Kevin's POV My head snapped to him in shock, wondering how he knew that Ella was having nightmares. He chuckled at my shock. "Don't be surprised. We have all been slaves at the utopia town and have passed through what she is passing through at the moment." "I know. It's called trauma. She will get over it. She is having nightmares about the man who captured and sold her to slavery but that is because we have history and unfinished business with him. I'm sure she will get over it." He smiled, shaking his head at me. "You are more innocent than I thought, wolf. It's not because of any history she has with the person who sold her off to slavery, it's because of the slave mark on her body. Every slaves who escape from their masters without being set free experience it. We all had nightmares when we ran away from our masters and never had any history with our captors till we were sold off." "Really?" I was stunned, at a loss for what to say and hated that I was wrong. "Yes. I didn't
Kevin's POV "Where have you been?" Ella said as soon as she saw me walk into the bedroom. I had been worried about waking her up for the trip and disturbing her sleep but I shouldn't have worried. I was relieved I wouldn't be disturbing her though seeing her awake already didn't make me happy. It meant that she had barely slept again. "Another nightmare?" I asked, afraid of what the answer was. She smiled as she shook her head. "No. I woke up when I couldn't find you beside me." "I'm here now." I smiled as I moved forward to give her a kiss on the head. "Yes, you are." She smiled. "You don't have to make us stay here because of me. I'm sure I can deal with the nightmares. The men who want to be home shouldn't have to suffer and kept waiting because the mate of their alpha is going through a phase. I will be stronger, Kevin, for myself and everyone else." That was my girl. I smiled at the strength and spirit in her. "I know you are strong, mate, and I would be a fool to doubt t
Kevin's POVThe men gathered and waited, looking at me with impatience and expectation and they fixed their eyes on me and the list in my hand.I had just finished telling them of the plan to erase the slave mark on Ella's wrist, leaving out the details of the horrible nightmares she had been having. It was getting worse and I couldn't afford to wait for another day before moving ahead on this journey.The nightmare she had yesterday night scared the senses out of me that I was ready to burst into the jungle at midnight if she hadn't wrapped her hands around my waist and sobbed that she was okay till I was finally able to calm down.It seemed like my men were eager to go on the journey too with the anticipation bubbling in the atmosphere. They were willing to make the sacrifice, I had told them of the dangers that we might have to face, to get Ella free from the shackles of her slavery I was touched by their loyalty and also felt guilty that I wasn't totally open with them about why t
Ella's POV I breathed with relief as we walked into a clearing, glad that we were done with fighting our way through. It had been so dense I could barely feel my feet. I couldn't even feel the others near me and was only conscious of myself and breaking through. I was only worried about myself and feeling nothing about the others and it was then that I knew. This place was spiced with magic. It wasn't much but was thrumming beneath the surface. I was becoming selfish and concerned only about myself within five minutes of being here and wondered how the creatures living here would be, having been here for long. They would no doubt be without mercy. I blew out a breath as I realized that we were in for a long fight but I was ready. I wasn't going to die here or go back home scarred. I was going to fight with all that I had and everyone was going home safe. My chest swelled with energy as I anticipated our journey in the Guchemba jungle to get to the Arok tree and getting back home.
Ella's POV The little girl moved back as we stepped forward and looked at her. "Don't be afraid of her. We are not going to harm you." I said, reaching out a hand to her and careful not to touch her so I wouldn't scare her away. "Where are you from?" Kevin asked. "What are you doing here?" The girl winced and I turned to Kevin. "Easy. You are scaring her." "Better I do that than she stay here and meet something that would kill her." The girl looked at me. "My name is Rue. I'm looking for my parents." I was glad that she finally spoke to me. "Your parents?" I asked in confusion, wondering where they were. The old man didn't mention that people lived near the jungle but I didn't doubt the girl. The villagers also lived near the jungle though not so close and it was possible the girl had people who had their reasons for staying close. The old man might have not have met the girl so couldn't have mentioned her. After all, he said those who ventured into the jungle had different
Ella's POV We didn't see it until it was too late. In my haste to get the girl home, I didn't notice that the soil before me was different from the one we had been walking on in the jungle. I yelped as my feet sank into the ground. In a bid to help me, the men rushed forward to grab me and we all sank into the sand. Suddenly, the ground caved in and we all fell tumbling down into the large hole beneath it. I tried to protect the girl from getting hurt as we fell and was shocked when she sprinted out of my arms and flew out of the hole. My mouth opened in surprise as I wondered how the little pathetic girl suddenly turned into a strong flying human creature. I had been played. I winced as I saw the girl smiling down at us and saw two huge creatures, a male and a female, walking towards us. "You did well, Creka." The male said, his voice booming. Creka? I sighed, feeling stupid. Everything about the little girl was a lie. I realized that the voice of the male sounded exactly like
Ella's POV "You brought this upon us." Andre hissed, finally breaking out. I sighed and didn't bother replying him. I knew he wasn't one to hold on to grudge for long and had been wondering when he would finally burst out with his anger and lash out at me. "Don't be too hard on her. She was only trying to save a lost soul." Liam sighed. "And now we are going to lose ours." Andre hissed. "Actually, we are only going to lose our flesh." Damien winked. Andre glared at him, shifting his anger from me to him. "Do you think it is funny? Is this the right time to make jokes?" "No, it's not but the joke made you stop glaring at Ella. She feels bad already." Damien replied. "You don't have to make her feel worse." Andre blushed and looked away. "I actually feel like shit." I whispered, turning to Andre. "I'm sorry if that makes you feel better." "It doesn't make me feel better but it's a start." He replied. "I don't think I can feel better until I leave this hell hole." "We all have
Ella's POV "Let's go." Kevin said once everyone had shifted into their human form. We nodded and waited for him to check the map so we could know the path we were to take from there to the Arok tree. Suddenly, there was a loud roar and we all looked around, wondering what it was. "I think it's the cannibal father." Damien sighed. "He doesn't seem like he is alone." Liam noted. "It seems like he went for reinforcement." "We can't stay here and wait to fight them when we don't know how many they are. What if we get outnumbered?" Andre sighed. "Let me see." Kevin said, peering at the map. "There should be a way back here." Suddenly, the ground started moving and vibrating under our feet. It felt like hundreds of huge feet were moving on it and running towards us. "Screw that." Andre said in panic and ran off. He wasn't the only one who ran off. The ground was shifting so much under our feet that we were all at risk of sinking under and getting buried alive. Everyone ran to avoi