Sold To The Alpha
Hated Ties That Bind Chapter 50

Walking quickly through the town, the group stumbled upon a small tavern that had a chalkboard outside displaying their chef's specials. Looking at the others, Landen raised an eyebrow hopefully, 'might be a good idea to eat a good meal before we head into battle' he said. 'Landen, Nate could be literally behind this town' Riley growled in exasperation.

'I know, but you heard the grumpy veteran, it's like half a days walk through the woods, surely a full stomach wouldn't hurt' the Beta replied.

'I agree, plus I'm starving' Rowan said as he clapped Landen on the back.

Sighing, Riley nodded before leading the way into the tavern, allowing their eyes to adjust to the dark room momentarily. Looking around, they were greeted with a long wooden bar to their left that had two bar tenders rushing back and forth, pouring drinks for the patrons who were leaning against the highly polished counter.

To their right were a collection of tables, each surrounded by four mismatched chairs. Making their way inside, Daniel and Landen pushed two of the tables together as the others grabbed chairs and sat down.

Moments later a fresh faced, plump, red headed young girl appeared beside them, a pencil tucked behind her ear, a tray with glasses and a jug of water balanced in her hands.

'Afternoon travellers' she said excitedly, her bubbly personality washing over the group as she placed the jug in the centre of the table before arranging the glasses in front of each of them. 'My name is Candy' she started as she tapped her name badge in confirmation, 'just like the sweets, I'll be your waitress today. Can I get you any drinks or are you happy with the table water?'

Riley cleared his throat, slightly taken aback by the huge personality that was invading their space, 'uhh, five lemonades?' he replied uncertainly as he looked around the group for confirmation. Everyone nodded silently in agreement causing Candy's smile to widen. 'Coming right up' she replied as she waved her fingers and five glasses of clear liquid appeared in front of them.

'Wait, what?' Landen spluttered as he picked the cup up, staring at it in shock.

Candy laughed, 'I'm a witch, handsome' she explained with a wink, 'normally I'd carry them from the bar, but with five of you it made sense just to conjure them here!

Turning her palm upward to face the ceiling, five menu's appeared on top, the plump young witch handing them out before walking away to give them some time to peruse the options.

'She's friendly' Landen murmured as Daniel snorted with laughter.

'Particularly friendly toward you son' he teased.

'Yeah Lan' Rowan joined in with an evil glint, 'how do you like being eyed up like a piece of meat.

Landen raised his eyebrows as he turned to the smirking warrior, 'what are you on about, she was being nice' he protested.

Rowan laughed, 'yeah, cos all girl's run their gazes up and down a guy when they are being nice' he retorted.

Landen flushed, 'I am a happily mated man' he muttered worriedly.

Rowan's grin widened as he leaned forward, 'not so funny when it's you being drooled over is it Beta?' he whispered.

The Beta rolled his eyes as he sat back against his chair, 'you don't have to enjoy it so much Ro' he grumbled.

'Yes, Yes I do' the warrior replied happily.

'Pack it in you two' Riley muttered as he looked over the menu in his hand, 'I think I'll have the cheeseburger with bacon' he added as he raised his gaze to the others.

Quickly, everyone bowed their heads and checked their menu's, choosing their meals.

Candy appeared again moments later, looking around the group expectantly. Rowan and Daniel both joined the Luna in the cheeseburger choice, Landen scrutinised the menu for a time before finally deciding on a triple stack with extra fries and a side of onion rings, shrugging as Alessia stared at him incredulously.

'Don't judge me shortie' the Beta rumbled, 'I'm a growing lad, I need my food.

Rolling her eyes, Alessia handed over her menu to the waitress as she said, 'may I get a cheesesteak pocket?'

Nodding enthusiastically, Candy gushed, 'giiiirl, you got fine taste, that is the nest item on the menu. I'll be right back with your food guys, if you need anything just whisper my name and I'll come running... especially for you sweet cheeks' she added as she fluttered her eyelashes at the young Beta who choked on the mouthful of drink he had just taken.

Rowan banged the warrior on the back, roaring with laughter as tears streamed down his face, gasping for air.

Candy giggled as she waved her hand, 'I'm just teasing cutie, I can sense you have a mate from a mile away' before walking away, leaving the others laughing as Landen sucked in oxygen.

Once Candy returned with their meals, the five friends dove into the food ravenously, no-one speaking as they demolished the mountains in front of them.

Sitting back, Landen groaned as he rubbed his stomach, 'best meal ever' he mumbled contentedly.

'Good, now lets pay and get going' Riley replied as he stood up, pulling some bills out of his pocket and throwing them on the table. Cady hurried up and started to gather the plates, giving the group a wave as they walked out into the sunshine once more. 'Lets go' Daniel said, taking the lead, his eyes trained on the distant green that covered the land ahead of them.

Ignoring everyone around them, the five marched quickly toward the edge of town, intent on reaching the woods while they still had ample daylight to start trying to replace their way to the house.

Reaching the edge, Rowan hesitated momentarily, his eyes sweeping over the never ending trees that stretched to either side of them.

'What's up? Something bothering you?' Riley asked immediately, halting in his steps to face the warrior.

Rowan shook his head slowly, though his face betrayed his discomfort, 'there's nothing stopping us' he said in a low tone.

'That's a good thing surely?' Landen replied in confusion.

Daniel shook his head too, 'no, Rowan is right, if Ariana is in there with Nathaniel, why is there nothing halting our entry? She's had time to plan, she knew that we would come for him, he's our future Alpha, there was no chance that we would not hunt her down. This is too easy' he murmured, as he too swept his gaze over the darkness that was about to envelop them.

Riley tapped his chin as he contemplated his Beta's words before making a decision, 'we have to go in' he replied with a sigh, 'but everyone keep your senses alert for trouble. Ariana has a deep grudge against Rowan, she will be prepared for his attack and I don't think that she will care about the rest of us being collateral damage in her revenge!

Rowan winced slightly as Alessia slipped her hand into his, entwining their fingers as she squeezed gently, giving him silent support. The warrior returned the squeeze on her fingers, looking over at her from the corner of his eye, giving her an appreciative ghost of a smile.

Stepping into the treeline, Daniel went first, walking just in front of Riley, keeping his hand out slightly so that the Luna would not push past him. Landen walked behind Riley, so that he and his father provided cover for the warrior from in front and behind. Rowan and Alessia brought up the rear, the ex-Rogue on edge as he scoured the surrounding foliage for danger.

The five werewolves walked silently, trying to keep their movements undetected, they walked for a few hours following Daniel's compass due north. Suddenly, they broke through the trees and found themselves staring at miles of open fields, 'what the hell?' Landen growled as he spun around to look behind him at the dark trees. 'Bobby said it would take half a day to reach the house, how the hell have we walked through the entire forest in just a few hours?'

The two older warriors looked at each other in confusion, 'did we go off course?' Riley asked, his brow furrowed.

Daniel shook his head, 'no, we never wavered off due north' he replied ashe shook the compass in his hand, as if this would somehow fix the issue.

Rowan removed his hand from Alessia's using it to wipe his brow as he sighed in frustration, 'it's Ariana' he muttered, 'she's hidden the house'

Landen spun back to the warrior, his mouth hanging open, 'come again? Ariana has hidden the house, how did that make us cross a day wide forest in a few hours?' he demanded.

The ex-Rogue rolled his eyes, 'she's altered our reality, when we get a certain distance from their location either we walk through without seeing what's around us, or maybe we get transported to the other side of the house. She's done something, I don't really know what, but basically, as far as we are concerned, the abandoned house doesn't exist, we can't replace it.'

The young Beta stared from Rowan to his father and back again, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly as no words came out.

Riley faced the warrior with a frown, 'can that be done?' he asked sceptically, 'I've never heard of a witch that could literally remove miles and miles of earth from existence!

The warrior shrugged, 'she's not just an ordinary witch' he replied, 'she's a skilled sorceress, and if this is her parents house, they may well have designed this protective spell and taught her how to invoke it. To be honest, it isn't a lot different to the spell that is on Oak Ridge, you can't see it but the barrier is there and it hides the entire town from everyone!

Riley huffed, 'Oak Ridge is a bit different Ro, yeah, you can't see it but you also can't walk through it, it's like an invisible wall blocking your path' he argued. 'This is a huge chunk of land that just doesn't exist to us, how do we fight against that? I was ready for enemies that would need fighting and even magic to be avoided, but how do you beat something that doesn't exist?'

The warrior ran his eyes over the fields in front of him as he thought, 'I don't know' he muttered finally, the signs of surrender evident as his shoulders slumped at the admission.

'Rowan doesn't know?' Landen shouted as he waved his hand toward the ex-Rogue who sank down onto the grass, absentmindedly pulling blades of grass out of the ground. 'Seriously? Rowan doesn't know? Rowan always knows! He's the damn Ghost! He always has a damn plan!' Storming over to the warrior, he grabbed his shirt, gripping it tightly as he forced Rowan to look up at him with defeated eyes. 'Hell no Rogue, you are not giving up on us' the Beta growled furiously, 'my Alpha is somewhere here and you are going to tell me how to get him back.

Rowan shook his head as he returned his gaze to the ground, 'I don't know how to Lan, I can't replace something that doesn't exist to us!

Landen growled as he heaved the warrior to his feet, shaking the ex-Rogue viciously by his shirt. 'I'm telling you that I don't accept that' he warned, his eyes glittering with fear and rage.

Rowan's own eyes narrowed as he raised his hands and pulled at the Beta's hold, 'unhand me Beta' he replied quietly, 'you don't want to start this.'

Landen tightened his grip, moving closer to the other werewolf, his face inches from the other, 'I think I do Rogue' he spat. 'We are here because of you, my Alpha is missing because of your past and you won't even tell us what the f**k happened other than you killed her match.'

Ripping Landen's hands from his clothes, Rowan snarled, 'that is what happened' he snapped back dangerously.

'Boys! We don't have time for this' Daniel started just as Rowan sneered derisively at his friend.

'Don't blame me because you failed to protect your Alpha Landen' he growled.

Landen's eyes widened as he took a step back, looking as if he had been slapped, 'wh. what? This isn't my fault' he gasped as his fists clenched.

Rowan laughed mercilessly, 'really? Then why are you here Lan? Where is a Beta's place? By his Alpha's side, when he jumped you should have instinctively grabbed him and gone too, but you didn't. Just accept it pup, you failed your Alpha, you choked when you needed to act.' Landen let out a roar of overwhelming fury as he launched himself at the warrior, Rowan ready for him as the pair crashed together in a flurry of fists.