Chapter Seven

Ellie

Sammy and I gathered everything we needed to start a fire. It seemed like a lot of work for a night that didn’t feel too cold. Maybe it was warmer here than other places. It had to be, considering we were barely dressed.

I was grateful, though. My back was throbbing, and I could tell Sammy’s was too, from the way he winced every time he bent down to pick up wood.

I thought our pain would start to ease now that we had our wolves.

Nix had been silent since she gave Soren the Alpha command. Maybe it had worn her out, or maybe she was using all her strength to heal me. I figured it would take a few days.

Once we had everything we needed, we headed back to the cave.

Sammy sat on the ground, took two pieces of wood, and started rubbing them together. At first, nothing happened.

“Are you sure you’re doing it right?” I asked.

He rolled his eyes and kept going, ignoring my teasing.

After a few minutes, I saw smoke and a tiny ember. Sammy moved it to the kindling and blew on it until a flame appeared.

He smirked at me, as if to say, ~I told you so~. I just grinned back.

I wasn’t sure what I brought to our partnership. Sammy was the practical one. I guess I was the planner, the encourager. I also helped Sammy with his wolf.

Suddenly, it hit me that neither of us would have made it this far without the other.

Once the fire was going strong, we decided to try and get some sleep.

I lay on my side, trying to keep the pressure off my back.

Despite our lack of clothes, I was warmer than I’d been in a long time. We never had any heat in the dungeon. Just a mattress and a thin blanket. This was much better.

We were warm, and we were free. For the first time in my life, I felt free.

Zagan glared at me.

“You worthless little half-breed runt.”

I was sweating as he walked towards me.

“Maybe I should let you burn.”

I felt a hand on my head.

My eyes flew open, and I screamed.

Then I remembered. We’d escaped. There was no more Zagan. No more Dante. But who was this?

I tried to scoot away from him. He was huge. I’d never seen anyone so big, not even Zagan or Dante. Not even Gabriel.

His skin was dark, his head was shaved, and he had a horseshoe-shaped mustache.

As I moved, I forgot about the wounds on my back, and they scraped against the cave floor.

I sobbed as pain shot through my body.

“Shh little wolf, no one’s going to hurt you,” the man whispered. His voice was low and almost musical.

He put his hand on my head again. I had nowhere to go.

He looked away from me and towards Sammy.

“This one has a fever. What about that one?” he asked.

I gasped as another man crouched down next to Sammy.

“Same, he’s pretty bad,” the other man said.

“P...Please don’t...” I started, then stopped.

If I begged them not to hurt Sammy, they probably would.

A sob escaped my lips.

“Shh little one, it’s going to be okay, I promise.”

I yelped as he picked me up.

“Sammy,” I mumbled.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got him too. Is he your brother?”

I closed my eyes without answering. I didn’t trust him, and people always broke their promises.

“Get Bartholomew to take a couple of warriors and check the border. This looks like that bastard’s work.

“If they see anyone, kill them,” he growled, “and let the Alpha know the rogues we found are a couple of pups. We’re coming in with them now.”

I didn’t dare open my eyes. Who were these people? How many of them were there? We hadn’t seen anyone before, just deer and rabbits. Now we were going to be handed over to another Alpha.

I doubted we’d last long. We were rogues, after all. Maybe Zagan had been right. We hadn’t even lasted a day.

I felt myself drifting off. I didn’t have the energy to fight. Besides, even if I could, I wouldn’t stand a chance against these giants.

I felt something soft underneath me and my head. The pain from my back was gone. I was wearing a shirt. It was soft against my skin.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a room. Not a dungeon or a cave, a real room, but Sammy was nowhere to be seen.

“Sammy,” my voice croaked.

I felt the bed dip, then a hand rested on my head. It was so large it almost covered my whole head. I flinched, expecting a slap like always.

“It’s okay little one, you’re quite safe,” he soothed, his thumb brushing my forehead.

I looked over to see a red-haired man with a neatly trimmed beard. He was older than Zagan and Gabriel, but not as old as...I didn’t want to call him Grandpa, not anymore.

I didn’t know what his name was though.

He frowned, “that’s the name of the boy who was with you?”

I gave a small nod.

“I need to be with him,” I rasped.

I tried to sit up, but he gently pushed my head down.

“No, little one, you must rest.”

He cradled the back of my head and tilted it up slightly, pressing a cup to my lips.

I took a sip, grateful it was just water, although I would have drunk anything to quench my thirst.

A small cough escaped my lips.

“Who are you?” My voice was barely a whisper. “I need my brother.”

A single tear slipped down my cheek. I couldn’t face this alone. We’d been a team for two years. We were each other’s lifelines.

His thumb gently brushed the tear away.

“I’m the Alpha of the Blood River Pack. My name is Alpha Clayton. You need to rest, heal...We know he’s not your brother, but we’re doing everything we can for him. He’s not as strong as you.”

“He is my brother,” I choked out through my sobs.

I extended my hand to show him the mark, but it was gone, healed without a trace.

I looked from my hand to him, fear seizing my heart. Sammy had been okay, he’d started a fire, we’d calmed his wolf. He had to be lying, or they’d done something to Sammy.

“Wh...where is he?” I shrieked, tears streaming down my face.

“What did you do to him?”

Alpha Clayton’s eyes flickered black, then he let out a sigh.

He cradled my face in his large hands.

“Listen to me, little one. Sammy...he wasn’t as strong as you.”

What did he mean by wasn’t? That’s what people said when someone was gone, when they’d died, like my mom and dad.

“We did everything we could,” Alpha Clayton continued, “but it wasn’t enough. I’m sorry.”

Tears kept pouring from my eyes. I wanted to shake my head, but his grip was too firm.

“No...No...he was okay...he was just sleeping...he saved me,” I sobbed.

Then I balled my hands into fists and started to hit him. I wanted him to hit me back, I wanted him to hurt me. Sammy’s death was my fault. My stupid plan.

Sammy wasn’t supposed to be the one whipped, it was supposed to be me.

But instead of hitting me back, Alpha Clayton just wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. My tears soaked his shirt as he gently rocked me, whispering soothing words.

Everything I’d been through. Losing my parents, the punishment block, being left by Jackson, Gabriel and his pack. The years I spent in Zagan’s dungeon, even the whipping.

None of it compared to losing Sammy. He’d been my rock, my brother, and now he was gone. Maybe I was meant to be alone.