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“But they’re still rogue, Dad; they can’t go to a pack school like Casey and me. What about Taylor?” Valarian pouts, his brows furrowed.
“Taylor is coming. Your village just got a hell of a lot bigger,” I say, feeling the happy buzz inside of me.
“You’re letting them come to the school in your pack?”
“I’m doing more than that. I’m letting them join our pack,” I whisper to him before kissing his cheek and heading out the doors toward the buses.
ChapterSeventy-Three
Everly
Finally, everything is back in order, and I decide that I can't put it off any longer. Since Valarian is with his father for a few more hours, I decide I’ll go out to the reserve and shift. After everything with the forsaken and the missing rogues, I’ve been putting it off because I promised I would take Valarian with me next time. Yet, as much as I want to keep that promise, it isn't a promise I can keep without putting him at risk. Plus, it’s been ages since I last shifted, and I’m nervous about what I know will be an excruciating transformation.
Going through the gate, I pull my small backpack off my shoulder before glancing around uncertainly. This place is too quiet today, far too quiet. It sets my senses on edge. Yet, I’m already here, and I need to do this as much as I’m dreading it. I remove my clothes and quickly tuck them into my backpack, stuffing it inside a hollow log.
The shift takes a bit longer than usual, but surprisingly, it’s not nearly as painful as I expected. I flex my claws in the moist soil and stretch out before running deeper into the forest. After a few minutes of running, I realize my wolf form isn’t tiring as fast, and after half an hour, where I would usually be dead on my feet and dragging my ass out of the forest, I feel eager to keep going. I suppose I had marking Valen to thank for that.
In spite of that, my wolf is still tiny and not what you would expect from an Alpha female. After another hour, I’m about to turn around when I hear the sounds of a whimper. My ears prick and twitch on top of my head while I try to find the source of the noise. I hear it again.
The breeze switches, and the soft scent of blood reaches my nose. My eyes scan the trees as I follow my nose. I swear I’ve smelled this scent before, but for the life of me I can’t place it. All I know is that it’s rogue. The next whimper tells me that someone is definitely in trouble or hurt. I pick up my pace, sniffing the ground and air while listening, looking for indication of where he, she, or they might be.
I find myself coming dangerously close to the boundary line that leads into forsaken territory, a place I hope I won't have to venture out to. Yet, the choking cough I hear next has me running toward the high fences without a second thought. My eyes blow wide when I see a pair of forsaken ripping into something on the ground. The scent of blood hits me even stronger now, and I quickly identify where I’ve smelled the scent before. Bile rises in my throat as I try to find a way through the fence. Racing along it, I try to find a gap big enough for me to squeeze through. Otherwise, I’ll have to climb it and risk being torn to pieces by the razor wire that runs along the top.
My growl is surprisingly louder than I expected as I snarl at the two forsaken tearing into Emily, or maybe, what used to be Emily. Terrified but determined, I try to draw their attention away from her. If I leave and come back, she’ll be dead long before I got help. I curse myself for not letting Valen mark me because we would have the mind-link, and my phone is still tucked in my bag closer to the hotel. One of the forsaken looks in my direction before growling just as my paws hit the fence. Suddenly, I feel the bottom of the fence pull away slightly from the ground, the mesh flimsy in this section. I start digging, my claws ripping into the soft earth as I try to dig under the fence and create a hole just big enough to squeeze through.
Yet, my wolf form is still too big for the gap, so I shift back. My bones snap painfully as adrenaline shoots through me, and I force the shift too quickly, making it increasingly painful. I’m about to shove my head and shoulders under but quickly turn, knowing my neck would be too exposed.
“Hang on, Emily!” I call, forcing my legs under the fence and grabbing the mesh with my fingers while on my back. The wire scratches and cuts into me, and I hear a snarl just as I lay flat on my back, attempting to shimmy under it. Teeth immediately sink into my legs before I’m suddenly ripped through the tiny space by one of the forsaken grabbing me; my face, torso, and arms are all cut by the wire. I scream as the wolf tears into my leg. I kick my other leg out, hitting its head before trying to force the shift back as I pivot, only for the beast to sink its teeth into the side of my torso.
Grabbing the mesh fence with one hand, my other reaches out, finding a rock. I grab it and swing, smashing into the top of its head as hard as I can; it lets go of my leg and shakes its head. Desperately, I swing again, not giving it a chance to get its bearings, smashing the rock repeatedly into its head. Blood coats my skin on the back-spray as I cave its skull in and nearly make myself sick at what I’m doing. Its dying whimper evidently gets the other one's attention, and my eyes widen when it snarls and rushes at me. My heart is pounding almost painfully as the forsaken hurls itself at me, all teeth and claws, going for the kill. My panic forces the shift quickly as I run at it full force.
Our bodies collide in a mess of fur, claws, and teeth.
Memories of pack training, things I thought I would have surely forgotten after all these years, kick in as we fight. The forsaken starts ripping into me, but being smaller, I’m able to move a little more efficiently, escaping some of its more lethal blows just in the nick of time. Aiming my teeth and claws at the softer tissue of his torso, I start tearing into him, piece by piece, slowly weakening him.
His teeth sink into my hip and I sink my teeth into his armpit and chest, which makes him let go. I pivot, sinking my teeth into his stomach above his thigh and shaking my head. He bounces back with a yelp before staggering, his intestines and organs protruding from the wound I gave him. I know I have no time to waste. I immediately clamp my jaws onto his neck and shake my head. His body falls limp on the ground.
I stand still for a moment, panting, trying to catch my breath, when I hear a groan that makes me spin. Shifting, I race to Emily, who is lying naked in the dirt in her human form. I skid along the ground mid-shift, grazing my hands and knees as I stop beside her, gripping her shoulders. Her hands are clutching the back of her neck as she lies twisted on her side.
The forsaken have torn into her severely and appear to have been eating her thigh and hip. It’s almost as if she were too weak to go on and had collapsed, and they had stumbled upon her, thinking she was a leisurely meal in her weakened state. Rolling her onto her back, she whimpers, and her eyes fly open, scary and bloodshot, her hair matted. She blinks rapidly, and her eyes roll into her head for a moment before trying to focus on me again.
“Everly,” she murmurs, and I look over her body, trying to figure out how I’ll get her back through the fence.
“Right here, Emily. I'm right here,” I try to tell her, looking around for something that will aid us.
“You need to get my son,” she murmurs, and I look at her in shock.
“Where is Ben, Emily? Where is he?” I ask her, looking around for any sign of the boy.
“The facility,” Emily gasps. “I have to get my son,” she whispers, and her eyes roll into her head.
Tears brim in my eyes as I shake her, gripping her shoulders, trying to rouse her awake.
“What facility, Emily? Where is he?” I yell, and her cracked, bleeding lips move, but no sound comes out. Her face is burned and blistered from the sun, which tells me she’s been out here for a while.
“Emily!” I cry, shaking her, before cursing when she falls unconscious. Grabbing her under the arms, I start dragging her toward the fence. If I can roll her under, at least to that side, I can go for help. But she’ll be left open for predators on this side in my absence. I get her to the fence and start making the hole I was digging bigger. As soon as I think it’s big enough, I use my feet to push her under while lifting the mesh as much as I can by pulling it toward me. Once she’s mostly through, I use my hands and start pushing her so I can squeeze under next.
I hear growls behind me, and I freeze.
