The Exception

Chapter 35

*Josh's POV*

As soon as awe broke off from Alpha Jordan, We ran towards the woods and shifted under the shadow of the trees while Nathan conjured a horse familiar to ride on. I offered for him to simply ride on our backs to save his energy, but he didn't seem too concerned.

We all talked about a basic plan, but to be honest, I wasn't too confident about it. I mean, to be fair, we couldn't really plan much until we got closer to where Aaron was hiding out. Since we really don't know what we were going to be up against, it was hard to make any concrete plans. I just hoped that Nathan knew what he was doing. 

Looking around, my eye caught Tyler, Levi, Colt, and Nicole running along side us. I saw Nathan giving me a thumbs up as he rode on his ethereal horse. And finally, my eyes fell to Jake, running beside me. At first, he kept his eyes straight, completely focused and determined. Even in his wolf form, you could tell that exhaustion was biting at him, but he didn't seem to care. In fact, he seemed stronger, more driven.

Suddenly, our eyes met as Jake turned to face me. In that moment, I believe we were both aware of what might come next for us. And we had come to an unspoken understanding, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

For a moment, we just looked at each other until his voice filled my head.

'If you're done staring at me, you might want to pay attention to your surroundings. You were inches from running into a tree just now.'

'I knew it was there.'  I retorted.

'Mhm... Whatever you say. I'll just not care to warn you next time and let you run into a tree.'

'Aww, so you do care, Jake.'

He rolled his eyes jokingly in response.

'Just focus, will you? I'm nervous enough as it is.'

***

After running for what seemed like hours, we finally came up to a small clearing in the woods. Nathan motioned for us to stay at the edge of the forest while we talk through a plan.

"To me, I think it's just going to put all of us out in the open if we go straight across the clearing. For all we know, Aaron has people hiding in the trees just waiting to ambush us." Tyler stated.

Jake shrugs in response, "Well, that is a possibility we have to take into account I'm sure. But the longer we wait, the more anxious I feel knowing that Selena is in the hands of a psychopath... No offense, Nathan."

"None taken," Nathan lightly chuckled, "I totally agree with you."

"Well, if you don't mind me butting in, I think I have an idea."

Suddenly, a young man from Alpha Korvin's group steps forward.

"How long has he been there?" Colt said.

Everyone turned to face him as I asked, "What's your name?" 

"Anton Korvin, actually. The Alpha is my uncle." 

Shocked, I raised my eyebrows, "The Alpha sent his own Nephew with us?" 

In response, he simply shrugged, "I guess, he entrusted me to be here to give you guys the extra help you need." 

"Well, tell us your plan, Anton." I smiled.

"I think it would do us best to treat this as if we were looking for a place to settle... meaning-"