RULE 29: THE OUTSIDE WORLD WILL TRY AND TRICK YOU WITH THEIR FORECASTS OF THE FUTURE. IT IS ALL AN ACT OF MANIPULATION.

✷ C H A P T E R      S E V E N T E E N ✷

Mina did not return until several days later. During that time, my mind spiraled even further — nightmares plaguing my every sleeping hour. Nightmares of me failing the Borderlands. Nightmares of the Border falling, the people of the Borderlands being dragged tooth and nail out of their homeland. All while I was chained back in the Borderlands, trapped. All alone. All alone to grovel in my failure.

As my nightmares intensified, my distaste for Theo festered. He said we were mates — soul mates. Was this any way to treat someone you thought you were destined to love? I shuddered to think what else he could be capable of. Would he try and wear me down until I had no other option but to give in?

You're one to talk, a voice popped into my mind. He's putting in as much effort as you are.

Choosing to ignore the voice in my head, I still held out hope for Mina to pull through with convincing Theo of my release. In the short time I'd known her, I could tell she was stubborn — in a good way, though; she was good at convincing people what she wanted, not backing down easily even when faced with an Alpha. I could picture her pestering Theo until she got her respected results. They were the same in that way — both extremely strong-willed.

However, I stopped perking up at the sound of the door opening. Ever since my mind started to give in to the isolation, Max took to hand-delivering every meal, his eyes always looming over me like I was as fragile as glass. He still would not talk to me, but his ever-present glare had dulled in ferocity.

When I heard the door creak around lunchtime, I remained in my spot, lounging on the couch, my casted hand lazily hanging over the edge of the couch.

"Sage!" Mina's voice exclaimed excitedly. I kept a steady gaze on the ceiling, preparing myself for disappointment. "I come bearing good news — no, it's great news."

Instinctively, my body lifted at her words, sitting up. Mina walked over to the couch. She was dressed in jeans and a tank top, a devious grin placed on her full lips.

"I told Theo about your current mental state like you asked," she said cautiously.

"What did he say?" I responded, heart thudding at the mention of Theo. Internally, I swore at myself as my body betrayed my mind. Theo crossed my mind these past couple of days, but those thoughts were fleeting and filled with wondrous fantasies of him succumbing to isolation much like the one I found myself enduring. I had to make a conscious effort not to let my mind wander to other fantasies of him, but it proved not to be such a hard task when images of my family and friends dead never left my mind.

Mina knitted her thick eyebrows together, "I told Theo about your mental state. Well, lack of mental state, to be honest. Okay, I might have exaggerated things a bit, but, at the end of the day, he's agreed for you to have a day out of the Alpha Wing. There are some conditions you'd have to agree to first, though," she was overly excited even though my break from isolation seemed temporary. In response, I slumped back down into my previous position.

"What are the conditions?" I asked, toying with the blue cast on my arm.

"You wouldn't be able to run away from us—"

"—us?"

"Ah, yes. Me, Theo, Beta Flynn, Gamma Heath, and I believe Max would be coming along for precautions. Also, if anyone asks why you are tagging along with Alpha Theo, you must not say you are his mate. If word got out he found his mate, the pack would want you introduced, marked, mated — the whole ordeal. That part is more for your sake than his," she explained, sitting down by my side.

"No thanks," I put a smile on my face, blowing a piece of hair out of my peripheral.

While I longed to get out of the now familiar constraining walls, I felt akin to a pet being taken out on a walk. I'd be taken out, sure. However, I would soon be returned right back to my cage when things were over and done with. I didn't need any false hope right now; it was for the best to become accustomed to my new normal, even though it proved difficult. I knew getting out of the Alpha Wing would be good, but I also knew coming back to the isolation afterward would put yet another crack in my stability.

I thought Theo would end the isolation completely once Mina had been through convincing him. I was not expecting a quick field trip out. It seemed like he was more headstrong and unwavering than I anticipated. I hoped it would not lead to my undoing.

"Good thing it is not up to you. Alpha's orders," she chirped, smugly. I scowled, begrudgingly sitting up again. "We leave in five minutes. You need to freshen up. When was the last time you showered? No, when was the last time you put deodorant on, at least?"

I shrugged, not moving from my spot. Instead, during those five minutes, I tried to convince Mina to let me stay; I still hadn't asked where we would be going, but I didn't think knowing our destination would change my mind. While I was listing off all the reasons why this was objectively a bad idea, Mina managed to brush my hair, spray some deodorant under my arms, and douse almost half a bottle of perfume all over my body.

She spent the rest of the time trying to convince me to put on shoes. She said I would need them where we were going, but I tried to reassure her it would not matter where we went — no matter what, I did not need or want shoes.

Instantly, I knew when Theo entered the room. Besides the light commotion at the door, I could feel the power his body radiated; it was so enticing, my body hummed in satisfaction. His presence had me on edge, nervous like a small dose of electricity was running through my veins.

If Theo harbored the same feelings, he did not show it. His face was stone cold, displaying no indication he was affected by me. Once Mina realized Theo was here, she pulled him into our conversation. Without hesitation, he agreed with Mina that I must wear shoes. Theo practically forced a pair of socks and sneakers on me, tying the laces super tight himself. It was quite the first impression to have with Theo's Beta and Gamma. They looked amused before clearing their throats to introduce themselves.

Flynn was a tall, stocky man with a dark complexion. He was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt while Heath had more muscle on his body, with well-tanned skin. Heath was wearing jeans, boots, and a t-shirt as well. Their introduction was brief before Theo ushered us out of the room. Theo then murmured something to Max before we took our leave. I made sure to glare at Max on my way by.

I still hadn't asked the question of where we were off to. All I knew was it was far enough to need the aid of a car. I halted when I saw the giant van awaiting us. I had not been in a car since the crash; I had not planned on ever needing to get back in one. It had almost killed me. Mina placed a soft hand on my shoulder as I was corralled into the car, making sure to secure the seat belt tightly.

The entire car ride I was too focused on holding my breath while also trying not to pass out at the same time to pay any mind to my surroundings. Theo and his Beta were joking back and forth while the rest of us rode in silence.

We were in the car for quite some time before it came to a halt. Theo announced, "we're here."

Finally letting out an exasperated breath I had been holding the entire ride, I glanced out the window. There were cars as far as the eye could see each parked by one another, but over the horizon, I could see countless different colored tents set up. Where were we? We didn't have anything like this in the Borderlands.

"Welcome to the Pack's Fair," Mina exclaimed, giddy with delight. "Well, the parking lot of the Pack's Fair. It's an event that occurs every four years where packs from all over the United States come together and set up tents—"

"—and the best part is the Final Fight," Heath interjected before Mina could finish her thought. We began our trek from the parking lot to the tents.

"Final Fight?" I inquired, trailing behind Heath and Flynn. Theo was slightly ahead of me, but Mina walked in step with me as Max lingered behind.

"The best fighters from all the packs—" Flynn started to explain but did not get far in his explanation before Heath again interrupted.

"—sometimes even Alphas," Heath burst with excitement as he whirled around, walking backward. His long, dark hair was covering most of his face, but I could see him flash a crazy-looking smile before turning back around.

"Oh, oh," Mina joined in on the excitement. "Last Pack's Fair was quite dramatic. An Alpha was defeated in the Final Fight, and the victor, Manny, then assumed the Alpha title of the Mid-Atlantic pack."

Heath turned back around. "It was the first time an Alpha had ever been defeated at a Pack's Fair. I'm fairly certain they sold out of popcorn that night."

My pace slowed down as we were nearing the Fair, but also as I came to the realization I was in a world I still knew so little about; of course, I had pondered these thoughts during my search for Ma days earlier, but it had not felt this real till now. I had been on the Outside for approximately a month now, but I did not have any more information about the Outside than I did when I was living safely within the Border. Would I look out of place among the people at the Pack's Fair?

"As I was saying, the best fighters from all the packs in the United States come together, and the best one prevails in the Final Fight," Mina finished off.

"Do people die in this fight?" I asked as I mindlessly kicked a pebble.

"Sometimes," Heath was happy to answer. "But if a fight gets to the point of someone dying, that's usually a sign illegal tactics were involved, so it doesn't happen often. I believe the last death was around twenty years ago. Manny did almost end up killing the Alpha he defeated in the last Pack's Fair, but the referee would not let him continue the fight once ex-Alpha Jackson was unconscious."

By now, we had made our way past the parking lot and were entering the Fairgrounds. A ticket master was stationed at the entrance, but he simply nodded Theo and the rest of us through while he required tickets from others entering the Fair.

Tents of all shapes and sizes were set up, each with a sign hanging above the tent to signal what resided beyond each entrance. Theo explained there was no directory for the fairgrounds since the tents and what was in them changed daily. Sometimes, some packs only stayed for the start of the Fair while many others would turn up to see the Final Fight.

My eyes didn't know where to look. Werewolves were walking freely in their wolf forms mingled in with everyone else. There was anything from novelty tents with items like silver and shackles being sold to food tents that sold raw meat by the pound.

Mina's eye bulged when she saw a specific tent in particular. She grabbed my hand, dragging me forward. Everyone followed behind us, as I fumbled over my feet. We neared a small, tattered purple tent that read Miss Orville's Ominous Observations.

We walked through the entrance, but Max, Theo, Heath, and Flynn did not follow us in. They stayed outside, loitering around. Earlier, Mina said no matter what, we were not allowed to disperse from the group.

"Hello, my dear. I have been expecting you," an elderly woman turned towards me.

She sat at a table in the center of the tent. The table had only enough room for one other person to join her. Many different rugs lined the floor, pillows scattered throughout. A small candle resided on the table next to a glass sphere, giving off just enough lighting to see what was around.

She was dressed in a long, cascading robe dyed the same color as her tent. Her graying hair was messily tacked up into a frizzy bun. Heavy eye-liner outlined her eyes in blue, making her gray, glazed eyes appear even more lifeless. Wrinkles decorated her face, her cheeks sagging from old age.

I looked over at Mina and saw her rolling her eyes. "She says that to everyone."

"Are you a witch?" I asked, heart rate picking up.

"I'm a clairvoyant," she said, putting a stop to the hope she could have been a witch. That would have been too easy. "Witches are an endangered species. You would not catch one of them here. Take a seat, my dear. Let me look into your future."

Mina gave me a friendly shove to go sit at her table. I wanted to protest; I was not the one who wanted to come into this tent. But, I could not deny I was mesmerized by the cards the clairvoyant was shuffling in her hands.

Reluctantly, I took a seat, making sure to sit at the edge so I could run at a moment's notice. The clairvoyant, who I assumed was Miss Orville (she had not introduced herself as such), smiled, her cracked, decaying teeth shining in the dim light.

Her smile did not stay long. Instead, her face contorted into horror as she voiced, "there is great loss in your future. Many will die, and you will be the reason why, my dear."