8

《 Aurora's pov 》

Whipping around, I nearly shriek when my eyes fall on Peter's naked form. It was clear that he had just shifted back to his human form, surely he wasn't just walking around naked?

Tearing my eyes away and looking at Cassandra's terrified face, I realized we were utterly fucked.

"To avoid stumbling on Xavier's territory, you need to go right. It will take you to no man's land. " Peter continued. "And you better hurry up whilst you at it, Alpha Raphael must be stirring in his sleep."

Shocked and confused that he was helping me escape, I turn back to face him but avoid his little Peter down there. His eyes are not on me though but on Cas. "Nice trick with the Valerian root. Too bad I'm familiar with the scent." Smirking slightly he turns to give me a look that said you need to hurry.

"You were never here and I have not seen you since morning. Neither have I seen Cassandra." Shifting back to his charcoal wolf form, Peter bounds back to the packhouse.

Turning to Cassandra slowly and eyes wide with confusion, she mimicked me. "I saw my death Aurora." She sighs, a hand holding her chest where I was sure her heart beat as quick as mine.

"And I saw mine," I whispered, turning to look back where he left off.

Sighing loudly, Cas murmurs. "Okay Aurora, this is it. You need to go now."

Feeling the weight on my chest from knowing I wouldn't see her again anytime soon, I pulled her into a tight hug. Not caring that my hand throbbed. "I love you Cas. Please stay safe and out of harms way." I cried on her shoulder.

Holding me as tight as I held her, Cas cried. "I promise." Pulling away she nudges me to the right. "Now get out of here."

Swinging the bag strap over my shoulder, I looked at her in uncertainty. "Are you sure we could trust Peter?"

Cas chewed her bottom lip. "He didn't give us any reason not to. I mean he could've dragged us back but he didn't. Besides he's a patrolling wolf, I bet he knows where to avoid to not stumble on Alpha Xavier territory."

Contemplating for a moment, I nodded. She was right. If Peter wanted to, he could've dragged us back to the packhouse and have Alpha Raphael punish us severely. But he didn't.

Saying one last painful goodbye to Cassandra, I looked back one last time before disappearing in the thick foliage with my heart pounding and my mind set on survival mode.

_______

I have been running for more than an hour, I was sure. My breathing was uncontrollable, the soles of my feet hurt and my heart pounded painfully in my chest.

Running through a forest without knowing exactly where you were heading, wasn't exactly a walk in the park.

A scream nearly tore through my throat when my foot caught a root and I went tumbling to the dirt and fallen dead leaves. They tasted like moist dirt as some entered my mouth.

I spit them out, gagging as I blindly looked around. So many trees. I wasn't sure I'd ever get out of it. It didn't look like there was a road anywhere near here. Neither a house.

I wince while I try to get up and that's when I realize that I may have scraped my knee. With shaky fingers, I looked down. Sure enough, there was a tiny gash on my knee. It didn't look too bad, but I was sure some blood had certainly fallen to the earth.

My heart races in fear. I had been careless and there was nothing I can do but wait to see what would happen. But a twig snaps. A branch swayed and the birds that had been nesting in the trees above flew into the sky.

I couldn't wait. I needed to go now. Maybe my blood hadn't touched the earth after all.

Holding the small bag close to me, I took off into a sprint. I needed out of these thick woods. I needed out of their world. Looking back one last time, my heart stops.

Wolfsbane.

There wasn't a question in my mind anymore, my blood had clearly touched the earth.

There was nothing I could do now, I can't go back. There was something looming in the shadows, I could feel it. Feel their presence. 

I would be far away when they stumble on that flower. If I was lucky, they'd not stumble on it at all.

If they do, it will raise questions for the wolves had made it their mission to destroy every last wolfsbane plant. But my blood seem to produce these flowers whenever it touched the earth. If they find it out, they'd think I was a threat and kill me within an instant.

Whimpering at my fate, I continued to run, hoping, praying that no wolf would stumble on the flower and track me down.

So caught up in my thoughts and the need to run away as far as I can, I hadn't realized I surpassed the boundary tree until it was too late. Every Alpha has a certain tree marked with their blood to show where their boundary began and end.

My tongue felt heavy and I was thirsty. But I didn't want to stop, fearing that if I did, he'd catch me. Alpha Raphael. I didn't want to be forced to carry his seed. 

So I kept going. Even with my chest burning and my lungs crying, I kept going. Even with my feet sore and my eyes blindly looking for traps, I kept going. Until a wolf howled.

My body froze, my tongue pushed between my teeth as I looked around in panic. Another howl had me stumbling back and nearly tripping from yet another root.

Roots were clearly not my friend.

The howl was close. Really close. Like it was breathing down my neck. The thought sent a chill of fear slithering down my spine.

Peter said this way would lead me to no man's territory. Which meant the land was free for humans and other creatures to pass.

Must be rogues?

I wince at the thought.

Rogues were untamed beasts and had a killing instinct. I didn't look like I would be a good meal, so I really hoped I wasn't going to be faced with one.

The racing of my heart made it hard for me to hear and see any movement in the trees as I blindly turned around. I didn't want to run, afraid that the wolf would hear my feet crunching on leaves and dirt as I sprint.

If it was a rogue, it would be best if I stay still and held my breath until I don't hear or sense it anymore.

So holding my breath, I stopped turning around and kept my gaze forward. Trying to remain calm didn't last long as I heard the pounding of paws on the dirt. This wasn't one wolf. And they were coming this way.

My heart leaped before pounding like a hammer in my chest.

My breathing stills as two wolves come out from the trees. They were huge. And they were definitely not rogues as their size confirmed that. Rogues were always smaller. Maybe from the lack of food or perhaps the lack of any remaining humanity.

I backed away as they snarled, clearly upset at seeing me here. They seemed to be mind-linking each other as the one with an off-white coat, shifts into his human form.

I keep my gaze on his face knowing he would be naked as the day he was born. His dark eyes glowered down on me in confusion. He was probably not accustomed to seeing someone that looked like me.

He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, another wolf emerges out of the trees behind me. This one was already in his human form and in his tight grasp was a thin arm of a woman that I was sure was a rogue.

He grunts pushing her forward aggressively. "Found this nasty bitch. Seemed to be after something-

His eyes fall on me and I swore he burnt me with his glare. "Or should I say, someone?"

The woman in his arm snarl, trying to fight off his hold. He doesn't budge, only grips her tightly until she wails with a cry of pain. "What is she Eli?" The man with copper hair asked the wolf who shifted in front of me.

"Not sure Beta Samuel. But she isn't a wolf, yet smells like she had been around one." He answered. Sniffing, Eli grew more confused. "She also doesn't look to be human."

Beta Samuel, who got annoyed at the woman in his arm, grips her hair and pushes her harshly towards Eli while pinning me under his unwavering gaze. "What made a weird thing like you stumble on Alpha Xavier's territory?"