Chapter 2

We had spent the last four days waiting for Sarah to return. After retrieving a few of our items from the small cabin we had been staying in about a mile away, we had come back to this cabin and had been waiting ever since. Coral and I expected Sarah and the group of wolves to return for us by tomorrow. To say that Coral and I were both anxious was an understatement. 

I went to the bathroom, checking to ensure that the elixir was in the medicine cabinet for probably the twentieth time since arriving. It was nervous habit. Although I wasn’t typically a nervous person, I found myself nervous in this situation. I just wanted to get Coral someplace safe. 

I stopped and looked in the mirror. My eyes always held my feelings. I had perfected the art of keeping a straight face, but my eyes always gave me away. Since my wolf was hidden, I noticed something different in my eyes. My wolf was not present in my eyes. It was strange to say that. Senna was a part of who I was and to not see her when I looked in the mirror was so foreign - it made me feel as if I wasn’t myself. I could feel Senna somewhere deep in the back of my mind, but I could not access her. 

I knew that all of this was necessary, but it was still strange to look at myself without my wolf. My blue eyes didn’t hold the same glow that they normally did. Typically, my eyes were a mixture of blue and green, but the green had completely disappeared once I took the elixir to hide Senna. My black hair seemed to lack some of its shine. My body looked the same, but things felt different. I was still the same height and had all the same curves, but my body just felt different. I still felt strong, but I knew that without Senna, I was not as nearly as strong as I should be, and that scared me. I needed to be able to protect Coral if something happened and I was concerned about my ability to do that without Senna. What kind of guardian wolf was I if I couldn’t actually guard my sister?

Straightening out my shirt, I returned to the small sitting area. The cabin was really quite small. I didn’t realize how small until Coral and I returned a few days ago. Although bigger than the “cabin” that Coral and I had been staying in, this cabin was smaller than I initially realized. But I wasn’t going to complain. It had a full-size bed that Coral and I could both sleep in and it was stocked with food. It was the nicest accommodations we had since leaving the Silver Springs Pack.

“When do you think they will get here?” Coral asked as I sat next to her on the small couch. I could tell that she was anxious about what was going to happen tomorrow. She always played with her hair when she was worried, and she had literally braided and unbraided her hair five times in the last hour.

Coral always struggled with her emotions, especially with controlling them. Since the first red wolf had shifted twenty years ago, we had learned a lot about the red wolves and their abilities. The red wolf has the ability to control and sense the emotions of others. When the abilities are well managed and controlled, a red wolf can easily influence the thoughts and behaviors of others simply by influencing their emotions. Some red wolves even had the ability to accurately sense any emotion that a person was feeling. I knew that Coral had the ability to send calming feeling just through thought and touch, but she had very little control over it.

Raina, the first red wolf who had shifted in over 200 years, apparently had the best control of all the red wolves in controlling the emotions of others. She had trained extensively with a white wolf and was able to fully integrated herself with her wolf. That meant that Raina and her wolf were always acting as one.  I knew from my own experience that I would often use my wolf’s instincts to respond in situations, especially when fighting, so it was interesting to think about my wolf and I acting and being one. I looked forward to Coral learning to do that.

I actually had met Raina when I was 14, two years before my sister shifted. Luna Raina and Alpha Callan had come through visiting packs. They visited with their son, Anders, and their daughter, Romy. I don’t know why I remember that visit so clearly, but I was glad that I did, as I was able to help my sister out when she finally shifted.  Luna Raina was so patient with me and answered all of my questions. Red wolves were fascinating and I appreciated that Luna Raina took the time to answer even the smallest of questions I had.

“I’m not sure. I hope early. I know that Sarah said that this place was protected, but I am still concerned about getting you to the compound.” I put my hand around my sister’s shoulders, pulling her in for a hug as I spoke. “I am excited for you to get there. I know that you will benefit from working with the red wolves to improve your abilities. Elder Tamara did the best she could, but we both know that you need better training. “

Coral placed her head on my shoulder and sighed. “Do you think they will be upset that we didn’t reach out to the compound? I mean, I shifted over three years ago. We should have gone to the compound the moment I shifted.”

I rubbed Coral’s shoulder. “We weren’t the ones who didn’t call the Red Moon Pack to get information on the compound. Alpha Carlson lied to us and told us he called, then we found out later that he didn’t call at all. That guy is an asshole who was going to try to use you for your abilities.” Coral nodded her head in understanding. For the first year and a half after Coral had shifted, things had been okay. The elder had been working with Coral and she was making slow improvements in understanding her abilities. We were confused as to why Coral and I weren’t going to the compound but Alpha Carlson always said that we would go when the time was right. But eventually, I became concerned for Coral and what was going on. As I was in training to be head warrior, I was aware of many of the dealings that Alpha Carlson had with other packs. I great very concerned and uncomfortable with what was going on and decided that we needed to leave quickly, but Alpha Carlson’s actions towards my sister pushed us and we ran.

So here we sat, in a small cabin in the woods, hoping that a witch that we didn’t know was going to follow through and bring a group from the compound to take us back. We needed this. Running for the last year had been difficult. Coral and I were both tired. We needed to be someplace stable; to finally settle down. We deserved that much.

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I am startled awake. Despite not having my wolf, some of my senses still appear to be heightened, and my hearing is one of them. I can hear wolves in the distance. I pulled myself out of bed and threw on some clothes. Coral stirred next to me.

“What’s going on?” She asked, looking over at me as I quickly got dressed.

“I can hear wolves. Probably about a quarter of a mile away. I don’t know if they are coming here or just passing by, but I am going to check around the cabin just to be safe.” I grabbed the knife from the dresser and placed it on the scabbard on my belt. If I didn’t have my wolf, I needed something for protection.

Checking all the windows for any signs of wolves, I slowly open the front door. Before I left, I turned back to Coral, who was now dressed and standing in the doorway of the bedroom. “Remember our plan. If something isn’t right, grab that elixir and hide. If you are threatened, take the elixir, shift, and get the hell out of here.” Coral nodded in understanding but appeared to be frozen in place, not moving from the doorway as I slowly crept out of the cabin.

There was still a bit of darkness through the trees as the sun was still rising. Although I had enhanced hearing, my vision was not, and the shadows of light were playing tricks on me.

Even without my wolf, I got an unsettling feeling as soon as I left the cabin. Whoever was in this area was not friendly. I walked out along the tree line to attempt to assess the danger that was close. This wasn’t the first time that we had to deal with these types of threats, but it was the first time that I had to deal with it without my wolf. I could only hope that the enchantment around the cabin, Coral hiding, and my distracting whoever was out here would be enough to keep Coral safe.

The sounds of twigs being crushed under feet turned my attention to the east side of the cabin. I shook my head in frustration as I attempted to gather information from my hearing only. If I could only even sense the other wolves. Senna had the amazing ability to be able to sense threats and could often tell me exactly how many wolves were in a certain area.

I contemplated going back to the cabin and taking the elixir. I regretted taking it. I knew that there was good reason to take it, but now, as I stood in the middle of the trees trying to find the source of the threat, I needed my wolf.

“Screw this.” I mumbled under my breath and turned back to the cabin. I was going to take the elixir. My anxiety was heightened due to the concern of threats and the lack of wolf was making it impossible for me to manage.

I took two steps before the wolves stepped out of the trees. They didn’t smell like rogues or at least I assumed that I would still be able to smell them even if I didn’t have my wolf.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” One of the two wolves said as they approached me. I could feel a tugging in the back of my head and I knew that it was my wolf. “What is someone as beautiful as you doing out here all alone?”

I took a step back, determined to steer the wolves away from the cabin. Even if I was captured, as long as Coral was safe, that was all that matter.

“I think I might be lost. I was supposed to be meeting a friend down by a creek but I haven’t seen one.” I spoke as sweetly as I could. Sweet was definitely not my thing, but I would try anything to distract these wolves. I knew where the creek was and I knew that if these wolves thought I was going to the creek, I would put at least three miles between them and the cabin. It wasn’t a lot of distance, but considering they would be upon the cabin if they just went through to the clearing, I had to do something to get them moving. My heartbeat was loud in my own ears and I knew that the wolves would be able to sense it, but I didn’t care.

“The creek is about three miles or so back this way.” The second wolf stated. He took a step closer to me and I held my breath as he brought his hand up to my hair. “Someone as beautiful as you shouldn’t be out here all alone.” He stated has he pulled on my hair. He yanked it hard, causing me to fall forward. “How about you come back with us and we can have some fun.”

Hearing that, I knew that I had to leave and draw them away from Coral. I attempted to reach for my knife but the wolf holding my hair pulled down and I lost my balance and I fell to the ground. In the process of falling, I was able to knock the leg of the wolf and he let go of my hair. I scrambled quickly, getting to my feet and heading in the direction of the creek.

“Get back here, you bitch!” Sounds of the wolves chasing after me filled my ears. I was glad for all of the times that I had gone for runs in human form, but my speed could not compare to those of the wolves. Hoping to take advantage of my agility, I moved towards the side of a hill that I knew led closer to the creek. The hill was rocky and not exactly easy to traverse. My goal was not to get away from these wolves, but to get them far enough away from Coral that once they caught me, they would not go back that direction.

I dodged trees and ran as fast as I could, but I felt myself getting fatigued. I was breathing heavy; my heart was beating in my ears.

I could hear the wolves closing in on me. I was trying to use my anger at myself to drive my legs to run faster. I was pissed at myself for taking the elixir. But even if I decided that taking the elixir was a good idea, which it probably was, I was pissed that I left the cabin. Sarah told me that the cabin was protected, and I should have believed her. I never should have left the cabin and Coral.

Attempting to jump over a log, I underestimated my human abilities and my foot caught just as I was about to clear the log. This caused me to stumble, and I fell hard my shoulder before I rolled twice, coming to a stop against a tree.

The stumble also provided the wolves enough time to catch up to me. They stood over me. Now that I had a better chance see the wolves, I knew that they were not rogues. I did wonder how two wolves from a pack could act like this. Obviously, I was not so naïve to think that all packs were good places. The way that Alpha Carlson had acted with Coral after she shifted told me all I needed to know about how evil wolves could be.

“It is a shame that a human as beautiful as you had to run. Unfortunately, we are going to have to take you to our Alpha now.” One of the wolves spat as he spoke. It was clear that the elixir had not only worked at suppressing my wolf within me, but it had worked in hiding my wolf from others as well.  I would use that to my advantage for now. They would ask too many questions if knew that my wolf was suppressed.

I opened my mouth to speak but a foot came down on my face and everything went dark.