Chapter Thirteen

Silent tears rolled down my cheeks as I walked away from the back of the house towards the woods. My goodbye to Stephanie was almost as hard as the goodbye to Marcus. I barely managed to walk out the back door of the house afterwards, but here I was making my way across the grass while looking back, making sure that no one was following. I had to make it look really or they wouldn't buy it. The part that frightened me, was not knowing what they were going to do with me. Marcus had promised to be as close as he could in case I needed help. I sighed and wiped the tears away as I continued walking.

I reached the tree line and stopped. I looked back at the house sadly, wishing I could just walk straight back inside. I turned and looked into the woods, remembering the path we had all discussed me taking. I started moving forward quickly before I lost my nerve. I reached the river and followed it back around towards the front of the house. I was starting to think that the rogues had left when I heard a growl from behind me. I turned slowly and raised my hands. "I'm not here to fight..." I stammered out. It stepped closer and growled again when a slightly familiar face moved out from behind a tree. "Well, well, what do we have here?" He eyed me up and down.

I lowered my hands as he moved closer. "You have caused me a lot of trouble." His voiced held an underlying threat and I cringed. "I'm sorry...I...Got nervous last time." He tilted his head quizzically. "Well, you are here for me aren't you?" He looked at me curiously. "What makes you think that?" I sighed and risked a step towards him. "I've been hunted all my life, so seeing you all here..." He stared at me coldly. "Yeah I know. So what do you want now that you're not so...Nervous?" I looked down at the ground then back up at him. "I'm tired of running. I'm done putting other people in danger." He stepped closer. "Good choice." More growls sounded behind me and I started to get frightened a little. I looked back and four other wolves had snuck up behind me. He held up his hand and they stopped moving. "Go tell her." I frowned at him. "Who's her?" He smiled darkly at me. "You'll find out soon enough." Suddenly everything went dark and the last thing I heard was him laughing.

I woke with a pounding headache. I reached up and carefully moved my hand over my head. "Ouch!" I hit a spot that felt wet and sticky. I opened my eyes slowly and waited as they adjusted. "They won't adjust." I flinched at the voice. "Who's there?" I heard shuffling and the scrapping of a chain. "Nobody really, but you're in the dark, so your eyes wont adjust...Yet." I slowly slid myself up so I was sitting. "So where are we then?" I heard him sigh sadly. "You're in the Savage moon pack's holding cells. If you're who I think you are, then you won't be here for long. Olivia will send someone down to get you." I shivered in the cold. "Who's Olivia?" I heard the chain scrap again. "The Luna of this pack...And my mother..." I gasped in shock. "Why the hell would she put you down here?" Silence answered me.

I was sitting in silence, listening for any sounds I could pick up, when a door opened, leaking some light through. I stood and looked through a set of bars down a hallway. There were other sets of bars down the full length of the hall. I looked over at the set of bars opposite me. Green eyes stared back at me. "Don't fight her Serenity, please. The more you fight the more likely it is that she will kill you before anyone can stop her..." Suddenly we turned as footsteps approached us. A large blonde haired guy with dark brown eyes stopped outside my cell. He glared at the green eyes before looking back at me. "Doesn't matter, there isn't no rescue coming for her." He unlocked the door and stepped in smiling menacingly. "Move it." He pushed me out the door. I glanced once at the green eyes before I was shoved further down the hall.

I squinted as we stepped out into the sunlight. Blondie closed a large door behind me while my eyes still adjusted. "Move." He shoved me again and I started moving forward. I looked around me and noticed one thing straight out, everyone walking around looked miserable. On top of being miserable, most were being followed by menacing looking guys. I jumped to the conclusion they were rogues. No one looked at me, not once. He guided me past people and up to a large white house. There were a lot of rogues standing around watching people on the outside. We stepped up to a door and one of the rogues opened it for us. Stepping inside I couldn't help but notice it was empty. "Where is everyone?" He pushed me towards a set of doors. "Shut up." He knocked on one of the doors and waited. "Come in." A woman's voice called out.

He opened the door and shoved me through before closing it. He didn't follow me in and I felt a little nervous. Someone cleared their throat and I turned around. Sitting behind a desk was Tall, thin Blonde woman. She looked at me sharply then snorted in disgust. "You do look like your mother, how disappointing. I had hoped never to see that face again, yet here you stand, looking exactly like her." She rose from the desk and walked around it. It was then I noticed a man sitting in the corner just watching. She stepped right up in front of me drawing my attention again. She stared at me for a moment then reached out and slapped me. I gasped in shock. "That's for causing so much trouble. I had to lock my own son up because of you! I almost lost control of this stupid pack and I had to allow rogues on my land!" The man in the corner growled. "We had an agreement woman, now it's time to hold up your end."

She walked over to him and reached out to slap him as well, but he moved from the chair and grabbed her wrist quickly. "Don't...You...Dare..." he growled out at her. I heard her whimper and she pulled her hand free. I watched her closely as she lowered it and then shook her hair out, as if trying to recompose herself. She feared him and he knew it. She thought she still had control of the pack, but she had nothing. He was simply letting her think she did, because he knew the pack wouldn't follow a rogue. She turned her anger back around on me. "Because of you I have to sacrifice more of my pack. I'm done with you for now. Tony! Take her back, I can't stand to look at this... Thing, right now." She stepped right up to me again. "We, however, are not done. Not by far."

Blondie opened the door and grabbed my wrist, pulling me from the room. He led me back outside and down to the cells again. As he opened the door I quickly looked around to see if I could get a quick number on the rogues. He shoved me through just as I took a guess at their numbers. The guy leading me though wasn't a rogue. So what pull over him did she have? I needed to ask him when I got a chance, but I was pretty sure now wasn't the best time. He shoved me further down the hall and back to my cell. After I stepped through he closed the door and locked it. "Hey! Wait!" He stopped and looked at me with a frown. "Isn't there some kind of light or something you can leave on? Even just for an hour? Please?" His face softened a little, but then he turned and walked away.

I heard the door close and sighed as the darkness set in again. There was a click sound and some lights flicked on in the hall. I turned and frowned. He actually turned them on. I stepped up to the bars, grabbing them I looked through at the cell opposite me. "Hey are you there?" I heard the chain drag across the ground. "I'm here." The green eyes appeared just before I saw him completely through the bars. "You said she was your mother right?" He nodded. "Then why did she put you in here?" I looked down sadly. "I didn't agree with her wanting to hurt my sister." He looked back up at me. I frowned. "Why would she want to hurt your sister?" He smiled sadly. "Because, you're the true Alpha of the pack." My eyes widened in shock.

I started processing what he said. "But... I..." He watched me closely. "Your mother was my father's true mate. So even though Alpha blood runs through my veins, it runs through yours stronger. You are the true Alpha of this pack, and the only one that can restore its full power." I looked at him. "You're my brother?" He smiled at me in amusement. "Hi sis. Now is that really all you take from that?" I blushed. "Yeah... Well, family for me is kind of on the small side..." He laughed. "I really wish we could have met under better circumstances. I'm Kenton anyway." I smiled at him happily. "Hi Kenton, I'm Serenity." His face brightened. "Suits you really." I laughed. "Yeah mum used to say the same thing when I was growing up." His face fell slightly and he started looking sad again. "Kenton, how long have you been locked down here?" He looked at me and shook his head. "Doesn't matter anymore Serenity. You're here and I'm going to take the time to know you a little." The way he said it made my heart hurt a little. My brother had been locked in a dark cell, for who knows how long. Life hadn't been fair to either of us.

We sat down against the bars talking for what felt like hours, before meals were brought down to us. We ate in a comfortable silence while the lights remained on. Just as I was finishing mine, the lights went out. "Kenton?" I called out worried. "It's OK serenity. The lights are off down here more than they are on. You should try and rest. She won't leave you alone for long." I sighed and felt my way across the floor. I felt a mattress and moved onto it. I lay down and curled up into a ball shivering. There was a thin blanket on the mattress that I pulled tight around me. "Kenton?" I heard him shuffle slightly. "Yeah Serenity?" I sighed. "I found my mate." I closed my eyes and pictured Marcus. "He's an Alpha and I know he'll come get us soon." He shifted in the dark again. "If he comes and gets both of us...I'll serve the guy the rest of my life." I smiled at that. I was feeling drowsy, but I needed to link Marcus before falling asleep.

Marcus's POV

News came quick of the rogues leaving with Serenity. All I wanted to do was chase them down and tear them limb from limb, but I couldn't. I promised Serenity to follow the plan, so now I waited. As soon as word got to us that they had left we all shifted and moved out to the woods. Turns out Alpha Lathan's Beta was an excellent tracker. He led the party at a safe distance so the rogues didn't pick up our scents. I just hoped they didn't do anything to her in the mean time. We reached the outskirts of a pack about four days later and everyone stopped before hitting the border. We pulled back slightly so that the border patrol didn't pick up our scents either. I paced as we waited to hear from Serenity. Multiple times I tried to reach out to her through the link, but got no reply. Noah and others had shifted back into their human forms, but I just paced waiting in my wolf form. "Marcus." I looked at Noah. "She will reach out when she can, being in your wolf form is not going to change that." I growled and turned away feeling agitated.

I continued to pace each day, while I waited. Alphas had called their packs to check in and others called to get back up. Noah and the other elders sat around discussing the smell of the rogues on the pack territory. I lifted my head into the air and sniffed. There were quite a few. Suddenly I felt her. "Marcus?" I sighed in relief. "Serenity, I'm here." I could feel her relief rush down through the link and smiled internally. "I'm OK. I'm being held in a building not far from the main house. There are a lot of rogues though. I tried to get a count but couldn't. The pack members are also terrified, we have to help them. No one wonders around without an escort...And one more thing..." I felt her hesitate. "I found my brother... He's down here in the cells with me." My eyes flew open. Her brother, the Alpha, was locked in a cell. "Serenity, how? Why?" I felt her calm a little after telling me he was there. "It seems his mother was a little disappointed with him wanting to know his little sister instead of killing her. She had him chained in the cells. Marcus...I don't know how long he's been down here, but his eyes are better adjusted to the dark, than the light."

I shifted back and sat down with concern. Werewolves have naturally better sight at night, but to be adjusting better to the dark than light. He would have had to have been down there for years. "Serenity, how does he seem?" I needed to know how good his faculties where. He may just come in handy when the time came to get her out. "He seems fine, maybe a little sad, but who can blame him? I want to get him out Marcus... We need to get him out." I sighed. "We will my love, but first, we need to do what we came for. Did you see Chase?" I grabbed my clothes. "Yes. Marcus, he's not stupid...He's letting her think she still has control of the pack. She really doesn't and she fears him." I stopped pulling my pants on. "OK, you need to rest now. I'll let Noah and the others know. Love you..." I finished pulling them up. "Love you too. Oh and Marcus... Kenton said he'll serve you forever if you get us both out..." I smiled. I was starting to like the guy already.

I walked over and sat down next to Noah. "She's safe." He looked at me and sighed in relief. "Thank the goddess. How is she holding up?" I lowered my head before looking back at him. "Better than expected, probably partly due to her brother being with her." Noah's head almost spun off his shoulders. "What?" I nodded at him. "Serenity said Kenton has been locked down in the cells for some time now." Noah lowered his head into his hands. "How could we not have known?" I put my hand on his shoulder. "Because she hid it well. It's not your fault or anyone's that it was missed. Now we just need to get them out." Noah nodded. "So did she manage to get any information on the rogues?" I shook my head. "Other than the fact that the leader has control of the pack and that the pack is terrified, no." Noah looked back down at his hands again. "We need to act soon Noah." He nodded. "I know." Everyone drifted off into separate groups to get some rest. I remained sitting next to Noah in a comfortable silence.

I shifted into my wolf form, after almost everyone was asleep. Noah still sat in the same position he had been sitting in for the last couple of days. I shook my head. Neither of us were copping very well with Serenity being held. I constantly had the urge to just tear through the pack and get her out. I assumed Noah was having the same urges. I heard wolves approaching and stood ready to attack. "There mine Marcus." I looked over at Lathan as about twenty wolves slowly and cautiously walked out of the woods into the clearing. They stepped up to Lathan and eyed me slightly. I lowered my defenses and they seemed to ease off. "I called in reinforcements as soon as you heard from Serenity. I figured between what you said and from the overwhelming stench of that place, we might need them." I bowed my head at him. "Thank you. My pack will be arriving tomorrow as well. I'm going to do a patrol for a bit." He nodded. "You want company?" I looked at him for a second before nodding.

Lathan shifted quickly and we walked off into the dark. We did a light circle of the back end of all the packs before approaching the side closest to Savage Moon. We slowed our pace in case any of their patrol was out. Lathan stopped. "Marcus, here." I walked over and spotted the same thing that Lathan was staring at. A very large paw print. I lowered my nose to it and sniffed. I pulled my head back quickly, the smell was strong even though it was a couple of days old at least. "Do you think they know we're here?" I shook my head. "I doubt it, they would have been all over us by now if they did." We continued walking carefully and watching for more prints. We completed a full circle of the group without coming across anymore. Happy that everything was all clear we returned to the others.

Noah stood as we approached and waited until we reached him. "Any news?" We shifted back into our human forms. "There are prints not far away, but it's close to their border. I'll send some men to check regularly." Noah nodded at me. "We may have to move back a little further, just in case." I growled slightly. "No. We need to be close for when she needs us Noah." Noah looked at me for a minute before he nodded. "Alright Marcus, we'll stay put... For now." He turned away and sat back down. Lathan put his hand on my shoulder before walking away, back to his pack. I looked around at everyone and sighed. I needed to get her out, and soon.