Chapter 26

Flora’s P.O.V

A few warning howls went up in the air as I had suspected and I could distinguish Garrick’s call amongst them; but I didn’t stop to think. All I needed to do was find Clay and get him back no matter what.

I pushed harder, ran faster through the denser parts of the forest to the borders of our pack where the fight was taking place. I didn’t change into my wolf because I didn’t know when I would need to turn human again.

It was a moonless night and the stars weren’t too bright either. It made my heart beat erratically as I looked around with my wolf’s eyes. I didn’t like the dark, never had, never will. And this darkness felt ominous. Omnipotent.

But I didn’t have time to give in to my fears and weaknesses. Clay needed me. Something told me he was in danger and I needed to hurry.

I followed the direction of the pull. I didn’t know where I was going but something about certain directions just felt right. I could only hope that whatever I was doing was the right thing and that my gut instincts weren’t leading me into any danger. Otherwise I would causing everyone unnecessary worry.

I prayed to the moon goddess while running as fast as I could. I didn’t realize it at first, but suddenly, I recognized the markings on the trees; the markings made by the pack to indicate the end of our territory. I was leaving pack territory where I would no longer be protected by my people.

But I was sure Clay was nearby. The sense of dread in my stomach made me want to throw up. There were howls in the air from my packmates who had run after me to find out what was going on; but those howls were far away.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my leg and it made me come to a halt. Panting, I nearly collapsed on the ground as I knelt down to examine my leg.

It was a small thorn but it had gone deep into my shin, causing a constant stabbing pain. Irritated, I sat down on the ground to remove the thorn. The urgency to find Clay was gnawing at me, but I needed the thorn out of my shin so I could walk again.

A low growl sounded from not too far away…and the tiny hair at my nape stood in fear.

Rogues.

And they were nearby.

My fingers trembled as I pulled out the thorn and froze in fear. Another growl sounded and I strained my ears to find the source. A chill ran down my spine when I noticed that the sound was coming from the other side of the bushes I was sitting next to.

Fuck! What have I gotten myself into?

A light wind blew in my direction, bringing with it the putrid scent of the rogues. It was a swampy, marshy scent that wasn’t appealing in the least. But mixed with the scent of the rogues, was a far fainter scent that I had to sniff harder to catch. And it was a very familiar scent.

Clay!

Suddenly, the fear was replaced with desperation because I could now scent blood in the air; Clay’s blood. The need to save him was a hum in my blood and I knew I couldn’t sit and wait forever. Crawling on my hands and knees, I moved closer to the shrubs as quietly as I could and peeked from between the leaves.

There were five wolves in total, varying from dark grey to black. But all of them scented of blood and it wasn’t just Clay’s blood I sensed on them. Clay had been able to injure them before he went down and even though he was injured, I knew he was laying low so he could conserve energy to an attack.

Because Clay would never run; he would never put his packmates lives in danger. He would either kill them all or die trying. And that was exactly what I was afraid of.

Clay’s body was covered in gashes from the rogue claws and he was lying on the ground, barely able to move while the wolves circled around him with their teeth bared. His beautiful red coat was matted with blood and the way he was lying so still made it look like he was already dead.

No, he wasn’t.

It was the same gut feeling that brought me to Clay. It now told me he wasn’t dead, he was injured, but he was alive.

They were taunting him, readying themselves to pounce as soon as he moved, but Clay held his ground. He was looking for a way out, I knew it. It was really frustrating how no one had noticed his absence. How could Alpha Nicolas not have known? And why wasn’t help coming yet?

But I couldn’t wait around much longer. What could I do? I was only a healer. How could I help him?

One of the wolves growled at that moment and I knew they were getting ready to finish what they started. The games were over.

It was now or never.

Rising to my feet, I came out of my hiding spot and immediately, five pairs of glowing red eyes me mine, sealing my fate.