Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 105: 105

He grabbed my hair and pulled me towards him. I kicked and tried to break free, but he was much stronger. He shoved me against the mattress with force, pressing my face into it and hurting me.

"Hunter..." I gasped, my voice muffled against the bedding.

I could barely breathe, suffocating as he laughed.

Panic hit me, making me react. I tried with all my strength to break free, kicking the air, the wall, even him.

I felt the needle pierce my skin.

"And when I'm done, there will be nothing left of you. It will be as if you never existed, just an empty shadow of what you once were. And then, you will have no choice but to stay with me and delight in my company."

The liquid entered my bloodstream, making me drowsy. I blinked, black spots flashing behind my eyelids. My body grew heavy. I slowed my movements, as if I couldn't move anymore.

He released me and stepped back, the mattress sinking with the absence of his weight on it.

Curled up against the corner of the bed, as far away from him as I could manage, I lowered my eyelids and didn't open them again, returning to the limbo.

***

POV Fenrir Dăneşti

I ran through the trees, moving as fast as I could, deeper into the dense, wild forest. The sharp winter air filled my lungs. I inhaled, sniffing the scent of those damned wolves just ahead of us.

The twisted branches of the trees flew past me. My steps echoed through the woods, matching the muffled sound of the snow beneath my feet.

My men followed closely behind, tracking me.

I stopped, spinning my body in a full three hundred sixty degrees, sniffing every scent that filled the air. The penetrating smell of pine trees, mixed with the freshness of the freshly fallen snow, was more dominant, but the subtle touch of moss, the characteristic scent of the Eclipse wolves, was still present.

Andrei stopped next to me, his chest rising and falling rapidly, breathing heavily after running for miles behind me.

"Can you find the direction?" he asked, flaring his nostrils.

I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.

It was as if I was being driven by a force I didn’t even know existed within me. The exhaustion was nothing compared to my determination to find Savannah.

I looked around, desperately searching for any sign of them. The scent was fading, disappearing as if it had never been there, as if they had never been there.

I let out a frustrated growl. I extended my claws and scratched one of the tree trunks.

"I don’t feel it anymore," I howled, frustrated. "I can only track them to here."

Andrei huffed and adjusted his posture, rubbing a hand over his head.

"I can’t find anything else either. We’ve lost them again."

I punched the tree trunk, sinking it in and crushing the joints of my fingers. The excruciating pain hit me before my body began to heal quickly.

"Isn’t she awake?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"I don’t feel anything. She must be sleeping."

Savannah stayed awake very little, most of the time, not even minutes. When I could catch her location, Hunter would advance, and we wouldn’t make it in time.

"We’re close to Eclipse lands," he observed, looking around us.

I placed my hands on my hips and took a deep breath, trying to stay in control. It was the closest trail we’d had in days. For a moment, a millisecond it may have been, I thought we would reach her, that I could catch up with her.

Overall, she seemed calm, but then something would happen, and I would feel her panic, her relentless fear. Not knowing what was happening, what Hunter was doing to her, was tearing me apart inside.

My men stopped around us, waiting for further instructions.

"Let’s continue," I hissed.

Andrei took a step, coming closer to me, and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"We need to rest, Fenrir. It’s been more than twenty-four hours that we’ve been walking and running nonstop. We’re close to Eclipse lands. We need to sleep a little before moving on further."

No one said anything. They all remained silent.

"They’re close, that’s why we still smell them. If we move forward now, we may reach them in time," I insisted.

Andrei looked at me through his dark lashes, giving me a condescending look.

"I know you want to reach her. We want to too. Sava is part of the pack, and she’s important to us, but we really need a few hours of rest," he murmured. "We don’t know what we’ll find in their lands. Maybe this will be our last night of peace."

"Andrei!" I bellowed.

"I know, we’ll reach her. We’ll rescue her. We just need a few hours of sleep, some water, and food."

He was right, even though I hated to admit it.

It had been days since we had proper sleep and food.

I looked at my men, their faces showing how exhausted they were. They were hungry too, but they would follow me wherever I went, ignoring their basic needs.

"Alright," I affirmed. "Set up camp here, I’ll hunt something for our dinner."

I couldn’t stand still, so I would settle for hunting something to eat and keeping watch over the camp at night. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to sleep, so I would be useful in some way.

"When was the last time you felt her?" Andrei asked, as the men scattered to set things up.

"A few hours ago."

"Do you think she’s okay?"

I looked at him.

"I believe so. I don’t feel any physical injuries. She’s scared sometimes, but it’s not because of what they’re doing to her. It’s like it’s because of what she’s going through," I revealed.

He nodded, swallowing hard.

"We’ll catch up to them, kill that bastard, and take Sava back home."

"I know we will," I affirmed, resolute. "But... stopping, resting... means letting them get farther away."

"We can’t risk it. They’ll be in their territory, with their pack. We’ll already be at a disadvantage. Arriving exhausted and hungry will just put us at even more risk."

I let out a deep, exasperated sigh.

"I need to hunt, clear my head, do something."

He nodded.

"Go hunt our dinner. Hunting will help take your mind off things, clear your head. I’ll stay here with the men in the meantime."

"Thanks, Andrei," I thanked him, waving.

"We’re here for you, for your cause, which is also ours. No need to thank me."

I spun on my heels and walked away from them, trying to focus on the hunt. I distanced myself as much as possible, where no sound could disturb me, and no scent could confuse me.

The forest was different. While in the Carpathians, the trees stood tall and spaced apart, allowing sunlight to filter through their branches, here, the canopies intertwined densely, forming a thick canopy that blocked almost all the light.

I heard the bellow of a stag.

I transformed into the essence of the predator within me. My mind merged with the animal instinct, guiding me through the shadows of the trees as I silently advanced toward my prey.

Every muscle in my body was tense, ready to strike. My senses were heightened, picking up every sound, every smell, every movement around me. I was immersed in a primal and savage atmosphere.