The Betrayed won't Lie Low (discontinued)

Chapter 6

There was a moment of heavy silence.

"What was that?" Aurelia whispered.

Xander smirked slightly, though he still looked a bit unhinged. She made sure she wasn't in range.

"I guess you will get to see how this plays out," he said. "I'm going to take Nyx to a safer place first, well your old house that is, then I'll pack. Be ready when I'm back; we will be leaving this place as soon as the Alpha informs us that he's carried out his side of our deal."

"Uh... okay...?" Aurelia answered unsteadily.

Xander nodded. He looked at Aurelia one last time before leaving with his unconscious sister on his back.

Aurelia closed her eyes as she tried to make sense of what had just happened.

How was she ever going to get used to this?

Besides, how did they know that she was really a wolf-shifter? She knew that her senses were weaker than the average human's, for a fact. Her senses were supposed to be stronger than a human's since she was a wolf-shifter, right?

And in the end, could she even trust Xander? Or Nyx? It wasn't like she'd known them for less than a few weeks.

Not that time mattered.

She'd known David for thirteen years, all thirteen years of her short life, but he still betrayed her. Was it even called betrayal? Was she just too dumb, too immature to know that he was going to betray her?

They had never been real friends, had they? From the very start, he had been lying. Otherwise, why would he change, the moment his parents died?

No... Even if he had never been sincere in their friendship, wouldn't he at least had felt some sort of obligation to take care of her, since his parents had adopted her? Or pity?

Maybe he is just a heartless bastard, Aurelia suggested to herself.

That's right... He is a heartless bastard... and he'll always be.

Aurelia laughed bitterly to herself.

David was the person she had always trusted. Her faith in him had never faltered. She had never doubted him, not even for a second.

Now Aurelia wondered.

Why had she been so clueless? So naice? To trust in David completely, not even thinking that he might not be as trustful as her? To not think that he was lying the whole time?

Aurelia calmed herself with a lot of difficulty. She would need to preserve her energy for the trip ahead of her. Xander would be back soon; she might as well rest.

Though, all things considered, it wasn't like she could really have a restful sleep.

♤

"It is done?" Xander said quietly.

"Yes," Alpha Aurelios snapped.

"All of it?"

"Yes."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, now you cannot tell her or our deal is over."

"I won't."

Aurelia grumbled in her sleep.

Xander glanced at her before looking at Alpha Aurelios expectantly. "Now leave."

Alpha Aurelios rolled his eyes and glared at Xander. "I'm not going to stop you from leaving, but if you come back, it will be seen as a declaration of war."

Xander snorted. "Three wolf-shifters against the Royal pack? Don't you think that's... dastardly?"

Alpha Aurelios ignored him as he stood and stormed out of the room.

Xander rolled his eyes.

Now I just have to wait until she wakes up.

♤

Aurelia blinked. "...X-Xander...?" she muttered.

"I'm here," Xander's voice came to her ears.

Aurelia looked around the room to find him standing over her.

"Are you ready to leave yet? The Alpha's come and gone already."

He said the word "Alpha" sarcastically, putting emphasis on it. It was clear that he didn't think of Alpha Aurelios as an Alpha.

Aurelia nodded as she sat up, yawning. "Let's g - OW!" she shouted as she fell off her bed. She stood. "Let's go," she said, this time finishing her sentence.

Xander chuckled slightly. "It's raining outside too."

"Oh! Is that a bad thing? Should we wait until the rain is over or should we - "

"No, Aurelia," Xander cut her off, "it's a good thing."

"Good thing?" Aurelia repeated, her eyebrows furrowed. "Good thing, how? I hate the rain. I don't want to be soaked and cold and - "

"Because it will wash away our scent," Xander cut her word-vomit off again. "Now come on. I've got raincoats."

Aurelia grimaced as she followed him out the door, noticing that Xander was carrying a huge backpack. It was probably full of supplies they would need.

They made their way through corridors filled with wolf-shifters, yet none of them made a move to stop them. It was quite the opposite, actually. They moved to the two side of the corridors, letting Aurelia and Xander pass with ease, as if they were royalty.

Wait, Aurelia was.

Technically at least.

"Good luck."

Aurelia's eyes widened as she heard one say the words.

"Princess, make sure to come back and kill your father for us."

What?

Cuts appeared on the wolf-shifters who had spoken the traitorous words.

Xander nodded, not replying to any of them. After all, they were speaking to their princess, not their lord commander knight. "Come on."

"Wait, Xander," a familiar voice said.

Xander followed the voice to see a woman with black hair in a ponytail and grey eyes.

"Laurelyn?! What are you doing back here, it's not safe--"

"Hush, Xander."

Aurelia stared at the Asian woman clad in black.

Who is that?

"How did you even get in here?" Xander gasped.

"They let me in," the woman replied. "I'm going with you."

"But - "

"You must be Aurelia, right?" the woman cut Xander off and said to Aurelia.

Aurelia nodded, still confused.

"My name is Laurelyn Zhou. I'm Xander and Nyx's sister."

"Oh... I'm Aurelia, but you already know that." Aurelia was so confused, especially with the surname - “the Alpha changed the family's,” Nyx had said - but she still answered.

Laurelyn nodded. "The knights informed me of everything. I will be going with you."

"I never agreed to this!" Xander cried.

"I don't care. But you will let me go or I will follow you to wherever you go," Laurelyn snapped.