03) Unauthorized Entry

By then the party was well going and as the newest member of the pack, Effie Hale, had become the center of attention for many.

But as the hours passed by they began to wonder about her twin's absence, because they had to introduce their wolves to the other members and the invited guests at the end of the party.

"It's time, honey..." Caroline reminded softly as she walked over to her granddaughter, who still sat there on the window still of her room.

Without taking her eyes off the party outside, the girl let out a deep sigh and mumbled,

"I'm scared, nonna..."

"Don't be... Everything will be fine..." Caroline whispered pulling her worried granddaughter into her soft motherly embrace.

For a while they just wait there enjoying each other's company and then they left for the party.

.

They entered the backyard without drawing much attention towards them by many who were engaged in a happy conversation, but one particular eye instantly catched their presence secretly.

The next moment he called them gaining their attention.

"Hello, Miss.Neffie Hale!!" As he called enthusiastically Neffie snapped her head towards the voice freeing herself from Caroline's embrace.

"Alex!! What are you doing here?" Neffie asked excitedly, adding a wide smile to Alex's face as well as to Caroline's.

Caroline was overjoyed to see Nefie laugh out loud because of him, even though she knew nothing about this strange young man.

"You said that you'd be out of here as soon as this was over... So... I just wanted to see you one more time before you vanish..." As Alex explained with a wide grin trying to split his face in half, Neffie shot him a disapproving glace but introduced him to Caroline nonetheless.

"Nonna... This is Alex... and Alex... this is my grandma, Caroline.."

"It's my honor to meet you ma'am..." Caroline stared at Alex in amazement as he bowed his head slightly and greeted her in a very old fashioned way.

After a minute or so she smiled stopping her staring and said,

"Call me Caroline... and I'm happy to see my child happy with you... So I'll leave you guys alone... and if they still didn't sniff your presence here, I need to inform your appearance to Azara and Vendel..."

"She seems very nice..." Alex commented staring at the back of Caroline as she scurried away.

"Yes, she is." Smiling, Neffie acknowledged his comment.

"Shall we go somewhere? I don't want to be caught sneaking into someone else's party..." When Alex suggested in a excited but somewhat stressed voice, Neffie immediately agreed.

"So... How are you?" As they reached the edge of the forest where the backyard ended, Alex asked in a soft voice, holding Neffie's hand.

They were in the dark shadows created by the huge trees, but neither of them seemed to have any trouble seeing each other.

"I'm fine."

"No. That is not true. What is the real reason for you to be so upset and anxious?" Alex asked in an inquisitive voice, shaking his head disapprovingly of Nephi's answer.

"There is no such thing." Neffie said, trying to defend herself, gaining a sharp look from Alex.

"I told you yesterday... They think I'm a freak and I don't like these parties at all..!! If I could get out of here I would have escaped a long ago!!!" After a moment of silence, Neffie said impulsively.

"So why are you still here?"

"Do you know who I am?" He looked at her in surprise, as she accepted his question with another, with an strained smile on he lips.

"No matter how different I am, this is my home, Alex... Even though they saw me as a freak, I know they respect me. I know they want me. I have to take care of them like the rest of my family does... It's my responsibility to do so... So... No matter how much I wanted to, I can't escape... Right?" Neffie asked heaving a deep sigh.

But when Alex failed to answer, she continued her speaking.

"The only fear I have is... that after this ceremony, the way they think about me will get worse. Since my childhood, I only wanted to see them accept me as I am. Like my sister Effie, I- "

"Neffie?" Alex asked in a curious tone as Neffie suddenly stopped speaking and glanced around with an inquisitive and anxious look in her eyes.

But it took considerable time for her gaze to reconcile with him as well as for an answer to come out of her mouth, making Alex restless as well.

"It was... just... I don't know... Something bad- " Eventually she struggled to answer, but was interrupted by a handsome male figure who came running towards them in an inhumane speed from the deep down in the forest, making Neffie's face twist in shock.

But Alex did not seem to be surprised by that stranger's sudden appearance.

The only thing he did was to focus on the surroundings and safely embrace the frightened and shocked girl who was hanging on to his right arm.

"We need to go! Now!!" The stranger announced in a frightened voice.

"What happened? Where is he?!" Alex demanded in a stern voice tightening his grip around Neffie.

"There's no time! I- " He tried to speak, but the ferocious growl came from the forest silenced him instantly.

Alex immediately released Neffie's body from his tight embrace with wide eyes and put his hands on her shoulders and stare into her eyes.

"Neffie... We need to go now. And I'd like if you come with us too..." As he spoke in a serious voice, Neffie's wide eyes perfectly reflected her fear, shock, and uncertainty.

"But I- "

"Listen... These wolves are coming after us. They can track our scent. So I don't want to leave you here alone. They will attack you if they sniff my scent on you... Even if you are one of them, you have not been introduced to their pack yet... Right...? And you don't smell like a wolf either. So trust me... I do not want them to harm you. Come with me... Please..." Covering her mouth with his hand and stopping her from speaking further, Alex almost begged leaving no space for Neffie to argue.

She said nothing but stared into his pleading eyes for a moment.

She did not know if she would be able to return safely during this kind of chaotic situation as the two of them had already walked a considerable distance away from the party grounds into the jungle.

Also she already knew that there is a fair chance of herself getting attacked by those territorial wolves, because of her non-wolf-like scent. And Alex too had confirmed that possibility just now.

So finally she nod slowly indicating that she's fine with going Alex.

"Thank Gods!" Instantly pulling Neffie's body into his embrace, Alex breathed, ignoring the restless gaze of the man who was with them.

"Can we go already?!" He asked in an annoyed tone.

In response, Alex released Neffie's body from his embrace, and lifted her up in bridal style.

"Alex!!" Neffie gasped while furiously blushing due to Alex's unexpected gesture, but he didn't pay much attention to her reaction. Instead he was focused on running fast through the woods and get themselves to safety out of the pack grounds.

The trees around them were blurred due to his inhumane speed, and the howls of wolves were also receding farther and farther away from them.

But they did not dare to stop running even for a second.

Once in a while, Alex slowed down a bit to steal a glace at the frightened young lady, who was wrapping her arms tightly around his neck with tightly closed eyes while tucking her face into his chest, but he was not stupid enough to stop.

But every time he looked at her, he could not stop himself from losing his concentration he had towards of his surroundings.

And that's when the accident happened...

He couldn't imagine how did that happen. One moment his eyes were on Neffie and the next moment they were flying in space as if they were weightless due to something that came fast and collided with them.

When he regained consciousness, he figured himself lying on on the hard ground of forest floor, and Neffie's body lay at the foot of a huge tree a short distance from him, struggling for breath. Even though her eyes were wide open, he failed something other than the white in them.

"Neffie!!" Alex ran to her screaming in fright, but immediately suppressed the urge to lift her, as her left shoulder and elbow of that hand were abnormally bent and protruding from her body.

Her head was bleeding and he could guess that one or more of her ribs were broken and she was slipping in and out of her consciousness.

He simply guessed that her body would have slipped out of his grasp and hit the tree very hardly, but he couldn't imagine the source of collision which caused so much damage to her body. But he didn't have to wait long to get an answer to that question.

He wanted to take Neffie, who was in immense pain and breathing like a fish out of water, and immediately run away to safety, but the deep brown colored wolf who came to the view made it clear that he would have to postpone his need for a while.

As soon as Alex laid his eyes on the crazy glint of that animal's eyes, he realized that it was the same thing that caused their collision a moment ago.

The wolf licked its bared canines and mussel hungrily with his red tongue and the next moment he howled, informing the other wolves in his pack about his prey, causing Alex's senses to go on full alert about the upcoming fight immediately.

"I'm sorry, Neffie... Please... Please hang on for another few minutes..." Alex murmured in a soft but remorseful and pained voice to the girl, who was about to faint from pain and blood lost and stand up facing the wolf with his fighting stance, signaling that he would not easily surrender.

By then, Alex's nails had grown into sharp and long claws, and his golden eyes were glowing with his unusually slitted irises. He growled as loud and fierce as the wolf, worrying about where his companion had gone, but his first motive was Neffie's protection.

"I have no time for this shit! She needs help and it's your-fucking-fault that she's dying now!!" When the wolf growled louder, Alex snapped motioning Neffie's body.

Alex's growl grew louder and louder as the giant wolves of different colors emerged from the surrounding forest one by one, surrounding them with no room for them escape.

At that moment, a sand color wolf emerged from the shadows, dragging a decapitated body with him and dropped it where Alex could see it properly. The wolf whipped his mussel on that body, eyeing Alex's reaction as if it wanted to figure out that Alex could growl any louder.

Even though the head was missing, Alex didn't failed to recognize the body of his partner.

"Fucking dogs!!! How dare you- " As Alex shouted frantically towards the wolves, Neffie's weak voice called his name interrupting his cursing and swearing.

"A- Al- e- x- " She called in a deeply pained voice grabbing Alex's ankle with all her might.

"Neffie..." Alex gasped in shock as he kneel next to the girl turning his back to his foes. It was a very risky move during a time like that, but he didn't pay attention to anything other than Neffie's dying figure.

He was worried that it would be too late to save her, but it wasn't the only thing that cause his worry.

It was the sight of black smoke billowing out of her body.

"Neffie... Wh- What is this... What is happening to you...?!" Alex asked in a helpless voice with no understanding of what was happening but Neffie wasn't in a position to answer him properly.

The only thing she felt was the increased acidity in her body due to the broken bones and ribs, and the extreme pain it caused. She was losing her breath and she was in a state where she could not pay any attention to her surroundings.

But it seemed like a little part of her consciousness knew that it could do more harm to both her and Alex if they stay there than her injuries and fractures could cause her.

So at that moment, the only thing that was on her mind was the idea of escape. Yet she failed to control her consciousness slipping and the feeling she felt as if she were slipping into the dark shadows.

Eventually, Neffie regained her full consciousness for a moment before she completely slipped into the darkness. And that small moment is all it take for her sharp sight to note several events that happened at the same time.

The first was that the wolves, who were about to jump on her and Alex, take few steps away from them in confusion.

The second is a special pair of emerald green eyes that glows in the darkness.

The third was the owner of those eyes who lunged on the nearest wolf sending it flying to the side.

The fourth is the sound of calling came through the far distance of the forest and somehow Neffie knew that it was aimed at this emerald eyed huge black wolf.

'No! No no no no... My- my love... No... Please...' At once the wolf's pained pleas was drawn throughout her mind, doubling and tripling her shock.

But by then her consciousness was slipping away from her again. As she struggled to keep her consciousness clear, the name she caught from the calling a moment ago, slipped though her lips before she and Alex both sucked into the shadows.

"Jade..." She called very weakly before she lost her consciousness fully.

Just as she had no memory about what had happened next, Alex's mind too seemed to be a little shaken by the incident. That was because the next moment he opened his eyes, he realized that they were no longer in that dark forest.

When he realized that they were now in his elder brother's bed chambers of his castle, which had been renovated and rebuilt after the incident happened 18 years ago, an amazed gasp escaped through his lips.

He couldn't guess how they got there because he didn't know of anyone who had the power to do such thing like this except his brother, who owned this palace.

He knew for sure that they went on a shadow travel through the Shadow realm, but he was intrigued by the source which gave the power for the travel or the reason why they came here- into this exact chamber in this exact palace.

But it wasn't a problem he should have focused on at the time.

Alex turned his attention to Neffie's lifeless body, which was unusually cold, and lifted her as smoothly as he could, to lay on the cozy royal-size bed on the southern side of that spacious bedroom.

He then turned his full attention to her treatments, praying to God for her wellbeing...

• • •