The Darkness

Fighting

"Best to keep running. Run in the same way you would run on the Hunt."

We followed Leena as she lead us down a lonely road, overgrown with branches and moss. It was as if no one had been down this road in years and the land had taken back control of it. I shivered as my clothes began to soak through in the rain that Paeris had triggered. He was there then, a silent warmth falling over me as if I had asked aloud for him. There was something new about this bond we had, but I didn't dislike it. Paeris felt like home.

I felt my fingers tingle from the rush of danger, the anger of having to leave behind my parents. I felt relieved that my friends had gotten as many people out as they did and managed to stay alive in the process - exhausted and wounded, but alive - but what about the people we couldn't save? What about Faelyn and Merith? What about Tarron, my beta and childhood friend? My parents? Would Fern forgive me for losing Chel? Allie had been too strong. While they had managed to get out Lilliana and Laurel and a few other innocents that Allie didn't deem to be a threat, Chel wasn't able to keep up with us down the crowded stairs. Jonas had managed to lead us all out and away from the danger fairly effectively, but he looked like he had seen some of the worst of the battle. He was caked with blood and his hair was singed, but he was alive and with us. We had only managed to stop long enough for me to return to consciousness a short ways away from the Wall in a cluster of dense trees before taking off again. To say I was exhausted was an understatement.

"How could I be so blind?"

"I didn't even know Demi was planning something like this. She has always been extreme but this is different. It feels personal." Leena remarked, her eyes darting around the woods as if she were in her shifter form. It amazed me how in touch with her inner power she was.

"It's okay. You didn't know. How could any one of you know?" Laurel asked, rubbing her arms from the cool rain.

"I should have known when I didn't hear from you." I said softly, reaching my fingertips out to brush against her arm. "I'm so sorry."

"I hadn't been able to get through to you anyway. Someone was blocking all the channels."

Paeris frowned to himself.

"I don't know how you manage to be so annoying-"

"It's a special kind of magic, really." Paeris retorted, shooting her an irritated look.

They had been taken by surprise, it seemed, given that Laurel was wearing a soft colored sweater dress under a thin robe. There was no time to prepare, just run. Everyone in the group ran hot but Laurel, being at least part shifter. I mentally tried to remind myself to offer her my jacket if I gained back the strength to shift.

"I'm so sorry, Laurel." I said softly, forcing myself slower despite how difficult it was to keep my eyes open.

"Ray, darling, it's really okay." Laurel whispered gently, a soft mist of relaxation falling through me. I knew she was trying to help, to calm me from my anger and worry and remind me control, but the action felt wrong. "We will regroup and go back for them when you are stronger."

Laurel looped her arm through mine, steadying me as Cage and Jonas took a lap around the area in their shifted forms.

Something inside me began to simmer just below the surface, a vibration starting in my stomach and flowing to each of my limbs. Anger couldn't begin to explain what I was feeling.

I collapsed on my knees, the air completely blew from my lungs, trying to catch my breath. The world was spinning, my ears were ringing so loudly I thought my head would explode.

I could hear my Pack howling in the distance behind us, crying.

Cage's head whipped in the direction of the howling, his own body contorting with the sound of our people. Ever the protector, he jumped to my side, took my hand and gently wrapped his arms around my upper arms to help me up.

"What's wrong with her? Ray!" I heard Laurel call as Paeris held her away from me, knowing that I would need space. No one could help me right now.

"Don't let me fall." I pleaded softly in Cage's ear, exhaustion falling over me. I closed my eyes, willing the dizziness to disappear. Cage guided me back a few steps until I felt a thick tree trunk behind me to support my weight. I knew he could feel the pain too, regardless if we were Mates or not, but was in much better condition physically than I was.

The world was spinning. I looked to the rainy sky to calm the nausea that fell over me.

It took forever to feel like I could breathe easily again, my vision clearing slightly from the fuzziness that overtook me. I didn't know what the howling meant - were they dying? Being killed off or punished for letting us get away? Or were they giving us a warning?

"I think they were apologizing, in their own way. The only way they can right now." Paeris offered, answering my silent questions aloud. Cage seemed to agree with this answer, though he had shifted back into his canine form after depositing me at the base of the tree.

"We're rouges now, Ray. We are our own Pack. Allie is making them outcast us."

I nodded, understanding that the pain I was feeling was the final push out of the Pack.

Paeris reached for me then, knowing in his soul that I would eventually be okay. My hands rose to his chest, begging for support in his embrace. I wouldn't cry, not yet. I was dizzy and drained and knew, once again, that I couldn't help anyone if I were dead.

"Let's get moving to Spiris. It's a long way and we have a lot of work to do."

We all knew that this wasn't about the crown. This wouldn't be about taking back over the High Wall.

This was another rescue mission. The last rescue mission.

I glanced back one time. One last time to remind myself that I would never return to the same life I had before.