Immediately, two of the wolves dropped their packs and broke off. One went left and the other went right. Without missing a beat, the two wolves who only had one pack each, circled around and picked up the dropped packs. They continued on. "We will need to hurry. They are not far behind. Nicholas and Giorgos will try and slow them down, they will also scout out how many there are." Alexis said to the group, but mostly for the girl's benefit. Amaris knew that they were hearing wolves, but did they know that we were also dealing with vampires in this fight too? They came out of the woods and right in front of them was a huge warehouse. They clearly had taken the time to camoflauge it from the air. The top of it looked like something out of a rainforest. "Alexis, did Anna tell you that we are not only being hunted by wolves, but vampires as well. The king has joined forces with the leader of the vampires. The last attack, we were attacked by both werewolves, and vampires."
"To Buy some more time." Alexis answered. Amaris could hear that he was starting to tire too. Amaris was thankful for the opportunity to take a rest, but she did not want them risking their lives so that she could stop and breath for a little while was a good idea. Amaris' mind wandered. She was thinking about how they might give them more time. They were being pursued by both werewolves and vampires. How did you slow down a werewolf or a vampire? She guessed that she was about to find out. They ran on for a while with no sign of the other wolves, or that anything at all was happening behind them.Before too long Anna stumbled. She barely caught herself, but tried to keep running, and was so exhausted that she suddenly just collapsed. "Damn!" Alexis shouted A wolf that Amaris assumed was Alexis wheeled around and dropped the large bundle of packs that he was carrying and scooped up Anna. It was akward as her legs and tail were dragging on the ground under his feet. "Ama
Amaris could not believe that she had lost him. He was right there just a minute ago. "Where did you go?" Almost as if in anticipation of her question, a wolf popped out from the far side of the outcropping. "This way." Andreas said. "I started a fire and got some water heating for you." He added, and then turned and went and disappeared from sight. Amaris went back down the hillside and this time went around to the left like Alexis had. There was a small opening in the hillside between the hill and the outcropping. Had he gone in there? She saw a nose pop out and two eyes look at her and then disappear again. She stuck her head inside. She was able to fit in easily as her wolf form was slender. She went around a rocky corner from the opening, and another small space to fit through. It reminded Amaris of a fun house maze. Her eyes adjusted to the light difference easily and she was able to see that the two brothers had changed back into their human forms. Anna lay on t
Amaris woke with a start. She was being shaken by her shoulders. "Amaris! We need to change now. We have to leave." It was Anna. She was awake. Amaris came to her senses only to find Anna stripping down and shoving her clothes in her backpack once more. "Quick! We need to change into our wolves and get out of here. They sent a lot of vampires this time. They are moving fast so we need to go now!" Anna said frantically. Amaris rolled off the packs in what felt like a drunken stupor, and began to take off her clothes. By the time she was done Anna was already changed into her wolf and pacing by the cave entrance. As soon as Amaris had changed too, she swooped in behind her and grabbed a few of the packs in her mouth. Amaris looked behind her to see how many packs were still there and then back to where Anna was, only to find that she was gone and another wolf was entering the cave. He walked behind Amaris and grabbed all but three of the backpacks and exited the cave.
Anna and Amaris abandoned the idea of taking a nap and opened the door to walk out of the room only to find that they had a two man guard on the door. "Hang on ladies. We need to get the all clear from the scouts before we leave the ship or the room. Why don't you hand us the rest of the back packs to help save time." The girls handed their packs out the door, and then went back in and grabbed the others two at a time. They made a bucket brigade of sorts and handed the packs one to the other until they were all out in the hallway. The girls stayed in the room and sat on the chair and the bed and waited. The silence gave Amaris time to think. Anna had brought up a valid point. It was one that she had really not thought about in all of the chaos. What was she going to do about her heat. Most wolves, from what she understood, mated during the heat cycle. This was why most couples had children right away. Was that something that she wanted. Did she even have the choice. Aft
Amaris and Anna sat astounded at what they had just seen. They both had been so sure that Adam was dead. Alexis was right. They never once had checked any of his vitals to make sure. It suddenly dawned on Amaris the rest of what he said. "They knew that we would be locked in that she?" Andreas answered this time. "It appeared that way. They were quite surprised that they did not find you there. By-the-way, how did you get out of that lock? There was no way that you could see the lock to see what numbers you were hitting." Andreas looked at her in the rear view mirror. Anna sat up excitedly, "That was me, although Mari has done it once before too. It was all luck!" Her pride showing through that she was able to do something that should have been impossible. Alexis turned and looked at them with his eyebrows furrowed. "Are you two safe crackers or something. That is almost unheard of." Anna just smiled and said "Just lucky I guess." Andreas laughed "You two must have
Amaris was half dragged half carried to the cars. They got in and sped off. They had not even gotten gas. Alexis now rode in the back with Amaris and Andreas drove. They stayed in the same order of vehicles as before. Alexis was clearly in touch with the others because his face kept going blank. Finally he stopped and took a look at Amaris. The fog was starting to lift, and she was becoming more aware. "Anna. Where is Anna?" She mumbled. Alexis ignored her question and stuck to matters close at hand. "Amaris are you hurt? I don't see any blood. Does it hurt any where?" Alexis took a pen light out of his pocket, and flashed it into Amaris' eyes as he held the lids open. "I don't think she has a concussion. She is just stunned and disoriented from the explosion." he was now feeling her skull to double check for no bumps or lacerations. Andreas kept his eyes changing from one point of view to the next constantly as he drove. "Do you think they found our storage depot
When Amaris came to she smelled something awful. It was smelling salts she realized. Alexis was waving them under her nose. He gave a tap to the side of her face. "I'm awake. I'm okay." She said groggily. "Damn girl you scared me!" Andreas said. She realized that he was turned completely around in the front seat. They had pulled over on the side of the road. "Now that you are awake, would you like to explain that freaky shit that happened back there?" Andreas clearly was not happy with her and not used to all the odd things that happen around her. "Who were you talking to?" Alexis said to her. Amaris' head swung from one to the other. She wasn't sure if they were concerned or hostile. "Just now Lyle. Before that Taji. He is awake. I broke his mind free. " Their hostile looks both turn to incredulity. "He is awake? You spoke to him? It's not some sort of enemy trick is it?" Alexis seemed to be more cautious. It was almost as if he had resigned himself to his b
Amaris and Lyle sat at the table in the RV which had now become their home. They had settled into their life together on the run. They drove through the European countryside acting like all the rest of the tourists. They stayed away from areas that were known concentrated werewolf areas. They fell into their day-to-day routine, and Lyle had even taught Amaris how to drive the RV. Amaris was starting to show now, and Lyle was concerned that she did not have the proper doctor's care for her pregnancy. More than once he had tried to see if he could find a pack doctor that was willing to see her that was not loyal to the crown. However, they were in Europe, where the werewolves were most loyal to the King or Queen, since they were so close to them. He had not had any luck. They had not had any contact with anyone that they knew, as they had planned. Lyle had bought a burner phone in case of an emergency, but had not even turned it on yet so that there was no way to trace them. To further
Amaris bent down to see Anna at her feet holding her bleeding leg. She had changed back and was now naked. Amaris stripped off her hoodie and gave it to her grateful best friend. "Are you okay?" Amaris asked Anna while looking over to see if Lyle had moved. "I'll be fine. It's nothing Taji can't take care of when he gets back. Go check on your mate." Anna said watching the torn look on Amaris' face. Amaris looked back and gave Anna's shoulder a squeeze, and then hurried to Lyle. Amaris dropped to her knees between Lyle and The King's corpse. Lyle was breathing. It was as if he was asleep. Amaris knew that he must be like the others that she had brought back. It would drain her of her energy to do it. Then she took a look at the area around her. There were so many men and women that were injured and needed help. She knew that Taji could not do it all on his own. Amaris thought about how to heal them all for a moment, and then came up with an idea. She took a deep breath and closed her
Alexis and Andreas' men were attacking in their wolf form. They were coming in from every side, and from the look of it they had The King's men out numbered. The clearing was in an uproar with men and wolves everywhere. Before Amaris knew what was happening, Lyle had transformed into his wolf and leaped between her and The King. His muzzle wrinkled as he bared his teeth and growled in warning. The King looked at him and merely laughed. He reached behind him and grabbed the staff that he had back at the palace. Lyle seemed to recognize it and backed up a few steps. The King laughed at his retreat. "Smart lad. Hand her over and I will not have to use it." Lyle backed up a few more steps and this time he leaned into Amaris pushing her back too. The fighting was still going on around them. Many of The King's men lay upon the ground, and most of the rest were fighting two or three wolves now, since they were severely out numbered. Amaris saw that many of the wolves were making their way cl
Lyle walked around the back of the house to the UTV as the truck drove away. He climbed in and looked at Amaris. "Decoy." He said with a thumb over his shoulder. "Where did you find him? He looks like your doppleganger." Amaris asked amazed. "Funny thing. When I went to get some of those items that we needed earlier, he was the supply clerk that helped me. I asked him to help me out this evening by taking the truck out for a test drive to see if the repairs I made earlier are going to hold. I told him I needed to drive a short way behind to see if it was okay." Lyle laughed again. "So that poor guy has no idea that he is bait?" Amaris was getting ready to get out of the UTV. "I did tell him that since we were hiding out that we need to be extra vigilent for the possibility of attack, which is more likely since we have been here for a while." Amaris got angry. "Lyle, that poor man could get killed because they think that he is you!" She turned and yelled at him. "We
Amaris' mouth hung open for a moment, and then anger grew. "Who? Who whipped you?" Lyle turned to look at her, then down to the floor. "Adam and Sveta. They were made for each other. They are equally twisted and driven by their need for power." Lyle said with a dismissive tone and then almost mechanically started taking the rest of his clothes off. It was clear that he did not want to continue this conversation any further. Amaris walked over and lifted his face to hers from his bent over position. "I'm sorry." She said in a whisper that cracked from the emotion behind it. "I did not want any of this, least of all for you to be hurt." she kissed his cheek tenderly. Lyle dropped the clothes that he was holding and put his arms around her. "This is not your fault. Don't ever think that. This is not something that you chose. You were as much thrown into this as the rest of us. This is all the fault of the ones who have greed and lust in their heart. The ones who have
Lyle dropped it back into the pack and put a few things in from the pile that he had set aside to go into the truck. Then he grabbed the pack that Amaris was filling and sorted through her things. He found a tracker there too. "Well, at least we know it wasn't Kliman. He never touched your pack." Lyle said as he moved over to the doorway of the barn. Sitting against the wall of the barn were a few dozen hiking packs waiting to be filled. Lyle grabbed two from the end and handed one to Amaris. "Fill them with everything that you will need. Only one extra set of clothes, and a couple extra pairs of socks and underware. Food, and matches, and so on." Lyle was moving so quickly that Amaris was not sure what to grab first to stay out of his way. "Quickly! We need to do this before he gets back, or anyone else comes along and sees us." They both hurried and filled their packs and then Lyle took them both and told Amaris to stay there and he would be right back. While Lyle wa
When Amaris' hand touched the young man's arm she suddenly was transported to another time. It was night here. There was the unmistakable sounds of fighting. Growls, and yelling all around her. The young man that Amaris had just been talking to was in front of her hiding behind a tree. He held some sort of black box in his hand and loooked to be waiting for something. "Where are we?" She asked the young man in a whisper as she stepped closer to him. The man did not respond. He did not even look at her. She reached up to tap him on his shoulder. Her hand went right through him. Amaris jumped back startled. She stared at her own hand, and then tried to touch the tree next to her. Her hand passed through that too. She took another look around her. She realized that the man standing next to her was speaking. "They are leaving now. Green transport truck. She is hidden in the back under the tarp. Out" The man said. He was putting the box away and turned to leave in th
Amaris stood there frozen and watched the back of Gran as she walked out of the room. She slowly sank back down on the couch next to Lyle again. He still had not moved from his spot, but seemed to be in deep thought. Amaris brought Lyle out of his stupor by grabbing his hand. "Did she just say what I think that she said? Are we going to have a baby?" Amaris thought about what Gran had said 'Little ones'. What did she mean? Was she talking about our children in the future? Amaris felt just like she often had lately after talking to Gran, more confused. Lyle took a deep breath and turned to Amaris. "According to the tapestries that we saw earlier, you and I will have one set of twins. A boy and a girl. Like you they will also have powers. Which means that like you they will also be hunted by others for what they can do." Lyle hung his head. He did not want to think about his children being hunted anymore than he wanted to think about Amaris being hunted. Now it was Ama
Amaris sat back and looked at Gran who had a big grin on her face. Anna walked over and squeezed in between Lyle and Amaris. "Sorry Romeo, but we need to get this meeting moving, and you just can't help yourself." She said patting Lyle on the shoulder at his disappointed look. Lyle rubbed the back of his neck again and smiled raising his hands in the air. "Got me." There were a few laughs and then everyone turned back to Gran. "Well, as I was saying. We will be splitting up." Everyone gathered around her nodded. Gran had presented this idea already, and no one seemed to disagree with her. "Lyle you will be taking Amaris and hiding. NONE of us is to know where you are." Amaris' eyes grew wide and worry now crept in. Up to this point she had been able to stay safe because she had the help of a lot of people. She did not want anyone else to die, and she was afraid that she would get Lyle killed if he felt that he was her only line of defense. Gran pointed a finger at Amari