Chapter 5

Eloise

I didn't know how, but I ran with my eleven-year-old brother on my back.

I covered us with the robe and ran to the meeting point, just as Claris had instructed. I did it without hesitation, without fear, only with the cold determination to do it to save our lives.

The fear had vanished in that moment, but it came back with a vengeance when we stopped.

I looked at Emmett and wanted to cry, but instead I made him vomit, which helped him expel the black liquid he had swallowed. I cursed Hall, my stepmother, and my stepsister as my little brother grew weaker after expelling the poison they had forced him to drink. I helped him as best I could until he lay back on my chest, panting and exhausted.

I didn't know what they had poisoned him with, but I begged the Goddess to help me.

If Emmett died, there would be no one in this world capable of controlling me.

I was hugging Emmett tightly when Claris appeared in a hurry. She, with her black hair, looked nervous. When my friend saw my little brother, she was surprised and gave me a sincere smile.

“You did it, Eloise,” Claris said with emotion and calm in her voice. “The guards didn't realize you took your brother out of the mansion, but they already know you're not in the dungeon, so we have to run quickly to the car I keep outside. The good news is that Hall isn't around.”

I looked at my little brother with pain.

“He can't run,” I said fearfully, seeing that Emmett was still coughing up blood. “I think he's been poisoned. He needs care, and I can't change into my wolf form to carry him better. The moonstone has affected me much more than I thought.”

Claris looked at me with concern.

“Should I look for Edna?” she asked carefully, and I shook my head before looking at her with tears in my eyes.

“They killed her; they killed our nanny,” I said in horror. “She was looking after Emmett; now she's dead, and I don't know what they've given my little brother.”

“Shit,” said Claris, and the alarm sounded again in the distance. “We have to go now. At some point, they'll send trackers after you.”

My brother complained, but I put him back on my back, covered myself with my robe, and ran as fast as I could in the direction my friend indicated. I didn't know if it was fear, desperation, or the situation, but the adrenaline was helping me to have strength and endurance greater than I had as an Omega.

And that was something out of the ordinary.

We ran a little further, almost reaching the edge of the forest when the howls began to sound loudly. At that moment, I knew the guards were behind us. It was only a matter of time before they caught up with us, so I ran even harder, to the point of pain.

Claris quickly got into the vehicle and opened the door. When I got in, a couple of wolves were coming after me, so she started the car and accelerated.

“Shit,” Claris said, and I helped Emmett vomit again.

The situation was disastrous on an extraordinary level, but I didn't say anything. My friend drove along the side road until we were out of the vicinity, but we could hear howling on both sides of the road.

That could only mean that the guards were surrounding us.

“It can't be,” I whispered fearfully.

“You have to calm down so I can stay calm,” Claris said before turning sharply and speeding down one of the roads that bordered the frontier. “I have to lose them for a few minutes so you and your brother can cross the forest on the other side, outside of East.”

“But that—”

“We have to do this quickly, so when I tell you, you and Emmett must jump out of the car and hide in the forest on the other side, where the pack has no jurisdiction,” Claris said firmly, and I nodded.

Emmett finally opened his eyes and looked at me in terror.

He looked weak, but despite that, it was as if he understood the situation.

“I need your help,” I whispered, and he nodded. “We'll jump out of the car, but I need you to hug me and tie the hood tightly around us.”

He nodded and looked at Claris with concern.

A pack of wolves could be heard nearby, so she accelerated to the maximum, and when we reached the end of the road, near the final intersection, Claris looked at me in the rearview mirror, and I nodded. Emmett hugged me, and we quickly jumped out of the car.

We rolled through the forest until we fell down a small slope.

When we stopped, I was pressed against a tree, and Emmett was on his side, vomiting more of the black liquid. I was in pain, but I got up.

“Come on, we have to keep going,” I said desperately as I heard the howls getting closer and closer. “Let's go.”

Emmett nodded and climbed onto my back.

I ran with strength and ferocity.

I didn't know where my power came from, but I gave it my all and ran so hard that when we crossed the pack's magical barrier, I felt it strongly. My little brother gasped in pain, and I knew we had to keep going.

“I can't stop,” I said to Emmett with difficulty.

He climbed back onto my back, and I kept running through the forest.

I did it oblivious to everything else, driven only by the will to survive.

I ran until my legs gave out.

I ran until the howls felt distant.

I ran without looking back.

We crossed a new magical barrier, but this barrier was different. The energy felt heavy and purer, and a chill ran through my body to the point where I had to stop and finally vomit what little was in my stomach.

“Where are we?” Emmett asked fearfully.

I emptied everything and wiped my mouth roughly.

When I looked up, I became aware of the forest and the fact that it was nothing like what we had passed through before. This forest didn't feel right; in fact, it was gloomy. I had a terrifying feeling of déjà vu.

I frowned as a mist began to descend rapidly around us.

Emmett immediately hugged me, and I held him tight.

Suddenly, a scornful growl sounded behind us. I turned, and then darkness began to surround us.

At that moment, I was overcome with absolute and total terror.

The only place in our world where darkness came to life was in the dark forest, so we were in trouble, serious trouble.

It was a forbidden forest for a reason.

“What is that, Eloise?” Emmett asked in terror.

I hugged Emmett tightly.

I felt as if the magic of the forest had finally awakened, as if it had finally come to life, and I could feel and smell the terrifying dark creatures. I swallowed hard and shielded my little brother with my body as one of them cornered us, ready to devour us.

The thick fog and darkness above us prevented me from seeing clearly, but I could feel the forest breathing like a living being, as if it were hungry.

Please, Goddess, help us. We can't die like this.

My plea was intense, and out of nowhere, a howl broke through the sky.

I knew immediately that this power was not of this world.

It was not the howl of an ordinary wolf.

It was ancient, powerful, and lethal.

And the creatures knew it too, because they crawled away from us, and I was afraid.

However, the mist began to dissipate, as did the darkness.

From among the shadows, a man emerged in all his nakedness.

My mouth fell open when I saw him clearly.

He was the most beautiful man I had ever seen. I was perplexed, so I shook my head. However, it was hard to ignore that the blond man who looked like the god of perfection had the presence of a storm contained in a man's body.

His gray eyes flashed with fury, and... suddenly, something in his expression changed.

He looked at me in disbelief and opened his eyes wide, then recoiled, and in that instant, I felt a tug at my chest, as if something was calling out to me. So I suppressed the feeling and hugged my little brother tighter.

The blond man advanced toward us, and with astonishing skill, he raised his hands and not only completely dispelled the mist but also absorbed the darkness and redirected it to the creepy dark creatures that were near us.

It can't be, I thought in disbelief.

“The Dark Alpha,” I whispered fearfully.

The Alpha everyone feared, the man my father never accepted, who was a danger to everyone because of his powers. That made me tremble, so I put Emmett behind me.

“You know me,” Elijah Vane said in surprise.

“I know that not just any wolf can control the shadows,” I said firmly. “Don't come near us.”

Elijah raised his eyebrows and looked behind me, so I growled.

“Let me help you,” said the Alpha of the dangerous Blood Moon Pack. “Your brother is going to pass out at some point, and so are you. I won't hurt you.”

“I don't trust you; I don't trust anyone,” I snapped angrily.

“I know,” Elijah said and softened his aura. “But you need help; otherwise you would never have entered the dark forest. Only a desperate person would do that.”

“Don't come any closer,” I said again.

Elijah frowned, then looked up at the sky and muttered something I couldn't hear.

“I am your protection,” he said seriously. “I promise you, I, Alpha Elijah Vane, will protect you both. I swear it by the Goddess.”

At that moment, my hand and his hand lit up, and I opened my mouth in shock.

I looked at Elijah in disbelief.

He had just made a sacred oath, a magical promise that the Goddess endorsed and that, if broken, would result in the worst punishment.

I shook my head in disbelief.

“What did you just do?” I asked immediately.

“Save them,” said the Alpha just before my brother fainted.

“Emmett!” I shouted, and the Alpha carried him away. “Let him go!”

“If you want your brother to live, put your pride aside and come with me,” snapped the Alpha, his gray eyes filled with rage.

I felt my energy drain away, and in an instant, I fell unconscious.

I had no idea that Alpha Elijah would change absolutely everything.