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Losing Hope

Seeing her laid out on the bed like this is breaking my heart, every time I touch her to move her arms and undo her bindings I’m scared she’s going to break.

She is so thin and weak, Ii can feel her bones grinding with every touch of my hand. The normal sparks and warmth I would feel when I touched her now replaced with coldness.

Cynthia and I exchange knowing glances as we help dress her into some clothes Kalf found us, both of us painfully aware that we cannot feel her wold Aria, it is like she is no longer a part of Arti.

We struggle to lift her off the table and she lets out small moans of pain with each movement. Cynthia leans over and places a hand on her to try to heal any pain she may be in just so we can move her.

When she does I see Synths face screw up into like she had eaten a sour-sweet.

” Sel she feels weird, and she’s in so much pain everywhere I cannot concentrate on where to heal first”

“Just do whatever is sticking out to you most and what do you mean she feels weird”

*” It’s hard to explain, she feels heavy like she, not her whole self”

She looks towards Kari.

” What have they been doing to her ?”

He runs over to the table in the corner of the room and picks up a small vial handing it to Cynthia, she holds it up against the light inspecting the contents before her face drops.

She shelves the vial in her pocket and then searches the room frantically, she opens every draw and cupboard looking at the names on all of the bottles of medicine and pills.

Finally, she stops on one shaking it like a cocktail.

” Kalf I need a syringe”

” They don’t leave any on here in case she gets a hold of them “

I smile a little wondering if at some point she had managed to get her own back on them.

” FUCK FUCK FUCK”

Profanities from Cynthia always seem to shock me and this time is no exception.

“Cynth what’s wrong, tell me and I can help you”

She stops pacing staring at me and then at Arti and back again. She then extends her canines lifts Artis arm and bites breaking the skin and piercing a vein, she then pulls away and grabs what looks like a dirty straw of the side and shoves it in.

I gasp in complete horror at the site I front of me, once it’s in Artemis arm Cynth secures it with a ripped piece of shirt and starts pouring the contents of the vial down the tube.

“Cynth. WHAT THE SHIT IS HAPPENING “

She looks up at me almost as if she forgot I was there.

” Selene they are poisoning her, she needs this medicine to stop the flow. Ideally, I would have liked a syringe but in the interest of time this will have to do “

She motions to her makeshift medical equipment.

” We need to get her out of here, we are so close to losing her and this is only going to stop the spread for a few hours. They must have been taking her to the brink of death before bringing her back with the antidote only to start over again. Its why she feels weird to me and probably why we can’t sense her wolf”

I don’t wait to hear any more and lift Arti of the bed bridal style Cynthia still holding the pipe up waiting for the medicine to flow.

Kari opens the small door for us to follow back through and when he does we hear footsteps coming towards the main door of the room.

I usher Cynth inside passing Artemis to Kari, prepared to fight it I have to.

The footsteps get closer and finally, we are all in and I shut the small door just as I hear the other one open, the others keep moving but I wait my breath held and masking my scent just in case they decide to come this way.

I begin to follow them confident that they whoever just came in did not know about the door, a few moments later I hear the sound of things being smashed up, loud growls erupting from the room.

Whoever that is is pissed off, I know that it for sure won be a good thing if we have to come across them.

A few moments later and we have once again reached the small room at the end of the corridor I do my best to hide all out scents and place a shield around us.

“Thank you for helping us today Kalf, I promise you there is a place for you in my pack”

” I am happy to get away from here, but we should keep moving his Salvi has noticed she is missing it won’t be good for anyone”

Part of me wants to stay and fight but with the look, Cynthia is giving me that’s not an option for us.

The last of the medicine feeding into Artemis’s veins and Cynth pull out the tubing and starts to bind the old piece of cloth around the wound.

” Okay Sel Arti is stable for now but we have about 12 hours before she is going to need that antidote. If we can get back to the edge we will be close enough to link Sigi and he can meet us with it”

I nod at her having to intention to disagree with her over this, our number one priority right now is Arti.

“Okay fine let’s get moving”

I look to both of them making sure they are paying attention.

“We move quickly and we move quietly, I will mask our scents and put s shield around us should we get any unwanted attention”

They nod in agreement.

“Cynth if that happens you and Kalf take Artemis and keep going. Do not stop until you reach that border”

” Okay Sel but what about you I can’t just leave you”

“You can and you will. Kalf are you okay to carry Artemis”

He nods and seconds later we are back out into the tree line moving and listening for any other sounds of movement.

Ten minutes later we have made it past the tree line and into thicker cover Kalf places Artemis on the floor while Cynth checks her over again, placing her hands on certain parts of her body her eyes glowing as she does.

Seconds later we are back on the move and I hear the sound of twigs snapping, I whip my head around focusing on strengthening the shield around us and I see the red eyes glowing in the distance.

I search around them for anyone else but whoever it is, is alone. The person walks towards us he brown hair shoved up in a bun and she seems as surprised to see us as we are to her.

I feel Kalf tense beside me as he watches the woman.

“Sekreta” His words are barely more than a whisper.

“That her ?”

He simply nods and keeps his eyes on her, Cynthia walks in front of Kari, who clutches Artemis closer to his chest.

“Do not come to any closer Sekreta, We don’t want to harm you. We only came to our sister”

She stares at me and then back to Kari her eyes getting visibly brighter as they set on him. Taking another step forward she points to him.

” You. Why are you with the”

She bypasses Cynthia and me, Fixated only on him. As soon as she steps forward the smell of fresh-cut grass and rain fill my nostrils.

” Mate”

I turn to face Kari, feeling fury in the base of my stomach.

“She is in your mate, how could you not tell us this before ?”

” I swear I didn’t know I’ve never smelt her before or see her eyes like this, I always keep my head down”

He looks panicked, I can see the fear in his eyes at what I may do to him but strangely enough, I believe him. The thing that struck me as odd was the is the comment about not smelling her before, could she mask her scent?.

Millions of things rush through my mind if she has that power what else is she capable of. I Turn back to face her.

” Give him back to me “

She again points at Kari, stepping closer to us again I see the hurt expression on her face.

“He is not ours to give Sekreta”

” But he is my mate”

She takes another step, this time unable to get any closer to us as my shield seems to be holding up against her.

“Sekreta, why don’t you come with us ?”

I can tell she is torn and I have no idea how she has ended up here, but I know Arti wanted to help her so I will offer her the same courtesy.

” Why would I want to ?”

Her eyes are fixated on Kari still as she walks the edge of the shield, presumably searching for a way in through.

” You know if you don’t move soon then she will die”

She is referring to Artemis and I look toward Cynthia who nods in confirmation.

“If you will not come then we will be leaving”

Kari turns and begins to walk still holding Artemis in his arms.

” WAIT!”

I’m still watching to her, it occurs to me that she has yet to attack us but I also haven’t seen her still to mind link anyone to alert them of our location.

” You are supposed to want me, you are my mate you cant leave”

I hear the sadness in her voice, the longing for her mate. Kari does not turn to face her he remains still.

” I cannot have a mate who aligns themselves with the likes of Salvi and her mate. I do not want you”

She drops to the floor clutching her chest tight, I feel the pain she feels at not being wanted, its the same way I felt when I Dom found his mate and I watched feeling heartbroken.

” Selene, we need to go now why she is too weak to call for help”

It breaks my heart to see her this way but Cynthia is right. The three of us turn to leave, leaving Sekreta on the floor crying unable to move.

We get further and further into the woods. A few hours later we hear a thunderous growl that vibrates the entire forest, signalling that our capture of Arti had not gone unnoticed.

Choosing not to waste any more time we pick up the pace, I take hold of Artemis and we run we are so close to the point where we can link for help.

We race towards the edge my heart beating out of my chest and the second I feel my connection with Calder reignite I link him.

Selene, we are half an hour away from the border keep going, Something felt off to me earlier and I just had a feeling I needed to come to you. Just keep going.

I close the link grateful that the moon-goddess gave me that man.

“We just need to get to the edge of the unchartered lands Calder will meet us there. Don’t stop running”

Thirty minutes later the cars come into view, Calder and Sigi running towards us. He takes Artemis from me placing her gently in the car and giving Kalf a weird look.

“Calder, Ill explain later but for now we need to go and he is coming with us “

We begin piling into the cars and then we hear it again, the ferocious growl from before.

Whatever is coming after us is big, Calder and Sigi eye one another and then Cyth and I all of us choosing not to wait around to see just what that is.

They start the cars and we speed off just as the tree line begins to shake with movement.

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