SEQUEL: EIGHTEEN

Logan returned to the car about fifteen minutes later, getting in the passenger seat of the car they were in while one of his men got in the driver’s seat. They started off even before the rest of Logan’s men came back from the cottage where they had gone to investigate.
“So what did you find?” Alina asked, impatient to find out.
“Hired thugs who were anonymously hired by someone willing to pay good money,” Logan quickly filled them in.
Alina and Madeline shared a knowing look, they knew who exactly had hired the thugs but were wary of saying her name out loud.
Logan caught onto this silent exchange, “Do you have any idea who it might have been?” He asked carefully.
“Not really,” Alina shrugged.
Logan knew well that she wasn’t saying the truth but he didn’t push. His job was to rescue them which he had successfully done, there was no reason to hang around the werewolf princess further. If anything, it would probably do him good for him to keep his distance from her, knowing who her father was and what he was capable of.
The journey down to his agency was mostly quiet, he offered to have them treated but they declined his offer. They were ushered to a private room at the agency while their things were being retrieved from the car which would be taken for repairs.
“Would you like something to drink?” Logan asked before he gave them some privacy.
They could both really use something to drink but it was best not to, not until they were safely out of Silverfall City.
“No, thank you,” Madeline replied on their behalf.
“Sure thing,” Logan muttered before leaving, he needed to report to Alpha King Roman anyway and resume his daily activities which had been interrupted to go save the two ladies.
“We should have asked for a phone,” Madeline spoke up after a few moments of silence, laying down on the sofa and cradling a throw pillow.
Alina was brought out of her thoughts by this, “Why?” She remembered her phone which she dropped while they were being shot at and which was probably useless now.
“To thank Roman for saving us?” She answered like it was obvious.
Alina went quiet, she didn’t know how that made her feel. She could admit that they would have been in grave danger, perhaps even dead if Roman hadn’t helped out but it was difficult suddenly having nice thoughts about someone who was her sworn enemy.
Madeline on the other hand had had enough, here was a man that she would give her share of her father’s company to have without hesitation, yet Alina was hellbent on treating him like crap no matter what he did for her.
“What’s your deal with Roman anyway? All he’s done is help out!” She lashed out at her friend.
Alina was genuinely hurt by this, Madeline had never questioned her reason for disliking anyone, just like she did in turn. It was an unspoken rule of their friendship that they always backed each other up no matter the situation or who they were up against.
She could have probably handled it better but even she had a difficult time answering the question. The fact that she would be mated to him against her will added to their long-time animosity for each other was a really good reason to dislike him but she couldn’t tell Madeline about their mating, and Roman had been so nice recently that it made her question their long time feud.
“So you’re taking his side now?” She countered, her dark eyes blazing.
Madeline rolled her eyes at this, “I can’t believe you would say that. I just wanted to know why you hate him so much and now I’m the bad person.”
Perhaps it was because emotions were still running high after escaping death because Alina’s response did nothing to alleviate the situation. “Don’t fucking act the victim, you were clearly taking his side-”
Madeline shot to her feet before Alina could complete her sentence, “Do you ever fucking answer my questions? All you do is change the topic, I’m sick of it.”
“It doesn’t matter what’s between me and Roman, you’re my friend. not his, you’re supposed to be on my side.”
Madeline chuckled darkly, “Do you hear how you sound? I should support your decision to be rude to him even after all he’s done and you won’t even tell me why?”
Alina frowned, “That has never been an issue before now, why is it different with Roman?”
Madeline blinked rapidly at this observation that hit too close to home, “It’s literally not? I don’t know what you’re talking about… You know what? I can’t deal with this anymore, I’m leaving.”
Alina’s frown deepened as she watched Madeline storm towards the door, the entire situation was ridiculous, she never expected their argument about Roman to escalate to this point. “Are you fucking serious? You’re leaving?”
Madeline didn’t answer and she didn’t slow down either, viciously yanking open the door.
Alina was really tempted to give in and tell her friend just why she was up in knots about Roman but her father’s hold over her was stronger. She watched with eyes full of disbelief as Maddie stormed out, slamming the door close as she did.
Her feet were rooted to the ground and what she really wanted to do was go after her only friend but she knew that it would only end up with them saying worse things to each other. She wasn’t ready to give Maddie an answer, and for some reason, Madeline was willing to choose Roman over her.
Sure he had saved their lives a couple of times but was that enough to get her to switch sides so suddenly? What was she doing? Alina slowly leaned back into the sofa, sinking into a pile of throw pillows, her brows furrowed although she looked to be very comfortable physically.
A few moments later, Logan returned to the room, professionally keeping a straight face although there was one less lady than they had been in the room. He had also been informed of Madeline Gustav storming out of the Agency, and he couldn’t help but wonder what their skirmish had been about.
“Your Highness?” He called out to get Alina’s attention because she didn’t even look up when he came in.
Alina whipped her head in his direction, visibly relaxing when she saw who it was. She rose to her feet and walked up to him to take the bags that he held in his hand.
“We were able to retrieve your phone but it was badly cracked,” Logan said. He watched her take both bags with relief, he had been worried that he would have to find a way to return Madeline Gustav’s things to her.
“Thank you, I’ll have it fixed myself,” Alina said quietly. “And thanks once again for helping us out.” She tagged on before sweeping past him.
When she got to the door, she paused and turned around. “Um, do you have bandaids?” She asked, the palms of her hands still had the cuts and bruises that the shards of glass had caused her.
“I’m sorry for not offering earlier but we’ve got an in-Agency doctor that could quickly patch you up.” Logan quickly said, he had planned to offer but both ladies looked like they didn’t need his help.
“We’d have probably turned it down anyway,” Alina waved off his apologies, considering his offer. Her first thought had been to turn it down right away but that was what she would have done if Madeline was still here, they always had their own backs and figured things out together.
But now, she was all alone, it was best that she took the nice offer and had her hands patched before she figured out just what the fuck she was going to do.
“But yes, thank you.” She accepted absently.
Logan immediately took the backs from her again and led her away. The doctor would need to do much, he just had to make sure that there were no shards of glass stuck to her skin, some sterilization, and then bandaids for comfort until it rapidly healed. By the end of the day, the cuts in her hands should be completely healed.
In a short time, Alina was walking out of the private agency, two bags slung over each of her shoulders. She was even able to retrieve her shades in one piece which she put over her eyes as she walked over to the cab that Logan had been nice enough to order for her.
She was heading straight to the airport, the only issue was that she had no idea where to go. If she were with Madeline, they would have either holed up in some expensive hotel or gone straight to Maddie’s home. And after having her older brothers deal with Iyla, they would then go on their trip to Japan.
But now she didn’t even know where her best friend had gone; she had never had a fight with Maddie before so it left her feeling out of sorts. Maddie always got her, they understood each other without needing too many words so it was very strange to have an argument, especially one which escalated to this point.
She wasn’t worried about Madeline although she was with her things, because all she needed to do was make a simple call and her brothers would come down themselves to get her. It must be so nice to have family that showed just how much they cared.
Alina just needed to get out of Silverfall City first, then she would figure things out as they came. First, she needed a destination, and her first thought was to return to Mistbourne City, her father’s capital. She had no intention of returning to her father’s mansion though, she didn’t want to face him at the moment.
It was reflex however to return to the place she knew as home, maybe she would rent out a hotel or stay at one of her father’s several houses scattered across the city. It wasn’t like he would bother to pay a visit to her so she could stay there for as long as she needed to.
At the airport, Alina was relieved for the first time when nobody noticed her, she felt very fragile at the moment and she just needed some quiet time all to herself. So other than the lady behind the counter where she bought her ticket, and the waitress who had led her to her seat, no one else noticed her.
Maybe it was because she was all alone… she curled up in her seat and went right to sleep, needing some sort of escape from her thoughts.