Beyond the Border | ✔

35 | rule 98

RULE 98: THE OUTSIDE WORLD IS DANGEROUS — AND NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE BEASTS THAT LURK OUTSIDE.

✷ C H A P T E R T H I R T Y - F I V E ✷

"Are we there yet?" Mina asked just moments after we all piled in the SUV.

Without hesitating, Heath stopped the car mid-way through backing up, swiveling his head to try and face Mina who was sitting behind him. His neck skewed at an awkward angle, back flexing. "Do you want to walk all the way there, Mina?"

    "It would be faster," she smirked while giving the back of Heath's seat a kick.

    "Slow and steady wins the race," Heath turned back, hands gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles. He blew out a frustrated breath before continuing to pull out of the driveway, starting our journey to find a witch – a particular witch.

    "Maybe if you were a Wereturtle," Mina propped up her feet, relishing in pestering Heath. One of Heath's hands slid between the seat to try and remove Mina's feet, but his feeble attempts were unsuccessful. Whenever he came close to clasping one of her shoes, she would just maneuver them elsewhere.

    "Ew," Heath reconciled, removing his hand, "you're one of those?"

    "One of what?" she kicked the back of his seat again.

    "You know, one of those people who fetishize unnatural shapeshifters," Heath responded, now pulling onto the road.

    "Wereturtles exist?" I could not pass up on the opportunity to ask. I had never heard of a Wereturtle before, and while it seemed fake, I could not know for certain.

    Mina and Heath burst into laughter. Mina covered her mouth before she turned to me with softened eyes to say, "oh, Sage, I personally like to believe they don't exist because natural selection won that fight. But no, there's no such thing as a Wereturtle."

    I shrugged my shoulders, a slight blush warming my cheeks. "I've heard of stranger things happening."

    "True," Mina nodded her head. "Heath somehow managed to become a Gamma, after all."

    "For the last time, Mina, I didn't just manage to become Gamma. I worked hard to earn this position. Right, Theo?" Heath nudged the air around Theo who was preoccupied looking at some papers – a common occurrence. I tried to prop my head forward to see what Theo was looking at, but he sensed my gaze, moving the papers just out of eyesight.

    "Hm," Theo responded, his head cast down as he flipped over a page.

    "Are we there yet?" Mina asked again, her body sinking into her seat.

    "No," Theo responded, his voice laced with annoyance. "Now, will you two please be quiet? I am trying to find out where Vanessa will be exactly."

    "You don't know where we're going?" I inquired, taking a look out the window beside me. Trees passed by in a blur as Heath drove faster than I thought he ought to. The face-paced scenery caused my stomach to tumble, so I quickly tore my head away, staring at the headrest in front of me, instead.

    "I know the general area," he responded. "Vanessa does not stay in one place for too long."

    My heart froze, my body growing rigid as I thought: the way Theo talked about Vanessa made it seem like he knew her. It was impossible, of course. The way Theo described the endangered state witches lived in would make it almost impossible for him to acquaint himself with one, right? However, he was a powerful Alpha. If someone has a connection to a witch, it would be him.