Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Adeline
We have been in the car for eight hours, following behind his father’s Mercedes.
Eli and Cyrus take turns driving. My back is aching from sitting in the same position for so long, my neck stiff from leaning on my arm against the window.
Eli gently brushes his hand down my back, making me look at him.
“When we get to the forest, there is no drivable path. Cyrus is going to have to carry you,” Eli tells me.
I groan at the thought. I hate running. It feels unnatural and makes me queasy when my surroundings blur into one wall of color.
“Are we getting close?” I ask him, stretching. My now visible baby bump pops out from under my shirt before I tug it back down.
“Sort of. The forest is dense and vast. Even with Cyrus running, it will take an hour to get to the village,” Eli explains.
“Don’t worry, love. We can take breaks on the way,” Cyrus says, looking over his shoulder at me.
“What’s it like out there?” The word “village” reminds me of a time long before mine.
“It’s different. It could have changed. I haven’t been out there in three hundred and fifty years. Emery said it has power now and working plumbing, so I guess we will see,” Eli tells me, looking straight ahead and out the window at his father’s car in front.
Maverick pulls off the highway down a dirt track.
The longer we drive along it, the faster night falls.
By the time the cars finally stop, the moon is high in the sky, the road ending at a field, and I can see a few cars sitting here and a track leading into the walls of trees ahead.
Eli isn’t wrong about it being dense. Darkness swallows the forest, and I can’t see anything ahead.
I can’t even see shadows between the trees.
Now, light from the moon manages to break through the thick canopy.
Looking in both directions, the forest appears to have no end.
As far as I can see in both directions, it looks like a wall with no end.
I get out of the car, the headlights the only source of light, though it does nothing to help with visibility.
Maverick is already out of his car. He grabs a bag from the boot before he starts stripping off his clothes.
Emery hops out and does the same before shifting quickly while Maverick just stands there in his jeans, his eyes scanning the forest, when I hear howls ring loudly through the darkness of the night.
I take a step back, my back hitting the door of the car.
“Calm down, just my father’s pack,” Eli says, and I look at Maverick, who nods to me before stepping off the dirt road and walking toward the tree line through the long grass.
It is so high that it goes to his waist. Looking at the tree line, I see glowing eyes before men start stepping out and moving toward Maverick.
I watch as they bare their necks to him.
Cyrus grabs a bag out of the trunk before placing it on top and opening it. He grabs one of their jackets out before coming over to me. I pull my arms inside it, and he zips it up before pulling the hood over my head.
“You need to stop. Just tell me,” he says.
Men come over to us. They are all naked and terrifying to look at.
Scars litter their bodies. A tall blond-haired man holds his hand out to Eli, and Eli shakes it.
His eyes are pitch black, and he smirks before his eyes fall on me.
He holds his hand out to me before sniffing the air and jerks his back.
He places them in the air in surrender, which confuses me until I remember what Emery had said about Eli scenting me.
“Sorry, we don’t get many newcomers. I was just curious,” says the man in a deep voice, his eyes going to Eli.
“Addie, this is Porter. He is my father’s Beta,” Eli tells me, and I nod at his words, stepping closer to Cyrus.
Porter looks at Cyrus, sniffs the air, and smirks, his eyes darting to Eli. “Bit overprotective, Eli.”
“Touch him and find out,” Eli growls.
Porter smiles deviously, his eyes flicking to Cyrus, who is looking rather bored.
“I’m good, but it’s unnecessary. Your father has told everyone to be on their best behavior,” Porter tells Eli.
I can see Maverick behind him talking to some of the men that came with Porter. They then walk toward the two cars, grabbing stuff from the trunks.
“You remember the way, or do you need us to show you?” Porter asks Eli.
“Of course not. Just tell your men to keep their distance, and no one will die tonight,” Eli tells him.
Porter nods, walking off toward Maverick.
Cyrus grips under my arms, lifting me against his chest. I wrap my legs around his waist. My arms go around his neck, and I inhale his scent.
My mouth is watering. This pregnancy is something else—craving inhuman things, their blood mainly, and I am always hungry for it.
“She is insatiable. Be interesting how bad she becomes once I change her,” Cyrus says, pulling me closer.
Eli bites his wrist, and I grab it as it comes toward my face biting into him.
“Interesting human you have there, one that drinks blood,” I hear Porter’s voice come from behind me.
Cyrus’s lips press to my cheek, and I reluctantly let go of Eli. It is getting increasingly harder to stop, which worries me. Eli pulls his wrist away, helping me let go of him.
“She is pregnant,” Eli growls at him, wiping his wrist on his pants.
“Good to know. I will tell people not to bleed around her,” Porter sneers at him, and Eli growl. I can see Eli isn’t trusting this man.
“I heard you challenged your father?” Porter asks.
“Yes, I did. So, mind your tongue, Porter, because once I take over, I won’t hesitate to remove it for you. Now, get out of my face and away from my mates,” Eli tells him, his voice eerily calm as he glares at Porter.
“We are ready when you are,” Porter tells him before walking off.
I notice the other men disappear into the trees. Emery walks over, and I feel her nose press to my knee as she looks up at me in her wolf form. Eli strips his clothes off, and Emery goes over to her father, who I see is in his wolf form, now waiting next to the tree line.
“You need to keep your face tugged into my neck. I don’t need you hit by branches,” Cyrus tells me, pushing my head to the face of his neck.
I sigh but push my face into his neck; I can feel his stubble against my cheekbone. He walks over, grabbing the bag off the trunk.
“I will take it,” Eli says, taking it from him.
Eli shifts into his Lycan form before standing upright, his back cracking.
“You sure that is wise, stepping in there in that form? They might think it a threat,” Cyrus says.
“Because it is. They come near you, and I will kill all of them. I can defend you easier in this form.”
Cyrus sighs but says nothing as he starts walking toward the tree line. I can feel the long grass brush against my pants.
Cyrus steps into the tree line, making the darkness of the night darker; it smells damp, and I can smell rotting vegetation.
I know just by how close the centuries-old trees are, the sun won’t penetrate the earth beneath his feet.
I pull closer to him, my heart pounding in my ears.
I can see why no one comes out here. The darkness of the night makes vision impossible.
The silence is deafening and frightening as he continues to walk through the dense darkness, telling me to duck every now and then from the low-hanging branches.
It is cold and eerily quiet except for their footsteps crunching on the leaves and the sloshing sound of the wet earth beneath their feet.
I can’t see anything except the reflection of their eyes, making me wonder what it looks like to them. Cyrus walks further in before pressing my head into the crook of his neck.
“Don’t lift your head and remain still,” Cyrus whispers, and I nod, pressing my face into his neck.
I press my eyes shut before I feel air whip around me, my legs tightening around his waist as I focus on breathing.
It feels like we have been running for ages, and my body is aching from the cold.
I am losing my grip, my arms and legs tired from being so tense.
Despite being in a forest, I have never felt so claustrophobic.
Cyrus’s grip on me never wavers as I start finding it harder to breathe through my panic.
The smell of this place is getting in my head and sending me flashbacks of the cabin, the smell similar as it wraps around me.
The sense of isolation chokes me as I am shoved back to being stuck in the cabin in the woods with Sam.
This place scares me beyond anything I have ever felt, reminding me how capable I am of fear and forcing me to face it head-on.
The deeper we get, the harder it is to contain, my heart racing, and I can feel it with every pulse.
I start to feel faint; I feel like the trees are moving in, suffocating me as the smell gets stronger and stronger.
Cyrus comes to a stop, and I feel my tears slipping down my face as panic sets in.
I want out; I want out of the darkness, out of the cold, and out of this forest.
“It’s not much further, love. Breathe, Addie,” Cyrus tries to soothe me, but I can’t catch my breath as I gasp between sobbing, choking on my own inability to take a breath.
“What’s going on?” I hear Maverick’s voice come from somewhere in the darkness.
“She is having a panic attack,” Cyrus says, trying to pull my face from his neck.
I feel rough hands clutch my face and fur brushing my cheeks as Eli grips my face, his silver eyes peering back at me as I choke.
“Breathe, Addie. You are okay. Nothing will get you with us. My father’s entire pack is in these woods. They won’t let anyone touch you,” Eli says.
I try to understand his words, but I get even more scared; there are monsters in these woods.