“You mean until he realizes we are gone.”
Well, I guess Liam is right despite his pessimism. Damian is really going to get mad at us… I won’t tell him that, though, so after I make him promise to come straight to the restaurant after school, I call Bobo. He is not happy about my plan either, and clearly concerned about my security, but he doesn’t stop me as long as he can come along.
When my shift is finally over, I’m kind of worried, because Bobo has arrived with the car, but Liam is not there yet. Why would he be late now? His class ended long ago, andhis high school is not that far either. I’m nervously playing with my necklace pendant while waiting. Bobo is acting as usual, texting, probably Daniel.
“If he is not here in ten minutes, we should—”
“No can do, Princess!”
I turn around, and to my surprise, Liam is finally here! I notice he doesn’t have his backpack or anything. He walks up to us with a confident smile.
“You are late! Where have you been? Did you go home to leave your bag?” I ask.
Liam shakes his head. “No, I dropped by my girlfriend’s place to leave it.”
His what...? I stare at him, dumbfounded. Even Bobo’s jaw drops!
“Since when do you have a girlfriend?”
Liam tilts his head, trying to look innocent or cute, I can’t tell. “For a while, actually. What, I can’t have one?”
“You never said a thing about having a girlfriend!”
“I never said I didn’t have one! It’s just that you and my brothers don’t ask!”
So, both Damian and Nathaniel have no idea either? Liam is even sneakier than I thought! I stare at him, not knowing what to say. I can’t believe this guy has a girlfriend and never said a thing!
Bobo frowns, really surprised, too. “Since when?”
“A few months, but don’t ask anymore, my lady is really shy.”
“What, so you won’t introduce her to us? You could at least tell us more!”
I have to admit, I’m feeling all curious now! Liam pretends to ponder for a while, a bit annoyingly I should say, then he gives me a wink. “I can’t, sorry! Anyway, didn’t you want to hurry up just a while ago, Princess? We should getgoing, the sooner the better before Damian unleashes all hell on us for this suicide mission you got for us!”
Despite my curiosity about Liam’s girlfriend, there was no way I would delay our trip to the Sapphire Moon Clan to learn more about that. We are running against the clock on that one. So, I give Bobo the address on the business card the Witch gave me, and he heads the car to the southwest. This is a part of Silver City I am very unfamiliar with. With the Jade territory being in the East, and the Blood Moon in the center, I never had any reason to head West until now. Judging from where we are headed, the closest I probably ever got to that part of town was probably when fighting with or against the Sea Moon Clan, located in the southwest.
“The Gold Moon Clan is located in the West, right?” I ask Bobo.
He nods. “Right. Their territory is not that big, but they have several establishments in the city, too, on the Rising Moon Clan’s turf.”
I really need to study this kind of things more carefully, but now I have a rough idea of how Silver City and its suburbs are divided between all the big Clans. Obviously, the Black Brothers and their packs are located at the center, owning quite a lot, too. In the East, my Jade Moon Clan, with the allied Pearl Moon more to the North. Elena’s Clan, the White Moon, dominates the North area, with the Latino and Artsy districts, but some parts like the Silver University premises remain neutral, of course.
The South, on the contrary, is larger and divided between the Sea Moon Wolves, focused on the sea border, the Violet Moon, and the Sapphire Moon. Of course, the borders are not definite and precise, more like a general idea of who is notsupposed to go where. But our wolf instincts clearly tell us when we are somewhere we are not supposed to be.
Like now, when the highway takes us further away from the Financial District, the buildings getting smaller behind the car’s windows. This is a different landscape. More like the old part of the city, with historic buildings and brand-new skyscrapers popping out of nowhere. I can’t decide if I like it or not. This is really different from the Silver City Damian brought me to, all made of glass, neon lights, asphalt, and steel. The Blood Moon turf is more uniform, urban and concentrated, while the Sapphire Moon Clan looks like a mix of old and new, wood and marble next to steel and glass. As we keep driving further, I notice the car slows down, while more and more wolves and people suddenly surround us. Their eyes are all following us without blinking, and we can’t ignore them. Bobo has to pull the car over, and we get out. We are probably just at the entrance of it but driving any further into their territory would have been too imprudent.
As we step down, a lot of the wolves that were following and a few people immediately rush towards us, all of them growling loudly. A sturdy woman comes forward, looking very pissed. “Are you kidding me? How disrespectful is the Blood Moon Clan to actually step into our territory unannounced! Are you prepared to get killed!”
Bobo instinctively comes to place his large body in front of me, growling very loudly in a threatening manner, warning anyone who would try to harm me. Sometimes I forget how large and menacing he can be. Still, now it is apparently sufficient enough— some of them don’t dare to approach his gigantic figure. Liam, with his Alpha instinct, is not holding back his growling, either. I can’t fear his Alpha aura, but I can tell it’s here, and pretty intimidating, too, as no one approaches him either.
I’m the only one keeping my calm, and not impressed by all this. So, I speak out for the three of us. I address the woman who spoke first. “We did not come here as Blood Moon Clan representatives. I don’t even belong to them; I don’t have any marking. Those two just came along.”
“A rogue, then? Do you think that is any better, young lady? Do you know how we treat strays here?” Says a young guy on the side.
“I don’t care if you consider me a rogue, but I just came to have a peaceful talk with your leaders. I have questions.”
This really doesn’t look good, despite my attempts to look as harmless as possible. About a dozen people and wolves are circling us closely already. I can’t have us attacked now, so I ignore Bobo’s efforts to shield me and address the woman. “Please let us through, that is all we ask.”
