We continued to tiptoe slowly through the woods like tiny mice afraid of being caught by a house cat. We shuffled through the wilderness, mainly in silence. My heart pounded with trepidation with every step I took.
The guys kept glancing over their shoulders, watching each other’s backs, making sure we weren’t being followed. The tips of my fingers were slightly pink and numb from the grueling cold. I wished I had gloves to protect my exposed skin.
I didn’t complain. I toughed it out because I knew how to soldier on. I had all but begged the guys to let me go with them, and now that I was here, I had to prove myself to be durable in a physically demanding circumstance.
Blaze stopped walking and sniffed the air. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. The wind seemed to halt too. There wasn’t a single sound whispering between the trees. Ayden and James had look of alarms as they studied Blaze’s behavior.
“Do you hear that?” he asked.
I shook my head and frowned, looking at Ayden and James. “I don’t hear anything.”
I tuned into my senses, listening intently. The shadows of the afternoon seemed eerie now, almost haunting.
Then, I heard it. The sound was muffled at first, but it had to be the same thing that Blaze was referring to. Ayden’s and James’s eyes widened in shock as they began to recognize the high-pitched howl.
“Is that…a werewolf cry?” I whispered, afraid to move or even blink. The sound was off in the distance, but I still had a sinking feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach.
“That’s what it sounds like.” James’s chocolate-colored eyes were enormous as I watched his features twist from stunned, to hopeful, to alarmed.
The four of us exchanged a perplexed look.
“But wait…” I trailed off.
“It’s not after midnight.” Blaze finished my sentence for me.
“Right.” I nodded, staring at him in utter bafflement.
“It can’t be Cameron.” Ayden looked around the group as if he was willing to bet his life on it.
“He can only shift after midnight.” James nodded in agreement.
I frowned. “I thought that it was extremely rare to encounter werewolves, that there weren’t as many in the world as there used to be?”
The guys all exchanged a wary glance with each other.
“It is rare,” Blaze confirmed.
“So, it can’t be Cameron?” I held my breath, afraid of what the answer might be.
Another agonizing wail pierced through the air and shot me like a dagger through the heart.
I gasped, drawing in a deep breath of surprise. “It doesn’t sound like him.”
“It can’t be him,” Ayden said.
I glanced up at the sky. Even through the shade, the sun was prominent and attempting to win the battle with the trees, bursting through the branches at vertical angles.
“What are the odds?” Blaze stared straight ahead at the horizon in front of us. His eyes were massive with bewilderment.
“Odds of what?” James shot him an expectant look.
Blaze met James’s gaze. “The odds of finding another werewolf.”
“Remote,” James whispered, looking somber.
I felt the tingly feeling of being unsettled once again as the hairs on the back of my neck continued to perk up at attention. The wind began to skirt through the trees once again, sending a whistling sound through the branches.
The werewolf howls subsided briefly. I listened to the sound of rapid breathing that took me several seconds to realize was my own.
“We should go check it out,” Ayden said.
“We should go in the direction of the shouting?” Blaze looked at Ayden as if he was crazy.
“What if the werewolf is in trouble?” Ayden said.
“What if Cameron is with the werewolf?” James asked.
My eyes darted between the three guys as if they were ping pong balls bouncing back and forth. I was torn. I wanted to find Cameron, and I was curious about the werewolf yelping, but at the same time, I didn’t want us to indirectly escort ourselves into a trap.
The intense looks of uncertainty on all three of the guys’ faces did nothing to tame my wildly beating heart either.
“I’ll go and check it out.” James stood at the edge of the circle.
He squared his shoulders with resoluteness beaming from his gorgeous body. His posture was straight as an arrow. As cheesy as it was to admit, I swooned under the grace of his presence.
Ayden shot him an investigative look. “What do you mean, you’ll go check it out?”
James shrugged his shoulders casually as if it was no big deal for him to separate from us and head deeper, alone into the thick woods.
“I’m going to go hunt down the source of the werewolf cries,” he said.
“You can’t go by yourself,” I protested.
James approached me and gently tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. “My kind and wonderous flower,” he whispered as he gazed down fondly at me. “I will be just fine, I promise.”
I opened my mouth to object further, but he tenderly placed a finger to my lips and made a hushing sound with his own.
“I can shift. I’m faster than them.” He flickered his gaze at Ayden and Blaze. “No offense, but—”
“It’s true.” Blaze chuckled humbly. “I’m just a giant, oafish black bear.”
“You are not,” I said. I shot him a lecturing gaze. “You are amazing.”
Ayden puffed out his chest. He wasn’t going to bend as easily. “I am a lion and I have to point out the fact that I am fast too—”
“Just stay here with me,” I said and smiled at him. “I need you here.”
“Really?” Ayden gave me a surprised look as if he weren’t expecting that. He brushed his hand up against the side of my cheek. “If you want me here, I’ll stay here.”
“Thank you.” I took Ayden’s hand and lightly clutched it between my fingers.
James flashed a grateful look to me for helping to soothe Ayden’s bruised ego. We didn’t have time to argue back and forth, and I knew that.
“Come back quickly, all right?” I directed the soft order at James.
“I promise you that as soon as I see anything, I’ll return to you guys. Just stay in this location. If you wander or stray too far, it will be nearly impossible for me to find you again.”
We each nodded and made our pledges to wait where we stood until he returned to us.
James shifted and became a blur of onyx fur. He was sensational. I watched in awe as he blinked and nodded at me one last time before taking off and disappearing through the forest. He was like a black bullet whipping through the trees at an intoxicating speed.
“Well, there he goes.” Blaze stared at him as if he wouldn’t ever see him again.
“I hope that when he comes back, he’ll have Cameron with him,” Ayden said.
I glanced at him and nodded. “Me too.”
Blaze began to pace around in circles.
“Stop doing that,” Ayden demanded. “You’re driving me nuts.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t help it,” Blaze said.” .
“We shouldn’t bicker.” I stood between the two and gave them empathetic looks. “We can’t allow the stress to tear us apart.”
Ayden and Blaze looked at me and their features softened. They gave me knowing looks, as if my words clicked into their minds.
Blaze chuckled and embraced me in a hug. “I’m sorry for upsetting you unnecessarily.” He kissed the top of my forehead. His lips were warm and delightful against my skin.
“It’s not a big deal,” I assured him. “Believe me, I understand what it feels like. Even if James isn’t gone for that long, it’s still going to feel like an eternity for us.”
Ayden sighed and rested his back against a pine tree. He put his hands behind his back and gazed up at the canopy of branches overhead.
“Let’s just hope the rebellion camp doesn’t journey on without
us.” Blaze chuckled.
Ayden looked at him and narrowed his eyes. “Leo and Otto would never leave us behind.”
I looked at Blaze and swallowed hard. Tensions were running high between us. I wished there was something I could do to soothe the turmoil rushing through their minds.
I watched a butterfly float on delicate yellow wings through the air. It was enchanting to look at. It seemed so at peace, so oblivious to the chaos engulfing the world. What I wouldn’t give to be a butterfly.
Then I remembered I had my own wings, but they weren’t beautiful in color like this particular insect. Mine weren’t brilliant and sunny. They were dark and mysterious. My eyes welled with tears.
I had hated feeling like the ugly duckling for my entire life. It wasn’t that I felt unattractive. They guys did a good job at boosting my confidence in that regard, but I always felt like an outcast, like I didn’t fit in or belong among the beautiful white swans.
I sat down on a bed of cushiony leaves that weren’t damp and were receiving an ample amount of sunlight from a beam streaming right to the ground below.
“Are you all right?” Blaze approached me, sitting down and cupping his hand adoringly over my shoulder.
I glanced up at him and sniffed, trying to keep a fresh set of tears at bay.
“I just…wish that the world was different. That we didn’t have to hide. That we could be who we wanted to be without consequences.”
Blaze’s features softened like butter and he wrapped his arms around me, making me feel safe and warm. He gently stroked my hair. I instantly felt better about the future and he didn’t even have to say anything to have that sparkling effect over me.
“That’s why we are doing all of this stuff, baby,” he began. “A new era is dawning. The rebellion camps aren’t just here in the woods to hide. They are plotting their next move, planning their next revenge. We are a work in progress. If we are constantly moving and thriving, then we will win this battle, I can promise you that.”
I lifted my chin and gazed up at him. “Thank you for reassuring me.”
“Sometimes it’s needed.” Blaze gave me a humble shrug.
We sat there together while Ayden kept guard of our general area. After a while, Ayden came rushing toward us with anticipation etched into his features.
“He’s back.”
Blaze and I stood up simultaneously. “James?”
“Yes.” Ayden nodded, panting hard.
James emerged from behind Ayden a few seconds later. He looked like he had been through a war. He was shifted back to his human form, but he was disheveled. A couple of twigs were in his hair. I reached up and plucked them out for him.
“What happened out there?” I whispered.
“I found the werewolf,” he said.
I gasped. “Was it Cameron?”
James’s breathing was labored. He shook his head. “I don’t think so. This one was a slightly different color and had a different physique than Cameron.”
“He was with a Master,” Ayden relayed, apparently already having heard some of the story.
“It’s true.” James looked at Ayden and then glanced at us, nodding. “The werewolf wasn’t alone. There was another shifter with him and a…” he trailed off as if he didn’t want to say the word aloud, but Ayden had already made it clear.
“Master,” I said, flatly finishing his sentence for him.
James looked almost apologetic. “Unfortunately.”
The four of us exchanged grave looks.
“We should get back to the rebellion camp and tell the others,” Blaze suggested.
“No.” I defiantly shook my head. “Not without Cameron.”
“Why was the werewolf howling?” Ayden asked.
“That’s the terrible part…” James trailed off again and winced. “The Master was forcing the other shifter there to use magic to torture the werewolf.”
I clenched my jaw so tightly that it began to ache. I was furious. These Masters were using their own weaknesses and insecurities to make the rest of the world miserable so that they didn’t have to suffer alone. It was cruel, the most vicious way form punishment against the shifters of the world for committing no crime other than being born with a remarkable ability. It wasn’t fair, but that was life.
James’s eyes darted with paranoia around the group. “We aren’t safe here.”
“What if Cameron is nearby, though?” I asked, feeling sudden panic beating in my heart.
James shook his head. “We have to get back to the camp.”
“But Cameron…” I pointed abstractly off in the distance, knowing full well that I didn’t have an argument.
“It wasn’t Cameron, sweetheart,” James said and stroked my cheek with soothing circles of his thumb. “His specific curse can’t be altered, no matter what kind of magic is used on him. It’s still daytime. This one has to be a different werewolf.”
I met the gazes of each guy, tasting the same defeat that was reflected in their shimmering eyes.
“All right,” I muttered quietly. “But what about the other werewolf? Don’t we owe it to whoever it is to try and help them?”
My eyes panned the guys, meeting their conflicted gazes. I felt like we had a duty to our species, and I hoped that they would agree. If it was me out there under the torture of a Master, I would pray that someone like me would be willing to come to my rescue, no matter the risk involved.
19
Blaze
I looked into Sophia’s honest green eyes and saw the purity of her soul reflected there. Her intentions were honorable, there was no doubt about it. She didn’t want to head back to the rebellion base camp. She was insistent that we stay and try to help the mysterious werewolf in trouble, but we didn’t have a clue how to do that without seriously jeopardizing our own safety in the process.
Sophia looked determined, like she wasn’t willing to take no for an answer.
“I can’t speak for you guys, of course, but I just can’t in good conscience leave these woods knowing that there is a shifter out there being tortured by a Master and not do anything at all about it.”
“It’s not just one shifter,” James reminded her. “It’s the other shifter too, the one that is being controlled and forced into hurting the werewolf.”
“That’s true.” Sophia nodded and scanned the group with an affirmative nod.
“So, now what?” Ayden looked like he was willing to compromise and would be fine with whatever choice everyone else decided on.
That was very out of character for him and just further proved how severe the situation was.
I shifted my weight from heel to heel. I was still torn on what to do. Sophia had a point, but at the same time, I didn’t want to get trapped in a world where there was a high probability of a Master taking us.
“Where there are Masters, there are guards,” I blurted out to remind everyone that we weren’t just going to be dealing with a Master and two innocent shifters.
“I know.” James seemed apprehensive as he met my gaze and nodded grimly.
“If anything, if we are going to continue trekking through the woods, then Cameron should be our number one priority,” Ayden said. “Not some random shifters who are going to be surrounded by a unit of at least ten men.”
Sophia looked crushed by the point that Ayden was trying to make, no matter if he was doing it as empathetically as possible. She looked to the ground and seemed upset. Her bottom lip trembled.
Ayden noticed her change in demeanor after he had spoken. “I’m sorry,” he whispered and carefully moved closer to her. “I didn’t mean it like that—”
“I know.” She smiled as if she was going to remain poised no matter the circumstances. “It’s okay. I can handle it.” She let out a reluctant chuckle as if she wished there was an easier way to keep her feelings at bay.
I related to her on every level possible.
“I just think it’s more important to look for Cameron. If he went back to
the camp and we somehow crossed paths, then he will be worried and waiting for us to return.” Ayden’s voice and features were gentler than before as he addressed Sophia.
“We can always try to help the shifters in distress after we make sure Cameron is safe,” James suggested with a shrug, as if he wanted to remain on the fence and not be partial to any certain side.
Sophia still wore a persistent expression on her face. “What if it’s too late by then? What if the Master has already moved on with them, or worse, killed them?” She gasped as if the utter prospect was horrifying to her.
“Then there’s nothing we can do about it, I’m afraid.” Ayden shook his head solemnly and stared at the ground, clearly at a loss as to how to properly console her.
Sophia’s cheeks reddened. “That’s not good enough.” She glanced at me. She locked my gaze in a heated stare that melted my insides in a single second.
“What about you?”
I pointed to myself. “Me?”
“Yes, you.” She edged a step closer to me. “You didn’t give up on me when you found me in the water.”
“You would have undoubtedly drowned,” I said.
“Exactly.” Sophia’s eyes shimmered with acknowledgement. “You could have just walked away, but you didn’t. You saved me.”
In that moment, the spark of recognition struck us all. We finally understood the point that Sophia was trying to get across. Shifters didn’t just abandon each other in perilous situations. If there was something we could do to help, instinctually, we should jump at the chance to put ourselves in danger to save another.
“This is different,” Ayden argued. “There wasn’t a Master involved when Blaze found you in the river. The guards…they are…relentless. They will stop at nothing. They will die for the cause. They won’t let up and the Masters will make sure they are well protected.”
Sophia looked crestfallen as the practicality and truth of Ayden’s words sunk in with us all. Seeing her spirit so pulverized stirred up an intense furor inside me that I knew had been building up for a while and was now reaching a boiling point.
The inner rage from my bear instincts began to swell. All the injustices that I’d experienced in my life personally, the death of my mother, the fact that I had been involuntarily severed from the rest of my family…all of it.
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