It took the horse a few seconds to realize that the one still on his back didn't wish him any harm. Ellinor whispered words of encouragement as she held on for dear life.
«Please. Let's get away from here. I'll let you be free soon.»
At first the horse ran wild, but soon it accepted Ellinors commands and turned east. Before the wolves understood what was going on, Ellinor and the horse had broken through their circle and were headed east, towards the swamp.
The pack started the hunt for Ellinor and the horse immediately. The horse was quicker, but they had the advantage of the pack-link. They could cooperate and attack from several directions at once. That still didn't help as long as Ellinor kept going straight east. Her goal was clear. She didn't waver, she pushed the horse as far as she could on the way through the woods.
The advantage of surprise helped her in the beginning. She felt the pack and she certainly felt her father's rage. Closing the link towards him was the hardest part of escaping.
All of a sudden the forest ended. Ellinor whispered a quick thank you to the horse before stopping and jumping off. She quickly loosened the saddle and reins before slapping him. He ran off as Ellinor shifted into her wolf, and luckily she had been right, the ropes were pulled off of her. She didn't care about the clothes being ruined. She was running before she was done shifting, straight into the swamp.
Ellinor had always been fast. She had to be. From the start when she was hunting on her own, her speed was crucial. Now she really felt how important it was. She knew the other wolves would keep following her, only using her scent as a guide in the growing darkness. She did something very few wolves would do voluntarily. As soon as she reached the filthy stinking puddles of the swamp, she jumped in and let her fur get covered in mud and other stinking things. She was quick to get out again and left, still as quickly as she could. The darkness helped. The dirt made her fur look darker. She stayed as low as possible in the swamp, avoided the highest tufts of grass. She knew this swamp, she knew where to go and what to stay away from. There were several blind ends out here, trails that would have her end up caught by the wolves. Now the endless trips out here paid off. She had explored this area well in those years she lived in the forest, expanding her circle more and more.
She had a goal. It was far, the swamp was huge and dangerous, but if she kept her speed up she could get there before light. She only stopped to drink a few times during the night. She felt those hunting her, her instincts told her to keep going.
She was worried they would have sent someone around the swamp to blindside her. She was running so quickly that she didn't really think that was possible, but she couldn't be sure. That is why she was very careful when she got to the edge of the swamp, now on the eastside. She was close to the rocky hills that were so tiring to pass through. She found the river, run upstream and stayed in the water as much as possible to cover her tracks. When she finally got to the waterfall she didn't hesitate for a second, she shifted and swam through the waterfall. There was less water now in the summer, but it still covered up the cave behind it. She crawled up into the cave and was going to shift back into her wolf when she saw the branches further in. That was where Seonghwa and her had slept that one night an eternity ago. They too had been on the run, this was before they became mates, but she remembered how he would put himself closer to the entrance, to protect her. He had acted like her alpha already. Seonghwa. Sobs broke through her body and made her crawl up on the branches in pain. She could see him, see how the bullet had entered his body, how he laid there by the fire. Seonghwa. How would she survive without him?
The pack:
It was not an easy decision, but he needed to make it.
«We're leaving tonight,» he said as the entire pack was gathered outside the cabin.
«But, Jongho...» Yeosang couldn't stop himself from crying and Yunho put his arms around him.
«Jongho knew the deadline. He knows we have to leave. He accepted that when he left. He did that for us and for Ellinor. And we know that he's not dead, we would have known. This is good news, Yeosang.»
«I know, but I can't leave him.»
«You can't stay here. It's not safe. We have to stick together, those of us who are left.»
«And midsummer isn't far away,» San said. «One of us will come back and meet him. Right, Joong? I'm sure he'll be here by then.»
«We will meet him,» Hongjoong nodded. «That deal stands forever, until we're all back together. That goes for Livv and Sunwoo too. And Ellinor.»
Seonghwa visibly jolted by hearing her name.
«I'm scared Ellinor will give up,» he said. «She thinks I'm dead, she saw me get shot. I'm not sure she'll fight like she could.»
«Ellinor might have a renewed motivation,» Hongjoong said after looking at Yunho.
Everyone looked towards their leader, but Yunho was the one who spoke.
«Seonghwa, you mentioned something that I can't seem to forget. I'm sorry to bring up something so private, but you said... Her Time lasted an entire day?»
«Yes?»
«The effect of the mixture I gave you wouldn't last more than a few hours, three hours at most, I suspect.»
«What are you saying?» Seonghwa heard, but he still didn't quite understand.
«I'm saying it's possible Ellinor is pregnant.»
«That's speculations, right?» Seonghwa said, but a light was sparkling in his eyes. «That's not very likely, is it?»
«When you're together during someones Time, it often results in a pup. It is completely impossible that my mixture lasted the entire day, I'm a hundred percent certain of that. It might have lasted you one or two rounds, depending on one's stamina. I suppose you beat some sort of record.»
Nobody dared to laugh, they all looked at Seonghwa. He couldn't keep standing, he fell to his knees, crying.
«I thought I was going crazy,» he sobbed.
«What are you talking about?» Yunho asked and sat down next to him, holding him.
«I'm hearing a... voice? In some sort of a link? Maybe like an... immature link?»
«A parent-child-link,» Mingi said, him and Helena were the only ones who knew exactly what Seonghwa was talking about. «I experienced that too, before Minah was born.»
«I didn't hear anything until she was born,» Helena said. «But I've heard that varies.»
«But what does that mean? Is Ellinor close by?» Hope was growing by the minute now.
«Not necessarily. Do you feel a direction?»
«Yes,» Seonghwa said. «I know the direction. North.»
«North,» Hongjoong sighed. «We can't go north. Not now.»
«Alpha, I need to go north,» Seonghwa begged.
«We must stay together,» Hongjoong insisted. «The pack is weak, on our own we can't do anything. We are stronger together. We have to rest and gather our strength before we can get her. But I swear, we will do anything we can to get her back. Do you hear me, Seonghwa?»
«Yes, alpha,» he nodded. His tears were still running down his cheeks, but he knew his alpha was right. He himself was very weak from being so close to death. He was in no condition to save anyone right now.
«Where do we go?» Yeosang asked, he was coming to terms with the situation.
«Towards Sunwoo, I think. Do you agree?»
YOU ARE READING
Alpha & Omega // Ateez // P.SH
WerewolfEllinor feels drawn to the city. After 10 years alone in the forest, why would she seek the dangers in town? And especially now, so close to her Time? Ellinor is saved by Yunho, and meets the pack. Who hides among the pack members? Will they still...
