Evander I smelled her before I saw her, but when my eyes landed on her, I wanted to rip the male next to her to pieces. She knew we were Mates even though we never saw one another on the days of the Full Moon, and still, she let another male touch her. "Keep a lid on it," Callan growls through our mind-link, and I know Theron will be the first to put me back in my place with Callan right by his side. Conri looks as if he is in pain, and I believe in a way he actually is in pain, but I guess we only have ourselves to blame for this. I still don't believe there is something wrong with the note I wrote, and maybe I should ask Zaza to read it to find out if we really screwed up; I know she will tell us the truth if I did something wrong with this note. Conri looks murderous as we follow Umayza and Axel outside. My heart sinks when I hear her reply to my suggestion, and I hear Conri growl as Axel gets into the seat next to her. I am glad Conri and I will be traveling alone, as it will give us time to talk about what we just found out about our little Mate. We are barely in our SUV when Alexia pulls away from the curb; I hear Theron mutter some obscenities through our mind-link, and we all know that Alexia will get an earful during our first stop. Theron always leads the way wherever we go, and he hates it when someone else tries to take the lead. "What are we going to do, Evander?" Conri asks, and for a moment, I don't know how to answer him, "Apparently we screwed up, Conri. I am not sure what to do, but I know I am not willing to give up on her. I am more concerned about her Grandmother; we both know her reputation, and when she learns of Umayza's existence, she will come for her. I want to know how her team intends to protect her, and I will make sure one of us is near her at all times. Calliope will not get her hands on Umayza as long as I am breathing," I growl as we follow Callan away from the Academy. For a long time, we drive in silence, both of us caught up in our own thoughts. The last time we saw Umayza, she had been laying in an infirmary bed, and she had looked so fragile, but we hadn't been there when she woke up. To this day, I still hate that we had to go on assignment and weren't there to see her after she woke up. Even though he never gave us much information, Gray would always tell us that she was doing fine, that her studies and training were progressing better than anyone had expected, but that all changed after we sent her our first invitation. Conri and I had talked about it the first time he was reluctant to answer any questions about Umayza; we figured he had mentioned it to her, and it had freaked her out or something like that. Now, I realize he had probably known the truth. Conri Seeing her walking towards us was an image I will not soon forget; not just because some male had his arm wrapped around her, no, it was the sight of her that I will never forget. I still remember what she looked like in that little red dress, but seeing her in black, high-waisted skinny jeans with a black tank-top was even better. She looked gorgeous with her hair in a high braid down her back and the little make-up she was wearing. I had once seen a picture of Wenonah, her Aunt, and I have to admit that they look almost similar, making me feel relieved she is on our side. Evander is right; I will protect her with my life if Calliope is coming for her, and I am glad she has a protection detail. Thinking back on the first time we saw them train, puzzle pieces fall into place. After two hours driving, Alexia pulls over at a gas station, and even though Umayza steps out of the SUV, she stays near it, not looking at us. Evander takes a few steps towards her, and I hear him softly growl as she gets back into the SUV before he can reach her. The moment we walk back to our own SUV, she gets out again, and I see her stretching as Blaze is whispering into her ear. Kane growls in my head as he sees what she is doing, and he is cussing and swearing at me in my head, blaming me for Umayza ignoring him. "You are a part of me, and that means she is ignoring us both, just like she is ignoring Evander and Mylo. You can't blame me for this; we all did this. Even though I have no idea what this is," I say to Kane, and as always when we are arguing about Umayza, he retreats to the back of my head. Callan is talking to Boris and Yonatan, while Theron is talking to Alexia, and I hear her laughing at him, "You hate following someone else, don't you?" Alexia asks him, and the look on his face is all the answer she needs. We all know that Theron really hates being stuck behind another driver. That is why he usually travels alone, as he always complains about another's way of driving out loud, calling them every name he can think of. At first, you might think it is funny, but after hearing him almost twenty-four seven, you get bored, and that is why none of us wants to be in an SUV with him.I walk towards the gas station to take a leak myself before we have to get on the road again, but Axel steps in my way, and as I am about to ask him about it, Umayza walks out of the gas station. I shove him out of my way and walk past Umayza to the door as I say, "Hello, Umayza." I know it isn't much of a greeting, but I needed to say something. If I hadn't said anything, she probably would have used it against me, and I will do my best to make sure there is nothing else she can hold against me. Not that I know what I did wrong in the first place, but I won't add to it. I can tell it startled her as I feel her eyes on my back, but I don't look over my shoulder, and I quickly make my way over to the restroom. Evander is waiting for me the moment I step outside again, and he has a small smile on his face, "You distracted her enough with your greeting for me to grab her before she could fall," he says. Evander tells me through the mind-link what happened as we walk back to our SUV, and I am glad at least one of us had a rather normal interaction with her. We both know that we will be around her for the next few days, but if she keeps acting this way, I am afraid that Mylo or Kane might explode.