501 Isolated*

Silence crept inside the room and Alex's expression became unreadable. Abi turned her back from him, trying to calm down. She knew she shouldn't have brought this topic into this situation because they had something much more important to deal with for now, but she couldn't help it.

As she let out a sigh, warm and strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind her. She felt Alex's face rested at the blade of her shoulder and silently hugged her. And that was enough to soothe Abi's troubled heart.

"Better?" his gorgeous deep voice echoed softly in her ear. Before she knew it, she turned and hugged him back.

"Hmm," she mumbled against his chest when a knock pulled their attention towards the door.

Kai emerged from the door. "The witch queen said we're leaving in an hour."

…

In the courtyard, the elite vampires were already gathered.