Chapter 75 -Plato-

"Sorry, sorry. My bad," I whispered after I had bumped into the back of the tall white-haired man for the third time since we had started our trek through the woods.

"Maybe you should have stayed behind," he muttered and hunched his shoulders over as he continued to traipse through the trees

"You need me!" I insisted. "Tan the only one who knows where the Lady Tally's tent is"

"You had better he right about this he spoke over his shoulder and I hurried to catch up when he quickened his pace. "We're walking straight into enemy territory. If anything goes wrong, I'm leaving you behind "Harsh," Luttered and tripped when my foot caught on a fallen branch. "Fuck! Anyway, this Moirali person, how do you know it's really her?"

He sighed with deep exasperation as he trod onwards "As I said, she's my mother. And while it's faint and warped, I can still sense her."

He stopped and stood with his hands in his pockets, waiting for me to give the directions

"Left after that tree over there. We walked on, taking care to kick leaves over our tracks as we went. "Why would your mother he leading the Tally to war? Wasn't she of the Bielke herself?"

"Yes, she was once the Luna of the Bielke Pack. But her parents had been nomads. Maybe she just wanted to go back to her roots, he mumbled dryly and I took it as a sign to stop asking questions.

I managed all of five minutes walking in silence before I was itching to know more about the pale abrasive man. "So, what exactly happened with that Johan guy. Was he jealous of you and the redhead?" That redhead is named Dorothy and she's my mate," be answered shortly. "But yes, I guess you could say that."

"Dorothy, right, I remember now. So, she was Johan's true mate?

It was more of a growl than a verbal response.

"But she chose you instead? And then his girlfriend, Mavis dumped him too? That's brutal, da mn, no wonder he went f ucking loopy"

"You don't know what you're talking about," Ignatius hissed, turning to glare at me with icy eyes. "Johan made mistakes. He didn't deserve half the s hit that happened to him but that sure as hell doesn't justify coming after my mate now."

He narrowed his eyes at me and I dragged my pinched fingers across my lips, promising to stop with the talking. I offered him a tentative grin and he exhaled loudly, curling his lip and turning away again to stomp onwards in a stormy mood

We fell silent again until we reached the Tally campsite. The scent of it was apparent long before we heard the shuffling of heavy shifters moving about. Ignatius put a cautioning hand out to slow me down when one of them rambled right past us.

Luckily for us, we were hidden amongst the thick clumped trees and the Tally shifter himself seemed more preoccupied

ath his mission of carrying large logs on his shoulders, presumably for the fires they kept buming constantly.

1 praked over Ignatius shoulder and squinted to get a glimpse of the camp. We had rounded the area and approached from

different angle, the way had been brought in when they dragged me from the van

"Where did you say you saw her?" Iguatus whispered and I pointed with my chin to a small rickety set up under a large dropping tree. Just outside there was a short line of dismal-looking shifters waiting to be healed by their tiny deity.

"Right there, I think that's where she does her magic

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Chapter 75 59%

Standing between us and the tent, aside from a heavy collection of twisting trees was one of the great fires they had built Around it sat a circle of the eerie walking corpses who had captured me in the first place.

"Fuck those guys," I whispered under my breath and Ren vehemently agreed with my sentiment.

"They're dead right? Ignatius whispered back to me. "Those are the bodies from the van?"

"Yeah. But they could talk. It was probably her though. It didn't sound like a regular way of speaking, they all chimed in at once like someone was using them as a mouthpiece. Like she was speaking through them"

"She's definitely expanded her craft since her time with the Bielke," his voice was flat and lifeless

I stared at the glazed eyes of the sitting corpses. The fire reflected in their empty orbs and flickered wickedly. I gulped. "And you're certain this lady is your mother? What she's doing, nec romancy, witches blood, it's pure evil.

"There's no such thing as pure evil," Ignatius stated before creeping along the tree line to get closer to the tent.

"Wait, where are you going?!" I yelled in a winsper, hurrying to follow him through the thick brush. "You can't go in there alone. You need to call for backup.

"I have to see her." he was speaking more to himself than to me at that point. "I have to speak to her. I have to know why."

"And you can do that," 1 gripped his shoulder when he quickened his pace and almost exposed himself to the shifters standing in the line. "After you call for backup.

He paused and thought it over and I allowed myself to breathe a small sigh of relief. I realized though that I had celebrated 300 early when I felt the skin of his shoulder ripple and fur broke out under my fingertips.

His teeth were already protruding from his mouth when he snarled. "Distract them."

"What?"

"Distract them, lead them away from the tent

My eyes widened when he pulled off his vest and jeans, "What are you doing?"

Ignatius rolled his eyes and crouched as his b*dy began to morph into that of a large gray wolf

They won't kill you, they need you alive."

"No way man, I'm not going out there! I've only just been freed, I'm not going to let them catch me again!"

"Lead them back to the campsite. Will, Carly, and the others are already waiting in hiding. They'll kill then on site as soon as you get there"

"You bastard, you planned this, didn't you?"

honamus flashed me a nonchalant smirk before his wolf form burs forth, "Consider it payment for your rescue. I'm counting on you. Plato"

And just like that, he dared away from me, dipping and dodging around the trees towards the tent

ot herfucker, Ren mattered in my chest and I pulled at my hair in irritation "What a pr ick. Fine, let's go be heroes I

Had no idea how I was going to go about distracting anyone, let alone rile them up enough to get them to follow me inta the forest but hard to try After all the only reason I was free at all was thanks to Ignatius and his crew. Lowed them this

Without much dught. I desed my hands into the pockets of the grams that same st Ignatus friends had gittest me and walted anno the x Traning to stand before the beaten up shulica opar puppets in all of un glory

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Chapter 75

They didn't notice me at firs, probably because the bodies around the fire were nothing but empty husks and the shifters in the line were too preoccupied with their failing bodies to even bother looking up "Ahem." One or two of them raised their heads but no flicker of recognition passed over their eyes. "Um, hi. It's me. Plato? The guy you had chained to a pole for a while?"

One by one they began to take notice of me as I paraded up and down in front of them, waving my arms and attempting to look threatening. "I escaped you once before and now I've done again!

I kept up the ridiculous antics as every shifter in the line slowly began the shamble towards me, baring their teeth. They fixed their yellow eyes on me like they were locking on to prey as I continued to shout, "They'll tell stories of me one day! L Plato, the slippery!"

“That's a terrible name." Ren piped up from inside my head. "Watch yourself, Plato, the slippery, they look like they want to

take a bite"

She was right about that one. A few of them were foaming at the mouth and they stalked towards me slowly. Their rotting bloated bodies began to morph as they shifted into monsterous wolf creatures "God, some of you are ugly Were you like this before you started dabbling in magic? Because if so, I am so sorry."

"Plato," Regrowled. "Run"

Iturned and bolted into the woods a second before the closest shifter decided to pounce. His teeth snapped the air where my b*dy had been and I couldn't help but yelp at the shock. "You need me alive bit ch!" They all came after me with alarming speed for such frail bodies. I checked behind me to see one shifter she-wolf hot on my trails, pieces of her flesh caught on branches and tore away like she was made of paper but it didn't seem to bother her in the slightest

Her teeth were long and ready to sink into me the moment she got the chance. Her eyes fixated on me like she wouldn't stop until she had run her b*dy down to the bone. Behind her, half a dozen more wolves were pursuing.

"I'm beginning to think that they don't care whether I live or die I muttered to Ren as we took on our own wolf form and darted through the trees, making a beeline for Ignatius' camp,

"If we live through this, that white-haired weirdo owes me big time."

"Think about debts later. Ren growled. "Focus on living through this first." -Ignatius-

I felt the slightest twinge of guilt at essentially using Plato as bait, but the guy seemed strong enough to outrun the vicious shifters and my tearn would be waiting to help him out the second he made it to the campsite

It had all been Carly's idea. Ten years older than me, she had known my mother, known the relationship we used to have, and just how important it was that I be the one to confront her. After speaking with Plato, she had taken me aside and relayed her plan.

"Technically the guy owes us for saving his life," she had whispered to me just outside of the campsite.

We shouldn't be saving people just to ensure that they owe us a favor for it

"Yeah but think about it, he knows where she could be hiding and if they wanted him dead they would have done it by now He's the only one who they won't kill

She hadjent and we needed answers and so I had Plato traipse through the woods with me to potnt out the magic

elders tent Adoer ditching him to handle the last minute diversion. I crept through the tires around the clearing and wasted just te at of sight

Eventually. Plata stepped into view and went about vying for the station of the hate of shutters outside of the tent. “Ahem.

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Chapter 75

If I had a human palm would be slapping it to my forehead in shame. "What kind of distraction is that meant to be?"

"An effective one," Tor rumbled, as one by one the shifters began to take notice of Plato who walked up and down in front of them like tantalizingly easy prey.

"A ridiculous one. For someone built like a Greek g od the guy is the least gracefull person on the planet." As if to prove my point, Plato tripped on a rock and barely caught himself before barreling into the woods as the first shifter hanged at him. "I suppose it did the job though.”

It was a little alarming that the shifter that had snapped at him had very clearly done it with the intent to kill, but I brushed it aside and continued with the plan. "He'll be fine. Even in that state he still has the capacity to outrun them all."

I turned my attention back to the tent. The clearing was now empty aside from the puppet bodies that sat around the fire. Considering they hadn't been sent after Plato too, I was willing to assume that there was nob*dy puppeteering them at the moment and their glassy eyes would not witness my approach.

I crept across the clearing, checking now and again to ensure the coast was still clear. The magic user's tent was set up a little way away from the main campsite and nob*dy but wounded shifters seemed to hang around the area.

Getting up close to the grimy canvas, I tested the air. I was not prepared for the scent that hit my nostrils like a gust of wind. A familiar scent, something I had thought I had forgotten but realized at that moment I never would.

The curtains of the entrance stirred, and I darted back behind the tree line. A newly healed shifter exited the tent and looked around him in bewilderment when he found all of his buddies missing.

I waited with bated breath to see if he would go back inside and raise the alarm but instead, he just shrugged and strode off again towards the main camp

I shifted back to human form under the cover of the trees and pulled on the jeans I had discarded earlier. Barefoot, I padded back to the entrance of the tent and hesitated

There was no point in reconsidering though A voice in my head, one I hadn't heard in years, began to speak. "So you've come to see me yourself I see."

I ripped aside the curtain and stared into the gloomy shadows of the tear's interior. My eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark and suddenly there she was. The Lady Tally, Moirah. My mother. SEND GIFT

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