Nineteen.

Dylan

 The moment that I heard the tires of a car pull up outside I immediately got up and started walking for the door. "I can do this, I can do this," I chanted over and over again as I tried to steady my heart.

 As soon as I opened the door, Vit was standing on the small porch about to knock. I gave him a shy smile, "morning sir" I said as I nodded towards him. A small smile played across his face as he nodded in return.

 I approached the large black SUV. It was a bit intimidating with it's dark black windows that made it impossible to see inside, but I'm sure that it was for protection so I drew in a deep breath and stood to my full height.

 Vit appeared right next to me and quickly reached out to open the door for me. I glanced over at him and soft whispered, "thank you so much." He didn't reply, but he gave me the quickest little wink and I couldn't help but smile in response.

 The moment the door to the car opened, it took a second for me to be able to see inside as it was pretty dark in there as well, but I saw Alpha Rogan was already seated in the back and I would have to sit next to him.

 "Well don't you clean up nicely Dylan," the Alpha purred in a husky tone. Rae's words or warning, or whatever they were went through my head. Even though she was silent I felt a warm sensation as if she was confirming my thoughts.

 "Thank you Alpha, I borrowed the clothes from Lecia. I wanted to make a good impression." I thought that his eyes had flashed a different color for a second, but it was so dark in the car that I wasn't a hundred percent sure that's what I saw.

 Vit was next to me again the second I got settled in the seat and he was reaching over me to help me get a buckle secured around my chest. While I've been in a car before, it wasn't often so I was thankful for his assistance even though it felt odd to be this close to him.

 Once Vit had made sure that I was secured, he closed my door and got into the front seat right in front of me. I quickly looked to the person in the driver seat and was pleasantly surprised to see Noel.

 He didn't turn to great me, but instead moved a little mirror that was attached to the ceiling of the car. When he turned it he was able to see me in its reflection. 

When I met his eyes he said, "Mornin' little miss, are you ready for this little trip?"

 Taken aback by not only his demeanor, but the kindness in his voice, I couldn't help but smile in response. "As ready as I'm ever going to be," I remarked with a soft smile of my own.

 Just then, Vit cleared his throat and I caught the two of them glance at each other and then Noel turned the mirror back to its original position. 

 As we pulled away from my little house and headed toward the eastern gate I felt my stomach doing little flips. The drive to the gates was longer than I anticipated, but the silence in the car made the time feel like it was passing extremely slowly.

 I stared out the window at all the things we passed on our way. Since this was the busiest entrance to the pack lands there wasn't much near this side of the border, other than the training grounds and one of the old barracks. 

 As we approached the gates I could feel my heart beat steadily speed up. The gates were much different than I remembered them. There was a large glass box that two members of the patrol sat in and when we approached they waved us over to them.

 One of the guards, an older silver haired man, walked over to Noel's window. I didn't see what he pressed, but I heard a soft click and then his window started to roll down.

 The older guard chanced through the car and when our eyes met I saw the look of surprise for a split second before he fixed his expression. Noel informed him of where we were headed and our estimated time of return. 

 "Sir," he snapped out as he stood straight and pressed his right fist to his chest. Noel nodded at him and hit another button I assumed and the window began to rise. The guard still stood there but he had taken a step back and watched as we passed through the now open gate.

 The moment I heard the gate close being us with its loud thud I physically jumped. A soft chuckle escaped Alpha Rogan and my attention immediately turned to him. He was watching me so intently that I wasn't sure if he was really the one who had laughed.

"Relax Dylan, I can hear your heart racing from over hear."

 Well of course he could, I'm sure as the Alpha he had sharper senses than any of us. I forced myself to take a deep breath in through my nose and hold it for a moment before exhaling.

 "Good girl," he said before he reached out his hand and placed it on my knee. It took everything I had not to flinch at the sudden contact and keep trying to focus on my breathing.

 "It's only natural that you would be nervous leaving the pack lands for the first time, but try to enjoy it."

 He softly squeezed my knee and even though I'm sure he was trying to comfort me, all it did was unnerve me and put Rae on edge. I knew how fast those hands could go from soft and soothing to hard and painful so I nodded at him and continued to breathe deeply.

 Watching out the window seemed like a better option than starring at any of the other guests in the vehicle. I tried to take in the scenery that seemed to be flying past the window.

 One thing that I wished I would have done before leaving today, was look up how far away the office was from the pack lands. I didn't even realize that I had no idea how long it would take us to get to the city.

 We drove for what seemed like ten minutes or so until we finally turned onto a larger road. After driving down this road, I started to see signs that had images of all kinds of restaurants, shops, and places to sleep. 

 Eventually I noticed that there were other cars on the road around us. The first car that we went beside had passengers in the back row and I could see them staring at our vehicle trying to see who was inside.

 At first I jumped back because I wasn't sure if I was allowed to be seen by anyone else. Noel spoke before I even noticed what I had done, "No one can see ya' little miss, these windows have an octane tint on 'em so don't worry about window watching."

 Even though he hadn't moved the mirror to watch me, I could see him in the angle of the mirror and he had a small grin on his face.

 I spoke to him before I even thought better of it, "is that why we took this car, so that no one would see that I was with you all?"

 A look of concern flashed across his face before Alpha Rogan squeezed the knee that he was still holding and I looked away. 

 "All of the vehicles that we use for official business off of pack lands have this type of tinting on them. It is both for protection and privacy. It has nothing to do with the fact that we are escorting you today."

 Alpha Rogan caressed my knee with his thumb, as he spoke, but I was just glad that he didn't squeeze hard enough to inflict pain.

 Nodding to his statement to show my understanding, I turned my attention back to the window. My head was starting to hurt a bit and the flips in my stomach had turned to uncomfortable tremors. 

 I didn't want to mess up the hair that Lecia had worked so hard on, but I pressed my hand to my forehead and softly rubbed my temples with my thumb and middle finger. I was feeling a little sweaty and nauseated.

"Are you feeling unwell Dylan," Alpha Rogan asked softly.

 I wanted to tell him no, but the second I stopped the rubbing my head felt sore and the worse the nausea would get.

 "Um, I am not sure. I'm a bit sweaty and my head and stomach hurt a bit.," I replied without moving my hand. 

 Immediately after I finished speaking I felt a sudden blast of cool air from above my head. "Dylan, you need to sit back and try not to keep your eyes closed. Look out the window and drink this."

 Someone was shoving a cool bottle of water in my hands, but I wasn't sure who it was. I sat up straighter in my seat and angled my body towards the door. This position helped me to focus out the window and removed Alpha Rogan's hand from my leg finally.

 I took a big drink of the water and breathed deeply from my nose. The temperature of the car was dropping significantly and it felt so good. I pressed my forehead up against the glass and despite the bright sun shining outside, the glass was cool.

 "Ma'am, I think you may be experiencing motion sickness," Vit stated stiffly but not rudely. I'm sure he was probably right, but that didn't make me feel any better. If anything, I felt worse.

 "We have about thirty minutes until we get to the building little miss. If you try to take a nap that might help you." I knew without turning that this was Noel speaking now by the mannerisms he used. Funny how I was already getting so used to him in such a short amount of time.

 But no matter, I didn't want to be seen as some troublesome little girl. I chugged more of the water and practically finished the whole bottle before I realized it. I felt my face flush a little, but I was already feeling a bit better.

 "No, I think I'm feeling better, I'll just focus on looking outside and enjoying all the different sights."

 I didn't turn to look to see if he was making any type of faces at me this time. The longer we drove, the more there was to see around us and I noticed that he was now driving in the far right lane and it made it easier to see my surroundings.

 After a few minutes, Vit and Noel started pointing out different buildings and shops and giving me brief run downs on what they were, what they sold, and if they were owned by humans or wolves.

 To my surprise, humans and wolves were more entwined with each other than I had ever anticipated. According to their synopsis, there were many humans who knew of our existence and willingly dealt with our kind.

 Still, the other thing that was interesting, was that not all of the wolves dealing with humans in the city were from our pack. It seems that there are a few packs near us who also have dealing in this city as well.

 Before I knew it, I had completely forgotten about the motion sickness and was hanging onto almost every word that my two tour guides were providing me.

 During this time Alpha Rogan had been on his phone a few times because I could hear him clicking away next to me, but I never turned back to look at him to confirm anything.

 Right when I was going to ask for information about the large multi-story luxury building that we were nearing, Noel informed us, "we are nearing the company, and it seems that they are expecting us. There is a group outside the main doors."

 The only building near us was the sleek glass building I was curious about, so that must be Aspen Communication corporate office. I was immediately impressed and intimidated.

 Just from the look of the outside of the building I felt like I had no business working for such a grand company. Honestly, seeing just the outside of the building makes we question why they even hired someone like me.

 Noel eventually turned off of the main road we had been driving down and he immediately approached a type of guard station. This one was much bigger than the east gate of the pack lands.

 Armed guards could be seen through the window and the man who approached our vehicle was completely bald and wore dark black gear from head to toe. His black sunglasses hid his eyes and I couldn't even guess how old he was.

 Once we passed through the gate, I could see the small group who were assembled in front of the large glass doors. Men and women in suits were lined up on the steps and as we approached my nausea came flaring back to life.

 Noel drove a little ways past the assembled group and pulled into a visitor parking space. I wished for a mirror to see if my make-up still looked alright.

 Noel and Vit were the first ones out of the car, but the moment they closed the door Alpha Rogan reached out and pulled me towards him with so much force I almost fell off the seat.

 "Do not do or say anything that will jeopardize the pack. Don't speak unless spoken to, and do not leave my side unless either Noel or Vit are with you. Do you understand?"

 The pressure from his fingertips was so intense I knew that he would leave a bruise, but since I wore a long sleeved blouse I knew that no one would see any marks.

 "I understand Alpha," I whispered. The moment the words left my mouth he stared at me for a moment longer before he tapped on the window and both our doors were opened.

 Vit held the door for me, and I saw him watch me as I fixed my shirt where it had been rumpled from Alpha Rogan's grip. He waited for me to adjust my pants as well and to my surprise he leaned in and whispered, "you look very, presentable."

 Maybe it wasn't much of a compliment, but it made my heart swell. No one ever said things like that to me. Vit closed the door behind me and I followed him to the other side of the car.

 Alpha Rogan and Noel had already started walking towards the front of the building to the group of people gathered there.

 I trailed a few steps behind him, and tried to appear more confident than I felt. Most of the people looked as if they were much older than me, and I was sure they were gathered to greet Alpha Rogan.

 A tall silver haired man in a navy blue suit stood at the bottom of the steps. Even though his hair made him look older, his features seemed youthful, but I couldn't see his eyes from this far.

 The moment we stood before their little group, Alpha Rogan strode forward, "Good morning, it's a pleasure to meet you all, I am Rogan Bluera."

 Alpha Rogan extended his hand in greeting to the man who looked to be in charge, but to my surprise he was looking past the alpha, straight at me.

 From this close I could see that this man was just a few years older than I was. He had striking blue eyes that matched perfectly with his suit. I wasn't ready for the cocky smile he threw me or what he did next.

 The man reach out his hand and patted Alpha Rogan on the left shoulder and slightly moved around him. When he was right in front of me he extended his hand as he said, "it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Dylan Solamier, I am Roane Winters."