CHAPTER 5

The Betas finally let go of me when they were satisfied with how far away from the pack I was. In the middle of the forests with nothing but the wounds and bruises that covered my skin leaving a trail of blood on the ground.

“You deserve to die.” One of them spat before turning around to leave and the others followed immediately.

I laid there, my back on the hard dirty earth, my body seething with the pain from the bruises and my eyes fixed on the empty sky. I knew I had to leave that place or else I'd become food for the rouges. I had to find somewhere safe but my body, too weak to move thought otherwise so I just stayed there, helpless.

“My life is already over so what else was there to fight for.” I muttered, my eyes tear rimmed.

As the sun began to set, my body began to decline in strength, I had lost all the energy I had left including the little one that was keeping me awake.

I swallowed hard, my throat burning with thirst. There was nothing I could do but to accept the fate that was handed to me by the moon goddess. I stared at the moon and the little stars that danced around it, at least I was worthy of being awarded a sight so beautiful before I got eaten alive.

Soon, my body tired out and I felt my lids close waiting to be awakened by the snarls of my predators.

“Andrea! Andrea! Please wake up! Andrea please.” I heard a familiar voice cry out, a voice that didn’t sound like the snarls of rogues at all.

I pried my eyes open despite the terrible banging in my head and those beautiful brown eyes that shined golden in the moonlight stared back at me.

“Clover? How did you find…”

“Shhh, don’t speak, save your strength.” She interrupted, guiding me up into a sitting position by leaning my back on a tree.

I obeyed as the pounding in my head grew louder causing me to close my eyes. Immediately, she began to clean my wounds and mend my bruises, something she was well known for across all packs which earned her the best doctor title. It was a gift the moon goddess blessed her with.

I stayed still, letting her work her magic and soon the pain I felt began to fade away and I slowly opened my eyes.

“Here, drink this.” She ordered, handing me a bottle of water which I took and emptied into my mouth, the cool taste a welcome respite from all the pain.

“You shouldn’t be here.” I managed to say.

“Yes, we shouldn’t be here.” She replied, too busy with cleaning the last of my wounds to look at me.

I flicked my head up at the sky and saw the full moon. It was only a matter of time before the rogues got here and even though I was ready to die, I couldn’t let Clover meet the same fate.

“We need to get to a safe place to pass the night before those nasty rogues get here.” She muttered and I nodded.

I winced in pain as she helped me up and together we walked through the dark forest in silence. I guess navigating it wasn’t difficult for her because every wolf has night vision and I was the only unfortunate person without a wolf.

Soon, we found a shabby shed in front of a small lake and hand in hand, we walked in. “I think we should spend the night here.” She said as I scanned the area. “I couldn’t drive my car into the forest, that would have been the perfect place to crash.” She hissed.

“Are you sure it’s safe here? What if it belongs to the rogues?” I asked.

“I’m sure you know that they don’t stay at a place, they roam about seeking prey so I doubt this place belongs to one of them, trust me.” She whispered.

I took a deep breath, finding a place beside her on the floor. The shed was dry but the air was quite moist, I placed my head on her shoulder while sleep tugged at my eyes.

“What on earth are you going to do now?” She whispered and I shrugged. “I’ll worry about that tomorrow.” I replied.

It wasn’t until the sun rays kissed my face that I woke up the next morning when I finally opened my eyes. They fell on Clover who was lying across from me, her chest heaving with slow breaths as she slept.

I stood up, my body feeling much more relaxed and ready despite being covered with bruises, that’s how good Clover is at what she does.

“Where are you going?” She asked just as I was about to walk out the door and I realized I wasn’t as discreet as I hoped to be.

“For a stroll.” I spun around to face her and I watched her stand up and walk up to me, “we don’t have that kind of time to waste.” She said as she walked past me and out of the shed.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, trying to keep up with her.

She finally stopped walking, her tattered brown hair dancing around as the wind blew. “I’m taking you somewhere safe, somewhere you can lay low for a while until James and Valeria’s lies are exposed.” She explained and my eyes narrowed, confusion etched on my face.

“And where is that?” I asked, searching her eyes for answers, she quickly looked away.

“It’s a different pack, one I worked in a few years ago. They are kind people you just have to sneak in before the pack activities start or else you might be mistaken for a rogue.” She explained, the words tumbling out in a rush.

“I don’t have any pheromones. No one is going to mistake me for anything, but how can I live amongst strangers? I can’t possibly do that.” I protested.

“What better idea do you have Andrea?” She lashed. “You can’t go back to Bloodfang, you can’t stay here otherwise you’ll become food for predators. If you have a better idea I’ll love to hear it.”

I didn’t have a better idea…