Forbidden

Chapter 45

45

I raced toward the Line, my feet pounding the dead brush underneath it. My hair streamed backward, off my face, and the wind kissed the scratches that were there, but I didn’t mind. I needed to make sure Liam and the others were alright.

Behind me, mom and dad, and a litany of the Leaf wolves followed behind me in wolf form, as I exerted myself to run as fast as I possibly could. I could see the charred remains of Shadow land as I encroached; the place where I could be with Liam. The place where my other family lay.

Quickly, I jumped the Line, just as I usually did, and heard a piercing yowl behind me.

Turning around, I found that all the Leaf wolves had run at the Line, their bodies smashing through the invisible force field and slamming them down onto the forest floor with a loud boom, like Jenga blocks.

Crap.

Carmen had been the one to take down the bindings on the Line—but she was dead now, which meant her magic had become null and void. Which was the reason I was able to escape from the ropes in Mamma Rowan’s house, the reason mom and dad had been able to escape from their own confines, the reason Simone was dead.

The reason the Line was back in place.

I heard more than one Shift as my Pack groaned loudly, the offshoots of magic clouding the air.

And the Line.

The Line.

I could see it.

It looked like a variation of the northern lights. Flickering curtains in all different colors of the rainbow billowed back and forth in the wind, but never wavered. The glorious hues lit up the entire Line like a beacon, stretching into the dark night sky.

But how could it do that? Carmen was dead, which meant her magic was gone, right? And Mamma Rowan’s magic wasn’t so many shades. It was always blue.

I needed to find Mamma Rowan and the rest of the Shadows, and fast.

Whatever going on out there was beyond anything I could fix.

With one last sorrowful look at the Pack that lay behind the billowing rainbow hues, I took off into the charred remains of Shadow land, desperate to find everyone else.

My paws hit the ground leaving behind the shredded remains of the clothes I’d only just put on as I raced into the forest, sniffing everywhere for a trace of them—of anyone. I felt myself going crazy as I darted through burnt trees that all looked alike, and felt hopeless as thoughts of not getting anywhere bombarded me. It was like I was going in circles. All I saw were the darkness and the burnt remains of trees that used to cluster the forest.

Just when I was about to give up, I hit it. A scent.

A Shadow’s scent.

It was a little faint, but it was all I had to work with and I followed the trail deeper into the forest, the scent getting stronger and stronger as I went along.

A howl hit my ears and I took off in a dead run, paws hitting the ground even faster than they had before.

I burst through a clearing, and was relieved to find the Shadow wolves there, clustered around each other for warmth, a roaring fire going in the middle. I spotted Hayden and Tegan easily, huddled in a corner of the clearing by themselves. Their faces were covered in scratches and there was an awkwardly tied bandage around Tegan’s ankle. Somber expressions covered their faces and I felt my heart stutter out another beat.

My eyes scanned around the clearing for Liam, or Mamma Rowan and I found him, sitting on a boulder, dirt covering his pale skin, dark, lanky hair covering his silver eyes. His jaw was locked and he had a vengeful look in his eyes. Again, my heart stuttered out another beat.