Bella:
"What you plan to do is crazy," Hazel said for the hundredth time.
"When I say crazy, I mean CRAZY. Can you hear me?" she added, and I chuckled.
As an alpha princess, I had been through worse. From what I observed at the Frost pack, they valued education like humans and had the lower-class wolves do their difficult tasks.
No wonder they were scared when I agreed to go toe-to-toe with Fae in fencing. She was their best, and I wasn't even close to that back home. Both Bonnie and Sebastian could beat me with their eyes closed.
"You worry about the wrong things, Hazel. Trust me, I'll be fine," I said to her, and she groaned, pushing herself out of bed.
She grabbed her coat, a torch, her phone, and a small bag.
"Where are you going?" I asked when I turned around and saw her suited up.
"You think I'll let you go out there alone? No. I've heard stories, and they've never been pleasant," she said, and I shrugged.
Once I was done dressing, I opened the window and looked down to see how far we would have to jump. Then I looked at Hazel, who had a worried look on her face.
"We are just on the second floor. It won't hurt," I said, and then I put my feet out the window, balancing on the stool. "Please scream inwardly," I added.
I looked down once more before taking a leap of faith, landing safely on the soft grass beneath on both feet. "Come on," I said to Hazel.
"I know I'll regret this," she said before jumping.
She made muffled sounds as she was in the air, and in no time she landed safely as I did.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"No, but I could be taking a peaceful nap, yet here I am going on a crazy mission, unsure if I'll make it back or not," she said, walking upfront.
Carefully, we dodged the security lights until they were out of sight.
The Labyrinth was far from the dorms and the school. It was a forbidden area, so the distance was considerable, and it took a while before we reached it. Standing at the entrance, I felt a wave of fear in my chest but shrugged it off, taking out my torchlight.
I pointed it at the vast entrance, which had many paths ahead.
"This is it. Stay close and never let go of my hand," I said to Hazel, and she hissed.
"I'd rather be led by a blind bat than go in there with you."
When she said this, she tossed a scroll at my face.
"Here. It's a map of the Labyrinth. Don't ask how I got it. Just open it up, and let it lead us to the end," she said, and I threw myself at her.
This was the best news at the moment, and I couldn't be more grateful.
Our journey began shortly. We walked around the vast Labyrinth, looking out for whatever was said to hunt it.
"This is easier than I thought," I said aloud when we were halfway through.
It seemed too easy, and nothing had come to attack us, so I felt the stories were just tales to keep the students away from the tree.
"I mean, I could have come here alone, and I don't even need you to..."
"Bella, watch out!" Hazel screamed as we reached a crossroad, pushing me down to the hard ground as a black wolf brushed past her, trying to tear her to shreds.
I picked up a twig from the dusty ground.
"Hey, get off her!" I yelled, tossing the twig at it.
The wolf turned around, growling at me. It left Hazel and faced me. I looked into its eyes, staring at my reflection, which made my legs feel deeply rooted to the ground as it approached me.
Just when it was about to reach me, a big ash-colored wolf emerged from the left path and head butted the black wolf into the right path. It crashed to the floor and howled, rushing towards the ash wolf. I glanced at the ash wolf. "It's okay, Bella, we are here," it said, and I was brought back to reality at once as their scent hit my nostrils.
"Ryder?" I called out just in time as Finna and Kai arrived at the scene.
What were they doing here? And how did they know?
When it hit me that Fae must have told them, a frown crossed my face.
The wolf that had wanted to attack Ryder turned away at once when it saw the others had arrived. This made me breathe in relief, and I rushed over to help Hazel up.
"I'm sorry," I said to her, and she sighed, dusting off her body, which was covered in dust.
The triplets walked up to us, and I stared at them without a word. It was brave of them, or rather thoughtful of them, to want to help their mate out, but I didn't ask for any of this.
"If you want to get the flower, then hop on, and we will ride to the destination quicker. There is a trail for us in wolf form, and we can smell it," Ryder said, and I looked at Hazel, who shrugged before hopping on Finn.
Not wanting to be associated with Ryder, I got onto Kai, and the triplets rode away. Their wolves were so fast that I saw my life flash before my eyes multiple times, but in no time, we reached the root of the flower, which left my mouth wide open.
Everything about the surroundings was beautiful. From the chirping of the crickets to the cool night breeze, everything made the blooming of the beautiful blue, rose-like flower perfect.
"Wow!" I exclaimed, getting off Kai.
Then I walked forward to it, touching the tip, which caused it to open up like a sunflower. Its soft petal fell into my hand, and I looked at the glowing substance, which felt magical, making me feel it was a crime to possess something so beautiful.
"Bella," Ryder called out, but I was engrossed in the flowers.
I stood on my tiptoes, about to grab one, when I heard a growl. I turned around to see the wolf that had attacked us earlier with two other gigantic wolves, which cornered the five of us.
"We are dead," Finn said as they took a step back until we were all backed up against the flowers that were spread out over a large horizon.
"This is why you should never go into a labyrinth," Kai said, and I sighed.
This wasn't the time to regret what was already done, and we needed to think of how to get out of this. Before we could say a thing, the wolf that attacked earlier rushed towards me, and Ryder rushed at it, striking it down.
I swallowed hard.
The two bigger black wolves approached us, and the twins backed away while Ryder rushed at them. They struck him before he could deliver a single blow, and he fell towards us, giving off a howl.
He got up at once and rushed at them, head butting one of them, but he was pushed back with great force, causing him to slam his back on the root of the flower.
When this happened, the wolves howled loudly, as if they were trying to wake something or someone up.
The wolves marched up to us, then Finn and Kai stood in front of Hazel and me. While I panicked, Hazel stared at the wolves for a while, then she gasped.
"Don't attack them!" she yelled, but Finn and Kai had already launched themselves at the wolves, and they were struck down.
After that, the wolves turned to us. Hazel stood still while I fidgeted. The first wolf we encountered rushed between the two gigantic wolves, getting to us first. It sniffed both of us, then faced only me, giving me a huge lick. Then it fell to the ground and gave a howl.
"They are spirits," Hazel said as she bent down to stroke the head of the wolf, which shrank in size, leaving me in shock. "I've read about them. They guard the flower against evil, and I think they have read our hearts, but we attached them, and when they feel threatened, they grow very large."
When she said this, the other wolves shrank too, but they were the sizes of our wolves.
"These must be its parents," she said as the little pup rolled over on the ground. The other wolves looked at us for a while, then they circled around me, causing Hazel to shift back.
"I think they like you," she said, and I gave off a smile, watching the wolves move around me like they were about to eat me for dinner.
After a while, they paused, then turned around and left. The little pup ran after them.
"See you later," Hazel chuckled, waving at it.
I plucked a stick of flower, tossed it into the box in my bag, then we rushed to the triplets, who were struggling to
gain a stance.
"Are you guys alright?" Hazel asked.
"Kind of, but we better get back to the dorm before it is too late. The howling of those creatures must have woken the porters, and they might want to check it out," Ryder said.
We hopped on them, and we rode back to the dorm. Hopefully, we arrived safely using the map, and the door was
still tightly shut.
We decided to go through the triplets' rooms.
"Now to get back in without being noticed," I said as we got down from Finn's and Kai's backs. "I think we should go before you guys so you can cover up because we wouldn't want to..."
"We understand." Ryder cut me short, and then Hazel and I took a huge jump, reaching the window stool. We pulled ourselves into the window.
"That wasn't as difficult as I imagined," Hazel said as I reached for the wall, trying to find the light switch. Suddenly, the lights came on, and I saw my mother standing by the door.