Promised To The Alpha Twins
Chapter 113

A thick fog rose from the ground around us, and a shiver ran down my spine. The atmosphere couldn’t have been tenser. All we could hear was the howling of the wind as it rustled the leaves of the trees around us, and perhaps, with some attention, the beating of our hearts, accelerated by the decision we were about to make, a decision that could lead us to ruin, all of us.

Or perhaps, were we realizing that we were already condemned, and we just wanted, by some chance of our subconscious, to hasten the process?

But as long as there was a glimmer of hope, however tiny…

“Listen to the kids, Tony. They have a point that seems more than appropriate,” Mel’s voice, carried by the wind because the pain still made her frail, was the balm we needed for our hearts, swollen with pride and anger, to feel refreshed. “Their idea isn’t so crazy, and it aligns with Mr. Ross’s plan.”

I immediately sensed the relaxation in Tony’s tense muscles, and the twins must have felt the same because I knew instantly that their heart rates were decreasing, just slightly, but it was something. I exchanged a glance with Aly, who, although she hid it with a tough posture, was also quite nervous about what had been just moments away from happening.

“Do you want to go back and attack them, is that it?” Tony said, the tension in his neck somewhat eased, but still defensive, his combat stance not losing an ounce of rigidity.

The gazes of the twins, Aly, and Mel fell on me. I was the one who suggested the idea with my initial refusal to continue; now it was my turn to be the spokesperson for the change of plans.

“They won’t expect it. For them, we’ll keep moving forward, toward a secondary road or path,” my resolution grew stronger as I saw the change in Tony’s reaction. Now I was sure something was whispering in his head. Was he communicating telepathically with Mel? How deep was the connection between those two? There would be time to discover that later. For now, the most important thing was to fully convince Tony of our plan. “They’ll be content knowing the point on the road where we’ll emerge to inform their people and ambush ours in passing. But if we attack them now, we’ll have the element of surprise.”

I didn’t want to add that my idea also included taking prisoners for interrogation. Just the mention of interrogations churned my stomach, but I think it was implicit in what I mentioned and in what Aly had already suggested. We needed information, and she more than anyone. She wanted to know about Nicolas, and it seemed that the men sent by David Zoe knew those details.

Finally, Tony’s shoulders relaxed, and I knew, simulating a long sigh, that we had succeeded. The giant supported us, and he would do so with all his strength, but more importantly, with his strict sense of loyalty and commitment.

“All right, we’ll do it your way,” he affirmed as he scanned each of us with his stern gaze. “But I’ll be with you every step of the way.” He pointed at me, immediately unsettling the twins, who took a step forward.

“You already have us,” Liam growled, determined.

While it was exciting to know that the bond made us inseparable, it could also sometimes be a heavy burden that could complicate things, and this time, I wasn’t willing to let male pride ruin what was an excellent plan.

“I’m afraid this time I’ll have to ask you to leave me,” I said, looking at the twins and knowing that my words caused immense pain in their souls. “I’ll go with Tony because I need you to be behind, to close the ambush.”

I knew that, even though they understood me immediately because they could delve into my mind long before my thoughts were expressed in words, they would resist.

“We swore we’d never let you go again,” for Ethan, that idea had become a mantra that he would never stop repeating. Like I said, as charming as it was, our constant need to be together could be a disadvantage in some situations, like the current one.

“I didn’t say you were going to leave me,” I insisted. “I’m just asking you to follow me, but a few hundred steps behind. That’s all.”

Liam and Ethan’s gazes turned to Tony. They were jealous of him, that for a moment I would prefer to be escorted by him rather than by them, but the circumstances required it. It wasn’t easy for me to ask them to do so, and I had to resort to the mental link to promise them that, when we emerged victorious from this situation, I would compensate their sacrifice more than adequately.

“‘But that won’t happen unless we manage to prevail.’ Ethan and Liam would do as I told them, even if it meant going to the other end of the world and staying there for ten years, they would, even though doing so could kill us long before. This time, I was only asking them to take a few steps back, enough for Zoe’s men to follow our trail and, when the time came, the twins would attack them from behind while Tony and I waited for them up front.”

“Aly will be in charge of taking care of Mel,” I suggested as I reviewed the plan’s details.

“No, wait,” Mel made a great effort to make her voice sound devoid of any pain, but it was evident to all of us that she would still need several more days for that to be true. “I’ve never been a burden, and I refuse to be one. I can fight, or… I could if you…”

Her eyes locked onto mine, and I knew what she wanted to say, but I was surprised that she suggested it. How did she know? I think everyone, except Tony, knew what Mel was asking me without using words, and we wondered how she could even hint at it. Mel must have sensed the same because she clarified right away.

“Your injuries, the ones you got in the crash, they’re gone, right? Or am I wrong?”

It was a very good justification, and it was true. Somehow, without even knowing it myself, I had been absorbing energy to heal. My gift was working even unconsciously, and I was worried that I might have taken what my body needed to heal from those around me, but a quick glance at the twins, Aly, and Tony assured me that it wasn’t the case.

So where did I get the energy that allowed me to mend my broken ribs and skin tissue?

Gea?

She still didn’t answer me, although I knew she was present. Something was happening, and not knowing what it was troubled me, but for now, we had something more urgent in sight.

“So, do you think you can do it?” Mel pursed her lips, and I knew that the pain she must be enduring with her broken leg in the middle of the forest had to be unbearable. It would only take me a few seconds, and during the process, I could find out where I had been drawing energy from; moreover, she was an exceptional fighter, and her skills would come in handy during the ambush.

“I will.”

Time was against us, and despite the disapproving looks the twins gave me, I cut them off immediately.

“I’m not going to argue about it.”

I approached Mel and placed my hands on her broken leg. A light touch was enough to make her shudder, even though she tried to hide the pain, and I could feel that the wound was quite severe. Aly’s bandages, in fact, weren’t doing anything, and in a few hours, the fracture would have worsened to the extent that Mel’s leg might be compromised.

I focused and allowed the channeled flow to run. Then I knew where I had been drawing energy from to heal my body, and I was saddened to know it.

“What’s happening to that oak?” Tony exclaimed as he looked at the tree Mel was leaning against. “This is…”

Aly approached to touch his shoulder and reassure him. I couldn’t see; my eyes were closed to concentrate, but I could feel everything around me and learn what was happening as if my mind were traveling in a drone with a panoramic view of X-rays. I knew that, if required, I could even delve into the oak’s roots and draw its energy from there, but the reserve was so vast that I could have blown Mel’s body to pieces. I was content with a fraction, enough to wither a few of the oak’s branches, which perhaps it would later recover, but that didn’t make the sensation any less pleasant. I could almost hear the tree’s lament as I performed the extraction. It was suffering, and I promised myself not to take too long.

“It’s done,” I said, my voice somewhat muted by the momentary exhaustion that overwhelmed me.

“It’s wonderful,” Mel exclaimed as she moved her leg. “I don’t even have a headache anymore.”

We all smiled, gathered around Mel, and I knew that it was what we needed most. But the moment of satisfaction evaporated immediately, and we all looked up at the same time.

David Zoe’s men were approaching.

Their stench was nauseating.