Ian squatted down and sat straight. He squeezed his wolf head on the nook of my neck and rubbed his head eagerly.
“He wants to go with us.” Arron voiced his observation.
I threw Ian a hesitating look as I quickly took in his figure. He was too big, and if we walked together, his size alone would give us away.
“Ian, you can’t go with us,” I whispered.
Ian tilted his head and whimpered. Then he gave me a look which suggested he didn’t understand a thing I was saying. Every time he wanted to do otherwise, he would pretend like he had no idea what I was talking about.
“Ian, listen to me.” I held his head between my hands. “Just stay in the pack and wait for us to come back. I will bring you something delicious when we get back and if you behave yourself.”
I tried to persuade him. But Ian just rolled over on the ground, as if he wouldn’t let us leave without him.
I squatted down to his level, poked his nose with my finger, and said, “Two roast chicken drumsticks sounds amazing, right?”
Ian gave a low grumble and moved his head away. I bet my offer was tempting him, but I knew he wouldn’t take it with his ego on the line. He wanted us to take him on our little getaway.
I didn’t give up either. I moved, blocked my face on his, and said with all seriousness, “Three roast chicken drumsticks. That’s it.”
Ian blinked, as if trying to weigh everything. Just when I thought he realized the deal was more inclined to his favor, he sat up again but didn’t move next.
“What do you mean?” I was confused. What more could he want?
“He’s determined to go with us.”
Ian let out a howl in agreement to what Arron said.
But I had no choice. Ian couldn’t come with us. Having this argument alone meant we were wasting the time we could’ve used in stealthily making our way out of the camp.
At this time, I heard low muffles of what seemed to be voices of the adults outside. The teachers were up, one after another!
“It seems someone is approaching us. We won’t be able to leave if we don’t leave now.”
I noticed on my periphery how, even at this critical moment, Arron kept his cool. He swiftly grabbed the bread and food on the table and shoved them into his pocket before turning to pull me to run away. The doubt I had about him having second thoughts about my plan slowly evanesced.
Beryl’s POV
Arron and I generated the fastest sprint we could manage, but Ian followed closely behind us. If we pushed through our pursuance to escape from the camp with Ian trailing behind us, it wouldn’t take long before the adults found us. We were being too conspicuous.
I made up my mind and turned to Ian. “We promise to take you with us, but you have to help us distract the adults first, and then meet us at the hillside where we often go.”
Ian’s visage brightened with the idea. He swung his big tail to show that he understood. Then he turned his head and ran to divert all attention to him while we escaped.
A commotion broke outside, and we took it as our cue to move. Almost everyone in the pack had seen Ian following Mommy around, so even if he suddenly showed up at this ungodly hour, they wouldn’t do anything harmful towards him “Let’s go.”
I took Arron’s hand and hauled him from his spot to run as fast as we could. Ian was buying us only enough time, so we had to hurry. Fortunately, our tent was close to the exit, and no one passed by. Our escape was smooth.
We rounded the corner and wound up at the back door of a large shopping mall just near the camp. A van would be expected to park here later, and when it did, we would sneak in. It would then transport us to our destination.
Arron handed the bread to me and complained to me as he did so. He did not forget to glare at me as I accepted the bread. “You’re bad. You lied to Ian. When he finds out, he’ll be very sad and won’t like you anymore.”
I lowered my head and crumpled the bread into a ball. I was annoyed. Did he think I didn’t take that into account? But I didn’t think Ian would hate me. He was always carefree and free-spirited. I knew him too well to know that when I came back, ten roast chicken drumsticks would be enough for him to forget that I didn’t keep to my word.
“Don’t be sad. You take things seriously even when it’s being said as a side note. You know Ian’s such a good wolf. He won’t hate you.” Arron comforted me as he seemed to think I took to heart what he just told me.
He amused me. I faced forward in an attempt to ignore him. I threw the bread into my mouth and chewed it, shrugging to drop the conversation. “It’s okay. We can explain to him what happened when we come back.”
“Alright.” The relief that surfaced on his face was near corporeal as he beamed at my remark. He removed the water bottle hanging around his neck and opened the lid for me.
We finished off the bread we managed to take with us and waited for about ten minutes before we saw the van closing in on us. Finally!
We opened the trunk and hid in it as soon as the people got off the van as covertly as we could handle.
Not long after, the van started to move and then soon pulled over at the destination. At least, we somehow kept our presence under wraps and avoided the part where unknown dangers would have taken us to a different route. Arron and I waited for everyone in the van to get off. We had taken ourselves this far; we shouldn’t take any risk that would send us back to where we had just escaped.
All of a sudden, a cry of panic erupted from the adults outside. They were talking about two children who were missing, who, I supposed, were us.
Their hurried footsteps followed closely amidst muffled conversations. Someone suggested they inform the Alpha, but they couldn’t reach out to her.
I couldn’t help but feel nervous. Still, excitement was there in the middle of the anxiety. I started to tremble.
Arron grabbed my sleeve, stealing my attention. He must have thought I was scared.
I held his hand and said gently, “It’s now or never. We must run. Hold my hand and don’t let go of me.”
Arron nodded vigorously.
I tried to make out what was happening just outside the van. Soon, the people outside had gone to look for us, while those who were in the van had gone shopping. Only when the bustling outside quieted down was I sure that no one was no longer nearby.
I tugged Arron closer to me. We quickly slipped out of the trunk and sneaked into the busy market when no one noticed us. That way, we would naturally blend in with the crowd, making it even harder for them to find us.
It was a large market, and we had to cross it before reaching a hotel building. There would be a caravan waiting there.
We were concentrating on our run when my shoelaces loosened. I squatted down to tie them back in a hurry, but I couldn’t. Fortunately, Arron thought it better to help me. He pulled me into the corner and fastened my shoelaces. He was unusually calm at this time, but I shrugged it off.
With a strong sense of direction, he successfully found the other exit of the market. From afar, a park near the hotel emerged-that was where we were heading next.
Crystal’s POV
In the morning, after I updated Beta Jeb on some important matters, I got into the car to head to the imperial capital.
I’d intended to drop by the camp to sneak in one last look, but I was told that I was running late. I might not make it to the reception banquet prepared by the lycan king for the major packs in time.
I had no choice but to let it go.
In the end, I thought that perhaps this wasn’t a bad thing. If the kids saw me, they wouldn’t let me leave.
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