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Chapter 19
We had been driving for hours. Our aim to keep going until we ran out of petrol. After that moment, we would once again be going on foot as Marc and I had lost everything. There were no backpacks full of money and clothing. We had never been more on our own.
Roads blurred into more roads. Countryside blurred into towns and villages. One life blurred into another. There seemed to be that indescribable barrier between Marc and I and the rest of the world. We were trapped within this bubble of fear and uncertainty, fighting a war that seemed so far from ending that it was almost hopeless.
There was something that scared me even more. I never truly grasped how important I would be. I understated my importance and my potential leverage I could hold and now I was regretting never fleeing straight to Italy. This was a hunt and I was being hunted, if I were to be captured. Game over potentially. I was a bargaining chip in a bigger game, being played and used by professionals while I was merely a beginner.
"Hey. You ok?" Marc asked, glancing at me before focusing back on the road.
"Yeah. I'm fine," I mumbled, before resting my head on the glass.
"Realised how important you are, haven't you?" Marc asked with a gaze so compassionate and understanding, that I couldn't help but fall in love with him all over again.
"Mmmm. Could say that? We made the wrong choice, didn't we? We should have gone straight to Italy," I sighed, running a hand through my hair, trying to break the tangles from the dried blood.
"Maybe but there is no point in thinking about that now. We made the decision. There were always going to be risks," Marc explained, taking hold of my hand.
"How much longer in the car?" I asked.
"I don't know, about another hour," Marc explained.
There was no reply from me as my gaze once again focussed on the road. We getting ever closer to the German/Austrian border but it was never quite close enough. Marc and I were so far away and now there would be so many people after us that it would be a miracle if we made it any further. So on we drove. It almost seemed like a matter of when we would get caught not if.
Eventually, exhaustion caught up with me and I dozed off as Marc kept driving. I was eventually awoken up later in a small town in Southern Germany. The engine of the car was off and his focus was on me.
"On foot then?" I asked.
"We're going to crash somewhere here and then yeah... tomorrow we will be on foot. We just need to keep moving," Marc explained, and I replied with a simple nod.
Fortunately for us, this small town was close to a forest so Marc and I ended up camping there for the night but we were both obviously nervous. The pursuing group could be anywhere and now we were left with no money, no car. Basically nothing. We had never been more against the odds than we were now.
Surprisingly, however, sleeping in the forest was rather peaceful. It kept my wolf settled and the smell of the forest and the sound of the rustling leaves and wildlife was reassuring and rather grounding. It seemed like a constant in the middle of all this chaos. Marc had fallen asleep a while ago so I was left curled up next to him listening to the forest, my mind whirling with worry. Every crack made me think of someone standing on a branch. One of Cameron's men ready to grab us both and drag us off to God knows where, ready to kill us.
Somehow sleep did pull me under but my dreams were equally as scary and dooming as real life. I was in darkness except for one solitary beam of light on me. There was not a sound except for my breathing and my heart beat. Looking down at myself, I was dressed in a flowing white dress which was simple and elegant. My hair was flowing in waves down my shoulders, like it used to be and I was barefoot.
Going to move, I realised that I was stuck to this single solitary spot. Glancing around the endlessly dark space, I wondered if anything would happen or if this was the full extent of my dream. In that moment, another spotlight lit up a group of people in the distant. They were so far that their faces were blurry but it was clearly a man and a woman of what seemed to be regal stature. I felt the urge to run to them, something was pulling me towards them. It screamed safety and love. My feet refused to budge.
Another spotlight illuminated a group of people in red with one solitary face in front. Their faces were obscured but they were incredibly close to me. Their pace quickened and it felt like they were charging at me, ready to kill. I screamed as I pulled at my feet trying to move. Closer. Closer. The white spotlight still too far away. Turning back to the other group, I watched them shift so it was now a pack of ferocious wolves charging at me, snarling and snapping their teeth.
They jumped, teeth bared, claws out, straight onto me. Screaming, blood, pain as they tore me apart...
Screaming, I shot up from my position on the floor so I was now standing. Frantically, I gazed around me trying to spot the threat. My heart was racing, my forehead was covered in sweat and I was lost in the all-consuming fear. Wrapping my arms around myself, I tried to get myself together but looking at the forest did little to help me. Shadows moved and my heart jumped fearing the attack of a werewolf.
"Anna?" Marc questioned, now stood and alert.
I glanced at him before looking away. Everything was messing me and I hated the fact that the leader of the red group seemed somewhat familiar, his mannerisms and movements. My mind ran through old friends and people I had seen but nothing came up.
"Annabella. You're ok? It was just a dream," Marc spoke stepping closer to me but as if I was a scared child about to bolt.
"It was so real. The blood. The pain," I whispered, my voice not managing to come out any clearer.
Marc wrapped his arms around me and I placed my head against his chest, my breathing still unsteady on the verge of a panic attack. His hands rubbed up and down my back soothingly and reassuringly, telling me that he was there for me. We remained like that for a while as I tried to regain to some of my sanity. This was all becoming too much for me to handle.
"You ok now?" Marc asked.
"Getting there. What is the plan for today?" I asked.
Marc explained what we were doing which was essentially stealing some stuff from various shops. So we stole ourselves new clothes, food and things to freshen ourselves up before retreating back into the forest and deciding to go from there.
I hadn't really spoken much since the nightmare and Marc decided to leave it like that, letting me deal with it and letting me speak when I wanted to. It was a thoughtful gesture really, him not trying to force information out of me. Little things like that is what made me really seem to love him more. We both worked so well now with each other's mannerisms and attitudes. We were less argumentative and understood each other like the back of our hands. I guess spending a full three months with no one else can do that to someone.
The forest was all around us but everything was making me jump. Shadows moving. The sound of animals. The natural sounds of the forest always making me anxious. Somehow I was on edge as if I was waiting for something to happen. For me it was no longer a question of if, but when. My gaze flickered through the tree line when my eyes caught on another pair of eyes attached to the body of a wolf.
"Marc!" I shouted.
All hell broke loose. Wolves shot out from behind the trees all rushing to attack us. Marc was the first to shift out of the two of us and I was soon to follow. The shift was quick now and was almost entirely painless. My wolf side was eager and ready, my senses sharpened and on point allowing me to dodge the attack of one wolf. I could hear every sound and sight was clear and sharp as the next wolf barrelled towards me.
I dodged again before biting viciously into his side which made the wolf yelp in pain. I tossed him to the floor at this point before looking for the next attack. Glancing around, I saw that Marc was surrounded by about eight wolves so I charged into the fray attacking with increasing urgency and might as I fought to get through to Marc.
There was barely attention being paid to the scratched that were made against me. I was caught on my face and I could feel the blood matt in the fur as well as scratches down my left side which was painful but in the end it could have been a lot worse. I was shocked at how vicious I was and how it easy it was for me to just attack these people but seeing my mate surrounded and threatened like that, pulled a different, dormant side out of me.
There was howling and yelps of pain everywhere. I hated it. My beautiful white fur was coated in blood that was both mine and others. Somehow I was now beside Marc but as we looked out the never ending sea of wolves we realised this was hopeless. We had been found and we were going to get caught and probably killed.
However, Marc and I wouldn't go down without a fight.
So the fight raged on until I was bit harshly in my back leg. The pain was so intense, stars appeared in my vision and I yelped in pain. The teeth were unyielding not letting me go. I bucked wildly trying to get this wolf off of me but it wasn't happening. My eyes flicked round wildly looking for Marc who was now on the floor, surrounded by wolves.
This was it. We were caught.
They forced us to shift back. Modesty was out of the window. They tossed clothes at me which I placed on, hissing at the huge gashes in my left leg from the wound. I was aching and hurting all over. My right cheek had claw marks in it and so did my rights side. Blood was already staining the clothes but I couldn't care at all for this situation was less about how I looked and more about whether I lived.
My hands were roughly bound behind my back and I was forced onto my knees. Marc was beside me in the same position. He looked rough. A black. A deep gash on his neck was what I could immediately see but as for anything else, that was something I would find out later.
"Cameron will be here soon," One of the guards spoke which made Marc tense.
I looked at him but his face went pale and wide. Now the situation seemed really dire especially if Marc was this afraid. How much of a monster was this Cameron? Time seemed to pass slowly. Every second seemed like an hour. The ever impending doom was looming above like axe ready to take off my heard and I was merely waiting for the moment it fell.
The waiting was getting worse and I just wanted it to end. I just wanted to see him. I just wanted Cameron to arrive so we get over with all of this. If my death was coming, I would rather it be quick than slow.
A shadow was approaching from the distance. Already I could tell the guys was well built, strongly defined and muscular. His presence, his walk. Everything was commanding and dominant. It was obvious that he saw himself as a leader. It was clear that this shadow was Cameron. Marc's head dropped and he looked at the ground but my gaze was still firmly forward. The shadow of a man ever closer to revealing himself.
He stopped just before stepping into the light and revealing his face to me. He was clearly enjoying this. Loving the attention on him. Even now I could tell of his arrogance and his stature demonstrated that he believed that he had won.
One step. One more step and I could see the monster that was making my life hell. Who made me live a different life?
He stepped from the shadows. The light breaking through the forest canopy hit his face. Thank God I was on my knees, otherwise I would have collapsed in shock. I was already panicking and my breath was caught. He was just as dominant looking. His bright blue eyes were what I saw first. Then the stark black, short hair. Most of all he was an exact older version of Marc.
"Hello princess," Cameron smirked, "Hello, Son."