Chapter 144: Midnight Deadline

Maddie Pov

I walked through the thick trees and did not make a sound. The ground was covered in dry leaves and I had to be careful where I stepped.

I could smell the woodsmoke before I saw the clearing. It was a sharp smell that caught in the back of my throat. I stopped behind a large oak tree and looked ahead.

The Silverthorn camp was not very big. They had three tents set up in a circle around a small fire.

The fire was low and the orange light made the shadows dance against the canvas. I looked at the center of the camp.

The girls were there. They were sitting on the ground in a tight circle. Their hands were tied behind their backs with thick brown rope.

Elara was sitting in the front. She looked at the ground and her shoulders were shaking. She had a bruise on her cheek that looked dark in the firelight.

The other girls were leaning against each other. None of them were talking. They just looked tired and small.

I stepped out from behind the tree. My boots made a crunching sound on the leaves and I did not try to hide it. I wanted them to see me.

"I am here," I said and I kept my hands where they could see them.

The girls all looked up at the same time. Elara’s eyes went wide and she tried to stand up but her legs were tied together too. She made a muffled sound behind the cloth they had tied over her mouth.

"Maddie, stop," a voice said from the shadows.

Theo stepped out from behind the furthest tent. He was wearing his dark coat and his face was very still. He held a small glass vial in his hand. The green liquid inside was glowing. It looked bright against the dark woods. He looked at me and then he looked at the girls.

"You are early," Theo said and he walked toward the fire.

"I am on time. Let them go."

"I do not think I will do that just yet," he said.

"That was the deal, Theo. You said if I came alone, they live."

"I said they live. I did not say they could leave," Theo said and he stopped five feet away from me.

I looked at Elara. She was watching me and her eyes were full of tears. I felt a pull in my chest but I did not let my face change. I had to stay calm. If I got angry now, he would use that vial before I could do anything.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"I want to see you," Theo said and he held the vial up. "I want to see the White Wolf. I have heard so many stories about how beautiful you are when you shift. I think it is time for a private showing."

"If I shift, you let them go?"

"Shift for me, princess, and they live," Theo said and he smiled.

I looked at the girls again. I looked at the ropes on their wrists. I knew I was faster than him. I knew I could cover the distance between us in one jump if I was in my wolf form. But the vial was right there in his hand.

If he dropped it, the liquid would hit the ground and turn into a cloud of green mist. I had seen what it did to Calix. I did not want that to happen to the girls.

"Do it," Theo said.

I did not think. I just moved. I called on the wolf inside me. It was not hard this time. The white wolf wanted to be out. She wanted to fight. I felt the heat start at the base of my spine and move up to my neck.

My bones shifted, popped and the sound was loud in the quiet clearing. I hit the ground on four paws and I felt the strength in my legs.

I was huge. My fur was pure white and it caught the light from the moon and the fire. I felt the power of it. It was like I was made of light.

The girls all gasped and even Theo took a step back. His eyes went very wide and he stared at me like I was something he had never seen before.

"You really are something," Theo said and his voice was a bit shaky.

I let out a low growl. It was a deep sound that started in my chest and made the ground vibrate. I was getting ready to spring. I watched his hand. I watched the way his fingers were wrapped around the glass vial.

Theo stepped closer. He was not smiling anymore. He looked like he was in a trance. He reached out with his free hand like he wanted to touch my fur.

"Now you belong to me," Theo said.

I lunged. I was fast. I was a streak of white light across the dirt. I opened my mouth to grab his arm and pull him away from the girls. I was going to pin him down and let them run.

But Theo was faster than I expected. He did not drop the vial. He did not run. He just waited until I was right in front of him and then he threw the vial straight into my open mouth.

The glass hit the back of my throat and shattered.

I felt the liquid splash across my tongue. It was cold and it tasted like copper and old dirt. I tried to spit it out but it was already moving down my throat. It felt like I had swallowed a handful of needles.

The world started to spin. I hit the ground hard and my legs gave out. I tried to stand up but my paws felt like they were made of lead. I looked at my own legs and I saw the white fur.

It was changing, the bright white light was fading away. A dark, blood-red color started at my paws and moved up my body. It looked like ink soaking into a white cloth.

"As for them," Theo said. "I think we can leave them here for the scouts to find. Or maybe we just…"

A loud sound rang out through the trees. It was a sharp, cracking noise that made my ears ring. It was a gunshot.

Theo stopped talking. His eyes went very wide and his mouth hung open. He looked down at his own chest and then he looked behind him.

A small hole had appeared in the middle of his back. Dark blood started to soak into his coat.