Chapter 7- Survival of the Fittest

Elias' POV:

As I was talking to Kai getting updated on the Intel we collected, Lua's panicked voice echoed in my head. From Kai and Juno's reaction they too got the message. My heart stopped and I couldn't breathe but I bolted to the bathroom and swung the door open. The window was broken and Lua was gone. I ran outside where most of the guests were still getting ready to leave. I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"She's gone! Someone just took my mate! I need everyone's help to start searching now!"

Everyone quickly sprung into action and shifted before tearing through the woods. Kai grabbed my arm right before I could shift.

"Elias there's no scent trail. She was taken by a vamp. I already have the vamp and witches in holding."

He was right. There was no scent in the bathroom except for Lua's. I ran to the holding room past the security. After seeing who was there, I instantly instantly knew who took her.

"Magnus Howard! Where is he?"

Anger was seeping out of all my pores. How did I let this happen? I took every precaution possible. I personally chose the vampires and witches. She's gone because of me! No one knew where he was. Of course they didn't. The witches spoke up.

"Alpha Elias, we're attempting a locator spell but it seems as if Lua's purse has a protection spell that we can't break. We can't track her."

I struggle to keep my wolf at bay. Every part of me wants to go searching for her, but since she was taken by a vampire with super speed, I knew that was a waste of time. They would be miles away by now.

"Kai, call off the manhunt and send everyone home. She would have been taken out of my territory by now. We have to find another way."

Kai rushes off with the security to spread the news. Juno stays by my side and speaks up.

"I've read something about a daylight spell. One that you could make night into day. Can you do that? Vampires have no powers during the day. He'd be stuck on foot without supernatural strength or speed."

"Yes we can do that spell, but it requires a sacrafice, specifically a sacrifice of a powerful leader.... but we can modify it with just a lot of blood from an Alpha. The more blood we have, the longer we can keep the night day. We just won't be able to do it for more than 3 hours without a sacrifice. We have the rest of the ingredients."

I quickly mindlink Kai requesting any Alphas who are willing to donate blood for a spell to meet back into the stadium. To my surprise every Alpha returns. I quickly explain what's going on. Supernaturals like to stick with their own kind. It's rare for vampires, werewolves, and witches to work together. I told the Alphas that if any were wary of working with the witches I would understand. No one left and the witches started preparing the spell. I turn to the vampires while trying to stop myself from ripping their throats out.

"You may all be from different clans, but if you don't call everyone you know to find out where Magnus could have taken her, this will cause a war between werewolves and vampires!" I grab the nearest thing closest to me, a vase, and throw it against the wall. I watch as it shatters everywhere. The vamps get to work calling their Ventrue's to find out whatever they can about Magnus and what he could be planning. The witches spell is complete. It was pitch black outside but it now appears as if it's daytime. This spell only works in the tri-state area, so hopefully Magnus didn't get past that. I walk out of the holding room to see everyone there. I thank them all for their help and that my guys are arranging private jets to bring everyone home as fast as possible. I request they all have their most trustworthy pack members on the lookout for any unusual activity in their territories. Once everyone leaves to my private air strip, I fall on my knees and can't stop the tears any longer. I try as hard as I can to get ahold of myself. I know she's not dead as I would have felt that, but I can't imagine what she's going through. Her pregnancy has been rough on her lately, we had a long day, and we just marked each other so she is already weak. I failed my family again. If anything happens to her or our baby, I will never forgive myself! Kai and Juno try to comfort me but I motion them away. How can I be so stupid! Why would I ever trust witches or vampires around my family!

Lua's POV:

I wake up with a strong headache and my body aching from head to tow. Remembering my training I make sure not to move and to only open my eyes enough to access my surroundings. I take slow breaths to take in every scent I can, but the only thing I can smell is the forest and freshly washed sheets. I scan the cabin without moving my head and see two men in the corner arguing. Now that I know where I am and how many windows/doors there are, I have to figure out what these two are planning. They have no aura so they're either human or vampires.

"We have to surrender her Leland! My Ventrue knows what I've done and is threatening my family if I don't undo It! This wasn't supposed to happen my family was supposed to already be in Canada but I have proof they're not! Don't you see what he promised to us was a lie! I thought she was a random Werewolf not fucking Alpha Elias' pregnant mate!"

"We have to wait for him to arrive Magnus. He'll figure out a way to make it all right! We're halfway through the mission then we have our freedom! I don't know what he's planning to do for her but it has to be something that'll benefit our race. I am not giving up!"

"Alpha Elias is threatening war against vampires! Look outside! The sun is shining brightly and it's supposed to be 830pm! The witches have obviously already taken the werewolves side. Our race is the most hated because of our history, all the supernaturals and even the humans would gladly exterminate us! We have no powers in the daylight it would be easy to! I'm already a Deadman but I will not have my wife and son tortured and killed for my actions! Don't you see this is useless?"

I now know their names and what they are, but they're working for someone else who is on their way. I have to escape before he gets here. Since they're still expecting him, he's not a vampire. They can't step a foot outside in the daylight. This Magnus guy will not stop me. He's genuinely concerned about his family. Leland on the other hand seems stronger than Magnus so I don't know if he'll be able to hold him off long enough for my escape. I feel like crap. The idiots drugged me but obviously they didn't do much research because white wolves can recover much quicker from being drugged than any other supernatural. I feel like I fell down a flight of stairs then fell down another flight of stairs. I ever so slowly move my ankles to make sure I'm not too drugged to shift. Another mistake these bafoons made was tying me up with rope. I learned how to escape from this when I was five years old. While making sure I still appear knocked out, I shift into were form and start using my claws to free my hands. It only takes a minute before I can wiggle them free. They didn't even tie my ankles! Dumbasses. Leland's back is to me and Magnus can't see me since he's directly in front of Leland. The door is right before them. If irs locked I will definitely have to kill Leland. I don't think I have enough energy to kill him first then escape. The window is right next to me but I don't have time to open it and my body can't take just ramming through. Plus I'll get cut and leave a blood trail. I silently start to roll and get 9nto my hands and knees to shift. Magnus sees this and as I expected he doesn't react and is keeping Leland occupied. Before I shift I look Magnus in the eye and then nod my head at the door. He scratches his head with one hand then the other does a thumbs up. Please moon Goddess let him understand what I need him to do and not be a total idiot. Finally on my hands and knees, I shift and it takes less than a minute. The second my wolf is out, she leaps towards the door. Magnus grabs Leland and slams him into the corner while also opening the door. My wolf runs out at top speed for miles until finally stopping at a stream. She collapses in the shallow and laps up water like crazy. Her whole body is acting just as mine. Everything I feel, she feels. The jabbing pain seems to get stronger as we rest. The adrenaline from our escape is wearing off. I push the pain out of the mind and start planning my next move. The first thing we have to do is figure out where we are. Once I do that I then have to find some clothes somehow and shift back. My wolf is exhausted and can't take much more, plus it's much easier to spot a white Werewolf than a human. I am not risking anyone finding me. Since my face has been plastered all over the media, and there are still people who hate werewolves out there, if I have enough bad luck and run into one of them instead of someone friendly, I know I don't have the strength to protect myself. I urge my wolf to start moving on and find a road. She reluctantly gets up and we follow the smell of exhaust and gasoline. We finally reach a road and thankfully don't have to follow it long before we find a sign. Tennessee! We're two states away from our territory! This is bad. I don't know how long this daylight spell lasts, but once it ends Leland will be after me, and with his superseded it won't take long to find me. Even though I'm hiding my aura, he can cover a lot of ground and there's a high chance he'll run into me just scouring the woods. My wolf suddenly gets a whip of laundry detergent. Knowing she'll be able to rest after I get some clothes, she darts towards the scent. We're not going so fast as our body is still in great pain, but we've got a decent pace. We finally see another cabin in the distance and there's a clothesline full of clothes not too far from the only door to the place. We can see only 2 heat signatures inside, and by their aure they're elderly. Perfect! My aura is hidden so they can't sense me, and even if they do see me steal their stuff, they won't be able to catch me. I shift and feel my wolf's relief as I do. This is the first time ever my wolf has needed to rest. She's always bugging me to run in the woods, hunt, or go swimming. This pregnancy has taken a lot out of us. Plus we're weak from the activities of the day and the after effect of whatever we were drugged with. Naked with my huge belly, I sprint to the clothes line and grab a sweatshirt and sweatpants. Then out of the corner of my eye I see some slip on sneakers that look about my size so I quickly grab those and a pair of socks off the clothesline. I hear screaming from inside the cabin and start sprinting a little faster into the woods. I suddenly feel a sharp pain in my thigh but I keep sprinting as fast as I can. I come to a stop and collapse on the floor. The bottom of my feet are bleeding. My head feels as if someone is pounding at it with a hammer. My whole body aches. I slip on the hoodie and as I'm about to put on my sweatpants I find out what the sharp pain in my thigh was. A fucking bullet! There's a bullet in my thigh! The bastard shot me. I examine the wound. It doesn't hurt too bad but I know that's just the adrenaline. I can't pull the bullet out as it's preventing any major bleeding. That's a plus. The shoes I grabbed are thankfully Snetchers with extra cushion and fit just right with my swollen ankles, so I use the socks and tie it around my thigh. I finish dressing and attempt to stand up but fail. I have used all my energy. Fuck! What am I going to do Now? My wolf is ignoring me as she is also exhausted and in pain. I can't shift anyway with this bullet in me. I lay down and stare at the sky. Tears stream down my cheeks and start soaking my neck. Think Lua, think! My father's voice echoes in my head.

"Get up and try again Lua! Don't make me have to beat you again! Only the Fittest survive! Do you want to due Lua? Get up and try again! Don't make me get your mother! We're not raising a weakling get up!"

I take a deep breath in and muster up any strength I have left. My stomach starts rumbling. Great. Another thing to deal with on top of everything else! I start walking through the woods towards the road in hopes of following it and finding one of those emergency phones to call Elias. You're technically only supposed to be allowed to call 911 with it, but I know how to rewire it so I can call Elias. I get to the road and it doesn't take long to find one. The moon Goddess is showing me some favor right now. It takes me awhile but I finally get some strength from God knows where and shift into were form. I use my claws to cut the wire and rearrange them. I dial Elias' number. Please moon Goddess let him answer. I have no one else's number memorized. It rings once and I hear Elias voice. His voice was a breath of fresh air and lifted my spirits. My heart fluttered and I just wanted to be in his arms.

"Elias it's me. I'm in Tennessee. I'm miles away from where I was being held. I'm running out of energy, starving, and I've been shot. The last sign on the road I've been following said I-91 exit 17B to Larchmont."

I tried to give more information as fast as I could but Elias cuts me off. I was talking so fast I said all of that in one breath.

"Lua, oh my God Lua! I'm already on my way to Tennessee on my jet. We just got word about a shooting of a naked pregnant woman stealing clothes. I knew it was you! Thank the moon Goddess! Where have you been shot? Any other injuries?

"In my thigh, the bullet is preventing major blood loss. My feet are cut up pretty bad. I don't know what I was drugged with but it's still affecting me a bit. Elias I'm scared and I can't take this pain much longer"

"I know baby I know. Listen the daylight spell is going to end in 30 minutes, I'm an hour away from you. I don't know anyone in the area we can trust. Can you hide nearby the phone? The vampires have been caught and gave up all they know. They were hired by a Werewolf but they don't know much about him. All they know was he was close before you escaped. You need to hide. Once I'm close enough we'll be able to mindlink and I'll find you quickly. You're so strong baby. You just need to hold out a little longer"

I was about to respond but instead scream out in pain. I drop the phone and clench my stomach. A contraction? No! It's too early! I can't do this right now!

"Lua, Lua are you there? What's going on? Hello, hello! LUA!"

Still clenching my stomach, I slide against the pole the phone is on and grab the dangling phone. I can hear the sheer panic in Elias' voice. Then I feel a warm sensation on my legs as my water just broke and my pants are soaked.

"E..e..e..Elias. The babys coming. My water just broke. I don't have enough energy for this. I can't do this alone. Please Elias get here as fast as you can. I'm going to go hide now."

Elias is yelling in the phone but I can barely hear him. I slowly get up and waddle into the woods. With every step there's excruciating pain. I need to find a cave and I need to find one now. I walk deeper into the woods. I'm going at such a slow pace. Just as I'm about to give up, the sky turns pitch black and my eyes adjust to the darkness. It's been a half hour already? How can that be?!?!? The darkness musters up the last of my energy and I wobble a little faster. I already found the cave but it was way ahead. My fear of being caught by that Werewolf heightens my senses. My motherly instinct to protect my pup pushes me forwards. I collapse onto the floor of the cave in what feels like an eternity later. I start crawling on my hands and knees deeper into the cave when all of a sudden everything goes blank. I passed out.