He gives up with a sigh, puffing out a breath. “I have the feeling we’re being followed.”
“And you think this isn’t something I should know?” I ask.
“I wasn’t certain,” he defends himself. “And I only got the feeling yesterday for the first time. For all I know, it could be a squirrel!”
“Or a werewolf,” I point out. “Or something else.” I massage my temples. “Listen, I appreciate you wanting to keep me safe, but I’m not going to be magically safe by you keeping secrets from me.”
He looks at me for a long while, furrowing his brows to his broody signature look. “You’re right,” he mumbles.
“I’m right?” I repeat, dumbfounded, not expecting him to agree with me, especially not after my last experience with a werewolf. I notice Raffy’s gaze lingering on me. “I mean, of course I’m right,” I mutter.
Raffy reaches out his hand. “Dave…”
“It’s okay,” I say quietly. “Let’s get away from here. Maybe we are being followed, maybe not, but I’m with you here. We shouldn’t take a risk.”
Raffy nods, helping me get Sugar back in the car before we continue our road trip. It’s not long till Raffy asks me to stop once more. “Is someone following us again?” I ask, worried.
“I don’t know about that.” He looks down at his fingers before gesturing towards the path ahead of us, leading us directly into a thick forest. “But we can’t drive through here.”
I blink. “Why not? Looks exactly like the rest of the way we came from.”
“It’s pack territory,” Raffy explains. “I can feel it. We are reaching the borders.”
“So, we need to drive around it?” I ask curiously. Raffy nods and pulls out his map, showing me the direction we should take. Once he is finished, I raise my eyebrows. “You want me to take a seven-hour detour while someone is potentially following us?”
He shrugs. “I know it’s not the ideal situation.”
“Forget it!” I take a deep breath. “Fasten your seatbelt. We are driving through these pack lands.”
“But Dave…” Raffy’s voice is hoarse. “I’m a rogue! They will want to capture me, and then Goddess knows what will happen.”
I sigh. “I know.” I look at him earnestly. “Trust me. Just trust me to get us through here, okay? You might be a rogue, but I’m an expert in surviving dangerous situations.”
Raffy frowns. “I feel like I should remember the last part of what you just said so that we can talk about this later.”
“Don’t underestimate the human… everyone else does, and that’s their problem. Not everything can be solved with fists and strength.” I pause. “I would never allow something to happen to you.”
Raffy’s gaze softens at my words, and he nods. “Alright. I’ll trust you to drive us through there safely.”
“If something happens, and we’ll get stopped, just play along,” I tell him.
Again, he nods.
“Alright.” I smirk and hit the accelerator. “Hold on tight.”
I push my car to the max, glad I upgraded it during our first stop. This one is so much faster and easier to drift with. Actually, I’ve always wanted to test the speed limits of a car.
“Goddess, I’m going to die,” Raffy breathes out when I skillfully drift the next turn. He clings to his seat, his eyes wide.
Going by the map I looked at before, the drive through the pack grounds should have taken us around two hours… we make it in half an hour. Between groaning and complaining, Raffy tells me we’re approaching the borders again. I’m inclined to believe that we made it… we made it through without any incidents… when suddenly three massive guys block the road.
“Fuck,” Raffy curses. “If you drive past them, they’ll follow us.”
“Then we won’t,” I say firmly, pressing my feet against the brakes to stop the car. I look at Raffy. “Play along,” I whisper.
He nods. “If anything goes wrong, I can fight.”
“You won’t need to fight,” I mutter. “I won’t allow it to happen.” I promised him to get us out of here in one piece, and I’ll make sure to live up to my promise. And I certainly won’t allow him to dirty his hands on a bunch of werewolf warriors who’re just doing their job. He has enough on his plate already.