Nature is not a place to visit 26

Chapter 26
*“I don’t damsel well. Distress, I can do. Damseling? Not so much.”*
*James Patterson*
*“Rae!”*
Since I had no idea if there were any Blood Moons lurking down in the cells, it probably wasn’t my most brilliant idea to
shout Rae’s name, but I just couldn’t help myself.
I could hear the sound of my heart beating in my ears as adrenaline propelled me forward. The hallway began to twist
and turn, and I could no longer hear Rae’s voice, but I didn’t care. Luke had heard it, I’d heard it. That had been Rae,
which meant two things: Rae was alive.
And if Rae was alive, then maybe our other pack members were too.
I rounded another corner and skidded to a stop.
*Bingo*.
The hallway ended, and there was only a heavy door that looked identical to the one Luke and I had encountered
outside. I strained my ears to hear something, anything from the other side, but I couldn’t.
Luke slid beside me, looking at the door with wide eyes.
“You think they’re in there?” he asked.
“Only one way to find out.”
I walked up to the large metal door, sucked in a gust of air, and shouted as loud as I could. “Rae!”
I held my breath.
Silence.
I tried again. “Rae! It’s me! Are you in there?”
More silence.
I looked back at Luke. His eyebrows were all scrunched together. He must’ve been as confused as I was – he’d heard it
too.
*Unless this dark, scary corridor has the ability to make us hear things. But that’s not possible…right?*
And then, so softly that I almost missed it, I heard: “*Ollie?* Is that you?”
“Rae!” I shouted back. A wave of relief shot through me.
I hadn’t imagined it. Rae was really alive.
“Ollie!” Her voice was much louder this time – like she’d walked right up to the other side of the door.
“Rae!” I yelled, “Luke and I are here. We’re going to get you out!”
“Ollie! Luke! Did you reach Hudson in time?” This time, it wasn’t Rae that answered back but Marcus.
“Yes, I mind-linked him,” Luke answered.
“Thank the Moon God,” Marcus said, and I could hear the relief in his voice.
*Yeah, thank the Moon God indeed.*
“Alright, we just need to get through the door,” I said, “And then we’ll get out of here.”
“The door is silver *and* locked,” Marcus piped up, his voice muffled through the metal, “You’re going to have to get
creative.”
“Of course it is,” I muttered.
I glanced at Luke. “Well…not sure your shirt is going to be much help here.”
“No,” he shook his head, “It looks heavy as hell, but if we throw our weight against it…”
“Should I count down from three?”
He nodded and we both backed up just enough to position ourselves in front of the door.
I took a deep breath, pressing my feet flat against the dirt floor. “One…two…three!”
I threw my weight against the silver door as hard as I could.
There was a loud thump as our combined weight hit the door and pain exploded on every inch of exposed skin that
touched the silver. I pushed harder.
There was a loud, groaning creak as the door tore off its hinges and fell backward.
I stumbled back, hissing as the burning sensation of the silver finally set in.
“Are you guys okay?” I asked. The door had wracked up plenty of dirt and dust when it fell, cloaking the already-dim
room in a layer of grimy fog.
I made a move to walk forward, but I never got the chance because I was suddenly wrapped in a pair of toned arms.
“Hey, hey,” I hissed, “I’m happy to see you too, but watch the arms and the shoulder. They’re all burned from the silver.”
Even as I said it, I was already pulling her closer. She smelled a lot like the musty odor I’d sniffed on the way down, but
beneath the stink of this prison, I could smell her familiar scent.
“I cannot believe you’re here,” Rae said, her voice quiet and full of an emotion I couldn’t identify.
“You went rogue and attacked one of the most dangerous packs in the country,” I replied, “You didn’t think I would come
for you?” I pulled back.
My breath hitched when I finally got a good look at her.
There was a long cut on her forehead caked with dried blood, most likely from someone’s claws, and her lip was split
open.
However, the most surprising part was the look in her eyes.
For as long as I’d known her, Rae was fearless. She was always the go-getter, the one looking for a fight. Even in
moments where she’d drop her guard and become vulnerable, she was never afraid.
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But right now, Rae’s eyes were wide and full of fear.
“Ollie,” she said, and her voice was shaky, “You were right. I should have listened to you. I should never have tried to
launch an attack on my own. I should never…I just…I’m sorry.” As she spoke, her hand gripped my uninjured shoulder
tightly – like she was afraid I’d just disappear if she wasn’t holding tight enough.
I swallowed sharply. I wasn’t quite sure how to handle this version of Rae. A week ago, Rae would’ve rather run patrols all
night than admit I was right and apologize.
It was unsettling.
“Well,” I said, “The good news is that I’m here now, and nobody is handing out trophies for stupid plans.”
She let out a breath of air that sounded suspiciously close to a chuckle, but Marcus interrupted our conversation before
she could reply.
“We don’t have any time to waste,” he said sternly. My eyes shifted to Marcus, who looked even worse for wear than Rae.
He kept his right arm close to his chest, but I could see that his right bicep was shredded.
Now that the door was down, I looked around to assess the other injuries.
My stomach plummeted when I realized that more than half of our pack members were missing. Including Marcus and
Rae, there were only a total of ten prisoners, most of them sporting some sort of injury.
As if she could read my mind, Rae murmured, “They killed the others. Right in front of us. Slit their throats and told us we’d be next once they ransomed our lives to Hudson.” She stared into the now-empty cell as she spoke.
*Oh, God.*
My mind flashed to every face I didn’t see – the ones who’d volunteered to go on this mission because they wanted to
avenge their Alpha.
“Enough chit-chat. We’ll have time to catch up later, but we need to move now if we want to avoid running into any
Blood Moons,” Marcus barked.
“It’s okay,” Luke butted in, “You don’t need to worry about any Blood Moons waiting outside – we brought some calvary
with us.”
Marcus opened his mouth to speak, but a sharp, unfamiliar yell suddenly echoed from the corridor.
“Hey! The prisoners are out of their cells! Stop them.”
*Oh, shit.*
“I wasn’t talking about the Blood Moons on the outside,” Marcus hissed, “I was talking about the ones guarding our
cell.”
*Double shit.*