The Unwanted Wolf
Chapter 43

A large, almost black wolf pinned Theron to the ground. He was snarling, and saliva was spraying all over Theron’s face. I instantly knew it was Jori. I could feel his energy and strength as an alpha. Theron’s face was frozen with shock.

Haley stared at the scene, but she didn’t move towards it. She turned to me instead. She lunged towards me, and I held up my hands in defense. She never reached me, though. Another wolf flew through the air, knocking her to her feet. This wolf was such a pale blond, it was almost white. Haley screamed as the wolf pinned her down.

Theron shouted out in frustration. In a blink of an eye, he was standing behind Jori instead of pinned to the ground. He pulled out a knife.

“Jori!” I screamed as Theron slashed at him.

Jori darted out of the way just in time to miss the blade. He turned and lunged towards Theron, but this time Theron was ready. He shifted out of Jori’s path, and Jori rolled to the ground. The wolf was back on his feet in an instant.

“Adira.” Scythe touched my arm, drawing my attention away from the fight between Jori and Theron.

“Scythe.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Are you okay?” He helped me to my feet.

“Can you help me get out of these handcuffs?” A snarl drew my attention towards the fight with Jori. It looked like a game of cat and mouse, but I wasn’t exactly sure who was who in this scenario.

Scythe grabbed the handcuffs and tried to pull them apart. I could see his forearms buldging from the pressure, but it wasn’t working.

“Hold on. I’m going to have to shift.” Scythe stripped his shirt and pants and quickly shifted to his wolf form. His wolf was larger than I anticipated from his lanky stature. The fur was a pretty mix of white emphasized by the grey streaks.

He pushed his nose against my wrists, and I knew he was going to bite them off. I held my hands as far apart as possible and then closed my eyes and looked away. I didn’t want to see him doing it for fear I would flinch, and he would end up biting my skin. I heard a loud clink and then my hands flung free. Looking back, I watched as the handcuffs fell to the ground. I grabbed them and shoved them in my pocket, thinking they might come in handy later.

A yelp pulled Scythe’s and my attention. Haley was on top of Rie’s wolf, pinning her down. I was shocked that such a small frame could hold such a large wolf. Scythe looked at me with worried eyes.

“Go. I’m fine.”

Scythe dashed off to help Rie, and I watched him tackle Haley off her. I looked over to Jori. He was still struggling with Theron, but there was a second wolf fighting with him now. That must have been Percy. I hadn’t even heard him join the fight, but I was grateful. Two werewolves per sorcerer. This had to go our way.

Finally, I looked to Mark, who was now lying on the ground. I instantly ran over to him and grabbed his arm. He looked weak and dazed. I didn’t see Theron or Haley do anything to him, but based on his injuries, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was running out of energy.

“Mark.” I shook his arm, trying to get his attention.

“Adira,” Mark said, his eyes replaceing mine.

“I’ve got you now.” I cupped Mark’s cheeks. “Just hold on a little longer. We’ll get you out of here and get help.”

“Don’t let him take you.” Mark’s eyes glazed over a little.

“Hold on, Mark.” I reached behind him and started untying the rope around his wrists. There were rope burns and more bruises, and his skin was cold to the touch. I knew I had to get him out of here as soon as possible.

Snarls kept tearing my eyes away from Mark, but everyone seemed to be doing okay. I was surprised Theron was able to hold his own against Jori and Percy. I didn’t know much about sorcerer’s powers other than the ability to shift and apparently heal, and I wasn’t watching the fight closely enough to know how Theron was fighting.

I finally loosened the rope and freed Mark. I helped him sit up, but I could tell he was weak. What had they done to him? I had never seen so little fight in him. I tried to pull Mark to his feet, but he fell back to the ground.

“Come on. We can do this. Please don’t give up on me,” I pleaded. I was fighting back tears of frustration. I just wanted to be safe with Mark.

“Adira,” Mark said.

I wrapped my arm around to help him up. His voice drew my attention to him. “What is it?”

“If it comes down to it, promise me you’ll run away from here and save yourself. Get away from Theron, leave the country if you have to. Don’t worry about me.” Mark’s hands were shaking.

I clenched my jaw in frustration. I let go of Mark’s waist and held his face in my hands. “I won’t promise you that. I’m not going anywhere without you. I’m not going to stop fighting for you ever, so you better get up and help me get you out of here.” I pressed my lips to Marks, and time froze for a moment. I wanted to linger there, but others were fighting on our behalf. I pulled away and gave Mark a stern look.

Mark nodded, and I wrapped my arm around his waist again. Together we got Mark standing. I kept my arm around his waist for support and draped his other arm around my neck. I started hobbling him back towards the path, but a yelp pulled my attention. This wasn’t like the other yelps.

Theron had Percy’s wolf by the arm, and his arm was clearly broken. Theron slammed Percy to the ground, and my heart dropped. Jori lunged at Theron, but Theron disappeared, causing Jori to land on Percy.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Theron asked in my ear.

My chest clenched, and I froze. Before I could react, Theron grabbed me by the neck and lifted me up. I let go of Mark, and brought my hands to Theron’s, trying to loosen his grip. He was too strong, though. I closed my eyes and concentrated. Shift. I felt the familiar woosh of the air swirling around me, and then I was standing behind Theron.

A cough took over my throat as I gasped for air. I felt like I couldn’t take a real breath after my throat had been crushed.

Theron turned to me, his eyes nearly black with anger. “I’ve had enough of you.”

Theron grabbed Mark, wrapping his arm around Mark’s neck. “I told you I would kill your mate if you didn’t obey, didn’t I?”

My heart raced, looking at the scene unfolding in front of me. I looked around, calculating all of my options. I had to be faster than Theron. Maybe I could grab Mark and shift away with him. I still wasn’t great at shifting myself, though, so I didn’t know if I would be able to shift another person. Even if I could, I still hadn’t managed to shift more than a few feet. I wished I had grown up being trained as a sorceress. I would understand my powers much better and I could save Mark. Maybe I wouldn’t even be in this situation.

“Even if I listened to you, it wouldn’t have mattered. It would’ve ended up like this anyway. I’m not some stupid girl who will do whatever you want. You chose the wrong person to mess with.” My jaw was tense, and my eyes darted around, desperate for anything that could help me. There had to be something, anything.

I stuck my hand in my pocket and felt the wooden box Clara had given me. If I could just get close enough, I could inject Theron with the serum and stop his powers temporarily. It would give us just enough of an upper hand to get out of this alive. I fiddled with the box and got out the syringe. I took a step forward.

“Either way, you are a stupid girl if you think that you can save this mut.” Theron pulled out his knife, and then he quickly sank the blade into Mark’s side.

Mark cried out in pain, and his face contorted as he started to double over. Theron pulled out the knife, and b***d started to gush from Mark’s side. This was it. I was too late.

Time seemed to slow in that moment. Mark fell to the ground in slow motion. Theron’s lips curled into a smile. I could see Rie and Scythe finally taking over Haley, winning in their fight. Percy had transformed back into his human form, and he was clutching his contorted arm while writing on the ground. Jori’s wolf was staring at Theron and myself.

Something snapped inside of me. Too much had been taken from me. My family abandoned me, taking away the rest of my childhood. No wolf pack had ever wanted me, making me feel worthless and unworthy. Mark had somehow changed that, and I was not about to lose him.

He’s going to pay, Shadow growled in my head.

I nodded in agreement. My eyes darkened, and I let Shadow take over. My body contorted and changed until my wolf form appeared. My wolf was a pure black wolf with shimmering fur. I stood tall and felt fierce, but I wasn’t actually in control. I was in the backseat of my mind, watching as Shadow took control. I could feel her rage and desire for revenge.

We lunged forward, taking Theron by the neck. We pinned him to the ground, and his entire face was frozen with fear. Shadow went to bite down on his neck and take his head, but Theron shifted away, appearing several feet away from us. Shadow was instantly leaping in that direction, ready to bite him again. Theron disappeared again, but before Shadow landed, I imagined us appearing by Theron.

In a blink of an eye, Shadow disappeared and reappeared midair. She landed on Theron, this time biting his arm. She crunched down, causing Theron to yell in pain.

“What the-”

Shadow bit down again, this time biting Theron’s side. His eyes grew wide as he realized what he was facing.

“Haley! Let’s go!” Theron shouted.

Before Shadow could take another bite, Theron disappeared completely. He was nowhere in the field and must have left, running with his tail between his legs. We looked over at where Scythe and Rie had been fighting Haley, and Haley was gone too.

“Mark!” Scythe shouted, transforming back into his human form and running towards his Alpha.

My heart leapt, begging it wasn’t too late. Shadow released control, and in seconds I was back to my human form. My clothes were tattered, but I didn’t care. I bolted towards Mark, dropping to my knees next to him. Mark’s shirt was soaked in b***d, and I knew he had lost too much. His chest was still rising up and down, but he was no longer conscious. He didn’t have much time left.