Chapter 2

I stared up at the top of the hole. When did a group of fanatical hunters set up their torture shop around here? Why didn’t anyone warn me they were in town? It seemed impossible for a group this dangerous was in the area and the alpha didn’t know it. My stomach tightened. Had he warned everyone and my aunt chose not to tell me?

No.

I shook my head from side to side, trying to toss away the dark thoughts. My aunt may blame my dad for getting my uncle killed and she may place that blame on me since Dad wasn’t here, but she wouldn’t put me in danger like that. And none of this mattered right now. What did was I had to get out of here before those crazy humans came by to check on their traps. 

My breath and heart raced as my mind thought of what they might do with me if they found me here. I stumbled back as my head grew light. Suddenly mom’s voice, or what I remember her voice to sound like, surfaced and echoed in my mind. ‘It’s okay to be scared, Robin, but never let that fear turn to panic. Panicking makes you stop thinking and start reacting. In a dangerous situation, reacting is the worst thing you can do. Keep your head and think. Thinking means you can find a solution.’

I nodded as if she was next to me, taking deep breaths through my nose. My head cleared as both my heart and breathing slowed. Okay. Think Robin. Think.

As much as I hated to do it, I would have to call for help. God, Aunt Lauren wouldn’t let me forget this in a long time. I took my phone out of my pocket, grimacing when I saw the cracked screen. With a sigh, I went into my contacts and called my aunt. 

“Lauren Nelson speaking.”

“Aunt Lauren, I need your help. I’ve—” 

“Robin,” my aunt said with a sigh. “I don’t have time to talk to you. Declan’s ride never showed up, so he’s late for practice.”

“Aunt Lauren, this is serious. I’m in a hunter’s trap. I need you to call the alpha and get some people here to help me out before the hunters come.”

Silence answered her.

“Aunt Lauren,” Robin said, feeling the panic try to return. 

Still nothing.

I pulled the phone away from my ear to see she’d hung up. “No, no, no!” If any time was a time for my aunt to listen to me, now was the time. I called my aunt back and put the phone to my ear.

“Robin, I told you I don’t have time. Stop insisting. It’s childish,” her aunt said when she picked up the phone.

“Aunt Lauren, this is life or death,” I shouted into the phone but when I heard no reply I pulled the phone away and saw she’d hung up again and judging by the time of the call, she hadn’t even waited for me to speak.

“No!” I yelled at the phone, feeling like maybe she was trying to get me killed after all. Again, I shook my head and called her back again, and this time she didn’t even pick up. I called her again, and again until it became obvious she blocked me. “Seriously?” I cried, panic seeping further into me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Who else could I call? My contacts list was very short — Aunt Lauren and the school number. I paced the tiny space of the hole’s bottom. The world seemed to shrink and grow dark when I realized there was no one. I had no friends, no mentors, no nothing! I was totally alone.

If I called the emergency number and told them I fell, it would go against pack law. So all I had was myself. I wasn’t the strongest of my kind. Alright, yeah, I was one of the weakest… But I was still stronger than a human, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that I might get out of here on my own. “You got this, Robin,” I told myself, cracking my knuckles and shaking out my limbs. Summoning all the strength I had, I knelt and jumped with my arms out, reached above my head. 

I didn’t reach the lip of the hole, but I dug my fingers into the dirt of the wall. The tips of my fingers flared in pain as I scratched the hard earth all the way back to the bottom. With a hiss, I looked at my scratched up finger tips. I shook out my hands, feeling the tingle as they healed.

“You can do this,” I told myself again, and once more tried to leap to grab on the edge. Again, I scraped my way back down to the bottom. “Come on!” With a small growl, I jumped again, and again, and each time I slid back down.

So… yeah… that wouldn’t work. I needed another idea. 

With another deep breath, I looked around the walls of the hole. There were a few roots exposed. Some of them were pretty thick and they might support my weight, thus allowing me to climb out of here. With one more, “you can do this,” I jumped and grabbed onto a thick root. 

An excited laugh escaped me, as it didn’t break with my weight. I awkwardly hung there for a moment until I pulled up my feet to brace on the wall. Sweat peppered my brow as I climbed up the wall, using the root as a rope. One step, then another, I reached the end of the root that disappeared into the earth. Again, I rested my head against the wall of the hole, taking a moment to catch my breath. I did my best to ignore how my palms burned. Friction burns were a small price to pay for my life.

Needing to keep moving, I looked around me for another root. There was another one above and to the right of me. It was going to be tricky, but if I could keep my footing, I should be able to get to it. Carefully, I inched my way until I was right under it. 

A gasp ripped through me as I slipped a little, sending a wave of hot pain through my left hand. I couldn’t hang here forever. With a growl and gritted teeth, I dug my fingers into the dirt to pull myself a little higher. Once I had a good grip, I then dug my foot into the wall, digging out a foothold for me to step into. 

When I had it, I stepped up and grabbed the root with my left hand. “Thank god,” I breathed and climbed up the root like I had the previous one. 

I continued this slow process until I was near the edge of the hole. It was so close I could reach up and touch the grass. I started digging for another handhold when the sound of moving earth alerted me that the root I was holding onto snapped. My eyes widened as I fell. I reached out, scrambling to keep myself from falling all the way back down. 

Pain ripped through my arm and I hit the bottom again. My breath whooshed out of me. Somehow, this fall had hurt more than the first one. I tried to prop myself up, but pain flared into my left arm. 

My stomach dropped when I looked at it. From wrist to elbow was a deep gash. I could see a couple of inches of bone near my wrist. Blood gushed from the wound, seeping into the muddy floor. It looked bad, but for a werewolf, this was nothing. I’d heal before I’d lost too much blood. It’d just slow me down for half an hour or so. 

Of course, I didn’t have a half hour or so…

Above me, I heard a sound that sent ice through my veins. Brush and branches snapping as something trampled through the forest. With that much noise, it could only be one thing — The hunters. A moment later, their voices carried through the breeze confirmed it. 

I was out of time and couldn’t wait for my arm to heal naturally. I needed to shift into my wolf. With any luck, my claws would help me get out of this hole faster. Gritting my teeth and closing my eyes, I willed my wolf to the surface. Pain sparked over me as I shifted.