An Unwavering Promise--Completed

Chapter Thirty-One

Eleanor’s POV

Hours had gone by, and the same scenery of trees in different shades of green and brown passed us by. The car was quiet, except for Alexander’s snores. He needed the rest. He had been driving since I had taken over for him several hours ago when we had stopped for gas. Alexander had claimed that he was fine and could continue driving, but after I’d almost literally fought for the driver’s seat, he’d fallen asleep within the first 15 minutes of getting back onto the road.

We’d make it to the Alpha Summit by nightfall, and I had instructed Angel to tell the hosting pack to expect us and have a room prepared. Apparently, no one had thought we’d join, which pissed off, but was a fair assessment. Neither Alexander nor I had actually thought about going because of everything going on. However, fate had other plans for us, and they included us attending the Alpha Summit.

Alexander stirred for a moment, letting out a groggy groan.”Are we almost there?”

I smiled and let out a chuckle. “Not yet. Get some more rest. I’ll wake you if I need you.”

He barely gave me a nod before he was asleep again. Ugh. Men. It was as if they had a superpower that allowed them to fall asleep anywhere, at any time, and on anything. But, I wasn’t going to grumble too much because I knew how badly he needed rest. It had certainly been a harrowing couple of…I didn’t even know how long we’d been stuck in those pods I . I hadn’t even asked Xavier or Hailey when I had seen them. It hadn’t seemed important at the time. Now, though, now it seemed like I should know, or at least should have asked. Something in the back of my mind was bugging me, and I couldn’t place my finger on it. There was something I was missing; something important.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, I focused on the road in front of me. There were only a handful of cars on the 5-Freeway with us. We were basically in the middle of nowhere.

Look.

Rae’s voice startled me, and I jumped in my seat.

What?

Look to your left. See that? Can’t you sense that?

I peered out my window, doing my best to still keep my eyes on the road. I wasn’t going to let Rae cause an accident. She wouldn’t be the one to blame, and I seriously doubted that the police would just let me go investigate whatever ‘my wolf’ saw in the trees. I smirked at the image that popped into my head of me trying to convince the police that I was a werewolf.

Focus! And look!

Rae’s anger snapped me out of my reverie, and I once again stared out of my window. There. I saw it. Movement. It was subtle, but even in the fading light, I had seen it: glowing eyes.

I smacked Alexander on the arm, jolting him awake.

“Rae sensed rogues, and I saw one in the forest. It looked like it was running with us. I could only see the one, though, I doubt it’s alone. Should we find it?” I asked, hammering Alexander with questions.

Alexander shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “A rogue?”

It was obvious that he had been in a deep sleep, and a part of me felt guilty for waking him up. I knew, however, that this is what he would prefer, even if it meant he barely slept ever again.

“Yes, a rogue. Doesn’t that seem odd to you? We’re almost to the pack house. It’s a little too close to the boundary line.”

“Are we in werewolf territory yet?”

I frowned. “Well, no. Not yet.”

“Okay… By law, rogues are allowed to roam any unclaimed territory. I’m sure that once it sees the boundary line, it’ll turn back or go home or whatever it is that rogues do,” Alexander replied nonchalantly.

I stared at him for a moment in disbelief as he squirmed around to find a more comfortable position.

“You’re not worried at all?” I questioned incredulously.

“Nope. But, I am tired, so I’d like to sleep some more.”

You should check it out anyway. It’s still there. I can feel him.

What is it about this rogue that holds your interest so? I mean, Alex isn’t worried, so I doubt Hunter is either. Usually Alex will listen to Hunter on matters like these.

It’s calling to me. I can’t quite describe it. I’m just getting a cry for help from it.

How? How is that even possible?

I don’t honestly know. But please, trust me. Listen to me. This is worth stopping for.

Nodding inwardly, I waited a few more miles before pulling off at the next exit. It led me down a ways before I turned into a gravel road and parked. Alexander gave me a confused glance.

“I’m checking it out. Rae is pleading with me to listen to her, and I will. She is not often wrong,” I stated assertively. “You can stay or come with. I don’t care.”

“Eleanor,” Alexander replied, clearly annoyed. “Come on. Don’t be like that. Don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not mad,” I refuted.

And truly, I wasn’t.

“I’m just going to be a few minutes. I’m trusting my wolf.”

I got out of the car, leaving Alexander to do whatever it was he decided to do, and slammed the door shut. Okay, maybe I was a little upset.

Looking around, I caught the scent of dirt and fleas. That had to be the rogue. It had followed me here? I kept my guard up, since this was highly unusual behavior from a rogue.

Once deemed unfit to be in a pack and forced into the life of a rogue, they did their best to stay away from other wolves. Often, rogues would be killed on site or at other degenerite packs, they were caught and murdered for sport. Rogues weren’t seen as equals to wolves, so therefore, they didn’t have the same value on their lives any longer. It was the worst possible fate any wolf could think of.

I heard a quiet howl, and swiftly made my way into the forest towards the noise. After a few hundred meters, I found an obviously wounded rogue. It whimpered when I approached and peered at me with eyes full of pain and sadness.

Let me take over. It wants to communicate.

I immediately began undressing, not even caring that I was doing so in front of another wolf. Alexander could be pissed later, but now wasn’t the time for me to care. The moment I dropped my last piece of clothing, Rae took over and my bones began to bend and snap out of their human form. Thankfully, I had shifted so much that I barely felt the pain anymore.

What I wasn’t expecting was Rae shoving me back into the recesses of our shared mind and blocking me out completely. I tensed in confusion and mentally pried at the block, but it was totally sealed. Fear overtook me. Rae had never done this before. I took the backseat in control, but I always got to watch through her eyes events unfolding. I couldn’t fathom why Rae would do this, nor could I even comprehend how she was able to keep me out so easily.

Panic was starting to take root next to my fear, and I began screaming to the void of blackness that lay before me. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t feel. I couldn’t smell or hear. Everything was shut off except for my human mind, and even that was losing its sanity.

And then, it was all back. There was no way for me to know how long I’d been shut out, but the scene before chilled my bones. I woke up alone and completely naked, laying on my back. It was cold and still dark, which meant that hopefully it was still the same night. But all around me were dead rogues. Just laying there, until I stood up because then I saw it: the pattern. There were enough dead rogues to clearly arrange a symbol in a huge diameter. My gut clenched at the sight of it because it was the one symbol that plagued my whole life. The one symbol that I thought I had figured out. The symbol on my body and that I assumed was a closed chapter in my life. The symbol of the dragon shooting out flames.

Questions flooded my mind. Wasn’t this supposed to be from the dragons? Wasn’t this answered already? Didn't’ this symbol mean that I was touched by the dragons? That I was a chosen one somehow? How could this happen?

Rae was silent. She had shoved herself far into our mind. She was scared. This brought more terror to my already over-stimulated brain.

What did any of this mean? How was this even possible? What was going on?

“Eleanor?” Alexander’s voice sounded behind me.

I whipped around quickly to face him.

“What did you do?” he then whispered, looking around and pointing. “How could you have done this?”

I pulled my eyebrows together in a frown. Me? How was this my fault?

I then glanced down, and saw that I was covered in blood. It was caked onto me and drying. Had Rae done this? What had happened? And would anyone believe me that I couldn’t remember?