The Raven’s Alpha (Nature’s Embrace #1)

Chapter Seventeen

Eddy Elwood

The night is dark and silent as I drive us away from Grizzly-Fields, leaving the memories of my childhood home behind. My nerves are stretched taut with the fear of putting my mate through this again, of subjecting him to the same pain and uncertainty we've already faced. The thought of it makes my heart race and my palms sweat.

We've had a wonderful time visiting my family, but despite the joy, a nagging worry has been growing inside me with the thought of travelling through non-neutral lands once more. I just hope they'll grant us safe passage without incident.

I occasionally glance over at my sleeping mate, expecting to see the calm, serene expression that usually accompanies his rest. But tonight, his face tells a different story. His eyebrows are furrowed, his brow creased with worry, and his features seem to be working through some unseen problem even as he sleeps.

The scent of Darcy's upcoming heat is strong and alluring, but it's tempered by an undercurrent of anxiety that adds a pungent note to the sweetness. The mixture is intoxicating and unnerving at the same time.

In just a couple of hours, we’ll be safety back at the cabin. Everything is going to be ok.

Whenever his snores grow louder, I step on it, surging forward as if propelled by my own impatience. The rush of speed is a balm to my frazzled nerves, and I focus on the road ahead, eager to get back home .

When we’re just half a mile from the border, I take a final precaution: I double-check that all the doors are locked and windows are fully raised. When The scent of Darcy's heat wafts back to me, I grasp the gravity of our situation: if I can smell him, that means they’ll be able to smell him too. Panic sets in as I frantically rummage for my phone, all while keeping a white-knuckled grip on the wheel, guiding the truck down the straightaway.

When I glance in the rear-view mirror, my father's serious voice pierces the tense atmosphere. “Edgar, what's wrong?” he asks, the fact that I’m calling a warning that something's amiss.

I take a deep breath and try to focus on the road ahead, my eyes fixed on the darkness outside. “Darcy's approaching his heat and we're almost at the border,” I say, my voice steady despite the growing panic in my chest. I ease off the accelerator, and with a firm press on the brake pedal, we come to a sudden stop in the middle of the deserted road.

“I could scent it on him before you boys left, how much longer until it reaches full intensity?” my father asks, his voice low and urgent.

"I'm not sure, I haven’t shared a heat with him yet," I admit, trying to keep my voice steady. I glance at Darcy, grateful that he's still oblivious to our sudden halt, his face is flushed from his heat and his forehead is beaded with sweat despite the freezing air.

I cradle the phone against my ear and lean in closer to my sleeping mate, his warm breath whispering against my skin as I'm enveloped in the intoxicating aroma of fresh berries. His natural scent is sweet, but with his heat intensifying, the fragrance is almost overwhelming.

“It’s close, Dad. What do I do? There is not a chance in hell that they are going to let us peacefully travel through” I say, my voice tight with tension .

“Stay calm, I’ll handle this. I need to hang up and check the map,” he says, his voice even but firm. “Stay in your truck. Keep the lights off, but keep the air-conditioning on. Is he sleeping?” A quick look at my mate and I confirm he is. “Ok, don’t disturb him and I’ll call you back in two minutes.”

When I hang up the phone, I struggle to still my racing heart, my body tense with anticipation. I hold my breath, willing myself not to disturb Darcy, who sleeps fitfully beside me. My palms are slick with sweat, and my stomach churns like a tempest, threatening to unleash its turmoil at any moment.

I mentally count down the seconds, my fingers drumming a faltering beat on my thigh as I wait for the phone to ring. The seconds tick by at a bitter pace, each one an eternity. Finally, after what feels like an hour, the phone vibrates in my hand, its gentle hum a sudden burst of relief.

My father's voice is laced with concern as he explains, “I've re-routed the path. There's an alternative way for you to go, but it'll add a few hours to your journey. The alternative is to risk traversing non-neutral borders, which will put you in danger.”

I pull up the maps on my phone, studying the winding route my father has suggested. A maze of fields, tunnels, and dirt roads stretches out before me. I'm sceptical - will this precarious path even be passable by car? But I know it's better than risking being caught.

I put the truck back in gear, U-turning onto the dusty road and slowly increasing the distance between us and the non-neutral borders. The silence is oppressive, punctuated only by my father's occasional requests for our location. We're both lost in our own thoughts, each of us processing the weight of our situation.

I'm worried that our call might get cut short due to a dead battery. I don't have a way to charge my phone, so I'm racing against time. On a hunch, I quickly screen-shot the route and send it to Darcy's phone as a precautionary measure. That way, we'll have a backup plan just in case we need to switch to his phone.

After several hours of driving, I've had to conserve my phone's battery life by putting it on power-saving mode. I assured my father that I'll update him as soon as we safely arrive back at the cabin.

Darcy has been sleeping peacefully for the past few hours, likely due to his heat making him even more exhausted than usual.

I glance at my phone, it's just past 2:00 AM. After hours of driving, my stomach finally begins to relax as we've found a safer alternative route.

When Darcy finally awakens, he yawns and stretches out from the curled-up position he had been in, his body unfolding like a sleeping beast. “W-What time is it?” Darcy asks, before a loud moan escapes from his lips. The aroma of his warm skin wafts up, sweet and enticing, like the scent of nectar filling the truck.

"You good?" I ask, the question more a formality than a genuine inquiry.

“It’s my heat," he mutters, his voice laced with a mix of unease and resignation. "It's closer than I expected." He turns away, his gaze drifting out the window, avoiding eye contact. "Where are we?”

I glance at him before refocusing on the road. "I had to turn around. Your pheromones grew overpowering, and I realised they wouldn't have let us pass if they'd detected an unclaimed omega in heat.”

“Are we going back to your parents?”

"No," I say, shaking my head. "I'm taking us back to our cabin. It'll add a few hours to our journey, but I didn't want to put you through the risk of being discovered by strangers while you're in heat."

Darcy pauses, considering the risks and benefits. "I trust you, alpha. Whatever you decide, I'll follow your lead. You've always kept me safe. ”

The ride continues in silence, punctuated only by the occasional moan and groan from my mate. His scent is wreaking havoc on my senses, catching me off guard. I thought we had enough time to get home before things got intense, but it seems I misjudged. My cock is aching and steadily weeping behind my underwear, my balls are starting to ache with the need to release.

We shouldn't have come here. I wanted our first heat to be a serene experience, with Darcy surrounded by candlelight and the safety of our cabin. Instead, we're stuck in this truck, trying to outrun the borders.

Movement in the wing mirror catches my attention, it might be nothing, but my gut tells me something is wrong.

"Darcy, grab your phone and call this number," I say, my voice low and urgent.

He scrambles to do as I've asked, and a few moments later, my father's familiar voice fills the line. "What's going on?" he asks, his tone sharp with concern.

"Nothing yet, Father. I just wanted to keep you updated on our location," I explain, my voice even as I glance down at the GPS map on the dashboard. "But I did notice something that's got me a little uneasy - there's an unmarked car following us. It might be nothing, but I'm not sure...” I don't even get a chance to finish my sentence before the unmarked car surges forward, its speed picking up rapidly. My beat-up truck shudders in response, and I can tell it's no match for the pursuing vehicle. The car strikes the back of the truck with a loud crash, sending us both careening out of control.

Darcy screams and drops the phone. I’m pushing my foot harder on the accelerator, hoping I can get us away. Unfortunately, we aren’t fast enough and with one last hit to the truck, we’re forced off the road and into the ditch.

Before we hit anything, I shout out, “Relax your body, Darcy! Don’t tense up!”