and confront them?" Renn asked when Kaito eased the speed for a mont.
"No, not yet," Kaito said firmly, his eyes sharp on the road. He wasn’t scared for himself or even Renn. His worry was for Kael. The last ti Hiro had faced a group like this, they had used weapons ant to kill werewolves. He wasn’t willing to risk that again. "Can you check how many they are?"
"Okay," Renn said, already moving to open the door even while the car was still in motion.
"Not in your human form," Kaito warned.
Renn shot him a look, disbelief in his eyes. "No way. You know I hate changing into that animal."
"Just do it. We might be in danger."
Renn inhaled deeply, trying to calm his racing heart. He closed his eyes and let his energy surge through him, feeling it in his bones as his body shifted. The transformation was smooth, sothing he had mastered over the years, and in seconds, he was no longer human but a bird soaring in the car.
"Look how cute he is," Kaito teased, swerving the car slightly to the side as he rolled the window down. Renn shot out into the night, wings spread, vanishing into the darkness. Less than a minute later, he returned, slipping back inside before Kaito shut the window and steadied the car. Renn shifted back, his body trembling faintly from the quick change.
"So?" Kaito asked at once. "How many are they?"
"Four," Renn answered. "They are well ard. What are we going to do? Fight them?"
"Yes." Kaito saw the excitent in his eyes. He stopped the car and got out. "Renn, you can co, but Kael stays back."
Renn got out and the two of them stood, leaning against the boot of the car. The truck behind them stopped as well. The n inside had not expected them to stand so boldly. They had gotten Hiro the last ti because it was sudden, but it was not going to be the sa with them.
The doors of the truck opened and the n stepped out with their guns ready to shoot.
Renn’s mind raced. They had no weapons to fire back. "Wait, are you planning on using powers? The authorities will know—"
"I don’t care," Kaito cut in, his voice hard. He was ready to unleash his fire. He didn’t plan to warn them, because the last ti, one of them had shot Hiro without a warning. The mory burned in his chest, and his anger summoned the energy inside him.
Flas burst to life in both his palms. At last he saw the faces of the n chasing them, strangers to him, and yet they looked shocked to see his power. Kaito hurled fire at the first one. The man scread and ran but the fire consud him, and he collapsed on the road. The others fired their bullets, but Renn shifted into a dragon, his roar shaking the ground as he spewed fire over all three of them.
Kaito’s hands returned to normal. The flas vanished and water replaced them, pooling in his palms. He poured it over one of the n who was still alive, thrashing in pain from the fire. The man gasped as the flas died out on his body, but he collapsed monts later, his strength gone.
Renn shifted back into human form. The two of them ran toward the man, their hearts pounding, their blood still hot from the fight.
The man was half burnt, his body broken and weak. He was of no use to them anymore, so Kaito ended his suffering, giving him a peaceful death. They walked to the truck and opened the driver’s seat, searching through everything. They pulled out all the papers they could find. There were also two phones and a picture of Hiro and Kael.
"This must have been the day they ca here," Renn said, and they both nodded. Kaito searched further in the passenger seat and found a folded paper. When he opened it, he realized it was a diagram. His eyes darkened as he went through it and saw drawings of them.
His brows furrowed in confusion when he saw his own face. The sketch was rough, as if the artist had not been sure what Kaito truly looked like. "What the hell is this for? I can’t even understand these writings. They are definitely not English."
"Yes, probably another language. I can try translating it in the car," Renn said, picking up two of the guns, both heavily loaded. They left the truck and returned to their car. The mont Kaito got in, he froze. Sothing felt wrong. The air slled different, as if soone else had been inside.
He quickly turned to the back seat to ask Kael if anyone had co near the car, but his chest tightened when he saw the seat empty.
"Where did he go?" Kaito’s voice dropped, heavy with worry. "He was right here when we left."
Renn’s heart pounded as he turned and searched the back seat. That was when he noticed a note lying there, placed carelessly as if to mock them. He reached out and grabbed it. His eyes went cold as he read it aloud.
"It says ’gottya.’ What the fuck is this supposed to an? Is this a fucking ga to them?"
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