We have to be careful not to cross borders on our way through the forest; the Moonblood Pack, my old pack, have borders very close to this part of our territory, judging by the fact I recognise some parts of the landscape. We must not cross them unless we want to be attacked under the assumption we are rogues.

The sky is dark, the odd spot of rain falling on our heads, and the ground is soft under our paws while the trees in the forest canopy shake and shudder in the wind.

When we arrive at the body's location there is no one there, suggesting a trap. A bird sings an alarm call, and immediately we both have our defences up, standing back to back, preparing for a fight, our fangs bared, handing over control to our wolves.

There is a sound of laughter from behind a tree and Matthew steps out, dragging a pile of rags held together by a few threads, and he flings them towards us, forcing me to dodge out of the way. We recognise the scent on them at once: it's the Praetorian. Matthew killed the Praetorian.

Nate growls at him but Matthew merely grins, grins his insane smile.

"I thought you'd be happy I got rid of him. He was just a nusiance. Unnecessary, like you."

Nate is about to leap at him but Jack signals for him to wait.

Wait. He might trip up and give us some information which we can use against him.

Fine, but if he attacks you, I'm not letting him touch you without going down with a fight.

And the same for you.

"Did you really think I ever really liked you Isaac? You were an awful Alpha, always following rules, like they're going to save you now. And look, you brought you precious mate. Guess you'll be easier to take down than I thought. What's her name? Isobel Christian? No, it was Isobel Christen, a murderer. You should have turned her over to the Moonblood pack. Or did she keep you in the dark too?"

That's it.

Jack springs at him in fury but he dodges, not even bothering to shift into his wolf, making us collide with a tree trunk. We scramble to our feet, our head spinning from the impact, our balance now perilously decreased. Nate instantly jumps in front of us, trying to protect us from Matthew, his body shielding us from his gaze.

I'm going to talk to him.

Isaac-

I'm too late: he shifts.

"Stay away from her," he growls.

"Why? So she can murder someone else? No chance. She's under arrest for murder."

"Try and take her. See where it gets you."

Matthew just laughs and produces a small crossbow which he points at Isaac who quickly shifts, covering as much of our still wobbly body as possible.

Matthew fires and a crossbow bolt hits Isaac directly in the ribs, as he refuses to dodge, not deviating from his goal of protecting us, and he transforms back into a human, lying unconscious on the grass, out like a lightbulb. It must be some strain of wolf suppressant mixed with a sleeping drug or general anaesthetic.

Me and Jack are of the same mind, once again leaping for him and covering his naked body with ours. He fires again but we somehow dodge the projectile despite our dizziness, our paws struggling to keep us steady.

Reloading quickly, he fires again and this time our reactions aren't quite fast enough and the quarrel catches our hind leg, causing a shallow cut. The effects of the drug immediately start to affect our body, our hind legs becoming paralyzed, preventing us from avoiding a second crossbow bolt which hits our neck, our entire body collapsing to the floor, unable to move.

Against the will of our mind, our eyes drift shut, and for a time, the world ceases to exist.

--☆☆☆--

Isaac's POV

Waking is excruciating, my body feeling as if it's been crushed under an anvil, my mind groggy.

What's going on?

Isaac, wake up now!

I snap to attention, my eyes darting around my surroundings, landing on my hands which are trapped in silver cuffs. I tug against them in vain, causing large burns and cuts, blood dripping down my arms.

Stop Isaac!

We need to escape. I can take the pain.

ISAAC! The cuffs are slicing through your wrists; if you continue like this, you are going to end up cutting an artery and then we'll die because you were too damn stubborn as the silver prevents me healing.

Fine.

I do as Nate asks and stop tugging on the cuffs, and am rewarded with a reduction of the pain coming from my wrists.

Nate, where are we?

You really don't remember anything do you?

I remember Matthew saying there was a body and - Iz! Where is she?

I don't know. I can't talk to her. Study our surroundings, see if you can find any clues.

Good idea.

My surroundings are a simple cell with a barred door that is heavily padlocked, a glass window behind me, allowing a little light into the cell, seemingly the only potential escape route. I need to escape these cuffs and break the window and then I'll be free to find Iz.

The chains on the cuffs are long enough to allow me to twist and punch the glass without them digging into my wrists, using as much strength as possible. However, the glass does not even crack; it must be reinforced glass. Pain shoots through my knuckles from the impact and I wince, clutching them in agony.

And the effects of the wolf suppressant. With that added into the equation, you are a lot weaker physically.

Shit, I forgot about that.

I guess we're stuck here for the time being then.

Yeah. He better not have hurt her.

She might have escaped.

You saw how quickly he took us down. He barely exerted himself at all. She couldn't have escaped.

I am drawn out of my thoughts by the click as the door opens and Matthew steps in, the filthy traitor. I can't help feeling the depth of betrayal for what he did. I can't believe that I was so blind for so long. I thought we were friends. Keir I would somewhat understand turning against us but Matthew, no.

I wrench at my restraints, not caring about the damage I'm causing to my wrists, launching myself at him, the chains pulling me up short of his body, preventing me killing him, my face carved into a snarl, my canines coming out, my claws replacing fingernails. I can't shift fully due to the suppressant but I'm still going to cause him as much damage as I can. He just laughs at my misery.

"You won't hurt me because if you do, she suffers the consequences."

"You're lying; she escaped."

"Oh really? Who's this then?"

He reaches outside the cell and returns with her limp body slung over his shoulder which he quickly dumps on the floor as if he cannot stand to touch her for anymore than the minimal amount if time. I touch her motionless body but she does not stir.

"What did you do to her?" I snarl.

"Just knocked her out. Don't worry about your mate. She'll come round in a few hours. Now we are going to talk, Alpha."

I pull her body away from him and towards me, trying not to let my cuffs touch her. She still does not respond but the feel of her heartbeat and her warmth against my bare chest is a comfort. She's alive.

"What do you want?"

"You are going to publicly hand over all your power over the pack to me after your mate's trial. You are going to let me take over the pack without resistance. You are going to condemn your pathetic excuse of a mate in front of the pack for murder. Or she suffers."

"No."

"As you wish. Let's wake her up then and I will give you are reason too. Maybe I'll kill her for your stubbornness."

He points his crossbow at her unconscious form and I move to shield her, turning my back to him. Matthew approaches and grabs my arm from behind and snaps it, making me howl in pain, and pulling her from my grasp. He holds a small silver blade to her throat.

"Cooperate."

No, I can't do this to her. Not after we've been through so much. He digs the blade into her throat slightly, a small line of blood appearing across her throat. Still I remain silent.

"I'm waiting."

He digs it slightly deeper causing her to stir.

"Wait! I'll do it. Just let her go. Please, let her go. She never did anything to you." I plead with him.

"Beg and I'll think about it."

I get on my knees in front of him, hands clasped. I don't care about what I'm doing: my mate comes over my pride.

"Please let her go. I beg of you. Let her go."

He lowers the blade and I see her start to heal, my chest flooding with relief. She's alive. Matthew does not leave her with me however; he drags her out to presumably her own cell.

As he goes though, I notice something a little strange: he's not walking how Matthew walks, his stride is different.

He's walking like the Praetorian.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Plot twist! Sorta... We've still got a while to go but this book is definitely starting to reach the climax. Matthew's a traitor! (Shock horror *utter sarcasm*). Was this unexpected for you?

And yes I know Xander's not in the book at the moment. Don't worry, he'll be back. What do you think's going to happen next?
WORxxx

P.S. Two chapters in one day! (Gives self pat on back). I've got summer holidays now, so I have more time to write these chapters so expect a whole bunch of new chapters (hopefully).

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