Chapter 430
Clementine:
Ian and I stood there, listening to their conversations. It seemed like none of them carried any heart.
“Come on, where is the footage? Are we getting any sex?” someone else commented, making me clench tighter around Ian’s hand.
We both looked at each other as we listened to the complaints. I wanted to burst in and expose them, but that would have been a stupid move.
More specifically, it would mean exposing myself without any backup.
I had Ian, but at this point, both of us had kept our wolves hidden from the others.
That also would not help our purpose. If they see us here, they would forbid us, restrict us, and even fight us if we tried to go out and tell the world.
“Let’s take the tapes and go to the council members,” I told him.
As soon as I said that, Ian nodded. That seemed like the only plan.
He grabbed the tapes and started to step away. I watched him stare at the titles, and I could tell he felt the same way I had when I first saw them.
His body tensed, disgust crossing his face, before he straightened his back and headed toward the way out.
That was where the main problem began. There was no other option except to swim through. The tapes would get ruined that way.
“What now?” I asked Ian.
“You have to go to the other side, and I’ll toss them to you. You have to catch them,” he replied, the cold wind brushing against his bare abs.
“Do you think you can do this?” he questioned.
I gave him an obvious look before rolling my eyes.
“Of course I can, Ian,” I remarked.
My confidence made him smirk as he waited for me to swim through. I swam to the other side, which was farther than expected, and not the main area where the pack members could easily see us.
It was only a rocky edge of the river. I did not even know what lay beyond it, or if another river flowed behind it.
For now, we had to continue by tossing the tapes to each other and finding safe zones.
Once I had the tapes, I watched Ian swim toward me. When he reached the ground, we looked around for another safe place.
“That ground over there,” I remarked, pointing toward the farthest stretch ahead.
Ian nodded.
“I’ll go first this time,” he stated, swimming across the river and reaching the ground.
I lifted the tapes and swung them like a frisbee. He caught them one by one. Then I swam through, feeling the ground steady beneath my feet.
This time, I moved ahead and searched for a secure spot. I raised my arms and caught the tapes when Ian tossed them.
I held them tightly, securing them on a dry ledge between the rocks. I glanced back at him, and he nodded once before moving closer.
We repeated the process, tossing and catching, stepping and steadying ourselves, always checking the ground before trusting it.
When we finally reached the wider stretch where the river flowed more evenly, I let out a slow breath, my shoulders easing as I looked toward the road ahead.
We were right to trust our instincts in finding a safe place.
“What now?” I asked Ian as we stepped into the woods.
“Now you wait here. I’ll go grab my sweater,” he replied, earning a nod from me.
As he hurried away, I stared at the tapes in my hands and remembered the way they had all asked for live footage.
It hurt to think about it. None of those people in the North knew what was really happening here.
“Do you think Haiden and Troy are okay?” my wolf questioned.
Of course she still felt the mate bond with them. She was worried about them.
“I hope they are. They are powerful, though. I have faith in them,” I murmured, suddenly feeling low.
Memories of the early days surfaced, followed by how we had moved past the bullying phase.
There had been so much happening at the time that I could barely focus on what they were doing to me.
Our main goal had been survival, and we achieved that. Many of us did.
But if what Ian told me was true, that they were preparing the Crusaders for one final session, then we were running out of time.
When Ian returned, I started handing him a few of the tapes.
“What is that? Why are you dividing them?” he asked, confused.
“Ian, we will have to part ways from here p>
The moment I said it, he shook his head almost instantly.
“No, listen to me,” I continued. “We cannot stay together. It is too dangerous. I will go to the council. You go to the nearest major news channel and prepare to release the tapes in a few hours. I will speak to the council members and inform them about the academy’s secrets p>
As I spoke, I watched him frown. It was clear he was not comfortable with the idea of us splitting up, but staying together carried more risk.
If we ran into trouble, both of us would be exposed. One of us needed to be somewhere safe, somewhere the tapes could still be used.
“Then let me go to the council,” he urged.
“Ian, now is not the time for that,” I told him calmly. “We are in this together, and both of us need protection. This is not about me or my production anymore. We need to focus on saving those in the North p>
“Fine,” he said after a pause. “But when do you want me to release them? What if the council member reacts badly p>
“They should not,” I replied. “They have no right to be upset. For years, they suspected nothing. For years, they did nothing about these games. They are not blameless. They should have focused on helping the young teens sent away against their will instead of enjoying their luxuries p>
“Here, I’ve divided them for you,” I explained. “These are the ones that do not expose anyone’s personal life or intimate moments p>
The tapes I gave him focused on us fighting the monsters. One of them stood out in particular. It was titled Oriana betrays the Crusader, leaves her behind in the North while stealing the baby from her.