Page 48 of Mate to the Alpha Of All Alphas
All through their journey from Oklahoma, Ismena was having the time of her life with her best friend. Alphose has never seen ladies who clatter and laugh so much.
They talk about every little thing, every unnecessary thing in the book, and yet, they seemed to be at their happiest as they discussed all those things. Although he had to tune them out because he respects their privacy, he had to admit that they are...cute.
But then again, he has worries.
Apart from the little problem of how to explain his identity to Kassandra in order to get her through the borders and the Wild Forest,there's still the big problem of how to explain to the Alpha King that he took his woman back to her world without his knowledge or permission.
He had agreed to do what Ismena and Eline wanted because he'd expected it to take a few hours without any drama or problems. Then, they will be back and pretend it never happened, but that won't be the case anymore, because there's Kassandra.
And to explain why and how Kassandra is in Naturiah, he has to tell Wolfaraine the whole truth. He is not looking forward to it at all.
"Jamie, that dumbass, still published that article anyway." Kassandra announced, in between hysterical laughter. She was seated at the back of the taxi with Ismena.
Ismena was practically wheezing herself. "No way! Oh, my God, after everything!?"
"After everything!" Kassandra agreed too.
As the women let out another burst of laughter, Alphose had to force himself not to turn back and watch Kassandra laugh. It sounded so good to his ears, he was tempted to turn back and watch.
He forced himself not to do so, which in turn made the cougar sulk.
Ismena's laughter was drawn out, which forced him to admit that he has never seen the Alpha King's woman so happy before. And his own woman—
Stop, Alphose. You do not know for sure if she is your woman. That reminder made his chest tighten.
What if she is not his?
His claws lengthened. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down. He is determined to get to the root of all these. For the first time inhis life, he and his cougar are attracted to the same woman. It's not common, and that is why he has to keep his hope alive.
They got to the final path and Alphose told them to come down. He paid the taxi driver and waited for the driver to leave completely. Then, he turned and looked at Ismena for guidance.
Ismena turned to her friend, "We'll have to walk for a while from here. What do you think, Sandy?"
"I'll sure love to walk." Sandra said, stretching herself. "After sitting down for most of the day, walking is a good idea. I have to admit that this is a long journey. I don't even know the part of the country we're in anymore, that is if we're still in the country. We took the flight before the rides, after all."
Ismena walked with her friend, smiling. "No, we are nowhere near the U.S anymore."
"I figured." She nodded, looking around. "Which part of the world is this?"
Ismena glanced at Alphose before turning back to her friend. "It's a surprise."
"Uh-huh." Was the reply she gave before she continued walking, "You know that I love traveling. Even before I became a journalist, I've always loved traveling."
"I know. I know that for sure." Ismena held her hand as they walked. "You remember those days when you just got your job? You always gave me a detailed rundown of every new country you go to and..."
Alphose tuned them out to focus more on their environment. As they walked, he followed behind them quietly, opening his heightened senses to check out for threats, traps, and intruders.
If Sandra noticed that they are walking away from road-paths, making their way into the woods, and deeper into the woods, she said nothing about it. Only clattered more with her best friend.
It was a long walk that left the ladies almost breathless. And, that was when the question he'd known would come, came.
"Why are we cruising the forest? And why are we walking round and round in circles?" Sandra asked her best friend curiously, "I'm very sure I've passed this pine tree and orange tree before. In fact, I've very sure we've passed it three times now."
"We ain't going round in circles, baby." Ismena assured her.
"Wait first, I have to catch my breath." She stopped walking, bending to support her knees with her hands. She took deep, heavy breaths. "I think I'll be losing a few pounds after this."
"We're almost at the border." Alphose said for the first time in a long time. He stopped too, "It's time, Ismena."
