Not My Alpha (Completed)

Chapter Forty-Three - The World Seemed to Hold Its Breath

We entered the line of trees, and I was immediately thrown back to the day I left town. Flashes of painful memories threatened to flood my senses, but I pushed them away. They would do me no good. All the images reminded me of was the fact that I'd failed once, and it was very likely it would happen again. But this time, it wasn't only my life at stake. I wasn't running through the forest to escape town or a person. I was heading into danger because Will was already there.

The light around us quickly faded the further we walked into the forest. Trees grew thicker, foliage hung over our shoulders, and every uprooted tree limb threatened to send me flying to the ground. I walked with high knees, no matter how painful it was, in order to make it around the brush. Raven, however, acted like this was her second home. Of course, it probably was.

Sometime into our journey, she'd resumed the position in front again. Her head was constantly tilted to the side, and wherever it tilted, that was the direction we would walk. Eventually, I started to hear glimpses of what she did.

The sounds of Will's screams of agony were no longer solitary. Each cry was accompanied by loud voices, two of them, that I immediately recognized. I couldn't make out the words, nor did I care to. Their tone spoke enough. They were rough, demanding, and wary.

When I was on the verge of making out the words the familiar voices spoke, Raven suddenly stilled. She crouched low to the ground, pulling my elbow to bring me down with her. I complied immediately, cautiously scanning the surrounding trees for movement. My nerves were on edge, but it seemed I only knew this from the erratic beating of my heart. I couldn't pay attention to myself at the moment, for fear I would miss something around me.

Raven turned to me, bringing her lips to whisper in my ear. Even then, I could barely hear her words. "If we go any closer, they'll know we're here."

I nodded, turning my gaze back to the direction the voices were coming from. They were stagnant, for now, not moving further into the forest. The agonizing screams of Will's misery had died down momentarily, as well. We were both silent for a moment longer as we listened for anything to tell us to stop, any sign of danger to warn us away from what we were about to do.

Then again, even if there was one, I wouldn't have listened.

When the silence continued, I stood. It was slow and careful and went against everything my mind wanted to do. I wanted to run, screaming, to the spot I knew Will would be. I didn't care about Riley, or even Samuel in the moment. I needed to see Will. I needed to help him. But, the minuscule rational part of my brain reminded me I needed to be careful. Even if this was my brother. So, in the end, I listened to my body.

My feet padded softly against the fallen leaves. I made no sound as I walked across the damp, dead, material. Raven, behind me, did the same. My gaze constantly searched the trees, the opening between trunks, the ground beneath me. At any moment, I could come upon them, and I needed to be prepared.

The moments dragged on slowly. When I was sure time had stopped, and I wasn't even moving anymore, the trees parted just enough to allow me to glimpse carefully around an overgrown bush and into a clearing. The moon shone directly above it, brightly illuminating everything it could. Directly in the middle of the clearing, the moon flashing a relentless glare across his back, was my brother. 

He was broken. Literally, broken. Every limb was displaced and bent the opposite direction it belonged. His face was buried in the ground, and I could see the bones of his spine protruding from his back. It was arched at a terrible angle, reminding me more of a bell than a body.

It was then I noticed the hand upon his back. I recognized the hand. It was the same one that held mine, that comforted me so many times before, even when I didn't want it. And it seemed in this moment, my brother held those same feelings for Samuel. Will was alternating between digging at the ground beneath him and clawing at Samuel's hands on his back. With his arms breaking with any movement, it wasn't difficult for Will to land strikes upon Samuel.