by Eva Harper
Hazel wrapped her arms around me and hauled me upwards. My body was heavier than she imagined, dense with muscle even though I was slightly malnourished.
“We’re getting out of here,” she said again, more determined. “We can’t stay here.”
“We can’t leave everyone,” I whimpered, looking over at the woman in the cell next to me.
“Let me get you out of here,” she pleaded, trying to tug me down the hallway. I pressed my hand against an adjacent wall and dug my foot into the ground.
“It’s all of us or none of us,” I told her. She let go of my arm momentarily and stared at me, trying to tell how serious I was. Her hand reached back and grabbed the keys again. She began unlocking all the cells, throwing them open in desperate haste.
Many of the women stood up on their own, and the few that were too weak were held up by the stronger ones. Cherry was weak and shaking, but she refused any help we offered her. The last cell door was unlocked, and Danica helped her off the ground.
Hazel turned and unlocked the large door that led to the hallway. I stumbled alone, too weak to carry anyone else on my shoulders. My hand fell ghostly over my stomach, over the small bump that protruded from my sunken in stomach.
Hazel placed a finger over her lips, warning us to be silent, before leading us through a narrow, straight hallway.
The guards stood outside of a large window along the south wall, smoking and finishing their beers. We crouched low, practically crawling on the dirty ground to stay out of the guard’s view. A Luna stumbled and hit the wall. We all paused, bracing ourselves in case the humans heard us.
I closed my eyes, pressing my hand firmer against the quiet thumping in my stomach. Hazel began moving again, and we followed behind her.
Soon, there was a large door at the end of the hallway to the right. Two guards stood watch, one male, one female. Hazel turned to us and asked if there was anything we could do to get around them.
Danica snorted quietly and nudged the woman to her left, another Luna who was stronger and more stable, who smiled widely. Danica snuck past us slowly with the other Luna and peeked around the corner. They silently shifted into two fairly large wolves, who shook their coats out and stretched their limbs.
Danica’s wolf, a brown and gray mix, stalked out first. The other Luna, a light gray and white wolf followed her steps. The guards looked unperturbed as they carried on their casual conversation, laughing about some arbitrary subject.
The Lunas were halfway down the hallway before the guards noticed them. The humans raised their guns and aimed, but before they could line up a clear shot, Danica and the other Luna pounced. There was a small sound of something ripping before they growled quietly, informing us that the hallway was cleared.
“If any of you are strong enough to shift, do it now,” Cherry hissed, cracking her back slightly as she turned.
Seven of the Lunas shifted, three were too weak to walk on their own, and three others stayed in their human form to help the weaker Lunas walk. Cherry narrowed her bright eyes at me, looking me over head to toe.
“You can walk,” she mentioned, hinting to my human state.
“I can’t shift,” I whispered.
“You ‘can’t?’” she asked.
“I can’t shift, Cherry,” I enunciated, eyes drifting down to where my hand rested on my stomach. She followed my gaze and made a guttural, surprised grunt.
“You’re pregnant?” I nodded and shook my head slightly, begging her not to tell the other women. Female wolves, especially Lunas, were overprotective of children and pregnant women. If this came down to a fight, they would be too preoccupied trying to save my child and me that they would happily lose their own lives. At any other time, I would take advantage of that protection for my child, but without a strong Alpha and Luna for each pack, we would lose the war.
It would be pointless to try and protect a child who wouldn’t live to be born. I knew Rush would scold me, yell at me, for thinking this way, but it was the right choice. I would do everything I could to protect my child, but protecting my species was equally important.
Hazel scurried up to the door, cautiously maneuvering around the wolves. There was a small keypad and scanner attached to the door. Hazel tried a series of combinations, but nothing seemed to open the door.
I glanced down at the guards on the floor. I grabbed the guard’s hand, pulling her up off the ground, and pressed her thumb to the scanner. The machine beeped for a moment before lighting up green. The door unlocked and slid open while emitting a loud, squawking sound.
We anxiously filed through the door, turning and looking around us for the other humans. The prison was unstaffed and had less surveillance than we thought. The humans figured that with the silver on the bars, the only way we could escape was for someone to let us out; Hazel’s alliance had been unforeseen.
“The guards are that way.” Hazel pointed around my head. “We’ll have to go through the forest over here. Humans are guarding some of the main roads to the towns and everything.”
“Where are we?” a smaller woman asked.
“Honestly, miles away from anything,” Hazel sighed, running her hand through her bangs.
“Well, then how will we know where to go?” she barked.
“Hey,” I snapped, glaring at the woman. “Calm the hell down. She was nice enough to get us out of the cells, she can’t do everything for us.”
The woman bit her lip and slumped to the side.
We wandered into the forest to get cover from the human guards in case they entered through the front doors. It would only be a matter of minutes before they saw the dead guards and empty cells and would come looking for us.
“Head straight into the forest,” I said loudly. “They’ll be less likely to follow us through them, and even if they do, we’ll be able to fight them off.”
The women listened to me and started walking off into the forest. Two of the Lunas that shifted went ahead of us to make sure it was a safe path, and two other Luna’s stayed at the back of the group to provide protection.
“Sloane, please answer me.”
I jumped at the sudden intrusion in my head. My mind-link was working now that we were out of the room filled with silver.
“Rush?”
“Sloane!” His voice was louder and more excited. “Where are you?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “They were keeping us in some cells, but we escaped. We’re in the woods.”
“Show me,” he demanded. I allowed him to see what I was seeing through the mind-link for a moment until she grunted. “It doesn’t look familiar. Try to get to another Alpha’s territory. We have all the Warriors and Guards in all of our packs out looking for you. You’ll be home soon, sweetheart.”
“I know,” I sighed, kicking a piece of stray wood away from my feet. “I miss you.”
“I miss you, too. So much. Are you all alright? You aren’t hurt, are you?”
I debated telling him about the baby, but I knew that it was something I should tell him in person. It would only anger him and make him more anxious to know that I was with our child.
“No,” I told him. “I’m fine.”
“Please, be safe. We’re going to find you. I love you so much.”
“I love you more,” I said sadly, cutting off our mind-link.
“Is that Rush?” Hazel asked softly. I nodded, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the way of a bush she would trip on. “He’s worried?”
“Yeah,” I breathed, slightly annoyed at the situation.
She stayed quiet, noticing my restless, angry mood. After hours of walking through the woods, we came to a small clearing. There was no telling if it was wolf land or human land, but there was no other way to move other than going back into the forest.
“Hazel, do you remember anything?” I turned and grabbed her shoulders. “How long it took you to get here, what direction, anything?”
She whimpered and looked around. “It
took about two hours, maybe. I fell asleep for most of it. I don’t know what direction.”
“Okay,” I nodded, thinking about how much farther we would have to go. “Two hours. Two hours. Tow hours from our pack. Two hours north is Alpha Resnick’s pack, two hours west is a human city, the closest pack is four hours that way.”
“Well then, let’s hope we’re not west,” Cherry mulled, cracking her fingers.
“East is Alpha Green and south is Alpha Spektor.” I closed my eyes and pictured a map of our area. “As long as we aren’t west, we should be on pack territory in about an hour or two.”
“And if we are west?” Danica questioned.
“We aren’t,” I denied.
“But what if we are?” she asked again.
“We can’t be!” I shouted, hands shaking.
“Why not?”
“Because we won’t make it to the pack that way, Danica,” I growled. My eyes were wide, pleading for someone to make sense of my ramblings.
“Okay,” Cherry said, looking at the other Luna’s expectantly. “We aren’t west.” The other Lunas mumbled similar responses, and we continued walking.
Another ninety minutes in an unknown direction, and we were aching for water and rest. One of the Lunas found a small pond, and even though we didn’t know if it was clean, it was still water. We gulped it down greedily, ignoring the dirt taste.
“Wait,” Cherry said, cocking her head back. “I hear something.”
We became still, listening in to whatever Chery heard. There were distinct footsteps about a hundred feet away from us. The abled Lunas shifted and stepped forward. I grabbed Hazel’s arm and pushed her to the back of our group.
Through the thick brush, a body stepped out. It was a tall man, muscular and bald.
“Lunas?” he called; his voice slightly more childlike than his appearance. “You’re safe.”
We remained tense, looking around for others. Around the opening of the woods, two other men stepped out, three wolves beside them. A group of five wolves appeared to our left, and soon we were surrounded by Warrior wolves.
The Lunas in front of our group shifted back, finally allowing the exhaustion to hit them. The Warriors stepped forward quickly, wrapping blankets and clothes around the women. The other Warriors came and picked up the weaker Lunas who could not walk.
Hazel quickly grabbed my hand, her nails digging painfully into my skin.
“Sloane,” she cried. “They can’t know who I am.”
“They won’t,” I assured her, pulling her behind me.
“No, they’ll find me. My family will find me.”
“Is there another name you like to be called?” I asked, pulling her hair down from her ponytail.
She stuttered momentarily, thinking of something else to call herself. “I can go by my middle name.” She half-smiled, the dried blood around her lip stretching at the motion.
“Okay.” I nodded as another Warrior came and placed his arms around me, allowing me to lean against him as we began walking. Another guard did the same for Hazel. “What’s your middle name?” I called a little louder.
“Emily.”
Thumping
“When will Rush be here?” Hazel asked, sitting next to me on a couch in the packhouse. I glanced over at her, repeating in my head that her name was now Emily. Emily. Emily.
“Soon.” I smiled softly. “I talked to him about an hour ago, we’re only two hours away…so he should be here any moment.” I laughed, remembering how fast Rush drove.
Emily chuckled, pulling the blanket wrapped around her shoulders tighter towards her chest. I looked around the room, noticing the way the other Lunas clumped together. Cherry sat on my left, nervously biting her thumbnail.
“Luna,” a Warrior from the pack came and bowed in front of us. We directed our attention to him, kneeling on one knee. His eyes were focused on me, a small, sad smile on his pale lips. “Would you mind stepping into the other room with me.”
I turned my head slightly and saw Cherry nod her head, sending me off. I let the blanket around my shoulders fall onto the couch and stood up, the large men’s shirt covering my upper half fell slightly off my boney shoulder. I followed the warrior to the kitchen, where two other Warriors were waiting.
I staggered back, eyeing the group of males.
“Luna,” the shortest one greeted. “We just have a few questions for you.”
“And what would that be?”
“The girl you’re with,” he began, biting his lip in between his sentence. “She’s human.”
“She is,” I confirmed.
“I don’t doubt your judgment, but I just need to know that we are safe with her here.”
“Emily isn’t a problem,” I said firmly. “She was the one who helped us escape. She also fed us while we were in the cells. Her family beat her, she’s just as much a victim as we are. I told her I would keep her safe.”
“I respect that.” He nodded. “I just needed to be sure.”
“I understand.”
The tallest one escorted me back to the couch, where I sat waiting for a few more minutes until I heard a car abruptly skid to a stop. I shrugged Emily’s arm off my shoulder, bracing myself for Rush. He threw the door open, eyes moving rapidly around the living room until they settled on me.
I stepped forward, away from the other women, allowing Rush to immediately pull me into his arms. His nose dug into my shoulder; arms curled around the middle of my back. My toes skimmed the floor, heels lifted.
“I missed you,” he breathed heavily. “So much.”
“I missed you, too.” I kissed the side of his head, fingers clenching around the backs of his shoulders.
“Please, don’t leave me again. I nearly tore the house apart. I was going crazy, Sloane, crazy. I didn’t know what I would do if you didn’t come back.” His voice was clouded, and although his head remained on the curve of my neck, I knew he was hiding small tears.
“Hey,” I said in a hushed tone. “Shh, I’m not going to leave you again. I’m going to stay right by your side.”
“You better,” he cried childishly. “Are you okay? I mean, I know you aren’t fine, but are you injured? Did they hurt you?”
“Rush,” I hushed him, not bothering to mention the slight burns on my arms from the silver bars. “I will be fine. Let’s just go home, please.”
In one swift motion, his head snapped back, and he peered down at me quizzically. I narrowed my eyes back at him. He turned his head, eyes staring blindly at something as he listened. “Sloane, what is that noise?”
I grimaced, leaning back out of his arms.
“What noise?”
“That thumping.” His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“It’s um, nothing bad,” I said nervously. “You’re, um, you’re going to be a father.”
His face became deadly serious, mouth in a flat line. I gulped. He had said once before that we weren’t ready for a baby now, but I hoped somehow, he could understand. His words kept repeating in my head, and as the seconds dragged on, the echo got increasingly louder.
“We’re having a baby?” he choked out, swallowing loudly.
I nodded apprehensively, putting my hand on my belly instinctively. He dropped down, his knees painfully hitting the hardwood. His right hand reached out to my stomach with his left hand, gently trailing his fingers along the small curve of my stomach.
“Hi, baby,” he whispered, his bright eyes glinting with happiness. “I’m gonna be your dad.”
My fingers curled around the back of his neck, relishing in the relief that he wasn’t angry. I sighed loudly, which caught Rush’s attention. His neck stretched high and looked up at me. I touched his cheek with my thumb as a small pool of tears settled in my eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I waved my hand. “I just thought you would be angry.”
“About our child?” he roared. He stood up to his full, towering height, and I
shrunk back. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to his chest, stroking my hair. “Sloane, I would never be angry about something like this. This is the most wonderful thing that has happened to me apart from meeting you. I only said those things because I thought you weren’t ready.”
“I know,” I murmured. “It was just a lot. The war, and Beckett, and me getting taken, and then this…”
“Sloane, it only makes this sweeter,” he promised. “We’re going to start our family. I promise you; I am anything but angry.”
“Okay.” I nodded, snuggling myself more into his chest.
“Now what do you say we get you home, into a hot bath, with a giant plate of nachos.” Rush laughed, pulling me off the ground and into his arms. I groaned and closed my eyes.
“You don’t even know how good that sounds.” I touched the stubble on his cheek. “But there is one other thing I need to tell you.” He tensed but didn’t put me down. “Emily is coming home with us.”
“Who is Emily?”
She stood up, cautiously from the couch, and waved her hand slightly. “I’m Emily.” She smiled cautiously.
Rush’s happy face fell, and he looked down at me before setting me on my feet. Emily stepped out from behind the couch and reached her hand out to greet Rush. Rush narrowed his eyes but grabbed her hand gently in his.
“Who hurt you?” he asked sadly.
Emily was surprised, and it showed on her face. She shook her head, looking over at me.
“We’ll talk about it later,” I told Rush, wrapping my fingers around his arm.
He looked at me skeptically and then back to Emily.
“She helped us escape,” I told Rush through the mind link. I watched his blue eyes relax around the corners, trusting in me.
“Okay,” Rush spoke aloud, nodding his head. “Let’s get home then.”
I reached my thin hand out and weaved my fingers through Rush’s much larger, sturdier hands. Rush began walking forward, holding the door open for me and Emily to file through. He gave one nod to the Warriors who found us and brought us to the packhouse.
Emily lagged behind, falling a few steps behind Rush and me, still holding hands, until Rush stopped and placed his hand on her upper back. She tensed up, eyes wide, looking to me. Rush continued walking, unperturbed by her behavior, which prompted Emily to slowly relax.