TO RULE RED RIVER

Part 20 - Obsidian City

FINN

I fucking hate the desert; the air here is so hot and dry, and I swear all I've been able to taste since we landed at the nearby runway is gritty sand in my mouth. What a shit hole.

The sun is already starting to set as we didn't want to arrive during daylight as most outsiders tend to arrive when the evening activities of gambling and sex shows begin before the auction houses open up.  I shift my gaze from the road made from red sand and dirt and look to Dax who's just hit the accelerator once more on our jeep as we round yet another canyon.

"Slow it down. Scouts could be watching, and we don't want to draw any attention." I grit out.

Dax doesn't say anything, but just nods as his eyes never leave the road but he eases his foot off the pedal, and we slow down a little to a more relaxed speed.

Looking in the review mirror I then see Cass who's sat in the back reading yet again.

"Fuck Cassian, I said leave that book at the hanger. You can't be found with that here. Hide it under your seat, will you?" I frown at him.

Cass sighs, before he slams shut his book on wolf council laws and shoves it under the seat.

"I don't know what you're expecting to find in that thing, the laws are always bent anyways so the elders get whatever they want." I huff as I run a hand through my hair, brushing a mass of red sand from my dark locks. "You're just wasting your time always reading it."

"You'll see, there's loopholes to be found in there, sooner or later I'll spot them." Cass says firmly as I see a small smile on Dax lips as he rolls his eyes.

Yep, I agree with Dax, we've heard this all before about Cassian's loophole theories and how he's going to work the system in his favour. So far, I've shrugged it off, but if we're caught with that in our possession it could land us in serious shit in rogue territory. I've half a mind to throw it away so it gets lost in the desert, but as Cass paws over it like it's his own fucking pup I don't have the heart to toss it which I hope I don't end up regretting.

"We're nearly there. Look you can see the security lights coming up in the distance." Astrid says quietly.

I look over my shoulder to where Astrid is sat just behind my seat just as she pulls her scarf more tightly around her head and face.

"Last chance Astrid, if you want out of this, now is the time to say whilst we've still got time to turn the jeep around." I say to her seriously.

I watch as Astrid takes a deep breath before she shakes her head. "No, a deal is a deal. I'll help you with this and when you become Alpha you must keep your promise that my grandmother has a home for life at Red River. No coven will take her in now, so you're her last chance for a real home. Do I have your word on this Finn?"

Astrid's amethyst eyes flash fiercely with passion at her words as I hold my hand out to shake it without hesitation. "It's a deal, you also have a home with us too if that is what you wish." I say seriously.

Astrid takes my hand and shakes it, sealing out agreement before she pulls her hand away as if my touch makes her uncomfortable. "Deal and thank you, but after the tournament's over and I know my grandmother is safe, I mean to travel north to Alaska to a coven that would still welcome me. My grandmother may have burnt all her bridges with our kind, but I still have some options."

"You're just gonna shake hands on a deal as important as this? I thought they'd be more to it, like an offering to some high wanker wizard or shit like that." Dax jokes as Astrid's eyes flick onto him as I see a mischievous smirk hit her lips.