Chapter 56

"

Where would you go?" Malik stepped out and questioned me under the night sky. "It's dark out there and I'm under strict orders to not let you leave from here. There'd be no point running away." He tried to calm me down, bury the rage that knew no bounds.

Anger simmered deeper inside me. I turned around, brows furrowed. "You kept everything from me while I trusted you not to. I can't just sit here and wait while Nicholas is out there. I don't even know if, at this point, he's even alive."

"Of course he's—"

I cut him off abruptly, "You don't know, you haven't been in contact with him for hours and just now you tell me what's happening. Do you even have any idea how that makes me feel? He's my mate. And to think that he could be out there, hurt and alone, it's too much for me to bear." My voice lowered to the end as I stared at him with intense emotion.

He sighed heavily before responding to me. "There's nothing you can do about. Walking straight into a battlefield is only going to danger your own life and that would be the last thing the alpha would want." His words went as a whisper in the cold silence outside the house.

My eyes flickered behind him as I watched a few shadows move. Maude stepped out of the house, her eyes filled with wonder and so did the two men who had been patrolling the grounds and ensuring another wolf wouldn't come into the territory to harm me.

I rose my neck, meeting Malik's gaze again. "Are you going to stop me?"

"Yes." He remained stern.

"You're going to chase me through the woods and try to stop me from going to Nicholas?" I repeated the question again while hinting on the obvious fact he had missed.

His face filled with confusion. "Yes."

"And I'll be hurt in the process, which surely isn't one of his orders, isn't it?"

"Yes." He lowered his head in defeat and nodded.

"Let me leave without any trouble and have trust that I won't be harmed or hurt in any way. I've enough strength to fight off any wolves or rogues and you know that well, Malik. Let me go find my mate." I said, my voice filled with strength and defiance.

I could hear the war running his head as he struggled to come to an agreement. In one way or the other, he was disobeying his alpha's command and we've all seen what Nicholas was capable of if someone hadn't listened to him.

"We'll leave together," He muttered before twisting his neck. "Pack a bag." He ordered Maude.

I didn't object. It was better than nothing, better than staying in the house and assuming that all was going to be well.

Maude rushed into the house and a few minutes later, she came out with a duffle bag filled to the brim with clothes and other things.

"But you'll follow me. I can't trust that you'd take me to Nicholas." I whispered before turning around to the dark clearing ahead the house.

Raising my head, I stared at the stars that were aligned with the crescent moon. A familiar sensation spread through me before my skin began to thicken and fur. My muscles bulged out as I began shifting and my groans turned into primal roars as my human consciousness began to fade.

Malik shifted behind, and the other two wolves, sensing our shift, also followed. With a flick of my tail, I led the way into the darkened woods, my nose taking in the scent of earth and the night air. There was only one scent I had to focus on, but only if I could find it.

My paws hit the ground at steady pace, heading to the direction of where I assumed the main road connecting with the highway was. The drive here was a clear memory, one I could never forget even when my vision was blurred, spotty with all the tears I had shed in the car alone.

I ran on the opposite direction. The world disappeared and I kept going, thinking of nothing but Nicholas.

My internal chatter grew more and more. I went through several emotions in a matter of a few minutes. At first, it was like water simmering over fire, frustration and then a twisted knot in belly when I wondered if he was even alive. It was his father against him, not anyone else.

Nicholas was one of the strongest men I ever knew of. He had generational strength and power, but so did his father.

With a burst, I picked up my pace, running faster. The moonlight casted a dull glow over the woods that went on forever. The wind howled against my ears and my senses grew sharper. Even when I couldn't see him, I could sense Malik right behind me.

A pair of bright yellow eyes stared into my direction from a distance. Suddenly, I halted, forcing the dirt to fly in the air while at the same time, Malik lunged forward, attacking the werewolf who nearly jumped at me. His jaws clamped down on the wolf's throat, tearing it out in one swift motion.

I took a few steps back while sniffing the air. It was filled with the scent of blood and the sounds of snarls. We were close. Almost there. Even when I couldn't see the town or the street lights, I could sense a dozen of werewolves.

The wolf holding the duffle bag stepped forward and dropped it on the ground. We quickly grabbed clothes and shifted back to our human forms.

"Who was it?" I asked, rushing toward the werewolf Malik had attacked.

"Another pack's warrior. Take in the scent, most of them are going to smell the same."

Shoving my knee into the dirt, I leaned over the wolf's body, inhaling deeply to store the smell. "Is it one of his father's warriors?" I questioned.

"Yes, it could be. The alpha's father has several packs under his rule. He could have thousands of wolves attacking the town right now," Malik grabbed my arm and forced me to rise up from the ground. "We've to shift and head into the town. It's going to be far worse than I assume."

"Wouldn't it be better if we stayed in this form?" My brows furrowed as I looked at the wolf again.

Being in the wolf form was far more vulnerable, or so I believed.

"Not for you. It would be better if you did shift. Your pack has been destroyed, you've a scent of a rogue wolf and that's far more safe than carrying the scent of the Silvertails," He handed me the bag and I grabbed it quickly.

"Why?"

"Because no man wants to harm a female rogue. They have better—"

I stopped him before he further continued, "I get it."

I stepped behind the tree, removing my clothes and placing them into the bag before shifting once more. My heart beat quickly and more knots twisted in my belly as I began assuming the worse. We neared the town and it was as worse as we expected.

There were wolves pacing around the borders of the town, watching at everyone that came in and left. Several dead bodies were spread over the roads leading into the town. The air was thick with the scent of blood and fear.

One of the two wolves carried a gun, with silver bullets. He remained in his human form, keeping a lookout for any danger while the rest of us continued in our wolf forms. We moved cautiously, making sure not to draw attention to ourselves.

It was rather less intense in the town. It appeared to be the aftermath of the battle. The streets were empty, littered with debris and nothing more. There were some minor damages on the buildings and shops.

From a distance, we watched werewolves, from the rival pack, pacing around the empty streets and roads, terrorizing anyone that was found wandering outside.

My heart raced as I watched the scene unfold.

It was over?

Slipping between an alleyway filled with trash bins, I shifted and pressed my hands against my face to kill the sobs growing in my throat.

It was clear what was happening.

It was clear that Nicholas' father had taken over the town, and his presence could be felt everywhere. The air was thick with the scent of his pack, and the wolves patrolling the borders were loyal to him.

There were dead bodies everywhere which forced me to assume that Nicholas was injured if not dead.

The thought alone made my stomach twist in knots.

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