Chapter 3

She ran, she ran faster and harder that she even thought possible, her paws pounded into the dirt with such ferocity that she feared it would register as seismic activity, guided by her preternatural vision and animalistic speed she darted through the great woods, north towards the Elana River, hoping, praying that the text message she sent before leaving the compound had been received, if it hadn't then she would surely be dead by sunrise.

Her hind legs began to ache, miles of forest behind her but still miles to go, driven by the need to survive the black panther forced on, she could not hear anyone following but that didn't mean they weren't coming, her father would send the elite Enforcers after her, she may be strong but she was no match for white panthers, bread purely for their enhanced speed and aggression, Valaria was the first black panther to be an Enforcer in decades and the only female ever, the only reason she was Head Enforcer is because her father was King.

She saw the clearing ahead, she bounded forward pushing her body beyond its limits, as she broke through the treeline was met by darkness and silence. 'FUCK!'

So utterly exhausted from the seemingly endless run, and emotionally drained by the betrayal she had just committed not to mention the fact her message went unanswered, she slumped to the floor, cold earth and dead leaves fluttered from the force of her bodily impact, her panther was done.

Valaria opened her eyes. She used every ounce of energy to raise her hand to her head, the splitting pain hiding the fact that she had shifted back, the pain wasn't from exhaustion, it was a light, spot lights from an ATV.

“Valaria!” The voice seemed distant to her as if under water, “Valaria, it's OK, we're here!” her eyes refocused as the figure came into view, she breathed a sigh of utter relief, he got the message.

“Spread out! Check all routes!” Demanded Tyrone, with his words the Enforcers deployed with military precision, each of them was clad from head to toe in black tactical gear carrying modified assault rifles, the rounds were a special tranquiliser designed by Predtech, a company that on the day of enlightenment, the day all preternatural creatures revealed themselves to the world, changed their goal from finding ways to cure the fatal ailments of the preternatural to prevent rouge shifters, vampires and witches from harming others, Tyrone worked for the military research department and helped to design the tranquiliser rounds, they do not kill and have no long term side effects.

Stacy was the first to reach Valaria after Dominic, she dropped to one knee and covered the treeline.

“Is she Okay?” she glanced down and saw Valaria's grey eyes, “What happened to her eyes?”

“I don't know, but it can't be good!” replied Dominic as he wrapped his arms around the naked form.

“Clear!” yelled Tyrone as he moved towards the Humvee.

Dominic lifted Valaria and made his way quickly to the waiting vehicle, Stacy followed closely, never taking her eyes off the tree line, once Dominic had laid Valaria in the flatbed he joined her, covering her body in a thermal blanket.

“Okay people! Move out.” Stacy, the last to embark the Humvee decided to ride in the back with her Beta and the unconscious panther calling out her command before taking her seat opposite Dominic.

“Her eyes Dominic, look at her eyes!” Stacy of course referred to the now dull grey orbs where once there were shimmering amethyst.

“I know Stacy, the message she sent said that she was in trouble with The King and we were all in danger! Hopefully once she is rested, we can get some answers, until then we go into full lock down, contact every pack member and get them to the compound, I want all the Enforcers armed and on patrol!”

“Isn't that Tyrone's job?” Stacy asked nervously.

“There's a reason he has been training you so hard Stacy,” Dominic's face saddened “He has Lymphoma”

'FUCK' the one thing the wolf shifters are susceptible to is lymphoma, no one knows why but if a wolf gets it, they have months to live, Tyrone found out about four months back the Doc' gave him three months to live and only Nick and Dominic knew.

“Oh my gods! What the Fuck! Does Amber know?” Stacy couldn't prioritise her thoughts at this point so she asked the one question she thought might have a satisfactory answer.

“No, and he wants it to stay that way, they haven't bonded, he fears if he tells her she will start the bond and die along with him.”

Stacy nodded, she was completely knotted inside, but she portrayed herself as the hard ass she was.

“I'll see the preparations are made.” she immediately pulled out her phone and sent a mass text telling everyone that there was a code red, meaning that they had to return to the compound no questions asked, she ran a code red drill every few months so when one actually happened no one would panic.

She then called the other Humvee and gave her orders to Micky “Once we reach the compound I want perimeter details at all hours, four-hour shifts and no less than three Enforcers at once, I will come check during each shift, this is not a drill but don't tell the pack members that, they will only panic, let them think it's another drill and once they are all home Nick and Dominic can tell them.”

“Sure thing squirt!” a pet name that Micky had used for Stacy since she joined the pack, she was a rather short girl around five feet tall, slim too, but she trained harder than any of the Enforcers and they all knew it, which is why they happily took orders from her.

The Humvee pulled into the parking garage which was already full, it seemed everyone had already made it home from their jobs and various errands, Stacy jumped down and directed the Enforcers to work before cradling Valaria's head as the two moved her from the vehicle to the elevator.

Once down on the infirmary level Dominic placed Valaria in a private room, he stayed with her, playing some tranquil music to ease his wolf, it didn’t really help, his wolf paced in his head as he stared at the magnificent creature that slumbered before him.