Chapter 5

Fiona

The thick filthy cloth that covered my head made it hard for me to decipher the height of what was going on. All I could only hear was the sound of the unknown creature dashing in and out of the trees around us. 

The creature’s technique was familiar. If there is one person that I know, who loves stalking his prey inside the trees, it could be my brother, Orion. 

What if it was him? Maybe he had survived and was now here to rescue me. 

I could only let the seed of hope start to grow within me. 

Suddenly, my captors went quiet, and I could hear the silent clanging of metal and the stretching sound of what seemed to be elastic. 

The weakening smell of silver filled my nostrils. 

One of them was holding a silver tip arrow, obviously aimed at the creature in the tree, the creature that might turn out to be my brother  

The rogue who was to shoot was standing close to me because I could hear his heartbeat beating rapidly as he pulled at his bow. 

I needed to do something. It might really be my brother. 

I didn’t have enough time to think or gather courage. I pushed the shooter with my side and his balance wavered, his arrow shot into the distance, wildly missing his target. 

He cursed audibly before his fist came in contact with my cheek. His punch was heavy and it sent me crashing to the ground, the cloth that covered my head slightly opened, giving a small peek at what was happening. 

The creature in the tree roared again, this time louder, obviously it was angry at the rogue for punching me. Now I know it was no doubt my brother. 

The sound of another arrow whistled through the air like a bolt of lightning and the creature’s roar was silenced, a loud thud followed just as the arrow entered the tree. 

The creature had fallen. 

“No!” I cried, as I watched the unknown creature fall a few feet away from my sight. 

I didn’t realize that my captors had more weapons, until I watched one of the rogues unsheathe a sword and made his way towards the creature. 

Their uneven steps made crunching noises under the dried leaves that were scattered everywhere. 

I could only watch as the creature’s chest rose and fell , the silver arrow stuck deep into its side, as it gradually lost its breath. And that was when I got a clearer view of the creature, which was a wolf. 

Now I know, this wasn’t Orion. My brother is a strong wolf, he won’t fall by just one arrow, silvertip or no. Even so, I could see the wolf’s brown fur get soaked in its own blood under the moonlight. 

My brother’s wolf wasn’t brown, he had an ink black wolf just like me. 

The rogue’s blade rises and falls into the wolf's chest, putting it out of its misery. In an instant, The wolf transformed into a naked lifeless body as its soul departed from it. 

“We are close to the shadow pack border. This is one of their wolves.” One of them said, poking the lifeless blade with his blade. 

“We need to keep moving, the rest will come looking when they can’t find this one.” Another urged. 

“No, we go east. The shadow pack wolves are probably going to come from this direction. They will lose our scent when we cross the river.” The one who seemed to be their leader ordered, I knew because his words held authority and the rest didn’t argue. 

One of them roughly pulled me up to my feet. “Let’s go, princess.” He shoved me forward. 

I had no choice but to listen. My hope had vanished when they killed that wolf. I had no idea where we were going, but something kept telling me it wasn't somewhere very nice. 

I needed a plan, I needed to escape before they got to their destination. First of all I need to get this ridiculous cloth off my head. 

“Walk faster!” The rogue shoved me again and I purposely fell to the ground. 

I nodded to myself as I tried to keep pace with my captors, a plan forming in my head. 

…….

Lucian

I paced the room. My mind was an untidy mess tonight. I rejected the woman I loved dearly because of my pack's safety. It was something I needed to do, as an alpha I have all right to put my pack first. But deep down I regretted my decision. 

“It was for the greater good.” My wolf, Dexter, soothed from the recess of my mind. 

“It is, but now I have lost her forever. I was forced to break our bond in front of Alpha Maddox.” I mind linked to my wolf in case anyone was eavesdropping at the door. 

“It was the right thing to do at that moment. If you hadn’t rejected her, Maddox might have stopped his alliance with us right then and there. I could feel his wolf’s anger when he saw Nadia injured.”  Dexter explained. 

I signed, “do you think she will ever forgive me? I have said hurtful things to her when I visited her cell, I even claimed that the child she was having wasn’t mine just to keep her safe from Maddox’s prying eyes.”

“And I was there when you said those words. Be patient. When the time comes, she will understand we're doing this for her safety and that of your unborn child.” Dexter sat on his haunches, relaxing himself. 

“You’re overly confident about this. If this plan of yours fails and Fiona eventually gets into trouble, I will never forgive you. Do you understand?” I warned him. 

Suddenly, my head warrior, Damiel’s mind link interrupted my conversation with Dexter. 

“Alpha, I have urgent news. Luna…..I mean Fiona has escaped from her cell, we are searching the forest for her as we speak.” Damiel hurriedly announced. 

The door was suddenly pushed open, and Nadia rushed in, her worried expression suddenly caught my attention. 

“Fiona has escaped!” Nadia exclaimed. 

Without any further words, I dashed past Nadia and sprinted outside the pack house. 

I transformed immediately as my feet touched the forest grounds, my formal clothes ripping into shreds as Dexter took over. 

Dexter sniffed the air and quickly changed his direction as soon as he picked the scent of my warriors. We moved past towering trees and jumped tree trunks effortlessly. 

In no time we found a few of my warriors gathered around, sniffing a spot where an unknown event seemed to have unfolded. 

A menacing growl rumbled through Dexter’s massive chest as Fiona’s sweet scent filled out nostrils. 

“She was here.” Damiel approached me as soon as he noticed my presence. 

“Find her!” I ordered. 

“We tried, Alpha, but kept meeting dead ends. She seems to be masking her scent or she is covered in something that overwhelms her scent.” Damiel explained, offering his neck respectfully. 

Dexter growled in frustration, his eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of something under the moonlight, a red ink stain on a piece of rock. 

I transformed into my naked human self, despite the presence of my warriors, they all knew better not to stare at their Alpha’s nakedness. 

I crouched and wiped the stain from the rock, rubbing its texture between my fingers before sniffing it. 

“It’s Fiona’s blood, she’s injured. ” Dexter growled angrily.