Chapter 112
The n since arriving in Mera and Isaiah’s pack had been to get the four of us back home safely in
time for the inevitable war, which could easily happen at any second.
Now that not one, but three deadly werewolves wereing for me, we had a time limit to our ns.
Three days, we would have to leave in two.
That meant not onlying up with an evacuation n, but Mera and Isaiah had to make ns of their
own.
Danger and d***h had followed us, putting all of these white wolves at risk. An entire city dedicated to
their safety, to remaining invisible. Ten years of blood, sweat, and secrets–and it had all been
jeopardized in the span of an hour.
“They’ll find you no matter where you go.” Mera shook her head, seeing the war brewing in my eyes.
For a moment, I wondered if she could feel emotions too, or if she was truly just that in tune with
everything going on around her. “These people live here knowing it is their safest option, though not
infallible. They understand that it’s discovery could happen at any moment.”
“If we leave in two days, is there a chance that your warriors can divert the trail so that they go around
the town?” Alec asked, a million idea’s running through his dark eyes. “We could leave tomorrow, just
as the sun sets.”
“It is possible, but the most important part is ensuring you four make it back to your pack.” Mera
squared her shoulders and turned her eyes to me. “Every single person in this town knows who you
are, and they would all willingly sacrifice their lives if it meant getting you out. I understand that you do
not want your life put before anyone else’s, but you are the head of this movement. Packs that have
remained quiet for decades are finally speaking up. They’re finally stepping forward and it’s because of
you. If you d*e, so does the courage that many of these packs are experiencing for the first time. You
are hope to them, someone too strong to be controlled.”
How far things hade, from a mundane human to a hunted fugitive. Mera’s words followed me,
echoing in my ear as her, Tori, and I left the house. Sabine’s humming sounded oddly like a f*****l dirge
as I descended the porch steps with a weight in my chest.
We had no time to rx or reoperate. Isaiah and the twins were staying behind with Sabine, to figure
out a n on getting us out of here safely. Contacting anyone outside of town wasn’t possible, not
without risking exposure. Mera and Isaiah could mind link the rest of their pack members, no matter
how many miles away.
With Mera at the wheel, we drove into town and pulled into the parking lot of a modest looking building.
Made from red brick and rectangr windows, a handmade sign read “Public Library”.
“We won’t have all the answers, but there might be something that can help you.” Mera exined as
we entered, listening to the little golden bell attached to the door ring. We were enveloped in the
comforting smell of rose incense and warm tea. She made no move to head to the front desk, where a
woman in her fifties smiled warmly. Mera made a beeline for a door that read, “employee’s only”.
“Marcus also likes knowledge, which means restricting it from everyone else. This is the only safe ce
we have for our pack’s collective knowledge. Everything we know, passed down from countless
generations.”
We headed down a set of metal stairs, into a dark and damp basement. Another door led us to an old
meeting room. There were shelves lined against the walls, full of books both dusty and old. Two
wooden tables held multiple books on top, some pried open with tools smoothing down the pages.
“We try to preserve the older ones, and repair them when we can.” She exined, gesturing to a wall
full of small boxes, “Most of these boxes are official documents, but there’s also news articles going
back at least a hundred years.”
“Are all of these recounting from your pack’s ancestors?” Tori marveled, eyeing a book case full of
journals. Most of the covers were peeling and the pages stained yellow, but I could only imagine the
wellspring of information inside.
“Many of them are, that was how we recorded our history.” Mera nodded, “You’ll find some scientific
journals as well, but I’m not entirely sure if any are on the subject of white wolves. You both may take
as long as you need. I am going to coordinate with some of the other pack members on how they might
aid us with your evacuation.”
“It would take weeks to go through all of this.” Tori shook her head, trailing her fingers over the dusty
journal spines. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and I knew that part of her mind was somewhere else
entirely.
“Unfortunately, we only have a few hours, but at least I have the best assistant a girl could ask for.” I
teased, smiling when some of the worry faded from her eyes.
“Assistant!” She scoffed, precariously pulling a few journals from their shelves before setting them
down on the nearest table. Her ming hair bounced as she plopped down, gingerly lifting the cover
with her finger nail. “Now that I know Luna’s can have a Beta, I think I’d like to request a raise.”
It was my turn to be surprised,pletely caught off guard. I mean, I had thought the same thing, but I
knew how rocky things were between her and Zayne. If there was ever that chance that they could be
together, I could never hold her back from that.
For a moment, I wondered if Tori had temporarily taken my abilities, because she read the look in my
eye for exactly what it was.
“I know, I think the same thing sometimes.” She hummed softly, ncing down at the journal in front of
her. “What if’s and all of that. It just hurts more to think that way, to n some kind of future with him
when he clearly doesn’t want me there. I can’t put my life on pause for him, and if that means never
bing a Luna–well, there’s a lot of good I can do as my best-friend’s Beta. Don’t you think?”
“I think that was well said.” I mused, unable to help the smile that overtook my face. I grabbed a few
journals as well, crinkling my nose when the scent of dust and cracked leather fluttered into the air.
“Besides, he doesn’t dictate whether or not you’re a Luna. You might have the official title as a Beta,
but you’ll always be more than that.”
“So does that mean I got the job?” She smirked, wiggling her eyebrows in a much more Tori-like
fashion.
“Well, I’m not sure yet.” I shrugged, tapping my chin. “There’s a lot I’m going to need from you.
References, a d**g test, past employers–“
“I’m pretty sure none of those things matter now that we’re fugitives.” She smirked, emerald-colored
eyes warm and light for a change.
Weughed and joked for the next few minutes, stealing back some normalcy from the man who had
threw both of our lives through the blender. Through the bleary-eyed chuckles, we could almost forget
where we were, even with the scent of old books lodged in our heads.
We got to work right after, wiping tradingughter for quickly exchangedments on what we were
reading. The clock in here had long expired, and ticked away even though the hands never once
moved. I knew time was creeping by as my eyes began to dry and the small spot between my
eyebrows arched.
“There were so many white wolves back then, with so many different powers.” Tori said softly, both
amazed and horrified.
“There still are white wolves, just as many.” I said what we both knew, “They’re just not free.”
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I swapped between musty journals and brittle feeling newspaper clippings about pack politics and even
a few murders.
Things were a lot different when white wolves roamed freely, lived freely within their packs.
As there always is in life, there were white wolves who craved destruction and violence. They did as
many humans do; they m******d and stole, took what they wanted from whomever. The difference was
that these werewolves had magic, an advantage that made them more dangerous than amon
m******r.
There was always a price; a price for freedom. This was that price, that the white wolves let out into the
world wouldn’t all be peaceful.
I knew that this was the first thing I would do once stepping into power. I would make sure that we
survived, that our kind truly began to flourish, and that those who wanted to hurt the innocent were
removed from the equation. I trusted that my absoluteck of experience would be mitigated by the
knowledge of my mates and family.
I trailed my eyes over what felt like the hundredth journal. The tiny ck script made my eyes ache,
and felt like agony as I arced and curved over their p’s and q’s. It was a single phrase that caught my
eye, one I had almost missed.
1512
I saw her with my own eyes. Lady Anne healed the cksmith’s boy.
The vige crone had fixed his broken and brittle body after a fall from a great tree.
A scream of fright was not foreign, especially one from a child. The gue and dysentery s*********d
our viges, devoured our young and rotted them before our eyes. We felt the loss less than the
mortals, though still as deep when our devout were among those diseased.
Initially, I had nned to turn around and walk in the opposite direction as the ill child. Having children
of my own and two lost to the creator, I could risk no more than anyone else.
Lady Anne held no home, no devout bonded to her soul. Long had the vige been waiting for her
d***h, waiting for disease to im her. Lady Anne was among the seldom few who had not felt it’s cold
touch.
Not one knew her health was a curse from the creator.
I knew it as I turned, as I watched Lady Anne approach the boy’s broken body. Cartge and flesh,
bone and sinew. A b****y canvas highlighted by the boy’s mncholy song, which now was nothing
more than a whimper.
The way her eyes grew bright when she touched the boy, the way my own life flickered and ebbed.
Lady Anne was cursed with devouring life, my own life. It was that very life she was then giving to the
cksmith’s boy.
My breath fueled his heart, the blood in my veins knitting the wounds on his skin.
I cked out shortly after, hearing nothing but the rush of blood in my ears. I had not seen Lady Anne
since that day, but have long watched the boy grow into manhood, free of illness and gue.
“I’m not sure how this helps us, but I think I’ve found something about my abilities.” I frowned, ncing
up at Tori. Her hair was a tangled mess from how many times she ran her fingers through it, meshing
the curls together. “It’s kind of discouraging.”
Tori had just enough time to skim the delicate hand writing before the door was wrenched open and
Mera came through. The sharp edge to her worry had me standing from my seat, grabbing Tori’s hand
to follow her without a single word.
“Somethings wrong with Sabine.” She said through clenched teeth as we sped through the center of
town. There weren’t many cars out, as the sun had already begun to set. It was easy enough for her to
weave in between traffic as we coasted forwards. “She has episodes, which is understandable
considering everything she’s been through. Sometimes they are worse than others, when vision’s flood
her too fast for her to process.”
We swung into the driveway, kicking up dirt and gravel as we mored from the SUV. A quick patter of
feet on the porch and we were all inside.
Admittedly, Sabine’s episode wasn’t what I had expected.
It was quiet in the house, eerily so. It was when we came upstairs that we understood what was going
on.
Alec and Kade both leaned against the wall outside of what looked to be Sabine’s bedroom. Both
pulled me into their embrace, but quickly let me go as I noticed what was going on. A door of pure
white painted in sshes of pink and swipes of neon green. The door was open, showing Sabine and
Isaiah inside.
Isaiah stood off to the side, pleading with his eyes while gently speaking to Sabine.
“What happened to her?” Mera asked fiercely, following Isaiah from the hall. “She has never acted like
this, even when you slipped up and said his name.”
Sabine made no move to show that she had heard Mera. She stood in her room, coated in dark colored
paint as she furiously sshed and swiped away at the walls.
Colorful art was covered in splotches of ck and blue, walls of pure crimson. Her movements were
twitchy, her eyes wide and glossed over as she swiped and shed.
“Is she having visions?” I asked Mera, stepping into the bedroom to get a closer look.
Her eyes were clouded, pools of blue that seemed just a tad too hazy. There was some awareness
there, but not much. As for her emotions, they were a whirlpool. Fear, disbelief, h****r, outrage. A
festering mess of negative emotions that rushed by her all at once.
I stumbled back, feeling my head pound and my vision blur as all of those emotions passed through
me. Delicate sparks trickled up my wrists and arms as I felt the touch of both Alec and Kade.
“You alright, doll?” His words were tinged with worry, whispered down to my ear.
“It’s her emotions.” I shuddered, stepping back into both of their warm embraces. Alec with his spicy
scent, and Kade with his rich one. Both masculine and delectable, but noticeably different. “I
understand why she has these episodes. It’s like she feels everything from her visions, but it’s all at
once. Anyone would get overwhelmed if they were constantly being swarmed all of the time.”
I stood back with Alec and Kade as Mera entered the room, walking up slowly to Sabine. Her sister
made no notice, still scratching and shing at the paint on the walls. Covering bright pinks and
purples with darkness and blood.
“It looks like a warzone.” Kade shrugged, making an offhandment that seemed just a tad too true.
The shes of crimson over top the ck, it did look like a warzone.
Both Tori and I jumped when Sabine’s scream filled the room and hall. Mera had ced a hand on her
shoulder, tearing Sabine from her vision as she stumbled backwards with her hands raised.
“Do not touch me.” She hissed, colliding into the corner of the room where she remained rooted in
ce.
I wasn’t sure whatpelled me to move forwards. Perhaps it was the mind-splitting fear Sabine felt,
and how her psyche seemed to be in two ces at once. Or it could have been my own inner
compassion, I wasn’t sure.
All I knew was that one moment I was standing with Alec and Kade, and the next I was just two feet
away from a very terrified Sabine. I nced between the two sisters’ reading the very different fear in
both of their eyes. I felt both equally, and for that brief moment, I was both older and younger sister.
Terrified for my life, and the life I had thought lost.
Mera’s eyes hardened when she met mine, and finally, she gave me a firm nod. I seemed to have
some inkling of what that meant, because I took that as my ‘okay’ to move forward.
“I could never understand what you went through, but your sister-these people here, you can protect
them. You can keep him from them Sabine, but you have to tell us what you saw.”
The words came from my mouth smoothly, despite the obvious tremor in my hands.
I ced my hands on Sabine, and felt my knee’s buckle as her fear washed over me. Years of it,
stacked on top of one another until details and memories became warped and fuzzy. She was neither
here nor there, but everywhere at once. Trapped beneath Marcus’s thumb, a child thrown into a cell, an
adult finally freed, a sister–after so long of being alone. Surrounded by real people, flesh and blood
instead of that of her visions.
The text about Lady Anne briefly ran through my head, and I wonder if it was that or past theories that
forced my next actions.
Much like feeding from someone’s soul, this held that simr connection. Only this time instead of
pulling and tearing with vicious ws and sharpened teeth, I was giving. ws and teeth retracted,
nothing but flesh and smooth skin.
Energy passed through me in a flood of warmth, resonating in my chest as it thrummed down my arms
and into Sabine.
She was no longer screaming, her eyes frozen but not clouded.
Slowly, she blinked a few times. Her eyes darted around the room, at the painted walls and canopied
bed, at her sister who she looked at for the longest. Finally, her eyes traveled back around to me.
“They found out you knew they wereing. ns have changed, the three will be here in one hour,
and he’ll be here in five.” Her voice wasn’t weak nor were her words whispered. They were spoken with
rity, and not that dreamy tone she had been using when we first met. “What did you do to me? I
couldn’t tell the difference between what I was seeing, what was real. I can separate them now, the
visions and…and memories. You’re her, you have to be. The girl with eyes of earth and water.”
A spasm of panic settled in my chest at what I might have done to her, and the h****r that it may wear
off, but when I saw the blossoming joy and fear on Mera’s face, I couldn’t bring myself to fracture that.
“I think I am.” I replied, my voice just a tad pained. I stumbled backwards as I let go, wondering how
much energy I had given Sabine. There was something nagging at the back of my mind, something I
had to ask her. “How did he know that we found out? I thought he didn’t know you were here.”
Sabine was silent for so long that I wondered if she might not answer the question, or if she’d sink back
into her trauma and the memories and visions that once flooded her.
“My daughter knows.” She finally whispered, a shaky handing up to cover her mouth. ” She works
for him.”
Alec caught me as I stumbled back, his hands gripping my hips as he all but kept me standing. Kade
frowned and closed in as well, but it was Mera who first spoke up.
“I have heard the whispers, but I prayed they weren’t true.” Her voice mirrored her sisters, horrified at
the thought of Marcus having her niece, and fearful of the woman she has be under his influence.
“We will do what we can to help her, but for now we must take action.”
“What the h**l are we supposed to do? If they’re an hour away, that means they know this ce exists.”
I frowned, leaning into both of the twins as I mustered up the strength for the uing hour.
“Trying to evacuate the town in time will not work.” Sabine spoke before Mera had the chance, earning
another look of stunned surprise. Her voice still held that distinct swell of kindness, a trait I was relieved
she kept despite the h****r she went through. “They have other’s following close behind, enough to
cause much d***h.”
“Then what are our options?” Mera hissed, though not at anyone in particr. She nced at Isaiah,
whose eyes were just as pained.
“We will fight, and use that diversion to get Aurora, her mates, and friend out safely.” Isaiah said with
finality, giving his mate a long look that made pain sear beneath my skin. “You and Sabine will go as
well.”
“Nonsense.” Mera spat, eyes hardening. “If you are staying to fight, I am as well. We go together,
Isaiah. Do not forget your promise to me. Sabine will go with them. I will not have her anywhere near
that man, never again.”
“I am sorry, Mera.” Sabine whispered, eyes shimmering like sapphire water color. Whatever I had done
to her, it cleared the fog from her mind and brought her back to the present. I hadn’t healed her of those
invisible wounds. Of the bruises and shes that trauma leaves, that remain open, manifesting
themselves in your dreams and thoughts. I hadn’t healed that part of her, and I wasn’t sure if I could. “I
don’t want to leave you again, but I cannot go back there.”
“Do not apologize to me.” Mera shook her head softly, taking Sabine’s hands in her own. Instead of
cringing away, Sabine returned the smile. “Stay alive, and free. You have spent long enough in a cage.”
The very thing that keeps this town safe from outsiders is the same thing that risks its exposure.
Located in the middle of the forest, nestled in the mountains, there are at least six different ways for
Marcus’s people to infiltrate the town.
Within half an hour, the entire town understood what would soon happen. That they would y
diversion while I escaped with my mates, best-friend, and Sabine in tow. Rather than send warriors out
to defend those six entrances, everyone pushed further to the center of town. There they would fight
against any of the white wolves Marcus had sent with the three.
“I trust you will do everything possible to keep her safe.” Mera whispered into my ear, wrapping her
arms around me in an embrace that smelled of sunflowers and shea. “I do hope we meet again,
Aurora. Preferably in this life.”
After a teary goodbye between Mera and Sabine, she and Isaiah left ten minutester. They nned to
converge with the rest of the town, at the center where they waited for Marcus’s white wolves. With
Mera wearing my clothes and Isaiah wearing the twin’s, they carried our scent throughout the town with
them. There would be backuping in around an hour or two from now, from the nearby cities within
Isaiah’s territory.
Marcus now knew that without a doubt, Mera and Isaiah were involved in the resistance. From this
point forwards, war would be dered on their pack as well. Should I fail and Marcus win, there would
no longer be a ce for them in the world.
Right on the hour mark, warning bells sounded throughout the entire town, echoing down deserted
streets and back roads. Long and monotonous, they were the exact opposite sound of what my heart
was making. Two conflicting beats that both carried the same amount of foreboding.
We waited ten minutes before slipping out the backdoor, keeping behind houses but out of the forest as
we progressed further from town. If I listened hard, I swore I could hear the sound of snarling as white
wolves fought one another to the d***h.
Each of us had showered before leaving, changing into clothes that didn’t carry our scent. It was a bit
more difficult for Sabine, who had lived in the house long enough for her scent to reach just about
everything.
I knew something was wrong when we were half an hour away from town. Sabine had stopped in her
tracks, her eyes going foggy for just a few short seconds. She blinked a few times and looked around,
fear creeping and growing with every second.
“What?” I asked, taking her hand even though she hardly knew me. I couldn’t help but feel she might’ve
known me fairly well, considering she’s been seeing visions of me since she was a child. “What is it?
What did you see?”
“I shouldn’t havee with you.” Her voice was feather soft, broken and fractured. That flicker of hope
had burned out before it had the chance to be anything more than a small ember. A crack
sounded in the forest, making Kade whip around. “They’ve found us because of me.”
The first thing I smelled was body odor, masculine and thick with sweat. It was overbearing, and I
understood why when a towering figure emerged from the forest.
He was easily six foot tall, thoughpletely b**e in the muscle department. Shaggy bark colored hair
hung down to his shoulders, greasy and poorly brushed. Patchy stubble coated his chin, and sweat
stained clothes hung from his body. He was one of the least intimidating men I had ever met, but the
Hound wasn’t meant to look threatening.
“He caught my scent.” Sabine croaked, her entire frame trembling.
I turned my head to Tori just as another figure emerged from the forest.
“Get her out of here when they a****k.” I told her, my voice low and just barely audible. When I saw her
eyes widen, and turn defensive, I harshened my tone even further. I knew she could see it in my eyes,
that I wasn’t asking. It was her first test as my Beta, the first test to see if she could suppress those
Luna instincts and listen to a direct order. “I mean it, Tori. Focus on her, not me.”
Both Tori and I moved in front of Sabine, making sure she stayed behind the towering forms of the
twins. I could feel her trembling and taste her fear from the few feet away we stood.
The next to emerge,ing to a stop just a few feet closer to us than the Hound, was a petite looking
girl. She was young, with rounded features that could easily pass for eighteen. Even though there was
a certain kind of youth to her, I did not miss the thick muscles along her arms and legs.
Thest to step out was Chaos, who would have easily been one of the most beautiful men I had ever
seen, if it weren’t for the sinister light to his eyes. It had nothing to do with the fact that they were a rich
shade of crimson, which stood out brightly from his onyx hair. It was the glint of satisfaction in them
when he noticed I wasn’t alone, that there would be others to take out before grabbing me. A washed-
out band t-shirt and some torn jeanspleted the look, though there was nothing salvageable within
this man. A sociopath through and through.
Just as Sabine had said; the Assassin and Hound had finallye, and Chaos followed.