The man carrying me set me down on a soft surface. I can feel myself sinking into something plush. The man’s presence disappears from above me and the swish of the flap tells me that he has left the tent. I lie still for a few moments listening to the sound of rustling papers. Then, I open my eyes and sit up. I look in the direction that the sound was coming from and see Clay staring at me. His eyes are open wide and his mouth hangs slightly agape. Clay is sitting behind a table covered in papers. I find that I am lower to the ground than I had previously thought. He towers above just by sitting at his desk. A quick glance around myself reveals that I am surrounded by plush pillows and blankets. It seems like a bed. The only other piece of furniture is a large trunk that sits along the tent wall opposite of me. "How...," Clay starts to say, but falls silent. "Did you think that little drug of yours would always work?" I ask. "It should've," he replies. His han
The tent flap swooshes quietly as it falls into place behind me. I can’t see anyone nearby, but remain on high alert. If I encounter just one guard, I may never make it out of the camp. That guard could send out a warning that I have escaped and the fact that I am carrying Clay’s body would only make it worse. I peek around the right corner of the tent. Nobody. Coast is clear. I move quickly along the side of the tent. Clay’s tent appears to be at the center of the camp and is given a pretty wide berth by the other tents. Hearing voices, I slip into a narrow corridor between the tents that border Clay’s. The rustle of his body brushing against the canvas nearly makes my heart stop. The sound seemed so loud that I thought I would be caught for sure. Thankfully, the men don’t notice and just walk past, not even glancing in my direction. According to the map, Clay doesn’t have personal guards at his tent, but prefers to have them in a wide circle around his tent and his genera
Running through the woods is difficult when you are carrying something that keeps snagging on every tree branch. Every couple of steps, I find myself having to remove the branch that got caught on Clay's clothes. At the rate I’m going, I just might make it to camp by the time the battle ends in a couple of hours. After what feels like the umpteenth millionth time, I decide to walk closer to the edge of the forest, where the branches aren't as thick. The one reason that I stayed deep within the forest was so I could avoid running into any enemies. Now, I don't care if I run into a rogue. I just don't want to have to stop anymore. Dead branches snap and crackle under my feet and leaves rustle as I brush past, pushing my way to the edge of the tree line. With a quick glance around, I ensure that no one is paying attention to me. Seeing no one approaching and hearing no one shouting at me, I launch into a sprint. My feet fly across the ground. By leaving the woods behind, I have
The flap swings shut behind me as I leave the tent. Nobody is paying much attention to me, so I have no trouble making my way to the front of the camp. Standing just inside the first row of tents, I survey the battlefield. Werewolves cover the large field, locked in a fierce battle. As I watch, many fall to the ground either dead or wounded. Knowing Tyler, he's probably near the front of that mess. He'd want to try to save me himself and thus would lead the charge. If I want to find him, I'll need to make my way to him. I break free from the line of tents and start walking towards the ongoing fight. To an outside viewer, I must look very odd as I calmly walk towards a massive, bloody battle. With each step, my heart beats a little louder in my ears as adrenaline fills me. By the time I have walked close enough to make out the difference in scents, I am on edge, anticipating when I will be attacked and join the fight. I'm only a couple of yards away when the first wolf rushe
With Tyler clinging to my back, I leap into the air. Wind rushes past as I soar over the wolves, searching. My feet thud as I land and my nose twitches. I jump to the left, still not finding the scent that I want. A couple more jumps and I finally find who I am searching for, Cole. He stands a couple of yards away from me, fighting some wolves. He, too, is wounded, but not as badly as Tyler. As I close the distance between us, Cole seems to notice my scent because he turns his head to stare at me. Seeing Cole distracted, one of the wolves tries to attack, but I catch it by a leg and toss it away. Enar, are you able to talk to Cole's wolf? I ask. Yes, what should I tell him? She replies. Please tell him to take Tyler back to the camp for medical attention. I will take care of everything here. Alright. As I wait for Enar's response, I throw away some more of the pesky wolves. They just don't know when to stop. Cole also swats away our opponents. We remain that w
Kira darts through the tents and, in no time at all, stops before Tyler's tent. I can hear the murmur of voices within, but can't distinguish what they are saying. Sliding off Kira's back, my feet hit the ground and I pause, unsure. What if I'm interrupting something or what if Tyler is angry with me for some reason? Kira must notice my hesitancy because I feel something large and warm push me. I stumble forward into the tent and the noise stops. Looking up, I see Tyler lying on the bed and Cole is standing next to it. Tyler is wearing pants, but not a shirt, exposing the bandages wrapped around his abdomen. "Arielle," Tyler breathes, as a grin spreads across his face. "You're back." I nod my head and Cole steps towards me. "I'll go call one of our doctors to take a look at you," he says. "There is a bowl of water and a rag sitting on the table for you to wash up, but I don't think it will be enough. I'll send someone with more." Cole slips past me and out of the tent.
I snuggle into Tyler's uninjured side, taking deep breaths. Remaining still, I allow his familiar scent to comfort me and the reality washes over me. I did it. We are together again and though he may have been injured, we are both alive. "Do you want to talk now or take a nap first?" Tyler asks me. I weigh both options. I could use a nap, but at the same time, I really need to tell Tyler what I learned about the mastermind. "We should talk first," I reply. "I have some important information to share with you." "Okay," Tyler agrees. "Please tell me the whole story, though. I want to know everything that happened." “I remember falling asleep next to you…,” I start. “... but the next time I woke up, I was in a dungeon cell. Then, Clay walked in. He claimed to be the mastermind behind the whole plan. He told me that he wanted me to bear his children-" "Did he touch you?!" Tyler growls, cutting me off. "He tried to. He started, but then you attacked thei
"Arielle has already told me what she knows, so I will now give a detailed report of all the information we have. Is there anyone opposed to this?" Tyler asks. The alphas glance at each other, but no one raises their hand."Seeing as there are no refusals, I will start," Tyler continues. "As we all know, we were made aware of this plot when we noticed an increase in rogue attacks. Thus, we formed this alliance. The next major event was Arielle's kidnapping. As you have been made aware, Arielle is a lycan, so barely any drugs work on her, but somehow she was sedated. This means that our opponent has the resources to create a previously unknown drug that is effective on lycans." Tyler pauses as the gasps echo around the table."Do you know what kind of drug it is?" Alp