Innocent As Charged (Completed)

Chapter 40

Isobel's POV
I'm sorry Iz.

Even as he says it, I can feel him falling asleep.

Nate? Nate?! Nate, wake up. Wake up!

Isaac?

Neither of them respond and my heart begins to pound in fear.

Iz, what's happened to them?

I don't know.

"Matthew?" He's standing at the crest of the hill, watching over the packlands for unusual activity, his gaze forlorn, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket. His eyebrows are narrowed in response to some thought he's having. Nevertheless, he turns to me as soon as I utter his name.

"Something's gone wrong. Isaac and Nate aren't talking. It's as if they've gone to sleep."

His eyebrows jerk upwards in surprise, and his irises are beginning to turn a bright yellow, much like Isaac and Lucas' do when their wolves are taking control.

"We need to save them. If they're asleep then they are defenceless."

"Luna, you must stay here. Alpha left explicit orders to not let you come to any harm."

"No. I'm going." He must witness the deadly gleam in my eye as he sighs and gives in, understanding I will refuse to comply with Isaac's order for me to stay behind.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you. Isaac would murder me if I let you go alone."

Without prompting, I turn my body over to Jack's able control, knowing that she is much more capable of surviving the fight ahead than I am: she won't hesitate if we have no choice but to end Apate.

It takes us nearly an hour to locate the witches; they're busy scouring the Pack for Apate and scouting out the area for obstacles to their spell. They inform us that Isaac and Xander are imprisoned in the Pack cells. They point out that there is no purpose freeing either of them to help fight as they are both heavily drugged, so by the time they wake we will have all been discovered and captured; if we are going to defeat Apate, we will need to do it ourselves.

Matthew sighs in frustration and his eyes mist over as he reaches out to the pack link. He spends several minutes conversing with packwolves before finally wrangling the location of Apate out of them.

"Sorry about taking so long. Most of the wolves think I'm the person who's been treating the Pack badly so they are quite reluctant to answer me. I managed to get the location of Apate out of a few guards. We'll find her in the pack common room."

"Let's go."

Matthew takes the lead, the rest of us trailing behind him. He's furious - he hates that his identity has been stolen and used to harm the pack he's so devoted to. Despite this, he restrains his anger, focusing on the fight ahead - he wants revenge and he's going to get it.

It does not take us long to reach the pack house and I go to enter the room but he blocks the door with his arm.

"You must remain outside the room Luna." Matthew states, moving onto his justification immediately after, seeing our stubborn expression. "We cannot risk your unborn child, and I want to reduce the chance of one of us killing the other accidentally. If Apate shifts into me, you might kill me thinking I'm her, and the same if she shifts into you. I might harm you or the child. I would never forgive myself."

Jack mulls it over, weighing the advantages and disadvantages, unwilling to forgo the final fight. However, we cannot nullify the risks or counter his fears and we accept that we must leave this last battle to those who surround us; they are capable of achieving victory if we just trust them.