Chapter 16 The Shadow Pack

• Going out of the packhouse felt strange. It felt oddly like getting a chance to taste the outside world after a long time. I felt like it has been decades since I’ve seen the outside world instead of a few weeks. The car glided smoothly, manoeuvred around the curves, I trained my gaze outside the window, drinking in the sight— the trees, the smell of mud. The morning sun was shining mildly, its heat felt like a warm blanket. I swallowed the sudden formed thick lump in my throat and ignored the burn in my eyes.
• I glanced beside me where Marcus sat, keeping an appropriate distance between us, his chin dipped downward, frown evident as he types furiously on the laptop. I fidgeted with the edge of the file that I was carrying but didn’t feel like opening it and going through the contents. I had finished reading and was prepared…somewhat.
• The car was more luxurious than the one I had ridden previously. The same man was on the driver’s seat again. There was another man whose name was James. He was probably a gamma. I let out a small sign as I decided to look at the file, just to occupy myself. Today, I was woken up by Clarissa, the file still in my hand and she had been worried that I would suffer pain in my neck because of how I had fallen asleep. The radio silence from Isaac felt odd but welcoming. I don’t think I could have tolerated his presence after that little incident.