Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Dylan ended the training session early that day because he received a voicemail from Isabel, asking him to come home. There was something off about her voice which got him worried. He doesn’t know why, but he thinks whatever she has to say was important and probably urgent since she didn’t wait for him to get back from training. There was an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach he was struggling to shake off, but it wouldn’t go away.

Does this have something to do with Rodrigo’s sudden visit? Did he do something wrong? Was he softening towards the warriors to the annoyance of the former alpha?

Of course not. He didn’t change the training patterns, neither did he cut the hours short. He only cracks one or two jokes with the warriors, to help ease their tension.

All of these thoughts ran through Dylan’s mind as he drove back home. He parked his car in the driveway on arrival, not bothering to park it in the garage where it ought to be.

‘That can wait’ he thought to himself as he took long strides into the house.

“Where is Isabel?” He asked Ingrid urgently the moment he was inside the house.

The startled female werewolf pointed towards the direction of the study. Dylan said a polite,

“Thanks.” and jogged there.

On reaching the door to Isabel’s study room, he knocked twice before going in. There was nothing out of the ordinary when he got inside, making him wonder why he was agitated.

Isabel was sitting comfortably on her chair, staring at her phone.

“Have a seat.” She said drily, gesturing at the chair across her desk.

He didn’t like the distance in her voice. It reminded him of how they started off. He would’ve thought Isabel had something up her sleeves, but his mate isn’t one to play pranks. He only hoped they’re not about to get into another argument after many days of living in peace.

“I got a call from the Greenwood pack earlier today.” She began as soon as he was seated.

Dylan’s heart jumped in his chest at the mention of his former pack.

Why would his family go as far as contacting his mate? What do they wish to achieve by doing this?

All of this is his fault. He should never have called to tell them of his whereabouts. Now he’s on the verge of losing the perfect relationship he has tried so hard to keep.

“Isabel, I-“

“They’re under attack from rogues.” She cut him off, going straight to the point.

“What?!” He angrily pushed back his chair and stood up.

So, this is the reason why his wolf has been restless. Why was his former pack suddenly under attack?

They have worthy warriors who can defend the pack, so how did they let things get out of hand?

He needs to speak to his family. He needs to know what the situation is like. He needs to know if they are all safe. No, he needs to be there in person, to help them out.

“Just so you know… I don’t meddle in the affairs of other packs unless it concerns me.” Isabel’s stern voice interrupted his thoughts.

Is that all she has to say regarding this issue? How can the safety of his pack, his family not be of any concern to her?

“I can’t believe you, Isabel… This is about my pack, my family!”

“This is the last time I’ll have to remind you that the Pride pack is your new pack.”

“Does that really matter right now?!” In his anger, he slammed his fist on the desk, glaring at his mate in disbelief.

“Behave yourself.” Isabel warned through gritted teeth. She clenched her fists by her sides, to prevent herself from being controlled by her wolf. She understood how her mate was feeling at the moment, so she was going to pardon his unruly behavior.

“I called you here because I can’t make a decision on this matter without your consent.”

“Just great! Now you have me in mind.” He snapped with heavy sarcasm. It worries him to think that something bad might happen to his pack.

Although they consider the Pride pack a rival pack, they went out of their way to ask for their help which only means that the matter was beyond their control. To alleviate his worries, he bit the insides of his lower lip until it started to bleed.

How can his mate be so insensitive to his fears? He thought she cared about him? That must’ve been him getting ahead of himself.

“You’re yet to give me your reply, Dylan.”

“Are you even asking?”

“Fine then… Get your bags ready. We’ll be leaving first thing in the morning.” Isabel concluded, dialing a number on her phone.

Dylan was taken aback by her response. As much as he wanted her to help his former pack, he didn’t think she’d give in so quickly.

Did she actually mean it when she said she was waiting for his consent? Was she trying to tell him from the very beginning that she was only doing this because it concerns him?

Was he too quick to judge her?

How does he apologize for his outburst?

He nervously scratched the back of his neck as he stared at his mate who seemed unaffected by their brief exchange.

“I would like to be left alone.” Isabel suddenly said before he could open his mouth to apologize, leaving him with a sense of guilt.

Dylan nodded and quietly made his way to the door without a backward glance.

******HOURS EARLIER******

Isabel went into the study after saying goodbye to her dad. Her hand unconsciously settled on her neck as she gave her dad’s suggestion a careful thought.

Letting Dylan mark her as his would not only make the bond between them unbreakable, it would make Dylan a stronger werewolf than he already was and break the barrier that prevents a werewolf from another pack from communicating through mind link. Being able to reach her mate at anytime of the day would be a beautiful experience, but the cobs that comes with completing a mating ritual keeps holding her back.

She would lay down her life to protect her pack, her family and her mate, but at the same time, she didn’t want her efforts going to waste. She wished her mate a long and fulfilled life with or without her and nothing can make her change her mind, not even her selfish desires.

With that conviction, Isabel’s thoughts turned to the issue she discussed with her dad. The Greenwood pack had called her dad to ask for their help because they were under rogue attack. Under a different circumstance, she would be indifferent to the pleas of a rival pack, but this wasn’t just any pack, this was her mate’s former pack. What concerns her mate equally concerns her, so why does she feel hesitant to help?

Could it be because of the nagging feeling she’s been having of late? Was this her own trial?

Isabel felt a cold shiver of fear run through her for the first time. The thought of dying wasn’t as pleasant as it sounded when professing it. What does she do in a situation like this? She wondered.

Should she keep the news away from Dylan to save herself from an early demise? Or should she go ahead and lend them a hand, damning the consequences that comes after?

Leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed, Isabel let her brain rather than her emotions do the math. After thirty minutes of deep thinking, she reached for her phone on the desk and put a call through to the alpha of the Greenwood pack.

“I’ll be seeing you in the next twenty four hours.”

******PRESENT******

The tension in the bedroom was killing Dylan. Isabel kept some distance between them on the bed, with her back towards him like they were strangers. This bothered Dylan who was deeply sorry for his actions earlier. He had let his worries and the bad blood between the two packs push him into misjudging his mate.

Rather than coaxing her into helping his former pack or better still sending some warriors to assist them in fighting if she didn’t want to go there herself, he yelled at her and disrespected her. That was really immature of him. She wasn’t obliged to help the Greenwood pack since he was no longer one of them, but still she wanted to help.

He turned to look at his mate whose breathing was steady, indicating that she was already asleep and moved closer to her, placing his arm around her waist. He pressed his lips on her shoulder and whispered,

“I’m sorry I misjudged you. I was wrong to have let my fears and insecurities get the best of me… From now on, I’ll trust you with every beat of my heart."

He snuggled up to Isabel , breathing a sigh of contentment and letting himself fall into a deep and peaceful sleep.

Isabel, who Dylan had thought was asleep opened her eyes when she noticed her mate’s breathing was steady. She had been ignoring him after the incident in her study and had pretended to be asleep to avoid any awkwardness between them. She didn’t want him apologizing for nothing he did wrong. He was right to feel worried about his family and get angry at her for acting oblivious to his emotions. She acted that way because she couldn’t help it, it was in her nature to not let people see through her thoughts and emotions.

Meanwhile deep down, she knew it was her obligation to help the Greenwood pack because no matter how hard the two packs try to deny it, they are now like a family.

Isabel smiled at her mate’s cheesiness and placed her hand on his, giving it gentle strokes.

‘What does the future hold for the both of them?’ she wondered as her eyelids began to droop.

It was an hour and a half flight from the Pride pack to the Greenwood pack. Isabel brought Xavi along with twenty other warriors on the journey. She entrusted her dad with the task of taking care of the pack for the next twenty four hours as she doesn’t intend to spend more than a day in the Greenwood pack.

When they arrived at the airport, there was a black Toyota SUV and a bus already prepared for them. Isabel and Dylan climbed into the SUV alongside Xavi while the rest of the warriors got into the bus.

On their way to the Greenwood pack, Dylan couldn’t help but be filled with nostalgia as he stared at the environment he once called home. Memories of his childhood came flooding back, making him feel bad about his current state of relationship with his family. He owes them an apology for his bad behavior towards them over the years and he expects them to do likewise.

Longing for a sense of security, he intertwined his fingers with an oblivious Isabel, who was staring out the window, probably observing the new environment. Due to how busy Isabel was with making preparations for their journey to his former pack, he was yet to properly apologize to her for the previous day’s incident. At some point, he felt like she was deliberately avoiding him so he gave up trying to get her attention and concluded within himself that he was going to apologize when they returned from the Greenwood pack. Dylan was utterly shocked when Isabel gave their entwined fingers a light squeeze. He stared at her with wide eyes, not being able to contain his surprise.

Isabel must’ve felt his continuous stare as she diverted her attention away from the window. She smiled at him and he couldn’t help but smile back. Could this mean that he was forgiven?

He stared at their fingers one more time to make sure he was seeing correctly. Indeed he was. Just as he was about to say a “thank you” to his mate even though they only arrived the pack and had no idea what the situation was truly like, the car suddenly came to a halt indicating that they had reached the house he used to call home.

The car door was opened by Xavi and Isabel wasted no second in climbing out of the car, leaving his gratitude hanging in his teeth. He imitated her action and let out a heavy sigh the second his foot made contact with the ground.

“It’s an honor to have you in the Greenwood pack. Thank you for not ignoring our plea for help.” Daniel, Dylan’s older brother came out of the house to greet Isabel and her entourage.

Dylan became emotional on seeing his older brother after being away from home for over two months. Daniel was the only one who stood by him sincerely, irrespective of his mate less status then. He noticed that Daniel had lost weight and wasn’t looking as bright as he used to. Dylan felt a sudden pang of sadness in his chest as he stared at his brother.

“Next time you have a message for me, don’t go through a third party.” Isabel said straight faced. She needed to make it clear to these people that she was the alpha of her pack and not her dad.

Dylan was hurt by his mate’s tough demeanor towards his older brother, but he could do nothing about it. She was the alpha of the greatest pack.

“I had no intention of making you feel insulted. I was desperate and that was the only number available to me at the time.” Daniel politely explained.

It was a good thing Daniel was the one who came out to welcome his mate, Dylan thought to himself. He was more level headed than their father, who would’ve been offended by Isabel’s statement.

“Apology accepted… Please, lead the way.”