I shook my head. I didn't know what I was to be honest. Lyulf slammed me against the wall and gripped my neck tightly, cutting off my oxygen. I felt something cold arise in me and Lyulf stepped away, smirking like a mad man.

"Either your a Dire or...." He says vaguely. I couldn't understand what he was talking about exactly.

"Don't worry about Byron, Archer and I. We won't hurt you. It's Raiden you have to worry about." Lyulf throws me a bag.

"Pack only what you need. We leave at midnight." He says and begins to throw some of his clothes in a bag.

"Don't worry about food or horses I'll handle that. You just make sure you and your pups are ready to leave by midnight." He says and gives me a soft smile.

"B-But what about Mani? And why do I have to leave? What's going on?" I questioned.

"You are in grave danger and I'm going to help you escape. Don't worry about Mani, Archer and Byron will keep him safe till we get you to the Beyond." He says and shoves stuff into his bag.

I walked back to my bedroom, Zehra and Bron following behind. I bumped into Mani who looked down upon me kindly.

"Hello Little One." He says and smiles at me.

"H-Hey Mani." I say trying not to cry. I was leaving my best friend. He could die. I could die. I'll probably never see him again.

Mani said that Raiden had summoned him so he had to leave. As he left I watched him walk away, taking in every detail about him. I wanted to remember him forever.

I shoved clothes into a bag and some things that Zehra and Bron would need. I packed winter clothes and then went out to the weapons room.

I walked in the room and immeadiatly knew that this was where Prince Raiden beat Mani.

I grabbed two northern daggers, a northern sword, a bow, and a quiver arrows. I figured I may need to fight to survive quite a good bit.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Midnight came quickly. Lyulf did as he promised and met me at the gates with two lean, black horses. I could tell that these horses had been bred to run by how antsy they were. They pranced in place and snorted like they couldn't wait to run.

I hopped onto the back of my steed and Lyulf mounted his. He kicked his horse gently and both horses began to run as though someone had thrust a knife into their backside.

The night was dark and warm as we rode through the plains of Southern Darok. Our horses were tireless. Zehra and Bron, however, slept as though they hadn't in weeks.

We came to where my farm was and I rode a little closer to Lyulf. The candle in my father's house was still burning bright. I knew by this that he was still awake and was probably drinking.

My father came outside and Lyulf waved to him, I, however, did not.

"What business do you have here?" He barked at Lyulf and I.

"My young wife and I are going Northern Darok to visit our family sir." Lyulf said and stopped.

I kept riding, pretending that my father was not even there. I kept my head down and watched Zehra and Bron sleep.

"Forgive my wife sir, she is from across the Salt Waters and does not speak much of our language. She knows few of our customs as well." Lyulf says. I feel my father and Lyulf's gazes hot upon my back as I rode towards Azar. Lyulf rode up behind me and glared at me.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" He questioned.

"That was my father." I mumble softly. Lyulf says nothing yet I feel that he knows something is amiss.

We rode for hours until daylight came. We stopped near a forest and Lyulf dismounted. I looked at him funny then slid off of my horse. He was prince and I was a peasant.

"We have to walk through the forest during the day. Raiden will have sent search parties out looking for us.

The sound of leaves rustling was heard as Lyulf and I walked. Lyulf acted as though it was normal but I felt a certain prescence. Something familiar yet forgien. Similar to the feeling you get when you are around family members you haven't seen in a long time. I heard the snap of a twig and saw a flash of brownish fur in the bushes. I stopped and fitted an arrow to my bow.

"What are you doing?!" Lyulf questioned.

"Shut up." I said and looked for the animal.

I saw the flash of fur again before I felt myself floating through the air and my back hitting the ground painfully. My eyes snapped shut and I heard Lyulf yell.

I looked up to see a pair of aqua eyes staring down at me. I studied the face of the man hovering over me. He had a pale face and smooth skin that reminded me of the first snow. His cheeks were plump and I could tell that he smiled often. His lips were full and a pinkish color. He reminded me of someone I had met once when I was a child. His hair appeared soft and brown, almost hard to describe. I longed to run my fingers through it, as it appeared to be more soft than the silks of the east.

I felt no fear, nor any pain from my fall. To be honest, I felt safe, like I had finally found my home.

The stranger rolled off of me and stood. He offered me his hand and I glared at him then stood on my own. I didn't long for his help, I had always been independent.

"Volkn, this is my friend Bryan Reed, he's agreed to come with us." Lyulf says. He acted as though this whole escape thing was planned. But I mean how could it have been planned? I was taken from my village at random.

I see a flash of red fur, then a cute little fox trots forward while waving his bushy tail. His eyes are a strange color, like a bright purple, and his fur is a deep red, not the normal orange you'd see on a fox. The fox's shape begins to change and I hear small groans. I look to where the fox was standing and a young boy younger than I is present.

His hair is the same color as the fox's fur and his eyes are the same bright violet color. The boy's skin is pale and he bears a scar over his left eye.

"Lyulf this is my younger cousin, and beta, Kai Reed." Bryan says while the young male's chest swells with pride. I didn't quite understand what was going on. Why we're these two men joining us? Why did they appear so important?

"Volkn, let go of your horse." Lyulf orders and my eyes widen.

"Why?! We need horses to travel quickly!" I counter. It wasn't logical to go on foot. If Raiden was truly after us then I doubted his men would travel on foot.

Lyulf snatched the reins from my hand and slapped both horses' bums, sending them running back towards the castle. I glared daggers at the prince, I was so angry I forgot he could have my head if he wished. I heard a few snickers and my gaze shot to Kai. The young male had his hand over his mouth before he bursted into laughter. I couldn't understand what was so funny to him.

Bryan elbowed Kai in the gut and glared at him. The two stared at each other and it was as if they were arguing without words. I could tell the two males were very close because of the way they looked at each other.

"Forgive him, he is young and knows little of the world." Bryan said while glaring at Kai. Kai shrugged and rolled his eyes at his older cousin.

I chuckled at the two males, I could tell that I would enjoy their company.

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Hello Darokians! It's your loyal author Shadow873

I'm so so sorry I've been inactive lately I have been going through some and have had a bad case of writer's block. Please forgive me. Thank you so much for reading I feel like this was a really crappy chapter but oh well. I hope you enjoyed it.

Question of the day: Werewolf or Vampire?

Werewolf, don't let those filthy blood suckers anywhere near me.

Thank you so much for reading!

Have a blessed day/night!

God bless you!

Buh Bye! 😘