Chapter 13

Sophia

Alex's mating mark has made all the difference.

I now feel how I thought I would feel after being mated. This strength and confidence that runs through me makes me exhilarated. I feel stronger than ever. We have also picked up speed.

It's been a few days since we left the village, and there have been questions eating at me. It's obvious to me now, that Robert deliberately changed the maps to hide that village. But why? Surely he knew about the existence of the village long before. What was he trying to hide that he felt he needed to change the map out of nowhere?

Also, why was that man imprisoned? What were the witches doing to him? Who were those bodies buried in the fields? And what did those witches want from me?

I doubt I will ever get the answers to these questions. Some mysteries are destined to remain unsolved. What does bother me the most though, is the shifter I saved. I can't get his image out of my head. He saved my life, and how did I repay him? I am abandoned him. He was already feeling so alone, and we were the only two people around him. We could've taken him with us, but then again, Alex had a point.

My judgment about people isn't exactly stellar.

He had watched us leave. He hadn't asked to come with us, but I had seen the longing in his eyes. The man had a gruff demeanor, but he had been kind when speaking to me.

Little wolf, he had called me.

My lips curve. It seemed like a term of endearment that one would use for a child.

Strangely enough, I didn't mind it.

I hope that once we are able to save my mother, I can bring him to the pack. It's not necessarily true that everybody who crosses paths with me has bad intentions. If I start thinking that way, how will I ever trust anybody?

It's with these thoughts whirling around in my head that we reach the border of the Central Alliance. The rock in my hand begins to vibrate and heat up slightly.

"This means that we're close, isn't it?" Alex studies it intently.

"Does it?" I lift it in the air, my tone doubtful. "This was supposed to get us through the terrain. We've only just reached the border. Shouldn't it calm down a little?"

"Here." Alex holds out his hand. "Give it here. You just don't know how to use it."

I give him a scathing look. "Yes, because you have so much experience using rocks to guide you through mountains. How silly of me."

My mate just scoffs at my words. "At least I'm not holding it up to the sun. Are you trying to roast it?"

We glare at each other, both equally annoyed and tired.

"I'm hungry," I declare. "And I want to take a bath. We've not stopped for two days. Whole days"

"We did stop," Alex reminds me. "And I told you to bathe in the river, but you said the water was too cold."

"It was freezing!"

"Nobody was telling you to go for a swim! Just step in, step put. Bam! You're clean."

"Are you trying to piss me off?" I stare at my mate.

He smirks at me. "I'm so scared."

Smiling at him, I put my hand on his shoulder, sending a light volt of electricity through the contact.

Yelping, he jumps out of my reach, glaring at me.

"You should be scared," I tell him, my eyes narrowed into slits.

Alex scowls. "You're a monster when you're hungry."

I groan, sitting down on the ground. "Fine. We stopped for a bath but we didn't eat and it's been two days, Alex."

"Let's just get through this area see if we can find a human village somewhere. There should be plenty once we cross the two layers of the border. At least, the map says there should be." He holds out his hand to me, helping me up. "Come on."

As the hours pass, we realize that the stone is indeed not working. The Central Alliance is a mountainous area. It's border, to be more specific, is extremely dangerous to navigate. That is one of the reasons why nobody has ever tried to infiltrate this area. They don't even have to bother with placing guards around their borders. The sheer, jagged cliffs and long drops are terrifying enough all by themselves. Where the dangerous, rocky terrain stops, the famous poisonous forest begins. It almost seems that nature itself is guarding the white wolves.

A couple of hours pass and we finally comprehend that even we're not equipped to deal with the dangers along this border. We've barely made any progress and right now, it's either cross the current hurdle or die.

"How are we going to get past all of this?" I breathe as we walk slowly along the edge of the mountain. The sharp ledge next to us reveals a drop of what looks like a hundred feet.. "This is terrifying. We've been walking for an hour along this ledge. Shouldn't we have made more progress than this?"

"Keep walking and don't look down," Alex instructs. "The rock is still growing hot. This might actually be the way."

At this point, I don't know if he's trying to reassure me or himself.

I don't know how long it takes us to get to the other side of the mountain, but the sky is dark, and when we place our feet on flat land, I slump to the ground, my legs trembling.

"If I didn't have a phobia of heights, I'm sure I'd have one now," I gasp.

Alex is faring no better. However, he sits down gracefully beside me, taking out the map from his pocket. "According to this, we should be near some human villages once we cross the forest. But we have another problem."

I'm lying flat on the ground now. "What problem?"

"Food," he replies, grimly. "This land is barren. Not even mountain goats reside here. And the forest we're about to enter is extremely poisonous."

My heart sinks. "If it's a barren land, then that means no food. But surely we can hunt in the forest?"

Alex shakes his head and points to the few lines written alongside the map that Brian gave us. "The creatures that reside in the poisonous forest are not normal. Their blood is tainted by the water they drink, and the plants they eat. You can't eat these creatures."

"Why didn't we just bring some meat with us?" My stomach is gurgling with hunger.

Alex gives me an apologetic look. "I believed that the stone would be working, and that we would be able to cross the entire border within a day like Brian told us. I should have taken precautions."

I throw my arm over my eyes, willing my hunger to die down. "You are doing this for my mother. We wasted time at that village. You were just trying to move us along. And besides, we had to dump all our belongings outside the border. We could hardly carry them over the mountains. Even if we had brought some meat with us, we would have had to leave it."

Alex touches my leg, and I glance at him.

"You're trying to make me feel better. I'm not an idiot."

I sit up and kiss him on the mouth. "That's my job."

Grinning at him, I hook my arms around his neck. "So, we'll be hungry for another two days. It's fine. I doubt we'll die from a few days of starvation. We'll just make sure to eat a lot when we get to the human villages."

His lips curve lovingly. "How considerate. And here just a few hours ago, you were ready to bite my head off because I wouldn't let you bathe."

I shrug. "That was then, this is now. I've decided to play nice with you."

He laughs before leaning in and kissing me tenderly. "What would I do without you here to drive me crazy?"

"I want to take that as a compliment." I get to my feet and look into the distance. "That's the forest, right? What is it called again?"

Alex follows my gaze to where the tree line begins. "The Forest of Poison."

"Creative."

"I thought so. Come on. The longer we drag this out, the longer we starve."

We make the hike to the forest. I wish we could just take some time to rest for a while. But that's not going to be possible. We don't know how much longer this journey through the forest will be. We have to keep moving.

Shifting into our wolf forms, we begin running. When we enter the forest, it seems pretty normal. I hear the sounds of birds chirping and insect activity providing the standard background music of wooded areas. It's not very cold, but that's probably because the South is warmer in the winter months.

As we keep running though, I feel a strange lethargy take over my limbs. Maybe it's because we've been moving nonstop for hours now.

I find myself gasping for air and come to a stop. When I look to my right, Alex is faring no better.

We can take a break or we can keep going. He tilts his head to look at me, and I can see that he's thinking the same thing. We should probably keep going.

He nudges me, licking me lightly on the nose in encouragement and I huff. We keep a steady pace this time, so as not to overexert ourselves. The air is quite pleasant here, almost sweet. The leaves are a fresh vibrant green, and thick, luscious fruit is hanging from the branches. As I run past a babbling brook, I see a plump-looking deer drinking water. My mouth moves, salivating, as my wolf daydreams of chomping down on its neck.

Trying to curb my hunger, I keep running, but everything in this forest looks so fresh and delicious it's hard to stay focused. Is this really a poisonous forest?

I had assumed it would be a dark, grim place with monstrous creatures roaming around. Instead, it's one of the loveliest forests I have ever seen. If I had the time, I would have liked nothing better than to walk through it. One could practically live here with the food supply at hand.

Alex is also getting distracted, and I bump into him, trying to keep us both on course. The sun is beginning to set now and we're both slowing down considerably. We had agreed not to rest in the forest, but it looks more and more comfortable as we travel.

Finally, I come to a stop, the lethargy consuming me. Alex walks over, rubbing against me as if checking to see what's wrong.

I let out a tired whine and he grooms my neck.

The idea of sleep is irresistible now. We don't even bother shifting back. Alex drops to the ground and I curl up next to him. It's already dark. What will a couple of hours of rest hurt us?

Sleep hits us like a ton of bricks and we pass out almost instantly.

***

I don't know what wakes me, but a delicious and meaty smell greets me when I do. I open my eyes to a drowsy half-mast. I see the deer from the brook approaching me. It sniffs me, its wet nose touching mine. My stomach rumbles, and my jaw opens.

Something this healthy cannot be toxic to us. Wouldn't it have died due to eating poisonous plants and drinking toxic water? My thoughts are not making sense, and I am about to bite down on its neck, when something slams into the deer, knocking it across the clearing.

My eyes fly open and I see a brown wolf attacking the deer. A howl of dismay and anger leaves my mouth. That was my prey! How dare that wolf take it from me!

The wolf shifts back into a familiar face and confusion fills me.

What is that mercenary doing here? Why is he strangling the deer instead of just killing it with his teeth?

I hear a snapping sound, and then the mercenary turns to me. I try to get to my feet, but it's almost as if my legs have no energy in them. He's approaching me now and I try to wake Alex, up but he's passed out cold.

The mercenary digs something out from his pocket and shoves it into my mouth, ordering sharply. "Eat. Eat it."

I quickly chew what tastes like a strange herb mixed with meat. It doesn't taste particularly nice, and when I swallow it, I feel a little lightheaded. The mercenary has already shifted his attention to Alex, forcing same thing down his throat. My mate wakes up with a jerk and tries to struggle, but he receives the same instructions. However, Alex is not somebody that can be ordered around. He tries to spit the medicine out, but I clamp down on his jaw with my foot.

He gets the message.

Quickly chewing whatever we were given, he swallows, and I see the clarity in his eyes.

"Shift back, both of you." The mercenary orders.

Something is clearly wrong, so I quickly do as he says.

But as soon as I change back to my human form, the entire forest changes.

What I had thought was soft, warm grass is a strange mud. The lush trees that I had admired are bare with a few discolored leaves. The fruit that had seemed so delicious and ripe, is rotting and smells disgusting. Without thinking, my eyes turn to the dead deer and I swallow my gasp.

That's not a deer.

Whatever that thing is, it is the farthest thing from a deer. It's got eight eyes, like a spider's. Its neck is thick and hairy, and where it should have had hooves I see deadly looking claws.

That thing had its face near mine? I resist the urge to throw up.

Alex looks equally shocked. "What is this place?"

"You should never have entered this forest in your animal form." The mercenary looks annoyed. "At least do your research before entering an unknown place."

Alex has a suspicious glint in his eye. "What are you doing here? Were you following us?"

I have a question of my own. "Why were we seeing a different place in our wolf form?"

The man chooses to answer my question rather than all of Alex's. "That's sweet smell in the air is a toxin. Very deadly to wolves. The only way to travel through this forest is in your human form. As a wolf, your senses become dull, and the forest shows you what it wants to show you. It lures in wolves by showing illusions. It's meant for normal wolves but it's still harmful to shifters. You should never have entered this place. You should've used the other entrance."

"Which entrance?" I frown. "This is the one marked on this map."

"The one through the caves," the mercenary tells us. "It's the one the wolves from the Central Alliance use."

Alex and I exchange a look. "We didn't see any such entry point."

"That's because you have to go all the way down the mountain. When you enter the valley, the caves begin there."

"How do you know all this?" Alex steps in front of me protectively. "You don't even know who you are."

The mercenary looks uncomfortable. "I'm remembering bits and pieces. I don't know who I am or where I came from. But I do know the Central Alliance. I must've worked for some pack here as a mercenary. When I followed you…"

Alex makes an angry sound. "So you were following us!"

The man growls. "So what if I was? What I was saying, was that when I entered the Central Alliance, my body automatically knew where to go, as if its traveled these paths often. Mercenaries travel a lot. I must have moved within the alliances. If you don't want my help…"

I smack my mate in the arm. "He just saved us, Alex. This is not the time or place to pick a fight. He knows the way out of here. Don't you?"

I look at the man for reassurance.

"I do, little wolf." His voice is softer when he speaks to me.

"It's a little suspicious that he showed up right now," Alex argues with me.

"He just admitted to following us," I argue.

"He might be working with somebody to harm you…"

"I have no intention of harming the little wolf." The mercenary looks insulted now. "She saved my life. I owe her a blood debt."

Alex's expression changes. "You're claiming a blood debt? Do you realize what that means?"

"I do," the man replies simply.

I look between the two, confused. "What's a blood debt?"

Sometimes Alex forgets that I don't have the same level of education as he does, especially about shifter laws and regulations.

"He's pledging a blood debt to you." Alex's voice sounds strange. "You saved his life and he's saying he owes you his as a result. He can never hurt you, physically or emotionally as a result, at least not till you consider his blood debt to be paid. Nobody pledges blood debts anymore!"

The aggravation in his voice has me touching his hand. "Why not?"

"Because they're as good as slave clauses," the mercenary answers. "It is up to the person to whom the debt is owed to decide when it is fully repaid."

"But you saved me from the witches as well," I remind him.

The man scoffs. "You would have been rescued ultimately. Your mate was already on his way. No, I owe you a blood debt, little wolf. And I don't want to be the kind of man who doesn't pay back his debts. This also means you have no reason to doubt me anymore."

I can tell that Alex still isn't fully on board, so I grab his hand, forcing him to look at me.

"Alex, he clearly knows this place better than we do. I don't think we have a choice here."

Alex doesn't look at me, his jaw tense.

"Can you give us a minute…" I pause when I realize I don't know what to call the mercenary. "What do I call you?"

He presses his lips into a thin line. "I don't know my name or I would tell you."

"Why don't we use a temporary name?" I suggest, noticing the flash of emotion in his eyes.

He just shrugs.

"What do you think about Logan?"

My mate turns to stare at me. "Do you know a Logan?"

"No."

"So why was that name the first to pop into your head?"

Annoyance blooms within me. "Don't tell me you're jealous of a name. I just like the name Logan."

"But…"

"Alex!"

He looks away from me and I feel my heart sink. "Alex, not everyone is out to stab us in the back. Logan even mentioned the blood debt. You said it yourself—he can't hurt me because of it. So, what are you worried about? He can guide us to the main pack…"

"The Silver Mist Wolf Pack," Logan offers his input. "That's the name of the ruling pack."

Alex gives him a long look. "I know the name of the pack. And I'm not entirely convinced you don't have your memories. How could you possibly remember a detail like that?"

Logan scoffs. "It's written on the sign at the border."

Alex looks like he wants nothing better than to have a go at this man. I'm starting to wonder if there is some other reason for his animosity.

He opens his mouth and I scowl. "Alex, I don't want to spend another minute in this forest so you have one minute to get over whatever is biting you in the ass so that we can get moving!"

My mate gives me an irate look before huffing. "Fine. He can come with us."

I turn to face Logan, exasperated. "Thank you for following us this far Logan, and for helping us. You now have permission to save our lives."

Alex makes a sound in the back of his throat at the sarcasm dripping from mine.

Logan looks amused, but he's wise enough not to press Alex's buttons.

"If you want to survive this place, you have to keep to your human forms."

He begins walking and we follow him. "How long will it take us to get out of this place?"

"I'm not sure," Logan replies. "I have bits and pieces of information in my head. The minute I entered the forest, I just knew not to shift into my animal form. And when I saw the two of you not acting right, I just knew what was happening. I assumed it's because I was a mercenary in the Central Alliance."

That is the only explanation that would make sense.

"Great." Alex looks at me. "He is as clueless as we are."

"I might be remembering things or I might not be." The mercenary points out. "Either way, I'll be able to keep you two alive."

"What about food?" I ask hesitantly. "I there really nothing to eat in this forest?"

Logan looks around and shakes his head. "I wouldn't advise it. Let's just keep walking. It would be smarter to rest in the daytime and continue once darkness falls. There are more dangerous creatures lurking here after dark."

We begin walking, and although he claims that he doesn't know this area as well as we initially thought, he does seem to be more prepared than us.

I can tell that Alex is not pleased. I really can't figure out my mate's peculiar behavior.

Logan is a man of few words. He doesn't talk that much, preferring to remain silent. However, if he ever talks to me, I see Alex's expression darken. I don't understand him. He's not usually like this.

What is it about Logan that Alex despises so much?

I have a feeling that even if I ask him, he's not going to tell me.