16

Mika could tell she was pist but for the life of him truly could not understand why? He'd made sure his men had cleared away the remains and set up guard for Talia. He needed to talk to Ari and some how make things right. He had to make her understand.
He'd found her in "their pool' scrubbing the thick mud off her. He cleared his throat as he stepped up." I think we need to talk." She scoffed, " You think?!" he bristled in reaction.
"Listen, I am suppose to be the one protecting his female. I was sending you away to protect you. To make sure that you above all would be back on my pack lands. I made the choice,' his breath caught for just a second as the seer's words caught him. "Look I always thought that I'd settle down with a female that was.." somewhere in the back of his mind little alarms bells were going off begging him to shut up, but the other side decided it was best to keep going that this would make things clearer." submissive." Ari's expression never changed. She had this look of utter displeasure, almost as if in any moment she would pounce on him. "Submissive." she said the word slowly, as if it felt strange on her tongue.
"Yes. I need a luna that would follow orders because I know what is best for my pack. A luna follows orders, and makes pups for the alpha, that’s what I always thought I would end up with."
"And now you don't want that." there was some hope in her voice, would he see that was just not her or would he reject her. "No I do want that I just want YOU to be." he was becoming exasperated with her.
"Ok listen to me wolfie, I have been on my own for god knows how long with out some big bad **man* telling me what to do and where to go. I have survived just fine with out you and if you can not see that. See that I am just as much an equal, than you can tuck your tail between your legs and move on." Her heart threatened to jump into her throat as she said the harsh words. But she needed to challenge him. She was not to back down, she was a leader in her own right and would not bow her head to no one. He growled warningly, "If that is what you want then so be it!" he snapped. In a blink of an eye he shifted and pounded toward the cabin. Her heart crashed, she knew he would not be there when she finally got back. She knew they would be gone.
When she finally made her way back her guess had been right they had left. Her blankets that they had laid Talia on were even there. It was as if he didn't want any thing of hers to remind him.
He's gonna get them all killed, if not himself. She thought which route she should take- go on her own and fuck him, or go after him to make sure they did not fall to the same fate as that Camie girl, as her mother, as so many others.
"Fuck we are going Keke." she said gloomily to her horse. She looked like she had been ready for some adventure since being stationed around the cabin for a few nights. "Did you enjoy your vacation girl?" she patted her strong neck and the horse whinnied in response. “Let’s go show the wolves who has girl power."
She knew they would be traveling straight north per the conversation Mika proceeded to stick his foot down his throat, but she wanted to stay far enough behind that they wouldn't catch on. They had a head start so she figured so long as she stayed 2 miles back from them and to stay down wind.
During the night time she would climb a tree and rest in one of the broad limbs. She refused fires in case they used scouts and would see her. But as they deepened into enemy territory it would no longer be just Mika she needed to worry about.
By the second night she had spotted one of the wolves prints in the fresh mud. There was some sliding marks and scraps that indicated there was a fight. *No fresh blood is a good sign.* she thought. She checked around the bushes for any marked plants of blood. Found none but the partially decomposed body was a giant clue that a deader had come across them. *They normally don't travel alone, there must be more near by.* she thought. The further in Keke and her got the more of a liability Keke was to her and she knew it. "Girl I have to let you go." she said as she unloaded her beloved horse. She knew this would slow her down, but she couldn't risk being caught due to her horse. The horses eyes looked so big and so sad. She could see her reflection somewhat in her eyes. She knew she was crying. This was her longest friend, and she truly loved her. "Please I don't want you to get hurt." She whispered. She slapped the horses rear and she took off. She could hear her pounding off and a weight was lifted from her. *She's safe.* Ari thought.
She tracked onward still traveling north hoping to steer clear from Mika. On the fourth day she came upon the first ancient metro area. She could see rotted buildings that may have once touched the sky, but now looked like they were trying to cling to their once glory. Vines crawled the city. Nature wanted to take back what was hers, but there was something wrong still within her lands. Areas of the city you could see decay not just the buildings, but the plant life. The closer Ari got to the city the more she began to realize there was very limited animal life. This place seemed to suck sound out. Every rock pebble seemed to blast as nothing else made noise. She would have to be very careful here.
What were once street were now filled with rocks, and plant life Trees had started to grown in and around. At one tree Ari stopped and saw something sharp and metal stick out of it. She wasn't sure what this once was as the original shape had been half eaten by the tree. The closer she looked many of the "vines “she was seeing wasn't any she had ever seen before. Something shiny was in them, but the wrapping around it was cracked and hard.*Wires?!* she'd seen them in little mechanical things and motors before, but never this wide spread. It was profound to her and made her feel so small, so out of place.
Signs of the wolves were getting harder and harder to follow now. She hoped that she could catch up and see show Mika she was just as big of a badass as he was. That was what was pushing her on. She was going to prove her worth damn it and he was gonna take it.