Ch. 371..380

Chapter 0371

“How will I know where to go? I don’t even know where we are.”

“The Moon Goddess will guide you.”

“You know that isn’t helpful.” I hiss at her, my head is throbbing from my latest beating. I just want a straight answer for once.

“That’s all I can tell you. Jena should go with you, trust your instincts. Get out!”

“How is he hiding all of you? I need to know how to stop him.”

“Defeat as many warriors as you can, they can not be reasoned with or turned back to good, they have given their souls over to the dark magic. The weaker you make his army the weaker he is. You know this, you’ve seen this.”

“That doesn’t tell me how to stop him.”

“Once you are free, he will come for you, he knows who you are now and he will come for you.” A sound outside the door stops her explanation. “I have to go, remember to eat.”

She rushes out the door and I hear muffled voices, I can’t tell if they are angry or not though. Hopefully she was able to explain why she was in here. I hope she doesn’t get hurt for coming in here with us.

I scoot over to Jena and reach my toes out to touch hers. “Jena!” I whisper into the silence. She groans. “Jena, wake-up.”

She rolls over. “What do you want? I need to sleep, he was irritated that you weren’t awake to watch this last time and my whole body hurts.” Her gravely voice sounds worse than the first time.

“A girls just cam in here and said to eat all the food we are brought tonight and that it’s supposed to help us get strong so we can get out of here.”

“Are you f*cking crazy? Of course they want us to eat all the food. It’s how they control everyone.” She starts to roll over.

“Wait! She knew about a witch that is a friend of mine and was also captured. She said the Moon Goddess sent her and told her to help us.”

“So you just believe every positive thing you are told? Don’t be stupid. THis is our life and this is what you have to look forward to. Get used to it.”

“NO!” I shout and then remember that I don’t know if they can hear me outside the door or not. “She said get out and take out as many guys as possible. It’s the only way to draw Mike out. We have to escape, I cannot stay here and neither can you.”

“Whatever, just don’t get caught, cause Micheal will kill you when he catches you. I don’t care how golden he thinks your p*ssy is.”

“I am not leaving without you.”

“And I am not leaving. This is bad, but it will be so much worse if we are caught.”

“I thought you were an Alpha’s daughter!” I say as accusingly as I can. That got her attention. She slowly looks up at me, the full force of her Alpha aura on display. “That’s what I thought. Stop being a b*tch and stand up for yourself. You probably still have pack members out there who need you. Get off your ass and help me get out of here.”

She growls at me and turns her back. I ignore her for now, but I am not leaving her here, no matter how much she fights me. She’s so thin and frail that I could probably throw her over my shoulder and carry her out. The muscle I can see though tells me she probably still has some fight left in her.

I get to work trying to figure out how to get these shackles off of me. My feet are out of the question, even though I am little, they are on pretty tight and I can’t afford to break my foot to slip one off. I start to work on my hands, trying to figure out the best way to fold my hand to slip one off. I start with my left hand since I am right dominant. I figure if I damage my left, I will still be able to fight if I have the full use of my right.

I think I almost have my hand out when I hear the jangling of keys and then the door pushes open to reveal one of the warriors that Mike seems to keep with him all of the time. I don’t know their names and I don’t care to. These guys are the worst kinds of predators and they will all die for what they have done to Jena and Gentry and all the other nameless girls that have been through here.

Chapter 0372

I was starting to feel hopeless, but now that I seem to have a purpose, it’s all I can focus on. Jena and I will get out of here. We won’t be unscathed, but we will be free.

This jerkface walks over with a smile, like we’re friends meeting up for lunch. “It’s good to see you awake, the Alpha will be happy to hear you are up and waiting for him.” He sets a plate with a couple slices of bread and apples in front of me. They don’t even try to hide the herbs they are giving us. It’s sprinkled all over the plate.

“I’m not up for him. There’s really only so much sleeping anyone can do, even with the amount of sedatives you give us.” I push the plate back at him with my foot. I heard a small choking sound from Jena’s side of the cell. Jerkface must not have heard her though, he doesn’t take his eyes off of me.

“It will be so much fun to watch the Alpha break you. You will be screaming soon enough.”

“Is that all the action you’re allowed?” I don’t know where this is coming from, but I like the confused look that crosses his face, so I keep going. “Watching your small d*cked Alpha is what does it for you, huh? Must be a sad life you lead here.”

His entire face contorts in anger and he raises his hand to backhand me. “You better not, you know he wants her soon and he said not to lay another hand on her so she is healthy enough to conceive.”

I know that voice. Anger boils in me. He let this happen, let them take me and just stood by watching. My focus doesn’t shift from jerkface as Robbie strolls into the room. “Feed her and get out, you have your orders.”

“Don’t tell me what my orders are. Last I heard, you were stripped of your status after your failure to bring her in on your own.”

“She’s here isn’t she?” Robbie gestures towards me. The f*cking asshole.

“No thanks to you. It took the whole crew to get her here.”

“I’m aware. I am not dumb enough to pick a fight with her on my own, why do you think the whole crew was brought in. Maybe you should not listen to rumors so much, and learn to just pay attention, it would help you with your status with the Alpha and maybe you could move up from prisoner duty.”

I heard a growl come from Jerkface, but he didn’t respond, so Robbie must be right and watching us is very low on the dominance list. Jerkface goes to stalk out the door, but as he passes Robbie I notice a slight movement of Robbie’s hand at Jerkface’s waist, then the sound of keys clattering to the floor.

“You should probably be more careful, it looks like you aren’t maintaining your gear very well.”

Robbie smirks at him then looks back at me, but only for a brief second, like he’s trying to communicate something. But it is so quick I might have imagined it. Jerkface swipes his keys up off the floor and hooks them back on his belt and that’s when I see it. The clasp is loose. For whatever reason Robbie is trying to help me.

I look down at the measly food I was given, knowing I won’t eat it, but my stomach protesting all the same. The door closes and I hear the familiar sound of the lock engaging. I lean back against the wall tilting my head and closing my eyes, but still concentrating on trying to get my hand out of this cuff. All I need is one free hand to take out Jerkface. We are leaving today.

Chapter 0373

“That was interesting to listen to.” My eyes snap open to Jena.

“You were awake this whole time?”

“I have been here a long time and learned a couple of things. For one, even though these guys seem to think everyone should be into BDSM, they don’t touch me when I appear to be sleeping. It also strokes the Alpha’s ego to think it takes me hours or even days to recover from his, as you put it, small dick.”

“When dinner gets here, we’ll know if the girls cleaning me up was telling the truth. Even without my wolf I can smell the herbs in the food. You were right, they really aren’t good at this part.”

“If you twist your thumb you can dislocate it just enough, without doing too much damage.” She looks at me with a bored expression.

“Oh, so you’re helping me now?” I ask sarcastically.

“After that conversation, I guess. You have had two, maybe three people helping out. No one has ever reached out to me in all the time I have been here. Maybe your little witch friend is right and you’re special or something, but you’re the best chance of being free. And besides, if you leave and I am still here, Micheal will find a way to blame me for it and probably torture me to death. If I’m going to die, I might as well die fighting.”

The dark look in her eyes tells me there’s more going on here, but I don’t push. I’ll take all the help I can get.

Like the girl said, our stew was brought to us and the herbs were different. I didn’t smell the belladonna or wolfsbane, what I did smell opened up my senses, like just the fragrance was giving me energy.

“Do you smell that?” I ask Jena. “She said eat it all. I guess this is the moment of truth.” Jena just sits there and watches me waiting to see what happens I guess. She must still not believe that we are being helped by someone in this group. I won’t even call them a pack, because I bet most of them are here by force and being kept under duress or manipulation like Tyler.

I take and bite and I can feel an explosion of electricity jolt through my body. I look right at Jena, I can only imagine what my face looks like, but whatever it is, it’s enough to motivate her to start eating. We both devour our food like we haven’t eaten in years. Maybe for Jena, that is the case.

I can feel my muscles buzz and I feel a pressure in my head, but it isn’t painful like a headache. When I finish my whole bowl, I look up at Jena and can see color returning to her face and her hair is no longer dull and flat. Whatever is in here, I need to make sure I have on every mission, just in case.

“Oh damn! I haven’t felt this good in a really long time. You know some witches in high places. This couldn’t have been easy to sneak into us if you could smell the difference.”

I don’t know why, but I don’t tell her about my extra strength sense of smell. I still haven’t had the chance to talk to Alpha Reggie about all of my so-called abilities and I don’t know what I’m allowed to say.

“I don’t know if you caught on, but most of the guys here watching us are not that bright.” We both giggle.

“So, did your little helper tell you when we were supposed to bust out of here?” Jena asks.

“She just said to eat everything and we should be able to make contact with our wolves by morning.” I shrug still working on my left cuff. With my new found strength, I am hoping to get a hand out before someone comes in to check on us.

“I think if you twist it just a bit more, you’ll be able to get it out.” Jena says helpfully.

 

Chapter 0374

"You know, you could be doing the same thing, right?"

"Why on earth would I do that? If you get free and get the keys away from the goons watching us, you can just let me out. There is no sense in both of us being injured." I roll my eyes at her, but she kind of has a point, kind of.

Just as I start to feel the widest part of my hand slip through the large cuff, the sound of jangling keys and footsteps can be heard outside the door.

I grunt as I try to pull my hand completely free. My heart is pounding with adrenaline, it's now or never, I have to get free before the door is opened. I am sweating with the effort and the panic as I tug my hand relentlessly not caring about how much damage I am doing now. Just as the door swings open, my hand slips through and the shackle claters to the floor. Thank the goddess for the loud laughter that booms through the opening at the same time.

I quickly tuck my free hand behind my back as our usual three idiot keepers walk in.

"Well, it looks like it's going to be your turn tonight, sweetheart. I hope you can handle the Alpha. He's had his whole brood of girls warming him up all night getting ready just for you." Jerkface sneers at me. Was that supposed to scare me? If Mike has been wasting all of his swimmers on other girls, he's dumber than I thought.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see what you're hiding. I'm going to have sweet dreams tonight." Jerkface number two says.

"Okay, I hope you enjoy your hand." I raise my eyebrow at him. "Since your Alpha doesn't share any women with you apparently." I need to make them all approach me. And I figure the best way is to make them want to hit me.

Jerkface has the keys though. So no matter what I do, I can't let him leave the room.

"He shares plenty with us." Number three says lamely.

"I highly doubt that. He doesn't want anyone to be able to compare all the pencil d*cks running around here." Jena stifles a laugh.

"I'll show you there's no pencil d*cks around here." Number two steps closer, starting to unbutton his pants.

"Leave her for the Alpha, you heard the orders. No one touches her before him." Jerkface stops two from stepping forward.

"That's because he doesn't want us to make fun of him for being the smallest." Jena chimes in, adding to their irritation. "He's not actually an Alpha and none of you are actually warriors. It's why you all have to keep us chained up on top of locked ina cell and drugged." She smiles menacingly at them all.

"You dumb b*tch!" Number three shouts. "You're locked up here, who's the weak one?"

"Not really sure, I would have to fight

each of you to tell you who is the weakest." They all growl at her. She's better at taunting than I could have imagined. This is great. Only a weak Wolf would put this much effort into arguing about how they are. Any ranked wolf would have ended the conversation by now.

strong

"I think Jerkface number three is the weakest," I look over at her and then back to them, "That's why he always enters last and doesn't get to carry the keys." She nods in agreement.

"I see what you mean," We keep talking like we are discussing a piece of abstract art, "Number two is always schlepping something so he's a bit low on the totem pole, but not as low as the one with no job at

all."

They are all growling now. They said

the Alpha is coming for me, I need those keys. I'm racking my brain for what will send them over the edge to attack me. Then my wolf blasts into my head and gives them a challenging growl, only another wolf would understand.

 

Chapter 0375

All three lunge at me. I'm quick to kick number three over to Jena's corner of the tiny cell. She wraps her arms around his neck using her chains like a noose and ridding the world of one sadistic idiot quickly.

I swing my free hand wildly and don't hit anything. Number two is quick to laugh at me until he hears the jangle of keys as I toss them to Jena then punch him in the face, while I kick my legs out to trip Jerkface as he turns to try and intercept the keys.

Jena gets her feet unlocked before Jerkface can scramble over to her and number two is righting himself in front of me. I pull my elbow back to knock number two in the other cheek, but I am just short and hit his nose spraying me and anything around me in blood pouring from his nose.

I hear grunting from the other side of the room, but I can't look, number two wasn't as phased by the blow to the nose as I would have hoped and he has started taking clumsy swings at me. He's not doing any damage though, which allows me to listen to my surroundings. I hear several thuds and slaps as contact is being made, but I don't know if Jena is winning or losing her fight.

The next thing I know a small arm wraps around number two's throat and his head is whipped to the side as Jena breaks his neck. She lets him drop in front of me with a crazed look in her eye.

"Jena. Jena! The keys, Jena. We have to go." I shouted at her, sure someone somewhere felt those three die. A true Alpha would have felt them die.

She blinks a few times then seems to come back to the present as she rushes over to get the keys from where she dropped them and releases me.

"Where now?" She asks me.

"No idea."

"WHAT!? We just killed three people for you NOT to know where to go next?"

"The girl said the Moon Goddess would guide us."

As I finish the sentence a small flash goes off to my right and my wolf nudges me, so I take off, Jena hot on my heels. I don't stop to admire the scenery, but we are in some kind of underground dungeon or prison. There are hallways lined with doors like ours. The stone that lines the walls and floor is caked in years worth of dirt and mold and who knows what else.

Two more turns and then we reach a stone staircase. I can see light through the cracks in the wooden door that seems to be set into the floor at the top of the stairs like a cellar. We can hear voices too, but they are too muffled to make out what is being said, but the smell of cooked meats and vegetables tells me it's probably the kitchen.

"Where now? If we stay here too long we are going to get caught."

"I know, but I haven't seen any other signs yet. Give me a minute." I take another look around and there it is a flash at the end of the hall, just past the stairs. "There." I point. "We have to get past the stairs unseen then through that door."

We both take a deep breath in and then start running. We don't look around or behind us, which probably isn't the smartest idea, but we are just focused on getting to the door. Once we both reach the shadow of the stairs I quietly turn the handle and crack the door open, ready to fight, but wanting some kind of idea of what we might be up against. The dark room only has one candle lit in the center, which is about the same illumination we always have. I really hope it isn't in the middle of the day when we get outside or we will both be blind.

 

Chapter 0376

Just as I step forward a hand reaches out to grab me and I instinctively take a swing.

"F*ck! I guess I deserved that, but seriously that f*cking hurt." Robbie is holding his ear. He reaches out for me again as I move to step around him. "Don't step in the circle. It's the witch's wheel. That totem is what is keeping us hidden and our scent blocked. Once you step through it you become a part of the spell. It is energized by each person that crosses into it and it's permanently binding.” He gives me a paine look..

That's what the girl meant by taking out as many people as I could on my way out of here. It weakens the spell Mike has going. I just nod.

"Let's get you out of here." Robbie turns and Jena grabs my arm.

"He's one of them." She hisses. "Why are you trusting him?"

Really I have no idea, but the girl said trust my instincts and I don't think Robbie wants to hurt me. I don't think he ever wanted to hurt me, he didn't want me involved. That's why he was always irritated when Mina and I were around.

"I just do, let's go. I'll explain when we are out of this hellhole." She stays close to me, but I can feel her tension spike. She's looking for the trap she thinks he's set and I probably should too.

We move around the dark circular room, into another hallway that is definitely not used based on the smell of decaying rodents. I'm very glad for my wolf senses so I can see without the help of any light and I hate them based on the smell that is giving me a stomach ache. I can feel and smell us going higher and higher. The incline of the narrow passage is getting steeper, but it is so tight that I can put a hand out and use the walls on either side of me to help propel me forward. The air is getting thinner and cleaner. I can smell the fresh spring air as we get closer to the surface. I have no idea how long we have been walking, my sense of time has been badly skewed. Something about not having a window or a clock will do that to a person.

We finally get to an entrance and Robbie stops, putting his hand out to keep us from going around him and running mindlessly to our freedom.

"Wait. There's a patrol out right now. We need to time this right. It won't be long until your absence is noticed and trust me Mike was blown and ready for you both tonight."

"That is so gross." I let the stutter roll through me. "He is probably cursed and is firing blanks if he's having that much s*x and not getting any of the girls pregnant." I quip trying to see what Robbie sees.

"Not for me, I have an IUD. That f*cker was just too stupid to think to check." Jena says next to me. It's the most confident words I've heard from her.

"Seriously?! He's had you for over a year and when you never conceived he didn't have you checked by one of the pack doctors?" Robbie asks incredulously.

"It's been over a year now? Damn, I've been in that hole too long." She breathes in and then out with her eyes closed.

"If he was too stupid to think of something that simple, while blaming you for not getting pregnant on purpose, then he doesn't deserve to procreate." Robbie says. "Get ready." He looks down at his watch. "We have about three more minutes and then you both need to run like hell."

"What about you? He'll kill you if he finds out you helped us."

"He's bound to kill me anyway. He thought you were interested in me after Tyler pissed you off. He's so insecure, he can't get anyone to follow him without manipulation and spell work even though he has Alpha King blood running through his veins. He also can't produce an heir, no matter how many girls he sleeps with, whether by choice or by force." He winks at me. "I honestly think he might be losing his mind and his grip on any type of reality. I don't want to be a part of it, I never did but there was no other choice and the only way out of this for me now, is to die."

 

Chapter 0377

"Is that why you were being weird the day you all captured me? You were trying to piss him off?"

"Not really, but it was a bonus. I didn't know he gave Tyler the hands-off order, but he failed to give it to everyone. I just wanted to see how far I could push Tyler and if I could get him to admit that he still wanted you."

"How much time?" Jena asks gruffly from next to me, breaking our tense conversation.

"The last pass for the next thirty minutes should be going by any second now."

As he finishes the sentence we see two patrol wolves run by. Faster than a jog, but not like they were in a hurry to get somewhere.

"As soon as they clear that bank of trees we can go. I will take you as far as I can. I am still bound to this place and to my command. There is only so much work around I can find. Go!" He whispers to us and takes off.

We are running as fast as our weakened muscles will take us. Jena was locked up for over a year, I have no idea how long I was in there but it can't have been more than a week or two. My body hurts and my muscles are screaming, but I keep looking back to make sure Jena is right behind me. I will carry her if I have to. She deserves to be free.

"Almost there." Robbie shouts over his shoulder and I feel myself start to smile. But it was too soon to celebrate. A gray and white patched wolf barrels into Robbie and Jena and I both scream. "Keep running! You're almost there." He yells at us while trying to hold the wolf off.

Butl slow down, I can't just let him die for us, not like this. I have to help, but I don't know if I am strong enough to do any good, or if it will just make everything worse and get us caught again. I can't do that to Jena either. I am torn between saving these two people.

Jena gets past me and yells "Let him go, he chose his fate." As she continues to run aimlessly away from the underground prison that has been her home for so long.

"I can't just let him die, he helped us out. He needs at least a fair fight."

"There is nothing fair about any of this. Let's go!" She keeps running, leaving me behind, but I know I will easily be able to catch up.

I look around and see no one else near us. I take a chance and run at Robbie, shifting in mid air. I jump on top of the gray wolf and sink my teeth in the space between his neck and shoulder. I taste the blood filling my mouth and I open to take another bite out of the howling monster's shoulder. I make eye contact with Robbie, hopefully letting him know I want him to fight his way out of this before I jump off and turn back to Jena. I stay in my wolf form, feeling stronger like this. When I reach her I kneel down next to her so she can climb on. We will be faster this way. She doesn't hesitate and jumps up to my wolf's shoulders.

Before I can run I am hit from the back and Jena goes flying off. It's Tyler's dark gray wolf and he looks possessed. Ready to kill me for his Alpha. I am not going down without a fight. He sold me out even wher his mate was cheating on him and then died for her crimes. He still gave me to his sick and twisted Alpha. This will end with his death. I let my anger surge and fuel my actions.

He tries to circle me, but I won't let him get between me and Jena. I snap at him every time he gets too close. He growls and lunges, but he is no match for my skill I quickly find out. For all the appearance of training that they do, they are no stronger than humans. I injure him over and over again, everytime he lunges at me he's slower than the last, bleeding from the many wounds and scratches I have inflicted. And then I see it, his eyes looking straight into my soul. He wants to die, he wants to finally be with his mate the way she never would in life. He wants out of this hell as much as Jena and I. He's not trying to fight me, he's trying to goad me.

 

Chapter 0378

I quickly change back, So I can tell him off once and for all.

"You don't deserve an easy death or my sympathy. You're just as bad as Mike for trapping me and who knows how many other people here. F*ck off! Find another person to take you out of this world, you coward." I turn and run towards where I saw Jena fall.

I see her brown hair in the grass. She isn't moving, so I race to her faster and flip her over.

"Jena! Jena, talk to me." She groans and then coughs.

"I haven't been thrown around in a while, this sucks." She tries for a joke.

I shift again and nuzzle her onto my back. I won't be able to run as fast if she doesn't hang on, so I hope she figures that out quickly.

More growling sounds behind me as more wolves join the fight. So much for having a thirty minute head start. I take off. I can't look back any more. Jena is right Tyler and Robbie chose their fates and they need to live or die with those choices. I just hope Robbie finds a way out for his redemption. My wolf runs and runs. We just keep following the flashes of light we've been seeing since we got out of our cell. I hope it really is the Moon Goddess guiding me and not my imagination looking for things in the middle of nowhere.

I feel a whoosh of hot air blow past me as we pass from an open prairie to a grove of trees and then my brain explodes with the sounds of voices. Voices I have missed yelling and screaming my name.

"Sky!"

"Skylar!" "Midge!"

"Little One. Thank the Goddess. We're on our way, hold tight. Can you talk to me?"

"Hi Alpha Reggie. Hey guys." It's all I can sob over the mind link. I can feel the tears streaming from my wolf's eyes and onto her fur. They can hear us. I think to my wolf. Are we really finally out of that?

"We are for now, sweet girl. I don't think they are following us anymore." Even at her words I don't slow down. I want as much distance as possible between us and that horrible place. "Alpha Reggie, I have someone with me and she's going to need some medical attention. They've had her for a year. Get Doc Sylvia, no one else."

"On it Little One."

"Nickolas, Gentry is still alive, but she isn't with me. I'm sorry I couldn't get to her, but she helped us escape."

"It's okay, Midge. She knows what she's doing. I can still feel her. I know she's okay. I'm glad she was able to help you. We're almost there."

 

Chapter 0379

I keep running and running, feeling the pull my brand now has towards my team and my family. I just want to go home. After what I saw I don't know if I am cut out to do these kinds of missions.

Not for the first time since I was captured, I think about how adamant everyone was that I am too young to be here and I was too stubborn to listen. The horrors I saw while I was there and I didn't even leave the cell we were in and Jena went through so, so much worse. I hope we are both okay after this. I know I won't be the same, I can't imagine how Jena feels.

Osiston and Alpha Reggie said they were close but my ability to judge time is so off I don't know how long I have been running with Jena on my back. I just know that my whole body is throbbing and my muscles burn from the exertion. The question is, am I out of shape because of how long we were captured and malnourished or have I been running for days? Where are they?

My wolf starts to slow down, we haven't heard the sounds of paws behind us since I heard the voices of my team, but I wasn't taking any chances. I just can't push her anymore. She slows to a walk. We need food and water or we are never going to make it to them.

"Hey guys? Are you still there?"

"We're coming, Little One. You're farther than we thought. Keep following your pull. Alpha Reggie detoured to get Doc Sylvia like you asked❞

"That's the problem, I don't know how much farther I can go with no food or water. We aren't exactly battle ready here." I huff at them. I can't be angry at them, they don't know and they don't understand.

"I'm so sorry Midge, Have your wolf take you to water, you need that first. Slow down and use your survival skills. We're coming." I can hear his breathing increase, letting me know he increased his speed. Nickolas has always treated me more like a little sister, like Mateo and Sam. His protective instinct kicks into high gear at the first sign of trouble for me. "Keep talking to us, tell me what you see." "Are you serious right now?"

"Of course, it will help us find you and help you focus your brain on what is real."

"Nickolas...I'm running in the forest and the sun is going down. So what I see are trees and vegetation that grows around trees."

"There's my smartass." He huffs at me and I hear other chuckles of the team listening to our banter.I think everyone is probably wound up and needs to let out some tension. "Look around, tell me which direction the mountains are. Give me something to look for to make this faster."

My wolf looks around so I can get a good view with her amazing eyesight. "The mountains are under me, we have been running through them for a while. We aren't going very high up though. I can smell water to the southeast of us. I am going to head that way. I don't know how far it is though and it's not exactly in the direction my brand is pulling towards you guys. Who am I even tracking right now, it can't be the whole team."

No one answers for a moment and it makes me worried even though I can still feel my pull to them, the silence is suffocating.

"Osiston is who you are tracking. We were trying to find the fastest way to you without shifting. You both need medical supplies and can't risk not having everything with us. William just got us an overview of the area. We think you are in the middle of the Baxter State Park Mountains. Try to find a cave to hold up in near the water."

 

 

Chapter 0380

I nod and then realize they can't see me. "Okay, can you keep talking, please." I can't hide the desperation in my voice. I need this to be real, even if I have lost my mind, it can be real in my head for as long as possible. It's the only thing that keeps me moving forward.

They each take turns telling me stories, some are stupid and completely made up and others are just what happened at the training compound recently. I tell them about what I see and when I come across a human's scent. It lets me know when I am getting too close to a hiking trail or campground. And as much as I would love to see real people, it's the last thing I need when I am in my wolf form and have a half unconscious person riding on my back.

I finally get to a large body of water that has cut a deep ravine through this section of mountain. I stop and sit letting Jena slide off with a thud.

"Ow! Rude. A little warning next time." I focus on shifting back, then look at her. She is still really pale.

"How are you? I ask tentatively, moving towards the water to get a drink. I cup my hands intending to take a small sip, but once the cool liquid passes my lips a frenzy takes over and I keep scooping up handfuls until my stomach hurts. When I look back, Jena still hasn't moved. She is just staring out at the water. "You need to drink, it will make you feel better to have clean water for the first time in probably a year." She still doesn't move.

I walk over to her and place a hand gently on her shoulder and she startles looking at me like she's never seen me before. I don't say a word, words won't help her right now. Her mind has just started processing that she is out and probably the safest she has been in a very long time. The shock is starting to set in. I reach my hand down to her and smile and just wait for her to decide to take it. I won't make any decisions for her. She has to choose to heal and get better, which means she has to choose to trust me out here, like I trusted her in our prison.

She slowly lifts her hand to mine and lets me pull her up, we walk hand in hand like that to the edge of the water and kneel together. I take my hands and scoop some water and take a small drink, then she mimics me like a pup trying to do it for the first time. She does the same thing I did at first and just keeps taking in the delicious liquid like a child eating ice cream for the first time.

She sits back and lets the cool water lap at her feet. I do the same. It is nothing a human would be fit to swim in but the temperature feels great to us. I start to wash at my dirt caked feet and then the exposed portions of my arms and finally my face. Jena does the same. The clean cool water is invigorating in more than one way.

I just need to find a cave big enough for the two of us, up high enough that most humans won't come near it, and be able to start a fire to keep us comfortable as the night inevitably cools down.

It took us a little bit of time to find something suitable, but this seemed to be something that Jena was able to help me with. So she is at least trying and not lost in her head over the memories of the last year. We get a little fire going just outside the entrance and I let the team know what to look for and to approach with caution if they come in the night. I don't know how Jena is going to react to strangers rushing at us, even if they are here to help.