Chapitre 7

Gamma Johnson pulled me further through the alleys, away from the heart of the city and towards the north. The few people who shared the street with us ran to their houses and slammed the doors.

Then it hit me like a slap.

Uncle Theo.

He must still be with the craftsmen in town.

"Stop!"

I tried to loosen Gamma Johnson's grip, but his hand was as strong as a bondage. A little more pressure and he could break her. I leaned all my weight against him, but he was a wolf and I was a human. It felt like a child fighting an adult.

No chance.

"I have to go back!"

Suddenly Gamma Johnson spun around and hissed at me.

"Stop struggling! Alpha Ero's order was clear!"

I flinched. His eyes burned with anger. Desperation boiled up in me.

"But uncle-"

"Did not you understand?!"

Gamma Johnson pulled me on without mercy. Big tears rolled down my cheeks. I couldn't do anything against his strength as he dragged me behind him.

Hopefully Uncle Theo was safe.

The two houses came into view. Gamma Johnson yanked open the door to his alpha's house and shoved me in before slamming it behind me. I ran to the window and saw him sprint towards the forest.

Now I was alone and there was nothing I could do.

There was nothing to indicate the food I had delivered here yesterday. Alpha Eros must have eaten everything. I wiped my hair and continued to stare through the glass.

Nothing moved out there. No breeze stirred in the forest. Everything was windless. Nothing indicated the attack.

My breathing calmed. Gamma Johnson was right, even if he said it in an uncharming way. I had to stay here.

My wrist throbbed and angry welts ran around it like red constrictors. He'd just underestimated his powers, or so I hoped. My other wrist still had the pink ribbon tied over the silver.

Suddenly there was movement outside. I stared spellbound at the empty path. Then, like lightning, a child hissed across the path into the forest. My heart slipped into my stomach and continued to pound there excitedly.

tommy

His cheeks were streaked with tears, Frido pressed tightly to his chest. He sprinted between the logs.

"Tommy!"

I stormed out of the house after the little boy. What was he doing? Why wasn't he at home with Lizzy? A sense of foreboding crawled up my stomach walls. Lizzy would never leave him alone.

I stopped.

"Tommy!"

The trees swallowed my desperate cries. There was only one place he would go. I looked back one last time at the house I had just escaped from.

I smothered the tiny spark of guilt as indifference filled me. I didn't care about the consequences.

A howl snapped me out of my rigid state.

"Tommy!"

I swept across the leafy ground toward the rocks. The wolves couldn't have gotten that far, could they? My legs flew between the trees until the huge rocks came into view. A small figure stood in front of it.

"Tommy!"

The boy jerked around, his bearded eyes wide.

"phiphi."

He sobbed and stumbled towards me. Relief washed through my veins. He clutched my legs and sniffed. I hugged him tightly.

"Shh, it's all right."

He looked at me with huge eyes that showed tears. I wanted to comfort him. A growl made the floor vibrate. I jerked around. A brown wolf came toward us, teeth bared. His brown eyes stared at me with hatred.

A silverblood wolf.

Even in his crouched hunting position, he was almost as tall as me. He kept feeding himself. I pushed Tommy back. Hot blood pounded in my ears.

"Hide between the stones," I whispered.

I freed Tommy's clenched fingers from my dress. My heart was pressed into my throat and was pounding faster than ever. The wolf started to leap.

"Now!"

The beast jumped at me and I threw myself into the leaves. I hissed around.

The wolf had not pursued me. Growling, he pressed his snout between the rocks where Tommy was squatting. The crunching of the stones sent a stab in my stomach.

"Go away!" Tommy shouted, hugging the wall.

The fangs ground against the rocks as if he were about to break them apart with his jaws. I jumped off the ground. Without hesitation, I pulled the loop off my wrist and dropped it on the floor.

The silver gleamed in the weak sun above our heads. I slid it over my knuckles so it rested on my clenched fist.

"Here! Look what I've got!" I yelled.

The wolf snapped around, a mad look dancing in his eyes. When he saw the silver, he howled menacingly.

He called for backup.

I took a few steps back. At least he wasn't threatening Tommy anymore. The wolf jumped down on me, saliva dripping from his mouth. A scream escaped my throat as I dropped.

Its claws grazed my forearm, leaving a burning path of scratches. I spun around and before he could sink his teeth into my face I hit him with all my might.

The silver hissed and the wolf howled, ears flattened. The fur was missing where I hit him with the bracelet. He hissed at me, but dared no further attack.

Warm blood ran down my forearm and dripped onto the dead leaves. It burned like fire, but I ignored the pain. His gaze was completely fixed on the silver as if obsessed with it. As the wolf stared at the bracelet, so I stared at the wolf.

"Stay away," I said, taking careful steps toward the rocks where Tommy was sobbing.

A distant roar came toward us like a tide. Before I could do anything, wolves sprinted out from between the logs. They sided with the brown wolf and growled at me.

A shiver ran through my stomach as they approached me.

The silver might deter one, but not half a pack.

Tommy must have been frozen with fear because he didn't say much. I couldn't fit through the opening. I couldn't run.

There was no way out but fighting.

They looked at each other, their movements perfectly coordinated. They had to agree on their mind connection. I bumped my back against the rough rock.

The charms of the bracelet pressed into my skin. They would maul me and nothing would be left of me but gnawed bones.

A shiver made all the hairs on the back of my neck stand on alert. My eyes darted back and forth between the wolves. All my nerves were on edge.

Which of them would attack?

A rushing sound from the side pulled my focus away from the attackers. A black bolt of lightning streaked toward me. The Silverblood Wolves took advantage of my distraction.

I ducked and narrowed my eyes. In mid-air, the black wolf rammed into one of the attackers, throwing him into a tree.

The others flinched. I gasped with relief.

The giant wolf stood protectively in front of me.

Alpha Eros.

I squatted on the rocks. A howl echoed through the forest before countless werewolves darted out. The fight went on, only the battlefield had changed.

The wolf of Alpha Eros turned back to my huddled form. He stared down at me, his eyes darting for a millisecond to the claw marks on my arm, blood still oozing from them.

Alpha Eros growled.

Then they slid to the welts around my ankle before settling on the bracelet around my ankle. For some reason I was ashamed of it and tried to cover it with my other hand.

A human with silver was a threat to any werewolf. It was no small thing, like going into the forest, even though it was forbidden. This was a crime that history had cursed with death.

I didn't want to die.

Alpha Eros growled again. My gaze slid up to his black eyes, in which there was something wild.

He was angry.

He turned away with a jerk, just in time before the brown wolf could attack him. They rolled on the ground, but the attacker didn't stand a chance.

With a bite from Alpha Eros, all his movements went limp. A cry erupted from the rocks. I immediately stood in front of the entrance and looked inside.

Tommy had pressed Frido tightly against his chest. Tears trailed down his face as he stared at me in terror.

"I thought he was killing you," he whispered, his voice raspy.

Tommy's words surprised me. I hadn't even thought about it, but he was right. Of course, Alpha Eros could have just mauled me, as many rules as I broke in one day.

But the thought did not fit the werewolf I had met yesterday in this very place.

"It's all good, Tommy. You don't have to worry," I said.

Behind us came the cracking of bones, the howling of wounded wolves, and the tearing of fur.

The fight wasn't over yet.