Chapter 20

***Nerissa POV***

The ride was smooth and rather fast. I had no idea exactly where we were headed, but I trusted Allister, partially. Throughout the ride, Allister kept glancing at me in the side car mirror.
Every time I looked at his profile in the little mirror, his eyes would snap to it and catch me staring at him, which would end with me blushing as he smirked.
“Where are we going?” Warit asked, annoyed, jumping slightly in his seat due to the bumpy road.
Caleb rolled his eyes as he exchanged looks with Allister before Allister took it upon himself to answer Warit’s question. “I told you already that we are going to a Beeker Village.”
“Oh yes, it reminded me of a bakery at the time as I was feeling hungry.” Warit chuckled while Allister glared at him in the side mirror. Emily and I couldn’t hold in our small smiles upon hearing Warit’s answer.
We continued on, the silence in the car obvious. That is until Warit broke it a little while later and asked, “Are we there yet?”
Caleb chuckled having heard his question. Allister snorted but continued to look straight ahead. Caleb looked at Warit in the mirror as he answered him. “We will be there soon, just be patient.” Just as Caleb promised, a few moments later I could see the tiny village called Beeker Village.
Caleb parked the SUV and the second car followed and soon enough we all started to get out. An older couple greeted us the moment we stepped outside the SUV. Allister took a step forward and told them, “We are looking for the Silva family.” The older man looked over at Allister and I noticed his body tensing. He grabbed the female, moving her behind him as he tried to shield, protect her from us. His eyes never once leaving the Demon King and I saw the female peeking behind his shoulder with her eyes filled in fear. My heart pumped heavily as I was standing still behind Allister, hoping these people will trust us enough to give us the answers.
I noticed the older man distrusted Allister, so I tried to take a friendlier approach and ease the situation. Stepping forward, I made sure his attention was on me before saying, “Good day. My name is Nerissa and these are my friends. We are not here to harm you, I can promise you that, only to ask a few questions if you would be so kind as to answer, please.”
The old man’s eyes were on me as he observed my request in silence. I held my breath in hope while Allister reached for my hand, trying to push me behind him and keep me safe, but I didn’t let him as I freed my hand from his. I stopped in the next moment, however, when the older female called my name. “Nerissa?”
Allister’s head shot up to look at the older female at the same time as mine did. “Yes, I am Nerissa.”
The older female moved from behind her mate, and asked, “Are you Nerissa Caldwell, the daughter of Nancy Caldwell from the Windswillow pack?”
My heart started to beat faster in the hopes that I had finally found my aunt or at least some answers as I looked at the older female. “That is my mother and my home. Do you know my Aunt Patricia?”
The older female walked towards me, making Allister tense as he stood uncomfortably next to me, not knowing what she might do.
“My name is Beth, and that is my mate and husband, Fletcher Silva,” she introduced herself, extending her hand and holding mine.
Beth looked at us all and smiled widely before giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “Oh please, we are so rude. Please, do come inside and we can talk there.”
Beth and Fletcher led us inside their tiny house while we followed in silence.
As soon as we all had gathered inside the little living room, we sat down on an old comfy couch filled with colorful pillows. The warriors stayed outside, keeping watch. Beth sat down next to her mate and looked over at me with a smile. “I am guessing you are here because of Patricia?” she questioned.
Hearing my aunt’s name made me sit closer to the edge of the seat. “Yes, we are. Did you see her? Do you know where she is?”
She looked at me with a sad smile. “We all heard what happened to your home and family. Patricia was really upset and waited for you for so long. She decided to move and continue searching for you, leaving clues if by some chance you missed each other so you would know where to look.”
Hearing that, I felt my heart drop. The hope I had, hope that I would reunite with my aunt felt like some kind of a dream now.
“Patricia found out that the Draconis captured two young females. We didn’t know that information until recently, neither did we know who they were, but Patricia always said that she knew and believed that you were still alive. So hearing that news, she went to search for you. We had heard that two young females had escaped their lands,” Beth added, making me look at her again after feeling down a second ago.
“So she went to look for us— I mean the two females that escaped?” I asked, feeling Allister tense next to me.
“Yes, she did. We know that she was going towards the Mortimer forest area. It is a long journey, but maybe if you hurry you might arrive there a little after her,” Fletcher told us as we all slowly stood up, shaking their hands and saying our thank yous to the older couple.
The front door slammed open suddenly, revealing one of the warriors that came with us. Looking over at Allister he spoke in a hurry, “My Lord, someone is approaching here, fast.”
Allister stood up immediately, his whole body tense. “Who?”
“We do not know, my Lord, only that they are fast and powerful,” the warrior said, making Allister look over at me for a second before he responded to him once more.
“Get three warriors to go with Warit. Warit, you will take Emily with you and go with the warriors. Take my car. You will go to the Mortimer Forest area and meet Nerissa and I there. Is that understood?”
Warit nodded as he grabbed Emily’s hand and went outside, doing as Allister instructed him to. I could hear the car engine roar to life and in the next moment, they drove away, leaving me with Allister and two other warriors.
Allister turned to our hosts. “We are sorry for the trouble we caused, but we truly appreciate your help in our search to find Nerissa’s aunt. We will leave now. Thank you both once again.” Before I could offer my gratitude to the Silva family, Allister grabbed my hand and pulled me outside of their house.
We arrived at the other car to find one of the warriors sitting behind the wheel, waiting for us. Allister opened the back door for me when we heard a loud roar headed in our direction.
Allister looked around us, silently observing the environment. His eyes went to the backyard of the tiny house and without a word, he grabbed my hand once again, and said, “Let’s go! Follow me, and if you can’t keep up, just let me know.”
Annoyed that he thought I was weak and couldn’t keep up, I gritted my teeth, determined to prove him wrong. My feelings of annoyance mixed with Bellania’s restlessness made me wonder what was wrong with her as she kept on puffing and whining in my head.
Allister was fast, and it was hard to keep the same pace with him as we rushed towards the back of the house, making me realize that he wanted to go to the mountain.
“Allister, who is chasing after us?” I panted, out of breath as he looked behind us, a growl coming from his chest.
Before he could answer me, someone crashed into him. He pushed me to the side to avoid the impact. I looked ahead, worried about Allister, trying to see who crashed into him, wishing I could help him, but what I saw made my breath hitch in my throat.
Alexander… I blinked a few times, not believing what I was seeing. My other mate was here, fighting with Allister, who is also my mate.
I stood up from the ground, but I kept my eyes glued to the two of them. My heart was aching as I watched them fight. Alex threw a punch, which hit Allister’s chin just in time for Allister to react quickly and hit Alex in the stomach.
Not being able to stop myself, I rushed towards them, getting in between the two. I screamed at them, “Stop it!”
Alex’s eyes widened when he saw me in the middle. Allister was still in the middle of throwing a punch, making Alex push me aside so he received the hit that almost hit me.
“You fucking asshole! I’ll kill you for this! How dare you try to harm my mate?” Alexander roared loudly at Allister making him blink, shocked, as his eyes landed on me for a second before Alexander charged at him, pushing him down to the ground.
I was fed up with them both and being tossed around whenever I tried to separate them only to have them push me aside. Angrily, I slammed my fists into the grass before standing up again after having fallen on my ass not so gracefully by losing my footing while being pushed out of their way. Clenching my fists, refusing to give up, I took a step forward, ready to stop the fight yet again when someone grabbed my arm suddenly and pulled me backward. Startled as panic rushed through me, I opened my mouth but a strong hand covered it tightly, preventing me from screaming out to Alex and Allister.