Ian's thunderous steps pounded up the stairs, launching him from the dungeon's crushing darkness into the sharp light of day. His lungs gasped for fresh air, no longer heavy with the distinct damp earth scent from the prison. He felt stifled down there.
"We need to leave! Now!" Ian's harsh words shot out, his voice raw with panic. He granted the other guards no time to absorb his words. All he knew was Trinity needed to be away from the dungeons, away from the pack. He didn't know what she had done, or how she had even done it, but a regular wolf having the gifts of an Alpha was not something normal. It threatened to topple the natural order of things. The pack hierarchy would make no sense. It was an affront to the Alpha—to his rule, his power, his lineage, to his bloodline. All of it was deadly.
Trinity didn't understand why Ian looked so scared. She followed him up the stairs, Timothy right behind her. His nude form didn't seem to bother him, but she avoided his body, meeting his eyes but never letting hers wander.
Ian didn't have time to explain. He to open the mind link, forcing his memories of what had just happened into the minds of the other three guards so they could understand the seriousness of the situation.
"We need to get her out of the pack!" Speed was the first to speak. He ripped off his leather armor, this time not bothering to pick it up or place it in his bag. Stepping away, his bones cracked and broke with violent speed as they reformed into his wolf. His human skin stretched and molded around his body. His fur sprouted throughout his skin, coating his entire body in a thick layer of fur.
"Why do I have to leave?" Trinity's question was a small, confused plea against the chaos. She just wanted one of them to stop, slow down, and explain what was happening so she could get a grasp of things.
Kael lunged forward as she spoke. He grabbed Trinity by the waist, lifting her clear off the ground. He slung her onto Speed's broad back, moving her hands to hold onto his fur tightly. "This is not one of the times for your tantrums."
"What about Ryan and Jess? I can't just leave them." If she was escaping this pack, it had to be more than just what happened in the dungeon. Maybe it was because a Defective had killed a wolf, and that meant they were all now in danger, but she didn't want to leave without them.
"Trinity, do you want to live? If you stay, you will die," Kael hissed, his voice tight with pain. "I don't know about anyone else, but I know what will happen to you. They will kill you. I -" He felt his heart pound painfully in his chest as he looked at the girl that felt as if she was becoming like a younger sister to him. His Beta had trusted him to take care of her, to keep her alive, to keep her safe. And that is all that he intended to do.
"Fine. Okay. Just... Okay!" It was like something inside of her folded. She had never been one of those people that felt the need for self-preservation. She'd always been a self-sacrificer, the one willing to jump into danger to protect the ones she loved. In this moment, it was like the world had flipped upside down. She felt like she was forced, for the first time to choose herself.
"Go north! We will split up!" Ian commanded.
Timothy's eyes squinted against the glare as his arm lifted to block the sun. He'd spent so long in the dungeon it was as if he forgot what the sun was even like.
"Timothy, come on! We have to go." Trinity reached out her hand to him, wanting to pull him onto Speed's back. But he froze as his head kept turning towards the center of town. His eyes squinted as if he could almost see something in the distance. Something that he greatly wanted.
"I can't! I just, no—I'll tell Ryan and Jess—" Timothy knew that even if he wanted to follow Trinity, he couldn't. The pull in his chest that demanded him to go to her was too strong.
He could hear the sounds of screams, smell the blood in the air, but it wasn't enough to make him run. He just knew that something important to him was here, and he had to go.
Ian's eyes cut towards Timothy. He grabbed him by the throat, not enough to obstruct his breathing, but enough to make sure that he would understand that he wasn't kidding. "You're not going to tell anybody anything. What happened here. It stays between all of us. You aren't going to say anything. Go!" He pushed him, shoving him toward the way that he seemed to be staring.
"Thank you for coming back for me.!" Timothy shouted over his shoulder as he ran, following something inside that was pointing him in a direction he couldn't ignore. There was a pull tugging at his soul. A new sensation that demanded his undivided attention.
"Go now." Kael slapped Speed's flank sharply.
Trinity clung tightly to Speed's back as they raced through the pack lands. As they flew past the high school, the scent of silver brushed her skin, leaving faint traces of red burns on her cheeks. Speed's fur was insulating his skin from being affected by the silver, but Trinity could feel it with every breath.
She saw the teenagers—the defectives—many writhing on the ground in pain. Next to the pups affected by silver. The Warriors circled them, their eyes cold and hard as they expertly subdued each one of them. A sickening crack echoed. Trinity flashed a look, seeing a hulking Warrior's boot slam into the ribs of a defective boy. The boy spat a curse but collapsed instantly with a muffled shriek of agony. The Warrior barely glanced down, his face a mask of cold duty. Another pinning them to the dirt with a knee to the chest.
The air was loud with screams of agony and curses.
"Shut your mouth, filth!" a Warrior barked at a violently struggling girl. "You're worthless! And you've lost!"
"Fuck you!" The defective girl cried.
"Stay down! It's over, defective trash!" another snarled with controlled aggression.
The screams of the children and the snarling commands accompanied the cry that followed them as they raced towards the forest. Just as they passed through the barrier between open land and dense forest, she took one last look at the warrior house. Wondering if she'd be back soon. If this was all some big misunderstanding. Maybe it would be solved easily.
As Speed plowed through the undergrowth, the noise of the pack was severed. The deep forest became a sudden quiet oasis. The screams and chaos were swallowed. The environment was not without its dangers, but it felt far less immediate and frenzied than the pack they'd left behind.
Authors note:
Surprisingly this was one of the most annoying chapters. Not to say it's bad. I wouldn't do that to you all. But my God this one gave me a hassle. Vote, Comment, power stones. I love all the things.