Chapter 13: Elizabeth's POV / Matthew's POV

"We should go get a squad ready if we plan on heading out tonight, Jonathan", Mike said as he stood up. He was still holding my hand. He hadn't let go of it even once.

Besides Mathew, Mike is the only guy I've ever felt this comfortable around. I really don't understand what's going on between Mike and I because we literally just met a few hours ago. All I know is, having him close to me makes me feel a little better. I like it when Mike calls me 'Liz' and I liked it when he holds my hand. I feel safe around him and I feel less insane considering everything that's going on.

"Liz, I've stationed two warriors infront of your hospital room. If you need help with anything, just call out to them, okay?", Mike said to me.

"I don't think all that is necessary, Mike but I appreciate it." Mike squeezed my hand and then he left the hospital room.

"Baby", Jonathan said to Audrey, "I don't want you leaving my sight."

"I think I need to stay here with Elizabeth, babe. She shouldn't be alone right now", Audrey said to him.

Jonathan groaned. "Okay, if you insist then I'm getting 4 more warriors stationed outside the hospital room and 1 is going to be stationed in here. Don't argue with me on this, Audrey."

Audrey gave Jonathan a smile and a nod and then gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Jonathan and Mike left the hospital room and a warrior came in and stood right next to the door.

"Hi there, I'm Elizabeth." "I'm Audrey". "And I'm Susan." Audrey, Susan and I said as we extended our hands to the warrior.

"I'm Nathan. It's a pleasure to meet you. I saw the two of you on the field today and I must say, I was quite impressed. Can I ask you guys something?"

"Yea, of course", Audrey said.

"How are you guys immune to the witches' magic?"

"We're still trying to figure that out", Audrey said as we chuckled.

"Well, if you do figure it out, please share your secret with us. It will come in handy the next time the witches attack."

"How many times have the witches attacked this year?", I asked Nathan.

"This was their third attack in 9 months. We lost a lot more pack members during the last two attacks", Nathan said as he looked down.

"We're really sorry to hear that, Nathan", I said.

"Thanks. I should let you guys get ready. I'll be right here if you need anything."

"Thanks, Nathan", Audrey said.

"Can you even remember this golden path? What if you've already forgotten it?", Susan asked me.

"I haven't forgotten it", I said to her. "I can see it even right now. I just know that it'll lead me to Mathew. This is what we came here for, guys."

They both looked at one another nervously.

"Elizabeth, in your dream, did this voice tell you what you are or what this big quest is that you're supposed to be on?", Audrey asked me.

I shook my head and answered her. "No. It just told me to follow that gold path."

We were all awkwardly silent in the room until Audrey said something.

"It's going to take me some time to get used to seeing you with gold flames for eyes, but I guess I can live with it", Audrey said as she held my shoulders and then proceeded to give me a hug.

I got out of the hospital bed and started getting ready to leave. The warriors who were guarding us started taking us to Jonathan and Mike. I was glad that they were there because the pack is so big that the three of us would have surely gotten lost on the way. There were some pack members outside while we were walking. Some of them were pointing at us and whispering. Some kids wanted to run towards us, but their parents held them back. This hurt my feelings because just a few hours ago, I was laughing with Ishmael, the cute little boy who was stuck in a tree.

"Hey, maybe the kind of creature I am has something to do with the sun", I said to Audrey and Susan.

"I guess that may make sense, but I've never heard of a magical creature being tied to the sun", Audrey said.

"I think we should just focus on finding Sebastian for now. We can figure out the rest late", Susan said as she quickened her pace and started walking ahead of the warriors.

When we got to the pack house, Mike and Jonathan had assembled 15 warriors to come with us. They were all wearing camouflage clothes and had weapons with them. Jonathan handed us each a set of clothes.

"We figured you guys will probably want to take a shower and get changed before we leave", Mike said.

We took the clothes and went into the assigned rooms to take showers. The three of us were back within 30 minutes.

We were each wearing camouflage uniforms just just like the warriors. As soon as we got downstairs, Mike came to stand next to me.

"So what's the plan?", Susan asked as she put a knife in her holster.

"Well we're going to drive until we get to the area close to the cave that Elizabeth mentioned. Elizabeth, we'll be relying on you for directions. Once we're close enough, we'll have to proceed on foot so that the witches don't hear us coming", Jonathan said as he stood infront of everyone.

"Five of us are immune to the witches' magic so we will be the ones leading the squad at all times. Jonathan will be in front and Elizabeth you'll be behind him telling him which way to go. Luna Audrey and Susan, the two of you will be behind Elizabeth and I will be following right behind you", Mike said as he stood next to Jonathan.

"Everyone else, you will be behind Mike. If you see any signs of witches, you need to alert those of us who are immune to their magic", Jonathan said. "Now once we get to the cave, the five of us will proceed in the order we just mentioned. We're assuming the cave has a spell cast on it, so I'd prefer that the rest of the squad stand guard outside the entrance. If at any point in time, the rest of the squad requires access to the cave, we have four members here who have volunteered to go in first. Please stand up."

Two men and two women stood up and nodded their heads slightly.

"Only Sarah, Emma, Ryan and Jamal are allowed to enter the cave if we require additional assistance. The rest of you will head to the car and call for back up. Am I clear?", Jonathan said in a stern voice.

"Yes alpha", all the warriors said in unison.

I looked at all the brave men and women around me and decided that no matter what happened in that cave, I wouldn't let any of them get injured. They were all visibly nervous, but they still put on brave faces.

*********************************************

Mathew's POV

The witches were no longer chanting their spells while standing in a circle around me. This time they all had their hands on me and were chanting in low rumbles.

"Mother Freya, this wolf has an endless amount of magical energy. At this rate, Raphael will rise again in no time", Sabrina said while laughing hysterically. All the witches started laughing with her.

When they finally stopped chanting, I noticed black hand prints where they were holding onto me. The handprint on my chest where Freya had placed her hand was the darkest. My chest was even a bit sunken where Freya had put her hand.

"Take him back to the cell. I want him back here after an hour. This wolf may be the key to freeing Raphael", I heard Freya saying menacingly.

The witches had to drag me back to the cell. I could hardly stand, let alone walk. They threw me inside the cell.

"Oh my gosh, Mathew, Mathew! Are you okay?", Sebastian said in a panick while shaking my body. My eyes were only slightly open, but I could see that everyone was gathered around me.

"Give him some air to breathe young ones!", I heard Luciene's voice roar.

"You shouldn't have survived this kind of dark magic, young alpha."

"Why not, Lucienne?, I asked while trying to steady by breathing.

"You see all these dark handprints on your body, it means the witches performed the purest form of dark magic on you. This was meant to drain all your magic and life force . You were supposed to die! You see this handprint on your chest? It's the darkest one. This hand was practically ripping out your heart. How in the hell are you still alive? This...this would have killed at least 5 alphas", Luciene said. He looked shocked and scared.

Everyone in the room was staring at me with shocked faces.

"We need to get him some water", Sebastian finally said and broke the silence.

"Look around you, inkling, do you see any water around you?", Luciene asked in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm fine, Sebastian. I'm feeling better already. Don't worry", I said to him.

I could feel Orion healing my body faster now that the magic wasn't interrupting him anymore. The sunken part on my chest was even returning to normal. Within a few minutes, I went from barely being able to stand up, to examining the bars of the cell.

"How are you up already, young wolf?", Luciene asked with a confused look. "And what the hell are you doing? Those bars are made of silver and wolfsbane. You shouldn't even be able to touch them."

I didn't say anything to him. Orion and I were trying to figure out how to break the bars without alerting the witches.

I shook the bars and realised I could break them easily, but everyone may have to move quickly because the witches might hear me.

I turned to face everyone.

"Listen up!", I said in a serious tone. They were all quiet. "I'm going to break the bars of this cell. As soon as I do, I want everyone to start running out of here in single file. My wolf says we should head East. He has picked up faint scents of fresh air coming from that direction. Sebastian, I heard the witches say their magic doesn't work on you. Is this true?"

"It's true. We've all seen it!", one of the warriors answered before Sebastian could say anything. Sebastian nodded his head.

"Wait, wait, young wolf. How are you going to break those bars? You shouldn't even be able to feel your wolf with all that silver and wolfsbane. And how did your wolf catch a scent of fresh air? The pungent smell of this cave overwhelms all other scents!" Luciene was talking so fast, he was tumbling over his words.

"Luciene, there is no time to explain. We don't know when the witches will be back. I need you all to trust me or we'll die here", I said to him.

Everyone was looking at one another nervously and then a few of them started nodding their heads. After a few seconds, everyone was nodding their heads and waiting for me. Everyone was on board except for Luciene.

I walked up to him and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Luciene, I'm not leaving this place without you. I'll drag you kicking and screaming if I have to", I said to him.

Luciene looked at me with desperate and confused eyes and finally nodded his head.

I sighed with relief.

"Sebastian, since the witches' magic doesn't affect you, I want you infront with me. Should we encounter any magic while trying to get out of here, we'll need your help." Sebastian nodded his head.

I then walked to the front of the cell and held two bars in my hand. Then I started pulling them in opposite directions. I could hear everyone gasping behind me.

"Moon Godess, what am I seeing right now?", I heard Lucienne say with shock evident in his voice.

The cells started shaking and rubble was falling off the walls. Withinin a few seconds, I had made a big enough hole for everyone to crouch through.

I stepped to the side and everyone started climbing through the bars. The witches hadn't heard us yet. Luciene was the last to get out of the cell and then I climbed out after him.

"I'll lead the way. Sebastian, you stay right behind me. Let's try to be as quiet as possible; maybe we can get out of here without fighting the witches", I said as quietly as I could.

We started moving through the cave. It looked like a maze and I could tell from the mumbling at the back that everyone else was unsure about where to go. Orion was leading me. He could smell fresh air and flowers from outside and was certain that he knew where the exit was.

I suddenly started feeling Orion get excited. He was jumping up and down in my head and wagging his tongue.

Orion, what's happening?, I asked him

I can smell Elizabeth. She's nearby, he said in an excited voice.

Orion, that means she's been captured. We need to get to her right now, I responded to him.

Orion's mood suddenly changed when he realised this and he gave a low growl. We started running faster and I could tell the others were now further behind. I was about to step through an entrance when a powerful force pushed me back. My body flew back and hit the rest of the people behind me. Most of us were on the ground and trying to get back up.

This entrance has been enchanted with magic, Mathew, Orion said.

The cave started shaking violently. "Find them! Find them and kill them!", we heard Freya screaming and then heard hurried footsteps all over the cave.

"Dammit! I told you we can't escape this place. They're going to torture us to death now", Luciene said with panick evident in his voice. Everyone was panicking and the men were all looking at me for answers.

"Sebastian, try and step through here", I said to him in my calmest voice.

Sebastian stepped through the entrance with ease. Nothing happened to him.

"The witches are getting closer, young wolf", Luciene yelled at me.

"Wait, there are crystals here. I think they're the ones blocking the entrance", Sebastian shouted.

"Try moving them, Sebastian. The witches are almost here", I said in a commanding tone.

Sebastian started kicking the crystals around. "Mathew, try going through now." I tried putting one foot through the entrance and it actually went though. Everyone started cheering before Luciene shushed them.

Everyone was running though the entrance. Three witches had found us now and they were calling others to come help them. Within seconds, all the witches who were torturing me, we're right behind us. Lucienne wasn't as fast as the rest of us and was falling behind. I ran to him, put him on my back and started running towards the exit.

"You better run, young wolf. Good thing I'm not the heavy and muscle-filled beta I was 15 years ago", Luciene said with a nervous chuckle.

The others no longer needed me to lead the way. The smell of fresh air was now permeating the cave. We were close to getting out of here and Elizabeth's scent was getting stronger. It made me run even faster.

I looked back for a second and saw Freya chanting and pointing her hands at me. She was about to strike me and Luciene.