Aida POV

Argent and I have been motoring down the highway for an hour, and I have no clue which direction we're even going. I've had my face buried in his jacket for the last half hour. Partly for the sense of comfort and calm it gives me and partly because the further we go, the more the feeling of dread takes over me.

As we speed past yet another gas station and fast-food place, I feel a soft buzzing coming from his pocket that stirs me from my sleepy state. That's lucky, or else I may have been in serious danger of sliding off this bike.

Argent starts to slow and indicates to pull over to the next rest spot.

He rushes to put his feet either side of the bike to steady us and take his phone out of his pocket in time to answer whoever is calling.

I glance at the screen as he tips it towards me. No caller ID. All of the pack phone numbers are stored in his phone. This is someone else.

He shrugs and answers. "Hello?"

Silence. A wave of relief sweeps over his whole body, his shoulders relax, and his weight sinks into the bike. I didn't realise he had been holding it all in.

"James? Where are you? Are you okay? No, we aren't home. It's a long story. We came to Strand, but we missed you. We saw Kane."

My brother is okay. Relief floods through me and I relax for the first time in what feels like forever.

He listens to James speak for a moment and nods. I stare intently at the back of his head, leaning closer to listen in, trying hard to decipher what I can. I don't get much.

"Okay. Yes, she's okay. Sort of. I'll explain. No, I haven't spoken to him yet. Okay. Tell me the name, and we'll meet you there."

He pauses and writes a note into his phone.

"Got it. See you soon." He presses the end button and leans back on me. "They're okay. They're at a motel a few miles up. He called from the reception phone. We're going to meet them."

Argent kicks us back into gear, and we resume our trip on the highway, only this time we have a purpose. I can feel the adrenaline pulsing between us. We both want to get to James and Jemma as fast as we can.

We travel in silence for another short distance, and we see the Majestic Motel coming into our view. It's a small, one-level building in need of some serious love and care. It has a huge neon sign out front, but only half works, and there are boards on windows instead of glass in some of the rooms. Classy. There are several long-haul vehicles in the parking lot. And James's car.

Argent pulls the bike in next to the car, and the motel room door in front of the parking spot opens. My brother runs out and pulls me off the bike, eclipsing me into his firm arms. "What the hell are you two up to?" he exclaims into my shoulder.

"Ah, it's a long story," I try to reply, but he has a hold of me so tight. "Let's chat over food somewhere. I'm starving!"

He laughs and puts me down. Jemma comes up behind me and pulls me in close. It's evident that she's been crying.

"Jem, you okay?" I ask, pushing her hair out of her face. This is the first time since knowing her that I've seen her strong resolve break. It's refreshing, actually; she's a real person too and not just a super tough werewolf.

She shakes her head and wipes her eyes with a tissue from her pocket. I sling my arm around her shoulder, and we follow the guys. James leads us to a small diner on the other side of the motel.

It's like something straight out of that show "Happy Days." It's completely old school with leather booths, coin operated juke boxes on each table, and the small, glass spinning menus. It's the coolest thing I've ever seen.

Until the waitress comes out to greet us on roller skates. I nearly lose my mind and start clapping and jumping up and down like a child when she makes a perfect stop at the edge of the booth.

The other three just shake their heads and roll their eyes Argent kisses the side of my head. "You're an adorable little nerd, you know that?"

I smile eagerly and spin the menu. We order a little too much food for four because I can't decide and Argent indulges me. As soon as the waitress wheels off, James and Argent start firing questions at each other.

"Now, explain to me why you two aren't at home. I called Argos, and he's furious. He said you took off and defied an order from the council. I haven't told him I'm meeting you, so you better tell me now that he's wrong."

Argent stares at him and smiles. "No, that's right."

James goes wide-eyed, and his mouth drops open. He's about to start speaking again before Arge continues.

"The guards turned up early. They wanted to conduct their own tests on the girls. I didn't have a choice; I had to leave Amalie there. I feel bloody sick over it, but I had to at least get Aida away from them. I was going to call Father and explain and figure it out when we got to Strand except when we got there ..." He fades out as he notices Jemma's face becoming more and more pale as he speaks.

James . "What, they wanted to do what? I knew something bad would come of them helping. Kane said that to us too. Well, I think you made a difficult choice in an impossible situation. And you know I would have done the same. I just wish you could have gotten Amalie out too."

Argent nods sadly. James looks at Jemma and back to Arge.

"What was happening when you got to Strand?" He holds tightly to Jemma, looking from Argent to me and back again.

"Kane found us, at the gate," Argent explains. "No one met us, so I knew something was wrong. He had turned the surveillance off. He told us about George and that ass, Elroy. I can't believe he's doing this. There hasn't been an Alpha challenge for years. I bet the council won't do a thing to stop it, either."

James and Jemma look at each other. Something passes between them and they nod.

Argent notices too and I see a nervous twitch in his left eye. "What is it?"

"We're going back in the morning. We can't stand by and let this happen."

I catch a quick look on Jemma's face. There's something they aren't telling us.

"Jemma, what else?" I ask her, catching her by surprise.

She hesitates before saying, "James and I are going to challenge Elroy."

Argent drops the spoon he's been fiddling with. It makes a sudden loud clang on the table, and we all jump. "What? How can you even do that? You have to be a pack member!"

Jemma quickly says, "Which I am. Or, was. But as a Beta's daughter I have the right to challenge someone who has set a challenge against the Alpha or Beta. If the Alpha allows, that is. However, as the original law—which is sexist bullshit—still stands, females cannot fight an Alpha challenge unless they are a or Luna to be but, James as my mate, can accept on my behalf."

Argent and I stare at the two of them. I can't believe what we just heard. "Why?" My voice is barely audible above my pulse whirring around my ears.

She shrugs. "Because Elroy is bad news. He has all sorts of ideas about how to re-educate the pack and take it back to the Stone Age." James reaches across the table and takes my hand, and Jemma continues, "When we were seeing each other a long time ago, he used to rave on about his ideals of taking the pack back to the council roots. How the packs of old used to work in the original days. Fighting for leadership, taking what you want, strongest over weakest, young over old. His mother came from an original line in Africa and used to fill his head with all this violent nonsense. I just didn't think he would ever act on it."

Argent goes to speak, but James stops him, saying, "I know you don't like it, but we have no choice. He will kill George. And then he will kill Kane and any other elder member of the pack. He wants total control. He won't stop there. He'll attack or exile anyone who doesn't conform. Women and children too, if he has to. And then he will come for the other packs."

He looks at me. Never before have I met anyone like my brother. He would literally risk his life for the people he cares about. For what is right. "I know we can't talk you out of this, and I understand why ." He looks to me for confirmation, and I nod. It was never a choice. We go, and we help them.

James shakes his head. "No. I love that you both want to, but no. We can't risk you being hurt—either of you. And Aida will be in human form, so she will be at risk."

I look at Argent. James is right. I am no help to them when I can't shift.

Argent takes a deep breath. "Right. Shit. I didn't think about that. Okay, well we have some time up our sleeve. Let's figure this out."

James and Argent go into plan mode. Jemma gets up from her side of the booth and comes around to me.

"You okay?" I ask her.

She sighs. "Not really. You?"

"Not really." We laugh together, glad to just feel anything besides worry and fear.

"Have you tried? Shifting I mean?" she asks, looking at me like a puzzle she needs to solve.

I shake my head. "I don't even know how to start, really. Emerson and I were going to practice this week."

"Well, how about we start now?"

"What? How? I mean, how do we even know if I can?"

Jemma shoots a look at the boys, who are still heads down, scribbling away at a plan on a paper napkin. She shakes her head in the direction of the corner of the diner where the bathroom doors are.

"Excuse us please, you two." Jemma stands and pulls me up with her. They nod in our direction, not looking at us.

We head over to the corner and enter through the ladies' door, which has a picture of a pink poodle on it. I wish I could move in here; I love it.

We walk through the powder room and into the bathroom. Jemma checks her face in the mirror and sighs. She is still red and blotchy from being upset. I check my hair, startling when I see myself. I look like a wild person.

I start to smooth my hair back into my standard braid, and Jemma begins her covert discussion. "Have I ever told you anything about my training at Strand?"

I shake my head. I know she is a skilled tracker and fighter, but that's about it.

"Well, we do things a little differently than other packs. It's all combat skills, and it's always real."

My brows shoot up. "What do you mean by real?" I ask her, suddenly a little concerned about where this is headed. I turn towards her and lean on the nearby bench.

"Well, once you reach a certain level in your training, you have to face the trials. Think of it like camp but with physical brutality."

"What?" I gasp. "What the hell are you on about?"

She laughs and smiles, looking upwards as if she's remembering a fond memory. This is sounding like torture tactics to me.

"The trainers would send us out to an island, and we would be in teams have to attempt to steal their flag. If we were captured, we were tortured and tested. It's like a "what if" situation for real life. We have to figure out how to get out and remain vigilant. We're never to give any pack information over no matter what."

I stare at her, searching her face for any signs that she's pulling my leg. She's basically telling me that her own pack tortured their teenagers as a way of training them to keep their mouth shut. Sounds worse than the institution.

"Anyway, one of the tactics the leaders used was to force us to shift."

My eyes widen at this. Forced them to shift. Why does that make me immediately scared? "How?" I hesitantly ask.

She comes close to me and holds my arms. "It's going to sound bad, and it is—and somewhat painful, but it always worked."

"Jemma, what did they do?"

"They gave us an electric shock. It sends the body intro fight or flight mode and for us, as wolves, our fight mode is in wolf form."

I swallow hard. Shock. She wants to shock me.

"So, what do you think?" she asks, starting at me and waiting for a response.

"Jemma, if you shock me and I don't turn, what will happen? Besides, I've already had electroshock therapy before in treatment, and I don't think anything happened.

She thinks about this for a second. Finally, she says, "I don't know. It's never happened to any of us. We always turned. We would need to google it and make sure we use the right voltage amount, enough to shock your wolf out but not enough to kill you." Jemma's words sound so matter of fact. This girl is hardcore.

"Well, what's the worst that could happen?" I try to sound like I'm not actually terrified, but maybe I need to just take a chance. Or maybe I'm crazy. Again.

We both nervously laugh. I almost believe this girl is as mad as me. We head out to the diner again and see the boys have started to eat without us. Typical.

Jemma whispers into my ear, "Now to get the guys to agree."