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“You go withhim.” He sneers the last word before continuing, not even looking at Syn. “I’ll shift and lead them away. Head to the beacon, I’ll meet you there.”
Star’s growls become louder, and I know we’re running out of time. With my heart in my throat, I make an impulsive decision. Kneeling by Scott, I grab his arm and wait for him to look me in the eye. “Don’t die,” I order.
Thanks to his earlier shift, he’s still naked and doesn’t need to worry about undressing before shifting, but I allow my eyes to quickly scan over his body. I freeze when I spot something on his shoulder. It’s a mate mark, but his is unlike any I’ve ever seen before and looks more like a faded scar than the dark, defined mark I have. As I make a mental note to ask him about it if we survive this, I feel his eyes on me and meet his gaze.
He grins, having caught me looking at his body. My cheeks turn hot, and before I can explain that I was looking at his shoulder and not admiring the rest of him, he shifts into his wolf. His amber eyes glow up at me, and before I can say anything else, he throws his head back and howls. Turning, he bolts deeper into the forest, and I hear howls and yips of excitement, which I now realise are from Bates and the others, followed by a bellow that makes my bones quake. They were so close. If we’d waited any longer, then this crazy plan wouldn’t have worked, and we’d be fighting off several werewolves who want me deadanda minotaur.
“Come,” Syn barks, grabbing my hand and yanking me in the opposite direction. He pushes us so fast, the trees blur, and I pray to the goddess that I don’t crash face-first into one. Although I’m exhausted, fear drives me, and I push all my energy into us getting farther away. However, somehow, I trust that Syn will keep me safe.
Honestly, he’s a bit of an enigma. From what I’ve learned, he used to have his own pack until something happened and many of them died. As alpha, he took the blame and his pack was dissolved. Shamed, he should have become a lone wolf, destined to go rogue, but the council offered him a position. Since then, he’s been working for them and was one of the wolves who discovered me and my wolf on the night of my birthday.
Most wolves don’t trust him for various reasons, one of which being he acts as the executioner for the council. I’ve seen him switch off and become their killing machine, but he’s also warned me several times now, which is something he didn’t have to do. I shouldn’t trust him—the council wants me dead, after all—yet unexplainably, my instincts tell me that I can andshouldtrust Syn. There’s something that pulls me to him, and the fact that he can’t seem to stay away from me suggests that he feels the same way.
Finally, just as I think my legs are going to give out, Syn stops and looks around, scanning the trees. Fatigue settles over me, and it takes everything I have not to sink to the ground, but we’re not free of danger just yet. Star whines and presses her muzzle into my hand, leaning up against me and offering me her strength. Smiling down at her, I run my fingers through her fur in appreciation.
Syn paces as he looks up at all the nearby trees, and I leave him to it. I assume he’s looking for somewhere to hide, but what he’s specifically looking for, I have no idea. All the trees look the same to me. I open my mouth to comment, but the tension in his shoulders and jaw makes me think better of it. Instead, something else occurs to me.
Frowning, I spin in a slow circle as though the answer is going to jump out from behind one of the trees. Nothing happens.
“Where’s your partner?”
He doesn’t even bother to glance back at me as he peers up into a particularly gnarled tree. “Dead,” he answers without a hint of emotion, as though the death of his partner means nothing to him. From what I’ve seen of Syn, it probably doesn’t. I should be surprised at his callousness, and the fact that it doesn’t should warn me about this male. The ramifications of his statement do hit me, though not in the way it should. Without a partner, he can’t go through to the next stage—the council was very clear about that. I don’t understand why he’s so calm. Sure, him failing doesn’t result in his death like it would for me, but even so, the council won’t be very forgiving for failing the first trial.
“So you’re out of the trials.”
“No.” He gives me a look like I’m being dense. “The council can’t have me fail at the first hurdle, as it would be embarrassing for them, so they’ll find a way to put me through.”
Surprise rocks me, and a sense of righteous indignation courses through my body. In the short time that I’ve known about the council, I’ve learned a lot about them and how they run things, so it really shouldn’t come as a shock that they would bend the rules for one of their own.
Anger, hot and bright, swirls inside me, one that the presence inside me preens at. That dowses my anger pretty quickly, and I focus on my breathing, letting out a humourless laugh as I shake my head.
It’s so wrong. While I’ve got a death sentence hanging over me if I don’t finish the trial within the strict parameters they have set, Syn is able to do whatever the hell he likes because he knows that rules will be bent to make sure he passes. I want to rage and rant, but there’s no point. Syn knows how corrupt the council is.
Instead, I take a deep breath and see he’s still examining trees, staring up at the canopies as he jogs from one to the other. Feeling like a spare part, I wrap my arms around my middle. We’re supposed to be running. I’ve already been caught out by spending too much time in one place. That’s why we’re in this situation. We should be hurrying towards the centre of the arena, not sniffing around trees.
“What are you looking for?” I finally ask, my fear and frustration making me testy.
“Somewhere to hide.”
Rolling my eyes at the lack of explanation, I bite my lip to keep from spewing my real opinions. Star doesn’t have that problem, though, and snarls at the alpha, snapping her jaws in annoyance.
“I thought we were going to the middle of the arena. You might be able to get away with cheating, but they are not going to give me the same leeway.” I try to keep my temper as I speak, but I’ve reached my limit with my patience. I’m scared, exhausted, and pissed off.
He finally looks back at me. Frustration lines his features, but he takes one look at me and his expression softens. He opens his mouth to say something, but pauses as the minotaur’s bellow fills the woods. It sounds far off in the distance, but it kicks Syn back into action. Hurrying over, he weaves past Star and grabs my wrist, pulling me behind him as he takes me to the base of a large tree.
“We need to make sure the minotaur has lost your scent and that no one was following us, then we’ll meet up with your partner.” He cups his hands together to help me up the trunk. When I don’t immediately take his assistance, he sighs and meets my gaze. “Laelia, please trust me on this.”
Frowning softly, I stare into his eyes and find genuine fear there. He tries to hide it, but that, more than anything, convinces me to follow his instruction—for now at least.
I call Star to me, and she returns within me with minimal effort. Turning back to Syn, I steady myself against the tree and place my foot in his cupped palms, climbing up into the branches. Having grown up climbing trees in my forest home, I certainly didn’t need his assistance, but as a gesture of peace, I accepted his help. Settling myself in the junction where the trunk splits into branches, I lean against one of the larger ones and peer down to the ground below. While we’re hidden to a certain extent, we’re going to have to climb higher to have full coverage from the leaves.
However, as Syn climbs up and settles next to me, it’s pretty clear that we’re not going to be moving any higher. He’s tense beside me, and I can tell he doesn’t want to talk, his mouth a tight line as he peers through the branches. With nothing else to do, I hold my tongue and lean back, letting my mind wander.
It feels so wrong, just sitting here when others will be racing towards the beacon, but if Syn is right and the creature could still be tracking me, then we need to be careful. The bond in my chest is going haywire, and I’m struggling to make sense of what’s happening. Closing my eyes, I try to focus on it to check that Joel is unharmed, but I can’t seem to break through the noise. I don’tthinkthat he’s hurt, but I hadn’t realised how much I would come to rely on the bond. It’s only been completed between us for less than twenty-four hours, yet I feel lost without it and pulled in all directions.
I fear for Nicolai too, my best friend who entered the trials to keep me safe, and I have no way of knowing if he’s safe. For all I know, he could have been paired with one of Grove’s competitors, or one of the other wolves who seem to hate our pack. I send a silent plea up to the goddess, asking for her to watch over them while I can’t.
“You saved me at the ball,” Syn says quietly, breaking through my thoughts. “Why?”
