Chapter Forty-Two: Secret Maps

Alexander Lykos

*"This is as far as we can take you, Xander. My people can go no further."*

Some of Maxwell's wolves pawed at the ground in frustration of their limits, and my heart went out to them... they were so close and yet so far away from their homeland, unable to enter it, but also unable to move on to join their loved ones.

"You have already done more than I could have ever asked you for."

Maxwell extended his front paws and bowed, the rest doing the same.

*"Don't let Stephen take what is rightfully yours and Sapphire's again, Xander... once this land belongs to you both shall we truly be free."

I took a deep breath and nodded, letting it out slowly as they retreated back in to the forest.

"Stay calm, Xander, it will do us no good if you let the pressure get to you."

"I could not even save my own pack, Jared. Now the weight of liberating my 'first' family has been added on to my shoulders... I have to make I fulfill all the promises I made, or I don't deserve to be an Alpha."

Angel opened her mouth to retort before I hushed her by shoving a few vials of clear liquid in to her hands.

"Take these in sparing amounts... we are not sure how long we are going to be in Blackwater, and so cannot risk running out. Should we run out, I want all of you to run back into the clearing as fast as you can, most of the warriors here have the scent of Shadow Mountain wolves memorised. Don't do anything foolish by staying, even if it means leaving our own behind once more."

Amelia snarled at my words, her lips curling to bare her teeth.

"I don't like this anymore than you do, but they have a better chance of getting out of here alive if we are free and alive ourselves."

None of them said anything else as they took the vials, the mood sombre and I knew that they would do everything in their power to go against what I had just said because of how deep pack bonds go. There are some packs that could care less of what happens to their member as long as they get to keep their lives. Pack members like mine on the other hand, would rather die than to leave their own behind... a trait that I had always been proud of, but times like this forced me to go against everything I stood for.

I was about to ask Amelia to lead the way when she slammed her body into the three of us, forcing us behind thick bushes. Angel opened her mouth in protest before I slapped my hand against her mouth, putting a finger to my lips as the sound of footsteps drew closer.

"Do you actually think that the Alpha of Shadow Mountain would so dense to come into our territory?"

"Alpha Damien think so, and you know that we should not question his judgement... lest we end up as his *test subjects*."

A chill ran down my spine at his words... what was Damien doing in Blackwater?

"I am not that thick to do that in front of him or his minions... his threat was crystal clear, believe me, I will never get those images erased from my mind..."

We ducked down even further as one of the guards snarled, and bit our lips shut as chips of bark rained down on us from a branch that was thrown against the tree behind us.

"I understand using captives, but children, Gerad? The Verat Pack did many things, but children were never to be touched. I have heard the stories about Alpha Damien, but never believed he could do such things to them."

It was Angel's turn to slap her hand against my mouth as my lips started to curl back, her other hand pinching my arm to redirect my attention on to her. She released her hold on my arm and gripped my jaw to force me to look at her, she shook her head slowly, a gesture to remind me to stay calm.

"To think he is doing all of this for a girl, what makes her so special?"

"Have you not heard of the stories, Jack? She is not just any girl--"

The guard named Jack let out a laugh, cutting of whatever his partner was saying.

"You mean the fairytales? Believe what you will, Jack, but no one can sell me on that. Besides, from what I am hearing from the stronghold... his efforts have borne no fruit, she still refuses to break."

My heart swoll with pride, as they spoke of Sapphire's strength... but it sank as I thought of what Damien was putting her through, he was repeating what he had done in Black Blood... Sapphire will never yield, but she will never heal from it.

We keep still as their voices faded away, our ears straining to catch any sound that might betray the presence of another patrol team... but there was nothing. I made a move to get up when Angel placed her hand on the side of my face before moving them down to my hands which I had not realised had been curled into fist.

*"Sapphire is one of the strongest people I have ever met, she can take care of herself, and we will find her very soon."*

I gave her a small smile before gesturing at Amelia to lead the way. She looked at me skeptically with her large blue eyes before turning away. We traveled for about ten minutes before the buildings came into view. Amelia tilted her head in confusion before venturing in further, we tried to stop her but it was to late... she had already moved to stand behind a large building, her head peering out from the side.

*"What has he done to this place?"*

I followed her gaze and was greeted with a sense of... familiarity. The structures of the buildings, the layout, even the stone paths... I knew them all... Damien had recreated our first home. He had patched together *Avarelia*, but yet it did not feel welcoming, not like in my dreams... the whole place felt cold and dull. He had built this place up in his image, in what he deemed Avarelia should have been. Under my rule, the people were in charge of their village, but here, there were guards placed in every nook and cranny to observe the *townspeople*.

*"The stronghold was to be beyond the Pack Village, on its right... but all the paths that I could have taken you undetected are useless now, he has changed this so much--"

*"But I can, Amelia."*

*"You can?"*

*"I once ruled a place like this, Jared. I should be able to."*

My eyes searched the fronts of the buildings before I saw what I needed, my lips curling into a smile.

*"We should be able to move through undetected if we follow the alley behind the Blacksmith, there are no windows facing that way."*

The three of them stared at me as if I had grown a second head, but I paid them no mind as I checked my surroundings and quickly moved forward... narrowly missing a group of Damien's pack members carrying various boxes... the sound of glass clinking against each other followed them.

I motioned at the rest of them with my hand, there were a few moments of hesitation before they ran across. I did not wait for them to collect themselves as I walked down the alley, my hand brushing against the wood of the shops. The last time I had seem them, they were charred and broken as a result of the fire Damien had started, but now, it might be me who burns them.

We quickly moved through the alley and made a break for the forest edge as the stronghold came into view, as the clearing in front of us it provided us with no protection from being spotted. We skirted around the edge before we stopped in our tracks, my claws extending as I sank into a crouch.

The woman picking at the Lime bushes stopped what she was doing and looked us, her face void of any fear or shock... in fact, it was void of any emotions as if she had it sucked out of her.

"Mia, are you done yet? Alpha Damien says he wants another round of treatment on Sapphire's hair, and he is a man I do not want to keep on waiting."

Her eyes never left the three of us as she continued to fill her basket with more of the fruit. She broke her gaze only to pick up the basket, which was filled to the brim with the green fruit.

"Just a couple of limes more, Alexis..."

She turned to lock eyes with us once more.

"Should we get more water from the well for the dungeons? The Werecats will die soon from the lack of water."

Amelia lowered into a crouch as a girlish laugh echoed through the forest.

"If they die, they die, Mia. They have already served their purpose to us, and right now, we just need to focus on getting Sapphire on the same wavelength as us."

We waited for Mia to scream or alert her pack, but she just left... without a single word leaving her lips, leaving us as we were.