Chapter 46: Chapter 46

Gea’s frantic voice stirred something within me, and I ran desperately. My feet pounded the pavement, the sound bouncing off the buildings and echoing through the empty street. “They’re werewolves,” Gea said. “You have to run faster.”

I crossed the street and hurried down the sidewalk, my breath coming out in short gasps. My legs were starting to burn, and I thanked the heavens for taking off the boot from my foot days ago. My foot had fully healed, an advantage of being half werewolf, I suppose. My lungs screamed in my chest, making me want to scream. While my speed and strength increased, my werewolf side didn’t affect my terrible endurance.

“Don’t look behind you,” Gea said as I started to turn my head.

An uneven scream escaped my throat as a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. A hand covered my mouth, muffling the scream before it had a chance to bounce off the buildings. The shops lining the street were devoid of light, signs on the doors changing to ‘closed.’ There was no one there to help me.

“Come on, Sussan! Defend yourself!” Gea exclaimed. “Kick them, bite them! Do something!”

I used all the energy I had to kick my legs, spurred on by Gea. A sickening sense of satisfaction coursed through me when my leg connected with something hard, following the grunt of a man. One of the men stood in front of me, and I could make out some of the features of his face. A wide mouth with chipped teeth, disheveled hair grazing his eyebrows, and a fiery rage in his eyes. The man holding me tightened his grip, his hand slipping as I continued to try and break free.

I clamped my teeth onto the fleshy part of his hand, biting down until the repugnant taste of b***d filled my mouth. A large breath rushed in through my lips when the man holding me finally let go. My head hit the concrete with a sickening c***k, and stars danced in my eyes. With fear and adrenaline coursing through my veins, I scrambled to sit up.

“I don’t have money, but you can take my wallet,” I stammered, the words spilling out of my mouth like vomit.

“We don’t want your money, sweetheart,” said the man with the wide mouth and disheveled hair, cradling me as if I were a frightened cat. “Our boss sent us to find you.” “Liam and Ethan wouldn’t send anyone to find us,” Gea murmured. “They would come looking for us themselves. Someone else sent these men.”

“Is it Axel?” I asked, my eyes darting between the three menacing figures.

“I don’t think so,” Gea paused. “These wolves smell wrong.”

I flinched as one of the men approached me, grimacing as small rocks and shards of glass embedded into my skin.

“Do you feel that?” Gea said.

“I’m not feeling anything except terror at the moment,” I replied, shuddering as one of the men pulled me to my feet.

“Are you going to behave?” one of the men asked, his voice surprisingly soft considering the situation we were in. “We don’t want to hurt you, but we will if you force us to.”

“Liam and Ethan, our friends,” Gea whispered.

I ignored the sudden wave of excitement that coursed through me, blaming Gea as I knew she wasn’t the source. Every hair on my body seemed to stand on end as I heard their names echo in my mind. The joy I felt was short-lived, followed by the most horrendous pain.

“We have to shift, Sussan,” Gea whispered with sympathy laced in her rough tone. “It’s going to hurt, but you’ll survive.”

“I thought we needed Liam and Ethan to shift,” I stammered.

“They’re close enough that you won’t die during the process,” Gea replied. “Get ready.”

I had no idea what she meant, or how to prepare for what was coming. Almost a second later, a piercing pain shot through my spine. Liquid fire ran through my veins, seeping into my muscles and bones. A sickening crunch reverberated through the street, followed by a g***n of pure agony. Everything seemed to come apart as my body was consumed in flames. I no longer knew where we were, or why we were here in the first place. The three men faded from my mind, their voices a jumbled mess ringing in my ears.

“s**t, s**t! He said she couldn’t shift yet.”

“Not without the two Alphas. Damn it, they have to be close. Her wolf wouldn’t let her shift without them. Inject her with the wolfsbane.”

“It won’t work, not when she just shifted.”

“It’ll work in a couple of hours. Just do it!”

My lungs felt numb, expelling oxygen as if it were poison. One crunch followed another, followed by something soft brushing against my skin. I felt my legs give out from under me, vaguely hearing Gea’s gentle voice filling my head.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she whispered softly. “It’s almost over. Stay conscious, Sussan. You have to stay awake.”

I could feel myself slipping into darkness, hands clutching onto something, anything, to keep from falling. My hands grasped onto something solid as the image of Liam and Ethan came to mind. The pain in my bones dulled, and when I opened my eyes, everything had changed.

I was on the ground, staring into the faces of my captors. It seemed like little time had passed as they approached me slowly, cautiously. Their hands were raised, their eyes bulging as they looked at me. A growl resonated through the night, and I whimpered as I realized the sound came from me. I ran my tongue over my teeth, noticing how strange everything felt. My mouth felt wider, longer, my teeth sharp and jagged. I rose from the ground, nearly stumbling when I caught sight of fur.

“You did it,” Gea breathed, radiating with pride. “We shifted, Sussan. Look at us.”

Gea was right; we had shifted.

Fur the color of pure snow covered my body, beautifully reflecting the moonlight. I looked down at my paws, noticing how large they appeared. I wished I had hands to run my fingers through the soft fur on my body.

“She’s… she’s white,” one of the men sneered, looking at the other with an expression of disbelief.

“Why did he say it like that?” I frowned. “Is there something wrong with me?”

“I’ll explain later,” Gea replied. “For now, we need to get out of here.”

“What about Liam and Ethan?” I found myself asking, trembling with the intensity of the pull I felt towards them.

“Now that we’ve shifted, they’ll find us,” Gea reassured me. “Now, let me take the lead. I’ll get us away from these idiots.”

“Are you sure?”

“Trust me, Sussan,” Gea replied, her tone gentle. “I’ve known you my whole life. You can trust me above anyone else. Well, except for Liam and Ethan.”

Letting Gea take control was easier than I expected. It felt like stopping a car and sitting in the passenger seat. I watched through Gea’s eyes as she plowed through the three men, breaking their limbs as she made her way through the narrow space between buildings. We leaped over a chain-link fence, pushing through bushes and shrubs as Gea led us towards the forest. My eyes were wide open as I looked around. We maneuvered between trees and rocks, kicking up dirt behind us.

“Will they follow us?” I asked, marveling at the strength of my new legs.

“They’ll try,” Gea nodded. “But they won’t get far. We’re faster.”

“We?” I asked, as I hadn’t witnessed the speed at which a normal wolf runs.

“We are,” Gea replied, laughing at the awe in my voice.

Everything felt different here, just with Gea in the forest. I could feel her instincts merging with mine as we finally worked as one. Her speed became mine, and soon I was assisting her, laughing breathlessly as the wind caressed our fur. The feeling was completely liberating, and soon I forgot why we were running. We raced past a small stream at full speed, and I couldn’t contain my joyful laughter as the water splashed around us. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so open and free, enjoying the little things that I often overlooked.

“That will help disperse our scent,” Gea nodded.

Minutes turned into hours, and exhaustion began to settle into our bones. I noticed that Gea was tired as we started to slow down. The trees no longer whizzed by in blurrs of color and scent. Now I had time to appreciate each tree, the pattern of its leaves, and the rich bark that protected it. In the distance, smoke dispersed in the sky, mingling with the air and blending with the clouds.

A dull ache began to settle into our bones, and I winced as the sensation grew stronger.

“Oh hell,” Gea smiled, picking up the pace.

“What?” I asked, my voice cracking as the pain began to intensify. “What’s happening?”

“We were injected with wolfsbane,” Gea hissed, a sharp pain escaping our lips. “This was the first time, so it takes longer to take effect. I won’t last much longer like this, neither will you.”

“Go towards the smoke,” I said, suppressing the scream that pushed against my lips. “There might be a house.”

I gave Gea all the strength I had left, propelling us forward with a muffled cry. Branches whipped against our fur, mud splattered in all directions as we stumbled forward. A cry of pure relief escaped my lips as we emerged from the tree line atop a steep hill.

At the foot of the hill, there was a farmhouse, its windows illuminated and the chimney billowing dense smoke. Black dots danced across my vision as our limbs felt like lead. The ground tilted and rolled, our eyes closing as pain encompassed our body. I forced myself to open my eyes, smiling at how heavy they felt. The green of the earth faded into the black dots in my vision, but through the haze, I could make out something. My fingers throbbed as they twisted, and I noticed that the fur had disappeared from my body. A warm breeze caressed my bare skin, but I didn’t have the strength to worry about it.

Gea and I had reached the foot of the hill, falling as we lost consciousness. Mud covered my naked skin, drying into itchy patches. Hovering an inch from my eyes was the face of an elderly woman. The sight shook me, and I struggled to pull away from her. Before slipping into darkness, I noticed the gentle smile on her soft face.