3 Hitting the Road

"Party? Don't tell me it's the same one your alpha is hosting tonight."

"Oh, good! You already know about it, huh?" Julia put on her seatbelt and said while excitedly swaying her body, "Yes, you are coming with me as my plus one."

I widened my eyes and leaned back until I felt the hot window of the car stinging my back through my shirt. "You've got to be kidding me! Jul, you know I don't like crowds."

"I know that, but I also know that you wouldn't want me to be all alone in the party tonight." Julia gave me a puppy-eyed look.

I knew what she was doing, coercing me into going along with her plan by pretending to be a damsel in distress. I pouted and folded my arms in front of my chest. "I know you've made new friends in the pack. Go with them."

Julia swayed her shoulders as if she was throwing a tantrum and mumbled, "But I'm not as close to them as I am with you." She then clasped her palms together and begged, "Please, Val, for my sake."

I let out a deep sigh and adjusted on the seat, contemplating about the aftermath.

Attending the party with Julia sounded fun, but I wasn't sure if I could stop being jealous after seeing other people living my dream. I wasn't sure if entering the Helblaze pack's territory and seeing all those werewolves happily drinking and dancing would heal or break me all over again.

I think the chances of me breaking down are greater.

I slowly shook my head and tried to decline Julia's offer without hurting her. "Jul, I know you mean well but I will be the only human at the party. I'm not sure others will even want me there. I will just be an eyesore to everyone."

"What are you talking about, Val?" Julia extended her hand and held my palm. "You know you have werewolf blood in you."

I smiled wryly, the insecurities that I had tucked at the back of my head slowly bubbled up to the surface. "I'm not so sure anymore. What if I made up all the memories of my childhood?"

"Nonsense!" Julia pinched and pulled my cheek so hard that I thought she was going to tear my muscle. Sometimes she forgets that she is stronger than before. "You're just a late bloomer, that's all."

She finally stopped pulling my cheek when I couldn't bear the pain and winced.

"Besides, nobody will notice something is amiss when they look at you. You look young for your age." She started the car's engine and asked me again, this time more assertively, "So, come with me. You're allowed to have some fun."

The way Julia was looking at me, I saw no other option than to agree with her. "Alright. Stop looking at me like that and start driving."

"Yes!" Julia pumped her fist as if she achieved an outstanding victory, to which I shook my head and smiled. She turned on the music and then sang her words to the beat as she began driving, "Off we go to the Moonlit Valley."

"Wait, what?" I raised my brows at her, demanding an explanation. "I thought the party was at night."

"It is at night. We need to buy ourselves cute dresses, get our hair and makeup done, and then make our dazzling entry in the party."

Julia looked too hyped, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to match her energy for the whole day.

"Aren't we going to do all those things here in Roseville and go to Moonlit Valley later at night?" I asked when she drove past the best beauty salon in Roseville.

Julia looked at me and happily announced, "We are doing everything in Moonlit Valley. I'm so eager to show you around. Oh, I can finally take you to my flat too. It's not that big but I think you will love it."

"I can go to your flat? And I can freely roam around too?" I gaped my mouth in shock. "Wait a minute! Am I even allowed to attend the party in the first place? Are you sure you won't get punished for bringing in an outsider?"

"Normally, I would get punished, but…" Julia turned a corner and said while carefully steering through the zigzag road up the hill, "It was the alpha who asked me to invite you as well. It might be hard for you to believe it but Alpha Helblaze is very friendly with each member of our pack. He cares about our smallest needs."

I scoffed in disbelief and asked with a hint of sarcasm, "So, you're saying that he noticed you need me? And he asked you to bring me along because of that? I could be a spy for another pack. Are you sure a man like him would risk his pack's safety just like that?"

Julia clutched her pearls and threw a quick look at me as if she was greatly offended by my words. "Hey, I might not look like it but I am a talented negotiator. I've bagged a couple of good projects for the pack within a year. I'm not the one to brag but I'm considered a valuable asset of our pack. So, of course, the alpha cares about my needs."

"Really?" Now that I think about it, he did look like a down-to-earth person. Maybe he does care about every single member of his pack. Unlike most werewolves, maybe he doesn't think that people like me are pesky little bugs who are to be kept far away from their territory.

"Uh-huh... He probably noticed how sad I was without you around. You know I had made quite a fuss back then when they denied you into the pack. So, he probably remembered you from that time." Julia gave me a quick look and said smiling, "I'm so happy that I can finally show you the place I now call home and also introduce you to my new friends."

"Is it necessary to introduce me to your new friends?" I crinkled my nose. It's not that I was jealous or that I hated meeting new people. It's just that, I don't know how to make a conversation with people I've just met.

Julia laughed knowingly. "Don't worry, I won't leave you alone with them. I promise. You can simply say hi to them, and the two of us will enjoy the party."

"That sounds good." I heaved a quiet sigh and looked out of the window. We were quite far away from the central settlement of Roseville. The houses were getting sparser and sparser, and so was the road traffic.

I rolled down the window of the car. A gust of cool summer air instantly blew in, making my long hair float all over my face and neck.

"Ugh!" I spat the strands of hair that got in my mouth and then gathered the hair to make a bun. I suddenly remembered something and looked at Julia. "Do we have time to get a haircut too? I need to trim my hair."

"Sure. Anything for you, babe." Julia teasingly winked at me.

Soon enough, I noticed a small signboard by the side of the road that read "Thank you for visiting Roseville".

There was no signboard welcoming us to the Moonlit Valley but we were now inside the Helblaze pack's territory. Anyone who knew about the Helblaze pack could tell it was their territory since several small and tall hills surrounded it.

Previously, I had only been as far as the checkpoint at the Meiril Pass–one of the two passes that led in and out of the valley. No outsiders were allowed to go forward from this point without a direct order from the alpha.

Thus, when Julia stopped the car at the checkpoint, I became a little nervous and looked at her.

"Don't worry." She gave my hand a little squeeze and smiled. She probably noticed the anxious look on my face.

When a burly guard walked over to her side of the window, she grabbed her purse from the backseat and reassured me while rummaging through it, "I've got you covered." She handed what looked like an invitation card to that man.

He looked at the card in his hand and then lowered his head to look at me. "Ma'am, do you have any ID?"

"Umm… y-yes, I think so," I stuttered and hurriedly picked up my purse with a sweaty palm. As I opened the purse, I prayed that I had my ID in this purse and not in the ones back in my room.

'Thank you, goddess!' I sighed internally when I found my ID. I quickly handed it over to that man.

He stared at my ID for what felt like forever. And just when I thought he would return the ID to me, he started comparing the photo on my ID with my face. I was sweating like hell!

"You may proceed." He finally handed over the ID and moved away from the car.

From the way he was acting, I was half expecting that man to ask me to get off and get my ass back to where I came from, but this was a pleasant surprise.

I was finally going to see the Moonlit Valley with my own two eyes!

Even if it was just for a single day, I was actually feeling ecstatic about this trip.

I smiled broadly and thought to myself, 'Yes, Valerie. Don't think about anything else today. Simply enjoy your time with Julia. Drink until you feel like puking and dance until your feet hurt.'

"Is that a genuine smile that I am seeing, Val?" Julia was looking at me with a wide grin.

I cleared my throat and quickly hid my smile, not wanting to give Julia a chance to say "See, I knew you would love it" or something like that.

"Eyes on the road, Julia Rossetti." I pointed at the road ahead.

Julia smirked and teased me further. "Ooh! Someone used my full name. Scary…"

I scoffed and went back to looking at the tall shrubs on either side of the road. But I suddenly recalled how panicked I was earlier at the checkpoint and I looked at Julia again, my arms crossed in front of my chest.

"Jul! You should have told me beforehand that I need to show my ID. What if I wasn't carrying it?"

Julia laughed apologetically. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot about it. We aren't required to show our IDs since we can easily tell who belongs to our pack and who does not. So, it escaped my mind."

"And was that an invitation card that you showed to the guard?" I asked while curiously looking at the card she had casually thrown on the car's dashboard earlier.

Julia picked up the card and handed it over to me. "Yes. It has your name on it."

I thought she was only joking when she said that but it was true! There really was my name written on the card.

Alpha Helblaze sent a physical card for me!

Why didn't Julia show this to me in the first place?

I couldn't help but questioningly raise my brows at Julia and retort, "Didn't it occur to your brilliant mind that you should have given this invitation card to me, and not just use it as a gate pass?"