Dangerous Territory

Twenty Six

She knew it would happen but hadn't been prepared for how much it would hurt.

No less than five minutes after the guard came with a change of clothes, they were restraining Auden and hauling her out of the cell.

It was unnatural to be separated from a mate so soon after finishing a mating haze so she didn't even care about her pride while she was pleading for the guards to take her back to her mate.

There was a shout of alarm behind her, a warning that Auden was going into full-form, then one of the guards was running from her side and leaving her with Noel, the only shifter guard.

She looked up at him and begged, "take me back to him. Please."

He tightened his grip and pulled her along the hallway at a faster pace.

Mala's eyes widened in shock when she recognised the route, "no. Don't do this."

Noel shook his head and gestured for her to keep her voice down. "You don't understand what's just happened." He whispered quietly. "Trust me on this."

Mala didn't want to listen to him. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs and break away from his grip.

She didn't have a choice though.

Bright, hot light hit her and then she was submerged in the scorching outdoors after what felt like an eternity.

Her eyes quickly adjusted to the sun as she was pulled down the drive, Noel breaking into a brisk jog until they reached the bottom of the incline.

Her mouth opened in surprise. "What's going on?" She croaked.

Her father was there.

"Get in the car." He said.

She looked back at Noel who gave her an encouraging smile.

She clambered in.

Her dad looked down at the marks on her body and neck and his nose twitched knowingly. "That boy was your mate, wasn't he?" He asked, talking about Auden.

"Yeah." She responded. "You know I can't leave him here, right?"

He gave a resigned nod and switched on the ignition.

There was a shout from behind them as they started to drive away, both shifters moving to look through the rear view mirror.

"Dad, wait." She said, frowning as she saw the figure of Tanya running toward the car. "What the hell does she want?" She muttered to herself.

Tanya made it to the vehicle, huffing and puffing, and pushed an object through the open window.

It was Mala's bag.

"What-"

Tanya shook her head and cut her off. "The keys to my apartment are still in there so you can pick up your things if you pass by. I also recovered your phone. The screen is broken but I think it still works. Good luck, Mala."

Mala's face scrunched in confusion, "err, thanks." She said. "But why are you helping me?"

Tanya smiled and put her hand through the window to place on Mala's shoulder. "I guess I found out that shifters aren't as bad as I thought they were."

The woman took a step away from the car and Mala's father pulled out of the drive, speeding away from the penitentiary as fast as he could with gravel and dust spitting up behind them.

"Okay, dad." Mala said, brain whizzing at a mile a minute. "What's going on?"

"Let's just say Cameron wasn't aiming for detective status for no reason."