The Unwanted Wolf

I woke up early the next day, anxious for what was to come. I still had a few hours before it was time to leave, but I felt wide awake. I got out of bed and went downstairs to make myself some coffee. The pack house was surprisingly quiet. It felt like the calm before the storm.

I wondered how much Jori’s pack knew about what was going on. I imagined many of them had questions about me before my party, but then after the scene Theron made, I knew people must have demanded answers. Jori was probably dealing with more than me being missing as well. He had assured me his pack house was safe, and no one would dare break through his security. Theron ruined that, which likely shook his confidence.

Theron was good at shaking people’s confidence. It was a little weird thinking he and I were related. I always thought I was an only child. It clearly was for the best that I never met him, but I let myself mourn for what could have been for a moment.

I sat at the table at the breakfast nook Jori and I had sat at just a few days ago and looked outside. It was still dark outside, but the sun was on the verge of rising. The backyard looked normal again, and it was as if my party had never happened. I wished it hadn’t. It was great until nothing was great. Maybe if I had put down my foot about not having a party, Mark would be here with me.

“Mark doesn’t blame you, so you should stop blaming yourself.”

I looked up and saw Scythe walking towards me. He sat at the table across from me, holding his own cup of coffee. I clutched my cup tighter and took a sip. The brown liquid was warm as it slid down my throat, but there was a chill at the pit of my stomach.

“There’s only one person to blame for everything happening here,” Scythe continued.

I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look back at him. All of the fiery passion I had before seemed to be gone. I was just worried I wouldn’t be able to accomplish my goal.

“I feel like a bad omen.” I looked out the window again. The sun had just barely started to creep over the horizon, and the trees almost glimmered in the twilight.

Scythe looked out the window. “The universe has been unfair to you, but that doesn’t mean you are a bad omen. You just have a terrible family. We’re going to change that luck of yours, if I have anything to say about it. Mark will too.”

I looked at Scythe. He had this determined smile on his face. He was confident we would succeed in our rescue mission today. I didn’t understand his confidence. Theron was more powerful than us. We outnumbered him, sure, but he wasn’t afraid to use dirty tricks. He also had Mark. He had the upper hand in this situation.

“What if-”

“We will succeed.” Scythe looked back at me. His signature smile was plastered on his face. “Have faith in us and in yourself.”

Scythe stood up and held out his hand. “Shall we go get Mark back?”

–

The car ride to the meeting spot was pretty awful. I had to arrive by myself, because we wanted to guarantee the element of surprise as much as possible. We had no way of knowing how closely Theron was watching me, so I left before everyone else by myself. I was driving Clara’s car, which somehow felt wrong, but I didn’t have anyone to return it to, at least not anyone I was aware of.

I pulled up to the spot where Theron instructed me to meet him, but when I looked around, I didn’t see anyone. I checked my phone. The others were ten minutes behind me. They also planned on parking farther away and running through the woods to join us. If Theron was there, I would have to delay him as much as possible. The plan would only work if the others were here for it.

I opened my car door and slowly stepped out. There was a small path in front of me that wound through the trees. I started walking on it, figuring Theron would be deeper on the path. He wouldn’t want this to happen in a location where other bystanders were present. He would want secrecy.

The trail was worn down and overgrown, but the ground was firmly worn down. I could feel all of the people who used to hike this in the past, but that was long ago. Nature had started to take the trail back, making it difficult to push forward without branches brushing against my skin.

The trail was longer than I anticipated, but when I made it to the end, it opened up to a clearing. I froze, seeing Theron standing in the middle of the field. He was wearing a dark button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dark pants to match. Haley was standing next to him. She was too far away to see her face, but I knew she had a smug expression.

My eyes narrowed onto the figure in front of them. Mark was on his knees with his head hanging limp. My heart jumped, and I started running towards him on instinct. When I was only ten feet away, Theron held up his hand, holding a knife. I stopped in place, terrified of the threat that knife held.

“Mark,” I whispered.

Mark lifted his head in response. His eyes grew wide and he frowned. “You shouldn’t have come. Leave before it’s too late.”

“Shut up!” Haley kicked Mark in the back, causing him to fall forward. He wasn’t able to brace himself because his hands were tied behind his back.

I yelped, but I didn’t dare move forward. I wasn’t about to taunt Theron when Mark’s life was at risk.

“Now, now, Haley. We don’t want to do too much damage to our collateral.” Theron crouched down and pulled Mark back onto his knees.

Mark’s face was smeared with dirt. There was a dark bruise around his eye and a fresh wound on his cheek. There were bruises on the rest of his exposed skin, and I wondered how many were underneath his clothes. They had to be fresh and serious wounds, too. Mark’s werewolf healing abilities would have already kicked in to help him heal.

Unless Theron drugged him.

What had they done to Mark?

My heart ached looking at him. It took everything in me not to run towards him and wrap him in my arms.

Rip his throat out for hurting our mate, Moon said in my head.

I could feel her anger, and it only added to my own. Theron was playing with fire, and he thought he was in control, but he was so wrong. He was going to get burned.

Theron smirked at me, as if he could read my mind. “Relax, half-breed. He’ll be okay, as long as you stick to our agreement. Nothing we did to him is permanent. I just had to teach him a lesson, since he thought he could take me out.”

A growl erupted from my mouth. “Let him go.”

“Uh, uh. It’s not going to be that easy. If I let him go now, there’s nothing stopping you from trying to run off with him.” Theron pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and tossed them to my feet. “Put these on. Then I’ll let this dog go.”

“Adira, don’t. I’m not worth it. Please just leave now.” Mark’s eyes were watering as he pleaded with me.

I wanted to tell him we had a plan, and we would both get out of here, but I still wasn’t able to link with Mark, since I wasn’t officially a part of his pack, and we hadn’t marked each other. He would just have to hold on a little longer.

I bent down and grabbed the handcuffs. “Mark, I’m sorry. I can’t just leave you like this. I’m not worth your life.”

Theron laughed. “You’re not worth much at all. I don’t understand why so many people want to help someone as helpless as you.”

I stood up, feeling the cool metal of the handcuffs in my fingers. Theron’s words sparked a fire inside of me, and I felt my body burn from anger. “You do not have the right to tell me what I’m worth.” I stared at Theron, unwavering.

Haley laughed. “What is this new-found confidence you have? You’ve always been pathetic. Bae here is so much better than you and these wolves you hang out with. Once he takes your powers, he’s going to eliminate all of the filthy muts in this world.”

“Stop talking,” Theron snapped at Haley.

“Bae,” Haley said quietly, looking shocked that Theron actually snapped at her.

“I said stop talking.” He backhanded Haley, making me jump. “Can’t you do one thing right?”

Haley rubbed her cheek, tears forming in her eyes. I actually felt sorry for her in that moment.

“Why are you helping him? He clearly doesn’t care about you,” I said. I still held the handcuffs, not willing to put them on yet.

Haley glared at me, but she didn’t dare say anything.

“You know nothing,” Theron said, his voice hovering between amused and annoyed. “You thought you could actually get away from me, but here we are. If you had just been a good girl, your mate wouldn’t be in such a bad condition.”

“I will never be a good girl for you,” I said, disgust oozing out of my mouth. “I will never give up fighting you, because you are the true monster in this world. You are the reason humans hate magical creatures, because people like you give us a bad name. You underestimate me, Theron. You think I’m weak because I’m half werewolf, but that just makes me stronger.”

Theron grabbed Mark’s hair and yanked his head back, exposing his neck. He pressed the knife against Mark’s neck. “Be careful, Adira. You’re playing with fire and your mate’s life.”