Running with the Wolves

chapter 15: the woods

basement in the cabin

I wake up tired and in pain. I wasn't able to sleep much. I spent the night shivering in my damp clothes.

As I run my hands through my hair I find small pink flowers.

"What are these?" I ask Celeste.

"It's a flower that used to grow on the nemeton before it was cut down. You put it in water and you soak someone in it to hide their scent completely for a few days. They used it on you to make sure Scott can't find you yet. They are waiting for the right moment so they can attack." She explains.

I can't imagine how worried they all are. Stiles, my dad, Scott, Malia...Liam. I think back to when my brother disappeared and remember how awful it was not knowing where he was. If he was ok. Wondering if he was even alive...

I'm hungry and thirsty. It seems as though our werewolf friends upstairs don't plan on giving us breakfast.

My ankle is really swollen and I can barely walk on it. It's definitely worse than last time, when the wendigo attacked me. My head hurts too.

Celeste and I are sitting next to each other when Aria opens the door and comes down stairs.

"Oh no, no. You stay over here." she says to me as she grabs me and throws me across the small room.

I hit my head and my vision blurs.

"Leave her alone!" Celeste yells.

The Alpha looks at her and threatens her with her eyes, without having to say a word.

She turns her attention back to me.

"In two nights, you'll be very, very useful to me." she says with a laugh and heads back upstairs.

Celeste makes her way over to me. "Are you ok?" she asks concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I assure her.

"We have to get you out of here." She says to me. "Let me help you escape."

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The day is almost over. We are both weak and tired. We were only given a small water bottle and some crackers. That was it.

They keep injecting Celeste with wolfsbane to keep her in a weak state. That way she won't try to escape. Werewolves using wolfsbane to their advantage. Oh, the irony.

Celeste tries to get my mind off of things by talking to me about random things. She tells me about how she and Becca became best friends. All the trouble they used to get into at school because they could never keep quiet. They were partners in crime. Always together. It must be so hard to be separated from someone you love for so long.

I realize how young Celeste and Becca are. They are both only a few years older than me.

I'm drifting off to sleep when I hear someone talking upstairs but I can't make out what they are saying.

After a while, I don't hear anything and try to go back to sleep.

"Veronica." Celeste whispers.

"Yeah?"

"I heard what they said. Tomorrow night, they are going to meet with a woman named Kate out somewhere in the woods. All of them are going except one who is to stay behind and watch us."

"Ok. So what does that mean?" I ask, not sure where she is going with this.

"It means that this is the moment you've been waiting for. It's the perfect opportunity for you to escape, and I'm going to help you."