Areisha slowly relaxed as four draelings piled on her to give her comfort. The triplet draelings were so small, smaller than Emera when she just hatched. She noticed how they had very distinct personalities too. Glacia was kind and pure, Midnight was very protective of his siblings, while Cerulian was a little sleepyhead. But for some reason, she felt that sleepyhead was more than that.

She caught Cerulian staring at her a moment ago when she thought he was sleeping. The look in his golden eyes sparkled with intelligence that surpassed most draelings. It actually reminded her of Solana when the girl was cooking up a scheme or a prank.

She laughed again, causing Alec Arden to look back and glare at her. It looked like he wasn't over her teasing from earlier.

"I'm not laughing at you," she said. He narrowed his light blue eyes at her like he didn't believe her. She only shrugged.

Her full attention went from the draelings to Alec. She was too out of it a while ago to notice, but...he was actually being very considerate of her state from earlier.

He sat on the ground a few feet away, made sure that he was smaller than her in that position, and softened his tone a little bit. He even comforted her in a clumsy way...like he did not know how to comfort someone exactly.

I guess it helped that Emera ratted me out.

From the Bond, she felt Emera sent her a shot of "your welcome" before going back to sleep. She inwardly rolled her eyes at her draeling.

"Thank you," she said, voice small.

Alec's glare slowly melted away before he gave a small nod. "It's nothing," he said. "Shall we go now?"

"It's hard to move when these guys are sleeping on me."

The man simply snorted in amusement before he slowly got up. "Can I come closer and get the triplets?" he asked.

Looking up at him, her eyes taking in his height and bulk, she took a momentary sharp breath before nodding. If Emera can trust Alec Arden, then she had nothing to worry about.

Soon enough, the triplets were carefully placed on the pouch hanging over Alec's chest, while Emera remained clinging onto her shoulder. They then started to make their way out of the Stardust Forest. They fell silent as they walked, the sounds of the leaves beneath their feet and on the trees their only companion. It was the first time for Areisha to be alone with someone she did not know well. Usually, she'd be accompanied by Solana or Knox who loved to talk and talk, so she was feeling a bit off with the silence.

Areisha started to look around, and her gaze eventually landed on Alec. Now that she wasn't so scared of him, she could finally take a proper look. He was tall with an athletic build; his muscles looked like they were formed more from labor instead of exercise. Under the sun, his short black hair gave off a bluish tint as a few strands tickled his forehead. Lastly, his face...

"Damn," she said, quickly looking away.

"Something the matter?" Alec asked.

Your face is lethal! How come I only noticed now?

Areisha refused to look at him. "I just remembered something I forgot to do this morning."

From the Bond, she felt Emera's amusement at her reaction. She was quick to squash any thought of the little draeling sharing what she learned with Alec. Emera's amusement only intensified.

"Are you sure?" Alec persisted.

"Yes," she said. Areisha saw how Alec did not believe her so she opted for a change in topic. "Did you read the books I recommended to you?"

Alec narrowed his eyes at her but eventually gave up showing his concern. "Only one so far," he said. "I had to throw it twice across the room before I finished up."

She chuckled. "I think I can guess the title of that one. It's—"

Areisha turned to her left. Alec had done the same, his eyes quickly darting all over the trees and undergrowth around them. All four of the draelings woke up, growling at one spot to their left

"What is it?" she whispered.

"Something's in the undergrowth. And it is big," Alec said. "Back away to where we came from. Slowly. We'll take another route to exit the forest."

She nodded, slowly back away without turning her back on the threat. When they moved about three feet away, the bushes rustled.

One moment she saw bushes, then a large-toothed maw inches away from her head.

"Shit!" She heard Alec yell, pushing her to the side. Alec's leg came up from below, hitting the creature's jaw shut. Blood spluttered as a piece of tongue was cut off from the force of the blow. With another kick to the chest, Alec sent it flying and rolling all over the leaves and dirt. In the process, she saw the Cube surveillance device getting hit and smashing against a tree.

She hoped Gael received the destruction signal of that device.

"We have to go! Now!"

Body moving on its own, Areisha got up to run. But an arm came under her thighs and she was lifted off the ground. Only then did she come to her senses. As Alec carried her away, she got a moment to examine the creature. It was a wolf with dark brown fur and white crescent moons on its forehead and chest.

"What's a Moon Wolf doing in Stardust? They're supposed to be on the far side of Moonglow," she said.

"The important question is where is the rest of its pack? We're looking for three to five more wolves."

After saying that, a howl echoed through the forest, followed by a few more. Areisha could not tell how many wolves there were but the experienced hunter could.

"Five," Alec said. "One injured, and four more. Two on each of our side."

Two Moon Wolves appeared in their path, causing Alec to jump away from the path. "Mind your head," he said as they ran deeper into the trees. She held on to him and lowered her head, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She was careful not to crush the draelings.

"They're herding us," she said.

"Do you know any spot where we can slip through them?"

"Drae's shit!"

Another pair of wolves appeared in their way, causing Alec to turn right. A minute later, they burst into a clearing.

It was a big mistake.

The injured wolf and two more wolves were waiting for them, surrounding all directions in front. From behind, the last two wolves arrived. All five circled them, growling at them as the draelings roared back.

"What now?" she asked.

Alec looked around, eyes landing on a huge steep rock formation covered in some trees to their right. "We need to get up there. But I can't find a path."

Areisha looked and took a second to think before she pulled on Alec's clothes. "Run! I'll make a path." Her hand went to the sentiral stone on her neck and loosened the seal completely.

Alec hesitated for a moment, before quickly heading for the rock formation. He jumped, using the injured wolf as a stepping stone, and broke through their perimeter.

Areisha raised her hand out, concentrating on the small rocks at the foot of the rock formation. Calling on her sentiral power she willed those to grow.

Alec was a bit surprised but quickly caught on. Using the rocks as stairs, he climbed up. After stepping on them, the rocks returned to their original size, rendering the wolves unable to follow. Soon enough they reached a ledge near where a tree was growing and stopped.

The wolves below growled and howled in frustration at having lost their prey.

Alec quickly put her down and caught his breath. Areisha fell to her knees, exhausted from the use of her sentiral power. She clutched her stomach as it rumbled in pain.

"Are you hurt?" Alec asked.

"Side effect of my power. Hunger."

"That..." Alec began to say before he rummaged around the many pockets of his pants. A moment later a small packet wrapped in oil paper appeared in front of her. "Energy bar?"

"You carry these around?"

"Gael makes a few at night and slips one or two in my pocket every morning."

Areisha did not know what to say, but her stomach made her quickly grab the food. By the time she finished it, she was still hungry, but not to a painful degree.

"What now?"

"I left my commu-crima in the office. Gael is going to nag me for this. Can Emera go get help?"

At the sound of her name, Emera perked up before immediately clinging to Areisha's shoulder. For the first time ever, she was glaring at Alec like she was glaring at everybody else.

Alec raised his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry. How dare I tell you to leave your Draeyer."

Despite the situation, Areisha chuckled at their interaction. "Gael is probably on his way. We can just sit this one out."

Alec turned back to look down at the wolves. "We could. They can't get up here and Gael will be able to handle...."

Areisha stood when he gradually fell quiet. When she looked up at him, she found his eyes had gone wide in shock before narrowing into a glare. A mix of fury and a bit of sorrow filled his light blue eyes. She followed his gaze and found a wolf larger than the others. It was the pack leader, based on how the other wolves lowered their tails as it passed.

However, what really stood out to her was the red crystal imbedded in the center of the cresent moon on the wolve's forehead. Its eyes were far too intelligent for the a mere animal. She could tell immediately that they were in some kind of trouble.

"Are...you okay?" she asked.

"We need to catch it," Alec said. She took note of how he avoided the question. "Waiting for Gael is not an option. It might run away."

"What exactly is it?"

Alec fell quiet before she saw his hands curling into tight fists. "An enemy."

"Question is, how are we going to attack it from here. I have a great aim so rock throwing is possible. But I doubt I can generate enough force to cause some damage."

"You don't only use arms to thow things." Alec looked around the ledge, looking for things that they could use.

"What do you need?" Areisha asked.

"Rope, a very strong one."

His icy eyes immediately went to the lone tree growing near them, spotting the vines hanging from its branches. "There's the rope," he said. "Of all times to not bring my dagger and knives with me. Do you have knife?"

She shook her head. "I dropped them when you pushed me away earlier. I did not have time to pick it up."

"No choice then," he said, turning to the draelings. "Little ones, help me cut some vines please. Make it long and even sized."

Areisha was quick to realize what he was going to make. "That could work."

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME AND ALEC!

To celebrate, I'll be posting multiple chaps this week! Sorry again for not updating for the past few weeks. My review schedule went from SAT and SUN to everyday as the exams are fast approaching. Hopefully, by November after the exams I'm completely free to get back to a regular sched again.