Chapter 44
Chapter
Forty-Four
Running through the trees, I jumped over a fallen one before pushing off and jumping over a rock that jutted out from the ground. Today’s run felt different. I felt fully in control. My muscles moved with me; my body answered when I needed it to. Even my wolf felt stronger.
I’d been running in the mornings consistently, taking a path around the territory to stretch. Usually, the first loop I’d do as a wolf, second as human. My weight still wasn’t great, but at least I wasn’t feeling like I was going to break if Laila hugged me too tight.
Most of the flight had gotten used to my routes that I tried to keep consistent.
I usually choose from three circuits depending on the day and how I felt.
Tyson had already advised the flight that I was allowed within the territory, and most ignored me.
Though I’d had a few of the younger shifters try to race me when I ran on the weekends.
One of Tyson’s ideas, I’m sure, but none of them had won yet.
The trees here felt older and more magical than the ones Mike, Sabrina, and I usually ran outside of the city. Those were sparse, and locals had saved the trees from deforestation only within the last thirty years. We used them because they were close but not run often or close to any territories.
It has been so long since I ran with them. Lauren was my main partner usually. Tyson would try to join, and Beau threw a fit if I didn’t text her when I went out. I’d heard that Marcus was flying more, but I hadn’t seen him any of the times I was out.
My wolf whined, and I let out a huff, pushing myself a little more.
Marcus had been weird after I completely unloaded on him.
He wasn’t more talkative, but he was more attentive.
If there was something I needed, it suddenly appeared next to me.
He helped me make food and wash dishes when I was trying to clean up after playing with Kayla while she napped.
It was a mix between helpful and unnerving.
Marcus was always there, just never within arm’s reach.
Candice said he was working a little, trying to help clean up the mess Ebony made after the university confirmed his resignation.
He didn’t realize the resignation had gone through months before he remembered thinking about taking a break.
Which just showed how messy an attempt she made to build his memories.
Worse, I could feel his frustration and anger. The bond was getting stronger slowly. It opened up more of my side, but he said that for him, it still was more of a ghost of a feeling. Rather than my presence. I’d feel him brush up against the bond sometimes, or his dragon, but nothing more.
Sighing, I wove through the trees and made a wide arc north of the town before heading south.
When I passed the edge of town, I felt something was wrong.
The hair on the hackles rose, and I could feel someone watching me.
Not from above though, like I’m used to with dragons flying.
This was like ghosts through the forest.
My wolf pushed forward, but I didn’t have them take over. Not yet. It could be nothing. Or it could be Beau trying to sneak up on me in her Draconic form. I pushed a little after, bringing myself up closer to sprint, but not quite.
I smelled them before I saw them. It hurt me, and my wolf growled, baring our teeth. There was a howl in reply, and my heart sank. They were here. Red River warriors were on the territory. I thought I was safe, but they were here.
Pushing myself faster, I made a sharp turn east. After a few yards, I almost slammed into another wolf. They snapped at me, and I barely avoided them. There were three of them here, blocking my path east. As if they knew that if I got to the lair, I would be safe.
Turning back south, I sprinted all out, letting out a howl.
My wolf took over, and I reached out through the bond to Marcus.
I could feel him and I tried to push my panic.
All I could hope was that this wasn’t something he did.
I’d tried to talk to him before, but he never replied or just never understood my words. This time, I only put out one word.
Help.
The three that had blocked me turned into five, then seven as two came up on my right and then two chasing me from behind. I could push just ahead of them, but they weren’t allowing me to push east. If I weren’t careful, I’d end up off the flight territory entirely.
It didn’t make sense though. They weren’t attacking. Just stopping me from being able to turn. Pushing my wolf back, I pushed faster, forcing them to go faster as well. When I had a good pace, I stopped entirely, digging my paws into the earth and sliding to a stop.
With the speed we were going, they were not expecting me to come to a complete stop.
They raced past me, except for the two that were tailing me.
Snapping their teeth, they headed straight for me.
I took a single breath before shooting off north.
I jumped over the first one and then dodged the second.
My chest was heaving now, but the adrenaline had kicked in. I raced north until finally cutting across and going straight east. There were howls and replies around me, but I tried to only keep a cursory location of where they were. I just needed to know if they were in front of me.
Unfortunately, I got my answer when a wolf slammed into me from the side. Although I didn’t go flying given my size relative to the others, the impact caused me to slide on the grass. Turning on my paws, I pushed south again.
The problem was that I couldn’t take them.
They were like Lauren, who was a warrior with solid muscle.
Fighting that kind of fight, or any kind of fight, was not my forte.
Running was the only thing I could do. The sheer number of warriors I ran into made the situation a laughable disadvantage.
Eventually, speed didn’t matter if they had the entire area covered.
More howls resounded, and three more wolves popped up on my side: two on my left, one on my right.
They got close, snapping at me. I thought they would try to jump on me when they suddenly pulled away.
In my confusion, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.
Bursting out into a clearing, I put on the full skids, staring at the one person I’d never wanted to see again.
Staring at the embodiment of my nightmares. Dylan Genesis.
Worse, he was standing next to Keith and Queen. They had corralled me here on purpose. I was being led here. My wolf growled, but I cursed. I should have kept going north. It was too late now. My chest was heaving, but there was no way I could fight my way out of it.
The betrayal I felt was tearing me apart.
I expected this from Queen. She hated me.
I hated her. It was a mutual hatred, but only one of us actually deserved it.
Keith, though, standing there as Alpha hurt.
He had allowed Red River onto the territory.
He knew that if I was in the lair; I was safe. The pain of it nearly choked me.
I stood there, not shifting, staring at them. Around us, I could hear the paws and grunts of the warriors circling us. There was no way out. My breath came out in spurts.
Kayla. My sweet girl. Damn it. Anger clawed at my throat. I couldn’t leave her. She was mine. I’d been so weak for so long, I’d accepted it, but now? Now I wanted to be there for her. Watch her grow up. See what kind of shifter she became. I didn’t want to accept my fate.
My claws dug into the ground, letting the anger fuel me. I glared at the three in front of me, my lips curling as I bared my teeth at them. If they thought this was going to be easy, they were going to be dead wrong.
“Well, well. I can’t say I’ve seen you in your wolf form, but I am impressed.” Dylan took two steps forward, smiling.
I leaned back, my growl louder as a warning. He had changed since the last time I saw him, and not in a good way. His eyes were nearly taken over by the yellow of his madness. It would be a level that the Council should have already taken care of. Otherwise, he could become feral at any moment.
“Oh, come now, Colton. You know better. You could never beat me.”
Snorting, I watched as his smirk dropped.
“It’s time to come home, Colton. You’ve been gone for too long. I let you have your little rebellious freedom. That’s enough.”
I slid my back leg back, ready to bolt if he tried to make a reach for me. He sneered, shaking his head.
“Do you think you can fight me, Omega? You are mine. I will do whatever it takes to bring you back. You know that already.” He smiled, but it was with the same level of feral that reached his eyes.
“Who do you think broke your mate? I can do it again. Over and over. It wasn’t hard.
I really should have killed him. It would have made everything easier, but now I’m glad I didn’t. ”
“Alpha Genesis, just take him before my family comes. I won’t fight them.” Keith sounded completely detached, and I growled.
He couldn’t meet my eyes. Queen, however, looked nearly as happy about this as Dylan was. She looked almost feral with glee.
“Take that stupid mutt off our territory. He doesn’t belong here.”
Dylan surprised me when he turned back and growled at her. Keith stepped up, putting a hand in front of Queen. She looked just as shocked, taking a step back.
“You do not get to call him that. He is mine.” Dylan turned to me, and I nearly threw up with him trying to conjure up something akin to longing. “Plus, he’s far closer to your kind than you think.”
My wolf and I were trying to find a way out of this. We would need to get past two dragons, an Alpha wolf, and then the surrounding warriors. If I took off toward the territory, I would only really need to worry about the ones in my way and then also the three in front of me.
I wouldn’t get out unscathed; that much was obvious.
Still, I couldn’t let them take me. Not alive, and I had Kayla to get back to.
My paws dug in for a moment, and Dylan saw my slight movement.
He started to shift, his bones cracking, but he was too slow.
It was like watching Marcus when he first came back and was trying to shift.
With as much power as I could muster, I pushed off the ground and shot forward. I roared as I ran as fast as I could. Straight ahead. Straight for where Queen was standing.