Run, Run, Run, As Fast As You Can

Hope

A/N This is the mini chapter that I mentioned in the last chapter. I hope that you enjoy.

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Grayson's POV

Shay was crying again, but I couldn't do anything about it. 

I didn't have more food for her, I didn't have anything to warm her up, I didn't have anything that she needed and it made my heart hurt. 

At least she was in wolf form. She hadn't shifted into her human form since I'd taken her from Jambres. 

There was a rustling in the bushes behind me.

I spun around, making sure I was between the newcomer and Shay, and growled at the trees in front of me.

"I'm friendly," a familiar voice said.

Saskia walked out with her hands in the air and a smile on her face.

Colla, where was Colla? Wasn't she the one who took him away when Jambres was being a monster? If he wasn't with her, where was he?

"I need to tell you something," she said undoing the straps to a wolf pack and setting it on the ground in front of her, "Shift so we can talk. It's a miracle that I found you, and on the way back, too. I thought I was going to have to hunt you down and who knows what state you would've been in if I did. You're a rogue now, your mind is probably starting to slip."

As she talked I shifted into my human form reluctantly, "What do you need to talk about?" I asked suspiciously as Shay crawled around me and got on my lap.

"First things first," she said pulling out a jar of apple sauce and another of spaghetti, "Let's get some food in her system. I know feeding her straight spaghetti sauce is kind of gross, but I don't think she'll mind. I didn't get any pear sauce or anything like that and this is the only jar of apple sauce they gave me."

I stared at her in shock, "You left with less notice than I did. How did you get that?"

"You feed her and I'll talk."

I grabbed the apple sauce and looked at it like it was made of gold for just a few minutes before opening it and snatching the spoon Saskia held out. 

Shay happily opened her mouth when I offered her the spoon. 

"There is a place that you can go. If you follow my scent back you will come across a little town called Birdsong. The alpha there will take you in with open arms. She's got Colla with her now, the first thing she did when she had him was go out and blow the thousand dollars that it took for her to get him new clothes, a bed, toys and anything else that she thought he would need. Right now her pack is small, only a couple of people really, but she feels more dominant than Jambres ever did."

"Why do you think she would take us in?"

"She wanted me to send people her way. Two of the people with her were from our pack; she says she doesn't want anyone living under a tyrant like Jambres. She really is your only hope for surviving."

I thought about it for a minute while I fed Shay, "How far away is she?"

"I've been running back for about four days now."

"Tell me about her."

"She's kinda short with fire red hair, and dark green eyes. All sharp features and dominant, but she's nice. She has already found her match, but he hasn't claimed her. He's going to be the one who growls at you but don't worry too much, he follows Rose's orders just like the rest of them. I'm going to warn you now, werewolves aren't the only thing she commands."

"What else?"

"I'm not sure what all she's got, but I know there was at least a fairy. She was with the wolves when they found me..." Saskia trailed off as she looked at the now sleeping Shay, "How is she?"

"She's not healing. The cut on her forehead smells like it's going to get infected and the ones on her stomach just aren't closing. She's just a baby, her body isn't made to sustain that kind of damage."

"It was Jambres," Saskia whispered with dark eyes, "wasn't it?"

"He didn't want any of the family to survive. He said that we were going to rebel, just like Colla and his parents."

"Colla didn't rebel," Saskia said with outrage, "he was just playing."

"Jambres didn't see it that way," I replied thinking back to the dungeon, "It took me three days to get out with Shay. I'm just glad Aidan was an only child."

Saskia didn't say anything so I changed into my wolf again and curled up to go to sleep. 

When I woke up in the morning Saskia was gone but the spaghetti sauce was sitting on a log with a spoon beside it. 

My attention was brought down to Shay when I felt her move beside me and she let out a soft cry. 

I knew I should save the spaghetti sauce, make it last as long as possible, but there was no way for me to carry it, and Shay was hungry. 

Shay gave another weak cry and I shifted into my human form, ignoring the chill that went through my system at the loss of my fur. I fed her the spaghetti sauce quickly and went hunting when she fell asleep afterward. I was going to need all the energy I could get. 

I ate the rabbit I caught whole before I picked up Shay with my teeth and started to run. 

My muscles started to protest, my whole body ached, I was starting to shiver despite my winter coat, but I kept running. 

The sun traveled across the sky and set, but I kept running. 

Moonlight flickered on my brown coat as I followed Saskia's trail; eventually the moon disappeared and the sun came up, but I kept running. 

The day became dark but I kept going, knowing that if I didn't I would collapse and Shay and I would probably both die. 

As I ran I scooped up snow and drank it as often as I could. It was the only thing I could really do 

I was starting to feel slightly delirious. My stomach growled louder than I knew I could at the moment and my vision was slightly blurry. 

Finally I could see lights in the distance and I could tell that they were artificial. I was coming up on Birdsong. 

After shifting back to human, I found a bush and put Shay under it, wanting to make sure that Saskia was right before I took the baby to Alpha Rose. 

The rest of the way there I was stumbling from tree to tree. Needing their support every few seconds. By this point Saskia's scent was really old, but every few feet I found a bush or tree that she'd brushed against. 

By the time I got to the door of a house on the outskirts of the town I was swaying on my feet as well as shivering.

I knocked on the door as hard as I could knowing that I had to wake up whoever was inside. 

Nothing happened, there was no movement from inside. 

A whimper slipped past my lips and with what felt like the last of my strength I knocked on the door again, harder this time.