24 Chapter 24: You give up too soon

Zack's POV

The feel of the forest underneath him kept him sane, as he ran as fast as he could. His wolf had taken over completely, becoming one with his consciousness. His large form crushed the leaves as he strode over it with a sense of urgency.

He had long lost Nina, who seemed to have taken another route. But Zack kept to the trail, knowing that he had to reach his mate before Alex did. Wolves were after all, protective of their mates. For them, every other bond was insignificant when compared to the safety of their other half. If Elize did something to Meifeng, Alex would tear her apart without thinking twice. And if that happened Zack would-

A long pained howl pierced the air once more, but this time it was not Alex. By the sound, he knew that it was distinctively female. Although he had never heard the howl before, he knew that it could only belong to one person- Meifeng.

Zack fastened his pace, sensing Elize's scent grow stronger with each stride. A strong scent of blood was mixed in the air along with it. His urgency peaked as he came out of the forest into a clearing. He looked around, as the sound of the gushing water filled his senses. All he could see under the bright moonlight was the extensive piece of land which was covered in grass and the clear water from the stream that sparkled as it flowed.

There was no one in sight. Zack sniffed around the area as his wolf trudged across the grass carefully. He was so sure that till not a moment ago, he was able to smell his mate right from the exact same place. Where was she now?

The wolf inched towards the water. Although the stream looked shallow, the current was strong underneath. Strong magic was flowing through it. One wrong slip and you could end up in the ocean outside the Island. Zack knew of it. He remembered the stream from when his father used to take him to the exact same spot for training every day.

"Only a strong Alpha can face the current. But if you stop resisting, it will easily overcome you." His father's words echoed in his mind.

It was just as he was observing the flow of water that he saw it. Two wolves were struggling in the water, a mile downstream. The smaller among the two had a huge claw mark on its neck and it was desperately trying to get out of the stream, while the bigger one was going on clawing at it although was itself trying to stay afloat.

Suddenly out of nowhere a figure splashed into the water, her long black hair giving away her identity. As Zack watched, Elize tried desperately to push the bigger wolf off the smaller one, somehow maintaining her balance in the water. Zack ran towards her as fast as he could. As he neared her, he heard her voice loud and clear.

"Hear my plea and cleanse this water, take this evil and sling it far." Her voice boomed, as a light enveloped the three struggling figures.

All of a sudden, the bigger wolf was sucked into the water and disappeared without a trace. The wolf that was Zack barked at his mate, at which her attention turned to him.

Elize smiled at him, relief washing over her figure. Then as if remembering , she looked down at the small injured wolf that was panting in her arms weakly. She raised the tangerine shaded wolf above her head and looked towards Zack with determination.

"I need you to catch Meifeng for me. I can't wade with her all the way." Elize shouted, her voice breaking.

Zack knew from the way she looked that she was barely holding on. He wanted to go into the water and bring them back, but he decided to trust his mate at that moment. Zack nodded, his big snout going up and down.

"Good baby." Elize said smiling feebly.

She then whispered something barely audible and the wolf in her hands was raised in the air. Zack watched as it slowly started floating towards him. He transformed quickly into his human self, in order to catch it. As the limp figure of the wolf landed in his hands, Zack relaxed and put it down gently on the grass. He looked back towards where his mate stood.

She smiled at him, a hint of pride in her eyes. As her gaze traveled down his body, he remembered that he was standing utterly naked in front of her. A smile crept up on his face.

"If you come closer, the view would be much better." He said, holding his hands out.

Elize grinned and shook her head. "I can't wait to get over there." She said, her voice almost inaudible over the noise of the gushing water.

"Elize no!" A voice suddenly screamed from behind him.

Zack looked back to see Alex running towards him frantically. He turned back towards his mate sensing something was wrong. Before his very eyes, a huge shadow fell on his mate as a wolf jumped at her from the other side of the stream. Its weight crushed into her body and slammed her along with itself into the water.

Zack jumped into the stream without thinking twice. His body sank deep into the water before buoying back to the surface. The water was certainly not shallow at this part of the stream and the current was quite strong. Zack felt the pull of the undercurrent gripping at his ankles, trying to drag him inside.

As he surfaced, he swam with all his strength towards where he was sure Elize was a couple of moments ago, resisting the pull of the water. But as he approached he was disappointed to find that there was no sign of struggle and definitely no heads coming up from the water.

Desperate, Zack dipped his head once again under water, hoping to find her at least under there. Unfortunately he was not able to see through the water. What appeared like a stream of light was passing through the bottom of the pool, rendering him blind as he tried to see underwater. Not only was he blind, he was now dragged with a much stronger force towards the bottom of the pool.

Resisting it was getting harder each second, as Zack felt every tendon of his muscle being painfully pulled. At that moment, he wanted to give himself up to the force, the pain of not finding his mate piercing his heart. He relaxed his body as he let the pull take him. Images of Elize flashed into his mind. She was happy in all of those, her big gray eyes sparkling at the sight of him. He remembered the way her eyes teared up when he said that he loved her.

The water now entered his windpipe as he sank deeper. He didn't struggle for air. He welcomed the pain that came with it. Anything to cover the pain that he felt at the loss of his beautiful mate. Anything but-

His mind pushed more pictures of him and Elize together at him. Elize was laughing at something he said. She was holding out her hand to him, saying something. He concentrated to hear what it was. She pursed her lips in irritation as she kept shaking her hand at him. What was she saying? He thought. He tried concentrating more as her expression changed to an angry one and she came towards him. Zack was confused. Why was she angry at him? He thought again.

Suddenly he felt the pressure of someone dragging him upwards through the water, the image of his mate suddenly disappearing. He struggled, irritated at the interruption. Somehow his strength failed him as he was dragged out of the water and was thrown to the surface. Instead of hitting hard on the ground, his body slowed down nearing the surface and landed gently on the grass. As soon as he did, his body convulsed, coughing violently. Within seconds, strong hands held him and patted his back as he coughed up water.

"It's okay Zack. Elize didn't throw you with much force." Alex said, taking his hands off of Zack.

Exhausted, Zack laid back with his eyes closed. He didn't want to think about whatever Alex was saying. He was so angry at whoever it was who dragged him out. He failed to protect his mate and he didn't want to live anymore without her.

*THUMP*

Zack felt someone fall down next to him.

"You give up too soon." A tired voice spoke from beside him on the ground.

Zack quickly opened his eyes and turned towards the familiar sound expectantly. Elize was looking at him, her gray eyes searching his face weakly. A frown was forming on her face as she saw him looking at her.

"Baby how-" Zack asked reaching out to his mate, his eyes tearing up. Elize sighed and snuggled into his arms. He held her tight, as tight as he possibly could. He was never going to let her go again, Zack thought.

"You underestimate me Alpha. I'm not your average wolf." She whispered against his chest, shivering.

Zack chuckled. He inhaled her scent which was so weak at the moment. He knew that it was the water's magic that concealed her scent. And probably because she was still wet from it, her scent was still feeble.

"Ahem." Alex cleared his throat.

Zack opened his eyes only to glare at his pack mate. Alex was standing above the couple, a smiling Meifeng holding on to him gleefully. Behind them stood Nina, like a proud mother. Wait. Where was she all this time? Zack thought.

"Go away Alex!" Elize complained, waving her hands in the air without taking her head off from Zack's chest.

Meifeng chuckled.

Alex rolled his eyes and said, "We need to get back to the pack house before more of those wolves come. I don't know who they were but-"

"Fainnneee!" Elize groaned and sat up. She then turned towards Zack and said, "But you're carrying me back. I don't want to walk."

Zack smiled, all too happy to oblige. He stood up and picked Elize up in his arms, a warmth filling his body as he held her close. Elize giggled like a small kid as she leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Alex sighed behind Zack. He said, "This is so weird.She's my sis-"

"Oh shut up Alex. Let's just get home." Meifeng said, dragging Alex back into the forest. Nina walked behind them, laughing at the remark.

Zack shook his head and followed them. He took one last look back to the stream before entering the thicket. Something moved on the other side of the stream, quickly disappearing in between the bushes. Zack turned back and hurried towards the pack house. He knew that the wolves would come back. But before they did, he needed to know exactly who he was facing. He needed to take everyone back home safely and hear them out. Only then, could he protect who he needed to protect.