Okay my loves, here it is, the first of many chapters that will include fight scenes. If it sucks I'm sorry. I've never written anything like this before. Let me know if you love it or hate it, otherwise how are we meant to learn?
Normal disclaimers apply.
The forest was quiet as the nine of us lay in wait ten meters from the border.
It took a few days to get the team organised with a strategy for extracting Edward from the clutches of Billy Black.
Marcus' inside man would meet us in the forest where our borders were the closest on Saturday evening once the sun had gone down and we could sneak in under the cover of night. Thankfully our mission was a well kept secret within the pack. Only Marcus knew the details of our plan. Everyone else was told it was an overnight Alpha training exercise.
*They only have one wolf on patrol this far out. He does a circuit every hour.* Emmett said. *We'll wait for him to pass and as long as we stay silent, we can get in undetected.*
*Their soldiers aren't trained well and are not very bright. Too many generations of inbreeding.* Felix added. *Billy doesn't treat his pack well. Most of them are kept there by fear. It won't take much to convince them to change allegiances.*
We grew still as we heard the patrol wolf approaching. We only had to wait for him to pass by us and then we could sneak in. Unfortunately luck was not on our side at this exact moment. The cloud cover shifted and the bright moon shone down on us and glinted off of my silver fur just as the enemy wolf got close. Jasper and Emmett covered me with their bodies but it wasn't enough. The enemy wolf started to howl a warning to the rest of it's pack just as Felix burst through the undergrowth and silenced him.
Another wolf approached but before Felix or anyone else could attack an unfamiliar voice sounded in our mind connection.
*Felix stop! It's me. Demetri. Marcus told me you'd be coming. Follow me this way and stay quiet. I need my mind open for the Black Pack.*
Demetri led us through the forest on the outskirts of the territory before diverting inwards towards some ominous looking buildings. The sight of them brought back the memories of being in this place, even if my stay only was short lived.
The way Demetri was moving told us he was dodging the security cameras and using their blind spots to get around. *This is the back of the main building. Edward is being kept inside one of the holding cells. Bella, do you remember how to get to them?*
Everyone looked to me. *I-I think so.*
*Good. I'll give you guys a ninety second head start, but then I'll have to raise the alarm. The door here is unlocked.* He nodded to the large warehouse style door behind us. *Good luck everyone.* Demetri slunk into the shadows, giving us our clue to get a move on.
90. 89. 88. 87.
One by one the nine of us slipped inside the open door. We carried on down a wide corridor before it branched off into three different directions.
73. 72. 71. 70.
Two of the soldiers and Jasper went down the left and the three remaining soldiers went to the right, while Felix, Emmett and I went straight ahead.
It was quiet here. Too quiet. More than once I felt like we were being followed, but each time I turned around there was nothing there.
56. 55. 54. 53.
We tried to pick up scents, but the harsh cleaners they used in this building affected our sense of smell. From what the minds of the others were sharing they were having the same problem.
40. 39. 38. 37.
*Man this place reeks. Are you sure he's even here Bella?* Emmett complained from beside me.
*Shush Emmett. I need to focus.*
25. 24. 23. 22.
Only twenty seconds left to locate him. Only twenty seconds until our enemy will be alerted to our presence. I broadened my mind, trying to pick up on Edward's. Either we were lied to, or he was stuck in his human form. I felt the faint sensation of the tug in my chest when he was near. No, we weren't lied to, which means he's stuck. I really hope Billy hasn't been forcing him to take those suppressants again.
13. 12. 11. 10.
At last a corridor looked familiar. This is the one where I was held when I was captured last year.
*This way!* I headed off in the direction of where Edward once told me the cells were but abruptly skidded to a halt when three wolves approached us in the dark. I let out a sigh of relief when Jasper and the two soldiers stepped into the weak overhead light between us.
*These corridors are like a maze. We came across your scent more than once.* Jasper said, coming to join us. Our other three soldiers were still wandering around.
3. 2. 1.
Our time was up and we hadn't located Edward at all.
A collective howl went up all around us. We had been played and six of us were backed into a corner. The bright overhead lights flickered on and when our eyes had adjusted to the sudden brightness we saw that russet wolves surrounded us on both sides. We were trapped.
A smirking Billy Black stood in the middle of his guards. His dark, beady eyes glinting in the lighting. "Well well well. Six little pups went astray without their master." His voice sent chills down my spine. "And one beauty in amongst the beasts too." He looked me up and down, licking his lips. I felt sick. "One of you shift and tell me where my beta and scouts are."
*Stand firm everyone.* Felix ordered. *He is at a disadvantage without his beta. He's trying to goad us.*
In the back of my mind I could see our three soldiers closing in behind Blacks team.
"Not playing fair huh?" Billy called out, his tongue peeking out to nervously wet his lips.
Looking at him now, in his pathetic human form, hunched over and leaning discretely on one of the wolves, he shouldn't strike so much fear into any one of us, but it's his sharp and evil mind that we need to keep watch for. Who knows what nasty plans he has concocted for us. His body may be weak and dying, that's probably why he's not shifted. He no longer has the energy to.
Without warning my wolf started snarling at the enemy pack. She detected weakness. The others tried to get me to calm down, but just like when I killed James, the Alpha in me saw red. She knew there was a weak opponent and she was out for blood.
I could feel the hackles on my back rise up as I almost doubled in size. All wolves surrounding me had to back up a few steps to make room. Some of them even whimpered as I bared my fangs at them.
Blood was once again pounding in my ears, drowning out all other sounds as I advanced forwards. Billy urged his team to stay put, but I could see the fear in their eyes. One stupidly brave wolf met his end too soon and he tried to attack, but one swipe from my paw sent him flying into a protruding corner wall. His body bent around it like rubber before falling lifeless to the floor.
This was it. The start of the war that would apparently end my life.
*ATTACK!* I roared, charging at the rival pack who started to whimper and back away. The rest of my team followed in my stead.
"What's going on? What is this magic?!" Billy cried in a panicked voice as his soldiers retreated down the corridor. "Come back you cowards! Come back! Stand your ground!"
Realising he was on his own, Billy quickly shook off the feeble charade and fled the scene unfolding around him.
Felix and our soldiers grouped up and gave chase while Jasper, Emmett and I roamed the corridors to the maze-like prison.
Most of the russet wolves we came across surrendered and rolled onto their backs, presenting us their soft underbellies. The ones that tried to fight came off worse in the end.
By keeping connected to the others, we found out that Billy and one member of his guard had managed to slip away. No one had seen them disappear and all of us had to be on high alert.
Walking along a particularly dark part of the corridor we were pounced upon by three wolves. I shook mine off and it skidded back before charging again, but this time it joined it's mates and attacked Jasper and Emmett. I ripped the nearest one off of them by the scruff of its neck. I shook it vigorously before flinging it back down the hall.
*Bella go! We can handle these.* Jasper growled, pinning a wolf to the floor and gnashing his jaws in its face.
*Go on. Find Edward.* Emmett agreed, headbutting the wolf he was fighting in its side.
I left them to it and carried on down the corridor, stepping over the torn body of the wolf I had pulled away from my cousins.
I closed my eyes and let my other senses lead me. The pull in my chest returned, tugging me to the left, down a hall lined on either side by metal bars. I walked down slowly, keeping alert for any imposing dangers. Just as I was walking past one of the cells, movement in the corner caught my attention.
Huddled in the back corner with his head down and his arms wrapped around his knees was Edward. The air left my lungs in a sharp exhale. He looked dreadful. Way too skinny. Unshaven. Unwashed. Wearing the same clothes I last saw him in, back when he left the safety of my pack.
How long have they had him here? Did they ambush him as soon as he stepped off of our land?
I glanced around the rest of his cell and the conditions made me sick. No bed, just a bundle of filthy threadbare blankets. Rotten food sat festering in a metal dog bowl. Stagnant water attracting bugs in a tin cup. This place was hell.
My heart broke for him and a whimper escaped my muzzle.
His head snapped up at the sound and his dark, lifeless eyes grew wider as he took me in. "Bella?" It was barely more than a whisper.
I shifted and stood before his cell as naked as the day I was born. "It's me. I'm going to save. I'll get you out. I promise. Hold on for me." I turned and ran back down the hall, shifting as I went. My paws making no sound against the stone flooring as I made my way to Billy's office where I remembered he kept the keys.
I pushed my way through the door, ready to take on anyone who may be within, but the room was deserted. Realising I wouldn't be able to manoeuvre the room in my wolf form I shifted and grabbed one of the robes hanging behind the door. I slipped it on and squeezed behind the large oak desk. I pulled open each of the drawers, unceremoniously tipping the contents out in the search for the key to Edward's cell.
"Well well well. Looks like beauty left the beasts after all. Looking for something?"
The voice made my blood run cold and I looked up into the sickening gaze of Billy Black, who was swinging a key from the end of his finger.
"I knew you would come once you had proof Edward was here." His tongue poked out, wetting his lips before they stretched into a sinister grin revealing rotting yellow teeth. "I'm on the look for a new wife and I think you would be just perfect."
Bile rose in my throat as he inched nearer. I tried to look around for possible chances of escape, but he was blocking the only exit.
"No way out little bird." Billy sneered, catching on to what I was doing. "You're all mine." Moving faster that I would expect someone of his age and ill health to, he was over the desk and pinning me to the wall by my throat before I could shift. His rancid breath fanned across my face as he pressed himself against me. He ran his nose up the column of my throat as I struggled to get out of his hold. I couldn't get enough air into my lungs and black spots began to blur my vision.
The more I tried to get away from him the more the robe I was wearing slipped down my shoulders and the tighter he held on. His black eyes gleaming as more of my skin was revealed to him. His free hand began to tug at the belt holding the robe together while I desperately tried to fight him off.
Suddenly the door to the office exploded off of its hinges in a shower of splintered wood to reveal Emmett filling the space where it once stood. I had never been so relieved to see my cousin, even if he was butt naked.
"Get your filthy fucking paws off of her Black." He growled, charging into the room and shifting as he went.
Black was off of me in an instant and I dropped to the floor, taking in some much needed air while I righted my robe.
Billy shifted and his larger-than-most russet wolf filled the space as Emmett charged him. The two met in the middle. A clash of bodies and fangs. Their growls and snarls deafening in the small room.
I spied the key to Edward's cell laying discarded on the floor. Billy must have dropped it in the commotion. I grabbed the golden object and edged out of the room. Once I was free I ran full speed back to where Edward was.
He was still huddled in the corner, only this time he was rocking back and forth. "Just a dream." He was muttering. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"
I opened my mouth to speak, but was winded for the second time that evening by a russet wolf who knocked me off my feet. The key went flying out of my hand and landed in Edward's cell. He stopped his muttering long enough to glance up at the tinkling sound of the metal hitting the concrete floor.
The wolf snarled in my face and started to dig its claws into my body. My right hand held its top jaw and my left had a grip on its bottom one, preventing the beast from biting me. Saliva dripped down onto me as I struggled with it. Its hot breath blowing across my skin. I finally got the upper hand by twisting my arms in a motion akin to a small child pretending to steer a car, and managed to flip the wolf onto its side where it pressed up against the metal bars. It howled in pain before passing out as the smell of singed fur and seared skin hit my nostrils. That's when I noticed silver had been welded into grooves running up and down the length of the bars.
The unconscious wolf shifted back to reveal a pale, redheaded woman. Lines of burns marred the skin on her ribs and face. She would bear those for life. A wolf can never recover from wounds inflicted by pure silver.
"Well that's never happened in my dream before." Edward said, still sitting on the floor with his mouth agape. "Victoria always won."
Victoria? James' mate? "Edward, you are not dreaming. Please. We need to get out of here." I begged.
I glanced down and my heart sunk in my chest. The redheaded woman -Victoria- was gone. I looked up to see her nearing the end of the corridor. I needed to get her to stop before she escaped for good. I only hoped that what I was about to do didn't backfire on me.
"I'M THE ONE THAT KILLED JAMES." I shouted. The words echoing down the empty space.
She skidded to a halt before spinning on her heel to face me. "YOU LIE!" She hissed, her face full of hatred and fury.
"His blood coated my bed and floor after I ripped out his throat. He didn't have a chance to react before I was on him, sinking my teeth into his soft flesh."
Victoria howled in pain and rage as she ran at me, shifting as she went.
I dropped the robe I was wearing and did the same. I ducked my head down as I hit her face on, successfully bashing into her sternum and knocking her back several feet. I pounced on her and for a few tense minutes there was nothing but the sounds of snarls and ripping fur as the two of us battled it out.
Finally Victoria gave in as she lay panting on her back while tufts of silver and russet fur settled on the floor around her. I huffed at her and turned on my paws back towards Edward, who had finally approached the bars of his cell.
"Bella! Watch out!" He cried, looking behind me.
I spun to see Victoria -back in her human form- running at me with a silver tipped knife in her hand and a crazed look in her eyes. This pack sure loves to play dirty.
I shifted and kicked her barefoot in the stomach, making her drop the knife where it skittered into one of the empty cells opposite.
She charged at me again only to stop short and drop to her knees. She let out an anguished wail as all of the enemy wolves joined in.
Howls of sorrow went up from all around, echoing eerily throughout the halls.
Movement at the end of the corridor caught my attention.
Emmett.
He limped up to me, wounds to his left hind flank slowly healing and a front toe bent at a funny angle. I shifted so I could talk with him. *What's going on Em? What's happened?* I asked, stepping over Victoria who remained kneeling on the floor, and nuzzling my cousin.
*Billy Black is dead.* He said in a monotone voice, not sounding like himself at all. *I killed him.* He collapsed against me with a whine, revealing two long gouges on his right hand side that I didn't notice before.
*FELIX! JASPER! I NEED YOU IN THE CELL BLOCK NOW!* I screamed in my mind.
*We're on our way Bella. Hold on.*
I licked Emmett's unconscious face while I waited for them to get here. The only thought running through my head was Emmett was now the Alpha of the Black Pack.
Dun dun duuuuunnnnnn...
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Much love x