The Alpha Twins and their Runaway Witch

70

Ariel felt the flippy floppy flutters in her belly the entire rest of the walk down towards the parking lot from the rooms they had stayed in. August had won the coin toss. Fate had chosen. She was going to do this, she truly hated riding in the car. A motorcycle with August as the driver would be new, and completely different from any travelling experience she had.

Binh had the car all set and was leaning against the classic car waiting when Ariel, August and Alex made their way to the parking lot. Three Hours Past Midnight was sat in a nearby tree, waiting to watch and supervise as the convoy hit the road once more.

August and Alex went to their respective bikes, loading their saddle bags back into place. Ariel looked towards Binh who nodded his approval. Hopeful that the change in transportation would be good for Ariel. Ariel then looked towards her familiar, who radiated support and strength to her from his perch on the tree branch.

Binh moved to slide his way into the drivers seat of his car. Alex was standing by as August mounted his bike. Alex was there beside Ariel, offering her a hand to make her way onto the back of August's bike. Showing here where she could safely rest her feet. Pointing out the exhaust that would quickly get hot. Handing her the helmet Binh had at the ready for her. Making sure the helmet fit well and was secure. Double checking that she was comfortable before Alex made his way to his own bike as August finally turned over the engine and got the motorcycle going.

The second the bike started to move. Ariel had clung to August's back. Her arms tight enough to cut off his circulation and breathing at first. He didn't care. He would drive while trying to eat a spiny cactus right now if it kept her arms around him. Her body pressed tight against his.

It took almost no time for Ariel to relax behind August. He smiled into his own helmet as he felt her death grip around his ribs start to relax. Felt her shift back to sitting more upright instead of hunched over around his back. Alex was oscillating his own speed to move between leading the way, to riding parallel to August, to making sure the rear was secure.

Alex was riding in the rear when he saw Ariel sit up straight, relaxing her whole body as August confidently drove his bike down the open road. Alex smiled and he mind linked with August. Both absolutely thrilled that riding on the back of a motorcycle seemed to quickly agree with Ariel. They made excellent time over the morning, and were farther along their path than they had hoped to be.

They were scheduled to arrive at their home pack lands that evening, according to Alex and August at least when they had stopped for lunch. Both of Ariel's mates had been very, very optimistic that they would be able to share a meal in their family home that night.

Ariel could not get the revelation that they had shared a bed last night out of her mind. Did that mean they would be expecting to share her every single night? Was it going to be like breeding nights when every cackle member had raped her one after the other for a week every month when they assumed she was most likely to produce a child for them?

Ariel with some help from Three Hours Past Midnight, was trying to remind herself that this was different. Trust what she could see, what she could feel now, trust Alex and August were different from the hyena she had known.

Learned behaviours and habits she had cultivated for her own safety were hard to break. Even with the distance between Ariel and the car that Binh was driving, he was still able to make sure none of her nightmares were able to take hold. Ariel had no idea where she would be right now if it wasn't for the Baku or her raven. Their influence and help had been the tape and glue holding herself together as she worked to recover from her time as a prisoner.

With help from Binh and Three Hours Past Midnight, Ariel was able to relax into the moment. Enjoy the feeling of being a passenger on a bike. All the thrill and sensation without any obligation to pay attention to the road, or safety rules. Ariel was free to just be herself, in the right here right now. Ariel let herself lean into August's back, able to feel his chest move as he breathed. Some of the scent that was just him filtered into her helmet along with the scent of of leather and fresh air.

It was intoxicating to her. She had never felt more alive. More at peace. The bike was exhilarating, August was driving swiftly, but safely. She was surrounded by people and creatures who simply just cared about her, and her wellbeing. Ariel could not stop the tears as they poured from her eyes. Letting them roll trails down her cheeks out the bottom of her helmet to be carried away by the wind.

Her body was healthy. Fit and stronger than she had been in so long. She was safe, free, and had not one but two very good seeming men taking her back to the loving pack and family where they had been raised. Ariel was practical to a fault. She knew she was not the kind of girl who ended up with fairy tale endings. She was still finding herself dreaming of having a happily ever after.

Especially when August's body felt so good being so close to hers. The sun climbed higher and higher into the sky until it was nearly overhead. Signaling without question that lunch time was near, Ariel couldn't decide if she was more sad that her time being so close to August was over, or excited that she would get to ride with Alex after lunch.

Ariel found herself having the kind of thoughts she did not think she was capable of having. She was glad that the nature of riding on the motorcycle meant that she had long stretches of time alone with her thoughts. She needed to really think about what she wanted, and what she was maybe ready to accept from her mates.

Over lunch Alex and August looked over the map on their phones, cross checked routes and announced that they thought we would all be able to eat dinner tonight back at their home pack. Ariel felt her stomach do another of the flippy flops at the thought that she was already so close to where she was heading. The distance, change of scenery. Even the obvious changing of the season as the trees went from green plants in the south into lands where the trees themselves were changing their colours and shedding leaves in anticipation of the new season. Everything came together, with her mates helping her feel like perhaps her life was going to have something like a happy ending.