36. On The Run

"Are they still behind us?" Felix whispers without slowing down.

I turn my head, scanning the surroundings. Thank you, vampire vision. I can see three or four men in the distance behind us. "They are," I whisper back. "But we put some distance between us."

"We need to hide," Felix says.

Dario is panting slightly while leading the way. Fortunately, I'm pretty fit, or I wouldn't be able to keep up with those two. "They will smell us," Dario says. "We need to…" He pauses. "Wait, I have an idea. Please tell me you can swim, Charlie."

"I can," I say.

Dario leads us to a river. "It's pretty deep," he mutters. "We will have to swim some parts."

"I'll watch out for her," Felix promises, turning towards me. "I'm a good swimmer."

"Good is an understatement," Dario says. "It's like Felix was a merman in his previous life."

I want to know more about his love for the water, but there is no time to chat. "Be careful," Felix mutters. "A river can be unpredictable." Dario nods and jumps in first. He wasn't lying. It's deep. It seems like he can barely stand. Felix and I follow suit. I'm not a bad swimmer, but the flow is strong, making me cling to Felix. He shows me how to hold onto him without disturbing his movements or pulling him down into the water, then we move forward. The two guys let the drift move them forward while I cling to Felix. Goodness, I had no time to think about what kind of mess I ended up in now. I should have stayed in the packhouse instead of wandering around like a stupid idiot. Dante trusted me to stay there. But no, I just had to mope and dwell in self-pity and run into these… whatever and whoever they are.

The flow gets stronger, the water swirling around us louder.

"Do you know the area?" Dario yells towards me through the noise.

"Yes," I yell back, hoping our attackers won't be able to hear us. The noise from the water is so loud that I hope we are safe. "This river leads to a…"

I pause, dread settling in.

"Oh fuck," Felix curses, instantly realizing what I was about to say. "Dario, be careful. If you can, try to jump so you put some distance between yourself and the waterfall."

"And if I can't?" Dario asks. There is a tremor in his voice but other than that he sounds shockingly composed.

"Position yourself so you go down feet first! Arms around or over your head, press your nose and mouth into your elbow."

"Got it," Dario says.

"And tense your muscles."

I can see how the edge comes closer. Dario is a bit ahead of us, so he is almost there. My heartbeat picks up its pace.

"Once down, swim away from the waterfall even when you are still under the surface," Felix yells while Dario slips over the edge.

"Please tell me it's deep," Felix says, his voice nervous.

"It is," I mutter, my body so tense it's shivering.

"Okay," Felix makes me turn around so I'm clinging to his side. "I need you to let go and lie on your back. Hold my hand and don't let go."

There are so many questions I want to ask. Why don't they teach us that in school!? Seriously, it would have come in handy, but instead I could do algebra right now. Once Uncle Dante finds me again, and I'm safe, and he isn't mad at me anymore for getting into this situation, I will ask him to show me some survival tricks.

"Here we go," Felix says. I can feel his body tensing, and follow his lead, my fingers tightly around his hand. I wish I could say I remember all his rules, but once we move over the edge, all I can do is try to not scream like a maniac. All my strength and willpower go into not yelling out in fear so as to not alert our attackers.

The strength of the flow basically kicks us over the edge. Instead of dropping down with the stream of water, we are a bit ahead of it. It feels like my intestines and my stomach move up to my throat. Soon the water catches up with us, making it feel like I'm being punched from all sides. It feels like I'm taking a beating while gravity pulls us down fast. With a loud thud, we burst through the surface of the water as if we crashed on asphalt. The strength of the waterfall pushes us down. My hand feels slippery, and with the strength of the water, my grip around Felix's hand loosens.

Before I can let go, he grabs me by my shirt and tugs me further into the water. It's pitch-black around us. Fuck, fuck, fuck, did I go blind? There is the slightest light to be seen, so I hope my eyes are alright, but my orientation certainly isn't. The water keeps pressing against my chest while my lungs scream for air.

Felix tugs us in a direction. I don't know where to, but I let him pull me along, trying to support him by kicking my feet and then, just like that, we break through the surface. I cough, gasping for air while Felix tugs me further and further until we hit the shore.

"Tha"—I cough a bit more, rolling onto my back, relief filling me as I'm at the safety of the shore—"Thank you."

"No problem," Felix says. "But that was dangerous."

"I thought it would be to your liking." I can hear Dario's voice; even more relief fills me when I notice he is okay.

"I just did it once. Once," Felix says, looking a bit flustered. "And dad almost killed me for it."

"Your experience helped us, though," Dario mutters.

Felix eyes him over, his eyes clouded with worry. "You got hurt?"

It's only then that I notice that Dario is clasping his arm to his chest. "Hit it against a rock, but it's nothing major."

Felix stays silent at his words, but the worry doesn't leave his eyes.

"And now?" I mutter.

"We need to hide somewhere," Dario says.

"At least this should have diffused our trail and scent," Felix says with a smile.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Dario says. "Momentarily it worked, but if they have a skilled tracker with them, they will find us eventually."

"What do you suggest?" Felix asks.

"Finding a place to hide and trying to get back to pack grounds," Dario says. "But I have no idea where we are. I don't know this area."

"How about you?" Felix asks me.

"I do know that we should be west from the pack grounds," I say. "I know the river and waterfall. Ella took me here to show me. But I'm not acquainted with the whole area," I admit.

"Right, you haven't been living here for long," Felix says. "Then let's hide for now," he suggests. "Dario has hurt his arm, and we need to treat it. Frankly… I think we all need that break."

"I bet I'll be black and blue tomorrow," I mutter.

"I wish we could call someone," Dario says. "But I don't have my phone with me. Well, I'm not sure if it would have survived the waterfall anyway."

"Mine would. But I can't believe it," Felix groans. "The one time in my life that I'm without my phone, I need it. It's just comfortably resting in a beautiful guest room in Red Claw."

"Well, we can't help that now," Dario says while carefully getting up. "Come, it's better to find a place to hide."

By now it's clear neither the twins nor Charlie are anywhere around. Liam has a team of trackers comb the whole pack grounds searching for them. Part of me hopes they are just off to do some silly teenager stuff and snuck off… or pull some stupid prank, but deep in my heart, I feel something is off.

I know Charlie had those moments where she just felt like she had to run off to deal with her pain, but I doubt that is the case now.

She is too worried for Ella; she wants her to come back. There is no way she would run away now. And even if she wanted to do that, I doubt that Felix and Dario would have just let her. At best, I could see them accompanying her, but for sure they would have called by now.

Fuck, this is all my fault.

Ella is off to save the world, and I just had the one task to keep Charlie safe… on pack grounds, and I failed miserably. And now I need to tell her.

I let Dalila make a safe connection to her and video call her. Ella is happy to see me first, her eyes lighting up, that is until she sees my expression.

"What happened?" she asks, sitting up. She is lying on her bed, but now she grabs her notebook and sits up, pacing around. I can see Ari in the background and… a young vampire with her. "D, what happened? Goddess, it's Charlie, isn't it?"

"I'm so sorry," I say. "It's all my fault." I just blurt it all out, telling her what happened, how it's my fault, and how I know I let her and Charlie down.

"Dante," Ella interrupts me. "I need you to calm down now! Nefeli and I are not there to kick you to knock your senses back into you. So, I need you to calm yourself down! Charlie is with the twins; I'm certain she is. This is not your fault. Now I need you to keep it together to find her! I will make sure to cut my visit here short too. Charlie needs me, and I'm so utterly useless here. I didn't achieve anything. She needed me and I wasn't there. If anything it's my fault."

"You shouldn't do anything hasty either," I tell her. "And it's not your fault either. It's not true that you didn't achieve anything. You are with the vampires to protect Charlie's future. Now you need to make sure that Aloysius believes the content of the letter."

"Maybe I can help." I can hear a quiet voice behind Ella. It's a male voice. Maybe the vampire who talked to Ari?

"Dante." Ella turns her attention to me. "I will hang up now. Please do everything in your power to look for Charlie. I will do everything I can on my end here and try to meet you as fast as possible."

"Stay safe," I say. "I love you."

"I love you too."

I leave the video call with a heavy heart. Even though Ella told me it's not my fault, I still feel guilty. She was under my watch, and I lost her. If anything happens to her, I will never forgive myself.

Dante, Liam's mind link comes through.

Did you find them!? I blurt out.

No, but we found their traces far into the forest, close to the eastern borders. I know Felix and Dario went hiking today. I have no idea what Charlie did so far into the forest, but she was there too. Meet me at training place number three. My father and I will be waiting for you. Hurry!

Your father is here?

Yes, I told him the twins disappeared. He came immediately.

I will be there in a minute!

I feel instantly bad for Liam. I'm pretty sure his brothers just got dragged into something against their will. It all narrows down to it being my fault once more. I should have made sure Charlie wasn't alone while she was still so vulnerable.

It's not like self-pity will get us anywhere, my lycan intervenes. Mate and pup are relying on us now. We can't let them down.

You aren't wrong. I say, pulling myself out of my state of self-pity. I can blame myself as much as I want later; for now, I need to find my niece.

The guys and I strolled around for a while until we found a cave we could hide in. I'm ashamed to admit that I completely lost my orientation. I have no idea where we are and how far we strayed from the pack.

I just know that I feel freezing cold. While the days are getting warmer and warmer, it's not yet summer, and the nights are still a bit chilly.

"Are you two hungry?" Dario asks. "I just have chewing gum. It might be a bit soggy, but maybe still chewable."

"I just had a protein bar in my pocket," Felix says. "Bet it's not really edible anymore."

"I have nothing," I say. "Sorry."

"It's not like this was planned," Dario says before handing out the chewing gum. He is right; they are a bit wet and soggy, but at least it's something to chew on.

"I can't believe how much we suck at this survival thing," Felix groans. "If Mom and Dad hear that, they will panic and put us in some sort of survival class." He grimaces. "With Beta Vincent."

"Is the beta an awful guy?" I ask curiously.

"Not at all, but he is very strong, and he loves hiking. He would be head over heels for such a training and go completely overboard." Felix chuckles.

"Felix is right," Dario mutters. "Vincent would see it as a vacation of sorts."

"Could as well go with Dad, but do we want to hang out with our old man even more?" Felix contemplates.

Dario tilts his head. "Hm, good question."

"How is your dad?" I ask them curiously. He did visit Alpha Liam and Luna Annalise a few times, but I only saw him from a distance. He is an imposing man for sure. Even next to Alpha Liam, he looks strong.

"Pretty nice."

"Pretty strict."

The twins said it in unison, making me laugh. "Which is it?"

"I actually think he is quite understanding," Dario says.

"Excuse me, are we talking about the same man?" Felix wants to know. "Did you maybe hit your head while we dropped down the waterfall? He always gives me an earful about something."

"He just wants you to put some effort into things," Dario says. "But he lets you make your own decisions."

"You are right," Felix groans. "At least he doesn't get mad. He just wants to talk to me… a lot. It's just because I constantly fuck up."

"You don't always fuck up," Dario says quietly. "You have your strengths. Dad says the same."

"So do you," Felix retorts.

It's kind of cute to listen to them and a bit funny. They are constantly trying to pump each other up. Dario seemed to be really shy at first glance, but on second glance, he doesn't come off as insecure, just introverted. People are always judging so fast.

"You actually have a pretty chilled life, don't you?" I ask curiously. "I don't mean that in a bad way. It's just… hearing you talk about your family, it's funny, and I love hearing these stories."

"We have a great family," Felix admits. "Mom and Dad are always in our corner, even if we mess up. And we have the best siblings."

"How come you all get along so well?" I ask.

"It helps that there is quite the age difference between all of us," Felix admits.

"Liam," Dario says all of a sudden. "He was the perfect son and the perfect brother. Marius said that once."

"Marius?" I ask.

"He is the second oldest of our siblings," Felix explains before looking at Dario. "What are you talking about?"

"Marius told me once that Liam was the perfect son. Diligent, ambitious, strong, composed, well-mannered. Perfect son, perfect brother, perfect heir. He was everything the pack and society expected him to be. Marius said there was a time he hated him for being so perfect, but then he realized how much of a gift it was. He said Liam was perfect, so none of us would need to be."

It's silent around us. "I wish I had a brother," I mutter.

"Maybe Dante and Ella will have a baby eventually," Felix points out. "Then you are a sister."

"Actually, I'd be an aunt then or something alike." I chuckle.

"Does it matter?" Felix asks with a broad smile. "You are made to be a big sister! I bet you'd be awesome with a little munchkin."

"You bet I would protect them with all I have," I say.

"See?" Felix chuckles.

"Would you mind?" Dario asks. "If they had a baby."

"I have never thought about it," I admit. "I am not sure. Feels a bit weird. But being a big sister sounds kind of cool."

Again, silence engulfs us, before Dario stretches slightly. "We should try to sleep a bit."

Felix and I agree, the three of us settling down in the very uncomfortable cave. It protects us from the night and wind, but it's a bit cold. I try to curl down on the ground while listening to the twins chatting. I try to force myself to fall asleep, but the noises around us keep me restless. I can hear rustling and light footsteps probably from nocturnal animals.

More rustling.

Why are they making so much noise?

I frown, sitting up abruptly.

"What's wrong, Charlie?" Felix asks. "Did you—"

He doesn't get to finish his sentence. It all happens so fast. A flashlight illuminates the cave. Voices call out to each other. Felix and Dario scramble to their feet and struggle against the men who overpower them.

One of the men knocks Felix out, holding a gun against his head. "You two," he says to me and Dario. "Follow us or I will kill him."