Sold To The Alpha
Hated Ties That Bind Chapter 51

The Beta crashed into the ex-Rogue's chest, the pair crashing to the ground where they rolled over and over until they finally halted with Landen on top. The Beta rained punch after punch down on the warrior, splitting his own knuckles with the ferocity of his attack. Rowan held his arms in front of his face, deflecting the other man's assault, picking his moment to hook his leg around the Beta's waist, grabbing his elbow and rolling him underneath before raising his own fists and pummelling Landen's face with everything he had. 'Rowan stop!' Alessia shouted as she tried to run to the wrestling men, replaceing her feet leaving the floor as Daniel grabbed her around the waist and lifted her from the ground. 'Lessi don't' he growled in her ear.

'Let me go!' the she wolf screamed as she thrashed against his hold, trying to reach the ex-Rogue who didn't seem to have heard her, his fists still smashing into the Beta who was protecting himself while trying to get the warrior off him. 'Calm down Lessi, you can't jump in there, you'll get hurt' the older Beta growled as he tightened his grip.

'He'll hurt Landen' Alessia yelled tearfully, 'he won't forgive himself if he does, he's lost control, they both have.'

Landen managed to link his arm through Rowan's holding back his dominant fist as he brought his other arm around, catching the warrior square in the jaw, drawing blood.

'Landen stop it!' Alessia cried as she hung limply from Daniel's grip, 'both of you stop.

'Rowan spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground, wiping his lip as Landen smirked up at him, 'what's wrong Rogue' the Beta taunted, 'I thought you were the all fearing Ghost, I've seen more fight in my morning cereal, you are nothing but a has been. I don't know what Gabby see's in you, hopefully she'll come to her senses when you come back without her brother.'

Rowan let out a roar of fury, grabbing Landen's free arm, rolling over and bringing his knees up, using his feet to push the Beta off of him and into a tree trunk, snapping it in two, the branches falling forward as Landen scrambled out of the way.

'I'll show you who I really am pup' Rowan yelled, his eyes pitch black as his wolf pushed forward.

Alessia looked around desperately, wondering why Riley wasn't stopping them, her eyes falling to the Luna who was ignoring what was happening behind him as he crouched down by the fallen tree, inspecting it closely. 'Riley! Stop them!' Alessia screamed desperately, 'LUNA!' she pleaded when he didn't move.

Turning slowly, Riley focused on the pair that were still rolling around, blood dripping from the wounds of their claws. Raising an eyebrow, the Luna straightened up, his hands going to his waist as he yelled, 'enough!' The two warriors stiffened as the Luna command hit them, both unable to disobey. Rolling off the Beta, Rowan fell onto his back breathing heavily as Landen touched his right eye, wincing as he felt the bruise. *A*****e, you cracked my eye socket' he grumbled at the ex-Rogue.

Rowan flicked his eyes to the Beta, scowling, 'so? My rib is broken, though that was obviously a lucky shot, you hit like a six year old.

Landen growled loudly, shooting daggers at the warrior but unable to go for him again as Riley's command still held them.

'When you two have finished your playdate, do you want to come here and look at this?' the Luna asked in a bored tone.

Releasing Alessia, Daniel hurried over to his friend, kneeling down and looking at the tree just as Riley had a few moments before.

Rowan and Landen pushed themselves to their feet, both groaning as their injuries made themselves known.

Alessia marched over to the pair, punching first Rowan and then Landen, 'what was that? you two suck' she hissed furiously, 'I yelled at you to stop, begged you and you ignored me?'

Rowan gave her a sheepish smile, 'Sorry short stuff, I didn't hear you!

Alessia hit him again, scowling as he flinched from the pain but made no sound of complaint, 'you didn't want to hear me' she retorted angrily.

Landen smirked as Rowan looked at the floor, the she wolf turning her furious glare onto him making the Beta take a step back uncertainly, 'I don't know what you are smirking about' she grumbled angrily, 'you are a future Beta, you are supposed to lead! Diffuse tensions in your ranks, not roll around like you are in some back-alley fight club.

The Beta also dropped his gaze, unable to keep eye contact with the seething woman, Alessia poked them both in the chest, hard, 'you are lucky you kicked the s**t out of each other already, because if you hadn't, I would hand you both your asses' she growled before turning on her heel and stomping over to the older warriors.

Riley looked over at the silent pair, frowning as he called, 'are you coming over here or do you both need a time out like the pups you seem to want to behave like?'

The pair looked up at him and slowly limped over to the trio, Riley gesturing to the tree expectantly as Landen looked at him in confusion.

Rowan knelt down, ignoring the pain which was already lessening as his wounds healed. Following the branches with his eyes, he frowned as he reached the top, 'where's the top leaves?' he muttered, reaching out his fingers to trace the branches. 'That's what I wondered' Riley replied as he knelt down next to him. Moving forward, Rowan continued to feel the wood until he reached the unusual cut at the end. Pushing his hand further, he tried to feel the slice across the edge of the branch but instead his fingers disappeared. Snatching his hand back, the warrior studied his fingers which were once again whole before reaching out again.

As first his fingers and then his hand disappeared, a smile spread across Rowan's face, 'you sneaky little witch' he mumbled. 'What is it?' Alessia asked quietly.

Rowan looked back at her, his smile widening, 'Ariana didn't delete the house' he said with a chuckle, 'she covered it with the view of the fields behind the forest. She wanted us to walk back and forth in this first section trying to replace her not realising that she's still in front of us.'

'I don't understand, this isn't the edge of the forest?' Alessia queried, looking around them in confusion.

Rowan shook his head, 'nope we are still inside the forest, probably in a clearing so that if we did have a look around, we wouldn't walk into an invisible tree and realise that it was all an illusion.

Landen stepped forward, his own hand outstretched, eyes widening in surprise as he watched his fingers disappear from view. Moving closer, he leaned forward, his head disappearing as Daniel gave a shout of disapproval, grabbing his son and pulling him backwards.

'Dad, he's right' Landen breathed, a smile stretched across his face, 'the forest continues on the other side!

Grabbing their rucksacks, the five warriors hesitantly stepped through the invisible boundary, on the other side, the fields were no longer visible, instead they found themselves in a large clearing that was surrounded by thick trees. Looking behind them, the found no evidence of the boundary, the trees that they had stepped from in full view.

Walking forward, Daniel led the way again, keeping Riley behind him, Landen again, protecting the Luna from behind as Rowan guarded Alessia. Quietly sneaking through the trees, the Beta pushed the branches out of his way, frowning as he tried to make out their surroundings in the already fading light.

Moving deeper into the forest, no-one spoke, though they all became more and more nervous at the complete lack of obstructions in their path.

'Is Ariana trying to lull us into a false sense of security?' Alessia whispered as she gazed around herself, silently thanking the Moon Goddess for werewolf sight.

Rowan's grip tightened on her hand at her words, 'I don't know, but she's smart, don't let your guard down for a second' he replied softly.

Soon it became too dark to navigate their surroundings safely and Riley brought the group to a stop. 'I don't think we should light a fire' he said quietly as the group took a seat on the hard ground, 'I highly doubt that Ariana is unaware of our presence but I don't want to alert her to our exact location when we are vulnerable.

Everyone nodded in agreement, Daniel shifting slightly as he added, 'I think we should sleep in shifts Riles, two warriors at a time!

Riley made a noise of affirmation, cupping his chin in his hand as he rested his elbow on his knee, 'good idea, you and I will take first watch for four hours, then Rowan and Landen can take over which should get us through till dawn.'

Alessia frowned, 'what about me? Shouldn't I also stand guard?'

Riley shook his head, 'I'd rather you slept Lessi' he replied softly.

'Why? because I'm a woman?' the she wolf flared as she crossed her arms, 'I'm not strong enough to watch over you while you sleep? Is that it?'

The Luna sighed as he shook his head, 'no Lessi, it's nothing to do with being female' he said calmly. 'We are all highly trained in combat, you admitted yourself that your own training is mediocre at best, it would be bad tactics to have you guarding while we sleep. Plus, when we replace Ariana, she may react better to you than to us, you are not a member of Silver Cross so she may be more open to talking to you!

Simmering down, Alessia nodded in response, 'sorry' she mumbled as she twisted her fingers in her lap, 'that was uncalled for, I shouldn't have flared up like that!

Riley laughed as he moved closer and pulled her into his side, 'trust me, your temper is nothing' he replied with a wink, 'I'm married to an Alpha, you can imagine what she would have done if she thought I was trying to tell her that females were here to be looked after.'

Lessi giggled despite herself, hugging the Luna back quickly before letting go and accepting the biscuits that Landen had dug out of his bag and was offering round the group.

As darkness blotted out their surroundings, the three younger members settled down to sleep as The Luna and Beta kept watch, talking quietly and occasionally standing up to walk around the camp. After four hours, they carefully woke Rowan and Landen, both of whom stretched tiredly before sitting up, the older warriors then laying down near the she wolf and closing their eyes.

Rowan stood up and walked the tree line, sniffing deeply and checking the bushes whilst Landen stretched his muscles out, yawning loudly.

Coming back, the warrior leaned against a tree trunk, 'I can't sense anything' he muttered before falling silent.

The Beta fidgeted as he gazed around himself, his eyes flickering to the ex-Rogue who looked relaxed, but you could see that his gaze was constantly moving to the various shaded spots looking for danger.

'Ro' Landen finally said, his voice low and uncertain.

'Yep?' Rowan replied, not looking up.

Letting out a deep sigh, the Beta slid down next to the other man, pushing his fingers through his hair as he picked his words. 'I didn't mean what I said' he finally admitted, not meeting the warrior's gaze, 'I don't really believe that it's your fault we are here! Rowan gave a half-hearted shrug as he picked up a stick and started to dig it into the dirt beside him, 'you weren't wrong' he replied in a monotone, 'Ariana is mad and won't accept Nate because of me!

The Beta exhaled, looking at the warrior, 'Rowan, you didn't hurt her for no reason, that isn't you. When it happened, you didn't know that you would be mated to the sister of the future Alpha of our pack, you didn't do what you did with the knowledge that years later you would be searching for her to bring her back as your Luna!

The warrior flinched at his words, his body language stiffening slightly, 'I know I bring trouble wherever I go Lan' he said quietly. 'My biggest fear is that one day Gabby will wake up, look over at me and realise just how big of a pain in the a*s she got lumbered with and decide I'm not worth the hassle anymore.'

Landen started to laugh tentatively as he gave the warrior a slight shove, 'dude, you talk about yourself being a pain in the a*s? You married Gabby! That woman invented being a headache to others' he teased. 'If anyone was ever evenly matched it was you two, I've got to be honest, we all wonder how the hell you ended up with a kid like Ethan when you are both such assholes.

'That's my wife you are insulting' Rowan growled back warningly, though his lips twitched slightly.

Grinning, the Beta turned to face his friend, 'I am sorry though Ro, I'm sorry for what I said and for hitting you. I was scared for Nate, angry with myself that I was completely useless to him, and I took it out on you' he sighed.

Rowan straightened up, his face expressionless for a few moments before he smiled, 'I'm sorry too Lan' he replied solemnly. 'I didn't mean what I said about you failing Nate, you didn't, everything happened so fast, none of us could have stopped him! Landen grinned back, 'so are we good?' he asked

Rowan nodded, as he stuck his hand out for the other to shake, 'yeah, we are good' he replied, 'but you still hit like a six year old' he added as Landen laughed and shoved him hard.

'Please, I was going easy on you' he grumbled.

'Yeah yeah, if you say so mate' Rowan replied with a chuckle.

'How sweet' came a voice from behind them making the pair jump, scrambling up they turned to face the voice only to come face to face with Ariana. 'Ariana' Rowan breathed warily, 'where is Nate?' he demanded more forcefully as he regained his composure.

Ariana waved her hand dismissively, 'your precious Alpha is with me Rowan' she replied, 'he's fine... for now' she added, her eyes glittering dangerously. 'Let him go Ariana, this is between you and me' Rowan growled.

'So true werewolf' the sorceress replied bitterly, 'but I think I'll keep him, he's a sure fire way of making sure you don't try to avoid our meeting!

Rowan launched himself at the young woman, hands outstretched as he reached for her, his body sailing through her form as Ariana started to laugh in amusement.

'Oh Rowan, you are such an entertainment, it's almost a shame that I have to kill you' she called out, her image shimmering slightly before solidifying. 'Where are you really Ariana' Rowan growled as he stood up again.

Ariana's eyes narrowed as she glared at the warrior in loathing, 'why don't you come and replace me Ghost?' and then disappeared.

Riley, Daniel and Alessia scrambled to their feet, hurrying over to the two warriors as Riley growled, 'what was that? Ariana was here?'

Rowan shook his head, 'no, she was projecting her image' he said in disgust.

'What does she want? why did she do that?' Alessia asked slowly

Rowan brushed the dirt off his clothes as he scowled, 'she wants me' he replied angrily, 'and she is letting me know that she's ready for me'