Chapter 76 – Followed

“Leal!” Izzy squealed as soon as she saw her best friend waiting at her at the airport. Leal smiled brightly and welcomed her with a tight hug.

They pulled away as Leal’s eyes drifted to the man behind Izzy, pushing their baggage. She immediately raised an eyebrow at Izzy.

“I thought you were going alone?”

“Yeah…” Izzy scratched the back of her head. “I thought so too.”

“Oh, hey Leal!” Ryker grinned at her, flashing her his signature boyish grin. “I won’t be hanging out with you girls too much, I have to go meet Axel.”

Izzy shot him a look she’s sure only the couple can understand but said nothing. They hailed a cab and Ryker talked to the driver before placing Izzy’s things on the trunk. They both bid goodbye to him and even from inside, Leal saw Ryker take a photo of the cab’s plate number. He can just track them with their phones but sure, that’s easier.

“Ugh! I missed Switzerland!” Exclaimed Izzy as soon as they got inside the cab. Leal smiled at the driver and told him to drop them off at the nearest train station.

“Switzerland missed you too,” she replied to Izzy. “What are you planning to do?”

“Hmm. Skiing?” Izzy smiled at her sheepishly. “Or I want more of that cheese fondue. Now I’m craving.”

“Why are you craving? Are you pregnant?” She asked jokingly.

“No! Gosh, why would I be pregnant? We’re not even doing it…” Izzy rolled her eyes.

“I doubt that.”

“How about you two? Huh?” Izzy knowingly smirked at her and wiggled her eyebrows.

Shaking her head, Leal avoided her best friend’s look. “We’re not together anymore, Izzy. Even if he’s not with Margaret—“

“What?! He’s not with that wench?! And you didn’t tell me?!”

Unsurprisingly, the talk for the whole trip to their cabin was all about her and Axel. Izzy really had a good grasp of changing subjects.

“And then?” Izzy urged. They’re currently munching on large pretzels in the sidewalk of Lauterbrunnen, admiring the steady flow of the waterfall in front. Anna was sleeping soundly at the hands of Big Amy back in the cabin so they had the whole day to themselves, a day of bonding as lifelong friends, reunited again. Izzy was the only one from her past that didn’t actually scar her, which is like a breath of fresh air, especially from all the people returning to her life these past few days.

“And then…” Her cheeks flushed. “Nothing. He went home, and now he’s in Bern for a business meeting. For real now.”

“Aww damn, he still has it for you!” Izzy teased, tickling her side.

Leal chuckled and gently swatted her hands away. “Of course, the mate bond’s still there. I wouldn’t have felt a spark if we’re not linked anymore.”

“Oh yeah, how was that for you for the past two years of being away from him? It must’ve been painful.”

Leal shrugged, biting a big chunk off her pretzel. She’s kind of immune to pain now, may it be physical or emotional. “I’m fine. But my wolf isn’t. She hasn’t been fed with physical mate contact for years, and the only thing giving her strength is my rage which I can’t give. Good thing she’s still alive to this day.”

“Shouldn’t inner wolves die only after months of no physical contact with their mate?”

“I also don’t know how she’s surviving. But I’m glad she is because I don’t want to leave yet, without knowing that Anna will grow up properly and well.”

Izzy sighed and looked off to the waterfalls. “You need to fix your relationship with him as soon as possible, Leal. I may be a human and I’m not able to know how your wolf is doing, but I know you. You’re my friend and I know you’re suffering just as much as your wolf. You don’t love Axel just because he’s your mate and your wolf yearns for him, but because he also captured your human heart and linked you to his human self emotionally. Your wolves’ are fated, but so are you. And if you still don’t want to do it, just at least consider Anna. She needs a father, no matter how hard you try doing both.”

She remained silent.

Izzy’s words repeated in her head even after that talk. They roamed around the sleepy neighborhood and it couldn’t leave her mind. She was so blatantly correct. And as a writer, who should have a wide understanding and deep, critical thinking for things like these, she felt like she was brutally slapped in the face, awakened to the reality. She likes him, not as Lilith but as Leal, the frail, defeated, and weak-hearted human.

“I know he matters so much to you, I see it, so why are you afraid to tell him that? What is holding you back?”

She suddenly remembered Denitslava’s question way back. It was left unanswered for years and only now did she have an answer.

Her fear was holding her back. Her fear of losing him when he gets close to her because that’s what seems to happen to anyone that gets close to her, her fear of him obeying his father and cutting their bond, and her losing him because he was blinded by their bond—and her fear of destroying his life. She was a devastation to many. Her hands were dirty of countless deaths, her legacy stained by her race, and her name is on the top wanted list of many.

And back then, she was even scared of him loving a dead person. She died when the life of her family slipped away from her fingertips. But now, she’s a revenant. Her soul was revived, kissed by Anna.

Now, those that are holding her back are mere pushovers, thoughts that blocked her emotions. Before, she was scared of ruining his life. But now, if ever she does break it, she’ll piece it back up. She’ll be his devastation, and salvation at the same time.

“I’m ready,” Leal suddenly spoke to Izzy who was busy licking her ice cream.

Izzy, dumbfounded, stared at her. “W-What?” said Izzy with a mouth filled with ice cream.

“I said, I’m ready. I’ll fix us, me and Axel. Not only for Anna but for myself too,” she clarified, determination evident in her eyes. This time, she’ll bravely face the dangers of the unknown. She’s ready to be brave this time around.

“Yes!” Izzy grinned, finally picking it up. “That’s my girl—Oh my god!”

They both flinched when a nearby window of the ice cream shop they’re in, a different one now, shattered. Its pieces flew everywhere, and Izzy being the panicking, worrisome girl that she is, screams and hyperventilates. Leal pulled her behind a fallen table for cover and covered her mouth. She widened her eyes and the panicking Izzy and signaled her to be quiet.

Leal poked her head out and looked at the trespassers. Her breath hitched when she saw the same men covered in black clothes point guns at everyone inside. Them again?!

They just destroyed an ice cream parlor the other day and here they are destroying another one! Leal mentally counted them and almost cursed when she counted past a dozen. She can bring them down, but not in front of humans. They were being held hostage by the armed men so she couldn’t rampage around like they did the other day.

“Search around!” She heard one of them say, probably referring to her. Leal looked at Izzy who was over the panicking stage and is now on the raging stage. She thought they were robbers and was just after the money.

“We need to go, Izzy,” she cut her off in the middle of her blabbering. “They’re after me.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I’ll explain to you later, for now, let’s just…” She hesitantly peeked around and saw one walking nearer to their table. “When I say run, we run, okay?”

“W-What are you planning?” Izzy nervously looked at her.

“Just trust me.”

Leal is way past thinking about the non-hostile approach. She’s way past talking this out to them. They have included innocent civilians and she’s not about it.

“No, wait, we should just call Ryker and Axel,” Izzy whispered, getting ready to fish out her phone.

She shook her head and looked back at the approaching man. “There’s no time to ask them for help, Iz. We got this.”

“W-Well—Ah!”

“Run!”

Izzy yelped when their table was harshly kicked. Leal inserted power in that kick and timed it perfectly when the man was about to look behind the fallen table. He was thrown far away with the table and they took that as a cue to run away.

With their hands entwined, Leal and Izzy sprinted out of the ice cream parlor, with a dozen bulky men hot at their trails. Leal, who luckily had Lauterbrunnen memorized, tried losing them in narrow streets and a countless array of identical cabins. They looped around the whole valley, only running to their cabin when they felt like the coast is clear.

Leal heavily released the breath she was holding and leaned back on the closed door behind her. Her heart was thumping loudly in her ears all throughout. Still catching her breath, she looked beside her to see Izzy doing the same. They were both pumping with adrenaline from the intense chase. With eyes looking at each other, they broke out a smile.

“Well, that was fun.”

“Do you think they followed us?”

Leal shook her head. “I made sure our scents were covered by the flowers we passed earlier. Don’t worry.”

“Okay,” she breathed a sigh of relief. “But I’m still not over this. Do you think we should move to a new cabin? I can find one in no time.”

“That’s expensive, Iz. Don’t worry. I can defend us,” she opposed, the brave remark unconsciously slipping from her mouth.

“But our safety is at risk! I just want to make sure everyone is safe,” Izzy countered, following her to her and Anna’s room. They went inside and saw Big Amy combing the sleeping Anna’s hair.

“Everyone is safe—“

Leal froze, her assurance suspended in the air as she heard rushed footsteps just outside their cabin. Her heartbeat doubled as she sharpened her ears, listening carefully to their unstable breaths. Their footsteps were heavy, and many.

Alarmed, she looked to Izzy and then to her sleeping Princess.

They were followed.