The Cowgirl Rogue

Chapter 51

Corbin and I were breathing heavily and were tense while we both waited for something else to happen, and I couldn't help but park the truck and not leave the area we had been in. We didn't say a word and didn't get out of the truck while we waited, not knowing what to expect if we did so.

The truck shifted and shook as the weight of whatever landed on the roof of my truck got off, and the whole truck shook, squeaking just a tad when the person jumped off of it.

"Kel?" Corbin asked, his voice barely above a whisper while he looked out the windows to see if there was any way he could see what had happened but couldn't find anything yet. "Are you ok?"

"Un huh," I said and nodded while I grabbed my steering wheel tighter and set my jaw, waiting for something to happen. "As ok as I am ever going to be after all of that bull shit."

There was a knock on my window, and we both jumped in our seats, the seatbelts stopping us from hitting the ceiling of the truck.

"Shit!" we exclaimed in unison before we turned to see that someone was standing at my window, even though we were only able to see the silhouette of the person and nothing else, not even how the figure looked.

"Turn on your headlights," Corbin said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Do you think that we will be able to see them that way?"

I set my jaw and did what I was told to do, flicking on the lights only to reveal Joel standing there with his hands behind his back and a bored look on his face. "Oh, thank Goddess," I said with a sigh of relief, and my shoulders sagged in relief. "Joel."

Joel bowed his head in greeting. "Miss Rice, Corbin," he said while he looked between the two of us. He looked at me. "Are you going to roll down your window?"

I nodded in confirmation and rolled down my window even though I did not roll it down all the way but did it enough so that his voice wasn't as muffled as it had been. "What happened? Were you the thing that landed on my roof?"

Joel nodded in confirmation and set his jaw. "I am," he confirmed before he cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. He looked between the two of us, pressing his lips into a thin line before he looked at me. "Are you two ok?"

"Yes," I said and nodded in confirmation, and Corbin also nodded. "What happened? What's going on?"

Joel sighed and moved a hand through his hair before he shook his head, pursing his lips in annoyance. "You have been shot at," he said.

"Well, no shit," I said, sarcastically. "I am sure that my truck is ruined." I gestured to the truck, and he nodded, clearing his throat again to hide a chuckle. "However, we are safe. We haven't been hit by anything, which is a good thing."

"Good," he said and nodded. "That means that the truck worked as planned."

"It always does, Joel," I said and held back an eye roll while I pressed my lips into a thin line. "But who was shooting at us? How many people were there?"

"There are many people," Joel said and tucked his head closer to his chest while he stared at me. "They're Werewolves."

Corbin and I looked at each other before we looked at him with an equal blank look on our faces. "Were they being controlled?" he asked and raised an eyebrow, and Joel set his jaw and slowly nodded in confirmation.

"I believe so," he said.

I sighed and moved a hand through my hair, shaking my head. "Were there any deaths?" I asked, and Joel shook his head.

Oh, thank Goddess...

"No one has been hit by the bullets from what I had gathered," he said with another shake of his head. He looked at Corbin and cocked his head, clearing his throat while he studied him. "Aren't there more king's men here?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question, and Corbin nodded in confirmation.

"They've tried to do something to help us or stop the bullets, but for some reason, they hadn't been able to do so," Corbin said. His cheeks grew red, and he shifted in his seat while he looked between Joel and I before he looked at Joel. "I've been screaming for help and trying to get them to come help us, but they couldn't. It was as if they were stuck."

I furrowed my brows and set my jaw, while I pressed my lips into a thin line. "I wonder if this Alpha knows some people of the other species, which is why he was able to keep the king's men at bay."

"That is a possibility," Joel said and slowly nodded, setting his jaw. He stood taller and placed his hands behind his back. "However, that doesn't mean they shouldn't have been stopped like they were. Some of us do work closely with the Werewolf king and will help him and the king's men."

I slowly nodded and pressed my lips into a thin line while I tapped my steering wheel. "Can we see the people that were here, but you had placed somewhere else?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

Joel set his jaw and slowly nodded. "Of course, Miss Rice," he said and gestured for us to exit the truck. "Do you want me to take your truck and fix it like new?"

"Please," I said and turned the key, shutting off my engine before I opened the truck door, and Corbin did the same on the other side. We both unbuckled our seat belts and exited the truck, slamming the trucks' doors shut. "Do you have a car or truck that I will be able to drive while you get this fixed?"

"I can get something sorted for you," he said and slowly nodded, and I breathed a small sigh of relief and nodded.

"Thank you, Joel," I said and placed my hands behind my back, and Corbin walked over to me until he was at my side. I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "How are we going to get to where you have sent them?"

"Through a portal," Joel said. "I made sure that they aren't able to do anything, especially if they have been... "programmed" to kill you against their will."

"They're going to be in pain, though," I said, pursing my lips in annoyance while my heart ached. "The Alpha has been using pain on those he has been controlling."

"She's talking about her mate," Corbin said, and Joel raised an eyebrow in question while he looked between the two of us before he looked at me.

"You're mate is being controlled by him?" he asked, and I nodded in confirmation. "Who is he?"

I licked my lips and shook my head before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "I will have to tell you later when we don't have many eyes on us," I said, and Corbin snickered as if he heard some complaints coming from the group he was a part of.

"They're upset that they don't get to know who Miss Rice's mate is," he said when I shot him a questioning look. "I did warn them that if they find out something that they can not tell the king, and if he asks them if they know, then they will have to tell him to go through you."

I breathed a small sigh of relief and slowly nodded. "But I still don't want them to know," I said before I cleared my throat and looked at Joel. "We'll talk about that later. However, can you create a portal so that I can see the people that the Vesper is controlling? After that, I need to get to bed. It has been a long day, Joel."

Joel sighed and nodded before he took a step back away from us. His eyes turned a darker color while he muttered a spell underneath his breath, and a portal was instantly created to reveal a long hallway of a place that we didn't know.

He blinked when the portal was finished and cleared his throat. "Then go ahead and take a step through the portal," he said and bowed, gesturing toward it. "We will talk more when we are in there. Understood?"

"Yes, Joel," we said in unison before we looked at each other, both of us with the same expressions on our faces, even though we didn't say anything out loud and tried not to show how nervous we were, even though we both knew that the other was nervous.

"Together?" Corbin asked and held out his hand for me to take, raising an eyebrow in question.

I rolled my eyes and bit back an annoyed sigh before I slowly nodded and placed my hand in his. "Together," I said.

And with that, we entered through the portal together in silence.

Oh, Goddess...