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Tony and Ben looked serious as Dave unbuckled himself and stepped out of the car. In the car, the boys looked ahead warily.
Just then, a slender woman stepped out from the other vehicle and approached Dave. The sassy Thalia accosted Dave and asked, “Where are they?”
Dave narrowed his eyes and replied, “It’s you?”
“In the flesh!” Thalia smiled at him half-heartedly before demanding, “Hand them over!” “Who?”
“You know who I am talking about-Tony and Ben , of course. It’s not as though I can ask you to hand Alpha Kilian over to me,” retorted Thalia.
Narrowing his gaze, Dave asked, “Why are you looking for them?” Coldly, she replied, “I know you’ve locked them up. Hand them over!” “Oh. So you’re here for a confrontation?”
“Yes!”
Dave scoffed and taunted, “What if I refuse to do so?”
Thalia shot him a dangerous glare as she approached him menacingly. She seethed, “Then don’t blame me for what I’m about to do next.”
He scoffed again, scarcely frightened by her threat.
Naturally, his behavior infuriated Thalia, who slowly moved her hand behind her back. Before she could do anything more, Dave’s car door suddenly opened.
Tony yelped, “Thalia!”
His shout prevented the stand-off from escalating further.
Thalia turned around and was surprised to see Tony and Ben alighting from Dave’s car. She looked at Ben and asked, “W-Why are you here? Didn’t he lock you up?”
The boys were moved when they realized she had come for them.
Tony approached Thalia and pulled her aside. He reassured her, “We’re fine. Why are you here?”
Thalia’s gaze swept over the boys. Once she ascertained that they were safe, she retorted, “Why else? You suddenly hung up on me. Do you know how worried I was?”
Tony dared not hold her gaze as he mumbled, “I said I didn’t want to drag you into this mess.” “I’m afraid it’s not as simple as that!”
“Well, what do you want?”
Thalia stared at the boy for a moment before muttering, “Never mind. I’m here to accompany you. Go on then. Lead the way!”
When she noticed Tony staring wordlessly at her, she added, “Just to make things clear, I’m only here to protect you and Ben . I don’t care about anything else!”
The boys stared at her agape, unsure of what to say.
At last, Thalia reached out and mussed their hair, chiding, “Why are you daydreaming? Let’s go!” Ben suddenly exclaimed, “Thalia!”
“Yes?”
“You don’t need to come with us. We’ll just go with Alpha Dave. It’s not appropriate for you to go!”
Thalia instantly whirled around and stared at Dave, sputtering, “Did you just say he’s going with you?” “Yup!” Ben nodded.
“Didn’t he lock you up before this?”
Ben explained, “Alpha Dave only locked us up because he was worried we would act rashly. We’ve already talked things through. That won’t happen again.”
Thalia glanced suspiciously at Dave before asking, “So you trust him but not me?” “This isn’t a matter of trust…”
“Then let’s go together!” Thalia interjected before Ben could finish his sentence. “You can focus on whatever you need to do while I protect you!”
Flustered, Tony protested, “Thalia…”
“Okay, that’s enough. Let’s go!” Thalia turned and got into Dave’s car, occupying the passenger seat. Tony and Ben scrunched their brows in unison before staring at Dave.
He raised his brows in amusement and got into the driver’s seat. Dave’s non-reaction merely deepened Tony ‘s frown.
His brother stepped forward and tapped him on the shoulder. “Even Alpha Dave has agreed. Let’s go!” The boys had no choice but to board the car.
Thalia relaxed in the passenger seat while Dave drove. The boys in the backseat exchanged a knowing glance.
What happened to all that talk about DX Group and Darknetz not getting along? They’re literally in the same car now! It looks like we could even work together in the future!
Suddenly, Thalia’s stomach grumbled from hunger.
She clutched her stomach as Ben asked, “Are you hungry? Didn’t you eat anything?”
Annoyed, she rubbed her stomach and retorted, “I sped here as soon as the call cut off. What makes you think I had time to eat?”
Stunned, Ben sputtered, “So you were waiting outside the whole time?”
Thalia shot Dave a sidelong glance and declared loudly, “Of course! If you didn’t come out any sooner, I would’ve stormed the place!”
Tony and Ben were speechless.
Neither could lie about how touched they felt by her care.
In fact, her words now merely amplified the gratitude they felt since they saw Thalia outside the castle.
Thankfully, Thalia and Dave no longer fought with each other for the rest of the drive. However, Thalia’s stomach grumbled from time to time.
Ben suddenly rummaged through Tony ‘s bag as though he remembered something. Perplexed, Tony asked, “What are you doing?”
“I remember you have some chocolate in your bag!”
“Impossible! I don’t even like chocolate in the first place!” denied Tony vehemently.
Ben ignored his protests and continued digging through the bag. His lips curved into a smug smile a moment later.
“I said I don’t have any…”
Tony trailed off as his brother whipped a chocolate bar out of his bag.
Stunned, Tony stared agape at the chocolate and then at his bag. He mumbled suspiciously, “W- Where did this come from?”
“I put it in your bag!” Tony was speechless.
Meanwhile, Thalia was almost drifting off to sleep from her hunger. Ben reached out and tapped her on the shoulder.
She opened her eyes and looked at him, asking groggily, “What?”
He passed her the precious chocolate bar, and Thalia’s eyes immediately lit up. “Where did this come from?”
Ben replied, “I always carry some chocolate around with me. Since I didn’t bring a bag with me this time, I stuffed it in Tony ‘s bag.”
Thalia smiled and received the chocolate gratefully. “You’re the best, Ben !” The car screeched to a sudden stop.
All three passengers turned to stare at Dave.
“I’m going to buy something!” Dave declared and abruptly left the car.
Tony and Ben just stared at him without saying a word, while Thalia rolled her eyes and muttered, “Urgh, so pretentious!”Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
She promptly tore open the wrapper and ate the chocolate. The chocolate was a lifesaver to the half-starved Thalia.
Though she was still hungry after eating the chocolate, her stomach no longer felt as uncomfortable as it was before.
Just then, Dave returned to the car with a bag in his hand. He passed the bag to Tony and Ben once he got in. “Erm, what’s this, Alpha Dave?”
“I went to get a coffee and bought some food too. We don’t have time for dinner, so we’ll have to make do with some light bites for now!”
The boys nodded blankly.
Dave started the engine and drove off without a further word.
Tony almost passed some of the snacks to Thalia when he suddenly paused in thought. He elbowed Ben , who was about to dig in.
Ben stared at him and asked, “What?”
Tony ‘s gaze darted from Dave to Thalia, and Ben immediately understood him. “No. Really?” Ben mouthed the words at his brother.
Arching a brow, Tony mouthed back, “Who knows?”
He shot Dave a final glance before handing some snacks to the woman in the passenger seat. “Have some, Thalia!”
When she saw the food in Tony ‘s hands, she immediately turned her head away and declared pettily, “I’m not eating that!”
“Why?”
“I won’t simply eat food offered by my enemy!” drawled Thalia, who crossed her arms across her chest and stared ahead stubbornly.
Tony was struck speechless by her attitude. Did I just open a can of worms?
Dave suddenly chuckled, and Thalia immediately spun to face him. She scrunched her brows and demanded, “What are you laughing at?”
“It’s funny!”
“Funny? What’s so funny?” retorted Thalia. A hint of displeasure flashed through her beautiful face. “Darknetz sure has some pretty funny rules!”
Thalia’s frown deepened as she barked, “What did you say?”
“Am I wrong? The rules are really funny. You can’t eat your enemy’s food, but you can sit in your enemy’s car.”
Thalia’s indignance instantly vanished.
She pursed her lips and pondered a response for the longest time. At last, she sputtered, “I-I’m just trying to protect them.”
Dave smirked and drawled, “They may be members of Darknetz, but they’re technically half-members of DX Group. I would never harm them.”
“Half-members in DX Group? What are you implying? Are you trying to scout them or something?”
“Scout?” Dave glanced at Thalia and continued, “They’re Alpha Kilian ‘s kids. That makes them DX Group’s future heirs. It’s not wrong to call them half-members.”
Outraged, Thalia spat, “Does DX Group follow some royal hierarchy or something? What’s with the whole heir appointment?”
“Oh? Doesn’t Darknetz have the same thing in place or will it simply go to anyone who wants it?”
Outmaneuvered, Thalia could only stammer, “W-Well, the leadership of Darknetz will naturally pass on to the most capable member!”
Dave scoffed and said, “I can’t wait to see that!”
“But of course!” Thalia arched a brow and added, “Anyway, Alpha Kilian has already left DX Group. That
severs the boys’ only ties to your little organization. So, I’d advise you to drop your little scheme!” She even shot him a smug, triumphant smile.