Darkness (II)

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

A/N: A Christmas upload! Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it--to those who don't, I hope you've had a wonderful day with family and friends.

A week had passed since the run and my link to the pack had gone from strength to strength. Vilkov had taught me how to quieten the constant buzz of voices; Valeriya and Eric had furthered my knowledge of pack relations and Lexus, ever the enigma, had taken it upon himself to cook every meal I ate.

Because of that, I hadn't eaten in quite a while.

"I've got a good one!"

My train of thought tapered into non-existence as I turned to face Lexus. Phoenix had awoken at the crack of dawn and offered me a few hours of training, which I non-too-respectfully declined out of sheer laziness. However, Anton, Valeriya and Alya had jumped at the chance to further their athleticism, meaning that I had to spend the day with Lexus and Eric.

Eric folded his arms behind his head and sighed. "Go on then, Lexus."

The ginger-haired Gamma grinned. "Isa, would you rather lose your virginity to Eric or to me?"

My cheeks flushed bright pink. If only he knew...

"She's obviously going to say me." Eric drawled.

Both boys were staring at me, waiting expectantly for an answer.

"Well..." I said, biting my lip, "if I had to choose, it'd be Ph—"

Eric dove towards me before I could finish. He muffled my shriek with his hand and pressed me, firmly, against the couch. My mind was racing with questions. What on earth was he doing? Why was he—

And then I heard them.

The dark, furious growls.

I bucked in Eric's hold, needing an escape. The primal sounds bit into my skin, making my blood tingle and pulse quicken with icy terror. Something was happening and I was stuck here, encaged in Eric's arms, wrapped in a sleeve of fear and uncertainty.

"Eric." I said, and then with more desperation I shouted, "Eric, let me go!"

He shared an uncertain look with the Gamma and that was all I needed. His grip loosened slightly and I struggled out of his hold, flying towards the door, heart hammering as the growls grew louder still.

"Isa!" Phoenix shouted. He was shirtless but I didn't stop to ogle. "Isa, stay there!"

I couldn't stop. Wolves were honing in on a figure in the distance, growling and snarling and howling in pure, primal fury. Something thundered through my bones...something that told me that this was wrong. I burst into a sprint, knocking Phoenix's outstretched arm away, racing in the direction of the strangely familiar silhouette—

"Isa!"

I froze.

Ares.

It was Ares.

One wolf who I recognised as Anton lunged for him. My entire body shook with terror.

"Stop!" I shouted. The wolves faltered in their relentless pursuit and turned to look at me. "Stand down!"

And so, with begrudging growls, they did. I stared at Ares, numb with shock.

He was dressed in all black, armed with only a knife. He and I both knew that one weapon was all he needed.

"Ares." I whispered. Phoenix placed a hand on my arm but I was unmoving, gaze was solely fixed on the ghost of my past.

He looked the same—his eyes were still a dark, troubled brown and a faded pink scar still ran from his eyebrow to the corner of his lip—but something had changed. Something separated us.