4| Deserting the pack.

"Let's say I actually agree to go along with your plan to leave the human world; what then? Do you think Alpha Harry would let me? He wouldn't; he would find me and make me regret it." I say this in a panicked tone to Oliver.

"I wouldn't let that happen," he says. "I'll protect you, no matter what. I wouldn't let Harry or anyone else hurt you. I promise."

"What if someone catches us when we're about to leave?" I ask.

"Even if that happens, I'll come up with a believable excuse. Everything will be fine. Please, just trust me." Oliver assures me.

"I hope you aren't lying to me. I hope this isn't just some plan that the Alpha had you—“

"It's not. It's nothing like that. I promise.” He cut me off. “Just come with me, and I promise you'll live a happy life."

"Okay then," I reply, hoping that he isn’t trying to trick me.

***

"You're ready for this, right?" Oliver asks me as we set out for the human lands.

"Yes," I reply.

Oliver and I start the journey, using flashlights to see because it's dark, but that isn't a problem. What we need to worry about are the guards at the pack's borders.

I can't tell if it's minutes or hours later before Oliver stops me and I face him.

"What?" I whisper-snarl; he only gestures for me to keep quiet. And I do; that's when I hear it.

Footsteps, a few feet away from us. Oliver wraps his hand around mine and slowly leads me towards the back of a broad tree, caging me between himself and the tree.

"I'm scared," I say, and he looks at me, cupping one of my cheeks.

"Everything will be fine," he assures me, and I nod.

A few seconds after that, the footsteps get louder. We start to hear voices belonging to the guards patrolling this area. I try to pull myself together so I don't make a sound.

The two guards walk right past the tree that Oliver and I are pressed up against. I let out a sigh of relief, which turns out to be a mistake because it alerts the guards. They instantly turn back to face us, and that's when Oliver grips me by my wrist and forces me to run alongside him.

Oliver is faster than me. I try to push my body so that I can go faster, but my legs are tired, there's this sinking feeling in my stomach, and I feel a little bit dizzy.

The guards catch up to us, and we're forced to stop as they both put up fighting stances.

"Beta Oliver, is that you?" One of them asks

"You're deserting the pack." The other one adds, and the atmosphere changes.

The fight begins almost immediately as one of the guards lunges for Oliver. I shriek and back away in fear.

Oliver handles the two guards, pounding one after the other, but they are relentless. They let out loud grunts and war cries, and I'm worried that they will alert other guards.

"Oliver, we don't have time for this!" I cried out to Oliver, but I'm not really sure he heard me.

But someone does; one of the guards lunges for me as he waves his blade around the air, reaching to slice me with it. In that split second, the fear of death is overwhelming as my life flashes before my eyes.

The second passes by really quickly as the sound of a gunshot tears through the air. The guard in front of me gags, choking on his blood, before falling to the ground. The other one isn't given enough time to assimilate the situation, as Oliver pulls the trigger on him as well.

On the ground, they lie as Oliver walks towards me. I can't seem to tear my eyes away from them as I stare at the two dead bodies in front of me.

What have we done? I panic.

"Isla, we need to go!" Oliver says in a hurried tone, but I'm still frozen in place. I don't know when he grips my wrist and drags me away from the scene, leading me out of the pack's borders and into greener pastures.

All I know is that I'm out of danger and I have Oliver to thank for it.