Run for Your Life

ALLIE

“How did you get in here?” I whisper. “Are you with them?”

“If I was with them, do you think I would have snuck in here through the cellar?”

“No, I guess that was a stupid question. I just didn’t expect to see you here.”

“How did you get in?” Adam asks. “There isn’t a door from the cellar that leads outside.”

“There is; it’s just well hidden. It takes you into a passage that leads into the forest.”

“And how do you know this?”

“It’s my job to know as much as I can about what is going on in Linton and the wolves that live here.”

“You work for Alexander,” I guess. “You’re the wolf who was trying to uncover who the traitor is.”

“I work ~with~ Alex,” he corrects me. “I’m no one’s employee, but yes, I have been helping him to identify the spies Ryan has in Linton.

“Jason was my prime suspect, but unfortunately, I was only able to confirm his guilt a few hours ago, too late to stop him from betraying you to Ryan.”

“Alexander knows though?”

“Yes, he knows, and by now he will have informed your alpha of the danger. They will be mobilizing the warriors of the Red Moon Pack, but I don’t think they will get here soon enough to rescue you.”

“That’s why we need to stop talking and get out of here before Ryan realizes what is going on,” his friend interrupts.

“Quite right, John. Let’s go. We need to be silent; we don’t want Ryan to realize that we are helping you escape.”

He steps back through the door into the cellar and starts climbing down the stairs.

We all follow him as quietly as possible.

When we enter the cellar, I see an old cupboard has been pushed over, and behind where it used to stand is a hole in the wall. It’s a few feet tall and a couple of feet wide.

“It isn’t the most comfortable way to travel but we only need to travel through the passage for half a mile,” Callum assures me.

“It will be fine. Better than what Ryan will do to us if he catches us.” Callum winks at me. “John will go first, and I’ll take the rear. Let’s go.”

John stoops down and enters the passage, and I follow without hesitation, desperate to get out of there. I hear the soft footsteps of the others as they follow behind.

Upstairs, loud bangs and thuds emanate from the hallway as Ryan’s wolves try to break down the door.

“It won’t take them long to force their way into the kitchen and find we are gone,” Danielle points out.

“It won’t, but there’s no need to panic. By the time they realize we’re gone and find the passage in the cellar, we will be in the forest. It will be almost impossible for them to catch up with us.”

“What is this place, and how did you know about it?” Toby asks.

“Decades ago, when wolves first began attending university in Linton, it was decided that precautions needed to be taken to ensure humans did not stumble on wolves transforming,” Callum explains.

“Passageways were built into these houses to ensure that wolves could go straight from here to a location deep in the forest where they could run without being discovered.”

The passageway is dark and damp, and the floor is so uneven that we have to make our way slowly so as not to stumble and fall.

I’m on edge, alert for the tell-tale sounds that Ryan and his rogues have discovered where we’ve gone and are following us.

It’s only fifteen minutes until a sliver of light appears in the distance, but it feels longer.

“We’ll hold back and wait here while John goes first and checks that none of Ryan’s wolves are waiting for us at the exit,” Callum instructs.

I agree. As much as I want to get out of this place, it would be stupid to rush out and stumble into warriors from the Savage Wolves Pack.

John walks forward and disappears from view. We wait in silence for another five minutes before he returns and says, “All clear.”

We climb the five steps into a small clearing in the forest that I don’t recognize.

“Come on, we need to move quickly,” John urges. “It will take us another fifteen minutes to run to the Red Moon Pack lands.”

Callum takes the lead and, as silently as possible, we are moving again. We pick up the pace and jog through the trees.

It’s not long before I hear howling behind us.

“They’ve discovered our escape route,” John comments. “We won’t have long now.”

Callum hurries until we are running at full speed.

The pace is punishing. I’m short of breath and there is a pain in my chest, but I know we can’t slow down. If we do, they will soon catch up with us. This would be easier in our wolf form, but shifting would take too long. We don’t want to be caught mid-shift by the Savage Wolves.

The howling has stopped, but that’s not a good sign. They must have scented our trail and are concentrating on tracking us down.

I can see the pack border ahead. We are almost there. My spirits soar. We’ve made it.

Just then, a wolf leaps out of the trees and barrels into Callum, throwing him to the ground. He recovers quickly and jumps to his feet to face the wolf who has attacked him.

We stumble to a stop as more wolves follow, barring our way. Dirty and unkempt, they bare their teeth and snarl at us.

John swears, and then leaps forward and attacks.

I follow him. I’m not going to let them capture me. I won’t be Ryan’s slave.

I would rather die.

I partially shift, letting my claws elongate, and I howl and launch myself at the rogue nearest to me. Before he can defend himself, my claws rip into his chest and pierce his flesh.

The white bone of his ribs is exposed as he lashes out, trying to push me away, tearing into my arm with his claws, but I move back before he can do any real damage.

I kick out with my right leg and land a vicious blow to his knee. He staggers as his leg gives way but manages to right himself.

Before he can retaliate, I jump onto his chest, pushing him to the ground. I tear into his exposed neck with my fangs and rip out his throat.

I push myself back to my feet and look around. John and Callum are fighting back-to-back, taking on four of the rogues. They appear to be winning but sport vicious claw marks on their arms and chests.

Danielle, Clara, David, and the other bodyguard are fighting off six of the wolves. Danielle is a strong fighter, but David is hampered by his desire to shield her from the worst of the fight.

Toby and Adam are each fighting one of the rogues. They’re just managing to hold them off, but the fighting is desperate.

I’m the only one who has killed their opponent, and I realize this isn’t good enough. All these rogues need to do is slow us down and keep us here until Ryan and his wolves catch up.

If we don’t make it to pack lands soon, we will be captured.

I move to help Adam. The wolf he’s fighting has torn into his right shoulder, and he’s having difficulty using his arm.

The rogue is laughing, clearly thinking he’s won, but as he moves in for the kill I jump onto his back and wrap my arms around his neck. With one sharp twist, I break his neck and he falls to the ground.

“Thanks,” Adam gasps.

“I need to help the others. We have to finish them off before Ryan catches up with us.”

“I don’t think I’ll be much use. My arm is too badly injured to continue fighting,” he pants.

“Run to the Red Moon Pack, find a patrol, and tell them where we are. We are going to need their help.”

He nods and runs off. I just hope he will find someone in time.

I move toward Callum and John. They’re fighting the fiercest of the rogues, and although they’re experienced fighters, being outnumbered is taking a toll, and their injuries are mounting up.

I launch myself at one of the rogue wolves just as he tries to claw at Callum’s throat. I tear into his arm, ripping into flesh and tendons.

He howls in agony and stumbles back. I use the opportunity to lash out at his exposed neck and rip out his throat.

“What are you doing?” Callum shouts. “You need to get out of here. Run to the safety of the Red Moon Pack and tell them we’re under attack.”

“Adam is doing that. He’s been injured, he can’t fight anymore, so I’ve sent him to raise the alarm. I’m not running away. This is my fight, and I’m not letting everyone else fight Ryan for me.”

Callum snarls at me but is unable to continue the conversation as the rogues move to attack us again.

Now that Callum and John are able to concentrate on one wolf at a time, the rogues are no match for them. Callum rips out the stomach of his opponent, while John has slammed his to the ground and is tearing out his throat.

The one remaining wolf takes a step back, preparing to flee.

That’s when we hear them.

The pounding footsteps of forty wolves running through the forest. I turn around to see that Ryan and his rogues have caught up with us.

There will be no chance now for us to reach pack lands.

We won’t escape.