Collecting the Pieces of the Shandhi Sword (Book 2 of Mark Series)

Chapter 12

I grabbed the slippery rocks with claws and gritted my teeth as I walked forward amongst the edge. My whole body was tense as I slowly made my way across the side of the deep ravine, hating the next test. One wrong move from me, and I was dead, which I wasn't really fond of.

The blinding light made it so that I could not see where I was going, but I didn't care. I trusted my other instincts to tell me where I was going and praying to whoever was out there that I would make this out alive.

"Jaz? Are you still going?" Samuel asked, making me lose my concentration. "Did you get the sword?"

"Shit," I hissed, knocking some rocks down into the gully. Both feet slipped, and I was hanging by my claws. "Can someone shut him up?" I asked growling. I moved half an inch before starting to slip down. "Damn it," I growled, but I still moved forward.

I was holding my whole body weight by my claws as I thought of a way to get across. I never heard the rocks hit the bottom of the gully, but that didn't mean a thing. Sweat started to bead on my forehead as my upper body took the strain of my whole body weight.

Slowly, I started to slip down the rocks until I was hanging onto the thin ledge that I had been standing on.

Let go, a voice whispered.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I hissed, my voice ricocheting around the cave. "I am not going to let go."

Do it, the voice urged. Just let go.

"Just let go," I muttered sarcastically. I squeezed my eyes shut and hissed, not coming up with any other option. I huffed and clenched my claws deeper into the wall. "Fine," I muttered. "I better not die." And with that, I let go.

***

I took a deep breath and sat up, my heart pounding in my chest. I opened my eyes and looked around to see that I was in some sort of hospital room. My whole body was tense as I looked around because I had no idea what had happened.

There was this... fogginess to my brain as if I had found something that I wasn't supposed to find. I couldn't recall what had happened to me, but I knew that my name was Jasmine DeLuka and I was the... Alpha of a pack that hadn't been formed yet. I was this Shandhi, this protector of all Wolves, even those I had no idea about.

The door to my room opened, and I looked that way and growled at whoever walked in. The female looked unimpressed as she walked forward; her steely gray eyes were trained on me but to the side with respect to my title. "Alpha," she said, inclining her head in greeting.

I clenched my hands together and set my jaw only to feel something in one. Surprised, I lifted my hand from my side and opened it to show a piece of metal. Everything came back to me in a flash, and I sunk against the pillows, exhausted.

"I see that you got another piece of the sword," the female, Adele, said, pulling my gaze towards her. She stared at me and then at it with an unreadable expression on her face. "You scared us all when you fell from the roof of the cave unconscious."

I licked my lips and nodded my head. "Uh... ya," I said, my voice cracking. "How long was I out?"

"For about eight hours," she replied. She moved to my side and stared at the blade that glowed light brown. "This part is made from the earth," she said, nodding towards it. She made no move to touch it, both of us knowing that it could harm her if she did. "The next one will be air."

"Peachy," I said sarcastically. I looked at the door again, feeling kind of lost that my mate hadn't been there to greet me.

"Your mate is training with the boys," Adele said, pulling my gaze towards her. She looked at the door before looking at me, seeing that I was somewhat upset that he wasn't here to greet me when I woke up. "He has been in the room for about four hours beforehand. I ordered him out."

I pursed my lips and swung my legs until I was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Then, I guess I should meet them. We have work to do."

Adele nodded her head. "I will get Samuel to set the map up. Go to the library when you have collected them. Get something to eat first."  She gave me a knowing look, and I scoffed and rolled my eyes. She wanted me to get something to eat before I retrieved my mate.

I nodded and stood. "Let's get this shit done. I have been away from my pack for far too long."