Treacherous

24.

unedited

ϟChapter 24ϟ

The plan was simple. At nighttime, specifically during dinner time, when most wolves were eating, we would initiate our plan. It started with Marilee asking the Alpha to watch Atlas, and Ethan volunteered while the Alpha and Nathan were battle planning. As far as I knew, there weren't a lot of wolves surrounding Atlas, because the way I heard it, my father and brother had injured him until he couldn't even properly breathe for days. I clenched at the thought.

Either way, at the moment, Nathan and the Alpha were preparing to use Atlas for bait against his father. Hatred, manipulation, betrayal, toying -- That's all what the two packs did. As for Ethan, Marilee would ask him to run some errands or something (she said she figured that part out), while I would go inside, get Atlas out of his chains, take some of his pain so he has energy to run—and then we escape through the forest on the back side, the one that was closer to us. It was so much easier than done.

The patrols would be low since most wolves would be eating, and in the back side of the forest, it was the safest place for us to run. We had to run in that direction without getting caught and then, he had to run back to his pack while still having enough energy to breathe.

I stood beside a cabin, watching Marilee and Ethan walking around the House doors, making sure Atlas wouldn't escape even if he could somehow. Once Marilee shooed Ethan off, I knew the plan was set into action. I quickly ran to Marilee, and without a single thought ran down the stairs to where Atlas was chained. I plunged through the door, running down the stairs, and taking a deep breath before entering the torture chamber.

For a few seconds, my body could only stare at him. The only light in the room was the one coming from the moon and it seemed to only sparkle on Atlas' tainted body. His wrists were bleeding from chains, along with the neck they had chained like he was some...vicious animal. Yes, he was a wolf, and in a way, that made him an animal. But tying him by the neck was brutal. He was in a pool of his own blood, and in the moonlight, the blood shined and taunted me. I felt my heart tumbling against my wishes and turn itself into a ball, like it was a little child terrified of the dark.

Atlas' shirt was ripped and his chest was covered in bloody scars of claws and whips. His knees also seemed to be drenched in blood, and even there the whip marks covered him. He sat in his own pool of blood. Without meaning to, I surged forward and pulled him into my arms, getting all his blood on me. All the blood I had caused.

"I'm sorry." The words left my lips before I could stop them.

I stared at his chest; the claw and whip marks had dug into his skin until he could bleed for hours. But thankfully, it wasn't so deep, and he wouldn't need stiches.

What had become of my brother and father? They had turned into the vicious monsters that needed to be chained.

When I rested my hand on Atlas' neck, I realized his pulse was dropping—He was breathing heavily. Atlas' head was down, and he hid in the mob of his unruly hair with his eyes shut. When I bring his face up, I see the three claw marks running down his right cheek. His eyes were trying to open, but instead they kept closing. When I looked down at his lips, I could see them whimpering. Unable to speak, unable to even meet his eyes, I knew I had to quickly get him out of here.

I instantly removed the chains on his arms. I stared at the skin they had cut through and made a circle of blood dwindle down his wrist, down his hand to his fingertips, only to meet the ground. I closed my eyes, not able to look at the sight. Finally, I removed the chain on his neck, being careful to not hurt him. Surprisingly enough, the chain on the neck seemed to be the only chain that didn't pierce through his skin. Once I tried to get him to face me again, his body fell down on my shoulder.