The Moon's Shadow

☾ Chapter Eight

Athena's POV

"ATHENA" a booming voice came through my mind, so loud I thought the other wolves around me could hear it.

"Alpha? What is it?" I had never heard Jett sound so angry, something couldn't be right.

"Is Rhea with you?" he yelled.

I looked around the room quickly, trying to find the distinct girl.

"No Alpha, she is not here. What's wrong?" I replied back. 

"I need you to come here immediately" He replied quickly, the urgency still in his voice. 

Without another word, I sprinted as fast as I could to Alpha Jett's house. I burst through the doors running up the stairs, nearly losing my footing on one of the steps.

I didn't bother knocking on the door, not at a time like this.

"Alpha?" I said, still trying to catch my breath. Alpha Jett turned and looked at me, darkness in his eyes.

"That bitch ran away" he seethed. The anger was practically rolling off of him.

I stared at him in disbelief, she ran away? 

That didn't seem like Rhea. She was easy to talk to, her laugh could light up a room with ease, she got along with people without a problem. To me, running didn't seem like she would ever think about doing.

"Are.. are you sure she ran?" I asked, still trying to grasp what he was saying.

"I went to check on her in her room and she wasn't there. The window was open. There's no other reason she would be jumping out the window beside to run" he stated without a doubt.

"She couldn't have gotten that far..." I nodded, confident in my words. "Have you tried to talk to pack patrol? Have they seen her?"

"No one is answering," he said in annoyance. 

I nodded, "Let's not wait any longer than." 

____

We ran as fast as we could through the forest, trying to find Rhea. I worried about her safety, she was not a fighter, she was not the fastest runner, she didn't have much endurance. She was a pretty weak girl, but she has great spirit.

Something was nagging at me, she wouldn't run away. 

I don't know what situation was scarier. Her being in trouble, or what will happen when Jett finds her, and she did indeed leave.

I could feel his anger even more in wolf form, his massive black wolf was as intimidating as ever.

I followed closely behind him since he said something about being able to smell her. 

We came upon a river, I stopped to look around for any sign of Rhea.

Alpha Jett wandered over the bank, stopping near the edge. He began sniffing something that was on the ground. I trotted over to see what he was looking at.

Clothes.

"Was she here?" I asked him.

"Yes, she was here. It seems like her scent went this way though," he replied back to me. Without another word, he took off in the direction he said the scent went.

After a while more of running, I ran smack into Alpha Jett who had stopped dead in his tracks, causing me to run straight into him. He let out a low growl while walking towards something I couldn't see.

He shifted out of his wolf, slowly put his clothes back, continuing to walk. I moved around him and followed suit, stopping dead in my tracks. In the field we had entered, laid two bodies. 

My breath hitched.

No!

Rhea was lying there in the nude, next to a human. Both of them were covered in blood, I couldn't tell whose blood was whose or if either of them were alive.

Jett slowly walked towards Rhea, kneeling down beside her. He delicately moved his hand over her face, tucking a piece her hair out the way. 

"Rhea..." he said in a soft voice. I had never heard him speak so softly before like he was scared he was going to wake her. 

I watched silently, not daring to make a sound as the tears threatened to spill over my eyes. She wasn't moving, she had fought for her life, and she had lost.

I cursed under my breath, where was the pack patrol? Why had they not heard the commotion?

I looked down at Rhea, she looked like an angel. Her hair was reflecting in the little moonlight that was still shining. 

Her body was paler than normal, her lips bright red from the blood. Her leg had a gaping hole ripping through it, the area around it black.

"Jett... her leg..." I breathed. 

"Fuck" he growled looking at the leg. "I am so sorry I wasn't here for you. I'm so sorry.." he said barely above a whisper.

We sat there for a while longer, neither of us daring to move. Jett hovered over her in a protective stance; I didn't want to touch her.

"We should... we should bring her back... I don't want to leave her out here" I whispered, somehow I couldn't find my voice, it didn't feel right to speak above a whisper.

Jett slowly scooped her up, rising to his feet. He stared down at her face with an emotion I've never seen him wear before. 

Remorse? Regret? I wasn't sure. 

I looked at the dead human and felt pride for Rhea. She had fought for her life, and she managed to take him down as well. I let out a silent sigh, emotions swirling all around in my mind.

He slowly began to walk away, suddenly stopping, staring intently at Rhea.

"Jett?" I asked

He didn't reply, instead, he brought her chest to his ear and looked at me. "A heartbeat," he whispered. 

Heartbeat? She's alive? 

"We have to hurry!" I exclaimed. If she was alive, we had to get her to a healer, who knows what she endured fighting, "we have to help her!"

Jett nodded and started running, I followed after, my tears of sadness have been replaced with tears of hope. Hope we could make it in time, hope that Rhea would be okay.