Love And Betrayal | ✔️

30. Horny Hot McHormones

IF BEING IN heat wasn't screwing up my brain already, I would have reacted much better.

Instead, it's Aden whose expression changes dramatically within a span of seconds. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I'm not." Ashton says flatly.

"Then how is it that I feel nothing, while you're already aware of it?" He demands while shooting me an involuntary glance. His mere glance is enough to make me go bright red again and I lean against the wall trying to calm my racing heartbeats.

Fuck. This is embarrassing.

"Because, one, you've been in here the whole time while I just entered. And two, she's been through this phase before and I've experienced it first hand." Ashton explains impatiently. "Now can we focus on the more important topic? I don't know if you heard me, I said, Ariana's missing!"

"We heard you the first time." Aden retorts. "We'll find her."

"Easy for you to say." Ashton spits bitterly. "What happens when you don't? You'll escape and leave her to die, won't you?"

Aden frowns at him.  "She's family. We don't give up on family."

Ashton exhales. "They know we're in one of the towers, but they don't which one, so they're searching all the four. I was at the base of the tower, looking out for any soliders patrolling the vicinity, when I saw about two dozen of them, surrounding every tower. They were armed. As soon as I saw, I rushed upstairs to inform you guys. When I called Ariana, she didn't respond. That's how I knew she was gone."

"Are you sure she's not playing a prank on you? She's an Evergreen, after all." Aden muses, shooting me a sidelong glance. "You know how they are."

"I'm sure, Carter. I turned the room upside down searching for her!"

"Maybe she's in heat too. She's hiding because her emotions are all over the place?"

Ashton shakes his head. "Not possible. I'd pick up the smell right away. Besides, she's been injected with wolfsbane so many times, it's going to take a lot of time for her wolf to heal. Her body isn't healthy enough to go into heat."

True.

I look out the window facing the White Sea. In the moonlight, things look eerier than they seem. The tower is at the very edge of a cliff, making it at the Southern corner of the little fortress.

"They know they've got us cornered like rats." I mutter in despair, speaking aloud for the first time in a while. "We walked right into a trap."

Aden exhales loudly. "We fight. We do what we came to do."

"What if it ends up with all of us dying?" Ashton asks unsurely.

"Then we die fighting." Aden says. Arching an eyebrow at Ashton, he snorts. "You too chicken for that?"

Ashton bares his teeth menacingly. "I ain't chicken any time of the day. But unlike an idiot, I don't plan on dying today without a reason."He adds, "I'd strike back only when I know I have a shot."

"Just like you know you never have a shot with Ariana?"

Oh crap he didn't just go there. Zara and I mentally facepalm.

Ashton turns an alarming shade of purple as he takes an intimidating step. "The fuck did you say, asshole?"

"Enough!" I growl, coming between both. "Why can't you both just leave your alpha egos aside for once and just get along? My sister is missing for crying out loud and this place is like a fucking grenade that is waiting to explode any second! We need a plan to get out of here, not a plan to rip each other's reputation apart!"