It was now Rem’s turn to look at them as if trying to learn Icelandic in a single conversation until Nia finally glanced Rem's way. "Suna wants to know what you think of Ronan."
Rem’s pulse quickened without thought, and she feared they could hear that. Which, of course, only prompted it to race more. She even blushed. To control her racing thoughts, which only sped up as she remembered how he looked without a shirt on, or how his hand felt on her wrist, or how it felt to rest on his back—she blinked and said, "I haven't really gotten to know him."
Suna spoke, and Nia looked at Rem with apprehensive eyes. "She wants to know if you really want to become a Luna."
Rem's blood ran so hot she wanted to get out and jog the rest of the journey, feeling as if Suna somehow knew everything that festered in Rem’s heart. But as she looked at the she-wolf, his sister seemed to be genuinely curious. Rem didn't know how to answerthateither, so Rem said,"What I'd really prefer is a steak right now."
Suna replied through a chuckle, and Nia translated, "She said that you'll love the way it tastes raw when you're a shifter. Nothing is better than warm, fresh meat." There was a pause from Nia, and Rem focused back on her. "She says that you and Ronan should spend more time together. Since Jemma is off the tables, she doesn't think anyone else is good enough for Ronan. She wants her nieces and nephews to be Silvers. She likes your strength and resilience so far. She’s basically saying she likes what she sees. Which is good,” Nia said, now addressing Rem herself, raising her brows with support, “Getting approval from family is big with us."
Rem tapped her fingers on her thigh, wondering whoJemmawas, once again.
Before Rem could respond, they were interrupted with quickly spoken Icelandic in the front. Nia leaned over, excited, and grinned. "Oh, we're ten minutes out."
Silence befell them once more, and Rem tapped her fingers even faster.Scarlet Howl. She was closer to an evenmoreforeign land, with leaders who hadmorepower than Ronan.
This was also where she would become a shifter.
If it weren’t for her focus to remain calm for Oliver, it would undoubtedly be impossible to rein back her anticipation.
Ten minutes took a long time, her stomach buzzing with nerves. The rough ride swayed back and forth, her head hurting; she feared the car would crash again at times. Those concerns quickly lifted when Rem saw the first sign of civilization through the windshield.
It was the grandest sight she had ever seen.
Against a backdrop of mountains, shaded by a setting sun, was a city built through the valleys. Erected above the rest was a large structure that could only be a fortress of some kind.
A vast river cut through the Earth like a natural barrier to the city, guards greeting them at a fenced bridge before they opened steel gate doors to allow them inside. Once across, they drove on streets that looked like an irregular blend of old concrete and new cobblestone, passing by buildings that appeared old and renovated. Rem's jaw dropped as she took in the setting, only ever having seen something akin to this in a book, except everything about this was better. Birds flew over the city, and smoke billowed into the sky above. The streets were filled with people and markets, rogue dogs roaming. The front window to the truck was down, and she could smell sewage, smoke, something delicious cooking, and wet stone; the shiny masonry revealed it must have rained recently. There was also laughter, yelling, and someone playing a hand instrument. Homages to shifter mythology scattered the city high and low: wolves, owls, the moon, the goddess, and wooden sculptures of people she didn't recognize. Homes were built on top of homes in a cluttered disarray that seemed planned at the same time.
Ashmire wasnothingcompared to this. Her village was just a bunch of dingy homes, farms, and smelly cattle.
Thiswas amazing. She never thought something like this could exist. Thomasville had been impressive in its own right, but this reminded her of stories like New York or Paris from days before the Great Purge. She had no way to actually compare them, but this was the closest she had ever gotten to bringing her imagination to life.
"You haven't seen the full commons for Warden, but we have a similar area like this. It’s less of a city than this is, which is very human influenced," Nia said as she noticed Rem’s amazement. “Scarlet coalesces the shifters and humans, versus spreading them out over the vast lands like we do.”
"This is so much more interesting than Thomasville. I was already impressed with that city, but this one takes the cake," Rem said, looking at Nia.
Nia frowned. “How do you know of Thomasville?”
Rem darted her gaze back out the window, growing tired of covering the lies. “Gally spoke about it once when I asked where she got her clothes.”
Nia leaned in. “Rem… Did something happen? Your voice squeaks when you’re lying.”
Rem shook her head furiously, as Freya’s head slightly tilted to show she was listening in. Nia dropped it, although Rem could tell the topic was getting to the she-wolf, who narrowed her eyes as if to say next time, she would press further.
It took twenty minutes to drive through that section of Scarlet, the castle-like building looming high in the background as a constant reminder of where they were. Rem didn’t doubt it was the home of the sovereigns. Once they left the mess of buildings and people, the roads cleared up as trees filled the scenery once more. They turned down a more secluded, cobbled street. Immense evergreens and hedges lined their way.
Oddly, it made Rem feel close to her gran. Did the cities of the hunters look like this? Had her gran ever seen something akin to these streets?
The truck rolled to a stop when the hedges revealed an iron gate. A man stood in front of it, five others close behind him.
"Oh no," Nia said.
The same tone echoed in Freya's and Suna’s voice as they spoke to each other.
"What?"
"That's Alpha Marcus, of the Malus Moon Pack. He and Ronan... Have a healthy antagonism."
"Enemies?" Rem asked, sucked into the politics of this world, and more subtly, on matters related to Ronan.
