Survivor

Chapter 22

Pov Dan:

We stopped and turned around in shock. The two men from the entrance were running toward us, looking anything but friendly. "Shit! Come on, keep running!", Max shouted, and we ran further down the corridor. As we turned a corner, two other people suddenly appeared, blocking our way. Now we were really in a bind. "What do we do now?", Jack asked in a panic. The people were getting closer. "Xaver is in that direction!", I shouted, pointing down the hallway where the two other men had come from. Max bared his teeth and looked around. Of all of us, he had the most combat experience and could probably assess the situation best. "Follow me!", Max demanded, and he sprinted straight toward the two men in front of us. Jack and I followed him without thinking. The two men tried to stand in our way, but as soon as Max was just a few meters away, they automatically stepped aside, making room for us. "Well done, Max!", I praised the dark-haired one. "Just luck; it could have gone wrong!", he replied. "Which way?", Max asked. "Right!", I yelled, and we turned down the hallway. We were still being chased by those guys, but we couldn’t stop now. Xaver's scent was becoming stronger, and I knew he wasn’t far away.
At the end of the corridor, we stood in front of a metal door. "Damn it! Now what?", Max wanted to know. I heard the people getting closer. I frantically pressed one of the buttons on the wall next to the door, hoping something would happen. "There they are!", one of the people called from a distance, running toward us. "Dan!", Jack shouted in a panic. "Come on!", I murmured desperately. Suddenly, a gong sounded, and the metal door opened. Quickly, I pulled Max and Jack into the small room behind the door, and just before the people reached us, the door thankfully closed. The small room we were in seemed to start moving, and we all breathed a sigh of relief. "Man, that was close.", Jack whispered, leaning on his thighs. "That could have really gone wrong.", Max grumbled. I looked at him apologetically but didn’t respond. I knew I was putting the lives of two other Loup-gas at risk to save my beloved, but I wanted to save him at all costs. "Explain this to me. What’s your relationship with this Xaver? No one would risk their life like that just to save their Alpha. Not even I would do that. So why you?", Max demanded. Jack was about to say something, but I stopped him. "You want to know why? It’s simple, because I love him!", I confessed. Max didn’t seem pleased by this. He stepped closer to me, and as I backed away, I felt the wall against my back. "You love him? You’ve got to be kidding! You can’t truly love anyone, and even if you could, he would never reciprocate. He’s a stupid, arrogant Alpha, and you’re a miserable murderer!", Max boasted. I grew angry. No one should talk about Xaver like that, at least not in my presence. "Don’t say that!" 
"What? That you’re a miserable murderer?" 
"No! You shouldn’t talk about Xaver like that!" Max grinned maliciously. "Why not? It’s true. Everyone says he’s the great, undefeated Alpha, but if you ask me, he’s a coward. I’ve never heard of him accomplishing anything great, and besides, I don’t think he’s all that impressive. Sure, he’s just a little Loup-ga with no authority whatsoever." A growl escaped my throat. "You have no idea what Xaver has been through!", I defended my partner. "Tsk. What could that have been? In my eyes, neither you nor he is worth anything, and if I weren’t so loyally subordinate to Julian, you wouldn’t have come this far at all." 
"I would have found a way to save Xaver without you!" Max let go of me and shrugged. "Oh really? At this point, you’d both be dead because neither you nor he can fight!" Max pointed at Jack, who had laid his ears back. But he was right. Without him, we would never have gotten this far, and sooner or later, we would have been killed. 
Another gong sounded, and the metal doors opened. The three of us stepped out of the small room, and I followed Xaver's scent trail. No one said anything, but I didn’t care. At that moment, I was more than pissed off at Max. 
We stopped in front of a door. I was about to open it when we heard two people again. "Who are you?", one asked. Startled, we looked around and saw the two men coming toward us, threatening us with their weapons. "Damn it! Dan, go to Xaver, we’ll handle this!", Jack urged. "But-", I wanted to protest, but Jack interrupted me. "Just go already!" I hurriedly opened the door and ran into the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Max and Jack starting to fight the men. 
I caught the strong scent of Xaver and rushed toward it. The room I was in was enormous. The walls were white and adorned with large black windows. Next to a seating area was a huge cage, and tears filled my eyes as I looked inside. I had finally found Xaver.