Her Pact

Part 33

Chapter 33

He tore the leopard’s throat and didn’t even stop to watch it fall to the ground.  Right now, all he could concentrate on was killing them before they could hurt someone he loved.  The worse part about this process was that Zeke knew this wasn’t the main battle.  With all the leopards running at them, this was the easy part.  When all was settled and only one leopard was left, that would be the difficult part. 

One jumped on his back, digging their claws into his side and their mouth into the back of his neck.  Before he could throw it off his back, a familiar form slammed into it.  Zeke rolled to the ground under the force, but as soon as he could, he jumped to his feet and snarled.  Charlie wrestled the leopard to the ground, but when it came time to snap its neck, she hesitated.  That hesitation allowed the shifter below her to strike out.  Its claws swiped at Charlie’s side, making her cry out in pain.

Zeke started towards her, but before he could, another shifter plowed into him.  Even as this shifter clawed at him, Zeke kept his eyes on Charlie.  As long as he could keep an eye on her, he knew she would be safe.  The leopard attacking him moved in his line of sight, giving Zeke the perfect opportunity.  His teeth sunk into the shifter’s throat.  He shook him or a moment, snapping the shifter’s neck. 

He jumped out of the way, as it fell forward, but when he looked in Charlie’s direction, she was nowhere to be seen.  Panic clawed at him as he searched for her among the crowd of shifters.  No matter where he looked, he could not see her. 

“Excuse me,” someone called out.  Zeke looked towards Andrew, wondering why the man was speaking, but when he saw a couple of shifters freeze and stare at Andrew, he knew what was happening.  Drew was using his power to attract some of the females away from the fight.  It would help their fight while it lasted.

Something touched his shoulder, making him snap towards it with a growl.  A growl echoed back.  “It’s me, Zeke,” Ally mumbled above him.  He turned to look up at her and wasn’t surprised to see her glowing green eyes filled with a bit of sadness.  Behind her, people attacked their own people and he knew she had something to do with that.  “I can’t control them all with my mind,” she said, “but I can control a few of them.”

Her hand moved away from him.  “Where’s Charlie?”

“With Lilly.”

Hearing the name of the little girl made a new wave of panic hit him.  What had happened to Charlie to make her need healing?  He never should have let her join the fight, not when she so inexperienced.  He wanted to run from the fight to find her, but knew he couldn’t.  He couldn’t leave Ally to fight them without him.

She pulled something from the boots she was wearing and smiled at him.  The familiar blade caught his eye.  “Go find her,” Ally told him.  “Don’t worry about us.  You forget, if need be, I can call in some special back up.”  When he shook his leopard head at her, she snarled.  “Go now, before she gets hurt.”

The warning in her tone was what made him leave her there.  Ally knew more than what she was telling him.  Either that or she wanted him out of the way.  It didn’t matter what her reasons for sending him away were; all he knew was that he had to find Charlie, had to make sure she was alive and well.  Once he did that, he could return to Ally.

He opened his mind, knowing he wouldn’t find Charlie, but he could pick up on Lilly.  He had talked to the child that way before, and he knew what her mind looked like.  She was truly a kind child, one that had seen too much at such a young age.  When he found her, he didn’t stop to wonder why she was here in the first place, he just ran on. 

The guards on the cabin porch did not stop him.  One opened the door for him to enter while the other kept his eyes on the fight ahead of him.  Zeke stepped into the cabin while letting his human shape take form.  Taking a deep breath, he noticed Charlie’s scent.  He walked towards it with a frown.  Why couldn’t he smell anything else?  Why wasn’t she bleeding?  If she were hurt, why couldn’t he smell anything but her scent?  He stepped into the room and bumped into Antony.

The man smiled at him while gesturing towards a bed where Charlie lay with Lilly sitting beside her.  “She’s fine.”

Zeke froze, a small growl escaping his lips.  “Your brother told Ally.”

It wasn’t a question, but Anthony answered anyway.  “Yes,” the man whispered in a hard tone, “and if you think Ally would let you kill yourself for us, you’re mistaken.”

“I wasn’t going to kill myself.”

Anthony pushed him, making him take a step back.  “Pulling what you did in the woods almost killed Adam and you.  Now, you want to do it again?  How do you know you could contain it this time?  How do you know that you can keep it from killing Ally, from killing her children?”

Zeke stared at Anthony and knew the man already had the answer to his questions.  Looking at Charlie, he kept his mouth shut.  Anthony growled under his breath before grabbing him by the shoulders and pushing him away from the doorway.  Anthony took his spot while shaking his head in anger.  “The only way you can control who it hurts is if you let it take you over.  If you don’t hold it back, it kills you Zeke.  We can’t let you die.”

Anthony stepped out of the room before slamming the door shut.  Zeke could hear it bolting on the other side, but Anthony didn’t walk away.  “The door won’t hold you or long,” Anthony said.  “I know that, and I’m counting on it.”  He paused for a second.  “You know we’re different than the other guards.  We want to keep Ally safe, but we don’t just think of her wellbeing.  We think of what would happen to her if she lost certain people in her life.  It’s why you always wanted Ned watching her back. He’s the only one that keeps her safe because she is the Queen, not Ally.”  Anthony took a step away from the door.  “Stay in here for at least three minutes.  It will make it look like we really tried to keep you locked up, and it will give us enough time for our plan.”  Another pause reached Zeke’s ears.  “If you leave before then, Sara has a tranquillizer dart with your name on it.”

This time, Anthony ran away from the other side of the door. Zeke growled in frustration before looking towards Charlie.  Stepping in her direction, he grimaced when he saw the small dart sticking from her neck.  He gently pulled it out before sitting on the edge of the bed.  His eyes moved away from Charlie and landed on Lilly. 

“Hey.”

She narrowed her eyes at him while tilting her chin up.  “I’m not telling you.”

He chuckled.  When the girl got older, she would make a fine leader.  “How long will she be out?”

Lilly looked down at Charlie before letting out a sigh.  Her small hands hovered over Charlie.  Taking a deep breath, Lilly closed her eyes.  It only took a minute, but when Lilly opened her eyes, Charlie opened hers too.  “There,” Lilly mumbled with a yawn. 

Zeke stared into Charlie’s open eyes and wished they were shut again.  That way, he could leave the room without having to worry about her wellbeing.

“Ally stabbed me,” Charlie slurred, looking angry.

Shaking his head, he chuckled at her.  “She shot you with a dart that put you to sleep.” He glanced towards the door before turning back to Charlie.  “I need you to stay here and make sure Lilly doesn’t get hurt.  She’s a very important little girl,” Zeke explained.

Charlie frowned at him before finally nodding.  When he moved to stand, she grabbed his arm and tugged him down.  Her lips connected with his for a brief moment before she pushed him away.  “Be safe,” she grumbled before her eyes fell close again.

He sent a questioning look Lilly’s way, but the little girl just shrugged.  Letting out a sigh, he jumped to his feet.  Ally’s three minutes were up.  It was his turn to follow through with his own plans, plans that would only have one casualty.  He reached the door, but before he went through, he glanced back at Lilly.

“Tell her I love her.” 

With Lilly’s nod, he turned back towards the door, leaving Charlie sleeping behind him.