4. Potion

"Faith...Faith... Can you hear me? Wake up... Faith!"

Faith opened her eyes slowly after hearing Erin's voice and found her looking at her through the looking glass. She slowly got up and ran toward the glass in shock.

"E... Erin... Erin! What are you doing here?! The..they are going to punish you as well if they find you here!" She shrieked out loudly in fear.

"Shh, Faith! They won't find out. The guard outside is my mate and he has given me his word." Erin spoke up in an assuring tone while looking around.

"What are you doing here, Erin? And... and how's Echo? Where is she?" Faith cried out as she was desperate to get a small glance of her lovely baby.

"Echo is with me currently. She's sleeping and she has a little fever as well." Erin said while looking down at her arms. Faith's eyes widened after hearing Erin.

"Fever? How? why?" She freaked out, desperate to take her daughter in her arms to soothe all her pain. Erin quickly opened the door and gave Echo to her.

"We don't have time. Just listen to me. You have to promise me something." Erin said, looking back at Faith.

"What is it?" Faith asked with a frown while taking Echo from Erin's arms. "My baby..." She kissed the sleeping Echo.

"She was crying a lot while missing you. But listen we don't have much time to talk about all these. We have to start with the plan." Erin said in a determined tone while looking at Faith deep into her eyes.

"Plan? What plan are you talking about? Please leave before you get caught. I don't want anything to happen to you or Echo." Faith said in a fearful tone as she thought what would happen if they were caught.

"Shh! Just listen to me! Enough is enough! Just because they are stronger doesn't mean they can bully us like this. They can't treat you like this!" Erin said through gritted teeth, making Faith look at her right widened eyes.

"What are you talking about, Erin? Just leave! They might be coming here anytime now." Faith exclaimed.

"No, listen. I have the potion and the back door of this dungeon opened. I want you to take the potion and leave with Echo through the back door." Erin explained, making Faith look at her with a deep frown as everything was going above her head.

"What potion?!" Faith exclaimed in confusion.

"It's a potion that will help you recover from all these injuries fast and then you can run to a safe place from here." Erin explained in a low tone while looking around cautiously one more time.

"B...but... Erin... What happens if you get caught?" Faith slowly calmed herself down as she started thinking rationally. The idea slowly started to give her hope.

"Don't worry about me. All you have to do is promise me something." Erin spoke up in a dead serious tone before moving away from the cell a little. "I have the keys. I am opening the door. You drink it, fast!" Erin said as she handed the potion to her. Faith slowly took it and without a second thought she started to gulp it down.

"I...I...did... I already started feeling better... What the hell was it?" Faith shrieked out as she was trying to wrap her head around everything that was happening.

"I...I don't know…" Erin said while looking away from Faith. She sounded somewhat guilty.

"Now listen to me, you have to promise me that no matter what happens, you will not, not in a million years, look back. You might hear many words in your head. But don't come back. No matter what! Don't come here. I will die in guilt if you do. So, please don't let those voices in your head control you or take over you. Do you understand?" Erin asked while looking deep into her eyes as if trying to say something through her eyes.

"Erin...I am confused... What do you mean by the voices in my head...?" Faith asked in confusion as she looked down at her arms to see her bruises fading away slowly.

"I don't have time to explain so much! Just promise me!" Erin exclaimed in desperation, making Faith look at her with widened eyes.

"Okay... okay...I promise." Faith promised with a frown.

"Good, now come... You need to leave now!" Erin said as she pulled Faith out of the cell and pushed her lightly toward the other side of the hallway of the dungeon. "Run straight out from here and don't look back and don't come back! Go!" Erin shouted at her in a low tone.

"Erin... Thank you so much. I love you and... Take care of yourself." Faith said in a grateful tone as a few drops of tears fell from her eyes.

"Take care of yourself and Echo as well. Just know that I love you and I never wanted to do anything to harm you..." Erin said in a guilty tone as a few drops of tears fell from her eyes as well.

Faith ran… she ran without turning back.

______

"Mommy? Where are we going?" Echo asked in a low voice while looking around the dark forest around her which she kept on passing while being in her mommy's arms.

Faith looked down at her daughter who just woke up from her slumber. She hasn't come far yet. She was sure she could see the pack house still if she turned back but she couldn't. She didn't want to. She kept on running while holding her baby close to her heart.

"Far, baby... We are going very far away from here..." Faith replied to her daughter in a relieved tone. She could feel her heart still beating in fear but she couldn't help but feel relieved.

"Why, mommy?" Her little daughter asked the curious and innocent question. She smiled down at Echo before giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"To live, my love... We are finally free. We are finally going to live happily." Faith said with a small smile as her eyes teared up a little.

How good that sounds...

"Really? That's so..." Echo exclaimed in happiness as she tried to look for the correct adjective to express her feelings, making Faith chuckle at her cuteness.

The poor girl was hardly introduced to positive words...

"Nice?" Faith tried to help out her struggling daughter and Echo's eyes lit up immediately.

"Yes, nice, mommy!" She exclaimed in excitement when she suddenly remembered something. "But what happens to Aunt Erin? Where's she mommy?" She asked in confusion, slowing down Faith's speed of running. She felt sad at the mention of her only friend but she couldn't stop running or think about that at this moment.

"Aunt Erin will join us soon, baby... Hopefully..." She replied, masking the sadness to hide it from her smart daughter and kept on writing.

She could feel that she was nearing the border of the pack and after that everything will be over and they will be able to start new. She could see the border when suddenly a loud growl almost shook the jungle.

It was the same growl...

"What was that sound, mommy?" Echo shouted in fear as she clutched Faith tightly and Faith did the same.

"Shh... Don't cry, Echo. Mommy is here... I will always protect you!" Echo stopped running as she suddenly felt some unusual aura around her and before she could understand anything, she felt an unbearable pain in her head which made her clutch her head tightly with one hand. "Aahhh!" She shouted in pain as she fell on the ground with Echo in her arms still.

"Mommy! What happened? Mommy? I am scared..." Echo started crying while hugging her neck, an attempt to comfort her mommy.

'Come back, Faith... Come back to me.'

Faith heard Jackson's manipulating voice in her head which scared her to death.

"NO!" She shouted in fear and looked back and it was a mistake.

The dark jungle was calling her. The darkness was forcing her to follow it to go back to the pack.

"Mommy..." Echo whimpered.

'Come back, Faith... I need you... You need to save me. Come back!' Jackson shouted in her head, making her shake her head in denial.

"No! I will not come back! Stop talking in my head!" She shouted with closed eyes as she started to hit her head to stop the voice.

'You have to come back. You cannot resist my calls. You have drunk the potion. Now you have to come and save me. So, come here! Fast!' The voice in her head shouted and she felt helpless at that moment. She felt she was under some spell as she slowly stood up and started walking back toward the pack.

"Mommy! What happened to you? Why are we going back?" Echo asked in confusion as a small frown covered her cute face.

"I am sorry, baby... I am really sorry." Faith whispered in a helpless tone as she started running toward the pack at full speed.

"Mommy..." Echo said in a sad tone but didn't say anything as she hugged Faith once again. Echo hid her face at the crook of Faith's neck as Faith reached the pack very soon.

Cries.... Everyone around her was crying. They were crying to get some mercy. The voices of the cries were very known to her. Once those voices used to laugh at her after making her cry.

The pack was under attack!

Without her control, she went inside the pack house to witness the most horrific scene ever.

Every pack member who was kneeling down with unknown wolves had them under their control. And a man with broad shoulders had his claws out and was ready to take Jackson's life who was sitting on the ground with a bloodied face and sick smirk. Jackson's eyes met her and she felt under someone's control once again.

"NO! Stop!" Before she could understand anything, she was already running toward Jackson to shield her from the dangerous man.

"Faith! Why did you come back? I told you not to!" Erin shouted in a guilty tone but Faith couldn't register her words.

"You finally came, princess!" Jackson said in a smirking tone while holding her shoulder to use her as a shield.

Faith looked up at the man and felt her breath hitching. It was the same man. It was the prisoner she took care of for four days. It was the same man for whom she had to go through hell.

"Mate..." The man whispered in a possessive tone which she couldn't register in her head at that moment as she suddenly felt unbearable pain in her whole body.

She looked down to see all the injuries and bruises which were gone after having the potion given by Erin were coming back.

What the hell was going on?!

"Don't kill him... You can't kill him..." She murmured as she slowly started getting dizzy.

"But he deserves to die, Faith." The man growled in anger.

"Please... don't kill him..." She could hardly finish her sentence before falling back as she lost consciousness.

"Faith!"