Watch The Dark
II: fifteen

"I can't believe that Fang took a girl hostage. I guess he was really desperate," Devon, who had just gotten back from his shift as a guard, commented. They were all sitting together for lunch; Tana, Tuk, Devon, Declan, and Icarus.

"Really? You can't believe it? Are you oblivious or just stupid?" Tuk asked with a snort. Devon frowned and took another bite of his food without saying another word.

"If she's a rogue, why would she come here? Why wouldn't she just run as far away as she possibly could?" Tana asked, not looking at any of them as she tried to convince Icarus to eat more of his food.

"If she's on her own no one would notice she was gone. If she asks a pack for help, she'll have more protection," Declan offered.

"There's something not right. I can't place it, but I don't buy her story. It just doesn't make sense," she replied. She let out a groan when Icarus threw his food on the floor.

"She's got guards around her all the time. Even if she isn't who she says she is, she can't do anything. She would be stupid to even try," Declan said, getting up to help clean up Icarus's mess. Tana tried to wave him off, but he insisted on helping.

"Maybe she's in love with you and she had to lie so that you'll love her back. So romantic," Devon sighed mockingly, yelping when Tana threw a piece of broccoli at his head.

"Capitalizing on someone's past is definitely the way to win them over," Tuk snorted sarcastically.

"Sincere seems to like her. I tried to keep her away but she insisted on meeting her. Though, she did ask a lot of questions about the woman's face. Like, a lot of questions," Devon said.

Declan growled. "Why would you let her near a rogue? Are you stupid?"

Devon threw his hands up and leaned back in his chair. "Hey, the guards were right there. You know that kid doesn't take no for an answer," he stated defensively. Declan grumbled something under his breath and sat back down in his chair with his arms crossed.

There was a knock on the door followed by Lennox and Erica walking in, Sincere and Asher following close behind while holding hands. She could see Declan frown.

"I smelled salmon. I'm starving," Erica groaned, heading over to the containers of leftovers that the four had already taken portions from.

"She already ate like an hour ago but I'm not allowed to say anything," Lennox informed them, reaching up into the pantry and pulling out two lollipops, handing them to the two pups who thanked him right away.

"Since when did you like cherry flavoured lollies? I thought you hated cherry," Declan inquired, looking over at Sincere who was happily kicking away at her candy.

"Asher says it's good so I like it now," she informed him.

"What about the time I told you it was good?"

Sincere shrugged and laughed when Declan playfully stuck his tongue out at her.

Erica scooted in between Tuk and Icarus's high chair, digging into her food right away as though she hadn't eaten in days.

"Asher, if you fill up on candy and go nuts with your sparring instructor I'm going to be really mad," Erica told the little boy, who grinned cheekily around his lollipop.

"Alpha Lennox said that I can spar too if you said it's okay. Can I daddy? Please?" Sincere asked, her eyes round as she stared at Declan with a pleading gaze.

"Fine. But only the basics. I'll have Blake make sure that you aren't doing anything at Asher's level. You're still young and I don't want you hurting yourself. Especially now," Declan replied. Sincere squealed happily and jumped up and down with Asher.

"On that note, Asher, take Sincere to your sparring teacher. Remember to drink water!" Lennox instructed, yelling the last part when the pups ran out of the room.

"That little boy is going to give me a heart attack some day. Just yesterday he and Sincere nearly cracked their skulls open climbing a tree. Want to know what they were chasing?" Erica asked.

"A squirrel?" Devon asked.

"A bear cub! They were tormenting a bear cub! Thank Aurora Genie found them before the mother did," Erica said with a groan, finishing her plate in record time. Tana barely saw her chew.

"Sin loves animals. I don't think she was tormenting it. She probably convinced Asher that the two of them could keep it as a pet," Tuk offered. Erica let out a sigh and shrugged.

Before anyone could say anything else, Icarus laughed and threw his food on the floor.

Again.

***

Since Declan was still recovering, Tana gave him Icarus so that the two of them could sit in the field and watch Sincere and Asher spar. Meanwhile, she was going to pay Mara a visit and replace out what she really was doing here.

The door was shut when she got there with the two guards standing still next to it. She nodded to them as she knocked on the door, waiting for a signal for her to come in.

However, not a sound came from within the room. Even with her heightened hearing, she couldn't even pick up on a heartbeat. Tana's mouth set into a tight line as she pushed the door open to reveal an empty room, the curtains that covered the previously locked windows blowing in the wind. She let out a growl and ran to the windowsill, peering down to see Mara outside with her back to the woods. She had a fearful look in her eyes and let out a cry before bolting into the woods.

"What are you waiting for? Go after her!" Tana growled, swinging her legs over the sill in one movement until she landed on the ground two floors below. Tremors shot up her legs and kept her frozen for a moment, but once they subsided she dashed after Mara, her scent clear and different than the familiar scents that surrounded it.

Some wolves who were on border patrol had already gone after her, but with the way her scent zigzagged they were being led off her actual course. For once, Tana was thankful for her brutal training. She had sharper focus than any of those other wolves.

Mara hadn't shifted, which was quite peculiar seeing as she was a wolf on the run. Shifting would have given her a big advantage. So why wasn't she doing it?

"Stop running!" Tana yelled, stumbling into a sunny clearing where Mara's scent was the strongest. There wasn't a single movement around her, which sent unpleasant tingles up Tana's arms and neck.

Mara's scent was the only one in the air and there was nothing odd that Tana could hear, until a whistle of wind caught her attention.

Suddenly, she was slammed into a tree by a force she could not see. Something wound itself painfully around Tana's arms and legs, knocking her down.

The weapon looked like a regular bolas, but it burned like the rope was made of silver. She tried to pull free, but it made very little difference. The metal balls were almost certainly made of silver which meant that Tana was weaker than usual. She snarled when she heard a rustle in the bushes.

"What are you? Some sort of medieval freak? Who the hell uses these anymore?" Tana snapped, struggling against them as the wolf she had been pursuing came closer with a smirk playing on her lips.

"They're a special toy of mine. No one ever expects them, so they work quite well, wouldn't you say?" She taunted, crouching down in front of Tana.

"Who are you really? What do you want?" Tana growled, lunging forward in a feeble attempt to hit Mara, who smoothly moved out of the way.

"I already told you who I am. I'm Mara. Well, my mother used to call me marred Mara once she poured acid on my face. As for what I want, that's none of your business," she replied calmly.

"I feel like is. Since, you know, you tied me up. In silver. In the middle of the woods," Tana said tartly. Mara frowned.

"Hmm. You've got a point. But since I'm in charge here, I'm still not going to tell you. But rest assured that I'm by myself out here so your little pup is perfectly safe," Mara taunted, spinning some object around in her hand. From where she was, Tana couldn't tell what it was.

"Now then, since I figured you're quite the fighter, I'm going to have to knock you out," she continued as she produced a syringe from her pocket, connecting the object in her hand to it and flicking it a few times with her finger.

Tana turned her head slightly while Mara was distracted, her eyes meeting a pair of yellow ones that were eerily familiar. A few more pairs of eyes appeared, all wolf and all intently staring at Mara.

They had come for her.

She could see the wriggle of their haunches, indicating that they were about to surge for her, so Tana had to think fast. With all her might she threw her body to the side just as the wolves launched at Mara. It was interesting that Mara hadn’t smelled them.

Panting, Tana pushed herself into a sitting position again, the silver beginning to make her feel dizzy with pain. She watched the wolves bring Mara down, but the she wolf didn’t fight back at all. She seemed frozen, shocked, almost. Her eyes were fixed on Blake’s large wolf, not resisting the binds that two of the people who were still in their human forms were putting her in.

When they shifted back and pulled on clothes that they must have left in the bushes, Tana realized that it was Devon and Declan who were accompanying Blake.

“Come on, Tan. Couldn’t even get out of- ow!” Devon yelped when he tugged at the ropes, pulling his hand away with a whimper.

“Silver, idiot. Do you have a knife or something? These really hurt,” she said, her voice on the edge of a whimper as she tried to pull her hands free yet again.

“Why would I have a knife? I’m a wolf, wolves don’t need knives,” Devon stated, his attention suddenly snapping to the commotion with Mara. Blake was crouched in front of her, his eyes wide.

Tana had never seen that man be caught off guard. She’d never seen him look as sad as he did then, either.

Mara stared up at the Beta, her good eye narrowed slightly and a sad smile on her lips.

“Hey, baby brother.”