Clary's POV
I had become incredibly familiar with the giant forest I was currently running through. Over the course of my time here, I had adjusted to dodging trees and getting pine needles stuck in my paws. I had grown up with harsh mountains and bitter cold, not warm and welcoming forests.
Issac was running slightly behind me, his legs pumping and claws ripping through the soft dirt like mine. We looked sort of ridiculous with backpacks on, but our plans were to not run into anyone.
Almost as if my thoughts were being proven wrong, I caught a familiar scent nearby. We were almost at the border and the smell of another wolf was all around me.
Digging my paws into to ground, I quickly stooped and turned to Issac. He ran past me slightly but quickly halted and shot me a look of concern. "What is it?" His voice entered my head, worry laced into his tone.
The trees casted shadows all around us, the sun almost set in the dark blue sky. Uneasiness flooded my senses as I tried to decide if we should change our course to get away from whoever I was smelling. Whoever it was they were on our territory and super close.
"There's someone close, someone from the Purum pack-" I answered. But I was cut off when a blur of movement erupted out of a grouping of bushes. Issac yelped loudly, and fell to the ground; a white wolf tackling him and wrestling him to the ground. I quickly bursted into action as I leapt forward, landing on who ever was attacking my Mate.
I could tell she was a girl, her body sleak and fast as she tried to fight both Issac and I. Issac managed to kick her off him, and I went with her, tumbling around on the forest floor in a ball of claws and white fur. I leaped backwards, putting distance between us. She swatted at me, making me rear back to dodge her sharp claws. A blur of dark fur moved behind her and Issac had her back leg in his jaws, making her howl in pain.
My ears rang but as I looked at her, I identified who she was. Her scent was familiar to me beacuse I grew up with her. Lira. The last person I saw before I returned to Issac all those days ago.
"Stop!" I yelled into Issac's head, making him perk up his ears and let go of his death grip on Lira's leg. It was slick with dark blood, but I could tell it was already healing.
I reached out to her with my mind. "Lira?" I said slowly, her dark eyes narrowing at me. I couldn't have her howling and attracting more of her pack members. "Lira, you have to let us go."
She quickly darted away from Issac, her eyes shooting daggers at him. "You're going to kill him aren't you? Your father." Lira said through our link, her voice low and unreadable. I remembered her and Zak always being close when we were growing up and wondered if he had let her know about the plan he made with Issac and I.
"This is what you want, right?" I pleaded with her. I really had no choice here, it was either convince her to let us go or kill her. And I don't think I could muster the courage to do the second. "You told me yourself, you wish you could forget about your true Mate. But if Issac and I win this war you'll be able to be with him, whoever he is. You can leave Damon."
I remembered that she was just like me. Placed into an arraigned marriage with some she could never love. I knew deep down, like a select few of the Purum pack, that she didn't care anything for the pureblood line. She just wanted freedom. We were so similar in so many ways. I put the pieces together that she was probably a spy patrolling our borders, forced to relay information back to Alpha Kane.
"I'm sorry I attacked you." She finally said, her ears flat on her head. Issac was watching her carefully, his dark eyes flickering between her and I. "I just- I want to believe I'm one of them. A pureblood. But I'm just not, I can't be a part of this anymore."
"Then let Issac and I go." I took a step towards her and Issac took one as well, his ears perked up and stance protective. "Let us go and we'll change everything."
Lira looked up at me, her black eyes full of regret and longing. "Please win this." She murmured into my head. "I can't live without him."
Confusion flooded my mind at her words. Had she found her true Mate? If she had, then she was experiencing the same thing I was. An internal battle between choosing love over loyalty to the pack. Whatever the circumstances, I would win this war not for just Issac and I but for everyone like us who was locked out of love because of their bloodline.
"We will." I replied, not wishing to ask her to go into to detail on her Mate and who he was. "She's letting us go." I said quickly into Issac's mind, seeing him relax considerably. I started to back away, towards the mountains again.
"You already have so many people on your side, Clary, remember that." Lira whispered into my head before turning and bounding away in a white blur, her leg completely healed.
Relief flooded throughout my body and I turned to Issac, his eyes wide and confused. He hadn't heard Lira and I's conversation and was probably wondering how I got her to let us go without a fight.
"We're okay, I know her and she is letting us go." I told him, beginning to walk in the direction of the mountains again.
"Are you sure?" Issac replied and I turned around, he was staring in the direction Lira had ran. His stance was uneasy and eyes were narrowed. "We can't afford anyone stopping us right now."
"I'm sure." I walked up to him and nudged him with my head. I would keep my senses on high alert now and we wouldn't stop until we got to the other side of the Purum pack mountain. There were many people I didn't want to encounter from this pack and I was grateful that it was only Lira we had bumped into. I couldn't help but think how different the situation would've been if I had been someone like Elijah or Paul.
"Then let's go." Issac relaxed considerably and nodded, probably deciding not to question it any farther; he wanted this to be over just as much as I did.
*
My back paw slipped underneath me as the ledge it was on broke free and tumbled down the mountain. Issac moved out of it's way and yelped as he stepped to the side and onto a sharp rock. We were currently making our way up the steepest part of the mountain, wind whipping us around and obstacles with every step.
My old pack had made trails and smooth places to travel throughout our mountainous home, but we couldn't take those if we didn't want to be caught. I knew my father would have fighters positioned everywhere, so I led Issac and I on the farthest route. My muscles were straining to push my body forward as we climbed at almost a ninety degree angle.
Issac trailed behind slightly in order to follow my exact moves. He was silent but I knew his body was aching in protest like mine. The grey and black rocks were cold and sharp, and some were slick with ice or snow. All around us was beginning to darken, daytime easing into nighttime.
I let out a loud sigh of relief when a large ledge came into view ahead, my vision still sharp even in the limited light from the setting sun. I sped up slightly and felt my paws being cut on the craggy rock. Issac whimpered behind me, making my heart leap with worry. Once I reached the ledge, I mustered up all the strength I had and leaped onto it. I landed with a thud and quickly stood to shake out my dirty fur.
Once I was steady, I turned and located Issac. He was close to the ledge but his limbs were shaking with fatigue, not able to leap onto it. I got as close to the edge as possible and leaned forward, opening my mouth and grabbing a hold of his backpack. As gently as I could, I pulled him up and over the side of the ledge. My head pounded with exhaustion but I managed to lift his whole body up with my jaws.
I crawled backwards, my belly on the ground and my mouth still clamped onto his backpack until we were far from the edge. Issac huffed out a sound of relief, the air around him turning white from his breath. I rolled onto my side and let my chest rise and fall in sync with his, the both of us healing and restoring energy. I had hoped and guessed we were almost to the top of the mountain.
"Thanks." Issac's soothing voice floated into my head. I looked at him but his green eyes were shut. I knew deep down he wasn't as strong as I was and never would be because of the blood that ran through his veins.
"We're here to help each other." I replied, not realizing how true the words were until I said them. I moved closer to him, the cold air making me uncomfortable. I nestled into his side, our bodies a combination of white and dark brown and grey fur. Our wolves were the size size and at the moment I had wished I was smaller and able to completely disappear into his side. Issac tucked my head into his neck and rested his own atop it, our wounds healing and lungs filling with much needed breath.
"I think we're almost to the top." I whispered to him, knowing that we couldn't stop to rest for too long. We had a plan that needed to be completed.
The wind whipped around us, our fur tangling in it's cold embrace. Issac lifted his head off mine and I opened my eyes to look at him. He was looking towards the horizon.
The sky had turned from dark blue to dark purple, red streaks breaking through the sky like veins. The setting sun was casting a fiery glow over everything and it was breath taking. The expansive forest of pines were half-lit with an orange light and in the distance you could see where the forest ended and the Great Plains began.
Issac slowly stood and detached himself from me. He walked to the edge of the ledge, his limbs no longer shaking with exhaustion. Another brisk wave of air blew over us, moving his fur in one direction as he stayed still. He looked beautiful right then and there, I thought to myself. The red glowing sun making him look dangerous and fragile at the same time.
"We're going to save them all, we will." Issac said to me, his voice strong as he looked out on all the humans and wolves waiting below. He really was a true Alpha, his heart loyal to his own. I stood up slowly and walked up to my Mate, leaning against him as we looked out at the miles and miles of land. "Just like we were meant to." He added.
My heart pounded with admiration and pride. We were finally doing what no one dared to do and breaking the purest bloodline known. I didn't feel sad at the fact that pure-bloods wouldn't exist anymore if we won this war, I felt relief.
"I wish I had your certainty. Your courage in the face of danger." I replied slowly, my voice small. "I want to be sure about so many things, but lately everything's been so uncertain."
Everything but you, I wanted to say but decided against it. Issac and I had been so closed off about where we really stand in our relationship. I knew we'd never leave each other, and that we cared about each other. But, I just couldn't read his deepest emotions like I wanted to. I wondered if he loved-
"You have so much courage, Clary, don't wish for something you already have." Issac spoke slowly like me. "You're probably the bravest she-wolf I know." He huffed out a sound that could be identified as a laugh if he wasn't in wolf form.
"You make me brave." I nuzzled him with my nose softly and felt him sigh lightly, his eyes closing. My touch helped him as much as his touch helped me.
"We need to make to the top and find a house to stay at." I said after a couple minutes, the sky now all dark red and orange. Tiny stars started to blink into existence and I knew we needed to make it to safety before it went pitch dark.
"Indeed." Issac muttered in reply, turning around to look up at what was left to climb. We were close to the top of the mountain, just a couple hundred feet until we could see over the other side. I turned around, my body instantly going colder without being close to Issac's, and began the short trek upward.
We climbed in silence, the only sounds around us being the howling wind and claws scratching rock. I thought of my brother at that moment, on the other side of the mountain, waiting to give us the signal to attack. I had looked up to him my whole life and tried to push away any second thoughts on his trustworthiness. There was no going back now, I thought as I maneuvered around the rocky landscape; my Mate right on my heals.
The ridge of the mountain became closer, covered in white snow that reflected the red sun. My paws slipped on the frozen ice but with years of experience, I placed my steps with caution and hoped Issac was following suit. Once we made it to the top, I let out a long breath that circled around me in the racing wind. I had never been this high up on the Purum pack mountains before, and as Issac came to stand next to me we both took in everything.
I looked away from the sun, and down the dark side of the mountain. The sky was already dark blue and black, bruised with nighttime. The mountain side dropped steadily downward, not nearly as steep as the side we just climbed. This side also was dotted with shadowy pine trees, their branches swaying in the harsh wind.
For miles and miles there was nothing but rolling hills and forest, dark rivers cutting through them like black veins. I couldn't help but realize how expansive the forest the Saltus pack could've been if the Purum pack mountains didn't slice through them. This was neutral land, just like the human settlement, but the purebloods acted like they owned it.
My heart pumped with sadness as my eyes skimmed over what looked like a small town of cottages. They were all wooden and built into the side of the mountain, probably made out of the pines seeing as tree stumps littered the mountain. The small homes were eerie and abandoned, making me shiver. No light came from their windows and silence floated through the air around them, reminding me that my father had been the one who got rid of the humans who lived here.
"Well, looks like this is the place Zak was talking about." I said quietly to Issac. I saw him nod slowly out of the corner of my eye, his gaze fixed on the creepy cottages as well. They weren't far and this side of the mountain was much easier to maneuver seeing as it was smoother and less rocky.
"Let's go to that one, it's closest." Issac spoke softly as he indicated with his head towards a small home made out of dark wood. I nodded in reply and began to make the short descent down the mountain. The snow crunched beneath my paws and I heard Issac's as well as he began to follow.
The snow abruptly ended, the mountain's grey rock surfacing. Immediately after I placed a paw onto it, I slipped and began to slide downward, not able to find purchase on the black ice that covered the ground. Issac, who was following close behind, took the same step as I and was swept off his feet with a loud yelp. We both were speeding down the side of the mountain, our claws useless on the thick ice as we continued to slide.
Everything was a blur around me and my heart was beating out of my chest in panic. I looked over at Issac who was scrambling to stop just like me, but he failing as well and our speed increased as we plummeted down the icy mountain.
I finally gave up and let my body slide down the icy slopes. Trees started whizzing by, blurs of dark wood and pine needles, and each time I tried to reach out and grab one. The once-distant cottages were growing closer and closer, and I was sure crashing into a wooden house at full speed would hurt like hell.
Wind whistled in my ears as I tried to spin my self forward in order to see clearer. A thin, yet sturdy pine tree was right in my path and I zeroed in on it, determined to stop myself. Immediately before I went sliding past it, I reached out with my jaws open and clamped them shut on the thin trunk of the tree. My body swung sideways and my neck throbbed from the forceful stop, but I was no longer mindlessly slipping down the mountain.
Everything was quiet around me, making a sting of panic go off in my chest. My sharp eyes scanned the dark area around me, looking for Issac frantically as my mouth was latched onto the tree tightly.
Relief coursed through my veins when I Identified a dark wolf half-on, half-off, a tree stump a couple hundred feet to my right. Issac's back paws were scrambling on the black ice to try and push himself up upon the stump. Once he was on it and standing, his eyes racked over the mountain just like mine had a moment ago; looking for me.
I gave out a high pitched bark that sounded weird with my mouth around the tree and his head snapped towards me. I could see his stance become less tense but his eyes were still swimming with worry.
"Are you hurt?" He said into my mind, his voice breathless and concerned. We were both surprised and shocked by the way out descent down this side of the mountain had turned out.
"I'm alright, you?" I replied. I could feel my jaw becoming sore and wished I had been smarter and chose another way to stop myself.
"A little beaten up, but at least I'm not hanging off a tree by my mouth." Issac spoke softly into my mind, his voice holding a hint of mockery. If he wasn't in wolf form I knew he'd be smiling.
"Ha ha," I said back."I wasn't thinking very well seeing as I was hurdling down a mountain covered in black ice a top speed."
"Clearly." Issac shook out his fur and dirt flew off of it in puffs of brown. I tired to look down the mountain out of the corner of my eye, seeing the cottage that Issac had chose earlier about two hundred feet away. It was all dark and far away from the others, an ink spill against the dark blue evening sky.
I decided there was no safe way to climb down this side of the mountain, it was all ice. My eyes strained to see the details of the cottage but they zeroed in a big window on it's side, just big enough.
"Race you to the house." I quickly said into Issac's head, already opening my mouth slightly. "Try not to miss it or you'll go all the way down!" I added with a laugh.
I let go of the tree, my paws already slipping on the slick ice. My body began to plummet down the smooth rock once more, faster this time, but I had more control. I heard Issac's wolf bark at me loudly before the sound of scrambling claws on ice followed.
I maneuvered around a pine tree and kicked off of it with my hind legs, increasing my speed. The house was dangerously close and I braced myself. Once I was close enough, I found enough balance to get my hind legs under me and push off; my speeding body heading straight for the thin glass of the window.
I slammed my eyes shut and felt my body smashed through the glass, my fur protecting me from most of the shards. It was quick, and I suddenly found myself tumbling into the cottage and landing with a thud on a hard mattress. Grey, dusty air floated around me from the impact and my head spun with adrenaline.
The sound of skidding claws and body racing down the ice outside woke me out of my daze and I scrambled out of the way, my limbs sore. A dark blur burst through the broken window, hitting away the loosing shards of glass my body had missed, and landed right where I had been.
"I win." I said proudly, watching Issac stumble onto his feet.
"That was an incredibly dangerous thing to do." His voice serious yet suppressing a hint of something unreadable. Issac stood up slowly and jumped off the creaky mattress, the white sheets on it old and unused.
"And yet you did it as well." I said, mentally smiling. I cocked my head to the side, eyeing him carefully. He was a shadow amongst the wooden wall as he came to stand near me. We were both standing in the small, dark cottage, surrounded by the old smell of wood and mildew.
"True." His wolf seemed to smile and I stepped forward to nuzzle his neck. He responded instantly and both our nerves were instantly calmed by the others touch.
"Looks like this is the place we're staying at tonight." I spoke quietly and stepped away from his warm body. I felt dirty and exhausted and as I looked down I noticed bloodstains across my white fur from my skin getting cut on the craggy rocks.
I looked to Issac and he nudged his head to something behind me. I turned around and took in the rest of the dark cottage. The mattress had been on the far side of the room and the cottage was just one big room. Dilapidated furniture and creaky wooden floors furnished the one room home, and something caught my eye in the corner.
A four-clawed, white bathtub was tucked into the corner of the cozy yet stuffed cottage. There was only two windows, one broken by us and the other near the small wooden door.
"Not what I imagined, but it'll do." Issac's voice floated around the room instead of inside my head and I spun around to look at him. He stood in human form, holding his backpack in just the right way where I didn't get an eyefull. He looked so handsome in this light, his shadowy, chiseled features illuminated in the rising moonlight.
"I'm going to take a bath." I said, trying to keep my mind from wandering. I knew it was just us, a bath and a bed and I had no clue what would happen. But I knew I was filthy from the journey and every bone in my body was sore.
I saw Issac's mouth curl up in a smirk, making my veins flood with warmth. "Alright." He said turning around and walking towards the bed.
"Alright." I replied back, trying not to let my eyes linger on all the skin he was showing. He had always been confident, where as I had never thought of ever having the chance to show my entire self to another person I love. I never thought I'd be able to be with the one I was destined to love-
I cut off my thought, surprised by the emotions and feelings I had just admitted to myself. Was I really in love?
I turned around and looked towards my Mate once more. Issac had put on a pair a shorts and was cross-legged on the mattress, a cellphone pressed to his ear. I hadn't even noticed he had pulled it out of his backpack and was having a conversation.
"Everyone's calm at the moment, they all knew this was coming it was just a matter of time." Marcus's voice could be heard on the other end. "I'm happy to hear you and Clary are safe at the house, call me or your brother tomorrow."
Issac let out a breath he seemed to be holding in, as if being far away from his pack was physically hurting him. It must've been, I thought to myself. This was his first time crossing the border and leaving his family and packmates behind. I remembered when that had been me, putting everything behind you for something else.
"Thank you, I will." Issac muttered, even though there was no chance of me not hearing him. "I'll see you all soon, okay?"
"I pray every moment that you do, my son." Marcus's reply was hard to hear on the other end of the line, his voice strained. The phone clicked, signaling him hanging up. The small, dark cottage became cold with silence but I didn't look away from Issac.
As he lifted his head and looked out the broken window, a gust of wind came through it and ruffled his disheveled hair. His eyes gazed into the night as if they could look past the huge mountain surrounding us and straight to his pack and family on the other side.
And right then and there, in this crumbling wooden cottage, I'd decided I was in love with him.
A/N
AWWW. I bet all of you have been waiting and waiting for that.. heheh. the climax is just coming to a start and I hope you all will keep reading!!
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Check out my collection of short stories or my other Werewolf novel, 'Lover of the Last'!
-Carolyn