The Moon's Choice

The Order

The cabin's door is open. I hesitate at first, but then I push the door open slightly. I see Xathan and Justin sitting at the table, and I take a step back. Bailey isn't here, I can tell. She never is when Xathan is conducting a meeting. But as I'm about to leave, I hear something that freezes me in place. I lean closer to the door again.

"...kill her. Do you understand?"

"Perfectly, Alpha."

Are they talking about Claire? Did they kill her? I place my hand over my mouth and I inch closer to the door. I can't be hearing right. So Xathan is involved with her disappearance. I should've known. But why would he get rid of Claire? What did she have against him? I think of last night. I'd that why she was so agitated? She knew he was coming for her? I feel so guilty. I should have helped her. And Sarah coming for her. She knew something. She's been around Justin lately. I can't believe this. That b***h!

"I don't want her close to my nephew anymore. She's a bad influence on him, and ever since she stepped foot in here, everything has been going badly. He no longer respects me. He's defying me because of her." Xathan says all of this with much hatred. I frown. Claire? How is she a bad influence on him? Something isn't right.

"Yes, Alpha."

"Go with Daniel and take her deep into the woods. Make it seem like a rogue's doing, don't leave any scent behind. He'll trace it," he sighs. "Kilian is intelligent. He'll suspect us first. We have a good chance because he was attacked by rogues some weeks ago. But we have to do this right."

"Understood, Alpha."

Xathan pauses. "I've had enough of that b***h around here. If the silver didn't kill her, this most certainly will. Go, fetch Daniel quickly. I want this done immediately."

I take a step back and I stumble. They're talking about me? The silver whipping? I shake my head in disbelief. Xathan wants me dead? I can't believe this. This has nothing to do with Claire. It's me he's talking about. Me he wants dead.

I start running in the opposite direction. I need to get far away from this place. I'm trying to smell Kilian in the air, but I don't catch a trace of him. Where is he? How am I ever going to find him? I never know where he goes during the day. I always assumed he would be with Xathan. There are so many places he could be around here. I need him now. I can't do this on my own.

I see Ty and my heart skips a beat. I run towards him and when I touch him, he flinches. I grab his small shoulders and I shake him. He jerks from side to side. I can't help myself. My entire being is shaking uncontrollably. They could be right behind me. I'm running out of time.

"Where's Kilian?" He looks scared and he shrugs his shoulders. Jada's children are looking at me with wild eyes. I'm frightening them, but right now I don't care. It's a matter of life and death. My life is at risk, and Justin and Daniel are looking for me right now. They're coming for me.

"Find him!" I tell him. "Find him. Tell him Xathan is trying to kill me. Tell him they're after me! I overheard everything. They'll kill me in the woods." He nods and runs. I don't know where he'll find Kilian, but he'll have a better chance of finding him than I will. Meanwhile, I need to find a place to hide. I can't stay out in the open. I need to find a cabin and hide until Kilian shows up. Afterwards, everything will be clarified and we can leave this place. For good. I can't go to our cabin, that's the first place they'll look. I think fast. Jada's. I could hide there.

I start running in that direction when I come across Justin and Daniel. My heart sinks. Their faces are cruel and I take a step back.

"Stay away from me!" I shout, but they don't seem bothered by the fact that I'm shouting. He's the Beta and Daniel is some kind of executioner. No one would question their motives. No one here cares enough about me to help me. I start running and I hear them run after me. My heart is in my throat and I realize I'm running from my life. I head straight for the woods and I don't stop.

They're close behind me, and all I can do is go straight ahead. Kilian, where are you? I need you. I will him to come to find me with everything I have. If he can sense my emotions, maybe he'll sense my despair and come looking for me.

I hear their footsteps behind me and then, the sound of bones grinding against each other. To my horror, I realize they're shifting. My breath catches in my throat and I keep running as fast as I can. I've lost a complete sense of direction. All I know is that I need to get away from them and survive this. I will my body to shift, but I don't know what's inhibiting it, my ever-growing panic, or my lack of experience with shifting. The first and only time I've shifted was during the full moon. And it was against my will. I didn't consciously do it. I have no idea how to shift. Why didn't I ever make Kilian teach me? How could I have been so careless about this? I always had a feeling that Xathan hated me. It started when he first threatened to kill me. The silver whipping. The slaving. The signs were all there. I should have seen this coming. But now it's too late for the what ifs.

They're gaining on me and the panic blinds me. I trip over stones and fallen branches, but I get back up again. It doesn't take them long to catch up to me, and one of the pounces on me. He lands on my back and I fall on my face. Warm blood trickles down the side of my face and his weight on my back is crushing and knocks the wind right out of me. The other stands in front of me, also in wolf form, and flashes his sharp teeth at me. I scream for help until my throat burns and strains at the effort.

I never stop screaming.

And it pays off. I can't believe my luck when I see two wolves running in my direction. I don't even know where they're coming from. I see them, Justin and Daniel don't. I don't recognize their scents, but I don't care. One of them attacks Daniel—I know Daniel is the largest of the two—and Justin gets off my back. I don't wait around. I start running in the opposite direction, in the direction I think I came from. My lungs are on fire and there's blood covering my whole face I think I have a few broken ribs, but right now I don't feel any pain. I stumble my way back, and I keep an ear out for their howls and growls.

They're a safe distance behind me, but my paranoia keeps me going. I don't stop for a single breath. I need to find my way back to the camp and back to Kilian. Has Ty found him by now? I hope so. I can't do this without him.

When the howling stops, I do too. I'm breathing too hard and I will myself to calm down. I try listening to anything, but there's nothing to hear. I start running again when I hear it. Footfalls right behind me, still a good distance away, but I shouldn't wait around. I run with everything I have. Did Daniel and Justin manage to fight those two wolves? Are they coming after me again? I taste blood in my mouth and my breath is wheezy. I don't think I can keep going for long. They're getting closer and closer and to make things worse, I trip and fall.

They find me struggling to get to my feet I realize they're no longer in wolf form. I don't recognize them, and I don't like the way they're looking at me. I thought they were trying to help me? Why are they just standing there and watching me?

"What do you want?" I ask through gritted teeth.

One of them says, "You have to come with us."

"Where do you plan on taking me?"

"We only follow orders, miss." The shortest of them says. "If the Alpha decreed it, we do it. Simple as that."

I growl. "Did Xathan tell you to kill me, too? Is that it?" But even as the words leave my lips they make no sense. Why would they kill, and that's what I assume they did, Daniel and Justin if they were fulfilling the same task? There's someone else, but I can't possibly think of who it is.

The tall one hisses. "Don't say his name. He's a traitor to us."

Traitor? There are still remnants of grave panic coursing through me. I can't put two and two together. I'm still very confused. "Who then?" I scream. "Tell me!"

They share a look and move to restrain me. I take steps back, but one grabs me by the waist. My bones c***k further and I howl with pain. I scratch them and bite them, and I'm free for a second, but then they grab my arms. I pull my arms away and I shout at them to let me go. I think I'm closer to the camp. Maybe someone will hear me, or Kilian will find me. I scream his name at the top of my lungs.

"Keep her still!"

"I'm trying. She won't stop moving."

I kick and scream, but even if I wasn't in this debilitated state, they would have still been stronger than me. At this point, I'm just hoping someone hears me. They grab my legs and they hit me over the head with something and black dots blur my vision.