Chapter 114: Chapter 114

We stick to my plan.

I would go with Tony ahead, and the twins, along with Aly and Mel, would separate from us, taking advantage not only of the fog that grew denser by the minute but also of the effect it had on their scent. I hoped that the humidity in the air would confuse Zoe’s men, who, in turn, would be so focused on catching me and relying on Tony’s power to stop hiding our trail that they would come after us like moths to a flame.

“There are at least fifteen,” Tony said, somewhat alarmed when he neutralized his power and concentrated on sensing those who were following us.

“This is a good spot to split up,” I hurriedly added before the twins had a chance to reconsider the agreement we had reached. “With the element of surprise on our side, we can take them down, even if they outnumber us.” I didn’t want to mention the fact that, being in a forest, the energy flowing through my body would be more than enough to detonate a 200-pound dynamite bomb, if not more, and that victory was assured. But I also had to act cautiously because I didn’t want to be a mass murderer, and we were interested in taking prisoners.

“We’ll stay connected,” Ethan exchanged a glance with his brother, one that was more than necessary, used to hide the pain that was deforming his face at that moment.

“Let us know as soon as you spot them,” Liam added. I nodded and hugged Aly, assuring her that everything would be fine.

“It’s now. Let’s go,” Tony urged us. We separated, and I saw the four of them deviating from the path, heading into the thick of the forest as the fog, which continued to rise from the ground, covered them. I couldn’t suppress the feeling that I was leaving something very valuable behind, that despite being only a few hundred feet apart, we had divided ourselves.

“Sussan,” Tony’s raspy voice invited me to move my legs, which would otherwise have surely remained stuck in the ground before rushing to where the twins had taken.

“Come on, yes.” We picked up the pace without running, as if we were saving our energy. We walked like this for a few minutes, taking more frequent breaks to make sure that Zoe’s men had taken the bait and were all, the fifteen we had sensed, behind us.

‘We saw them go straight ahead,'” Liam whispered. “‘They’re heading straight for you.’

‘Are you sure there are no more?’ I asked after exchanging a glance with Tony and letting him know what Liam had just told me.

‘No, none. They’re all heading toward you, and yes, we counted fifteen.’

‘Good. Start moving now, behind them. I’ll let you know as soon as we decide to attack them.’

I thought about the moment when I would have to transform and become the beast I was beginning to fear. The last time I had unleashed it, things had taken a terrifying turn, one that had landed me in this mess, and had dragged in the people I cared about the most. But how could I deny my nature? Maybe I could control the gifts I had been given, that I could do, but what if I couldn’t? What if fear or anger overcame me, and when I regained control, I discovered that I had caused a m******e? Was I about to prove David Zoe and his allies right, that it was best to keep me captive or even sacrifice me? Doubts gnawed at me, but one was stronger.

Where the hell is Gea?

I would need her in a few moments because even with the energy I now sensed underground, above my head, and on all sides every time I passed through any tree or bush, the speed at which Zoe’s men would attack us when they transformed would barely give me a heartbeat to focus. At least two or three of them would be on top of me before I could even turn to see them pounce on me. At least four would attack Tony, and the others would cause quite a bit of trouble for the twins, who, when they saw me captured, would lose control and do everything possible to rescue me. Although their unleashed rage might give them the strength they needed to gain an advantage, it would soon work against us, and Zoe’s men would simply have to threaten to kill me for them to surrender and accept any conditions.

If I didn’t have Gea, we were lost.

Where was she?

Why wasn’t she answering me?

Would I have to stop and tell Tony that I couldn’t communicate with my wolf, that my whole plan was going to hell for something as ridiculous as that? Was it possible that I had lost my wolf?

“I think we’ve got enough distance now,” Tony declared, coming to a halt. How could I explain now that Gea…?

‘Gea?’

‘Sussan!’

‘Damn it, Gea, where have you been…?’

‘Wait, listen to me, don’t speak!’

‘What?’

‘Listen to me! It’s a…’

“Sussan! Now!”

Tony’s voice echoed in my head, preventing me from hearing whatever it was that Gea had to tell me. Liam also spoke at that moment through the link, and it was all chaos. I didn’t hear either of them, but I no longer needed to because I saw what was happening.

In front of us were Zoe’s fifteen men, transforming, and there was one more.

Mel?

“Now, idiots! She no longer has her wolf. I’ve silenced her,” Mel said as she pointed her index finger at me, and I witnessed exactly what I had just foreseen.

Gea had been silenced again, and I no longer had to deduce the reason.

The damn wolf was also a white one.

But why?

Why was she doing this?

I fell backward with a ton of weight on my arms and chest, which sank into the earth as I heard my bones shatter and a sharp pain that nearly deprived me of consciousness shot up my back. I could only see, through a sliver of light between the body of the beast that now subdued me, what was happening in the place where it should have been us who achieved victory.

It took only three men and ten seconds to subdue Tyson, who could have taken them on if it hadn’t been for Mel silencing his wolf. I watched in horror as the twins charged, knowing that it was only a matter of time before they too were defeated because their momentum threw them at the beast that was currently on top of me.

I would have wanted to shout to them to attack Mel, but not only did I not have the air to do so, they wouldn’t have heard me, no matter how hard I pushed.

First, Ethan’s wolf was silenced, and tears rolled down my cheeks as I heard the snap of his bones, which broke with a slight blow from the beast that attacked him. Liam turned abruptly, and although he managed to injure the man who attacked his brother, when he threw his second claw, what hit the chest of the beast was a human fist. I didn’t want to see, but it was impossible not to hear, and even feel, that same bone-crunching sound that haunted me for the third time in less than fifteen seconds.

Why, Mel?

Why?

I kept repeating to myself without ceasing.