Aiden's POV

''My mymy you're both keeping secrets aren't you?'' The boy jumped up and down clapping.

''Like what?'' Ivana sneered.

''Hmm like your family, your abilities, your true self and who your family are truly loyal to.''

''My family is dead. I have no abilities. My name is Ivana and I'm loyal to those I owe a debt to.''

''See. You're a liar.'' He got in Ivy's face giggling.

''You little....Let us go!'' She roared, tugging on the rope that was holding us on either side of the tree.

''Why don't you tell him the truth?'' He walked to the side I was on and stared at me with awe.

''I have told him nothing but the truth.''

''Tsk. What about the fact that you are really a--''

There was a blood curdling yelp that filled the air completely silencing Little Brother. You could hear the animals surrounding us running for cover from whatever was making the noise and whatever was causing the animal to make the noise. I felt my whole body covering with goose bumps at the sound. It was one of those noises that make you sick, as if a puppy was painfully stuck someplace too small or being beaten horribly to death.

''Big Brother.'' Little Brother whispered, eyes brimming with tears.

The yelping and whimpering got quieter and quieter until a loud wail was all that was heard from it and then a growl was heard from a different wolf, one I knew from the moment I entered the Eastern Kingdom. He was the one who discovered me when I first was hunting their lands.

''Jayce.'' I gasped and starred in the direction of the growl as it echoed through the trees and bounced off the cliffs.

''NO!'' the boy screamed, dropping to his knees.

''Big Brother I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry.'' He bent over, his face now on his thighs as he let soft sobs fill the air.

I actually felt a little sorry for him. I knew from how he acted that he loved his brother dearly and would gladly lay down his life for him for any reason. It's too bad he was crazy and trying to keep me captive until his brother came to us. After he got back, God only knows what would have happened to us all.

''He's gone. Now let us go.'' Ivy tried to whisper calmly but I could sense the underlying carelessness and malice in her words. She did not feel the same about Big Brother dying.

Little Brother seemed to look at us thoughtfully before his eyes narrowed with a hate I had only seen a few times before, both with such intent to carry out any way to put the person through the most pain you could imagine; my father and the guy that strangled me, Brian. He growled and stalked over to us before he seemed to catch wind of something. He perked up and his eyes widened.

I lifted my head to sniff the air and could only smell the forest around us, small animals, rain from last night and wolves. At the smell of a wolf I tried to wriggle closer to it. I sniffed again and my senses filled with the smell of the Eastern pack. I could smell three different members and something weird, but my nose was over powered with the smell radiating off one.

It smelled woodsy but it overpowered the smell of the actual forest. It almost smelled like...home. It smelled comfortable, reliable...safe. It smelled like something that could only come from a forest surrounded by the freshness of a waterfall's stray drops mingling with the air around it. It was intoxicating and I knew it was him. I knew it was my mate and I was overwhelmed with happiness. He was coming for me like he promised.

''He's still a few kilometres out. We have to get out of here.'' Ivana whispered, carefully eyeing Little Brother who seemed like he was contemplating the cruellest way to kill someone; that someone being us.

''I don't want to stick around and find out what he's thinking.'' She nudged my hand and I nodded in agreement.

''How?'' I tried to sound confident but my confidence was starting to wear extremely thin.

''In my satchel in my jacket pocket there are fire salts. Get them.'' She adjusted her sitting position to let me have a better reach of what looked like a short length, army green trench coat.

''I can't reach'' I grunted flailing my fingers trying to get at her jacket pocket that rested above her hip.

''Try again.'' 

I squeezed my arms between the ropes trying to reach her pocket again. I could feel the rope scrape and scratch my arms with every movement. My fingers crawled up from her arm, across her hip and to her pocket barely grasping at the material.

''I think I have it.''

I rummaged through her pocket, hissing when the skin on my wrists started to break and turn a furious red partly from the skin breaking and partly from the droplets of blood that were now beading around the rope.

''I've got them'' I smiled triumphantly as I pulled my red hand out of her pocket grasping the glass container.

Inside the small crystal glass was a fiery red powder that looked like smoke was circling inside its chamber. I took the lid off it, the smoke evaporating into the air and pushed it towards Ivy.

''Lift it closer to my mouth.'' she smiled and glanced over at Little Brother again.

I felt the sting and burn again as the ropes ripped into the already torn skin. I winced at the drops of blood running down my arm and resting on my elbow leaving behind a red trail to stain my skin.

''Close your eyes.'' Ivy commanded in a whisper before she blew softly on the powdered salts.

As soon as the powder moved from the glass it blazed into a fire creating a wall of flames between us and Little Brother. The forest around was now slowly engulfing in flames. I could feel the scolding heat emanating off the fire around us and I started panicking as it moved towards us as well as away.

''Put some of the salts on the ropes.'' she looked over her arms watching me.

I moved my arm with the salts towards my other arm to grab a small pinch of them. I slowly dropped them onto the roped between Ivana and myself, watching the ropes burn and melt away into each other as if they were hiding within themselves as the ends that were burnt turned a solid melted pile of what was once a fraying rope.

''Quick!'' Ivy yelled, rushing to help me up and shoving the salts into her satchel.

''Come on! Let's get out of here!'' She yelled over the crackling flames that were creeping closer.

She reached for my arm and dragged me away from the flames as fast as we could run. I knew if I changed and carried her we would get out of here faster but my left wrist was in pretty bad shape from the ropes. The ropes were lined with jagged silver making my healing extremely slow. Almost as slow as the human rate if not worse.

The flames were out of sight when barks, yelps and howls were heard from behind it.

''Jayce'' I stopped dead in my tracks.

I turned to face the direction of the helpless noises. He sounded so desperate. I tried to pry my right arm from Ivy's grip but she clamped it down and tugged me close to her face.

''Aiden don't be an idiot. We need to go. There's nothing we can do.'' She said sternly.

''He's right there! Ivana let me go! He's my mate!'' I yelled at her in disbelief.

''You can't get through those flames!''

'' I can try my dammed hardest! He's exactly who we've been trying to get back to and your pulling me away!?'' I screamed back at her, ripping at my arm again.

''I swore an oath to protect you and I have never broken an oath before.'' She tugged me along with her but not without my yelling, screaming and thrashing.

--

We have walked for well over a few hours now non-stop. My throat burned from my protesting and sobbing. My heart ached from being physically ripped from my mate. I was physically and emotionally exhausted now and felt as though nothing but my mates arms around me could drag me from this low emotion.

''Ivana, let me go.'' I breathed almost pathetically.

She looked at my worn out face and let my arm go. I dropped to the ground and took a deep breath need the forest air to comfort my tired lungs.

This is the third time I've been taken from the path to being with Jayce. The first time; Ezra took me. The second time;Little Brother took us and now the third;. Ivana was taking me too. It was draining knowing I was getting so close and then falling so short.

As if living life alone was not enough for the Gods to laugh at, they had to shove my face into the mud that was my existence and drown me in it.

''Aiden, come on. We can't rest yet. We're almost there.'' She smiled sympathetically.

''Where?'' I looked up at her exhausted.

''The Northern Tribe's camp ground.''

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A/N

FINALLY! My assignments are done so I WILL be updating again....until I get more in a few weeks v.v Sigh. I'll try and make up for the slow updates from last week and in the next few weeks.

 
Hope you enjoyed the book so far guys. Let me know what you think of it ^^

Oh ! And just so you know because I think I owe you.....there's a cute-ishly weird surprise coming soon for one of my characters... You'll know it when you read it ^^

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