Those In The Forest

Part 73: Hazel

"If that's really Reagan, why can she still not hear us through the bond?!" I yelled out to Celia, sprinting as hard as I could.

          The loud snarling and growling continued behind us. I was sure that if that wolf got its paws or teeth on us, we would die.

           I wanted to peek behind us, see Reagan's new form, and admire the beauty of her fur. But the fear of her catching us kept my eyes forward.

           "There is a medication witches made for werewolves centuries ago. It was used as punishment for werewolves when they disobeyed the laws. It temporally breaks the bond between a mated pair. That has to be what Alan used. It's the only thing I can think of." Karina explained, all while running just as hard and fast as the rest of us.

           "We need to break apart. She'll focus on one of us, and we'll have more time to capture her." Lennox offered a plan. It didn't sound half bad, but how would we know who she'd pick?

          "This is silly! There are more of us than her! We can just surround her. We know how to use our new strength. She doesn't," Ivy argued.

          "Well, from the smell of copper radiating from her, I would say she learned rather quickly how to use her strength!" Celia barked at us.

          "If she is out here chasing us, where are Alan and Gya?" Iris asked in a pant. "Are we sure she isn't just running from them?"

          "I'm confident she isn't running from them," Karina said, jumping over a fallen tree. "Gya would have been able to at least stop her from escaping, something happened with them, and I'm willing to bet it was because they pissed Reagan off."

           "I mean... at least she's alive, right?" Rose tried to be hopeful.

          "Yeah, but at this very moment, she's feral, so we need to be cautious," Celia spoke tiredly.

          "At the creek, a mile away. That is where we will break apart. Once we figure out who she'll target, we'll find a way to corner her." Karina said, sprinting a little harder. "Runts, she is burning a shit tone of energy right now. In doing so, she may be working off that toxin. Talk to her through the bond. Whether you hear anything or not, just keep speaking."

          "Okay," I said, determined. We were getting closer to the creek. 

          As soon as we made it to the creek we broke apart and that was when we saw reagan in her new true form.

          "HOLY FUCK!!" Lennox looked at our mate's humongous wolf.

          Reagan was absolutely massive. She was four times the size of our wolves, and she was hunting down... Celia?

          Why would she chase Celia and not us?

          Her beautiful white fur was glorious. Seeing her perfect coat shimmer in the morning light was jaw-dropping.

          "Reagan?" I tried through the bond. "Reagan, it's okay. You're safe."

          She was so fucking fast, I was surprised she hadn't caught us. Was she drawing this out? Trying to get a good study on hunting?

          "Little Fawn," Rose tried. We're sorry we let this happen. We never meant for you to hurt, especially like this."

          Her first turn was alone and out of fear... Celia said that Reagan could have turned only if she... died.

          I had to hold back my tears and anger.

          She was alone and hurting. Alan and Gya clearly didn't hold back.

          Reagan had died, and it was our fault.

          We all surrounded her. Karina was with Iris and me on the left side of Celia and Reagan, while Lennox was to their right with Ivy and Rose.

          "We never wanted this life for you." Ivy started. "It was selfish of us—all of it. We should have let you live your life without our bullshit. We should have been more honest with you about how we lived." Ivy choked up.

          "We hurt you in more ways than we can count, and it was because we were being dumb. Your life means more to us than anything else in the world." I cried through the bond.

          "Please, Little Fawn. Please stop this. Let us help you." Rose begged.

          "Iri-"

          Reagan's voice filtered through our heads. It wasn't much, but it was enough to know she could hear us. 

          Out of nowhere, Reagan snarled loudly and tackled Celia to the ground.

          "CELIA!!" Karina cried out and ran straight for them.

          We all rushed over and surrendered her as Reagan bared her very large, sharp teeth at Celia.

          "LIAR." We heard Reagan say through the bond.

          My mates and I frowned. "What do you mean?" Ivy asked, confused.

         Celia whined under Reagan's large paws. "Reagan! I know you're scared. Trust me, I know. I know what you are feeling right now - ahhh!" Reagan pushed her paws deeper into Celia's back, but Celia continued. "I was once in your place. He hurt me. Beat me to death. I was so scared when I woke up. I was even more scared when I shifted. The difference between me and you is that you turned alone. That should have never happened. I'm sorry it did. But we're here for you—all of us. We can help. Our mates can help." Celia whimpered when Reagan extracted her claws.

          "Alone! Always, Alone!" Reagan growled through the bond.

          With a quick glance at my mates, we all knew what we needed to do. This might be our last chance to bring her back to us. We needed to save Reagan but we also needed to ensure out Elder was safe as well.

          There was only one thing we could think to do: kneeling, we bowed our heads to our mates. "Our lives are yours—our bodies, souls, our loyalty," my mates and I said in unison.

          "Stop it!" Karina warned. "This is not the way."

          Rising up, but still on our knees, we continued. "Death may mark our names, but life has no meaning with the fate of a dead mate."

          "STOP IT!" Lennox snarled.

          Reagan glanced at us, her teeth still bared at us.

          "It's the only way," Iris argued.

          We all extracted our claws, placing the sharp nails on our hearts. Fuck I hope this works. It's in her instinct now to want us safe. We just have to be in enough danger for that to happen. And nothing solidifies that, like giving the death chant a mourning mate gives before their own death when their mate dies.

          Digging our nails in our chest, Reagan's big, vicious, beautiful purple eyes widened.

          Our fingers were about an inch away from our hearts before she stepped off Celia and in our direction.

          "STOP!" She screamed through the bond.

          With a deep gasp, we all retracted our claws and pulled our hands from our chests.

          Panting, we all looked at her. "Reagan... I'm sorry." was all we could say before we blacked out. 

A/N: WHAATTTTT?! Lets see what happens next... 😂 in two days