Noah's POV
The beams from the moon seeped thinly through the thick roofs of the trees. I'd managed to not get caught till now but that was going to change if I didn't find a way to get this fucking spear out of my leg.
Zak had tried to heal me but it just couldn't work. I could feel my bones crackle, struggling to join back together but the spear… this cursed spear in my leg…
My mouth felt dry like a desert that had known no water for a century. What I wouldn't do for a drink.
"We… we have to keep moving," I grunted breathlessly. I pushed myself away from the tree on whose body I had rested on to catch my breath. I had lost a lot of blood but I wasn't going to stop now. Not when I'd come this far.
My eyes darted around weakly as I pushed forward, gritting my teeth to keep the pain inside me. The spear hung tautly, protruding behind my leg like a tail making each step a painful nightmare.
"I can't continue like this."
The night was quiet. I hadn't heard the robots for a while now. Maybe they already gave up the chase?
My hands reached for a nearby tree like a child reaching for popsicles. I rested my back against it, inhaling and exhaling deeply. The air from my mouth hung briefly in front of my face in small clouds before disappearing into thin air. The hot afternoon had slowly transitioned into a cold night.
I grabbed the pointy edge of the spear with both hands.
"Here goes nothing."
I twisted it, bending it to break it off the shaft. The pain shot up from my leg washing my body with anguish. I couldn't hold it back in.
My roar echoed the cold and quiet forest, the trees trembling as I snapped the spear head. My breathing, fast and heavy, now hummed in my ears dulling my hearing. Was this really a good idea?
I saw something move through the corners of my eyes. Instinctively, I pushed myself off the body of the tree but I was too late.
I groaned helplessly as the stun gun made contact. My body thudded heavily against the ground as the robots surrounded me. The smell of dirt and dried leaves filtered into my nose as I lay there panting heavily unable to lift a finger, my breathing fast and ragged. I felt the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. They got me. They got me real good.
One of the robots whirred its way to me in a mechanical dance. Through the corner of my eyes, I could see it retrieve the stun gun into its body. I saw a long needle replace the gun. My eyes blinked fast as he stood over me.
I gritted my teeth, my body quivering as he pressed the needle into the back of my neck. My painful roar filled the entire forest disrupting the quietness of the still night, my toes curling, my fingers folding tightly into fists. I could feel my claws dig into my palms.
"Fucking hell," I groaned inwardly. My lips quivered when I tried to say it out. If I didn't die now, I surely wouldn't die anymore.
My eyes burned as I lay there out of breath. Whatever was in that needle was quick with its job. I could feel my body burning up like I'd been tossed into a volcano. I saw a man walking up to me. My ears rang again. I could hear the sound of my breathing hot in my ears.
"We've got him," I heard him speak into his collar.
"Yes sir. We'll move him immediately."
My efforts to keep my eyes open were futile. Whatever it was I'd been shot up with, that thing was strong enough to knock off an elephant.
My head swirled as I lay there like a log. It felt like my body was sinking into a quicksand.
I felt myself being lifted and placed on a pair of shoulders. It felt like I was floating. I didn't feel this way even when I popped those pills. On a good day, I'd have loved to try out whatever mixture was in that injection. Without the pain of course. Damn.
"We're coming for you," a voice filtered into my head. "Hold on."
"Well, you better hurry," I whispered.
************
Warren's POV
I stood there in my quarters staring out the window into space. The sentry has just brought to my notice that someone has been sneaking out of our stronghold consistently. I imposed a curfew in the pack. I couldn't let one stupid wolf put the entire pack in danger.
I turned around as the door hummed open.
"I think you should get some rest, father."
It was my daughter, Chloe.
My lips curled up in a faint smile. She had always been my undoing. With hair as smooth as silk and eyes sitting pretty on an oval face and thin lips, she was a splitting image of her mother. My Luna who I had lost in the Great battle together with my two sons. The battle that had forced us to take shelter, cowering in the shadows like cowards. Those pesky little humans had struck when we least expected it.
"Come on, dad. Sit." She pulled a chair towards me. She had the heart of her mother. I could no longer remember what she looked like. It's been ten years now and all I saw when I tried to remember her was Chloe. I smiled at her.
"You know I'm still strong, right?"
"I know," she purred. "That's why you're still Alpha."
She pushed me to the chair, gently.
"And you'll have to rest if you're going to continue being the Alpha. You haven't rested all day. It's always something. Either you're checking the security of the stronghold, or you're settling trivial issues or you're training with the warriors."
My green eyes stared into hers as she went on talking. I didn't like it that she was right. The hyperactive Chloe that had been a kid, always bawling after her mother, sitting me down to lecture me on the importance of rest? Hilarious.
"You think I'm being funny, DAD?" Her lips pursed as she squinted at me.
I looked at her knitted brows quivering as she tried to keep up the act.
My lips widened as my deep sonorous laugh filled the room.
"It's okay Chloe, you can drop the act," I said. "What do you want?"
"Ummm nothing," she wrung her fingers together. Her lips pouted. A bad habit she had refused to drop since she was a pup. Maybe because it had a way of making me bend to her will.
I stood up from the chair, walking towards the wine cabinet. I grabbed a bottle of scotch and two glasses.
"Your mannerisms give you away," I raised my eyes to meet hers. "Here." I handed her a glass.
My body went stiff as Chloe put the glass to her lips. My eyes glowed a bright red colour.
"What's wrong, dad?" Chloe came to my side.
I raised my finger to silence her as I heard it again. The unmistakable roar of a wolf. A wounded wolf. He sounded like he was in deep pain. Or dying.
"Brady!" I bellowed using my voice and the mind link at the same time.