onyx

After the warriors left, Everest and I headed back to his house. I tried everything I could come up with to take his mind off of Novak's leaving. I don't know how long we've been asleep, but I figured that we'd probably been knocked out for a while.

Standing up, I stretch before making my way to the kitchen. I move quietly in order to make sure I don't accidentally wake up Everest and open the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

Making my way back to living room where Everest still laid, I carefully stepped over his body and took a seat on the couch. I leaned back until my head was resting against it and stared up at the ceiling.

They should be arriving by now.

They should be at the lab and getting ready to fight.

They should be rescuing Gaius.

Almost there, Onyx.

Closing my eyes, I laid there in silence. By this this time tomorrow, he'll be away from that hellish place. Soon I'll be able to see him again- see his smile, his black hair, his chocolate brown eyes. Soon I'll be able to see my mate.

I opened my eyes and moved to readjust myself so I could lay on the couch, but stopped when pain overtook my body. A groan in pain escaped my lips, followed by a gasp.

"...Onyx, are you okay?" Everest asks in a groggy voice.

I tried to reply but the only thing that came out was a whimper. Everest sat up and turned to me before the sleep left his eyes and was replaced with worry.

"What's wrong?!" He asks.

I didn't know what was wrong. The pain had appeared out of nowhere.

Everest searched my body for a wound.

"There's nothing wrong with you," he tells me.

I lay there confused for a minute before it clicks in my head.

"Gaius," I manage to force out.

Realization smacks Everest in the face and he leaves the room before coming back with a wet rag.

"You're burning up. Just hold on," he says as he places the rag on my forehead.

The pain continues to scorch my body. Whines and Whimpers occasionally escape me ad I lay there waiting for it to fade. Everest stays by my side until I eventually pass out.

...

With a groan, I sit up and glance around the room. Everest is asleep beside me and I can see the sun starting to fade from the window.

The pain is mostly gone now, but It's left behind a painful reminder of what Gaius was going through.

I couldn't just sit around.

Standing up, I move around Everest and make my way to the door. I didn't want to wake him up just so he could try and stop me.

My hand grips the knob just as something grabs the back of my shirt. I don't even have to turn around to know it's Everest.

"You're a light sleeper," I comment.

"Where are you going?" He questions.

"You know where I'm going, Everest," I say with a sigh.

He shakes his head. "Onyx-"

"No, you can't convince me otherwise," I stop him. "He's hurting, Everest. I can feel his pain."

"You can't shift and you don't even know where you're going," he argues.

His points are valid, but I shake my head. "I don't care, I'll find my way."

Everest stares at me for a minute as if he's thinking before he groans and shakes his head.

"Come on," he moves in front of me and gestures me to follow as he opens the door.

"What?"

"Are you coming or not?" He sighs.

"You're going to help me?" I raise my eyebrows.

He shrugs his shoulders. "I might as well. I know what it's like to want to help your mate."

Biting back a smile, I follow Everest as he opens the door. I guess it was a good thing I didn't pick the cellar.

Everest leads me through the pack but makes no move to tell me where we're going. When we stop at the pack house, my brows knit together in confusion and I glance over at him.

"Why are we here?"

Instead of answering me, he walks inside and makes his way up the stairs and to one of the last rooms. Knocking on the door, we wait a few minutes before it opens revealing Vernon.

Vernon's eyebrows raise at the two of us and he leans against the doorframe.

"We need your help," Everest says, not giving him the chance to say anything.

"With what?" Vernon asks curiously.

Everest doesn't say anything and looks around the hallway. Catching on, Vernon steps aside and lets us into his room before shutting the door.

"The laboratory- where's it located?" Everest questions.

Vernon stares at the two of us and grins. "Something tells me you two aren't supposed to know that."

"Please," I plea with him.

"What's in it for me?"

"What do you want?" Everest says.

Vernon hums in thought. "Your brother, is he single?"

Everest frowns at this. "Moses? Moses doesn't date."

Vernon grins at him. "Who said I wanted a date?"

Everest's face heats up and he shakes his head. "I can't promise you anything...but I can try to put in a good word for you."

Vernon grins at him before shrugging. "I'll take it."

He turns around and digs through his bag that sits on the floor before grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil. His eyes turn a shade of pink before he glances over at me. I fight the urge to move out of his line of sight and shudder.

Those eyes are creepy as hell.

Turning back around, he takes the pencil and begins to write something down before handing it to Everest.

"Counting on you," he grins.

Everest looks down at the paper and nods before the two of us make our way to the door.

"Vernon?" I call out. "Thanks."

Vernon gives me a thumbs up and I turn around and follow Everest down the stairs and out of the pack house. We walk quietly to the border and crouch low to avoid the guards.

"We have to be quick," Everest whispers. "They'll notice us soon."

I nod just as he shifts and turns around allowing me to get on his back. I move to do so, but stop right before. Everest stares at me confusedly and instead of replying to him, I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

Come forward please.

I had to try one more time. If I wanted to be of any help then I needed to be able to shift.

I search for my wolf and at first there's nothing. Frowning, I move deeper inside my mind until I'm able to feel him and try to pull him forward. Nothing appears to be working and I can hear footsteps getting close to us.

Come on, our mate needs us.

Everest nudges my leg, but I focus on my wolf. I try harder to get him to come forward and just as I'm about to give up, I feel him do so.

We need to shift.

I try to picture what my wolf would be like. A raven black coat and hazel-yellow eyes.

Come on...

Then I feel it. My bones begin to crack and reform. Whines escape my lips and I can hear warriors coming close to us. My hearing increases and so does my sense of smell. When I open my eyes, Everest's wolf stands in front of me with wide eyes.

We don't have time to focus on what just happened though, the warriors round the corner and they let out a growl. Everest blinks a few times before the two of us dart towards the border and out of the pack lands.

I look back and see two of the wolves chasing after us. Turning back around, I force my legs to speed up and Everest quickly follows. The wolves stop chasing us once we're a little ways away from the pack lands. Everest and I slow down and he moves in front of me and leads us in what I assume to be the direction to the lab.

After walking for a few minutes, we stop and stretch our bodies before taking off running. A howl leaves my mouth before I can stop it and we speed up. My eyes focus on what's ahead of us and it feels like with every step we take, I can feel Gaius a little more. I howl once again and chase after Everest.

I'm coming, Gaius.