Yil

The engine of the automobile fired up to proceed out of the pack, just as it had done the first time Zena and I had travelled here. Its interior decor was one of black and beige leather upholstery to compliment its slick exterior metal covering together with the transparent glass panes that were automated and moved only when you deemed it fit. The invention was one of elegance and its accessories provided a suitable enclosure for we that harbored in it. Who needed portal travelling when you could journey in style?

Also how could one forget the monstrous audio system whose sound waves reverberated throughout the whole car in time to the very loud, overly-enthusiastic, musical singing of its inhabitants.

"So tell me what you want, what you really, really want!!" Lyod sang in a shrill tone.

"I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha)," Dina replied with sass and some hand movements.

"I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah," Zena finished.

"If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends....." they continued in unison, laughing and giggling their way through the song.

This was our seventh time hearing the same track.

Kiba had so luckily stumbled upon two padded pill-shaped things which he had subsequently plugged into his ears to block out the offensive assault of disarrayed musical notes while I had been left to the musical ministrations of three strangled cats. It sounded harsh but trust me you'd think the same if you were here.

"Kiba. Oy!" I hissed at him. He was oblivious to my calls and so I tapped him and motioned to his ears. He reluctantly pulled the padded ear lifesavers out and looked at me, impatient to put them back on.

"I order you to let me have them," I said with a stretch of my flattened palm and a quirked eyebrow. Maybe he'd take me seriously if I scowled.

"I'd have to go against that order, Princess. Just this once," he threw me an apologetic look and glancing momentarily at Lloyd, Zena and Dina who were still singing, oblivious to our pain, he shivered in sheer apprehension. "I can't really stand their singing," he whispered, lest they heard him.

"Okay okay we'll do a ten minute rotation," I hastily, negotiated. "I'll have it for ten minutes then I'll give it back once my time's up and vice versa hmm?" I pushed, looking at him with round, doe, green eyes.

"I can't even stand a second," he refused with a deep sigh. "But you've been listening to them for at least an hour, I'm sure you can power through the remaining minutes or better still join the ruckus," he reasoned, picking up the ear plugs in an attempt to re-wear them. "Princess fighting," he added, mimicking the numerous Korean dramas that we had watched over the weekend.

The nerve ugh!!

The track had changed to something more slow tempo and with it the loud singing had stopped to be replaced by soft musical notes as Dina and Zena raised their hands and swayed in time to the beat with Lloyd singing her heart out as she drove past numerous buildings. I peered at the words that flashed past on the display screen and deduced that the current track was a single by West Life, Queen of my heart. Thankfully it was much more pleasant to the hearing.

I looked back towards my window and noticed that the natural elements of the Black moon pack had soon given way to the modernity of a well-structured city. The streets were littered with cars such as the one we were inhabiting but with a whole, different allure albeit designed in similar fashions but with distinctive builds.

Nature acted as an accessory to the high-rise buildings that were much more architecturally advanced than the one's at the pack. The roads were extremely busy and the people much busier as they rushed about their business in groups or as solo travellers. Teenage girls and boys peddled on artistically painted bicycles and performed intricate tricks on skateboards.

This part of their world was very intriguing.

Sensing the stillness in the car, I finally registered that the not so musically inclined trio had finally quieted down. Zena's eyes were glued to her side of the window as she ogled at the sights and Dina was ever ready to answer the questions that she asked in rapid procession.

"We have driven out of Alaska and are now in Dawson which is much closer to the borders of our pack," she explained. "It's human territory and that's why you won't be able to sense a wolf scent but nevertheless I can't wait for you guys to see the amusement park, taste awesome food, shop till we drop. Ugh! It's going to be so much fun," she squealed.

"Yeah, just wait till you see all the awesome sights. You'll be amazed," Llyod affirmed.

"I'm already so excited! Everything looks so beautiful," Zena breathed in awe as she continued to observe her surroundings with curiosity.

Kiba was also drawn from his internal deliberations when he craned his neck to peer out of the window. He was seated between Zena and I at the backseat and so he had to move his upper body forward to get a better view of the sights. His eyes wandered from Zena's side of the window to my side but on their way he caught Dina staring at him through the rear view mirror and while she visibly coloured at the sudden connection, he looked back unfazed and turned away.

Only the Sky Lordians knew what was between them because it was either a case of relentless teasing or unrequited feelings.

A repetitive, high-pitched, ringtone pierced through the stillness of the car and we all snapped our heads in the sounds' direction.

"Sorry it's mine," Lloyd admitted, sheepishly, as she fumbled to pull it out of her pocket.

"I've told you a couple of times to change that horrific ringtone. It's dreadful," Dina muttered, bending down to retrieve her purse.

"It's Roy. I'll put it on loudspeaker," Lloyd announced, looking at the caller ID. "Hey Roy!" She greeted him.

Where the hell are you?! He asked, agitated.

"On a shopping trip with the girls," she answered smoothly, turning into a street with a bright red boom barrier ahead. "Oh! And one gent," she giggled, looking at Kiba through the rear view mirror.

Well, pack trackers have checked all of the malls in Alaska and they still can't find you. So unless you all went to the Moon for a shopping trip, I'll ask again. Where exactly in this country are you? He ground out.

I sent a perplexed look towards Dina and mouthed: "Didn't you tell him?" But before she could answer, Llyod cut her off.

"We are in Dawson," she whispered, unsure, as she neared the boom barrier and threw the security guard a megawatt smile which he returned.

The strings of colourful words that followed after that revelation would make the Sky Lordians blush. Even I coloured visibly at the unfiltered words that got transmitted through the phone.

"Is everything okay?" The security guard asked in concern.

"Yeah everything's dandy," Lloyd chirped with a saccharine smile before she put the phone off loudspeaker. "Can I get a parking ticket for an hour?" She requested and he nodded. "No, I wasn't talking to you," she said into the phone and visibly flinched when Roy replied again.

I tuned my ear to their conversation and from the fragments that I got, I soon realised that Roy was anything but happy about our trip to Dawson. To say he was royally pissed would be an understatement.

The security guard came back with the ticket and the boom barrier was lifted up to allow us inside. Lloyd thanked him and promptly maneuvered the car into a parking space before turning off the engine.

"Alpha Aryn was well aware of this trip before he left," she argued. "Well, that was three days before he left but why does that matter?" she huffed in reply to Roy's question.

She was silent for a moment as she listened to Roy rant in hurried tones. Even with my supersonic ears, I still couldn't comprehend most of the words he spoke. I looked towards Zena and Dina and they were just as lost as I was.

"Well would you look at that," Kiba chuckled, dryly. "I could easily have avoided this painful trip to go spar with some of the wolves," he added, settling deeper into his seat.

"Nobody forced you here," Dina retorted in a fierce whisper.

"Wherever she goes, I go," Kiba shrugged, unbothered with a tilt of his head towards me.

"Oh! How could I forget? Your Yil's bodyguard," she smirked with an eye roll.

"Precisely," Kiba grinned with a wink and this ticked Dina off as she turned to face the front of the car with an exasperated sigh.

Zena and I looked at each other and shrugged in unison. I was more concerned with Roy's behaviour than their banter.

"Two hours time?!" Lloyd called out in disbelief and we were all drawn to the phone conversation once more. "Whatever! We'll be done by then Mr Beta," she acknowledged with a dismissive grunt before cutting the call.

"What's up with Roy?" Dina enquired from her position by the passengers' side.

"He is coming to get us," Lloyd announced as she unbuckled her seat belt. "But look on the bright side, we have two hours and some minutes till then," she added, before anyone could protest.

"But why is he coming to get us? Are we prohibited from leaving the pack?" I asked, fearful that we had broken a rule laid down by Aryn.

"He won't say why?" She huffed in resignation as she turned to look at me. "I'm in the dark about most things these days. What with Alpha Aryn's sudden trip and I can't even find Star as well. So Roy would be the best person to answer that," she explained and I scrunched up my face in confusion. "But let's get a move on because once he comes to fetch us, I can't guarantee that we would be allowed to venture out of the pack. At least for some weeks," she advised before turning to get out of her opened door.

"I swear Roy is acting over-protective just to score brownie points with Alpha Aryn," Dina scoffed in irritation before getting out as well.

Dina, Kiba and I mirrored their actions and as we all stood facing the huge building with the large overhead sign post, I thought back to my time at the archery field. The truth was that I had spent a few minutes content with just watching Aryn as he shot arrow after arrow, hitting the bullseye every time. The flex of his muscles and his calculated maneuvers had held me in a trance as I marvelled at his efficient skills. His countenance was one of blissful relaxation. A stark contrast to the hurtful expression he had tried to hide when he was talking about his family.

I had felt the strong urge to comfort him and if I could absorb all his hurt unto myself I would but with the sparse information he had reluctantly shared there was no way to gauge just how hurt he was. Only if he'd let me in.

My eyes moved to take in Dina's features and I registered that they shared the same soft blue eyes that sparked with intensifying power. Those icy, blue, orbs had hypnotized me when he leaned in closer to me with lips that had welcomed me into their warm embrace. However, in that moment, I had been struck with overwhelming guilt, even much stronger than the bond, as memories of Rae flooded into my consciousness.

It had become even more difficult to reconcile the conflicting feelings as the days passed.

I sincerely didn't want to hurt either of them but the feelings of dejection that had flittered past Aryn's features had hit me square in the heart with blunt force and I didn't even know when I could make up for it as he was now on a trip that I had no idea about.

"Okay gang," Dina announced. "We have only two hours at this mall. It's sad that we won't get to see anywhere else but we'll make do with what we have," she encouraged, theatrically, as if she were addressing a group of fighters. "So let's get cracking," she smirked and placed her aviators, daintily, on her nose before leading the way into the mall with a slow swish of her short, pleated skirt.

Zena and Lloyd walked beside her with Kiba and I behind them. Dina flipped her brown locks backwards before smiling at me. Then she winked at Kiba who was fixated on her slender form causing him to cough awkwardly and look elsewhere.
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