Watch The Dark
II: nineteen

Dressed in baggy clothes that she had stolen from a guard, Tana slipped into the massive pack house that had somehow been kept hidden for two years.

There were so many scents within the pack house that it was almost impossible to pick up on Icarus and Sincere. She could smell them mingled in there somewhere but she couldn't figure out where.

She kept her footsteps light and precise as she peered into any room she could, her nose too overwhelmed to guide her.

It reminded her of the time she had escaped Talon. But this time, she was alone.

The reality of what she had gotten herself into began to crash down on her. She had run off on her own into enemy territory. Not only that, but she had willingly thrown herself into a trap that had been laid out especially for her.

She was a fool. She had always been a fool.

She had somehow ended up in the basement of the house. It was cold and musty and didn't seem to be in use very much. Dust coated the carpet beneath her feet and the old lights flickered with every step she took.

There was one room that seemed to remain in use, though. Light spilled out from under the door and illuminated the carpet in front of it. Tana carefully crept towards it and pressed her ear to the door, making sure that no one was inside before slowly pushing the heavy door open. It was interesting that it wasn't locked, which only made her wonder what was inside even more.

The room was filled with tubes and boxes. The tubes were filled with a red, awful-smelling substance. Syringes filled one box while wolfsbane filled others. It set her wolf on edge and made her skin crawl.

This must have been where Talon sent her blood and where Fang made the serum. By the looks of the bags of blood in the room, they didn't have much left. That explained why Fang was so desperate to get her back.

She grabbed a few of the syringes that were full of the serum and tucked them carefully into her pocket. She wasn't entirely sure how she could control wolves on her own, so she figured it would be safe to have some on her.

Tana lowered her head and ducked out of the room, continuing her search.

It was time to replace her pups.

***

Declan's P.O.V

"Oh, dear," Bea said, propping her chin on her fist as the three of them observed Talon's mutilated and lifeless body. Tana had definitely done this. Her scent was everywhere, the scent of rage and terror.

"Tana isn't messing around. She's going to do something stupid if we don't replace her," Mika said. They had circled where she had been a few times, only just coming across Talon. They tracked her as far as a kilometre past where most of the fighting was taking place but didn't go any further. It seemed that she had gone straight into Blood Wolf territory, alone.

"I think she's already done something stupid. We need to go after her. Most of the wolves are occupied with the battle right now. If anything goes wrong, Bea can glamour us," Declan said. Bea frowned at that and crossed her arms.

"I don't think I quite like y'all using my magic a a cover. Need I remind you I'm only half a witch? My magic isn't as strong as a regular witch," Bea insisted.

"That's why it's just a back up. We'll be careful and hopefully it won't come to that. I know this is Tana's fight but my pups are in there too. I need to be there for them and for her in case something goes wrong," said Declan. Bea sighed and gave him a slight nod. Mika gave him a sympathetic smile.

"We'll get her back. She'll be okay. Tana's not some regular wolf," Mika assured him.

"I know," Declan sighed, "that's what I'm afraid of."

***

Tana's P.O.V

Guards flooded the halls where Sincere's scent was the strongest. She managed to weave her way between a few of them, but bumped into the chests of others that stood in her way.

"I've never seen you ar- wait a minute, Tana? That's her! Don't let her get away!" One of the guards hollered. Tana slipped behind him, trying to disguise herself in the crowd, which proved difficult when they surrounded her.

"Throw her in with the pup. Someone let Fang know!" One of them yelled. Several pairs of hands grabbed her and yanked her to the closest door, shoving her inside before twisting the lock shut and pressing their bodies against it so that she couldn't break it down. Tana snarled and slammed her fists against the door.

"Tana?" A small voice asked. When Tana turned, she saw Sincere curled up on the floor of the room that looked almost identical to hers back at home. Her face was red and tear-stained. She did not look happy to see Tana.

"Sincere, thank goodness. I was so worried-" Tana fussed, but the moment she moved to hug the pup, Sincere growled and crawled away.

"That alpha told me what you did. He said that you let mama and Marie die," Sincere snarled. Tana recoiled slightly, watching the hurt in Sincere's eyes reflect her own.

"I- I didn't. Sincere, there was nothing I could do. Your mom wanted me to protect you first. I didn't have time," Tana explained. Sincere's eyes darkened, her wolf surfacing.

"You had time! You didn't care! You made my mama and my sister die! It's all your fault! I hate you! I hate you!" Sincere screamed, her eyes flashing red as she glared at Tana.

Fang hadn't just told her what had happened. He had given her the serum. He was controlling her.

"Sincere, please, calm down," Tana begged, stepping back when the pup continued to snarl menacingly at her. It was like being in a room with a wild animal. She didn't seem to be listening to her at all.

"I'm going to be the alpha of the Blood Wolves. With my real dad. Not you! Not Alpha Declan!" She snarled. Tana took in a deep breath and looked down at her cousin. This was not the girl she knew. Whatever Fang had done to her made her absolutely indistinguishable. It made her even angrier than she already was.

Tana felt the anger rise. She didn't know where Icarus was. She had lost her pack members. Fang was trying to take away everything she loved.

She felt her eyes turn gold and turned her head to Sincere, her fangs elongating as she planned her next move. She stepped closer to the growling pup until she was right in front of her.

"Forgive me for this," Tana uttered.

Then, she plunged her fangs into Sincere's neck, using her own abilities to take control back from Fang.

***

Sincere began to slump down. Her eyes faded back to brown and she gazed at Tana with significantly less anger than before.

"What happened?" She asked quietly, crawling close to Tana the same way she used to when she was smaller.

"It's okay. I'll explain everything later. Right now, we need to get out of here. Listen-" before Tana could finish her sentence, there were a series of cries and grunts before loud thumps echoed in the hallway.

"I smell Daddy!" Sincere said, scrambling to her feet just as the door swung open and banged against the wall. The pup squealed happily and raced into Declan's arms, crying softly into his shoulder as he held onto her like he were afraid she may fade away.

"Oh, darling. Can't believe I'd ever be so happy to see your angry face!" Bea exclaimed, hugging Tana so tightly that she felt like she couldn't breathe.

"I'm sorry I ran off. I just- my wolf went insane. She's still going insane. I need to replace Fang. Get Sincere out of here and replace Icarus and the rest of the pups," Tana said. Declan frowned, still holding Sincere against his hip with her arms wrapped around his neck.

"I'm not leaving you again," he said firmly.

"I'll go with her. It'll be okay, Declan," Mika said, nudging Tana in the shoulder with a grin.

Declan sighed, walking over to Tana and pressing his forehead against hers.

"Come back to me. Safely. Please," he whispered. She nodded, reaching up to stroke his cheek.

When they parted ways this time, Tana felt uneasy.

Perhaps that dread was a sign. A sign that she wouldn't make it back.

But this time she wanted to.