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.

for only a mile or so."

wall, which was nearly as tall as me. I could see scratch marks on the stone. Either the beast or

breath away. I wasn't the most athletic, but I'd managed just fine. Bethany was up and over the wall in a split second, the muscles of her

their trail any longer.

back my anxiety about being left out in the woods,

on my back." she added as she began to take off her clothes. "I'm not

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, and

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

back, holding onto her niff with one hand while I

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. We were on

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

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

ridge that towered over the rest of the hills. There were no trees in sight, not a single plant or bush as far as the

too was whimpering and panting as she ran as fast she could with me fixed firmly on her back. I knew my weight was slowing her down, but it would have taken me ages

what I saw when we reached the top 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 in the moonlight as he snarled and snapped his jaws, latching himself on liis

I'd let 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 my head spinning in a circle as I

to my side, looking down over the ridge at the battle taking place below... but then I started

went, head over heels, right into

tried everything in my power to stop, but it was useless. My feet went right over my head one last time

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