Daren the chipmunk

Melanie's eyes flashed with anger, her voice low and menacing. "You're claiming her as your mate? After what you've done?"

Skylar's expression remained unyielding, his voice firm. "Yes, Melanie. And I'll do whatever it takes to protect her and our unborn child."

Adryan stepped forward, his voice calm but firm. "Melanie, let's not jump to conclusions. We need to focus on finding Melissa and getting her back safely." But Melanie was beyond reason. Her eyes blazed with fury, her voice rising. "You're all just going to stand by and let him claim her? After he's put her in danger and gotten her addicted to drugs?"

Skylar's face twisted in anger, his voice transforming into a growl. "I told you, Melanie, I would never hurt Lissa or let her come close to drugs. She's my mate, and I love her."

The air was electric with tension as the two faced off, their anger and frustration palpable. Daren stepped forward, his voice calm but firm. "Skylar, Melanie, stop. This isn't helping. We need to work together to find Melissa."

But Melanie was too far gone, her anger and betrayal consuming her. She turned to Adryan and Daren, her eyes blazing with fury. "You're just going to stand by and let him get away with this? He's put her in danger, and now he's claiming her as his mate?"

Adryan held up his hands, his voice calm. "Melanie, we understand your concerns, but we need to focus on finding Melissa right now. We can deal with Skylar's actions later."

But Melanie was beyond reason. She turned and stormed off, her anger and frustration echoing through the forest. The group watched her go, their faces tense with worry.

Skylar's eyes flashed with hurt. "I'll go after her. I need to make things right."

Adryan nodded. "Go, Skylar. But be careful. We can't afford to lose anyone else."

Skylar nodded and took off after Melanie, leaving Adryan and Daren to continue the search for Melissa. As they walked, the tension between them was palpable.

"Adryan, do you think Skylar's telling the truth?" Daren asked, his voice low. Adryan's face was grim. "I don't know, Daren. But I do know one thing - we need to find Melissa before it's too late.

"Melanie, wait! Please listen to me!" Skylar called out, his voice sincere. Melanie slowed down, her breathing heavy, and turned to face Skylar. "What do you want, Skylar?"

Skylar took a deep breath. "I want to apologize. I was wrong to claim Melissa as my mate without talking to you first. I know how much she means to you, and I respect that."

Melanie's expression softened slightly, her eyes searching Skylar's face. "You should have thought of that before you opened your mouth, Skylar."

Skylar nodded, his eyes downcast. "I know. And I'm sorry. Can we please just talk about this and figure out how to move forward?"

Melanie sighed, her anger slowly dissipating. "Fine. But next time, think before you speak Woods, got it?" Skylar smiled, relieved. "Got it."

Meanwhile, back with the group, Adryan was worrying about leaving Melanie alone. "Guys, we can't just leave her behind. She's still upset."

Daren chuckled. "Melanie can handle herself, Adryan. She's feisty, remember?"

Adryan shot Daren a look. "This isn't a joke, Daren. We need to make sure she's safe."

Just then, one of the reinforcements approached them. "Sir, we've tracked Melissa's location. She's about a mile east of here."

Adryan's expression turned urgent. "Wait, we can't leave without Melanie and Skylar! We need to get them first, make sure they're safe, and then head east to find Melissa."

Daren raised an eyebrow. "Adryan, we can't afford to waste time. We need to get to Melissa before Alonzo does."

"I know, but we can't leave our people behind. We need to stick together, especially now. Please, let's get Melanie and Skylar first. It'll only take a few minutes."

Daren smiled as he teased Adryan "Alright Romeo". We'll go get them. But we need to move fast."

Melanie's face softened, her eyes filling with tears. "You're happy about this, aren't you, Skylar?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Skylar's face lit up with a warm smile. "Of course, I am! I'm going to be a father!"

Melanie's expression turned hurt. "And you're just telling me now? Melissa didn't even bother to share the news with me, her best friend?"

"Melanie, we weren't ready to share this yet. It's not safe for Lissa and the baby. But I promise, we were going to tell you soon."

Melanie said playfully. "Well, I'm going to be the godmother, obviously."

Skylar chuckled. "Oh, I think it's going to be a boy, and he's going to be a little warrior like his dad."

Melanie rolled her eyes, laughing. "Please, it's going to be a girl, and she's going to be a fierce queen like her mom."

The group quickly made their way back to where they had left Melanie and Skylar and found them smiling and walking together. "Any news?" Melanie asked as she looked over at Adryan.

"Uhmm the only news here is my boy Adryan can't spend five minutes away from you" Daren laughed as he teased Adryan.

Adryan came closer and put his hand across Melanie's waist "What Daren the chipmunk is tryna say is we've got the location of Melissa"."We gotta go"