Chapter 25
Up ahead I could smell 4 unknown wolf scents. My best guess was that there was a good amount of space between us with how faint their scents were. Hopefully I could make my way past them safely, without alerting them.
“Leana? How many?”
“4, but they’re far from me.” I responded.
“Good, try to walk as quietly as you can. If they know you’re there, we’re in trouble.”
I nodded and started to walk as softly as I could.
“Make sure to keep checking the scents, that’s one of the only advantages you’ll have.”
I continued to take deep breaths, checking for any changes that could notify me of danger. Before long I came upon a fork in the caves. The choice was easy to make, I could smell the enemies on the left and I could hear them chattering and on the right I was met with nothing but the smell of the caves. Without a second thought I turned to the right and ran. I stopped to smell every few turns and eventually I started to smell something other than the musk of the cave. I could feel my hopes begin to rise at the prospect of finally getting out. But just as soon as this new hope brought excitement, it was quickly rushing to the ground.
“Hey who are you?” A voice called out from behind me.
How did they sneak up on me? Had I let my guard down without noticing?
“Hey! I’m talking to you!”
I refused to turn around. Christian could see the panic on my face and started to ask me what was wrong. I didn’t have time to answer him 'cause I could hear them coming closer and closer. So I did the only thing I could think to do, I ran. I didn’t bother looking behind me, I knew they were following. I ran and trusted my instincts to take me the right way. My only thought was to outrun my chaser. If I could find my way out I could shift to my wolf and make a break for it, my human form was only so fast. Especially with my wounds and chains wearing me down.
“Get back here!”
“Leana? Did someone find you?”
I nodded as best as I could in response. Suddenly I heard more footsteps behind me, but none of that mattered. In front of me I finally saw daylight, I finally could smell the grass and forest of the outside world. With a new rush of adrenaline I sprinted towards freedom. The moment I felt the grass beneath my feet, I leaped forwards and quickly shifted into my wolf, landing on all fours. The phone dropped to the ground, and I picked it up in my mouth before taking off at lightning speed towards the trees. I could very vividly hear my captors chasing after me still but I had an advantage here, I was alone. I zig zagged my way through the trees, making it seem like I had no idea where I was going. I eventually came up to a river and I took no time jumping in. I splashed around for a moment or two before getting out and taking off again.
I had a much better sense of smell as a wolf so picking up the scent of Jackson’s pack was easy, I made sure to keep zig zagging as I made my way back just in case I was still being followed. As I made my way to the edge of the trees I slowed down. I surveyed the territory and to my surprise none of Jillian’s people were out. No one was outside actually. My best guess was that they were either in their rooms, like Christian, or setting up for whatever Jillian had planned. Nonetheless, I had to keep quiet. I shifted back into my human form and found some extra clothes in a nearby tree. A human girl walking around is way less conspicuous than a wolf. I picked up the phone again, and to my surprise, Christian was still there.
“What happened?” He asked.
“I got out.” I signed “I’m at the tree line, go to your window and meet me okay?”
He nodded as he hung up and I swiftly made my way to where I knew his window was. I got there right as he jumped down.
“Leana, thank god you’re okay.” He sighed in relief before bringing me into a hug.
I put the phone in my pocket as he released me.
“Do you know where Jillian or Jackson are?”
“I heard Jillian’s goons talking about a Luna crowning ceremony in the meeting hall. But I don’t know who all is there.”
I gestured for him to come along and we made our way there. Christian went first to make sure we got there mess free. I knew we didn’t have a plan going into this other than ‘stop Jillian’ but I was lucky to get out of the caves and back here in one piece, Christian had more training than I did though that doesn’t say a lot. Christian’s rank in the pack was a tracker, so his focus wasn’t on battle or defense. His focus was more-so in recon, which actually comes in handy for what we’re doing.
“Okay, we’re here. From what I can hear the ‘ceremony’ started, so we are running low on time.” Christian said turning to me.
“Can we look in the door so we know what we’re walking into?” I asked.
We slowly cracked open the door just enough to peak in. Only high ranked members of the pack were missing from the crowd. Probably to keep disruptions to a minimum. However up on the stage was Jackson, Alpha, and Luna all chained to the platform with Jillian standing next to them still in her ball gown. Although she seemed to have fixed her hair and make-up, there upon her cheek, was a piece of gauze where I had clawed her. Seeing it made me smirk in satisfaction just a little bit. There was a guard next to the Alpha but other than that all of Jillian’s goons were mixed among the crowd.
“Okay, I think we should sneak up to the stage and try to take Jillian out quickly.” Christian whispered.
“But she has people all over the crowd. If we have no backup coming, we’ll be screwed.” I signed back.
“How about I make my way through the crowd and you go through the pack house and get all the high-ranking wolves and warriors. That way we’ll have the upper hand.”
“Are you sure?” He asked, unsure if he should leave me.
I gave him a quick nod before squeezing through the door. I quickly made myself just another face in the crowd, a few pack members recognized me but I simply put a finger to my lips to signal them to stay quiet. I slowly made way through the crowd while I tried to appear casual and like I was supposed to be there. I made sure to only stand by people that had the scent of the pack on them. If I was caught I’m sure I would be dead in seconds.