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 osted 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 re as she approached him menacingly. She seethed, “Then don’t me me for what I’m about to do next.”


    He scoffed again, scarcely frightened by her threat.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    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 escting 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 hade 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 apany 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.


    Atst, Thalia reached out and mussed their hair, chiding, “Why are you daydreaming? Let’s go!” Ben  suddenly eximed, “Thalia!”


    “Yes?”


    “You don’t need toe 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  exined, “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 nced 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, upying 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 rxed in the passenger seat while Dave drove. The boys in the backseat exchanged a knowing nce.


    What happened to all that talk about DX Group and Darz 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 nce and dered loudly, “Of course! If you didn’te out any sooner, I would’ve stormed the ce!”


    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 chocte in your bag!”


    “Impossible! I don’t even like chocte in the first ce!” denied Tony  vehemently.


    Ben  ignored his protests and continued digging through the bag. His lips curved into a smug smile a momentter.


    “I said I don’t have any…”


    Tony  trailed off as his brother whipped a chocte bar out of his bag.


    Stunned, Tony  stared agape at the chocte and then at his bag. He mumbled suspiciously, “W- Where did thise 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 chocte bar, and Thalia’s eyes immediately lit up. “Where did thise from?”


    Ben  replied, “I always carry some chocte 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 chocte 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 dered 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!”


    She promptly tore open the wrapper and ate the chocte. The chocte was a lifesaver to the half-starved Thalia.


    Though she was still hungry after eating the chocte, her stomach no longer felt as ufortable 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 nkly.


    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 nce 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 dered 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 youughing at?”


    “It’s funny!”


    “Funny? What’s so funny?” retorted Thalia. A hint of displeasure shed through her beautiful face. “Darz 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. Atst, she sputtered, “I-I’m just trying to protect them.”


    Dave smirked and drawled, “They may be members of Darz, 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 nced 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 Darz have the same thing in ce or will it simply go to anyone who wants it?”


    Outmaneuvered, Thalia could only stammer, “W-Well, the leadership of Darz 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.