Save Her
\[Maverick’s POV\]
I watch silently as the two sisters exchange words while everything in me screams to get moving. I know that there is a chance that they may never see each other again, and because of that, they should say what they want, but every moment Serenity wasn’t with me was torture. However, even then I don’t say anything, nor do I attempt to move.
I have to hold comfort in knowing that they won’t kill Serenity. Since it was her blood that Ellie and Ezekial were after, I knew that she wouldn’t be killed, but that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t be tortured.
Please. I whisper silently, my prayer going out into the darkness around me. Please be safe.
As I speak, I find myself searching for Serenity even though I know deep down that I won’t be able to connect with her. There was no way that Ellie would allow something like that since it would mean that it would be easier to find her, but even then I search.
Serenity. I whisper, my heart squeezing painfully. Where are you?
Closing my eyes, I try to picture her, and to my surprise something begins to come into view, but just as quickly as it is there, it is gone.
“What?” I hiss, my eyes flying open.
“What is it?” Jose asks, turning his gaze to mine. “Something wrong?”
“That…” I begin, trying to remember something, anything, from what I just saw. “I think I just saw where Serenity is.”
I wasn’t sure that was the case, but something deep down in me screamed that was exactly what happened. I saw it: the walls of a cave and a circle of hooded figures.
“Elise,” I say, drawing her gaze to mine. “You saw a cave and hooded figures too, right?”
“That’s right.” She confirms, eyeing me curiously. “Did you see it as well?”
“I think I did.” I confirm.
“Then that means that Serenity is still alive.” Jose says, and I hear a hiss escape Denali. “Elise,” he continues, drawing her gaze to his. “It’s time that you showed us what you saw.”
Nodding, she lets out a breath and then gently clasps Denali and Jose’s hands. As she closes her eyes, I can feel power awakening, and to my surprise, a golden aura begins to glow around Elise. It’s almost as though she is radiating the moon’s rays, and when a tendril of it moves toward me, I don’t hesitate to clasp it.
Instantly, the world around me disappears, and I see that cavern and the figure again, and to my surprise, I feel like I know exactly where it is.
Weird. I think, continuing to watch on as Elise shows us everything she has seen. Why do I feel like I’ve been here before?
At this question, I find myself drifting to a different time and place when I too stood in that very cavern. However, it isn’t Ellie addressing me and the others around me. Instead, it is Ezekiel, and in that moment I know exactly where this place is.
Eyes opening, I let the way come to me, and then I’m moving toward Denali and Jose.
“Jose,” I gasp, drawing the man’s gaze to mine. “I know where that place is.”
“You do?” He asks, surprise filling his gaze. “Where is it?”
“It’s just a few miles from here.” I explain. “It’s right underneath where my original packlands were located.”
How stupid I was. All this time I knew where the enemy was hiding, and yet I never even fucking thought about it. Of course, that would be the place that Ezekial would remain since it was his original stomping grounds.
“Then you can lead the way.” Jose says, his voice filled with determination. “But before that we should put an army together.”
“Yes,” I agree.
It would be suicidal to rush into there without any backup, but we still had the issue of going up against a mage. At least, Forrest was no longer an issue since he remained incapacitated in our territory, but we couldn’t let our guard down.
“Then, I’ll…” He begins but stops as a howl sounds, and when I turn, I spot a large black wolf that I immediately recognize.
“William,” I breathe as he approaches us with a dozen wolves on his tail. “It looks like we’ve already got some people.” I continue while he closes the distance and then shifts so that I can see a few fresh injuries on his skin. “What happened to you?”
“A minor inconvenience,” he shrugs, turning to watch his men join us. “Nothing to worry about. I’m still alive and kicking.”
As he speaks, his gaze drifts toward Elise, and when their eyes meet, I feel something beginning to bubble up between them, but before I can really determine what it is, Denali bursts into another bout of coughing.
“Shit,” William hisses, rushing forward and grabbing her before she collapses. “Jose, did you do this?”
Letting out a growl, he turns his gaze to Jose, who watches on with an unreadable expression, but I can feel the animosity growing between them.
“I told you that I gave her a choice.” Jose confirms. “This was Denali’s choice.”
“You knew that she would do whatever it took to help!” William snaps. “Do you know what Rosco will do if anything happens to her?”
“Nothing will happen.” Denali sighs, straightening up. “You’re overthinking this.”
“Am I?” William snaps. “Look at you.”
“I’m fine.” She repeats. “Anyway, we should get moving. Maverick knows where Serenity is.”
“Serenity,” William repeats, looking around. “Where the hell is she? What happened?”
“She was taken.” Elise responds. “Ellie was fooling us all.”
“I see,” William murmurs, and I can almost see guilt beginning to form on his face. “And I didn’t spot it.”
“How could you?” Elise asks. “She was a great actress.”
“But…”
“That’s enough!” I snarl, my patience growing thin. “We can discuss all of this later. For now, we need to get moving. Serenity is waiting for us to save her, and if you want to stay and talk, I’ll go without you!”