Into the Woods

*Lyra*

The guards lead me far out into the forest, miles and miles from our pack. Despite how good my sense of smell is, I can no longer pick up even the faintest scent of the flowers that grow in our packlands. All I can smell is the decay of the forest, the small animals that live here, and the pine and cedar trees that surround us.

“This would be a lot easier if we shifted,” I tell him. “We could go a lot faster.”

“We aren’t taking any chances on you getting away, murderer,” the lead guard says. I know him. I know every single one of them. Our pack isn’t all that big, and we were a close knit community–or so I thought.

I guess that bubble has burst.

“Come on, Henry,” I bark at him. “We both know I didn’t kill Arica. What possible motivation would I have for doing such a thing?”

“Quiet, bitch!” he shouts at me, not for the first time since we began this journey several hours ago. “Shut your fucking mouth before I knock your teeth out!”

I growl at him. My wolf is getting very tired of all of this. I’m probably going to die out here anyway. I may as well take some of these bastards with me.

But then… I was just accused of a murder I didn’t commit, and I don’t like the way that felt. How much worse would it be to have actually killed someone? Even if they deserve it.

We continue to traipse through the woods for so long, my legs are beginning to cramp. The chains are heavy, and the guards keep tugging me along. It must be nice not to have to carry around these ridiculous chains.

As I walk, I reflect on what just happened. What in the hell was Tessa doing up there on the dais with Alpha Kaelen? The two of us grew up together. She’s been my best friend for as long as I remember. Her mother helped me so much after my parents died. It makes absolutely no sense to me that she would lie about something so serious. None of this makes any sense. Of all the people I know, she’s the person I would least think would do such a thing to me.

Well, maybe second least likely.

Bram would never do anything like this to me either. I remember what he whispered to me as I walked past him. He said he knew this wasn’t true. Goddess, I hope he’ll do what he can to help me. I don’t want him to compromise himself or his family by trying to help me. His mother is ill, and his father was injured in the last war we had with Blackwood Pack, which happened when we were little. That was the war when our Alpha was killed, and Kaelen became Alpha. He was only fourteen at the time, so he had help from his advisors to make his decisions. Since then, most of those advisors are gone, and he makes all of his decisions on his own.

He doesn’t like the fact that I often disagree with him, and I’m not exactly quiet about it.

That, and he knows I could kick his ass at any time. I am one of the most skilled warriors in our entire pack.

Was. I was one of the most skilled warriors in the entire Running River pack.

I’m not a member of the pack anymore.

If I can get Bram to help me from the inside of the pack, without anyone knowing, maybe I can find a way to exact revenge on Alpha Kaelen and take down everyone who has done me wrong.

Especially these assholes dragging me through the forest.

It’s getting dark when Henry finally stops. “Unchain her,” he says. “This is where we leave her.”

I’m quite happy to hear this, but it turns out they don’t actually completely unchain me. Instead, they loop the chain around my hands around a tree. While my legs are now free, I can’t go anywhere. I’m attached to this tree. 

“Well, murderer, it sure was fun,” Henry says with a cackle.

“Hey! You can’t just fucking leave me here like this, you asshole!” I shout as the guards begin to undress and pack their uniforms into backpacks so they can shift and run back to the pack. They’ll make it back in only a few hours. 

“I guess you should’ve thought about that before you killed Arica!” Henry shouts. Then, he takes the key that goes to my chains and tosses it into the woods far enough away that there’s no way I can possibly reach them.

With a flourish, all the guards shift into wolves and take off running. They howl and yip as they take off, trying to intimidate me, I’m sure.

I think about shifting myself. Would that help me to escape? But then I realize these chains are silver, and they’re preventing me from shifting.

Frantic, I start to pull on my chains, trying to break them against the tree. That’s not going to work, though. They’re too thick, and so is the tree trunk. My wrists begin to bleed as I twist them, trying to break free.

After about an hour, I sink to the floor, exhausted. Am I going to be stuck to this tree for the rest of my life? If so, the rest of my life will only be a few hours. I have no water or food, and there are rogues in these woods. If one of them comes across me, who knows what they’ll do to me. Probably rip my arms off, take advantage of me, torture me, and either kill me or leave me for dead.

That’s not exactly how I was planning to spend my Spring Solstice.

Hot tears cloud my eyes. I’m definitely not one for crying, but I feel so hopeless. I don’t know who I’m madder at–Alpha Kaelen or fucking Tessa.

With my knees curled to my chest, I bury my head and try to think of some way to get free of this tree. 

So I don’t see the man approaching me. When I hear his voice, I startle, trying to move into a defensive position I can’t manage.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asks me.

I have no answer.