Chapter 25 : The Beast

♦Lena*

Xander was gone in an instant. I screamed his name, but it was useless. Bethany had just enough time to catch the bolstered knife he’d thrown at her before he disappeared in a blur of ripped clothing and fur, his wolf bounding through the woods at an impossible speed.

I cursed loudly, catching up to Bethany in two quick strides as she reached the edge of the mist-covered clearing, her eyes wide with shock, and ten or.

“I can't shift." I ground out. making eye contact with her.

She nodded, her dark curls trembling around her ears as she swallowed back whatever exclamation was at the tip of her tongue. She handed me the knife without looking at me. her eyes focusing on the direction in which Xander and the beast had gone.

I didn't know which direction we were facing. I could still see the boundary wall behind us. but that was it. In front of us was a seemingly endless, dark forest.

‘•The farm is this way." she said shakily, pointing her finger through the trees. “We can go back-"

“We can't leave him out here!" I protested, gripping the hilt of the knife as I took it from its sheath, tossing the leather on the ground. “We're going after Xander."

I started walking to the edge of the clearing, glancing over my shoulder at Bethany. She gave me a quick, tight nod. then followed.

The woods were dense and completely dark. It was nearly impossible to see where we were going even with pale moonlight filtering through the canopy of trees. Leaves crunched beneath our feet as we followed the frantic trail of scratched dirt and broken, low-lying branches that were left behind when Xander tore after the beast. My heart was in my throat as we walked, eventually meeting up with the boundary wall again.

wall for only a mile or so." Bethany whispered,

from the upper edge of the wall, which was nearly as tall as me. I could see scratch marks on the stone. Either the beast or Xander had struggled to climb up and over the wall during the

away. I wasn't the most athletic, but I'd managed just fine. Bethany

see their trail any longer. I can pick up

anxiety about being left out in the woods, alone. Bethany was right. I could

can cany you on my back." she added as she began to take off her clothes. "I'm

rides through the countryside in Valoria as a child, my fingers tangled in liis chestnut-colored fur. I felt a rush of tears well in the comers of my eyes. I wondered, briefly, if I'd ever see him again,

her wolf form, her eyes glowing amber in the faded moonlight. I had no way of communicating

with one hand while I gripped the knife with the other, and

on for dear life as she leaped over felled trees and tangles of thick brambles. She knew where she was going after a few minutes. I could tell. She no longer lifted her long snout to sniff the air.

opened up to us as we reached the edge of the forest. The hills rolled on and on in front of us. pockets of moonlight flooding shallow valleys as Bethany

on me and tightening itself around me in a terrifying embrace. The stars were sharp and clear out here, and several bunted an eerie red

far as the eye could see. Xander lunged over the other side of the ridge and disappeared, and the space around us suddenly erupted into echoes of whatever battle was taking place just out of

she could with me fixed firmly on her back. I knew my weight was slowing her down, but it would have taken me

of the ridge. Xander was pinned to the ground by another wolf, but it didn't look like any wolf I'd ever seen. Xander's teeth were white and reflecting

go of Bethany until I hit the ground. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs. I realized I'd dropped the knife as I clenched my hands into fists, trying in vain to catch my breath. My vision blurred, the stars above

was howling and snarling. Someone yelped, then screeched. I found my bearings just enough to roll to my side, looking down over the ridge

I went, head over heels,

but it was useless. My feet went right over my head one last time before I came to a stop only

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