CHAPTER 26

We charged the army head-on. I sprinted to the front and shifted into my wolf. I lunged through the air and into battle.

I don't recognize any of these warriors. None of them were from Kendrick's pack. These must be the bounty hunters. I guess the one good things about Ayla and Milo not being here is that they won't be caught in the middle of this. They're safe. That way I can concentrate on the task at hand.

A silver wolf lunged at me. I shake my head at this mistake because this is the typical move every wolf does, so I ran forward and grabbed on one of his hind legs and yanked him down. I instantly was on top of the wolf and I ripped his throat out.

I climb off of him and saw Xander was surrounded by a lot of wolves. I sprinted towards him and lunged inside the circle, we fought together side by side. It made me think about the times we would play pretend when we were little pups. We would act out a war and we would fight. But this time we were in a real war, where wolves and pups could die.

I snarled at the wolves in front of me. I bared my teeth to them, warning them that this was their last chance. However, as they always do, they ignore my warning, thinking that they could win because there was only the two of us. Big mistake.

Xander and I both tackled our own set of wolves. Ripping, biting and slashing every one of them. All of them ending in a bloody mess. I had forgotten how bad war really was. If you are not careful, it can change you into something that you never wanted to be. Lucky for us though, we had females that would comfort the men after horrific battles, reminding them of who they were and why they had to do what they did.

The battle was bloody, but it was fast. The rest of the army retreated to where ever Kendrick was based.

We all stood there, catching our breaths as we watched them flee. Xander's eyes were hard and angry, "They know where we are. We are leaving this place first thing in the morning," He said with his alpha tone.

"To where?" Noah asked.

Xander looked up and pointed, "At the mountain. We can hide in the caves there. But we have to fast and swift about it. Or else they will find us again."

We all slowly made our way back to the women and children at the camp. As we got there, the men were very grateful to see that there hot pots of stew brewing over fires in the camp. Children and mates ran towards the warriors.

Lizzy was stirring the pot when her eyes widen as she saw Xander. She stood up with her little girl in her arms and rushed towards Xander. Xander smiled tiredly, but opened his arms, embracing his family.

Mia came with a smile, holding Kieth's hand as they also rush towards Noah. I gulped and looked away. My eyes automatically pull towards Ayla and Milo's old tent. In a strange way, I am waiting for them to climb out and rush to me, wanting to know if I was okay or not. But I knew they were not there.

I did notice, however, that Zay did not come out. I turned to Mia and she stared back at me. Her eyes were sad and she shook her head. My heart rushed. No, Lily can't be...

Eddie pushed through and quickly went to Zay who had tears in her eyes as she held their little Lily.

Eddie fell to his knees, "What's wrong with her?"

Mia came and explained, "For some reason, the snow affected her more than it should, considering she is a wolf. The ice has somehow permanently frozen her retina."

Eddie shook his head and growled, "What does that mean?"

Mia shakily says, "She's blind. Lily will be permanently blind. Even if the ice inside does melt...the retina will be permanently damaged."

Eddie broke down. He pulled his little girl into his arms as well as Zay. They cry for what their daughter has and will go through. Her life will not be easy.

I stumbled back in shock when I realized that Lily will be blind. She will not be able to see ever again.

I felt this overwhelming wave of guilt crash into me.

"I'm sorry," I said breathlessly. I gulped and whispered again, "I'm sorry...I should've noticed her sooner. I could've saved her from this."

Zapora raised her tear stricken face to me and shook her head, "Don't do that Soul. Please don't. This isn't your fault. So don't burden yourself with this. This is just bad luck."

I couldn't look at them. I felt terrible. I could have done something to prevent this! But once again...I seem to always ruin everything.

I go and sit around the fire and groan as I rub my face. I couldn't take this. Why do I always screw up?

Xander sat beside me but did not say anything. We both just sat there in silence. There was nothing to talk about. We just had a big battle, Lily is now blind and all of this is my fault. If I had not been an asshole to Ayla, she would not have been captured by Kendrick, she wouldn't have had to escape which then lead to this war. And if we hadn't had this war, we wouldn't be stuck in the middle of the forest, in winter, where Lily fell into the freezing river, which then froze her retina.

"Stop," Xander said.

"Stop what?"

"Stop thinking so much."

"I can't help it when everything that has happened so far is my fault."

Xander shook his head, "You always held on to burdens that you should let go of."

I glare at him harshly and I growl in anger, "How do I let go of something as big as this? This is massive stuff, Xander. And the worst part is that Ayla isn't here."

Xander nods his head and says, "She will come back."

I shook my head hopelessly, "No she won't. And even if she did, she may be gone years before she would consider coming back here. And what if by then, she doesn't want me anymore? What if I waited for nothing?"

Xander leaned back released a sigh, "When I was younger and I was still trapped in Matheseus's prison...there was an old inmate. Except he was no wolf, he was a human. They had captured him to keep as leverage for his werewolf son. The human was mated to a she-wolf. Anyways, he was actually a Christian. Purely out of curiosity, I asked about his religion. The Christians have a sacred, holy book called the bible. And it is filled with stories of loyal Christians and miracles that God blessed the humans with."

I rolled my eyes, "This has nothing to do what I was talking about."

Xander shoved me, "Shut up and listen...I asked the man what his favorite story was from the bible. And he said the story of Jacob and his wife Rachel. The story goes that Jacob was a good and strong Christian man who was loyal to God. He fell in love with a woman named Rachel, he asked her father for permission to marry her. Rachel's father, Laban, said he can marry his daughter after Jacob would work seven years for him."

My eyes widened, "He worked and waited seven years to marry the woman he loved?"

Xander nodded, "Yup. And at the wedding when he unveiled his bride...it was not Rachel, it was Rachel's older sister, Leah. Laban tricked Jacob. He said that if he really wanted to marry Rachel, he would have to work another seven years to have her."

"Did he?"

Xander nodded, "Yup. In total, he worked and patiently waited fourteen years to be with his one love. And at the end...he finally had her. This was a true story."

"So what're you saying to me?"

Xander turns to me and says, "You wait as long as you need. If you love her, then you wait for her to come back...no matter how long it may be."

I sat there staring at the fire. Jacob waited fourteen years for his true love. And he was human. A mates bond is ten times stronger than that. It made me feel ashamed that I was complaining and getting angry at the fact that Ayla had left. I realised that it is because of my love for her that I let her go...but I will always be here waiting...no matter how long it may be. I will wait for you Ayla until the day I die.