11 Run, Kids, Run.

"I purge ye mind of thoughts and sins,

of memories both bright and grim.

No longer dwell in your heart and head,

Begone all memories before this stead.

Not just of your mate but your friends as well,

may your pack join you in hell.

Twist and turn and bind the mind,

Powers and emotions hide,

A warlock's heart is where it hides,

Help her with her agony,

Bless her with false memory."

_______________________________

Ugh.

The I woke to a stray ray of sunshine that crept through a small barred window at the top of a room.

A window?

A room?

My head ached and my body popped in places I didn't think humanly possible after my first shift. The memories of last night blurred unrequited in my head as I struggled to remember everything that had happened.

**Flashback**

"Liam," I whined, tugging on the man's hand as he dragged me through the village.

When he didn't say anything, I pouted and tugged harder.

"Liiiiaaam. I want to run. Faelen wants to run, pleaaaasse," I begged.

Abruptly stopping, I stared at the man as he turned around, dropping my arm and crossing his over his chest; a look of annoyance riddled his face.

"Noir, we have been over this time and again, you have chores to do. If you run before your chores, you never do them then I have to or someone else does. Just do them first, please."

Pouting, I dropped my head.

"Okay, fine," I whispered, taking a step forward.

I didn't see Liam but I heard him as he sighed before a low rumbling growl escaped him. In two strides, he was directly in front of me, a massive hand gently pinching my chin and tilting my head to look up.

I sucked in a sharp breath as his virescent eyes stared back at me. I heard Faelen purr as Liam's hand lifted my chin and cupped my face

"You're lucky I adore you, elskan," he leaned and whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine and causing my heart to thrum against my chest.

"Fine, but this is the last time. Understood?"

Without thinking, I hugged him and stood on my toes to quickly give him a teasing kiss on his jaw.

"Understood, ást."

Before he could hypnotize me more, I took his hand in mine and rushed towards the wood line, leaving Fallen Grove's village behind.

After our shift, we played, hunted, played some more and ran for hours. By time we were done, the sun had set and we decided to make a makeshift camp and head back in the morning.

**End of Flashback**

Remembering this, I shot up off the floor and looked around.

Where in Helheim am I?

It looked like a prison cell.

Why would I be here?

Now that I was jarred fully awake, I looked up again to notice the window when I first awoke. Looking down, I scanned over the blanket that had been covering me.

Liam!

In a panic, I looked around until my eyes landed on a barred door and across from the door locking me in was another door with Liam sitting on the other side, staring at me.

Sighing, I bent over and supported my weight on my knees before moving forward.

"LIAM! Ást!"

Liam, however, remained silent, almost as if he was examining me and trying to predict any move I would make.

Am I in trouble?

We just stared at each other for a moment before I looked down at myself in confusion. I was wearing nothing but a large tunic that stopped a little bit above the knee.

"Liam, why am I dressed like this," I questioned, looking back at him.

When Liam didn't say anything, I shrugged and sat down in front of my 'cell' door.

"Are we the only ones in here," I decided to ask, craning my neck to try see past the bars at the other cells.

Liam still remained silent, glaring.

"Okay then," I whispered, more to myself than him. "Why are we here?"

Nothing.

This is becoming uncomfortable...

"Did we do something wrong? Did we upset the Alpha by not coming back?"

"Mundu," Liam finally said.

"What?"

"Mundu," he repeated himself, his voice demanding.

Remember?

"What am I supposed to remember? You're not mak—," I didn't get to finish before Liam jumped up, partially shifting and grabbed the bars of his cell, making the metal cry out under the assault.

"MUNDU," he shouted, his eyes flickering to a bright green.

Startled, I fell back and scooted away from my cell door.

Why the hell is he yelling at me? He never yells at me.

"What is the matter with you? You shouting "remember" isn't making a damn bit of sense, Liam," I finally said, utterly confused.

"What did they do to you," he asked, slumping against the bars of his cell.

"Who? No one did anything to me. Me and you were out hunting, letting Gænn and Faelen run. It was getting late so we stayed out and planned to head back in the morning but instead, we woke up here."

Liam just watched me in confusion before sitting back in the floor, the gears in his head turning.

"I'm sorry, Noir. I'm just tired and this place is driving me insane," he grumbled, looking away.

Why is he calling me "Noir"? He doesn't do that unless I'm being scolded.

"I u-understand, it's okay. Why are we here? Anyone would go mad being trapped in a place like this shithole."

"It seems you already have," Liam said, his voice barely a whisper.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Oh o-oka—," I was cut off by the sound of a metal door opening.

Entering the dungeon, two men in armor walked towards our cells holding trays. When they looked in my direction, the one closest to my cell nearly dropped the tray he was holding.

"Luna," a voice creeped into my head causing me to jump.

"Luna? You must have me mistaken, friend," I replied.

Both of the men looked at each other then to Liam who sat there, a glare etched across his face.

"Luna, we were instructed to rescue you and bring you back to Dark Wood," the other man said.

"Once again, stop calling me 'Luna'. I'm not a Luna and I don't know what nor where Dark Wood is."

When I said this, both men looked at me with worried expressions.

"I'm sure you're not feeling well, Lu— Noir. We just wanted to let you know we will be back soon to help you in your escape. Eat, gain your strength and prepare yourself," the one closest to me said as he opened the door to my cell and placed the tray on the ground.

With that, both men retreated, leaving us in silence.

After awhile, I sighed, looking over to Liam.

"Liam, what is Dark Wood?"

Liam looked up at me before he stood and leaned up against the cell wall with arms across his chest.

"Dark Wood, it's a pack ran by a halfbreed, one who carries both werewolf and lycan blood. His pack isn't just werewolves but also lycans, hybrids, along with many other creatures," he explained.

"They're one of the biggest packs in Betanid. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, because the guards said they were ordered to take me back to Dark Wood but I'm not from Dark Wood. I'm from Fallen Grove."

Liam didn't say anything as he pushed himself off the wall.

"Did they say anything else?"

"Umm. Oh, they said they'll be back later and we will escape."

Liam's eyes lit up at that.

***

Awhile later, the guards came back, one holding a metal hoop with various keys on it.

Liam shot up and made his way to his cell door and I followed suit.

When the guard opened my door, I didn't move.

"Noir, if we are going, now is the time. The guard watch is about to change," the man hold the keys voiced, desperately.

"I'm not leaving this place without him," I said, the least bit phased.

The guards looked at Liam then back at me.

"But Lu— Noir, we were only ordered to help you escape and escor—," I cut him off.

"I do not care what you were ordered. You release him as well or I'm not going anywhere," I growl, crossing my arms.

The guards looked conflicted as they stared at one another before looking back at me, nodding. Turning, the man with the keys opened Liam's cage.

"Noir, we need to go," the other guard said as they backed up, allowing Liam and myself to step out of our cells.

Looking up at Liam, his eyes were glowing a beautiful shade of green, assessing the men in front of before reaching over, tucking me to his side.

The men before us looked gobsmacked by the sudden action and looked down at me questionably.

"Why should we trust you, now that we are free," I questioned. "We don't even know your names."

Their eyes went wide and immediately bowed their heads and exposed their neck in a submissive manner.

"We humbly apologize. It slipped our minds given that time is of the essence."

Stunned at the sudden display of biddable behavior, I stood in shock then looked up to Liam who stared down at me with an unreadable expression before averting my attention back to the guards who were now standing straight.

The guard with the keys spoke first, a hand over his chest.

"My name is Egill," he said proudly before bowing his head slightly.

The next followed the same way.

"My name is Gunther," he said, his eyes reflecting like the sun hitting metal with the flickering of flames of a weak-lit torch.

Then his eyes morphed from human to something reptilian then feline and back to their normal state, causing me to gasp. If I would of blinked, I would of missed it.

"What are y—," Liam cut me off, his body shaking.

"Skinwalkers. They can shift into any animal or being, even without them present. If they have seen them or their bestial appearance, they can mimic them almost to their foundation."

What?

"He is correct. In this specific situation, we were best suited and handpicked for this mission," Gunther said, a sense of pride in his demeanor.

"We can discuss this later, once we are all safe. Please. Please, come. Other guards will be here any minute," Egill pleaded.

When I didn't say anything, Liam nudged my shoulder. Looking up at him, he nodded and that was all the confirmation I needed. Looking back at the 'guards', I nodded.

"Lead the way."

With that, Liam grabbed my hand and the four of us bolted out of the dungeon.

***

**play the song now**

Luckily, we only encountered three guards on our way out. Disposing of them was unnaturally easy which sent all of us a further wave of caution.

When we slipped through the walls, the 'guards' immediately began to remove their armor and looked at each other before nodding.

In a matter of a minute, their bodies began to shake, flesh seemed to melt off of them and their body contorted only to be replaced as horses.

Before we could mount them though, a horn was blown and archers lined the battlements and even the barbican, bows drawn.

Liam screamed something and without hesitation picked me up and threw me on the back of one of the mounts before getting a running start and jumping over the hind of the other.

We took off.

However, when arrows were launched, there was a faint ripple in the air around the castle as the arrows penetrated an invincible force and fell to the earth.

When I turned further around to get a better look, I noticed a figure standing alone on donjon.

Who in the—

My thoughts were cut short when he vanished and arrows actually started flying towards us.

No sooner had they broke free from whatever was holding them back, soldiers on mounts raced across the drawbridge, some had swords drawn, some used bow & arrows and others use javelins.

As the castle was becoming a mirage in the distance, my heart felt lighter but it was short lived because out of no where a spear spun and plummeted itself into my mount's left shoulder, immediately throwing me forward over his head and to skid across the earth. The mount did the same before transforming back into his human form.

I rubbed my shoulder as I forced myself up on my knees to look at the man in his original state. I couldn't tell if it was Egill or Gunther and it broke my heart because I never got to see either in their original state.

Standing, I swayed slightly as I heard Liam shout something at me. Looking at him, his mount suffered a similar fate a good distance from me but he recovered quickly.

"LOOK OUT!!!"

That's all I heard before the sound of hooves came rushing towards me. Spinning around, a saw a man in armor leaning over in his saddle, arm extended and slightly hooked.

Before I could register what to do, his arm caught me by the neck, locking me into the inner bend of his arm and the side of his horse, dragging me.

Half flushed against his steed and my other half dragging on the ground, I brought my hands up to try prying away his arms.

The more I fought, the more the soldier got irritated before he finally wrapped the reins of his mount around his saddle horn, leaned over and nailed me in the face with a closed iron fist.

I fell limp for a moment, physically stunned before I heard a growl and saw a blur of black and brown come from nowhere, hitting the steed from the left.

I was slung and released under the underbelly of the mount as the horse and it's rider tumbled and rolled across the terrain, away from me.

"DON'T TOUCH HER," I heard a man roar and turned my head to see man had replaced the bestial blur.

Liam.

Forcing myself to stand, I looked at him and in the blink of an eye, he was running towards me.

"NOIR!"

No sooner he shouted my name, he jumped, shifted in midair and grabbed me. Gænn crushed me to his body and rolled to an agonizing halt.

Shifting again, Liam stood in the place of Gænn and was shouting something at me as I sat on my knees.

When I was finally able to hear him, Liam had dropped to his knees, grabbed my shoulders and was shaking me.

"SHIFT," he yelled, in a frenzied panic.

I tried calling out to Faelen but there was no answer.

I tried shifting but nothing happened.

I looked up to Liam and pain swelled in my chest.

"I... I c-can't...," was all I said before his eyes dilated and he growled.

Quicker than I thought possible, he shifted again.

Gænn quickly looked me over before pulling me into an upright position. Without warning, he grabbed my arm and launched me high into the air.

In that moment, when I looked down, I didn't see a black and brown lycan but a midnight black one. My surroundings weren't that of a valley but of a burning village.

Yet, as fast as the vision hit, it passed, landing me on Gænn's back and before I could adjust properly, he took off.

Elskan - Darling

Ást - Love