Chapter 66 The Pest

“What should we do?” Evernya asked while eyeing the roadblock with annoyance.

“Well, since the other two trucks blocked the road behind us, we have no choice but to hear what he has to say. They have no legal ground to take you anymore because you are an adult alpha. That’s probably why they did this out of sight of the wall.” Meira replied with certainty.

Meira stepped out of the truck and glided up to the roadblock, with Evernya following close behind. As soon as they exited Meira’s truck, so did over a dozen male catkin shifters. In a pre-planned fashion, they encircled the duo, blocking all escapes. A moment later, Alpha Wittke emerged from the passenger seat of the truck blocking the center of the road. He casually strutted toward encirclement with an arrogant smirk plastered on his face.

“Hello, ladies.” Alpha Wittke greeted.

“What do you want, Alpha Wittke?” Meira inquired, hands on her hips, unaffected by the dozens of catkin surrounding them.

“Well, my mate, of course, but she seems rather reluctant.” Alpha Wittke stated as he strutted through the parted gap in the encirclement with his tail raised high.

Fed up, Evernya lost her temper. “Why can’t you get it through your head that I am not and will never be your mate!?”

“Show respect to your Alpha!” shouted a catkin, encircling them.

“He’s not my Alpha!” Evernya rebuked as she instinctively released her mana aura on the catkin, causing him to fall to his knees. His expression instantly turned fearful as the pressure of her mana aura overwhelmed him.

“I’m sorry for disrespecting you, Alpha!” exclaimed the remorseful catkin.

Satisfied, Evernya retracted mana aura after seeing the guy meant no disrespect. After the display, the encircling catkin whispered amongst themselves, causing Evernya to smile as she stared into Alpha Wittke’s brown eyes.

Playing to the doubts of the surrounding catkin, Meira taunted Alpha Wittke. “You’ve been a bad boy, Alpha Wittke! What did you tell them about her? Did you say she was a catkin disobeying your orders?”

“Shut up! This is catkin business. You are not welcome here.” Alpha Wittke argued.

“Well, since it’s my truck you blocked in, I’m not going anywhere.” Meira shot back with a triumphant smile.

“I am growing tired of these games. What do you really want because you know you can’t legally force me to do anything?” Evernya interrupted with a bored expression.

“Know your place bitch, you feel honored your alpha wants you to be his mate!” Another catkin yelled, who Evernya shut up with her aura. This time she added a bit more power, throttling her aura onto him until he was on his hands and knees with a scent of urine permeating from him. She wrinkled her nose at the disgusting smell as she turned her attention back to Alpha Wittke.

“You need to teach your clan how to treat a female Alpha with respect.” Evernya admonished somehow, looking down on Alpha Wittke despite their height difference.

“Females can’t be Alpha!” another stupid catkin shouted.

Evernya quickly put the sexist idiot in his place with her aura, not letting up until he passed out. She then spun in a circle, locking eyes with every catkin encircling them. “Really now? I know at least three of you know the truth. Why don’t you ask them.”

The remaining catkin turned their attention toward the two still conscious shifters who Evernya blasted for conformation. They do one fear glance at Evernya before rapidly nodding their heads, too afraid to speak. Seeing their extreme reaction, they finally realized the graveness of their mistake. They stared at Alpha Wittke in confusion.

“We have places to be, so can we get this over with? What do you really want?” Evernya asked again.

“I want you as my mate! Think of the powerful heir we could make together!” Alpha Wittke shouted in desperation under the gaze of his clan.

“I don’t have any desire to have children, especially with the likes of you. All you see me as is a baby factory, which disgusts me. If I weren’t an Alpha, you wouldn’t have even noticed me.” Evernya rejected instantly.

“That’s not true! You are a beautiful young woman who would greatly benefit our clan with your talents.” Alpha Wittke praised with a smile, trying to charm Evernya.

She faked thinking about the proposal for a second before responding. “You may have had a slight chance of getting me to join your clan if you started out trying to flatter me, but you took this route. You knew all along I was an alpha, yet you kept trying to force me to be your mate instead of showing me the respect I deserve. I have no desire to tie myself to any clan, either way, so your conquest was doomed to fail from the beginning.”

“Bitch, even if you are an Alpha, I am still your elder and better!” Alpha Wittke berated, his previous charm gone.

A beautiful smile bloomed on Evernya’s face, causing a few bulges to appear on the surrounding catkin as an idea formed. “Is that so? Why don’t we test that theory? If you win, I will be your mate, but if I win, you will leave me alone.”

Meira glanced, worried, at Evernya, but relaxed when she saw her kitten’s confident demeanor.

Confident in his superiority, Alpha Wittke immediately agreed. “I’ll take that bet! Don’t worry, I’ll send some of my boys to fetch your things because you will ride with me.”

“Whatever, since you are the elder, I’ll let you go first.” Evernya offered, utterly at ease.

With his arrogant smirk returned, Alpha Wittke unleashed his Mana aura, causing everyone but Evernya and Meira to kneel. However, upon witnessing Evernya unaffected by his aura, his smirk faltered.

Why did he agree? I used my mana aura on him during our last confrontation. Oh well, let’s make a game of it. Evernya thought in surprise, but maintained a confident smile.

Evernya let out an exaggerated yawn before giving him the same arrogant smirk. “Is that all you got? I thought the Alpha of all of Druth’s catkins would have more than that. I think your advanced age caught up to you. No wonder you are so desperate for me to be your mate. You need an heir to take over before you die from your advanced age.” Evernya goaded.

At Evernya’s jab, Alpha Wittke’s veins bulged in rage, causing his mana aura to increase in potency slightly. The slight increased potency did nothing but torture the poor surrounding catkin, who were all shaking on their knees, staring fearfully at the scene before them.

“There we go. I knew you had a little more in you.” Evernya applauded with a golf clap.

“Bitch quit stalling!” Alpha Wittke shouted.

“As you wish, we need to get going anyway,” Evernya replied with a shrug.

Evernya dramatically flung her arms out to the side as she unleashed the full force of her mana aura onto everyone. Alpha Wittke’s aura crumpled against the superior pressure of Evernya’s aura.

Unable to withstand the strain, the surrounding catkin fell over, unconscious, before they knew what hit them. Even Meira had a slight tremble in her hands, but was otherwise unaffected. Meanwhile, Alpha Wittke dropped to his knees, looking up at Evernya, shaking with fear. Evernya, not quite satisfied, focused her aura directly onto Alpha Wittke until she smelled urine.

“Damn, I wish your clan wasn’t so weak that they passed out from little old me. If they weren’t, they would have witnessed their Alpha pee in his pants. I hope you have a change of underwear in that big truck of yours. Otherwise, it will be a long and embarrassing ride home.” Evernya ridiculed, making a show of pinching her nose closed with her fingers.

After a few more seconds, Evernya retracted her aura before turning around and strutting back to Meira’s truck, stepping over unconscious catkin along the way. Just before she reached the truck, she froze and glanced back at the unconscious catkin. “Crap, how are we going to leave! I knocked all the drivers out!”

Meira bent over, laughing hysterically for over a minute before she could respond. “If you move some napping catkin out of the way, I can get around the roadblock. I have four-wheel drive I may as well put it to use.”

Eager to get going, Evernya used telekinesis to lift unconscious catkin one by one into a neat pile out of the way. While Evernya cleared away his clanmates, Alpha Wittke continued to kneel, frozen with fear.

A few minutes later, the path was clear, allowing them to drive the truck off the road around the roadblock. Once past the roadblock, Meira sped to Druth’s entrance to avoid any other issues. She didn’t relax until she scanned her ID to enter Druth.

“That was quite a show you put on there. I am proud of you.” Meira praised as they drive down Main Street toward Druth’s portal station.

“I don’t know what came over me. I just felt a need to act like that.” Evernya commented as her alpha high dissipated.

“That was the Alpha in you. Alphas dislike being told what to do or receive insults from a weaker person, especially another shifter.” Meira stated, as if it was normal.

“To be honest, it felt good being in control of a situation for once. I didn’t even need to use any of my magic to do it either.” Evernya smiled, buoyant from her victory.

Meira returned her kitten’s smile as she spoke. “Bullying bullies can be stress relieving. You worried me for a second with your bet since I wasn’t sure you eclipsed him in mana grade yet. Unfortunately, now he may cause trouble for you in different ways now that he knows you are stronger than him. Alphas hate having another stronger Alpha in their territory.” Meira warned, losing her smile toward the end.

“What can he do? I am going to college soon, and you live outside his territory.” Evernya questioned.

“True, but he has connections with other Druth shifter packs, which could be a hassle,” Meira added.

“Damn it, why can’t he leave me alone? What is with everyone trying to make things difficult for me?” Evernya grumbled.

“Well, instincts run strong in shifters. When they notice a prime mate or a powerful Alpha in their area, they pounce. The humans don’t have much excuse though, they are just being racist, but don’t judge shifters too harshly. It is just the way they are. Alpha Wittke is a sexist asshole, but you may get along with some members of his clan.” Meira explained.

“I guess we will see,” Evernya commented, turning her attention to the passing buildings.

They drove through Druth with no issues, arriving at the portal station on the west side of Druth ten minutes later. Meira pulled her truck into an enormous parking lot with hundreds of other cars.

“I hope you brought your ID. I forgot to remind you.” Meira stated.

“I figured I would need it, so I grabbed it before we left,” Evernya replied, fishing it out of her tiny right front pocket.

Meira breathed a sigh of relief as she said, “Good! If you didn’t, we would have had to go back.”

“I thought I was fine if I was with someone else with an ID?” Evernya questioned.

Meira glanced at the time on the dash of her truck while explaining, “That would be the case going through city barriers, but you need your ID to use the portal system. Plus, you will also need your ID to get a collar.”

“Why do I need an ID for a collar, isn’t it just an enchanted silver collar?” Evernya continued to question.

“It is, but it is also a form of identification registered to you,” Meira replied.

“Why does it have to be a collar, can’t it be any silver device?” Evernya dug, trying to find some way out of being collared.

Amused by her kitten’s antics, Meira smiled while explaining. “When the Mage’s councils were thinking about making this law, they thought about many types like a wrist or ankle cuff, but in the end, they chose a collar. They choose a collar because no one can live without their head. Unlike a head, if someone was desperate enough, they could chop off their arm or leg to get rid of it. They didn’t want there to be any chance someone could remove the device within the city.”

Unconvinced, Evernya refused to give up. “Why not make the device adhere to the skin like a training suit?”

“That only works with certain materials, and silver isn’t one of them. Most metals are resistant to resizing enchantments as well. The only other option is an implant, but that is more of a permanent solution since they need to ensure the removal is as difficult as possible.” Meira replied, snuffing out any hope of her kitten avoiding the collar.

“Damn, there really isn’t any way around wearing that stupid collar, is there?” Evernya questioned with the faintest bit of hope.

“Well, unless you unlock your bloodline, then I’m afraid not. Besides, it is best that you wear it, even if there was a way out to avoid standing out.” Meira replied.

“I guess I’ll just have to bear with it then,” Evernya grumbled mentally, pleading for her bloodline to unlock any second.

Prayers unanswered, Evernya gave in to the inevitability. “Where do I get one?”

“Every portal station has an area selling the collars,” Meira replied.

“Damn, so not only are we forced to wear it, but we have to pay for it too?” Evernya fumed.

“Yeah, and it isn’t cheap, around ten thousand crystals. It doesn’t help silver is an expensive material, mainly because many people horde it in paranoia a shifter may attack them.” Meira replied again, checking the clock.

“I am guessing 10,000 crystals is much more than the collar is worth. They probably set the price high, so poor shifters couldn’t afford to enter a tier 2 city.” Evernya guessed, knowing how humans thought as a former human herself.

“Yeah, I would sell a collar almost identical for around one to two thousand crystals, so I agree it’s over-inflated, but there is nothing we can do about it. Only registered collars will allow you into a tier 2 city, so they have a monopoly. However, compared to the cost of your training suit, this is nothing, so don’t worry about the price.” Meira revealed, trying to appease her kitten, only to make it worse.

“If ten thousand is nothing, I’m afraid to ask how much my suit was,” Evernya commented while staring at Meira with suspicion.

“Well, I paid extra for it to customize it to accommodate a tail, but a human version retails for around one hundred thousand crystals, if you can find one since they are all sold out,” Meira admitted as if it was no big deal.

Just how rich is she? She spent enough to buy a small house on earth on someone she just met a few months ago! From the books on economics, one crystal is approximately equal to one American dollar! Evernya thought as a verbal outburst snuck past her lips. “Fuck, that’s a lot!”

“Yeah, but it was worth it. Besides, as I said before, the money is of no issue. I have more than I could ever spend on my own.” Meira justified, finally noticing her kitten’s discomfort.

Still a little lightheaded from the bombshell, Evernya commented. “If you say so, I still feel bad you spent so much on me.”

“Don’t feel bad. I like pampering my little sister, so enjoy it. Now let’s get inside. I bet there will be a long line. Do you want to get your collar here or at the Minea portal station?” Meira said, trying to redirect attention away from her spending habits.

Unfortunately for her, Evernya resisted her attempt. “You have an actual blood-related sister to support now. You can’t just spend thousands on me.”

“Maylin will be fine. She may look young, but she has over five decades of enchanting experience. It won’t take her long to make enough to support herself. I’m more worried about supporting you than her.” Meira replied.

“Fine, but please limit the spending to only essentials.” Evernya relented.

A smile grew as Meira quickly changed the subject before her kitten could change her mind. “Now, for my question earlier, where do you want to get your collar here or in Minea?”

After a second of silence, Evernya decided, “I think I’ll wait until we get there. I want to delay it as long as possible.”

“Ok, they may not even have your size here anyway, since you are tiny for a shifter,” Meira commented in a teasing tone.

“Am I really that much smaller than other shifters?” Evernya asked, more in curiosity than insult.

“Some breeds are as small as you, but most have at least fifteen to twenty centimeters and twenty-plus kilograms on you. A collar made for them would work for you, but you want it to fit a little snug so it doesn’t move around much, which may cause chafing.” Meira answered.

“They can’t add a liner to it to make it more comfortable?” Evernya questioned, unconsciously rubbing her neck with her right hand in phantom discomfort.

“No, unfortunately, the silver has to be in contact with your skin to prevent shifting,” Meira informed.

“Couldn’t someone wear a loose collar and put some cloth under to shift?” Evernya questioned.

Amused by her kitten’s rapid-fire questions, Meira answered, “No, once the collar actives, it must have contact with the skin at all times, or the collar’s tampering enchantments trigger activating collars tracker to alert the authorities.”

“Wow, they thought of everything,” Evernya commented.

Out of questions for the moment, they climbed out of the truck and walked toward the large brick building that looked very similar to a train station.