THIRD PERSON POV:
"Can you guys slow down? I'm trying to catch my breath!" Bella yelled at Finn and Hazel, who were running up ahead.
That morning, they had decided to go for a run in the mountains. Ryder and Kai were too lazy to join them, so they left without them. The trio thought it would be a great way to train, but Bella got tired before they could make it to the top of the mountain.
Finn and Hazel stopped for her. She jogged up, catching up with them, then she tried to catch her breath.
"I can't tell if I'm lazy or just getting weaker," she said, bending slightly with her hands on her knees.
Finn patted her back gently.
"You're not an early riser, and I think your body's still asleep, so don't beat yourself up." Bella nodded at his comforting words, then stood up straight, taking a deep breath.
"Are you fine, now?" Hazel asked, and she nodded, then they continued jogging up the winding trails of the mountain, which were surrounded by tall trees.
In no time, they reached the top of the mountain. Bella fell onto the cool, rocky ground, spreading her arms and legs as she chuckled out loud. Hazel and Finn joined her on the ground. She took deep, controlled breaths, then turned to face Hazel, who was lying on her stomach, taking a picture.
"I think we should do this every morning," she said to Hazel, who nodded without looking at her. "That way we'll be stronger, and we can tell Halle we achieved something during the break." Hazel still didn't look at her, causing her to groan. "Do you love Riley more than you love me?" she asked, and Hazel glanced at her with a smile on her lips. "N... no." She took another picture.
"I see," Bella said, then turned to the left to Finn, who was gazing into the sky, looking at the sun struggling to rise through the clouds.
"The sky is beautiful," he said, then turned to look at her as she flashed him a smile.
"Yeah. I can't tell if I prefer that or the sunsets." He inched closer when she said this. "When I was little, I would go on runs with my dad. Well, half the time he would carry me on his back, running up the hills, but it was part of the..." Before she could finish, Finn pressed his lips to hers.
When he pulled away, she stared into his eyes as if she had never seen or kissed his lips.
"I think I needed that."
"And I won't be here for that," Hazel said, breaking their moment, then she sat up. Bella and Finn joined her, and Bella faced her, squeezing her face in a playful manner.
"Let me guess, you're done texting the love of your life, and now you don't want me to have peace?" she asked, and Hazel chuckled.
"And now she'll act like she doesn't know what we're talking about," Finn added, causing Hazel to get to her feet.
"I won't sit here and listen to you two dissect my love life," she began, then tapped Bella. "You're it!" she yelled, taking off.
"Hey, that's not fair, you..." Before she could finish, she turned to Finn, tapped him, then got to her feet and took off. Finn didn't complain. He stood up immediately and chased after them as they made their way into the woods. He felt it would be too easy to catch them. First, Bella was his mate, and he could easily track her. As for Hazel, she wasn't as fast as him.
Entering the woods, he picked up Bella's scent behind a tree but passed her by. He wanted her to enjoy her fake victory while he focused on Hazel. Bella, who was hiding behind a tree, took a deep breath of relief as he raced past her. When he hd gone far, she took out her phone.
She took a picture, then sent it to the general group chat.
"Playing tag with Finn and Hazel," she captioned the photo, then slid the phone into her pocket, jogging away from the spot.
After a while, she realized she was lost. But then she heard Hazel's voice.
"Hey, you could easily find Bella, but you came for me. I hate playing with mates because they just gang up on you!" she said, and Bella chuckled, trying to find her way back to the path. But then she saw a light flash by her, causing her to pause.
At first, she thought she was imagining it, but she saw it again. It was a red light. She knew at once that vampires were nearby, but she didn't want to believe it.
"Who's there?" she asked, taking out her phone to text Finn, but then it got knocked out of her hand. As she bent to pick it up, she saw a black shoe covered by a cloak beside it.
Taking a deep breath, she looked up to see a woman dressed in a cloak, just like the nameless vampire. Her heart raced, and she picked up her phone, attempting to step back, but she bumped into something solid. The moment she turned to see the person's face, they blew a powdered substance into her face, causing her to fall to the ground, passing out.
**
Finn and Hazel made their way back to the spot they started after a while of continuously tagging each other without Bella.
"She must have outsmarted us and is probably waiting there while we keep playing," Hazel reasoned, but Finn felt something was off.
Bella's scent was slowly fading as they made their way back to the spot, and when they got there, they couldn't find her.
"She isn't here," Hazel said, and Finn's heart sank, confirming his fear.
"We should go back in there. I couldn't feel her presence for a while, and I hope she's just messing with us. Maybe playing with your spells or something," he said.
They both walked into the woods, calling out her name.
"Bella, you can come out now!" Hazel yelled, but there was no answer.
Finn decided to call her, but she didn't pick up.
They kept walking into the woods, and he kept calling until they heard her phone ringing. Hurriedly, they made their way to the path where they heard her phone, and when they got there, she was nowhere to be found. He called the phone again, and they traced it among the dried leaves, finding it on the ground.
"Wait!" Hazel said to Finn. "They were here."
When she said this, Finn paused, staring at her as if she were insane.
"Who was here? What are you saying?" he asked, and she let out a sigh.
"About two days ago, I saw two witches dressed in cloaks leaving the Alpha's house. The energy around them felt off, and I feel the same energy here. They were here, and I bet they took Bella."
Finn looked at her, shaking his head. "Why would Alpha Herald want witches to kidnap Bella?"
"I don't know if that's what happened, but we need to find them," she said, then grabbed Bella's phone. "I can locate them using Bella. You should call Kai and Ryder." Finn nodded, leaving to call the others while Hazel held onto the phone, chanting a brief spell to show her the way.
She saw the women still on a journey with Bella inside a car.
"They're on the move, and we need to go now," she said to Finn, who was still on the call.
Back at the Alpha's house, Ryder and Kai panicked after Finn gave them the news. They threw on their clothes, rushing out of the room.
"Where are you boys off to in a hurry?" Herald's voice came from behind, and they turned to see him at the end of the hallway.
They glanced at each other, then Ryder gave in.
"Bella has been kidnapped, and we need to..."
"What?" Herald asked, loosening his arms. "And you were planning to tell me this when?" he asked, then scoffed, walking past them. "Both of you, outside now, and you'd better have a clue where she is. I never wanted this crowd, but she wouldn't listen!" he kept lamenting as they made it out of the house and piled into his car.
Meanwhile, Hazel trailed Bella using her phone until they arrived at the entrance of a cave on the outskirts of the city. "We have to go up the path," Finn said, and Hazel took a deep breath.
"I just pray we don't encounter any vampires. I know it's almost impossible to find them here, but we could be outnumbered," she said as they made their way up the path leading to the cave.