Chapter 86

Silver Crest ***Vanessa***

The adrenaline pumping through my veins numbs the burning of my leg as we rush down the tunnel and I use the cold walls as support to limp onwards. You‘re doing great,” Rionna whispers. “We‘re almost out of here.” I can‘t tell if she‘s trying to soothe me, Kota, or herself, but regardless, I find comfort in her words. We speed walk down the tunnels for what seems like an eternity until finally we see a bit of light peeking in from a distance. “Dear Goddess,” Rionna sighs in relief as she throws my arm over her shoulder. “Come on, let‘s get you out of here.” She lets me lean against her and helps me limp my way through until we reach the end of the tunnel. As Jordan promised, the exit is hidden within an old hollow tree and after climbing out, we find ourselves somewhere in the forest. Though it is late in the evening, the sun is only just setting, the light burning our eyes as we gather our bearings..

“Do you know where we are?” Rionna asks as she shields her eyes from the sun.

I look around with uncertainty and a bit of guilt. Luna Kay had been adamant I memorize the map of the territory but I had never paid much attention to her lessons.

“I don‘t know,” I mumble sheepishly. “This doesn‘t look like the Silver Crest pack territory anymore.” “That‘s alright,” Rionna says as she watches me struggle to recognize anything. “We‘ll figure something out. Come on,” she says, setting Kota down. “Let‘s see how that leg is doing.” It‘s only then that I notice the bites and claw marks on her shoulders and chest. “You‘re hurt too!” I gasp, feeling guilty that she helped me while she was hurt too.

She waves me off however and finds a large stone for me to sit on. With a little effort, she manages to tear open my pant leg to reveal an already healing bite wound on my ankle.

“Uh–oh! That‘s a big ouchie!” Kota cries as he peers over Rionna‘s shoulder. “Does it hurt?” I shake my head, though I still wince when Rionna ties a strip of my jeans around my ankle.