CHAPTER 3

Adda's stomach dropped. The little hairs on her hackles rose and she whirled. How did the woman get behind her? She shouldn't have been able to move so quickly, or silently.

Yet there she was, standing rigidly above her, her bow pointed at Adda's chest.

The woman's scent was strong now and the proof that she was Alpha nearly had Adda cowering on the ground.

Against instinct, she shifted, trading fur and teeth for her smaller, weaker form. Muscles tightened painfully, her body screamed at her to prepare for a fight, to shift back and run into the forest, but neither of those actions would help her now.

The warriors, finished with their grizzly task, turned. Some left immediately, scouts, scouring the forest for more creatures, no doubt. The rest closed in, eyes on their Alpha, and on Adda.

Tension was a solid thing in the air. Adda raised her hands, ignoring the fact that they trembled harder than the leaves on the tree the monkey had fallen from.

“I am not your enemy.”

“I cannot take that chance.”

To her credit, something like sympathy flashed in the Alpha's eyes. Not that it meant much, not when her bow was still aimed at Adda's chest.

Desperation hit her. “You would kill an innocent Shifter at your mercy? What kind of Alpha are you?”

The woman snorted. “Innocent? You spent more than a week with those creatures. Either you are contaminated, or you are one of those who worked with the Quatori willingly. Either way, ending your life is a mercy.” She drew the arrow back.

Pounding, Adda's heart pulsed in her chest. She tensed, ready to drop. It likely wouldn't save her, but she wasn't going to just stand there and let the woman shoot her.

“What if neither of those is true?” It wasn't exactly a lie.

You are worried about lying at this juncture? Nex sounded exasperated.

Adda ignored him.

“The Quatori kept many prisoners, some for feeding and some for later possessions. But they were still Shifters. Innocent Shifters.”

The warriors glanced at their leader. Most of them. One of the men...more of a boy really, was having a difficult time tearing his eyes off of Adda's breasts.

The woman bared her teeth. “We have heard proclamations of innocence before, Shifters who thought they could control the infection. Shifters that ended up killing those they held dearest and begged, at the end, to be put out of their misery. Admit you are a danger and meet your end with honor.”

A twinge of uncertainty nudged Adda's conscience. It took great effort to hold her face neutral. Maybe it was conceit to think she, of all the infected Shifters, might halt possession. Maybe it would be best for the sake of her people to accept her own death.

But she just couldn't. Death was not an option. After all she had experienced in the caverns and even with the demon in her head, she was still herself. And she would fight and survive this, and then she would get rid of Nex.

*Run. Don't fight. If you wish to live, you'll have to find a way to run.

Coward.

Realist*.

The woman had yet to loose her arrow, though she'd had ample opportunity to do so. She was waiting, giving Adda the chance to die with her honor intact.

“I know a way to fight the Quatori. I learned it in the cavern, when I was prisoner. That is why I ran....I can tell you about it, if I am alive to do so.”

That is unwise, Nex warned.

The woman's eyes narrowed suspiciously, “Speak, then.”

“Will you let me live if I do?”

“An honorable Shifter would require no such thing. If you truly have a method to rid the forest of the Quatori, you should be eager to tell all.”

“By honorable, you mean disposable.”

The woman tilted her head, “If that is how you choose to see it. The information. Speak, before I decide you're lying and know nothing.”

Adda took a long breath. The Alpha had not lowered her bow, but had let the string slacken. Maybe it didn't matter to her when she had six or more warriors with blades at Adda's back.

“I heard talk of an orb.” Adda didn't mention that the talk she heard came from the man the woman had callously murdered, though it was tempting. But bitterness now would get her nowhere.

The woman's eyebrows shot upward. The emotion was almost startling on her firmly frowning face. Adda had surprised her, and this wasn't the first time she had heard of such a thing. Did Harvok try the same tactic before he passed? If so, his outcome didn't bode very well for her own.

“Where?” she demanded.

Odd. The woman did not question the type of orb, or what it did. She might know more about the stupid thing than Adda did. Could she be convinced to share her knowledge freely?

Adda withheld an eye-roll at the thought. That was so far from likely she might as well hope for the stars to fall and take out the Quatori one by one.

“You know nothing,” the woman drew her bowstring.

Fear paralyzed Adda for a moment. Then she dropped, instinctually flattening herself against the ground.

The arrow whistled above her head, so close she felt the air move from its passage, and thwacked into a tree nearby.

She wanted to freeze, having avoided that danger, but she forced herself to roll. With all the power she could muster, she moved from her position and threw herself sideways.

Legs stood in her way and she tangled them in her attempt, bringing someone down on top of her. The warrior grunted a surprised sound as he hit the ground. An elbow, or some other pointy body part, dug into her ribs with such pressure she was certain they would snap. He kicked wildly, striking Adda's arm, and then her face, in his desperation to get away from her.

Pain burst through her cheek, and little black spots danced before her eyes. Adda turned her face to avoid a broken nose. The warrior’s movements surprised her. It was an odd place for a revelation, but the man...or...ah, it was the young one...his reaction seemed out of place.

Adda wasn't so slow of mind that she couldn't pick up on why. They really did think she was infected, and this one was scared she would spread it to him.

She snatched at his waist, her fingers curled around the material there. Then she pulled him back toward her. They were a match for strength, so it was a struggle, but she was betting on the chance that the Alpha wouldn't murder her own warrior.

He had just gained his feet and tumbled back as Adda yanked. She quickly wrapped her limbs with his, ensuring he could not rise easily, or strike her once more. He was facing away from her, twisting and snarling like a wild beast caught in a trap, until Adda lowered her face to his neck, making the obvious threat.

The boy stilled, only his heavy breathing and rapid pulse against her palm giving away his panicked state.

“And now we see the truth,” the woman announced.

Adda lay for a moment, willing her heart to slow enough that she could think. It seemed that, regardless of her actions, she was condemned to death in this pack's view.

“Release the boy. Do not make me shoot through him to get to you.”

“What kind of logic is that?” Adda forced the words through her constricting throat. This whole situation was so entirely unfair she just wanted to rage...or crawl into a small dark place and cry. But to do that, she would have to live. “If I let him go, you will shoot me, and if I don't, it will be my fault you shoot him? You're insane.”

The woman was not visible from Adda's position, but her snarl was clearly audible.

“I do not barter with demons.”

Adda twisted her head, careful to keep within biting range to continue her charade. How did the other warriors feel about their Alpha's careless attitude with their lives?

There were three men hovering above them, blades ready. Two wore neutral, resigned expressions. Would they really allow such an action? Sacrificing an innocent life from the pack?

The third warrior, however, hovering closer than the others, wore a separate expression. Thick black brows crashed together over black eyes. His nostrils flared and a muscle twitched in his cheek. It was a desperate fear that told Adda two things: the first, that not every member of the pack was a callous fool, and, the second, that the woman would truly shoot through the boy to get to her.

She met the man's gaze, making a fast decision.

No!

“I am not the enemy here,” she told the Shifter pointedly, nodding toward the Alpha. Then, holding his gaze, she did something she hoped she wouldn't regret. Something that should inspire the man's honor to react. If it didn't, this would be the biggest...and last mistake of her life.

She released the boy.

Instant relief flashed across the Shifter's face, then a look of pained regret.

Adda did not have the time to process the significance of that regret. The next instant, chaos overtook the area. A low animal snarl, far too deep to be one of the scouts, even in wolf form, rang through the trees. Then, the warriors who were standing above her were gone.

Adda scrambled to her feet, trying to make sense of the flashes of skin and furred bodies. In particular, one very large furred body; no way that was a wolf.

A strangely familiar scent filled the air. A musky forest scent, with cedar.

Run, Nex urged.

Right. That would be the clever thing to do. Adda dashed from the battle, using the remains of her strength to shift to wolf.

Branches flew by, tangling in her fur as she dove madly between a spiked fern and a larger seedling riddled with grasping twigs. A fat leaf, the size of her head battered against her snout, but she didn't slow. She let all her pent up fear push her legs faster, harder, barely acknowledging the fact that she had traveled far beyond arrow's reach.

It took a long time for reason to return. Whatever had attacked the pack, she owed it her life. Too bad it was about to find itself rendered to chunks.

Her running faltered, and then slowed. Her thoughts were clearing and something clicked, solving the puzzle of familiarity. The scent was the same one from the cabin. That was not just a beast, he was a Shifter...at least she thought so. He must have followed her, too, but why? Was he a friend of Lis'? It certainly seemed like he didn't want her dead. She should have known Nex would lie.

I didn't say they all wanted you dead.

She couldn't just leave him there to die for her sake, she decided.

You didn't ask for his help.

Even more reason I can't let him die for me.

If you return, they will kill you on sight. They will not take a second chance that you will escape. Forget the Shifter, he is inconsequential.

Adda pushed Nex's words away as well as she could. Instead of listening, she turned, certain she had been tricked into running, that Nex had goaded her into a cowardly action, leaving her rescuer to his doom.

She needn't have worried. Before she had even completed her decision, the forest behind her trembled and parted. There, pelting behind her, gaining ground quickly, was a massive bear.