Ajax looks at me. It's clear that he doesn't want me to stay, but he understands.
"I can't just leave you here," he says.
"You have to," I say. "They won't come for you the way they'll come for me. The Alpha would never admit you escaped. It would make him look weak. You have a chance at a life."
"But what about you?" he asks.
"I'll be okay," I say, and I wonder if he knows just how much I don't believe that.
"Go," I say, firmly. "You don't have much time."
He stares at me. I can tell he's torn. But he also knows I'm right.
"Just go," I say. "Before they come looking for you-- before they come looking for me."
He hesitates, and then runs out into the forest, disappearing into the trees.
The second he is gone, I see the guard coming towards the mouth of the cave. He has an expressi
