"Zephyr left? Where? Where's Wren?" Alex demanded.

"She's on a mission. Bear got some intelligence and she's checking it out. Wren opted to stay behind, so she's probably in her room. Why?" Rogue crossed his arms and frowned at Alex.

"The information came from..."

"Me," Ethan interrupted. "Is something wrong, Alex?"

Alex glared at Ethan. He always pops just in time to manipulate me, but not this time. Not at the cost of Zephyr's life. He started to answer, but then Ethan leaned against the wall grinned that evil grin of his.

"Hey Alex, I think I saw Wren in the woods. She wanted to find you, but she got a bit... tied up with something," he said.

He took her. He took Wren, and now he was forcing Alex to choose between them.

"I swear I will destroy you one day, Bear," Alex ground out. Rogue was glancing between the two of them, completely confused.

"I'm not sure I understand what's going on..."

"Go get on the coms, Rogue," Ethan said. "Zephyr's waiting."

With one last puzzled glance at Alex and Ethan, Rogue left. Alex faced Ethan, crossing his arms. "What did you do, Ethan?"

"I've hidden your precious Wren in the woods. You could go and tell Rogue about the trap I'm sure you figured out I set. But then your little birdie might get killed. After all... who knows when the hawk might strike. I give you... twenty minutes. If you're smart, you'll find her in time. If not... well things won't go well with her. After all, Akram has been searching for the leader of this little rebellion for some time now."

"I could still tell Rogue in time to save both of them," Alex pointed out.

"Did I not tell you about that rule? I must have forgotten to specify. If you tell anyone about the trap before you find Wren, you won't ever see her again. I have a colleague who would enjoy a bit of one-on-one time with her before handing her off to Akram. And my friend, you don't want to see her after that."

"You're despicable," Alex spat.

"Maybe so, but you've already wasted two minutes. Tick tock, Alex. Make your choice."

Casting a final glare at Ethan, Alex ran, pushing past anyone who got in his way. He found a mountain bike and hopped on, revving the engine and driving into the woods. He'd take her somewhere she wouldn't recognize just in case, so not the north side. She's been in the west side too, which leaves the south and east sides. The east side doesn't have any good hiding places, so that leaves the south side. He just hoped he was right.

Leaves flew up from ground as he drove by, drifting slowly back down to earth. Trees swayed in the wind and flowers bloomed everywhere. Berry bushes sprinkled the area, and ivy crept slowly up the trees.

None of the scenery meant anything to Alex, however. He was focused on one thing only: finding Amanda and keeping her out of Akram's clutches. I won't let him hurt her. Not now, not ever.

It took him fifteen minutes to track down the only hiding spot he could think of on the south side. A large cave system. If she's deep enough in here it could take days to find her, Alex thought. His heart sank. Finding her in two or three minutes was nigh on impossible.

Even so, he refused to give up. Zephyr was quite possibly in mortal danger because he'd chosen to rescue Amanda instead. He wouldn't let both of them die. His footsteps echoed through the cave, the sound amplifying to a boom and then quickly dying out.

"Wren!" he called, listening as his voice bounced off of the walls and deeper into the cave.

No reply. He realized that she might not want to be rescued by him. He'd hurt her when he refused her so harshly. Now he wished desperately to take back the words and kiss her instead. If it hadn't been for Ethan he might have. But if it hadn't been for Ethan she probably never would have tried to admit her feelings to him, and he might never have realized she felt the same.

"Wren!"

A faint reply sounded, and he headed deeper into the cave system. It was surprisingly well lit, and he realized that there were holes in the ceiling, just small enough to be insignificant, but large enough to allow light through. "Wren where are you?"

"I don't know, try and follow my voice or something!"

The sound of her voice echoed back to him, causing him to relax slightly. She's alive. Now I just have to find her. His alarm sounded and he looked down. Ethan's time limit was up. No, not yet. I need more time.

"Wren keep talking!"

"It's too late, Dylan," another voice answered. "Time's up."

~~~

A/N: Hey guys! Got another chapter for you! Sorry this is late. I meant to post it yesterday, but I was busy. If you liked it, don't forget to click that vote button!

Thank you all so much for reading this far into the book. Knowing that you guys enjoy my writing makes me so happy! And hey, if anybody wants to talk about writing or just talk about anything, I'd be happy to make a new friend! Please feel free to comment or PM me. :D