It all started with a terrifying screech, followed by a deafening roar.
"We have no time!"
Harper yanked herself off the ground with barely enough time to respond to Lucas's unexpected presence. Her gaze was drawn to guy who had a smile on his face, one reserved for unexpected situations like this one.
Courage returned to Harper’s limbs as she pooled her strength together as leaves and stones rained down on them. "What the hell is going on?" she asked.
"Forest guardian!"
"What?"
"I’ll explain later!"
Harper turned and saw the thrashing monstrosity. "What the hell is that?"
"*The* forest guardian!"
The creature, whose body was covered in moss and lichen, pulled back one of its tentacles and whipped it backward, attempting to flatten them. Fortunately for them, its movement was slow enough to slow down its attack, allowing them enough time to run to avoid its attack.
"Harper, watch out!"
Just as one of the creature's tentacles smashed down to where they were standing just seconds before, Lucas snatched Harper by the waist and yanked her backwards.
As the mossy creature continued to thrash about, it screamed angrily, causing the trees around them to tremble. When a glowing, transparent light emerged over it, it came to a complete halt. The trees shook once more, and leaves, pebbles, and dirt began to fall from the sky.
"Run!" Lucas yelled, and they ran fast through the forest. All the while, the trees' roots and limbs seemed to grab at them and catch them. However, they continued to run, dodging the trailing limbs of the trees, until they were both exhausted, particularly Harper. But she persisted until she collapsed in the grass, her legs immobile and her breathing labored.
"I—can we—I don't know if it's still following us," she said between deep breaths.
They staggered as the ground under their feet rattled, just as they were catching their breath after hearing the creature creak and groan from afar. Despite her panic, Harper managed to right herself as she fell. All seemed to come to a halt after that as they stared down at their feet.
The earth, which had appeared to be solidly covered in weeds and dead twigs, broke open, arching across the floor like a bolt of lightning, right under their feet. Harper raised her eyes to Lucas, but the ground gave way before she could say something. When they fell, she let out a scream and Lucas let out a startled shout.
They fought to stay above the ground, but nothing could stop their rapid descent into the abyss. As they tried to remain on top of the wave of loose pebbles and sandy silt that was hurling them down, their feet jostled under them. Lucas clung tightly to every twig and fissure in the dirt, but he couldn't stop because of the momentum. Harper was scraped and battered by the rough terrain before she finally came to a stop. She shrieked as she tumbled forward violently into a dark pit, her leg twisting painfully underneath her.
Harper's scream echoed through the empty cave, and she realized it wasn't as big as she had imagined. As she looked up, she noticed a sliver of light coming from the shaft they'd just fallen into.
Her eyes fluttered open weakly. Her ankle was in pain, and her neck was stiff and sore. When the thing she was sitting on groaned and started to roll, her heart raced. She raised her head with a squeak, ignoring the pain in her throat, and realized what was underneath her.
Lucas was sprawled out on his back, hair askew. Harper was draped over his thighs, just above the knees, head resting on his arm from where it had previously hung over, making her neck sore. Sense and reason finally returned, and Harper winced at the battered state of her body. She could only imagine how Lucas felt as a human cushion.
Lucas's eyes flickered open as Harper coughed, blinking through the dim light and settling dirt.
"What are you doing?" Harper grunted back as she attempted to wriggle her arms that were trapped at awkward angles.
“Trying to get off you," Lucas groaned and tried to dislodge his right arm that was stuck somewhat behind him and his left arm that was caught up and wedged beside them, his bent elbow lodged against the wall opposite him, so his hand and forearm were slightly above the level of their faces hanging awkwardly.
Harper’s eyes widened and glared at him who was underneath her. She wiggled her body in the tight space and shifted her weight. “I think it’s better you take that side and I…” she tried to push herself up before making a pained sound and halting. Her leg was very sore and her ankle was throbbing.
Lucas paused and remained still, not wanting to jostle her. “Just wait until you’re ready.” he said, turning the forearm as far as he could to see the long gash the stone had cut into his skin. “Dammit.”
It seemed an eternity had passed before felt the pain fading, and Lucas carefully helped her move. After a couple of minutes, with both of them ending with red-faced and out of breath, they finally were finally able to sit up, back resting against dirt that surrounded them
"This can’t be really be happening," Harper panted, letting her head fall back against the stone and closing her eyes as she tried to catch her breath.
Across from her, Lucas rested his own head back and watched her for a moment before roaming his gaze about to finally ascertain just how bad their situation was.
Squinting her eyes up at the opening high above them, he sighed in disbelief as it was bad. The crack they were stuck in deep and descended at an extremely steep angle. They were just lucky enough that the it didn’t split completely to the bottom.
Harper opened her eyes to look up at the crack they'd fallen into and the sheer walls leading up to it. It was cold and damp down here, and fear rose in her chest. She wrapped her arms around her and her eyes landed on Lucas’ face. Much to her surprise, his face seemed basically the same except that he was more toned and almost rugged.
"Come on,” Lucas spoke up after a time, squinting his eyes up again at the opening high above them. "The way is steep but I think we can still climb back up."
Harper looked at him, the light from the crack above them was enough for Lucas to read the pained expression on her face. As she changed her seating position, she hissed in pain. "I think I hurt my ankle―"
Lucas watched the outline of her face with anxiety. He waited for Harper to regain some control over her breathing, before saying, “Can you move at all?"
“Perhaps give me a minute?” A loud screeching sound abruptly silenced them both. Harper sighed as she raised her eyes to the crack above them. "Then there’s that."
"Dammit," Lucas muttered. He brought a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes.
"Don’t worry, I should be ready to climb back out as soon as I get the feeling in my legs back," Harper added slightly sourly.
Immediately, Lucas reached out to inspect her leg and ankle, a look of sudden worry on his face.
"Nothing’s broken, Lucas. Once the aching fades, I should be back up on my feet. "
"Okay." He reached for her foot anyway, and started to softly massaging it.
Harper withdrew her foot. "No. It’s fine…you don’t have to. "
Lucas blinked, confused by her reaction. Clearing his throat, he began to rise unsteadily, shaking out his numb legs. "Well, considering the distance we fell, it’ll be quite a feat for you to climb on," he said, gesturing above them.
Harper craned her neck to get a better look. It was as if they'd fallen down a chute that sucked them in and dropped them in a pit. On the inside, it was all stone and dirt around them but the outside seemed to be covered in tree twigs and weeds. "We should be out of here before nightfall," she said.
"That’s the goal," said Lucas, who was now hopping up and down on the spot, trying to force the blood back into his legs. He then paused and looked at Harper, who was leaning against a dirt wall, one knee to her chest. Her eyes were different. They didn't look at all scared or worried, she simply looked distant.
"Don’t worry. As soon as I can wiggle my ankle again without any pain, we’d be out of here. I just hope that your friend up there won’t be there to welcome us back with open tentacles."
"The forest guardians…They’re ah… They’re not mean creatures… "
"Oh, really? So, what the hell was that piece of giant green blob doing then? And, wait, there’s more of that thing?”
“Two.” Lucas sighed. "And they don’t like…" He paused and looked away. "My kind."
Harper rolled her eyes. “You mean *Lycans*?" She looked thoughtful for a moment.
Lucas looked at her, taken aback.
She stared back at him, sighed and lowered her knee. "I know everything now, Lucas."
Lucas remained silent for a moment before he sat back down in front of her without saying a word.
"Why didn’t you transform and fight that forest creature, by the way? Were you scared to shift in front of me? " she asked him when he remained quiet.
"It’s not that," he replied softly. "This whole forest is protected by some powerful spell by one of the five powerful mages who first came here with the First Fours. Our wolves are forbidden to come out here. We simply can’t shift. We’re pretty much just humans around here. "
Harper thought about it for a moment before nodding. "No wonder they’ve stopped coming after us."
"They?"
"The Red Wolf and his savage friends."
"So, you’ve met the new breed of rebels. The Red Wolf is a descendant of the first rebel,” Lucas answered matter-of-factly. "He’s been growing his army for the past decades."
Harper’s eyes narrowed at him. "How is it that you know all this stuff things when you’ve lived all your life in our world?"
"It is mandatory for us to study our own history prior to embarking on our first phase or transformation. Alex's father, Lord Ramon, is a council member. Every solstice, all lords gather to discuss politics and keep up with what's going on in the two worlds."
"Damn," Harper thought to herself, letting her eyes sadly travel around at the barren, rocky walls. "You have a council of Lycans? And what is *The First Four*?
“Lycans and vampires.” Lucas smiled briefly. "And the First Four…" he continued. "Were the first two vampires: Count Aleksei and Queen Sofia; and the first two Lycans: Prince Thrain and Princess Helga. They created this place for our kind, and they created The Treaty. Helene, the mage, wanted a safe haven for non-shifters. So, she created this place."
"Non-shifters? You mean humans? Like me? So, there are humans in this place?" Harper screwed up her face then as she tried again to find a better position for her injured angle within the tight space.
Lucas slowly nodded. "Nebiru has a tumultuous past. No one knows why, but Helene had a soft spot for humans. She devoted her last breath to creating this human refuge when the first war between the rebels and King Ascian broke out. When inside here, her safe haven, no powers can be used."
"Who was King Ascian?"
"*Is*. He’s still alive. He’s the king of the vampires – The Blood King. He rules the Kingdom of Hansteria. While Queen Niran, the Moon Queen, rules Kingdom Lemelherv. "
Harper let out a long sigh, shaking her head slowly. "Wow. I’ve never ever imagined in my whole life that there’s a whole new world out here. And that vampires, Lycans, and... magic exist."
"I know. And it’s a lot to take in. "
She looked a bit annoyed and pulled a face she usually reserved for Alex. "You have no freaking idea, Lucas."
"I'm sorry, Harper. I should not have involved you into this mess. If only I knew then what I know now, " Lucas said with a slight laugh to hide his apparent nervousness.
"What the hell did you do, Lucas?" Harper asked through gritted teeth. "Aleister told me you’ve committed a crime. Have you?"
Lucas grunted, looking disgusted at the mention of Aleister’s name. "What else did that bloodsucker tell you? And how did you get here? "
"He told me everything."
"What exactly?"
"I think you know exactly what. You've committed a crime, and Aleister wanted me to return you to our world. You left me on my own to deal with Alex when you went off with another criminal. What the hell, Lucas?" Harper's tone was stern and tinged with resentment.
Lucas pressed his lips together. It was entirely his fault that she found herself in this strange land in the first place. And this wasn't exactly how he had envisioned their reunion. He expected it to be less dramatic and more hugs and kissing.
"I didn’t commit any crime, Harper. Aleister lied to you. The only thing I did was save Francine,” he said softly. He used to wrestle with himself over whether or not he should tell Harper everything. He had yearned show her his true self, but he was terrified of being rejected and putting her life in the process. But there was just no hiding anything from her now. "Mira helped me and Francine escape. We waited for her to open the doorway back to our world, " he added.
Harper swallowed. "Mira’s dead."
"What?!"
She watched as emotions changed in Lucas’ face. "Alex killed her. And Aleister. And Viessa. "
"Viessa?"
"And a whole bunch of Aleister’s army wolves," she added.
"He―why? What happened? "
She turned her face to stare at the blue eyes that were lit by the faint light from the crack above them as he looked at her with an affection she knew that she did not deserve now.
Not after what had happened between her and Alex.
"Mira, she―ah, she brought me and Alex to that creepy castle. I met Aleister and Viessa. Aleister told me everything I needed to know― "
"What did he tell you exactly?" Lucas cut in. His heart was pounding against his chest.
"That you’re a criminal. That Mira was Alex’s mate. That you’re a Lycan, just like Alex. That you're― " Harper paused and bit her lower lip, not at all comfortable with what she was about to say next. "That I’m your mate."
“He’s right. I am,” Lucas confirmed.
Harper felt as if her heart had dropped out of her chest.
“But I’m no criminal, Harper,” Lucas added. “I only saved Francine so she could be with Alex.”
“Alex?”
“Yes, he is Francine’s mate. Not Mira.”
Immediately, silence befell them.