Dean glared at her but dropped his hands. "It wasn't my fault."
He raised his hands again and made a few sure movements that Alice could only just pick up. She was new at the sign language thing and sometimes missed something or forgot what one of his signs meant. Dean also had a habit of doing it too fast and forgetting who he was talking to.
"He did it for you, though," he signed to her.
"I didn't ask him to." Alice turned away from him and opened the boot of her brothers car. "He was showing off. That doesn't make it my fault or any of my business."
Dean turned her back to face him and raised an eyebrow. "It does," he mouthed.
"What am I supposed to do? I'm not allowed to talk to him. I'm not allowed to be anywhere near him unless we're in school. My dad is my Alpha, Dean. I have to do what he says."
"You're here with me, aren't you?"
"Yes, but it's not the same and you know it."
"Your dad told you to stay away from all of us. Not just him." Dean's hands kept moving but Alice wasn't entirely sure what he said.
"I missed that last bit - but it doesn't matter. When you leave - which will have to be soon - it will be the last time I talk to any of you. I'm not breaking my dad's rules anymore."
Dean didn't reply. He just stood with a sad look on his face and watched her unload the rest of the bags from the car. He carried a few to the gate for her, but couldn't go any further. She took the last of them indoors then went to stand on the opposite side of the gate. Dean opened the door to his car then looked back at her. "He really cares about you, Alice," he signed.
Alice thought for a moment before speaking. Could she tell Dean their secret? Or just enough so that he understood? She trusted him. She hadn't known him for long but both him and Niall had been a big help in keeping Jason away. If she told him just a little, it would mean he would stop trying to convince her to talk to him every time they saw each other. "If I tell you something, do you promise to keep it a secret? You can't tell anyone."
"You can trust me," he said and came over.
"We're running, Dean. We ran here and we're hiding here. But I think they've found us." Alice found herself feeling better with every word she said. Talking to someone outside of her family might actually help her stop panicking about their situation. "Andrew has been helping us, but he can't keep them away forever. At first I thought my dad was telling us to stay away out of pride, but Jack and I overheard him telling our mum that it's to protect you. If they find us and we're involved with you lot then they'll know about you, too. We'll have taken you down as well and I don't want that to happen."
"Hunters?"
Alice nodded. "They're after us, Dean. It's a misunderstanding; we didn't do anything. But they're still coming because they won't let us explain."
"We can help you."
"I think we're going to run again. After the next full moon. Jack was talking about England and going further south. He doesn't think they'll expect us to go too far."
"You can't leave, Alice."
"We can. I don't want to get you hurt. Running means we're safe and, more importantly, you are all safe." She smiled up at him but he wasn't happy at all. "I care about you all, Dean. I think, in other circumstances, we could be really close. The trouble is we're in these circumstances, and after the next moon we'll be leaving."
"Alice-" Dean's lips formed the word, but he made no sound and he didn't attempt to say anything else.
"Just don't tell Jason, okay? We'll disappear with help from Andrew and the Guard and by next week you'll have forgotten all about us." Alice stood on her toes to kiss Dean's cheek. He kept a hold of her hand and squeezed it tight. "You better go. My dad will be home soon."
"I'll see you soon," he signed. "I won't tell Jason or any of the others, but you're not going anywhere yet." Alice just smiled and waved as he drove away. She didn't want to leave, but if it meant protecting Jason and his Pack she'd do it in a heartbeat.
