43
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I knelt on the dirt staring at Linda’s body. My hands shook so bad I could barely hold them still. I raked my fingers through my hair hard and pulled at the roots. “What the hell just happened? Linda, wake up. Please.”
No answer. Her eyes stayed open, blank. Blood pooled under her shoulder, dark and sticky. I shifted on my knees and leaned closer. “Oh my god. This can’t be real.”
I fumbled in my pocket for my phone. My fingers slipped twice before I pulled it out. I hit Damien’s name fast. No bars. No signal. “Come on. Work. Please work.”
Nothing. I threw the phone down and raked my fingers through my hair again. Tears burned my eyes. “No reception. Of course. We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
I laid down next to her and put my head on her arm. “Linda, what do I do? You’re not breathing. The knife… it’s so deep.”
I inspected the wound careful. Dried blood caked around the blade. No fresh flow.” This looks old. Like hours old. But we just left. It was morning.”
I sat up quick and checked my phone again. Midnight. Twelve hours gone. “How? I don’t remember anything. We were talking about human stuff and then… this.”
I put my hand up to my nose and sniffed. Nothing. No smell of blood or dirt or anything. “I can’t feel anything. Can’t smell. What’s wrong with me?”
I stood up slow, legs wobbly. I shifted on my feet and looked around. Trees everywhere. Smoke in the air still. “I need help. But what if I run into enemies? They could be
anywhere.”
I paced a couple steps. “I can’t leave her here. But I can’t carry her. She’s too heavy. Damien, where are you?”
I raked my fingers through my hair hard. “Okay. Okay. I have to go. Find someone. Anyone.”
I took off running down the path. My feet pounded the dirt. Branches slapped my arms. “Help! Somebody! Damien!”
My lungs burned. I coughed hard from the smoke. “Linda’s hurt! Please!”
I tripped on a root and fell, knees hitting the ground. “Ow. Shit.”
I pushed up and kept running. “Damien! Help!”
Tears streamed down my face. “What if they’re all dead? What if the pack’s gone? No. Stop. Keep going.”
I ran harder. “Somebody! Please!”
1/3
15 Wh
43
My legs gave out. I fell again, gasping for air. “I can’t… I can’t do this alone.”
I sat there sobbing. “Linda, I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. I blacked out. Did I do this? No. I couldn’t.”
I wiped my face with my sleeve. “Get up. Keep moving.”
I stood up slow and started running again. “Help! Damien!”
My legs burned so bad I couldn’t take another step. I raked my fingers through my hair and wiped sweat from my forehead. My feet throbbed. I gave up. No one was coming. I fell to the ground on my knees, dirt scraping my skin. Hopelessness hit hard. I curled up, hugging my knees, tears streaming down my face. “No one’s gonna find me. I’m done.”
I lay there sobbing. “Linda, I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”
A branch snapped nearby. I froze. Footsteps crunched leaves. I sat up quick, heart
slamming.
“Who are you?” a deep voice yelled.
I didn’t speak. I shifted back on the dirt, scraping my palms.
The footsteps got closer. Another voice said, “Wait. I know her. I think that’s Luna.”
I panicked and scrambled back more. Rogues. They found me. I’m dead. My breath came fast. I grabbed a stick from the ground like that would help.
Two men stepped out of the trees. One tall with a bow on his back, the other shorter with a knife on his belt. They stopped and raised their hands.
“Hey, easy,” the tall one said. “We’re not rogues. We’re hunters from the pack. Storm Blood hunters.”
I furrowed my eyebrows and clutched the stick tighter. “Hunters?”
“Yeah,” the shorter one said. “We patrol this far out to inspect for intruders. Damien
sent us to check the borders after the attack.”
I let out a shaky breath and dropped the stick. Relief hit me hard. I wiped my face with my sleeve. “Oh my god. You’re from the pack.”
The tall one nodded and stepped closer. “Yeah. Name’s Jax. This is Mark. What are you doing out here, Luna? It’s dangerous.”
I stood up slow, legs still wobbly. “I… we got lost. My friend’s hurt. Over there. Please help.”
Jax furrowed his eyebrows. “Friend? Show us.”
I led them back the way I came, heart racing. “She’s this way. Hurry.”
2/3
75 Vict
43
We reached Linda’s body. I pointed with shaking hands. “There. That’s her.”
Mark dropped to his knees next to her. “Holy shit. That’s Beta Linda.”
Jax knelt too and checked her pulse. “What happened? How’d she get stabbed?”
I raked my fingers through my hair. “I don’t know. We were walking and then… I blacked out or something. Woke up and she was like this.”
Mark looked up at me. “Blackout? You sure?”
I nodded fast. “Yeah. I can’t remember anything. Please, is she okay?”
Jax inspected the wound careful. He wiped dried blood away with his sleeve. “Knife’s deep. Blood’s old. Been hours.”
Mark checked her eyes and neck. “No breathing. No pulse.”
I gasped and covered my mouth. “No. Check again. Please.”
Jax shook his head slow. “She’s gone. I’m sorry, Luna.”
Mark stood up and looked at Jax. “We need to get her back. Report this.”
Jax nodded and scooped Linda’s body up gentle. “Yeah. And you, Luna. You shouldn’t be this far out anyway. What were you doing?”
I shifted on my feet. “We got lost. Like I said.”
Mark furrowed his eyebrows but didn’t push. “Okay. Let’s move. Pack’s that way.”
I followed them, legs heavy. “Thank you. For finding me.”
Jax looked back. “Lucky we did. Rogues are everywhere.”
Mark nodded. “Stay close. We’ll get you home.”
I walked between them, tears still falling. “Hurry. Please.”
One of them, Jax, looked down at Linda’s body in his arms and shook his head again.”
This is bad news. Beta’s dead.”
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