The Hunter and The Beast

Chapter Four

The Alpha

Almost immediately, Ben and I started lagging behind. Even with me pulling him forward, Ben's injured leg couldn't keep up.

"Go!" he forced out through his teeth, pain clear in his eyes. He tried pushing me forward, away from him but I refused to budge and it caused us to slow down even further.

"I am not leaving you, Ben," I snapped. "So, stop fighting me! Either we go home together or not at all."

We both knew that there was no way he could make in on his leg. Already Ben's strength was ebbing away, and I could smell his blood, even if I couldn't make myself look at his leg to see how bad it was bleeding. Ben wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer, I was surprised that he hadn't passed out yet.

"Tammy!" Ryan yelled, falling back towards us.

"Leave me," Ben said, begging me. "I won't drag you down with me."

"And I won't leave you to die," I asserted. The Lycans were closing in, toying with us when they could have caught us. I hated it.

"You don't have a choice," Ben replied, shoving me away. I fell into my brother's arms and they locked around me. "Get her out of here!" Ben demanded.

"No!" I screamed, struggled as my brother threw me over his shoulder and took off. I watched, desperate, as Ben stopped running and turned around, my glock in his hands. He was planning to fight, to hold out just long enough so we got away. I couldn't take it. My heart couldn't take it. I felt an episode waiting in the wings. "Ben!" Tears blurred my vision as Ryan ran, Ben shrinking and trees closing in on him. "Ryan, let me go!" I begged, still trying to get free. Unfortunately, my brother was stronger than I was. My hood kept bouncing up and down, occasionally covering my eyes. "Please," I cried hoarsely. My chest was burning, my heart straining and stressed.

"I'm sorry, Tamara," Ryan told me, worry in his voice. "But he'd never forgive me if I let you die with him and you know it."

Tears burned my eyes, I could no longer see Ben. "He won't die." I refused to believe that the boy who I was closer than anyone in the world would die. He simply wasn't allowed to.

Ryan skidded to a stop, unstable on his feet. I used it to knock him over and get free of his grasp, fully intending to run back and get Ben. I fell hard to the ground. I got up and got ready to run back. Then I saw why my brother stopped.

"It was a trap," I whispered solemnly. Foster, Ryan and I stared at a wall of Lycans waiting for us. "We were never going to make it."

"Trent," Foster said, cursing. "They've got Trent."

There, forced to his knees, was Trent, his face bloodied and eyes drooping. "They grabbed me," he wheezed out. "Before I could do anything, they grabbed me."

My chest felt tight. Dark spots skittered around the edges of my vision. They shoved Trent to us. The boys grabbed him and got him to his feet. We stood, shoulder to shoulder, unsure of what to do. Death ahead of us, dead behind us.

"We've got the last one," a voice said behind us. Two Lycan, toting Ben between them, came to join the others. They deposited him next to me and stepped back to join the circle the Lycan now formed around us. My chest loosened and my heart started to slow to a normal pace.

Not caring about any of that I dropped to my knees, grabbing Ben's face. "Ben," I whispered desperately. I checked his pulse. It was there, significantly weaker than normal, but there. "Ben? Come on, wake up?" I peeled back on of his eyelids back his pupil remained un-dilated. "Guys, he's not waking up." I could hear the panic in my voice.