Chapter 21: Chapter Twenty

The cabin's door is open. I hesitate at first, but then I push the door open slightly. I see Dantes and Emilio sitting at the table, and I take a step back. Penelope isn't here, I can tell. She never is when Dantes is conducting a meeting. But as I'm about to leave, I hear something that freezes me in place. I lean closer to the door again.

"...kill her. Do you understand?"

"Perfectly, Alpha Dantes."

Are they talking about Sylvia? Did they kill her? I place my hand over my mouth and I inch closer to the door. I can't be hearing right.

"I don't want her close to Raphas anymore. She's a bad influence on him, and ever since she stepped foot in here, everything has been going badly. My nephew no longer respects me. He's defying me because of her."

"Yes, Alpha."

"Go with Bernard and take her deep into the woods. Make it seem like a rogue's doing, don't leave any scent behind. He'll trace it."

"Understood, Alpha."

Dantes pauses. "I've had enough of that bitch around here. If the silver didn't kill her, this most certainly will. Go, fetch Bernard. I want this done immediately."

I take a step back and I stumble. They're talking about me? I shake my head in disbelief. Dantes wants me dead? I can't believe this. I start running in the opposite direction. I'm trying to smell Raphas in the air, but I don't catch a trace of him. Where is he? How am I ever going to find him? I never know where he goes during the day. I always assumed he would be with Dantes. There are so many places he could be around here.

I see Max and my heart skips a beat. I run towards him and when I touch him, he flinches. I grab his small shoulders and I shake him.

"Where's Raphas?" He looks scared and he shrugs his shoulders. Leo and Bella are looking at me with wild eyes. I'm frightening them, but right now I don't care. It's a matter of life and death. My life is at risk, and Emilio and Bernard are looking for me right now.

"Find him!" I tell him. "Find him. Tell him Dantes is trying to kill me. Tell him they're after me!" He nods and runs. I don't know where he'll find Raphas, but I need to find a place to hide. I can't stay out in the open. I need to find a cabin and hide until Raphas shows up. I can't go to ours, that's the first place they'll look. Sandra's. I could hide there. I start running in that direction when I come across Emilio and Bernard. My heart sinks. Their faces are cruel and I take a step back.

"Stay away from me!" I shout, but they don't seem bothered by the fact that I'm shouting. He's the Beta and Bernard is some kind of executioner. No one would question their motives. No one here cares enough about me to help me. I start running and I hear them run after me. My heart is in my throat and I realize I'm running from my life. I head straight for the woods and I don't stop. They're close behind me, and all I can do is go straight ahead. Raphas, where are you? I need you. I will him to come find me.

I hear their footsteps behind me and then, the sound of bones grinding against each other. To my horror, I realize they're shifting. My breath catches in my throat and I keep running as fast as I can. I've lost complete sense of direction. All I know is that I need to get away from them and survive this. I will my body to shift, but I don't know what's inhibiting it, my ever-growing panic or my lack of experience with shifting. The first and only time I've shifted was during the full moon. And it was against my will. I didn't consciously do it. I have no idea how to shift. Why didn't I ever make Raphas teach me? How could I have been so careless about this?

They're gaining on me and the panic blinds me. I trip over stones and fallen branches, but I get back up again. It doesn't take them long to catch up to me, and one of the pounces on me. He lands on my back and I fall on my face. Warm blood trickles down the side of my face and his weight on my back is crushing and knocks the wind right out of me. The other stands in front of me, also in wolf form, and flashes his sharp teeth at me. I scream for help until my throat burns and strains at the effort.

I never stop screaming.

And it pays off. I can't believe my luck when I see two wolves running in my direction. I see them, Emilio and Bernard don't. I don't recognize their scents, but I don't care. One of them attacks Bernard—I know Bernard is the largest of the two—and Emilio gets off my back. I don't wait around. I start running in the opposite direction, in the direction I think I came from. My lungs are on fire and there's blood covering my whole face I think I have a few broken ribs, but right now I don't feel any pain. I stumble my way back, and I keep an ear out for their howls and growls. They're a safe distance behind me, but my paranoia keeps me going. I don't stop for a single breath. I need to find my way back to the camp and back to Raphas. Has Max found him by now? I hope so. I can't do this without him.

When the howling stops, I do to. I'm breathing too hard and I will myself to calm down. I try listening to anything, but there's nothing to hear. I start running again when I hear it. Footfalls right behind me, still a good distance away, but I shouldn't wait around. I run with everything I have. Did Bernard and Emilio manage to fight those two wolves? Are they coming after me again? I taste blood in my mouth and my breath is wheezy. I don't think I can keep going for long. They're getting closer and closer and to make things worse, I trip and fall.

They find me struggling to get to my feet I realize they're no longer in wolf form. I don't recognize them, and I don't like the way they're looking at me. I thought they were trying to help me? Why are they just standing there and watching me?

"What do you want?" I ask through gritted teeth.

One of them says, "You have to come with us."

"Where do you plan on taking me?"

"We only follow orders, miss." The shortest of them says. "If the Alpha decreed it, we do it. Simple as that."

I growl. "Did Dantes tell you to kill me, too? Is that it?" But even as the words leave my lips they make no sense. Why would they kill, and that's what I assume they did, Bernard and Emilio if they were fulfilling the same task? There's someone else, but I can't possibly think of who it is.

The tall one hisses. "Don't say his name. He's a traitor to us."

"Who then?" I scream. "Tell me!"

They share a look and move to restrain me. I take steps back, but one grabs me by the waist. My bones crack further and I howl with pain. I scratch them and bite them, and I'm free for a second, but then they grab my arms. I pull my arms away and I shout at them to let me go. I think I'm closer to the camp. Maybe someone will hear me, or Raphas will find me. I scream his name at the top of my lungs.

"Keep her still!"

"I'm trying. She won't stop moving."

I kick and scream, but even if I wasn't in this debilitated state, they would have still been stronger than me. At this point, I'm just hoping someone hears me. They grab my legs and they hit me over the head with something and black dots blur my vision.