I ran toward my house through the woods, and the heavy feeling left as soon as I reached the edge of the woods near the highway that Shara was talking about as if I was free from the spell that Shara placed on me. I gasped out in shock and relief while I stopped for a second so that I could catch my breath. 'Can you hear me?' I asked through the earpiece that I used to contact my group, and there were a few sighs of relief from Anthony, Corey, and Salem.

"Oh, thank Goddess,' Anthony said with another small sigh of relief before he cleared his throat and grew serious. 'Are you ok? What happened? Why weren't you able to answer us? Were you under his control? Are you still under his control?'

I bit back an annoyed sigh and rolled my eyes, pressing my lips into a thin line. 'Can one of you grab my truck and bring it back to the pack border?' I asked, not answering Anthony's questions before I started to run toward my house again. 'That's going to be for Anthony or Corey. Salem, are they still talking about everything they want "you" to do and how they want you to do it?'

'Yes,' Salem said, 'and I am recording everything so that you will know what is happening and everything like that.' They paused and cleared their throat. 'Does that mean you remember everything?' There was a bit of hesitation in their voice when they asked, and I could tell that they were worried for me.

I held back an eye roll and pressed my lips into a thin line. 'Gee, I want to say that I do because I asked you what was going on after I had left, and you saw the look on my face before I ran into the forest without Shara's consent.'

They snorted, amused. 'Oh, ya, that was fun,' they said with a small chuckle in their voice. 'You scared Mindy half to death, and I think that she is on to you, now.'

I rolled my eyes and scowled, not surprised that she was on to me. 'I want her to be,' I replied. 'I am going to play so many fucking mind games with her that she is going to lose her damn mind.'

'Alexandra,' Anthony snapped, interrupting Salem from saying something else about Mindy. He had a small growl in his voice, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes while my scowl grew deeper.

'Anthony,' I said in the same tone as him, earning another small growl from the older male. 'What?'

'Answer my question,' he said. 'Are you ok?'

I rolled my eyes and bit back a tired sigh, not knowing how I was feeling but knowing that I was ok at this time. 'For now,' I replied coldly before I paused and sighed. 'Do you think one of you two can grab my truck and bring it back to the border? I'll have my stand in Beta grab it from you and bring it back to my house.'

'No,' Anthony said. 'You are to report to the safehouse so that w-'

I bit back an annoyed growl and set my jaw. 'I can not go there, Anthony,' I said, interrupting him. 'I need to go to my grandmother right now and see if there is anything that either of us have to worry about because I am "supposed" to be under that stupid man's spell or control or whatever the fuck he did to me.'

'You will do no such thing,' Anthony said and growled, baring his teeth in warning. 'You are to report to the safe house where you had placed your truck before Salem "knocked" you out and you two changed places, now.' There was an order in his voice that told me to obey, and the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention while a shiver went down my spine.

I stopped and turned in the direction that I knew he was in because I knew that both he and Corey had been following me after I had left. "Excuse me?" I asked out loud and not through the earpiece, letting him hear the warning in my voice.

'Uh oh,' Corey said with a small snicker. 'It looks like you are in trouble, now, Anthony.'

Anthony growled and narrowed his eyes but didn't move from his spot. 'You are to report to the safe house where you had placed your truck, Alexandra,' he said through the earpiece, ordering me to do something that I knew wasn't possible. 'That is an order from your high ranking member. Is that understood?'

I growled and bared my teeth in warning, bristling while anger filled my body and caused me to shake over so slightly. "Are you seriously pulling rank on me, Anthony?" I asked, narrowing my eyes further and gritting my teeth together in annoyance. "Are you sure that you want to do that?"

Anthony stayed silent and didn't say a word, and I could tell that he was wanting to do this, forgetting that I was actually a higher rank than him, especially since I was adopted into the royal family.

'Please don't use it on me, Alex,' Corey said, knowing full well what I was going to do. 'I didn't do anything. I am just here for the ride.'

I growled at her but didn't say a word while I focused my powers on Anthony and sent them his way, and he hesitated before he slowly bowed, even though I couldn't see him. "Get out of the trees, and come over here, now," I said, my voice having this power in it that he could not disobey.

'Alexandra...' he said, trying but failing to not listen to the order that I had placed on him. He got out of the tree and stood in front of me, and his eyes were glazed over while he listened to my command, and Corey followed, even though I didn't command her to get off of the tree.

"Shut up," I snapped, making sure to keep the commands toward him and not toward anyone else. "Do not say another word, Anthony." I started to walk around him, my movements swift and so sure of myself.

Anthony set his jaw, but he wasn't able to say a word because I had told him to shut up. He watched me, turning his head while I walked behind him with something in his eye that I understood and liked.

Fear...

I made sure to keep my anger under control while I walked around him, the fear making my wolf happy, even though I didn't act on it the way a part of me wanted to, for all I wanted to do was let the beast out and taste the fear that he possessed, but I kept her contained... "Face the front, and do not move your head toward me," I snapped, growling, and Anthony quickly faced the front, pressing his lips into a thin line. "Stand at attention."

Anthony stood at attention and kept his arms at his side. His heart pounded hard in his chest, and I sneered, narrowing my eyes further.

'Alex...' Corey said nervously, and I flicked my hand, silently telling her to shut up, even though I did not order her to. She sighed and slowly nodded. 'Just be careful,' she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

I grunted and didn't say a word to her while I stopped in front of Anthony, making sure to get into his personal space. "Do you want to command me to go to the safe house again?" I asked, my voice filled with power and such venom that it would have had Anthony flinching, even though he wasn't able to move.

He didn't say a word because I told him to shut up and stared straight ahead, not able to move his head at all.

"This is power, Anthony," I said with a small growl in my voice while I narrowed my eyes and bared my teeth in warning. "What you have is only a small form of power, not even enough to control me."

I took a step back to give him space and reached into my pocket, biting back another growl. "I was going to send Corey to do this so that you can watch my back while I make my way back to my pack, but you have forced my hand, Anthony."

Anthony stayed still and stayed tense. He didn't blink and didn't take his gaze off of me, especially since I was in front of him.

I growled again and moved a hand through my hair while I shook my head and took my hand out of my pocket with my keys dangling in them. "Catch." I tossed him my keys, and Anthony quickly caught them before he stood at attention again.

"Go ahead and grab my truck from the safe house," I said, not releasing him from my command just yet so that he could do what I told him to do. "You will deliver it to the pack border where I will have Miguel waiting for you. After that, you are free to do whatever the hell you want, but you will never try to command me to do something in that tone ever again. Is that understood?"

Anthony blinked and still didn't say a word.

I growled again and released my command from him, and he stayed put but grew relaxed, and his shoulders slowly sagged with relief. "You may talk now, but go, Anthony. We are done with this conversation. I have to go to my grandmother to see if anything is different with the beast and to make sure that she isn't under his spell or whatever and that she can't be controlled either because that would be very bad for all of us."

Anthony sighed and slowly nodded, and he blinked while his eyes became less glazed over, even though he still had to follow the order that had him leave me and get my truck. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice barely above a whisper while he tucked his head closer to his chest.

I grunted and gestured for him to get a move on without saying a word, and he did what I told him to do and ran to the safehouse where I had placed my truck before I was "kidnapped" and "brought" to Shara as myself and not the Viper.

Corey and I watched him leave, and as soon as he was out of sight, Corey cleared her throat and shifted on her feet before she looked at me. "Alex..?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

I sighed and shook my head, too tired to say anything about what had happened to her. "Let's go, Core," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Are you staying down with me, or are you going to follow in the trees? I don't care either way."

"Then I'm going to stay with you until we reach your pack border," Corey said and bowed her head ever so slightly.

"Then let's go, but can we run in silence, please?" I asked, and she nodded, not saying a word.

And with that, we both ran toward my pack border in silence while Anthony continued on his way to get my truck from the safe house.

Oh, fuck me and my life...

Just fuck me...