CHAPTER SIX

We dart out into the night, hoping that the car will be the only thing awaiting us. Though we can’t be sure. There’s nothing we can do but run and hope and…

The coast is clear.

The stars and the moon watch over us, giving us enough like to see by while still allowing darkness to cloak us.

No one seems to have noticed us. So, we run as silently as we can, avoiding the twigs and rocks underfoot. Each sound is amplified by our fear.

Thankfully, people are nestled in their beds for the night, giving us time to get away. If we don't run out of luck, they won't notice I'm gone until morning. And my then I'll be safely in my new pack where no one can hurt me.

I follow them towards their car, hope flooding through me. This means that I will be able to see Gavin again. Maybe he'll have answers as to why everyone else acting so strangely. Maybe he can tell me why no one wants me to be around him.

The road is in sight. The future looks hopeful. But then, the alarm sounds.

They must have come in to check on me and noticed my cell is empty. There's no way escaping notice now.

“Run!” Alyssa says.

At that, we're all running for our lives. We're still trying to be quiet, but we know we need to get away before they can get to us. It's only a matter of time before they figure out what direction we're heading in.

It doesn't take long for us to hear the sounds of their paw prints hitting the ground behind us. The four of us shift into our wolf forms to try to give us the upper hand.

And it seemed like we're getting away. We're running faster than them. We've had a head start.

“The car is right up ahead of us,” Alyssa says, loud enough for me to hear but quiet enough so that way our pursuers won't hear. “We left the key inside so no matter who gets there, we will be able to drive off.

“If you get there before us, you have to drive off. You can't go back for us. You can't wait for us. You need to be safe.”

“I can't just leave you behind,” I protest. “You helped rescue me. I'm not just going to give up on you now.”

I'm confused on why these people who never met me before are willing to give up so much for me. They've already risked their lives for me. I'm not going to let that be in vain. I wouldn't just leave them no matter what they say.

“You’re different from us,” Alyssa says. “Because of this prophecy that’s super important. We don't have time to explain it to you now. I don't even understand it fully myself.

“I do know that we're supposed to protect you. I know that we're supposed to keep you safe even if that means losing our life in the process. I accepted that when we went on this mission. Now, make it worth our while. And a matter what happens, continue to run.”

Before I can respond, wolves are coming out of the forest on either side of us. We’re being overrun, leaving only a slight path to keep on.

A wolf tumbles into me, knocking me off my feet. They tumble into me and we hit the ground with a hard thud. My fur gets tangled and clogged with dirt.

Pain makes me stronger, faster.

I lash out at him with my teeth. This feels desperate. This feels like maybe they'll kill us before they let us go.

Then, I don't need to guess at it any longer because a howl goes out into the night.

I look over and see Connor’s neck ripped open. He's bleeding out on the ground. And he'll be dead soon.

I want to scream but there’s no time for that. So, instead I turn my attention back to the fight at hand. I fight the wolf in front of me but there are more coming. There are more only seems to be following us at each turn.

We start running again, but they keep following us. They keep coming closer and…

Alyssa’s mate lets out the most horrible sound I've ever heard.

I look over and see that his veins have been torn from his body. Within seconds, he's dead too.

Alyssa howls and I’m terrified she’ll stop to go to him. There’s nothing she can do now to save him, but he’s her mate. It will be difficult for her to simply leave him behind.

“Give up!” the alpha calls out. “Both of you, give yourselves up to us. Or else you will die too.”

Alyssa and I keep running though. We know that's what we must do. Even though I can feel her stretching across the distance. Her heart is broken for her mate, but something keeps her going. Some prophecy has given her the strength to carry on.

Then, it happens. Someone grabs ahold of Alyssa and tackles her to the ground. There’s no way he’s going to let her go.

“You need to run!” Alyssa yells between tears. “I told you, no matter what happens, you need to run.”

“If you run, we will kill her,” the alpha threatens.

There is a chance I'd be able to reach the car in time. I'm ahead of the others, because Gavin’s three best friends lost their lives trying to keep the other wolves away from me.

If they focus on Alyssa, I have time to run. I might have enough time to get away.

I know that's what she wants me to do as she looks at me in horror. Alyssa’s eyes are silently begging me to go.

I can't let her die though. I have to protect her. So, I stop running and I walk towards the alpha.

“That's better,” he says as I near them. “I knew you were loyal to us. You can't let what these other people say get in your head. It will only bring you trouble. It will only bring you pain.”

Now I know though it’s not the strangers who bring me pain, this pain is coming from the members of my own pack. They're the one causing this trouble. They're the ones I can't trust.

“Grab her!” the alpha says to his mate.

She grabs me, and as soon as I’m stuck in a hold, the alpha turns to Alyssa and shakes his head.

“You should've stayed out of this,” he says. “I don't know who you are but I do know this doesn't involve you. You should have stayed out of it and then maybe you could have kept your life.”

And with that, the old alpha plunges a silver dagger into Alice's heart.

She falls to the ground in a final scream.

My screams echo hers as a leap forward but am stopped from going to her by the alpha’s mate.

“You promised!” I sob. “You promised you wouldn't hurt her.”

“This is what you get when you’re disloyal to your alpha,” he says. “I hope this will be a lesson to you. I’d hate to see anyone else you care about die like that.”

The pain, terror, and fear are too much. As I look at my new friends bleeding out on the ground, my vision goes blurry. The world turns black as I fall to the ground.