Chapter Seven
676 Words
Ari POV
My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst from my chest.
Please let her be okay…
The thought repeated over and over as I sprinted through the forest. Hearing my wolf whimpering in the back of my mind.
I pushed her to the back of my mind. I couldn’t let her affect me. I already hated myself for what I’d done.
On top of that James’s pack had almost caught me. If they had discovered who I was… Everything would’ve fallen apart.
I leaped from a large boulder and landed hard on the forest floor below.
Without slowing, I pulled the small vial from my pocket popped it open and slipped it between my teeth.
The bitter potion burned my tongue feeling the liquid go down my throat
Pain tore through my body as my bones shifted into my sandy-tan wolf. Feeling my clothes ripping off my body.
I prayed the potion were to cover my scent.
I couldn’t let them find me. Not after what I’d done.
I ran until my lungs burned and every muscle screamed for me to stop.
Nearly twenty minutes later…
The scents of James’s pack finally faded.
I collapsed behind a massive boulder.
I shifted back into my human form, leaving me sprawled across the cold earth.
I spat the empty glass vial onto the ground and groaned.
Every part of me hurt.
I crawled toward the clothes I’d hidden beneath the rock earlier and quickly pulled on my shorts and sports bra.
While changing I felt someone watching me.
“I know you’re there,” I called, leaning against the boulder for support.
Footsteps crunched softly through the leaves.
A familiar figure stepped from the shadows.
My shoulders relaxed.
“It worked?” she asked quietly.
I looked away.
“She was hurt.” The words felt like knives leaving my mouth.
“And the poison?”
I nodded.
“It entered the wound.”
Silence.
The woman held out her hand.
I placed the empty vial of wolfsbane into her palm. Her fingers curled tightly around the glass.
For several seconds… Neither of us spoke.
“I didn’t want it to happen like this,” I whispered.
Images of Lilith flashed through my mind.
Her laughing while we unpacked, us growing up together… She trusted me.
The woman studied my face.
“You’re getting attached.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Too late.” I swallowed hard. “She’s my best friend.”
“No.” The woman’s voice was calm but firm. “She was your assignment.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
My chest tightened. “She stopped being just an assignment years ago.”
The woman sighed. “I know.” She slipped the vial into her her pant pocket. “But if the seal breaks…”
She stopped herself.
Her eyes drifted toward the moon shining through the trees. “We don’t have a choice.”
I closed my eyes. “What if we’re wrong?”
She didn’t answer immediately.
“If we’re wrong… Then I’ll carry that guilt for the rest of my life.”
A cold breeze swept through the forest.
I wrapped my arms around myself. “James found her.”
“I know.”
“She will have more protection on her now.”
My stomach twisted.
“He looked at her… Like she was everything. I think she’s his mate”
The woman nodded once. “We will cross that bridge when we get there.”
I looked down at the forest floor. “So what happens now?”
Her expression hardened. “Now… We need to prepare.”
She turned toward the darkness.
“We have to report back to the alpha, you know she will only care about if the mission was successful”
Without another word… She walked off and disappeared into the trees.
I remained where I was, staring at the moon.
Tears blurred my vision.
“I’m sorry, Lilith I hope one day… you can forgive me.”
- Writer
