Hello!

Here's another chapter! Thanks for all the support!

~ Lissa

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I marched through the forest with Temp, crawling over fallen trees, ducking underneath low branches, stepping around trees, and swatting away insects. My brown hair blew softly and sweat rolled down my forehead, despite the cool breeze. My combat boots crushed the muddy earth, snapping twigs and crunching decaying leaves. Temp hiked in front of me, his broad shoulders shifting back and forth, his back wet from sweat. Every once in a while, he tripped and swore under his breath, giving me a nasty glare when I laughed afterwards. Like me, his cheeks were red and his breathing had increased, becoming heavier. The forest was extremely humid and honestly, a little creepy with suspicious sounds coming from all directions and clouds moving above, shifting the sunlight. "I-I need a break," I blurted, taking a deep breath. "Temp, slow down."

He stopped and reluctantly, whipped around. "We need to keep moving."

"If they were here, we would've ran into them already," I told him, my voice raising. "Maybe when their Alpha disappeared, they ran-off."

"I doubt that," he argued, approaching me. "Wolves, especially werewolves, never leave one of their own behind. Not even if a fellow member is injured or slowing them down. They hunt for them, care for them, until they're back to health." I knew this, but a part of me just wanted to leave and return to the truck where there was air-conditioning. "With their Alpha missing, they wouldn't just runoff. They'd stick around, search for him, and take care of each other - they don't have orders right now. Besides, with the government, where else would they go? It's too dangerous for them to be moving areas, Blue."

I exhaled loudly. "Yeah, they'd search for him, somewhere else."

"They don't have orders right now," he repeated, narrowing his eyes. "They can't do anything - they can't leave - without an order from their Alpha and since he's missing, they can't do shit, understand?"

"The Beta has probably taken over," I bickered, placing my hands on my knees. "He's probably giving the orders right now and he could've - "

"That's not how it works," he interrupted, sourly. "For someone with a GPA as high as yours, you should know these things." With that, he whipped around and continued hiking through the forest, not sparing a glance back at me. Reluctantly, I trailed after him, feeling myself becoming stinky and itchy. "If we don't find them before dark, we'll leave, I promise."

I stepped over a fallen branch. "What are we even going to say to them?"

"Leave that up to me," he responded, seriously. "I've got this."

"You know, it isn't safe for us to be here," I warned, glancing around, nervously. "Not because of the werewolves, but because of Torments. They live in forests, Temp, and they're probably watching us right now." I scanned the branches above, searching for their dark, bouncing figures, leaping from tree-to-tree. I started tracing the mark on my wrist, nibbling on my bottom lip. "Who knows what else wanders this forest. . . "

"Gypsies," he replied, calmly. "They're known to hide among trees."

"Great," I muttered, sarcastically. "And, you're not worried at all?"

"No, not really."

"Why hasn't the government started studying them?" I asked, suddenly spooked by the question in my head. "I mean, they're only focused on werewolves, but why not the rest of the Supernaturals?"

"I'm not sure," he answered, quietly. "Maybe if you hadn't gotten me fired, I could've found the answer out." I pinched my lips together, scowling at the back of his head. He still wasn't over the past; he still hadn't forgiven me for my mistake, even after their long road trip. Temp was known for keeping grudges and I wondered how long he was going to keep this one towards me. We continued marching through the trees, sticking close. "Do you want to know why I'm not scared?" Startled by the question, I hesitantly nodded, intrigued. "Because, I've survived a lot of things, Blue. So many things that I believe I'm capable of surviving anything now."

I released a laugh. "That confidence will get you killed."

"Maybe," he said, glancing over at me. "But, just think about it, Blue. You survived a Torment, which is incredibly rare. Don't you feel as if you're invincible now?"

"Uh, no," I answered, raising an eyebrow. "I'm scared."

He rolled his eyes. "Or, you think you're scared."

"Huh?"

"Maybe it's your bravery and you just keep pushing it down," he explained, shrugging. "You mistaken it as fear."

"Highly unlikely."

"Well, I can't change what you think, but - " he was stopped when we were suddenly surrounded by werewolves, all growling and snapping their teeth. They emerged from the plants and peeked around the trees, sneakily. Gulping loudly, I instantly raised my hands in a surrendering gesture, moving closer to Temp. Completely circled, I watched as some of them crouched down back on their haunches, almost as if they were readying to attack. My heart was hammering in my chest and when the nearest werewolf snarled at me, I jumped in fear. Noticing Temp's standoffish posture, I nudged his arm with a scowl and reluctantly, he raised his arms. "I think we found them."

"You think?" I hissed, looking around. "What do we do now?"

"Let them kill us - what the hell do you think we're going to do?" he responded, sourly. Taking a deep breath, his eyes scanned the werewolves, landing on the largest one slowly approaching us, growling. "We don't mean any harm; actually, we're here to help. Uh, we know your Alpha is missing and we know who took him. You know, if you shifted back to your human form, I think this conversation would get a little farther. I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall. . ." I nudged him again in warning, but I was surprised when the particular werewolf, mostly likely the Beta, disappeared behind a tree, followed by the sounds of popping bones and quiet wheezes. "See? I got this, Blue. You need to trust me."

Seconds later, the assumed Beta came stomping out from behind the tree, naked. I gaped and kept my eyes leveled, clearing my throat, awkwardly. His dark brown hair was spiky, matching his olive skin, which was scarred. He was muscular all around with broad shoulders, standing around Temp's height. His eyes were brown, nearly black, and he eyed us up and down, curiously. "It's not smart coming here, humans - don't you know? This is a sanctuary for werewolves; for all of those who've survived the push of the government."

"Wait, just how many werewolves are here?" Temp asked, frowning.

He chuckled. "Thousands." My stomach dropped and I looked at Temp, fearfully. He gave me a reassuring look, nodding once. "What's your names?"

"I'm Temp," he answered, quickly. "This is Thea."

"I'm Kolton," he introduced, his teeth gleaming. "I was an Alpha myself until the government killed my entire pack." He started pacing, his eyes squinted in suspicion. In my head, I was worried that somehow he knew we had worked with the government and Temp glared at me, clearly hearing my thoughts. "I came here, joined this pack, and within two weeks, Alpha Ethan is declared missing. Since I still possess the power of an Alpha, I'm the one in charge, so I make the decisions." His eyes scanned my body and uncomfortable, I looked down. "I've decided I'm not really wanting to work with humans."

"We can help you," Temp tried, confused. "We know who took him." There were a few disbelieving snarls in response and Kolton chuckled, shaking his head.

"I don't work with humans," he responded, a little harsh. "You're all weak, pathetic, and untrustworthy." He waved his hand, stepping backwards, nonchalantly. "Now, fuck off."

"We're searching for the person who took him," Temp continued, glancing around."You want your Alpha back and we want the person who has him - why not work together? I'm not asking you to trust us, but we can help each other."

Kolton scowled. "Leave."

"Look, we need your help," I blurted, pleadingly. "It's a long story, but the werewolf who took your Alpha is very dangerous and needs to be caught." Kolton smirked at me and folded his arms across his chest, slightly shaking his head. "I know what you're thinking - why help us hunt down one of your own, even if they have your Alpha, possibly alive? But, he's not like you; he's much more powerful than all of you combined." I looked around at all the werewolves, not surprised that they were exchanging looks. "Have you ever heard of Ethen Volkov?"

His face dropped. "You're messing with the Volkov brothers?"

"So you have heard of them," I breathed, hunching forward. "So, you know how dangerous they are, right?"

"They're allies of mine," he responded, darkly. "Not necessarily friends, but I've asked Ryker Volkov for many favors and I owe him." He stepped forward, twigs snapping beneath his bare feet, and all the werewolves caved in closer, too. The situation had just turned horrible; this was not where I had expected it to turn. Temp swore under his breath and smacked me upside the head, angrily. "This would be a good favor, don't you think? Getting some humans off him and his family's backs, huh? After all, I nearly killed his mate once - I should really fix the tension between us."

I gulped loudly. "Look, I-I think this - "

"We don't want anything with Ryker Volkov," Temp interrupted, shaking his head. "We just want to find his brother."

"Why?"

"Well, it's complicated," Temp drawled, tangling his hands. "He has your Alpha, doesn't that bother you? Are you choosing a Volkov brother over your own Alpha?" A few werewolves growled at him, before looking at the one in charge.

Kolton narrowed his eyes. "You don't mess with the Volkov brothers, not unless you have a death wish." This wasn't good; how the hell was I going to fix the situation? "It took me forever to have Ryker on my side and I'm not screwing that up, understand?" As I opened my mouth to speak, Kolton gestured towards us, carelessly. "Take them."

"Wait, no! Please!" I shouted, watching as the werewolves caved in. "We can help! Don't do this! Kolton!" With a cocky smirk, he whipped around and disappeared into the trees, probably shifting back into his human form. Growls and snarls surrounded me; this couldn't be happening. I bumped into Temp next to me as we slowly backed up and he looked down at me, his eyes narrowed into terrifying slits.

"This is why you should've let me do all the talking."