Alphas War

Chapter 44

The silence was deafening. It was the sound of defeat. Ever since the secret of werewolves came out, I had known war was coming. However, I never expected our enemies to be so prepared and for us to be caught so off guard.

"This is my fault," I mumbled quietly, the pain in my chest intensifying. I had let down everyone. My friends. My husband. My pack.

"No it's not," Ryder rasped from beside me. "None of us saw this coming."

"I should've."

"There has to be a way out of here," Caroline grumbled from where she sat in the corner. "You're the Alpha, El. Can't you get us out?"

"I have the same poison in my veins that you do," I muttered with a shake of my head.

"You're the strongest," she shot back, frowning at me, "if anyone can get us out it's you."

Tears filled my eyes once again as I stared back at her. "Not strong enough," I whispered, my voice cracking.

Silence reigned again, the only sound being Jordan's sniffles every now and then. I hated feeling so powerless, so weak. I knew wherever Zach was, he was in just as much pain as I was, I could feel it, and that only made me hurt more.

"Are we going to die?" Jordan's soft, broken voice suddenly spluttered, sobs continuing to rack through her chest.

"No," Ryder and Caroline instantly reassured her while I stared at her, a idea forming in my mind.

"Yes," I answered, shrugging my shoulders when the three of them shot around to face me.

"Ella," Ryder mumbled, nodding to where Jordan continued to get worked up, her cries increasing in volume and her chest heaving for breath.

"Well it's true," I told him. "We aren't getting out of here. If the poison doesn't kill us, the mayor will. They want us gone."

A scream erupted from Jordan as she rocked backwards and forwards, forgetting all about the pain she was in and focusing only on her fear.

"Jordan, calm down," Caroline whispered, reaching across to place her hand on Jordan's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"Let her cry," I said with a sigh, leaning against the wall as I tried to gather enough strength to stand. "It won't change the fact that we will all be dead soon."

"Ella!" Ryder warned, his voice louder as Jordan thrashed on the ground, her eyes flickering amber as she began to snarl amongst her screeches.

I ignored them both and staggered to my feet, pressing my weight against the wall to support myself. I focused on the feeling of the cold concrete beneath my fingertips and closed my eyes, allowing my emotions to wash over me.

I thought about Zach. I thought about what I would do if he was hurt, if he was in as much pain as I was. It caused hot bursts of anger to course through me as I continued to think about the rest of my friends.

I thought about how I had let them all down. How I had let the mayor win while I simply lay in a box and let myself rot. I thought about how the pack may be under attack at that very moment. How they may be fighting without their alpha to lead.

"El?" Ryders voice was like a distant memory as I snarled loudly, feeling the change wash over me. All I thought about was my anger. I focused on the tightening of my fists, the rapid rise and fall of my chest, the ache in my gums as my fangs pushed through and before I knew it, I stood as a wolf in the tiny cell.

I eyed Jordan as she followed behind me, her fear causing her own transformation. Between the two of us, in wolf form, we had to be able to break down the door. Jordan was one of the strongest wolves I knew and when she was scared, she could be terrifying.

She snarled at me when her body had finished the shift, hatred flashing in her eyes. I growled back, reminding her that I wasn't her enemy and with that, her gaze shifted to the door.

She leapt towards it, her claws slamming into the solid metal, causing it to rattle beneath her strength. I joined her, slamming all of my weight onto the slab of metal between myself and freedom. I needed to get out of here so I could find Zach. And with that in mind, we both threw ourselves at the door, sending it snapping from its hinges and clattering to the ground.

Clean air slammed into my lungs, the wolfsbane gas dissipating a little and making it easier to breathe. I gulped greedily, desperate for some of my strength to return as I dropped to the ground. I managed to bark out an order to Jordan to turn back before shifting myself and slumping backwards.

Jordan looked equally as exhausted as she lay beside me, breathing heavily as her tears continued to roll down the cheeks. Ryder and Caroline dragged themselves out of the cell, gasping for the fresh air outside in the dank hallway.

While we all gathered our strength, I took the opportunity to scan the hallways noting there were several large doors either side and not much else. I listened for the sound of footsteps, hoping that nobody was coming after hearing the door break down - we didn't have the strength to fight right now.

"We need to find the others," I grunted, reaching for the wall to steady myself once again. My legs were weak and shaky as they tried desperately to support my weight and my head was cloudy as I searched for a scent.

The others managed to get to their feet slowly and nodded in agreement. "This way," I grunted, feeling a pull in my gut as I turned to the right and stumbled down the hallway, turning a corner at the end and continuing until I froze outside a door.

A familiar scent hit my nose, although I wasn't sure who's it was. "In there." The four of us pushed on the door as hard as we could, battering our worn out bodies against it until in creaked. I took a long, deep breath before putting all of my strength into popping the door off its hinges and watching it plummet backwards before crashing to the ground.

Four faces stared back at us in horror as we allowed the light from the hallway to flood in, illuminating them on the ground. "El?" Liam croaked, blinking up at me.

"Out!" I coughed, the smell of wolfsbane prominent inside the room. I backed away and collapsed against the wall in the hallway, needing to catch my breath once again.

The rest of them stumbled out and dropped to the ground around me, coughing and spluttering as they filled their lungs with clearer air. "Are you guys okay?" Ryder managed to choke, looking between Blake and Olly who lay in the entrance, heaving in as much oxygen as they could.

Lexi crawled closer to Liam and buried her face in his neck, her breathing wheezy and her face tear stained. "That was the worst pain I've ever felt," Liam muttered, his eyes bloodshot.

All I could do was nod silently, knowing the pain of the poison was unbearable. "We need to find him," I said, heaving my body upright and pressing on, further down the hallway. I passed a window and forced it open, choking on the fresh air as it hit my throat. I sucked it in as much as possible, knowing it wouldn't take away the pain but it would provide a little relief, just long enough for me to find Zach.

I carried on down the hallway, opening windows as I went while the others followed behind me, dragging themselves towards the open windows and gasping at the clean air. "He's in there," I suddenly whined, feeling the ache in my chest stronger than ever outside another large metal door.

Liam, Ryder and Blake joined me at the door, kicking and hammering on it with all the force they could muster. I could hear the snarls coming from inside, motivating me to push harder until the metal groaned under my fingers and began to give way.

This door was harder than the last, with most of my strength completely dissipated at this point. I could feel my legs weakening beneath me and the agony burning in my veins had me desperate to just collapse and allow it to consume me. But I could feel Zach. He was the other side of the door and with that in mind, I barged into it, allowing it to crumble to the ground and me along with it.