Captain Armand When Council-member Boaz called me and told me about the girl two of my Squad-members had to bring to the Academy, I had growled. No one deserves to be treated that way, and certainly not a female that is underaged. He had asked me to help them out, as he feared that the Wolf that had attacked them might try again. Theron suggested going in separate SUVs, and before I contacted Conri, he had explained his plan to us. Theron was right—splitting up without him knowing in which SUV she was would be the best course of action. After the three of us had gotten some sleep, we headed towards the Pack they were staying in. Conri’s ID shows up on my phone as they drive towards us, and I patch him into the call I have with Theron and Callan. As Evander parks the SUV where Theron wants it, I hear Umayza explain why she should get in a different SUV. I smile, as it had been Theron’s plan to put her in my SUV, and Theron just looks at me with a face that says, I told you so. "Evander, what the fuck are you two growling for?" I ask through our mind-link. For a moment, I think I have to order him, but it is Conri that answers the question. "She is our Mate, but she just turned seventeen." Oh, bite me is on the tip of my tongue, but I manage to keep it in. "I understand you want to keep her close, but it will be best if I take her with me. I swear I will keep her safe. I need the two of you to be able to focus on that Wolf, and with her in the SUV with you, you will worry more about her than about yourselves," I tell them, and they know better than to argue with me on this. Conri suddenly looks around in fear, and we all realize that Umayza is no longer in the center of the SUVs with us. Theron starts to smile as he looks into my SUV—Umayza is laying on the backseat, reading a book I bought a few weeks ago. Through the mind-link, I tell everyone we will meet in the underground garage of the Academy."Did you bring a phone as I asked you last night? She needs it to call her Father," Evander asks me, and I tell him I did. "I will give it to her once we are on the road—it will give her something to do." After those words, I walk to my SUV and get behind the wheel as the others get into their SUVs. We have barely been driving for five minutes when Theron’s voice sounds over the speaker of my phone. "Movement to the left, and it looks like it is just one Wolf." Umayza curses underneath her breath as she lifts her head just enough to be able to look out of the window. It will take us a few more minutes before we reach the fork in the road, and then we will be able to tell after which SUV he is going. I hate to admit it, but I believe Umayza might be right with her assumption that he will follow Conri and Evander. Theron takes the first road on our left while I take the second one on the left, Callan takes the first road on the right while Evander takes the second road on the right. It takes ten minutes before we hear Conri tell us that the Wolf is following them, and I tell him to give me an hour before they make it known that Umayza is no longer with them. "We will pull over in a minute," Evander states an hour later, and shortly after that, we hear car doors open. Suddenly, we hear a growl just before Conri asks him to shift to his Human form. It is quiet for a few moments before we hear a voice over the speaker of my phone. "Where is Umayza?" the voice asks, and Evander replies, "She is on her way to the Council. You will never catch up with her." A ferocious growl can be heard before we hear the breaking of bones, and Umayza puts her hand in front of her mouth to keep a scream from coming out. "He ran back the way we came. I have no idea what he is going to do," Conri says. I ask them if he tried to attack them, but Evander tells me he had turned and shifted midair before taking off. Umayza sighs in relief, and for a moment, I wonder if she knows that she is their Mate. I shake that thought from my mind, because I know that neither one of them will be stupid enough to tell her, and if they accidentally let it slip, they would have told me. I think she is just relieved no one got hurt by the Wolf that has an unhealthy interest in her. Umayza sits up straight to look behind us, but there is nothing to see as we are the only vehicle driving on this road, and I doubt the Wolf will be able to catch up with us. After another hour of driving, I grab a bag from the passenger seat to hand it to Umayza. "Evander asked me to get this for you," I say as I hand it to her. She smiles as she pulls the box from the bag and thanks me for getting it for her. She gets the phone out, and I hand her a car charger for it so she can have full access to it for the trip ahead of us. "Dad, it’s me," she whispers, and I see tears forming in her eyes as she is talking to her Father. I know everyone can hear her conversation, but I can’t risk disconnecting the call with my Squad, and I think she will understand that. She tells him that she spoke to the Council because Dolion attacked her en route. Her Father curses and swears at Dolion—I can tell he is not happy with the actions of the Wolf, and I don’t blame him as he came after his Daughter. "Dad, the Council decided not to sentence me, and I am allowed to train as an Assassin for the Council. Council-member Dayanah also asked how fast you could get there—they could use someone with your expertise," she says. I can hear him replying that he will leave in an hour, and I clear my throat to make Umayza look at me. She tells her Father that she is going to put the phone on speaker. The moment she does, I introduce myself to him and inform him that the rest of my Squad can also hear us. "Sir, we have no idea where Dolion went after he found out that Umayza was not in that SUV, and I want to ask you to keep an eye out for him. If you happen to run into him, call Umayza back on this number, and we will help in any way we can," I say. "Thank you, Captain Armand. My name is Gray, and you can leave the Sir at the door," he says, and Umayza giggles as I look at her in surprise. She pulls the phone from speaker to talk to her Father a little more before they disconnect the call.