The Alpha Queen And Her Chosen Mate
Chapter 57

Emmett

This was not how this mission was supposed to go. We were all separated, and likely lost, within the forest which was cluttered with Banshees and witches. I was frantically searching for the Lunaris Herbs with zero indication as to where in this goddess’ forsaken forest it could be.

Thorin and Kelly were already compromised, and there was no telling how long Jonas and I would last before we ran into trouble of our own. I dared not shift, my hearing would only be heightened. Not being able to shift was going to slow my progress down drastically. And not being able to hear my surroundings was intimidating as f**k. I didn’t like any of this.

I continued to run for hours, trusting my nose to pick up the citrus smell of the Lunaris Herbs. It was nearly dusk when I finally stopped and made camp, having found a small cave in the forest to jam myself into. That left only one side unprotected, so I grabbed some small boulders, a large fallen tree branch, and a ton of leaves, barricading myself in the tight space, hoping I would go unnoticed.

I just had to make it till morning. Then I would have one day to replace the Lunaris Herbs, preferably before it gets dark outside. Once the moon was high in the sky, I would only have a few hours to harvest the herbs before it was too late. To say I was stressed was an understatement. But Kelly was counting on me, and I wasn’t going to let her down. Hopefully, Jonas was having better luck than I was.

– – – – – – – – –

Jonas

“Thorin!! Its me, Jonas!” I yelled, clinging to Thorin’s back for dear life as he thrashed about, undoubtedly trying to kill me.

This was not going well. I searched all day and there was no sign of Kelly, but of course, I happened to run into G.I.Joe by myself and he seemed to be beyond help right now. I felt like I was wrestling a bull. A bull…that gave me an idea, a very stupid idea, but an idea none the less. I quickly let go of Thorin, jumping to my feet before taunting him a bit. Goddess, I hope this works…

“You want me?! Come and get me!!” I yelled, throwing a rock at him before running for my life. I had zero doubt that he would kill me if he got his hands on me. I wish I had someone to time me. I was sure I broke some sort of sprinting record as I led Thorin back in the direction we had originally come from.

He was relentless, hot on my heels the entire time. I kept looking around as I ran, praying that Kelly would show up. Maybe she could help me get Thorin under control, or maybe I could piss her off enough to chase me out of this forest too. I was open to just about anything at this point.

“Kelly!!” I yelled, praying that she might replace me.

I worried that Thorin might shift soon to end this quicker. I couldn’t risk that, I couldn’t risk needing to shift and ending up just like them. I stuffed part of my shirt sleeve in my ears to drown out the Banshees. If I shifted, it would likely fall out and then it would be game over.

“Kelly!!” I called again, looking around frantically.

And this time, I was blessed with having found her. Curled up in a tiny ball with her hands on her ears was Kelly. I knew it was her from her perfect golden blond hair. Banshees were not even in the same ballpark as far as beauty went. I took a sharp right turn and booked it for her, dropping to my knees and wrapping myself around her, bracing for impact.

Thorin did not disappoint, crashing into both of us. I untangled myself from Kelly, who had tears running down her face still, only to see her eyes go dark and her demeanor shift. f**k me. I don’t think she ever took her pills yesterday. And I know for a fact she didn’t today.

“Keres?” I asked.

When I got a smirk and a wink in return, I knew we were in trouble. But this might just be the trouble we need in order to get the heck out of this nightmare of a forest. As expected, Keres didn’t hold back, immediately taking a swipe at Thorin who then went balls out trying to take her down. While the two were having their pissing contest, I tore a few more pieces of fabric from my shirt and balled them up, about to do something else stupid. I psyched myself up before launching myself at Thorin, dodging a few swipes from Keres in the process, and jamming the fabric into his ears. He threw me off as soon as I got the second earplug in, which I was thankful for, now out of range of Keres. Another moment later, he stumbled back, his demeanor shifting. No longer did he look blinded by rage, but was now assessing the situation and fighting Keres without actually trying to kill her.

Progress. This was good progress. Now to get my makeshift earplugs in Keres…

– – – – – – – –

Emmett

I woke the next morning to the sun beaming in through my barricade, blinding me. But I made it through the night without any trouble. That’s one tiny win so far. I readjusted my earplugs before climbing out of my pitiful-looking shelter, my body stiff and aching. I carefully stretched and looked around before going on my way in search of the Lunaris Herbs.

I didn’t bother to stop and replace food or water. I’d be good at least another day. I now had only a day before my opportunity to harvest the herbs was gone. I started to jog, needing to cover as much ground as possible while also being thorough in my search. I ran for half the day before taking a rest and grabbing a drink of water from a small stream I had found. Although the forest was quite beautiful, I felt more and more anxious as time passed. I felt like I was always being watched. I needed a sign, something, anything. Something to tell me I was heading in the right direction. And that’s when I saw something highly disturbing. A skeleton.

I looked around, verifying that I was alone, before approaching the remains. The skeleton was that of a werewolf, evident by the canines. The body was spread out, but its right arm completely outstretched, as if reaching for something. In front of the body was a dead area of grass. It looked almost burnt. What the heck happened to him, I wondered to myself. I continued along, and to my disappointment, there was another pile of remains, and another. All with outstretched arms and burnt grass in front of them. Red flags were everywhere, yet something about this made me think I was heading in the right direction.

Moving along, I counted at least thirty bodies, all in skeleton form, having had their flesh ripped from bone. All with burnt grass in front of them. There was something to be learned here, some unspoken message. As I slowly continued along, I took note of each and every crime scene. Some of the remains looked older than others. This was something that has been happening for some time.

And then I smelled it. Citrus. I took a deep whiff, and followed my nose, stepping over more and more bones as I went. In the center of a clearing, I saw it. The Lunaris Herbs. It was beautiful looking, but I dared not touch it. Looking around once more, it was clear that all these lives had been sacrificed in a desperate attempt to gather the herbs. Perhaps they didn’t wait until the full moon? Whatever it was, I would need to replace out before my fate ended up the same as everyone else around here.