Fangs vs Claws

by Rua Hasan

He nodded his head and kissed my lips, letting it linger there for a bit.

  “We will finish the conversation we were having when I get back,” he whispered huskily in my ear then ran out the door with Liam by his side.

  I left Ian waiting for me outside my bedroom and changed clothes in less than sixty seconds and dashed out.

  Ian bowed his head at me, showing his respect.

  “The dungeon is this way, but we have to move quick,” he spoke.

  I nodded my head and followed Ian closely as we ran out of the pack house and into the woods.

  Oh, why is my luck so bad? I didn’t need a genius to figure out that the rogues are here for me. But why? And why now? I mean, I was just about to confess my feelings until they had to ruin everything.

  I just hope Aiden will come back soon. I can’t stand the thought of him hurt.

  We quickened our pace and ran through the woods. I was expecting to hear growls or yells of pain, but for some reason, it was quiet.

  Too quiet.

  I stopped suddenly, causing Ian to stop with me, when I realized that we weren’t even near the dungeon.

  We were in the same place my parents, and I first found out that we crossed a pack. And it was very close to the border. I turned toward Ian in confusion.

  This wasn’t right.

  “Why are we here?” I asked.

  “We’re supposed to be heading toward the dungeon,” I said.

  Something about Ian looked different. It wasn’t his hair or his looks; it was his eyes. They were pitch-black, and you couldn’t see any light in them.

  Oh no.

  I took a step back, causing him to step forward.

  “You!” I said.

  This was all a distraction! The rogues weren’t here for me. They were here to distract Aiden and the guards.

  I was about to scream for help when he grabbed my head and slammed it into a tree.

  “It’s a pity I had to do this,” he said.

  My head was throbbing in pain as I let out a painful scream. I fell to the ground while black spots were blurring my vision as everything around me started to turn. My ears were being assaulted by the painful clanging of bells, but before I was engulfed by the darkness, I heard Ian speak.

  “But it’s the only way.”

  Chapter 36

  Aiden

  I ran out of the pack house and into the woods with Liam by my side. I let my inner Alpha take over as my wolf guided me. He wanted out! He wanted to rip every single wolf who had been trespassing just so they could get their filthy hands on my precious mate. No one is going to lay a finger on her if that’s the last thing I’ll do.

  I still don’t know why they want Stella, but I’ll have my men spare one life so I could extract some information from him. Some guards were running with Liam and me; our best fighters were with us. A couple of females and males.

  Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring Ian with me. Even though he may not be mated, he still is one of our best fighters, and I needed someone to be there for Stella, even though I know she could protect herself. My wolf just won’t be relaxed until he knows she’s safe. He won’t take the risk, even though she might be a very strong vampire, I just needed someone to escort her to the dungeons so that I know nothing bad happened.

  The wolves who were patrolling the border said that they were less than a mile into the pack. Which meant that we had to move fast, or else they could escape. I growled and let my wolf take over completely as Liam and the others shifted too.

  Finally, when we made it there, we were all panting and tired, but I couldn’t relax until I saw blood. Blood from the people who wanted to hurt Stella. Until I was satisfied, they weren’t going to come back. But I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the guards patrolling the border looking confused.

  Where were all the rogues?

  My wolf let out a furious growl and ran behind a tree to shift. I then grabbed a pair of shorts that were hiding behind a bush and wore it. I stomped from behind the tree and walked closer to the confused guards.

  “Where are all the rogues?” I asked as I gave the guards a cold look.

  The guard looked nervous when he spoke, “We don’t know Alpha. There was a lot one minute then in just an instant, they retreated, and they were too many for us to actually fight back.”

  I let out a frustrated growl and hit the tree beside me.

  I can’t believe they let the rogues get away. They could have been useful. I could have found out who wanted Stella and why. But maybe I can find some clues if I look hard enough.

  I turned to face a guard.

  “Which direction did they go?” I asked.

  He pointed to my left and wasting no time, I dashed past the trees and deeper into the woods. The air was filled with the scent of rogues as I ran faster and faster. Soon I found myself across the border by a couple steps. I knew I couldn’t travel too far, for if something happened, then my pack would need me. I couldn’t waste much time.

  Then in just a split second, I smelled something odd. No one would have caught it if they weren’t concentrating, but lucky for me, I’m an Alpha, so I was able to. And it wasn’t the smell of rogues. It was the smell of power. Something strong and intimidating.

  It was the smell of an Alpha.

  My heart started to beat faster in my chest as I thought about an Alpha that could be the one behind all this near my territory.

  Something bad is going to happen, and I just know it. I have to make sure Stella is okay and increase the patrol for the millionth time this month. I guess I’ll just have to come back here next time to look for any clues.

  I took a step back, trying to calm my raging wolf, and was about to run back when something shiny on the ground, near a bush, attracted my attention. I kneeled down and picked up a chain, which looked like a necklace. It looked very old and rusty, as if it has been kept for years. At the end of the chain was a heart-shaped lock. I tried to open it, but it was locked, so I put it in my pocket and ran back to where Liam and the others were.

  Once I approached them, I saw the look of rage on Liam’s face as he shouted orders to everyone around him. This got my guard up. I walked over to him, giving him a questioning look, and when he noticed my presence, he seemed to tense.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  He looked at me with worried eyes and placed his hand on my shoulder. He had a nervous vibe coming from him, and he spoke hesitantly.

  “Aiden, I want you to take a deep breath and listen carefully to what I have to say,” he said.

  He didn’t have to tell me what he was about to say because that was all he needed to say to let me know what was going on.

  “Where is she?” I yelled.

  I felt my breathing become faster as my chest heaved. My wolf wanted control.

  “She better be okay or so help me I won’t hesitate to rip someone’s head off!” I shouted at everyone around me. I knew Liam had nothing to do with it because he was with me the whole time, but when I get my hands on Ian, oh something bad will happen.

  That bastard was supposed to be protecting her! Why can’t he just listen to one order! One freaking order!

  I didn’t realize I was shaking until Liam and the others were trying to calm me down, pulling me out of the forest. There were about five men who dragged me back to the pack house. I took a deep breath and listened to what Liam was saying.

  “Aiden, you have to calm down! For Stella’s sake,” he said.

  He’s right. I can’t go all ballistic right now. I have to be the Alpha I am and try to get my precious mate back. But there is something inside me nagging. My wolf is blaming me for which it has every right to be blamed. I promised her one thing. And that was to keep her safe, but I have failed to keep that promise. She is somewhere—who knows where? Probably suffering by the second.

  What if she was being tortured? I will never forgive myself if something happened to her.

  I’m a failure.

  “Where is Ian?
” I growled.

  “We don’t know, Alpha. She was supposed to be in the dungeon with the elders and children, but she wasn’t found. Her last trace was in the woods near the border with Ian,” one of the guards said.

  Wait, but why was she so far into the woods?

  Ian was supposed to take her to the dungeon which was somewhere near the pack house and not in the woods. Unless he purposely took her there.

  Oh God!

  Ian was the traitor!

  So that’s how rogues came into our territory without the guards knowing. He could have just lured them away while the rogues snuck in. Because Ian was one of the most trusted guards. Well, not anymore. I won’t hesitate to kill him the next time I see him. But why? What was the purpose?

  I started to shout orders around as I sent trackers to track her scent.

  I have to get Stella back! Without her, I don’t know what I’d do. She’s everything to me, and I know this may seem cliché, but I can’t live without her. She’s my world.

  I let everyone do their job and dragged Liam to my office. We had to move fast or else I might never see Stella again. I shook my head at those crazy thoughts as my wolf scolded me.

  We will find her, and she will be safe, my wolf reassured me.

  “What are we going to do now?” Liam asked.

  I walked down the hall and took the keys out of my pocket to unlock my office door. The necklace I found earlier fell to the ground.

  “What’s that?” Liam asked as he picked it up from the ground.

  “I don’t know. I found it earlier, and I couldn’t get it to open,” I said.

  Liam observed the necklace closely then moved his eyes from the heart-shaped lock to me.

  “Where did you find this?” he asked.

  “Somewhere near the border, why?” I asked.

  “This could be a clue, and what might be inside it could give us some answers,” he said as I saw a glint of hope in his eyes.

  “Well, that’s great and all, but how are we going to open it?” I pointed out.

  Liam gave me a small smirk.

  “Oh, not us, my friend, but there’s someone I know who can,” he said then dragged me upstairs.

  We quickened our pace, walking faster, for every second counts. We stopped in front of Marie’s door which slammed open immediately. By the look on her face, she knew what was going on.

  I’m guessing Liam mind-linked her.

  “We will find her,” she said to me, but I felt like it was more to herself.

  Liam nodded then walked into her room.

  “Yes, we will, and maybe this might lead us to where she is,” he said as he showed the necklace to Marie.

  “But it’s locked, and we need your help,” I said desperately.

  Marie took the chain in her hand and observed it for a second then snapped her fingers while giving us a confident smile.

  “You can always count on a bobby pin to help,” she muttered to herself then placed the chain on the counter next to her bed and started to look through her drawers. A moment later, she had a bobby pin in her hand and looked at us.

  “This will need so much concentration, so please be quiet,” she said.

  We nodded obediently and stared for what seemed to be hours but actually minutes of her trying to unlock the lock.

  Finally, we heard a clicking sound and rushed over to where she was standing. I gave Marie a thankful smile then took the chain into my hand and looked at both of them nervously.

  What if this didn’t have the answers?

  What if I was wasting my time trying to unlock this while I could have been searching for Stella?

  Well, there was one way to find out, and that was to open it. Marie and Liam stood next to me, peeking over my shoulders so they could see as well. With sweaty hands, I opened the lock. My mouth fell open as Marie gasped, and Liam gave me a surprised look.

  The lock had a picture of a beautiful girl in it smiling, and on the bottom was her name.

  Lilly Claze

  Well, now we know where to look.

  Chapter 37

  Stella

  I was moving. My body was shaking as it moved up and down. But I was numb, and my whole body felt weak. Everything was dark as I felt a throbbing pain in the back of my head. I wanted to moan in pain, but somehow I couldn’t. It was like my lips were sealed.

  And maybe they were because I felt a kind of fabric tied around my mouth.

  I twitched my hand and was about to move it to take the fabric off, but it was held down by something strong. Something that stung my wrist whenever I tried to break free. That’s when I heard some murmurs around me. They sounded so close yet so far away.

  And reality struck me, causing me to finally open my eyes.

  I remembered everything from the rogue attack to getting hit on my head by none other than Ian. I don’t think I’ve ever had this much hatred toward someone. He deserves the golden medal of being a traitor. I then gathered as much energy I could get and used it to look at my surroundings.

  I was in the back of a moving car, lying down on my side. I looked up to see two strangers, one driving and the other next to him as they talked about something I couldn’t quite get. Something about moving into a pack after handing something over. By the smell of them, I could tell they were rogues. They both weren’t paying attention to me as they focused on the road.

  Where were they taking me?

  What did they want from me and why rogues? I thought it was an Alpha that was behind all this. Unless these rogues were working for him in return for something.

  I started to panic, but I knew I had to be strong so that I could make it out alive. I needed to get rid of these two so that I could hop out of this car and run back home. Thankfully, my feet weren’t tied up, only my hands and mouth. I guess they weren’t expecting me to wake up this early, which I do have to thank my vampire abilities for.

  But before I could make a move, I have to break my hands free. Each time I pulled apart, it would apply more pain to my wrists.

  What is this? I’ve heard about ropes especially made to weaken wolves, but never did I hear about ropes made for vampires.

  I tried to cut the ropes by using my long nails or fangs. I successfully freed my mouth by dragging the piece of fabric down to my neck. But I couldn’t do the same for my hands. Only a wolf could break me free because they were immune to this charm.

  There was only one plan, which I wish I didn’t have to do but it was the only choice. I had to do it, especially if I wanted to go back home into my mate’s arms. I didn’t really want to take anyone’s life, but I had to remind myself that these people kidnapped me and who knows what could happen to me if I didn’t fight back

  This was a battle between life and death.

  And I couldn’t die! I don’t know what would happen to Aiden if something happened to me. I didn’t want him to feel the pain of losing someone; it just hurts too much.

  I made sure to act quickly so that the rogues wouldn’t see me move from the mirror. With my tied hands, I choked the rogue sitting in the passenger seat, pressing on his neck tightly.

  The wolf driving noticed what was going on and started to swerve the car in different directions in panic. He was about to stop the car and attack me, but before he could do any of that, I let my inner vampire out. My fangs came out of my gums, and I sunk them into his neck.

  So basically I was choking one wolf as I sucked the life out of the other.

  Yay me!

  He was screaming in pain as the other one tried to break free.

  I kept sucking the blood out of the rogue, which was delicious by the way. I felt my energy come back as I swallowed every drop of blood. I made sure that both men were unconscious, or maybe dead. I jumped out of the car and looked around to see if anyone was following us. A car was coming toward my direction, so I dashed behind a bush and hid.

  I peeked over and saw the car come to a stop as Ian and a bunch of other rogues came out of
the car and ran to the one I was previously in. There was someone else sitting in the car, but I couldn’t quite figure out who. All I knew was that the person wasn’t a rogue. I saw all the men panic as they looked around their surroundings. One even ran to the car and said something to the mysterious person.

  What snapped me out of my thoughts was the sight of Ian sniffing the air.

  Oh shit!

  I totally forgot they could smell me. So without a second thought, I ran into the woods like my life depended on it.

  Well, I think it did.

  The trees I passed were a blur as I ran for my life. I perked my ears up and listened to my surroundings. I heard some shouting in the distance and footsteps, but luckily, they weren’t too close.

  I think I could actually do this. All I have to do is lose them and make my way back to Aiden’s pack.

  I wonder what is he doing now. He probably found out that I am missing and is now looking for me. But how long would it take for me to run back home? Am I too far away? Who knows how long I have been sleeping.

  I quickened my pace when I heard the footsteps get louder. I used my vampire skills to an advantage and ran as fast as the speed of light.

  Not literally.

  The sound of footsteps disappeared as I heard clothes being shed and growls coming from behind me.

  Great! They shifted.

  I felt like I was in the Twilight movies or something.

  Now, that they had shifted, it would be easier for them to smell and gain on me, so I wasted no time in running deeper into the woods where it would be difficult for them to find me because of all the trees blocking their sight.

  Suddenly I got an idea. I climbed up a tree which had so many branches and leaves and hid in the shadows so they couldn’t see me. Once they passed the tree I was hiding in, they would smell my scent and continue to run, thinking that I just passed this tree and did not climb it.

  I tried to control my breathing and beating heart as they passed me and shouted orders to one another. A couple minutes later, the forest was quiet, leaving me thinking that they have disappeared. No one was in sight, so I climbed down the tree and turned my head from side to side.

  Which way do I go?