six.

By: Kaylyn C

"He's lying!" Emett gritted out. Part of me wanted to believe my brother but as I look at my father another part of me believed he was telling the truth. If anything, my father loved our land. He for damn sure loved it more than me.

"That's not even the worse part, boy." My father took a deep breath before he started walking back and forth across my office. "Two nights ago I received a message from a witch I-"

"Wait a witch? Father, don't you know our kind is never to associate with witches?" I asked. I wasn't surprised because my father stayed in trouble.

But wolves and witches never got a long together. No one ever knew what happened between our kinds it's just the way it was.

"There's a lot you don't know. You thought being an Alpha would be easy? I would've-"

"I know it's not easy, I've been cleaning up your mess for the past ten years, father. Now it seems I have to clean up yet again another problem!" I hissed pointing at him. 

"It's not just my mess you're having to clean." Not just his mess? He is the reason our land had went to waste. It took ten years for me and Emett to get things to where they should be. 

After my father left, I threw his so called guards out on their asses. His men were nothing but rapists and abusers thinking that they were going take over my land. 

Some even called themselves wanting to fight to the death for my title.

They failed and died.

"I know the mistakes I made in the past and I own up to them. Everything I did was to protect you." He replied. 

"Protect me? I was a child. " I picked up the glass vase that was sitting at the edge of my oval desk. "Your child!" I threw the vase against the wall behind him.

The echo of the shattered glass silenced the room. "A war is coming you said? All I can tell you right now is that whoever or whatever cross my borders and come onto my land without my permission will die. I fought every supernatural being for the past ten years and succeeded." I tell him reassuringly.

My father blows out a breath of frustration. "Not every being, son. These things have been around for hundreds of years. Twenty-one years ago I lost two close friends of mine because of a mistake I made. They were expecting a little girl, I..I thought the little child was dead because these monsters that were after her stopped appearing."

"So what does that have to do with-"

"Two nights ago I was sleeping peacefully in my bed, I heard a scream from one of my maids. I went downstairs and my maid was dead. Her eyes were gone...they were filled black liquid called Tyrin. It was then I knew these things had returned."

"What are these creatures called?" I asked him. 

My father stuck his hands in his pockets, letting his gaze fall to the floor.

"They're called Chainsmen. Sit down the both of you, we have much to discuss-"

My father's invite was cut short as the door to my office hit the wall loudly. The three of turned and we watched Tyson, one of my patrols came rushing

"Alpha, come quick there's a disturbance by the borders." One of my men, Channing mind linked me. I could his heart beating faster than normal.

"Tobian, what is it?" Emett says. I turned to him, giving him a cold stare.

"Something's happening." That's all it took as me and Emett was already out the door. I could hear footsteps running behind me, knowing it was my father but I didn't have time to stop him from following us.

My pack was more important.

~

Tequila's Pov

We kept running.

Me and Darius didn't know how far these deep woods would take us but we kept running.

My mind kept going back to what he said to me the other day.

Darius took a deep breath. "They're Chainsmen they've been lurking and hiding on our lands for the past twenty-one years. Funny, they come out in plain sight when you begin looking for your father." He mumbled.  

We've been on the run for the past two days. Our fur was covered with mud and goddess knows what else. Darius continued running ahead of me leading the way. Luckily we haven't ran into any Chainsmen, it's been four hours since we last heard any screeching noise.

Their sounds are so loud you can't tell if they are near of far. 

I had hoped we gotten rid of them. My wolf whimpered as she spat out my bookbag. I knew she was tired, we've had no food nor water. "Darius!" I mind-linked him.

Darius's wolf slowed down once he heard me. He turned around then pounced towards me. "What happened, are you hurt?" Darius asked me.

He looked around to check our surroundings.

My wolf rested herself on all four paws. "She's tired and so am I. We need food and water...we have to rest." 

"We can't stop now, Tequila. C'mon, we're almost-"

My wolf raised up and growled. I hope he wasn't going to say almost there because we didn't even know where we was. 

"Calm down, Q. We're both tired and we're both hungry and frustrated. I'll find us some shelter soon, I promise."

My wolf huffed in defeat.

She rose to her four paws, snatched the bookbag back between her teeth and dashed away. Darius was right on our tail.

All of a sudden we both hear a familiar screeching and that made us run even faster. "Keep moving, don't stop!" Darius mind-linked again. I could hear the panic in his voice.

How were we going to fight those floating creatures without being in human form? Darius's bow and arrows were in his packs.

I shouldn't be thinking about that at all. Instead I put all my power into running as fast as I could through the dark forest. I was so lucky to be gifted with night vision.

The Chainsmen screeched again and when I looked to my left I could see a Chainsmen flying through the trees just as fast as we were running.

"To the left!" I yelled to Darius.

Darius's wolf growled loudly. "Run faster, Tequila. I'm right behind you. You feel that breeze?" He asked.

I did. "Yes, I feel it! What about it?"

"I think its a river coming up. We're going to have to jump across it."

Was he crazy? This man is crazy!

"Hell no, my wolf can't jump! You know that!" I growled loudly. Why would he even suggest I do that. Back home during training my wolf never could jump, not even over small objects. I was always bullied by other pack members because of it.

I had noticed the Chainmen was getting closer. 

My wolf's eyes connected with it when we gazed to the left again. The fucking thing just smiled at me! We dashed underneath the large tree branches.

"You're going to have to Tequila, it's our only way out of this. Now, the river is getting closer. When I say jump, you're gonna jump. Understand?"

I was panicking, I couldn't do this. 

I can't. 

I closed my eyes and thought about what I told my mom before I left.

"Mom I'm gonna find him and bring him home to you. I don't care who's after me. I'm gonna save you okay?"

I snarled loudly when my eyes opened. All I could see was my mom standing above me smiling.

"Tequila, I'm gonna count to three and then you jump." Darius said. 

I was ready. 

"One!" He started. We ran even faster, ducking under large branches again. "Two!"

My wolf whimpered. "It's okay girl, we can do this. Please trust me." I pleaded with her. 

"Three! JUMP!" Darius yelled and that's just what we did. 

My wolf howled as she stretched her arms and legs over the flowing river, my backpack slinging as we jumped. We tucked and rolled before we landed on the other side of the river. My wolf and I slid through the small branches and then managed to come to a stop. 

I gasped. "We did it! Oh my god, Darius we-" I turned around and didn't see his wolf. "Darius?!" I mind-linked him again but didn't get an answer. 

Where the fuck was he? He was just right behind me!

I ran back quickly to the edge of the river. I hear a pained whimper and I knew it was Darius. I looked up and saw that the Chainsmen had Darius's wolf floating in the air beside it.

"Run, Tequila!" Darius groaned. I howled loudly. 

"I won't leave you, just h-hold on! Please hold on-" I whimpered getting ready to jump back the other side.

"It's over, child." I hear a voice say behind me. I turned around to let out a sharp growl. It was a woman floating in the with a dark blue cloak covering the top of her head.

The hood she wore didn't hide the dark blue color of her hair. I stopped in my tracks to sniff the air. 

A fucking witch?

"You can speak in your mind, I can understand you child and I know for a fact you can understand me." She says calmly. The witch floats down to the ground. 

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded.

"I'm just an old friend of your mother's is all." She says. The witch slowly removes her hood. 

She has fair skin from what I can see from afar with her hair tied in two ponytails. Her eyes were the same color as her hair. "A friend? My mother never mentioned be friending a witch. I also know our kinds never got a long. So, why don't you cut the crap and let me and my friend go!" I hissed.

The witch laughed before she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, inhaling the air around us. "She's dying, I see."

"H-How did you know that? I swear to god if you touch-"

All of a sudden the witch wave her hand towards me then my wolf was being lifted in the air. My wolf kicked her paws as we floated.

"You'll what?" I watched as the witches eyes glowed a lighter color. I saw nothing but anger. "I'd watch my mouth, child." She snickered.

"I'm the one with you and your friend's life in my hand." She snickered again.

"Just tell me what you want and I'll get it for you. Let him go." I demanded.

The witch smiled at me as she floated to the ground. "The box. Give it to me and you'll both live."

I watched as she walked towards me slowly.

All I could hear was Mama's voice.

"It's not just a box, Tequila!" She rasps and I grip her hand tightly. "Y-You have to give this to your father. Please don't fight me with this. You have to promise you'll find him. He'll know what to do then." She says quietly.

"Don't..Don't give her the box. It's okay, Tequila." Darius said. It sounded like he was giving up.

Was it? Nothing about this situation was okay.

I looked at the bag on the ground beside me. "Ah. Even better that you brought it with you, child." The witch bent down to her knees in front of me, taking the book bag in her hand. 

Her other hand had ran through my brown fur. When her fingers reached my temple, she yanked my head back for me to stare into her eyes. "Beautiful." She whispered. "I wonder if you're even more beautiful without the fur."

What? This witch was crazy. 

She closed her eyes and whispered a chant. Her body haven't moved an inch and all of a sudden I find myself shifting into my human form.

"Hm, my mother tells me you hold some kind of power. She tells me to find the box, kill the girl. She also says you're dangerous." She chuckled. "But I see nothing but a scared helpless girl."

"Y-You tricked me?" I whispered.

"Don't you know? Never trust a witch." She smiled wickedly. "Kill him!" She ordered the Chainmen.

"No!" I screamed turning around. The Chainsmen screeched loudly before it's long fingers inched into Darius. He threw his body over the river, his large wolf landed at my feet. I went to my knees, cradling him in my arms.

"Now, it's your turn." The witch grinned as the Chainsmen floated towards me. "No, Chaîneur. She's mine to kill."

I sobbed as I held onto Darius. My hand edged toward his wound. "I'm so sorry." I then feel myself being lifted off the ground. My body turned towards the witch.

I gasped because now she was floating in front of me. "Une âme si gentille." She smirked. "Gaspillé."

I closed my eyes for a brief moment before a dark shadow pounced in front of me, attacking the witch. We both had fell to the ground with a thud.

Someone had broke the connection. But, who?

I groaned, lifting myself on to my knees. My eyes then opened and I came face to face with a pair of glowing red eyes.

I held my breath as the beast spoke. "Mine!"

~

To be continued. ❤️