I crept forwards, keeping my body low to the floor and muscles tense for an attack. The enemy sighed, his hands fiddling with the knife in his hands.

I paused when he shifted his weight and turned my body so it was always at his back. He wouldn't see it coming. It was all or nothing.

Memories flashed through my mind, my heart thrumming in my chest. Adrenaline rushed through me, supporting my anger of wanting to take this man down. I had to be stealthy and careful he didn't warn the others.

Ready Cel?

'Always.' She growled.

I rose from the ground and shifted to my human form. I took in a deep breath as I focused, keeping my attention on not losing my composure.

I dropped my shoulders, hunching my back and clutching at my sides. I let out a whimper as I staggered across the muddy ground towards him.

He spun around on defence but when his eyes found me they widened in realisation. "You? Again? What are you doing here?"

"Please," I begged, tripping to my knees as I cast my hair over my face. "I don't wanna die."

His footsteps grew closer and I saw the toes of his boots in front of me. "I have every right to kill you, you've ruined my ranking in this pack. Ruined our game. Now your pack mutts know where we are."

I let out an involuntary screech as he grabbed my hair and yanked me to look at him. My eyes met his cold ones, dark with anger. His grip tightened on my hair before his fist came swinging towards my face.

I reacted immediately, pushing with all of Cel's strength I grabbed his fist. He grunted at the impact as I threw his arm to the side. I jabbed him with my elbow in the gut and he lost his balance which caused him to release my hair. I lifted my foot and kicked him so hard in the chest that I sent him to the ground.

I panted at the exertion and he sat there dumbfounded before a deep and feral growl escaped his throat. Cel surged forward, her need becoming bloodthirsty and she pounced, shifting into her wolf form. Her claws tore into him, ripping at his clothes and his chest much as he did to me. She tore into his pants, dismembering him with a feral snarl.

He screamed in pain and terror but it was muffled by Cel grabbing hold of his neck and shaking him. I heard the sound of his neck crack before she tore out his jugular. Once she was satisfied with her kill, she stepped off of him, panting deeply.

I could feel the blood and flesh under my nails, my dark fur matted with blood. I knew I wouldn't have long before the alert was sounded; he no doubt got some kind of panic through their mind link.

Shakily I shifted, casting one last glance at his beaten form. I felt proud of myself, for taking him down so easily. Although, proud of Cel for doing most of the work.

I stepped up to the key on the hook and pulled it down. I hesitated, expecting an alarm of sorts to trigger, but was pleasantly surprised to find there was none.

I made my way over to the first cages and began to unlock them. I hurried, gently waking the women who stared at me in fear. I made it to the tenth cage when roaring footsteps sounded in the distance.

I froze, pausing my movements to concentrate on the sounds. I inhaled, hoping to get a smell of who was approaching but came up short. The spell was still intact.

Sean? I gasped.

'Yes?' His reply was muffled and ragged. 'Did you get the key?'

I did. I swallowed before going back to unlock the cages. But I can hear loads of footsteps coming east of here.

He growled. 'I know, we're trying to chase them back down.'

We?

'Me and Pollux. Still no sign of anyone else.'

I whimpered an okay and hurried. I managed to unlock three more, the silver burning at my fingertips. My skin was blistering but I carried on, wanting nothing more than to save the girls.

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2021 © XDeafening_SilenceX on W a t t p a d

I finally reached the last cage and with shaky hands, I unlocked it before throwing the key away into the trees.

I waited for the sound of the key to hit the floor but it must've gone pretty far because I heard nothing. Strange...

A rustling came from ahead of me and I pushed, narrowing my eyes to focus on the darkness. I felt my breath come shortly as I came face to face with two eyes. They glared at me, their face dark and angered as they stalked closer. More eyes appeared beside him, wolf faces filling in the gaps in the trees.

My mind flashed back to the sunset painting I had made, the fearful group of wolves as once stood out the most. The dark-looking shadows of the unknown in the trees.

The hairs on my arms raised in anticipation as my heart pounded in my chest.

Sean? I shrieked.

'What's wrong?'

Please tell me you changed your direction.

'No... what's going on? Nova!'

I swallowed, backing up until my feet bumped a cage. None of the women had broken out yet, choosing to stay inside their confines. I was glad they did; it meant most likely fewer casualties.

I inhaled deeply when his familiar face came into view, his dark brown eyes were hard as he stared at me. I licked my dry lips, my chest constricting every breath.

"Well... what a surprise to see you here." He smirked.

He's here. I breathed, sending him an image of the trees.

I blinked rapidly, taking note of the wolves that began to surround me. I moved my way slowly through the cages, aiming for the middle of them. They would be a good enough barrier for now.

"Last I heard one of my men had you killed." He growled. "But instead you lead your worthless pack here. Tell me, Nova, how does it feel to know your whole life was a lie?"

I growled, keeping my defensive stance despite my nudity. "Steven, you don't have to do this. Just own up. These are innocent people."

He laughed. "My father said the same, but it is too bad he is on his death bed now."

My heart clenched as images of Damien dying formed in my brain. Had Steven killed him? To take over?

"Ah, I see you're putting pieces together in that pretty little head of yours." He grinned sadistically. "Beta, bring the witch."

Beta Tobias brought a struggling Raven forwards, her hands bound in front of her. Her face was filled with fresh cuts and marks, and a slight limp to her form.

"Leave her alone." I snapped.

They both chuckled and Raven gave me a soft smile. She stood beside Steven, saying nothing.

"She is mine to do what I wish." Steven chuckled. "Now, let's have a story, Nova. When some rogues decided to break my borders I interrogated them and found they had the most wonderful plan. You see, they wanted to be top of the world, for us to take over and abolish the hierarchy of our kind. Every man for themselves... so we joined forces, and I helped sneak them into packs after the death of their witch. It wasn't until we caught the fresh scent of nearby Lycan shifting that we changed our course. We followed the trail, only to find two witches, and to my surprise, one of them just so happens to be my mate. Raven here was more than eager to please me and pay for killing the other witch. She has been quite useful."

I inhaled sharply at the admittance and a small no escaped my lips. Raven was his mate? Is that why she left with them so willingly? My anger boiled as the thoughts swam through my mind.

"You don't treat your mate like that!" I snapped. "You are using her! And Sophie!"

He scoffed. "Sophie knows! When she found her mate she rejected him for me! She's infatuated with me! She bullied you every single day to try to get on my good side!"

My mouth was hanging open at this point, but I kept my arms firmly around myself to hide my dignity. I wasn't appreciating the wolves that stalked around me, and my backpack had been dropped near Rose.

'We're coming, Nova. Nearly there.' Pollux panted.

"You're awful!"

"And you're a Lycan!" He laughed. "Finally after so many years of having you in my damn house, you shifted! I tried to hide your scent and injuries but then that arsehole Titan had to take you to his pack because you shifted at last! Greedy selfish man wanted the Lycan for himself!"

I growled a warning. "Do not disrespect him. You are not worthy of your title."

His grin widened. "Soft spot for him? Does what I say offend you?"

Growling sounded from my right and soon Sean and Pollux came charging through the cabins and launched themselves to my side. Steven watched them with his satanic grin, eyes up to my brother with interest.

"I am happy another survived. It means more power and blood for me." He teased

Pollux snapped his jaws, his hackles raised on his back. 'Who is this man Nova?'

Alpha Steven. My old pack Alpha. I mumbled. Raven is his mate. He's using her.

Pollux growled and clawed at the Earth.

"You know, when your family was murdered, my father heard about the Hala line being defeated and he was very sad." He began, "But then when a small infant girl with green eyes and blonde hair passed through our patrol route. And he was determined you were a Lycan. He kept you by his side for over a year, his hope of having a Lycan in his pack overruled anything else. Then you didn't shift when you were of Lycan age, and he had to pass you on to look after the pack. He cared more for you than me your whole life. When he found out about my plans with the rogues, I had no choice but to poison him."

I snarled at him. "So what, you're jealous? I am glad I didn't shift, who knows what experiments you had planned for me."

He bared his canines at me. "We took plenty of your blood as an infant. Tell me, Nova, do you remember your childhood? Once you began to realise we were taking your blood, we had to stop, but thankfully we had enough stored."

Sean growled and stalked around the area, the women in the cages shaking with fear.

"Who's this? Another man fell to the hierarchy?" He teased. "I'm guessing either mate or protector going by how much I'm pissing him off."

I growled and shifted my weight. "You're going to regret all of this."

He smirked and jostled Raven who cried out in fear. My heart jolted for her; the mind games he must play on the mate bond must be killing her.

"I have a witch. You have two wolves and an army full of female humans." He chuckled before shoving Raven to the floor.

He began to walk closer, his body eager and tense for a fight. "So try me. You won't get very far. I was going to have you killed but I think I'll keep you to myself."

I shuddered at the thought but found my gaze lowering to where Raven lay on the floor. I stared at her and as her pained dark eyes met mine, I pleaded with all the emotion I had for her to help. She kept her face solemn and I sighed when I glanced away.

A sudden stabbing at my mind had me wince and bend over, my breaths coming short. Barks sounded beside me and soon Pollux was shoving his nose into my face. I breathed deeply as it began to vanish and soon there was a tingling numbness across my mate mark. The familiar warmth encompassed my brain and my mind thrummed with the sharpness of the bond.

Pollux moved away to growl at offenders near the sides of the clearing. I was still in the centre of the cages so it would be hard for me to run or fight, but it was doable.

I inhaled sharply before lifting my head to stare at Steven as the numbness spread through my veins. He was frowning at me, his hand moving to his side. I noticed a dagger sat in his belt, a wooden hilt and no doubt a silver blade.

He took my moment of pain to his advantage and charged. Sean and Pollux leapt into action but wolves surrounded them and caught them by surprise. I had no time to think as the knife came hurtling towards me, and in my moment of fog, I was slow.

I wailed when the knife embedded itself into my shoulder, my hand darting to fret over the area. I straightened myself up to standing, tears forming in my eyes as the silver burned at my skin. I cried out as I yanked the knife from my flesh, rn four or so inches of it coming out covered in blood. My arm ran with pins and needles and blood seeped out the wound.

I breathed deeply and swiped out with the knife just as Steven grew close. He jumped out of the way, on top of one of the cages. He grinned evilly at me as he dodged my swipes.

"That all you got?" He teased.

My heart hammered in my chest as the pounding of footsteps grew closer. I panted deeply from the pain I felt in my shoulder, swallowing down my nausea of the blood.

"You're gonna regret.. that." I breathed.

"Oh am I?" He cooed. "You've never been able to stand up for yourself Nova. Why try now?"

I licked my lips and kept the pressure on my wound as I moved my way through the cages. I noticed only a few wolves were fighting, and none advanced too close to me as I backed away toward Raven.

"I am capable of hurting you. I am stronger than you think." I growled, my arm still on fire with pain.

Without further warning, I threw the knife through the air and smirked as it embedded into his own. He barely grunted, a manic laugh leaving his mouth as he stared down at the hilt of the knife.

"Call that a throw?" He shouted.

I shook my head, just as the roaring footsteps came even closer. "Eh, the wind must have changed."

He frowned, narrowing his eyes as he tried to sniff out something. His eyes darted to Raven and he growled at her.

"You hid all the scents?" He snapped.

I stood in front of her and he snapped his attention to me. "You do not get to control her. One thing about so-called stupid worthless hierarchies is that there is always someone to have you back."

He had no chance to react as the sudden bombard of wolves flooded out of the trees. In a panic, he threw the knife but I dodged it and it was embedded into an enemy wolf behind me instead.

I smiled in relief when my pack charged the clearing. One thing was on our minds, and that was revenge.

•••

Ahhhh what an action chapter! Suuureeee thing

Thank you for reading!!

Learn some truths in this chapter!!!! Anyone see that coming?

Favourite place to go for a morning/afternoon/day? 🌳 🌆

Mine would be the forest or the beach at sunset!