Chapter 27

Ember’s POV

The mall was nothing like I had imagined and Becky chuckled softly at the childlike wonder that shone in my eyes.

“Everything is so… big!” I exclaimed quietly.

“Yeah, it’s the newest mall we have here, so everything still looks pretty fresh.” She chattered happily.

I glanced back at the eight burly men that followed us very obviously and grimaced at Becky.

“Are they going to follow us the entire way round?”

“Yup! This isn’t on Alpha Nate’s territory, it’s actually neutral. No pack has claimed this area, and it currently belongs exclusively to the non-shifters, although there are a couple of independents here.”

I nodded slowly. So the guards were for our protection, just in case anything should go wrong.

“Independents?”

“Mmhmm. Casters, witches, fae, hybrids… different races that choose to live among humans and aren’t affiliated with any packs.”

I nodded along thoughtfully, taking it all in as we walked.