Supernatural creatures, love and betrayal - a year ago Cleo didn't think she would ever experience any of them.
Growing up in the foster system, never settling into one place for very long, things like love and friendship seemed unachievable to Cleo...
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I just wanted to say a huge thank you to @gabygirly24 and her friend Emily for the beautiful cover! It's the first time someone has made a cover for one of my stories. Thank you so much!
Chapter 14
Cleo POV
We walked slowly past the tree lining and into the forest. I had agued that I should go alone, I knew I couldn't focus on Jackson if Alec was there. Even if my abilities had grown stronger, I still struggled to control them fully. I found it so much easier when I was on my own.
"Are you sure about this?" as he spoke his eyes shifted from dark brown to golden, they casted a soft light on his cheekbones.
"I'm sure." I felt the world around me turn brighter and more intense as I transformed.
"I won't go with you, because you've asked me not to. But be careful," his hand reached mine and squeezed it tightly.
"You know I'll stay in the woods and wait for you," intensity played across his face.
"I'll be back soon," I gave his hand a squeeze back before releasing it and turning on my heels.
The wind rushed around me as my feet speed between the trees. I had a pretty good instinct about where they would meet. Jackson and the guys had a special part of the forest that they liked to camp in once a year. Something inside me told me that this would be where they would be meeting now.
I scaled a tree quickly and hunched on a branch, I focused every fibre of my being. I channelled all the control I could muster and pointed all my energy towards finding them. I could feel the power of Basati fill me, it was stronger than I had ever felt it before. The internal compass of my instincts focused my sense of sound towards the east. Their movements were distant, little snatches of speech faintly flew my way. I had to get closer.
I quickly dropped myself to the ground, continuing to run alongside the woods towards the east. I sped soundlessly along the forest floor until my instincts told me to slow down. So I continued jogging towards their location. When I had reached as close to them as I dared, I scaled a tree. In the shadows of the evergreen's branches I once again summoned all of my abilities, focusing every part of my being on hearing everything they said. It was as if someone had adjusted the picture and sound on a television, I could see and hear them clearly. They were standing in a circle, all six of them.
I had figured out who they were by secretly using the scent technique Alec had told me about. My eyes flickered around their faces, they all looked very serious. Jackson's had his back towards my direction but I could tell from his voice that he was angry. I had never heard him sound like this before, there was a tone in his voice that he had never used in my presence. There was something hard and unrecognizable about it. I could hear him talking about Alec, how he was a threat to the pack. I could feel the anger rise up inside me, I wanted to jump out of the tree and shout at him for being wrong. My mind was rushing with thoughts on how to make Jackson see sense, how to make him understand that Alec was only my Mentor and that I trusted him. Jackson trusted me and I trusted Alec, that should be enough for him.
"You are wolves, you fight to the death. If you have to kill him, then that'll be it," Jackson's voice was so hard that I no longer recognized it. I shuddered silently on my branch, I couldn't believe that he was even contemplating going this far.
"Bring Johnny or Adrian if you're scared," Jackson's voice was still cold. How could he even think to order four of his wolves to attack Alec. What was he thinking? I could feel the pain from my claws as they buried themselves into my palms.
"No, that's okay. We'll manage." I sent a short thought of thank you to Tim for not agreeing to bring the others with him.
Two wolves was enough to worry about. I felt the warm red trickle run from my palms down my fingers. I forced myself to release my clenched fists.
"That's it then," Jackson turned around and walked out of the clearing.
He walked closer to the tree, where I was perched high up in the vegetation. His face was grimly set in determination. I stared into his face as he stood there, listening to the sound of his pack leaving. Leaving to carry out his orders. A cold fury was pumping through my veins. I turned around and jumped down out of the tree, cracking a branch underneath my feet as I landed. I silently flowed across ground, putting more space between him and me. The further away I came the quicker my pace became until I was flat out running.
I continued to run, everything beside me was passing by in a quick blur. I saw a pair of golden eyes on a branch. They did not have to turn amber red for him to read my mind. He softly landed beside me as I passed the tree he had been waiting in, falling into step with me. His presence created a small air of calmness around me and slowed my pace down from furiously fast to a quick jog. We were not too far off our houses now. The woods would soon become less dense and it would not be many minutes jog before we would be able to see the gardens backing up to the edge of the woods.
It all happened in a split second, I sensed a shift in the wind, a metallic edgy object flew threw the air and lodged itself in Alec's shoulder. He fell to the ground and as his body lowered it gave me a clear line of sight. I saw brown-cloaked hooded person, holding another metallic object in his hand. His muscles were tensing up ready to throw it towards us. Before I had any chance to react, my hand had ripped the thin metallic object out of Alec's shoulder and thrown it in the stranger's direction.
"Are you okay?" my focus shifted over to Alec. He was holding a hand over his shoulder, trying to stop the flow from his wound. I could smell the scent of the deep red liquid making its way out and staining his shirt in the process.
"Is he dead?" Alec's voice sounded weak, in a way that I hadn't ever heard it before. I looked over at the person, the man was laying on the ground. His hood was crumpled up around his shoulders and revealed the metallic object, which looked like a thin point star sticking out of his neck. His hands were shaking and his ashen face was set, with one last effort of strength he pulled it out. His life essence was flowing freely from the deep cut and I could see the last twitches of energy pass through his limbs before he became motionless.
"We have to get out of here. Help me up," Alec said.
Something was tugging at me, I looked at his wound and it was not healing. It was in the same state as it had been in when I pulled the thing out of his shoulder.
I grabbed his healthy side and swung his arm around my shoulders, his hand shook and grabbed on to me, his fingers pulling one of my hair clips out and the small sting of my scalp told me that it must have taken a small stand of hair with it. He closed a grip around my shoulder and I straighten my back, and we started walking as quickly as his condition would allow us.
Author's note: Thank you so much for reading, commenting and voting!
Things have certainly taken a dramatic turn. What do you think about Cleo's reaction to the pack meeting? Also - what is going to happen with Alec...?
Please support the story by voting and I will try to post twice next week :) How about Thursday and Sunday?
