Chapter 10: Impossible Choices

Dalton's POV

My father's voice echoed in my head from childhood. "Never enter the Dead Zones, son. Wolves who go in don't come out the same that’s if they come out at all." 

He had told stories of wolves who turned feral, their humanity stripped away from them. Others who walked in circles until they died of thirst, unable to find their way out. The Dead Zones were where wolf instincts failed, where our greatest strengths became our deepest weaknesses.

But they were also completely off the grid. No signals penetrated those areas, and no satellites could track movement. Whatever made them deadly to wolves also made them invisible to technology.

"You're insane," one of Thorne's former warriors said, backing away. "I'd rather take my chances with the mercenaries."

"Then go," Zane said simply. "No one's forcing you."

Three wolves immediately turned and ran into the forest. Oh well, I didn't blame them. The Dead Zones were nightmare fuel for every wolf raised in pack territory.

Dr. Lorett stepped forward, her face held a worried look. "The Dead Zones have earned their name. I've studied them for years, trying to understand what makes them so dangerous. It's not just stories we’ve heard, something in those areas genuinely affects wolf biology. Our senses become unreliable and our instincts turn against us."

"But we would be untraceable," I said, my voice rough with pain. Every word felt like swallowing glass.

"That’s if we survive long enough for that to matter."

Zane pulled out a worn map from his vehicle, spreading it on the ground. "There are three Dead Zones within running distance. Zone One—old factory district. The buildings are full of toxic chemicals. Everything that enters gets poisoned slowly."

"How slowly?" Jamie asked.

"Days. Maybe a week if you're strong."

Not an option. We had wounded wolves, then omegas. Very funny. We would be dead before the toxins finished the job.

"Zone Two," Zane continued, pointing to a different area. "Cave systems. Natural mineral deposits that scramble all signals. But the caves are unstable. Collapses happen without warning. You could be walking through a tunnel one moment and buried alive the next."

That sounded crazy. 

The gathered wolves exchanged nervous glances. Being trapped underground in the dark was every claustrophobic wolf's nightmare.

"Zone Three?" Tehila asked quietly. She stood apart from everyone, wrapped in someone's borrowed jacket, looking small and lost. My chest ached looking at her. I had done this. Put her in danger because I'd been too weak to choose her when it mattered.

"The Whispering Woods," Zane said, his voice carrying an edge of fear I'd never heard before. "Wolves have reported hearing voices. Not real ones but something else. The voices make you paranoid, they can even make you turn on your own pack. Wolves have killed each other in there, convinced that their companions were enemies."

"Psychological versus physical threats," Dalton's father mused. "We can avoid chemicals, navigate caves. But voices in our heads?"

"Maybe we can resist them," I said, though I didn't believe it. "If we know they're not real—"

"Knowing doesn't help," Zane interrupted. "The voices use your own thoughts against you. Your fears, your guilts, your secrets. They sound like the people you trust most, you know that kind of stuff ."

Perfect. A death trap designed specifically for wolves with baggage. Which meant all of us.

Tehila stood silent through the debate, her face was unreadable. I wanted to go to her, to promise her everything would be okay. But I'd made too many promises I couldn't keep.

"I'll do it."

Everyone turned. Jade stood at the edge of the group, her perfect hair tangled with dirt, her designer clothes torn and bloody.

"Do what?" Zane asked suspiciously.

"Go back to the pack lands. Pretend to be Tehila." Jade's voice was steady, but her hands shook. "I'll buy you time. Lead them away."

"That's suicide," I said. "They have her DNA. They'll know you're not her."

"DNA testing takes time. Hours, at least." Jade looked at Tehila, really looked at her, maybe for the first time. "We're sisters. Similar enough that from a distance, in the chaos, I could pass as you. By the time they realize the switch, you'll be gone."

"Why would you do that?" Tehila asked, genuine confusion in her voice.

"Because I owe you, T." Jade's laugh was broken. "I took everything from you. Your mate, your family's support, your place in the pack. The least I can do is give you a chance to escape."

I didn't trust it. Jade never did anything selfless. But the offer was too good to ignore.

"She's lying," I said. "She'll just tell them where we're going."

"I don't know where you're going," Jade pointed out. "And even if I did, what's left for me? I was a pawn. Everything I thought I'd earned was manipulation." Her eyes found mine, and I saw real pain there. "I loved you, you know. Genuinely. But you never loved me back. You just loved that I made you feel powerful."

The truth of it stung worse than any wound.

The sound of engines shattered our discussion. Large vehicles were moving towards us through the forest. Helicopter blades cut through the night air, growing louder.

"They came early," Dr. Lorett said, checking her watch. "We have minutes, not an hour."

Zane made the decision. "Zone Three. The Whispering Woods. Move. Now."

The group scattered. Some wolves shifted while we ran, others stayed human to help the wounded. Jade headed toward pack lands with two volunteers. I watched my former lover disappear into the darkness and felt nothing. Just emptiness where love should have been.

I tried to run with the others, but my legs gave out after ten steps. The silver poisoning hadn't fully cleared my system. Dr. Lorett's antidote had saved my life but it couldn't undo all the damage.

"Leave me," I gasped as Tehila circled back.

"No."

"I'm slowing everyone down—"

"I said no." She grabbed my arm, pulling it over her shoulders. "Zane! He can't keep up!"

Zane appeared beside us, his eyes scanned me briefly. "I'll carry him."

"You need to lead the group," Tehila argued. "I'll stay with him. We'll follow your trail."

"That's not safe—"

"Nothing about this is safe." Her voice carried steel I'd never heard before. "Go. Protect the others. We'll catch up."

Searchlights swept through the trees, impossibly bright. I heard shouting, these were organized military. These weren't wolves, they were trained soldiers.

"Go!" Tehila screamed at Zane.

He hesitated one more second, his eyes holding hers. Something passed between them, something I didn't understand. Then he was gone, disappearing into the forest with the others.

Tehila and I stumbled forward. My vision blurred, darkness creeping in at the edges. I could hear her heart pounding, so loud that it made me scared about what our future held after this night.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "For everything. For being weak. For choosing wrong."

"Save it," she said, but her voice cracked. "We need to focus on surviving."

A dart whistled past my ear, embedding in a tree. Tranquilizers. They wanted her alive, conscious. 

My legs buckled completely. We crashed to the ground together, a tangle of limbs and desperation. Tehila scrambled to pull me up, but I was deadweight.

"Help!" she screamed into the forest. "Someone help!"

But when she looked up, the forest was empty. The others had vanished into the darkness, following Zane toward the Dead Zone. We were alone.

Footsteps approached from behind. Heavy boots on the forest floor. Multiple sets, moving with military precision.

The footsteps grew closer. Closer.

And then a voice called out from the darkness—familiar, impossible, and completely wrong.

"Hello, granddaughter."