Chapter Six

My heart races as the wolves get closer. I need to escape, but they have me surrounded. There is no way out.

I scan the woods for Parker, but he is nowhere to be found.

"Parker," I yell. "Parker, help!"

I call out his name, but I know he can't hear me. There is too much howling. My voice can't get to him now.

And he can't get to me.

There is nowhere to run.

I look at the wolves. They are baring their teeth and growling. With every pounding beat of my heart, they are getting closer.

And then, suddenly, they stop.

They do not move towards me. They do not move away. They are frozen.

And that is when I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Run" a voice behind me says.

I turn to find Parker standing beside me. He came back for me.

"You came back," I say, tears of gratitude filling my eyes.

"Run," he says again, but my feet are frozen. I know he cannot hold them off for long. I know I need to leave. But I can't.

"Run!" he commands.

And I want to. But I know what will happen to him if I leave. He can't fight all of them off himself. It's impossible. He'll die.

But I also know what will happen to me if I stay. They will kill me. It's an impossible choice.

And then a wolf growls and my instincts take over.

I run.

I run through the darkness. I run with Parker's voice in my head, telling me where to go.

I run and run and run until I cannot run anymore.

And then I stop, and I wait.

I'm not sure what I'm waiting for, exactly. And then, I realize it's Parker. I'm waiting for Parker.

But he's not coming.

He's with the wolves now.

He sacrificed himself for me.

I think about going back for him, but I know better. The wolves will kill me if I do. And I don't even know Parker. Not really. He is not my love or my mate or even my friend. Getting myself killed on his behalf seems insane.

But he gave me shelter. He kept me safe. And I abandoned him.

I know what will happen to me if I go back there. I know what I'm risking.

But I can't just leave him to die. So I take a deep breath, turn back around, and run.

I run through the darkness.

I run without a plan for what I'll do when I get there.

I run with my heart pounding and my legs hurting and my brain screaming for me to stop.

And then, suddenly, I see them. The wolves.

They have Parker trapped.

They have surrounded him.

They are tearing at him as he howls in pain.

And I know I was right to come back.

I have to save him.

I have to save Parker.

My legs are weak and shaking, and my lungs burn, but somehow I force myself to run. Because I do not want to be a monster. And if I let Parker sacrifice himself for me without trying to intervene, that's exactly what I'll be.

I reach them before they reach me.

I am at Parker's side in an instant. I look at the wolves. They are surrounding us.

There is nowhere to run.

They will tear me to shreds.

I need to do something.

The wolves are closing in on me. I hear their teeth gnashing. I feel their eyes about to pierce my skin.

I need to do something.

And then, I see it-- a stick just a few feet away. And suddenly I know what to do.

I grab it from the ground, and I use it.

I use it to fight, to beat, to stab, to kill.

I use it to save.

I am not fighting alone. Parker is fighting with me. And he is a great fighter. One by one, we fight them off.

One by one, they die, and when it is over, we are the only ones left alive.

Parker falls to the ground. He is panting and weak.

But he is alive.

And I am too.

*

I know we cannot rest for long. I know they will keep coming. And they will be angrier now.

I have killed members of my own pack. That is a line I cannot walk back from.

There is no going back to the way things were before.

I can never go home again.

I cannot return to the pack because I have killed members of the pack.

I am an outcast.

I am a killer.

And there is no way back.

"Rachel," Parker says. "Rachel, are you listening to me?"

I wasn't. I was too caught up in this new reality.

"Rachel, we have to go now."

I nod. I know he's right.

"Can you run?"I ask.

"I don't know," he says. "But you have to. Run, I'll be right behind you."

I look at him for a moment. Study his face. I hope he's telling the truth.

It's funny, when all of this started, I wanted to ditch him as soon as possible. Now, I don't want to have to go anywhere with out him.

"Go on," he says.

I not and start running. And as I run further and further away from all I've ever know, my eyes fill with tears. I try my best to push them back, but they stream down my face anyway.

I tell myself I don't have time for tears. We need to keep running. We need to put more space between us and the wolves.

If they are coming after us together, we need to be far away.

The tears fall anyway. But I don't let that slow me down.

I am heartbroken and tired and scared, but there's no time for any of that.

I have to keep running anyway.