Arthur’s PovMy chest is on fire. The hole in it has split open at some point during that pathetic fight with that weak gamma. The nerve. He thought he could take down his alpha? The thought of it would make me laugh if it didn’t mean chest would move.I notice Almara peaking at me, giving me a sideways glance, and I know it’s from a place of concern so I try my best not to give her any reason to worry. When she isn’t looking at me, I’m peering down at my chest making sure no fresh blood is seeping through my clothes.Up until an hour ago, there wasn’t any. We’ve walked well into the night and when we finally decide to rest and set up camp, I try not to let it show how weary I feel.Only when I think about Grace am I revitalized and ready to keep moving, mentally at least. Physically, I’ve ignored my body’s whispers for so long that now my body is screaming at me to stop. Everything aches.I know the nurses extracted all the poison from my body, at least the majority of it that would
Almara’s PovEarly the next morning, before the sunrise I sense Arthur stirring next to me. Leave rustle beneath is lethargic movements, his breath gets caght in his chest as he attempts to move. I imagine his body still wishes he was at rest, as does mine.“What are you doing?” I ask groggily through bleary eyes. The sky still has a twilight blue to it, the moon a faint silver in the sky.“Trying to get a head start on the day,” Arthur says through stifled breaths as he lifts his arms over his head to throw on a plain fresh t-shirt that we packed.I sadly know what he means by this. If we can get done the majority of what we need to before too much time passes, just maybe we can handle the inevitable bad that surely is to come with more preparedness.I let out a big yawn and pull myself up. My body aches, more from the weight of the stress than anything else. My bones crack and my joints are stiff. At least the temperature is mild.“How are you feeling?” I ask referring mostly to his
Almara’s PovAn hour later, the plan is drawn up in the first with all of us huddled around it. After Robert finally calmed down after my insinuation that he was a double agent, Arthur was able to express his idea that maybe Robert should do exactly just that.A rough sketch of the vampires’ territory is etched into the dirt with various rocks representing different buildings. This is all made from memory and as far as we know, the entire layout could have changed since we were there last.Who knows, with their newly acquired familiars everything about their setup could be different. The only building that we assume has to remain stable is the councilmen’s building. There would be no way to relocate it when it’s already the most expensive building in the center of the city.If anything, the councilmen would have every other market, housing, and road work around their building. Grace may not be held at that specific building, but the men in charge are and if we can at least get to them
Arthur’s PovBefore we ditch our phones and get moving on delivering Robert to the vampires, my phone buzzes. I hesitate for a moment as the number flashing on the screen is only vaguely familiar.“Answer it,” Almara says pressing up against my side. Only because of her I hit the accept call button.“Arthur you need to make a speech down here at City Hall now,” The voice on the other line belongs to Cynthia, our publicist. I forgot I deleted all my publicist's phone numbers when Almara and I decided to go off the grid for a bit.She speaks as though rushed and shouting over some commotion, but even still it’s hard to hear.“I can’t,” I tell her and I know it isn’t what she wants to hear, but nothing is more important than getting to my daughter.“Enough with your excuses,” Cynthia practically screeches and I have to hold the phone away from my ear. “It’s a mad house in the city and you’re the top Alpha. You have to fix this. Now.”“What’s going on?” My father asks.I put my hand over
Almara’s PovWe’ve managed to get to the outskirts of town without a single incident. The military trained wolves had a knack for interweaving through the woods without making a peep and using intricate hand signals to communicate.I try my best to keep up with their signals, but mostly I just stay out of the way. They don’t expect me to do much which is good because I don’t think I can focus on anything else other than Arthur and Grace right now, let alone try to learn all of their hand signals.The military wolves don’t seem to have a problem with my lack of understanding and seem to be content with just looking out for me, maybe it’s because I’m their leader's wife or maybe it’s because I’m their Luna, but either way I’m grateful.Even Robert has lost his gloom and doom attitude and taken on the persona of a stoic military wolf. Maybe that is his way of coping with his very possible deadly fate. He’s gone further ahead of the group, wanting to reach the vampire territory long befor
Robert’s PovLess than a mile left before I come up to the vampire's gate. I can’t believe I got myself into this mess. This is all Almara’s fault. If she kept her nonsense accusations to herself, I would be back with the pack.I almost went running back when I heard that horrendous howl. Who was that anyway? Then I heard Almara call back and figured she could handle it. I’m doing her enough favors.This land gives me the creeps. It’s like there’s something lurking in the shadows, and to be honest there probably is. What makes this barren, desert-like land even more ghostly is the fact that we’re about to enter nightfall.I try to just focus on the mission, ignoring the feeling- or knowing that I’m being watched. Soon enough, I’ll be under everyone’s scrutiny anyway.I reach the gate. A mile-long black metal ironed gate that separates two stretches of barren soil. “Identify yourself.” A voice that sounds to be a thousand years old breaks through the intercom. Showtime. “Robert from t
Almara’s PovI’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t relieved to have Cathy walking beside me. I didn’t realize how much I needed to have a companion right now. At least this way I can project my thoughts rather than keep them trapped inside my head, just bouncing them around and driving myself crazy.We walk side by side, our footsteps fall into a matching pattern. I almost can forget we’re on a journey to vampire lands to save my daughter and restore the wolf nation and just pretend I’m going on a nature excursion with my best friend. Almost.“How are you feeling?” Cathy had asked me ten minutes ago and I’m still trying to unpack this loaded question. I wish I could say that everything is fine and nothing is new, as so many used to be able to automatically reply.Like when checking out at a store and the worker asks how you are, they aren’t really asking and you don’t actually want to tell. But that’s not how it is with Cathy. I know she’s genuinely wanting to know how I am and I could
Almara’s PovFinally, we come to the outskirts of the Vampire territory. My feet are swollen and my back is killing me, but above all else, my skin crawls. Something is off, every fiber of my being is screaming at me to turn back.It’s like my heart is in a tug-of-war match. My motherly instinct wants me to turn around and protect the life I’m growing inside me, but at the same time, I have to go get my other child.Fortunately, I’m not alone in this feeling. Instinctively, our pack has grown tighter together. Everyone is moving slower and chooses a spot to secure their eyes on and keep focus. We move quietly, discreetly.Roman is positioned in the front, carefully guiding us forward. The plan is to wait here until Robert calls us, or something happens and we call for him. I get the feeling the second option is more likely to occur.A place for cover would be nice, but of course, there isn’t any. The land leading up to the vampire territory is just like the vampires themselves, vacant