Epilogue

Maddie

I woke up in the backseat of my car. Stryker was sitting on the floorboard and when I lifted my head to look at him, he let his tongue loll out and tail thump against the bottom of the car.

I vaguely remembered the fight I was a part of before I passed out. I had been trying to save Sam. Nathan had been getting ready to kill him. I had been doing really well until Nathan had gotten the skinny on me and sliced my arm. After that, all I remembered was ice cold.

I groaned as I sat up. Upon looking in the front seat, I saw Drew looking at me over the passenger's seat. Max was driving. If I knew anything about these guys, Beca was in a car behind us with Sam and Parker.

"What happened?"

"Sam pulled you from the lake about four minutes after you fell in. A minute longer and you would have died," Drew said as he turned back around to face the front.

I rubbed the back of my neck as Stryker pulled his furry butt in my lap. "What happened to Casey and Nathan?"

"Nathan ran off when I jumped into the fight. Casey was about to attack you when the others showed up but it was Stryker and his pack that ran her off in the end. She couldn't stand up to an angry pack of wolves," Max said. He smiled fondly at the memory. "Of all the cycles, I'd have to say that this one is the most interesting."

I watched Drew shift in the passenger's seat. He didn't look happy. Absent-mindedly, I stroked the scruff of Stryker's neck. "Where are we headed?"

"Dallas. I've already called your grandfather. We're going to be staying in your old house with the lake house as a safe house. We'll figure out what we're going to do after that. When we get there, you have to rest. I won't take no for an answer." Drew was all business and no talk. He expected me to listen and after last night I was really inclined to do so.

"Who're all with us?" I needed to know so I could plan accordingly. Anita would rip me in two if I showed up with more than one person and didn't warn her.

Max and Drew looked at each other across the console. That look alone told me they had done something. Finally Max sighed. If Max was speaking it meant Drew had made the decision. He had already seen my temper and I bet he didn't want to see it again.

"Parker, Sam and Beca are in the car behind us," he said.

"And Darren, Simon, Bianca, and Bruce?" They were silent in the front seat. "What about the others?"

"We left them at the school to guard it while we're in Dallas."

I sucked hard on my teeth and bottom lip. They had left some of the Knights in Oklahoma. That stuck in my craw worse than me telling me that I had to rest. Leaving people behind wasn't something I liked to do, especially since they were my friends. No, not just my friends. They were my first real friends I've ever had and Drew had split us up.

The rest of the ride was silent.

Darren

"Where did they go?"

Darren was standing in Simon's office with Bruce and Bianca beside him. The other two were silent which meant they knew what was going on.

That morning he had gotten up and noticed Parker was gone. Not thinking anything of it, he went to breakfast and to see what could be done that day on training. Max couldn't be found in the dojo or the archery range so he went to find Bruce. The bulky guy was easy to find. He had been with Bianca in the smoothie shop.

When he asked about the girls, meaning Beca and Maddie, they hadn't said anything. He knew something was wrong the minute they clammed up. Beca and Bianca talked about everything.

He didn't have to go to his sister's dorm to know she was gone. He could just feel it and it had Drew written all over it. So he had gone to Simon's office. The minute the man saw him, he realized it had gotten to Simon as well.

He was pissed.

Simon folded his fingers together and looked at the young man. He knew he was mad but there was nothing he could do about it. Drew had made the call and he had to abide by it.

"I can't tell you."

Darren cursed and kicked the chair. "Tell me where she is."

"I can't. You were left here because you're the strongest Knight."

"I should be with Camelot.'

"Her name isn't Camelot. It's Maddie and you are going to remain here no questions asked." Simon watched as the realization hit him hard. "Now go back to your room. We can't have you taking your anger out on the unsuspecting victim." He looked down at his paperwork, effectively dismissing him.

Darren turned on his heel and stormed from the office then the building. The cold wind was welcomed against his heated skin. If they thought they were going to keep him from Maddie, they were absurd. She was the key to all of this. He needed to be with her.

He felt Bruce and Bianca stop by him. "Where did he take her?" They didn't answer him but instead shifted slightly. "I know you know. Beca couldn't keep her trap shut if her life depended on it."

"We can't tell you, Darren. Drew did this to make sure Maddie is safe and to make sure the campus, as well as the students, are safe as well. You can protect the campus. I know you want to be with Maddie, but right now she doesn't need you to pressure her into anything." Bruce spoke carefully and levelly to make sure Darren didn't whirl on him.

Darren felt his temper rise again but this time quelled it. She doesn't need you to pressure her into anything. If he did, none of this would work. She had already made her point when she said she wasn't with him romantically, but that didn't mean he was going to give up.

"I'll stay here without a fight. She does need space. I have been a little on the annoying side." He looked over his shoulder at his friends. "Come on; let's get a round's chart set up."

Bruce and Bianca followed him to the library. While their friend was gone, they were going to have to make sure the school stayed safe. Even if it meant making enemies out of good people, this was the only place they could easily defend. Hopefully when everyone came back, things could go back to a semi state of normal.

Catch the next part in the sequel Merlin