[AWUOR]


    The more Awuor listened to Malika, the more she was convinced that this woman was stalking her either that or she really was good at her job.


    Awuor was counting on thetter, because as she looked at Malika this morning, she was somewhat excited about the adventures that woulde with listening to Malika.


    "Please tell me more," Awuor asked and Malika let out a smallugh. Of course, she knew Awuor would be curious, but time wasn''t on their side. Granted, it was still early, but there was no telling what Jer would do, especially now that he had seen Awuor.


    Jeremy would try to maintain the bond with his beautiful mate who without a doubt despised him and wanted to strangle him with her bare hands. Aaeuos had practiced a lot of restraint yesterday and she had to apud herself for that.


    "We have to leave this ce. Take what you will and destroy what you must. No trace of you should remain in here," Malika said, her tone going from the happy one to a tone so serious.


    Awuor looked at her and then realized that she had probably switched into her protector mode. The rejected alpha looked at her shelter, wondering if there was anything important for her to take other than the ragged clothing that she had been hiding under her makeshift bed.


    It wasn''t the easiest thing to do, but over the months she had been out here, she had learned to adapt and one way of doing that was to conform to the environment around her.


    "The only important things here are my gown, and crown which I buried near theke," Awuor said and Malika nodded understandingly. She was already looking around, like she was worried that the banished alpha would be in some kind of danger.


    Granted, she would fight for her, but wouldn''t it be better to avoid confrontation with anyone at the moment?


    Awuor needed to recuperate and the only way that would be possible was if she didn''t get into any fights.


    "Well then, let''s bring down the shelter," Malika said as she tied her hair into a bun. She didn''t want to get dirty, even though that was kind of a given here. Together, Malika and Awuor brought down the shelter and cleared any and all evidence that the banished alpha was once here.


    By the time they were done, the only thing that could tell of her shelter once being here, were the holes that Malika had filled with stones, and covered with dead leaves. She really did know how to cover her tracks.


    Awuor had been studying Malika as they worked together.


    She was curious as to where the protectors were, but then even she hadn''t known that white wolves had protectors till Rukiya had proven that she was more than willing to do whatever it took to keep the banished alpha safe.


    It was a risk, and Rukiya had known that, but what else was there? The woman was the only white wolf in their generation and needed to be kept safe.


    "Come along, let''s get your crown, and clean up your gown," Malika said, as she picked up Awuor''s gown and headed in the direction of theke while the alpha walked right beside her. For a woman who had been determined to be alone, she was listening to Malika quite a lot.


    Maybe because she was curious about what it was about Malika that gave her so muchfort.


    Awuor had trust issues, and she wasn''t going to lie, and say she trusted Malikapletely. After her family''s betrayal, she had learned to keep her walls high and above.


    She wasn''t going to let anyone in and the only reason she was listening to Malika was because she wanted to know if Jer had sent Malika toe and y house given the banished alpha had fainted yesterday and her mate a hand done shit other than a pointless apology.


    "Okay," Awuor said, looking around and listening in for any unusual activities.


    She wanted to make sure that her apparent protector was ying foul with her, because consequences be damned, Awuor wasn''t scared of eliminating Malika and continuing with her n for revenge and justice for the mother.


    She was scared of being alone and that was her greatest strength.


    "It should be under this tree," Awuor said when they reached theke. The breeze was cold and the weather warm. She was tempted to jump in theke and go for a swim or something but one look at Malika''s face, and Awuor knew this wasn''t the time.


    "Alright, you get it out," Malika said as she stepped back.


    Awuor did as she was told, dug through the mud with her ws till she got the worst reminder of her banishment. Her bloody crown that she had wrapped up. It looked bloody still and since it was made of gold, it didn''t have any rust.


    Awuor stared at her crown, and for a moment, all the memories came shing back at her. Everything that she had been trying to run away from was hitting her, including the anger; which could probably exin her reaction to Malika.


    "What''s stopping me from killing you and doing all this on my own?" Awuor turned to Malika who was ring at her, like she wanted to kill the woman.


    She wiped away the stray tears and grabbed her gown from Malika''s hands. She was hurting and Malika could see that too so when Awuor looked at her with distrusting eyes, Malika didn''t do anything. Instead, she waited for her out.


    "Well, definitely not me. I won''t stop you, if you try to kill me. That would even make my life much easier. Because protecting the white wolf means I can''t ever have a life. It''s like being a tool, an object that needs to be at some ce in time like a robot.


    "I can''t do anything without it affecting you. I can''t cough or sleep without your permission, especially now that I met you, the wolf assigned to me for the next two hundred years or more if you don''t kill me.


    "Did you know white wolves sometimes kill their protectors? Well, if you do it right now, it will save us both some time. Besides, if you wanna kill me, all you have to do is give me the order, and I will kill myself.


    "So tell me, alpha, how should I kill myself?" Malika shrugged nonchntly like she was not even worried about death.


    She was alone in the world and didn''t have any family.


    Protectors were robbed from their parents at birth and their memories cleared too much to the point that the only thing the protectors knew was that they were tasked with sacrificing their lives for the people assigned to them.


    Awuor looked at the woman before her, who was talking about death like her life didn''t even mean anything. She was worried about herself. She wasn''t worried about the consequences and was acting like this was her death sentence?


    "I—" Awuor began but Malika just looked at her amusedly.


    "If you''re not going to kill me, can we please leave before everyonees? You already know you control me," Malika said to Awuor who was gripping her crown and gown so hard that it tugged at her heartstrings.


    "I''m sorry… Yeah, we can go," Awuor said.