Stronger

Simon POV:

“Follow directly behind me so as not to make a sound and be careful,” I told Ashely and we exited the house we snuck around the back and behind the back of several other houses.

She followed me as I crouched low below the plantar boxes and window our pack mates going on about their daily lives not aware of how ruined the morning would be.

There were two guards at the main entrance to the keep and one to the back door i moved us in a diagonal. I got up behind the main keep watching the guard as we crawled and walked out to the woods at least thirty feet. I put her behind a tree dropping the bags and she held onto them.

“Stay here, if an alarm sounds at all you drop these extra bags and run there’s a truck five miles away up the main road get in and he’ll take you to town you turn yourself into the police,” I explained memorizing her face just in case it was the last time I ever saw her again.

“Do not move from this spot do not make a sound I’ll be right back,” I tried to muster up a brave face. She nodded to me and though I could see the anger in her eyes she grabbed my hand.

“Please be careful,” she begged and I hugged her tightly kissing her head before letting her go to hide behind the tree and I ran back to the keep.

first guard was posted at the back door of our exit. The large bay window above the back door was Cyrus’s room the beta obsessed with security often checked to see what the guard was up to. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

So I couldn’t shoot him…yet. Luckily he was stupid, it was old and moronic and a bit cliche but I chucked a rock into the forest opposite me he went to inspect, I quickly entered the keep and he didn’t even notice.

There were minimal guards on the inside, and people still moved about Cyrus, Marcus, and other higher–ups living here. I walked through the back door mudroom past the kitchen and dining rooms and into the grand foyer.

The people who owned this place loved opulence and showed their wealth in their design marble gold and wrought iron gilded the house. Luckily Marcus had been ordered to keep it spotless so the floor was polished to a reflective sheen, I waited in the back hall for a few moments and then hurried over to the stairwell downstairs.

It was a straight shot to the guards desk I had two ways of playing it. Go in on the defense and jab them as quickly as I could and get horribly beaten to a pulp in the process or…

“Bently,” I entered the room as calmly as I could and yes his name was actually Bently. “Did I leave my phone here?”

“Fuck if I know,” he sighed looking at the monitors. “Damn bitch just sits there at least it was interesting when she escaped,” he whined putting his feet up on the desk as he looked at Annette sitting on her bed staring at her now grated window.

I

“She’s just sitting there? Still?” inched towards him, my palm sweaty, holding the dart in my hand.

“Yeah..,” the man next to him didn’t even notice the tailed off as I jabbed him his head dangling down to his chest.

I went over to his cohort grabbing another dart from my pocket not fully trusting myself with the pistols I’d fashioned, not in close quarters. “So bored he passed out ha!”

“What,” the man got up and went to smack his coworker awake and as he moved to stand I jabbed him in the thigh.

“He–heyyyyy,” he fell back on his rolling chair before slumping to the ground.

My hypothesis was that they’d be out for an hour at the least and be blocked from their wolves while the silver was still in their system. Traditional packs refuse the use of silver but Marcus saw that a pathetic excuse which had given my experiments freedom whereas in other packs I’d have been thrown out for even the suggestion. I see now that was the better way.

I grabbed the keys from Bentleys snorting frame his obnoxious chainsaw noises might give us away. I tipped him over and he stopped but the two guards heard the commotion and came to inspect.

I grabbed the pistol this time and as he opened the door shot him in the chest. “Simon?” He looked down eyes wide as the moon.

The other man barreled after him and I shot him as he reached for his walkie the line clicking open and I walked over clicking it off.

Annette standing on her feet backed up her arms raised to protect herself as I entered the room and unlocked the cell

door.

“It’s time to go,” I held out my hand for her and the woman I had held captive stared at me entirely untrusting and

furious.

“What are you up to?” She backed away. “If this is some sick joke of his,”

“It isn’t a joke and we do not have a lot of time,” I went to grab her and she took her hand straight across my face.

I stopped, she had every reason but still did she have to use all her force? My face stung and I knew it was red. “They will come down here after that commotion you have to come now if we get the chance to escape, I’ll explain later

please we must go.”

She still stood there her eyes squinting at me as she weighed whether or not to believe me. “Even if it is a trick, when are you going to get another chance like this?”

That did it, she moved past me. “Wait,” I handed her the gun and pulled out the other one. I trusted her more than my.

aim.

“If you betray me I will tear your face off,” she pointed the gun at my chest.

“Fair enough now let’s go,” I ordered her and started heading back up the stairs.

True enough a guard was headed down the stairs investigating the open line from the walkie no doubt. Over my shoulder her arm came the gun pointed at him and she shot him through the eye.

I gulped down a queasiness the over came me at the sight and marched up the stairs. “We’ll have to keep going.” I reminded myself. We went up the stairs and Annette went to keep going but I knew what came next shift change.

I went into the corner of the stair well grabbing her and covering her mouth.

“Shhh,” I whispered in her ear. We blended into the shadows and waited for the ten seconds before the 2 new guards came down the stairs.

Again she moved before I had to, shooting them both with precision to the back of the neck. I felt as if I had opened Pandora’s box, I could see her movements angry, sure, swift, like a panther tracking its prey.

“Annette,” I grabbed her. “This is not the moment for revenge. They‘ put you back in that cage or worse if you try anything.

Her demeanor hardened for a second in the blackness of our cover. Then I heard the gun rattle before she turned. “Show me the way,”

I just went in front of her and started walking back up the stairs and halting as I waited for the clear in the foyer. After a moment in shallow breath wait we ran across the open area.

We moved through the small hallway and she saw the guard outside but before she could shoot him through the window I saw the second shadow across his face.

I grabbed her hand and hurried her into the dinning room hiding beyond the wall and covering him mouth as I held my own breath.

His sinister voice came in with petrified guards reluctant footsteps.

“I want to see her back in that cell with my own eyes,” Deacon told the boy. “Go wake him up,” he adjusted his sleeves as he walked.

Annette laid herself flat against the wall waiting for him to get into the foyer before she grabbed me by my shirt and ran me out the house. We ran through the forest and midnight air my heart thumping heavily my ears with fainting ringing.

“This way, I hissed and we kept up our pace I ran for the large moss covered tree I had his Ashley behind. “Ashley!” I called as quietly as I could manage.

Hesitantly my sister barely looked over the side she saw me and her eyes stuffier dannette before tossing me my bag

and Annette hers.

“Don’t stop!” annnette ordered. We hurled ourselves forward running had never been my strong suit but I imagine it

would have to tonight.

I had not ever thought Seacon would show up for the proof that Annette was there. I should have figured with his nonexistent belief in Marcus. He was a smart man and ripping in unannounced was the only way to ensure that she

was still under his thumb.

We ran as fast as we could in the darkness Annette at the front. She must have been feeling the effects but I had been. slowly weaning her off the silver acetate. No wonder she was able to subdue two warriors during her last escape. I’m sure if she’d been out longer she’d have been able to get to her husband.

Her strength had slowly been returning to her and I needed to rely on her alpha blood to get us out of here.

I was pulled from my thoughts as a gun sounded not one of ours and bullet whizzed off somewhere to the right of us.

“Keep going,” Annette called to its and I did I kept running as we moved. Ashley let out a squeal as another shot rang

out and then another.

Somewhere I heard a four wheeler coming after us Annette stopped as soon as he heard it.

“No dont!” Ashely grabbed at her trying to get her to run.

“Go!” She gave her bag to Ashley, taking my gun and the knife from her bag. I didn’t ignore her and grabbed my sister running as Annette stayed behind.

My money was Annette I saw the look in her eyes and I know by now she’d realized this was the truth and that her sudden strength wasn’t a coincidence. I only turned around once and whipped my head back around as I saw her take Boff the drivers head with the knife and her claws.

It was a testament to her strength to be able to call her claws after all of that silver. Ashely tried to look when she heard the gurgling of his breath with a knife and claws in his neck but I covered her eyes as best as I could not knowing if I had protected her from the sight.

I stopped and waited for her now that the danger was gone. Annette took the four wheeler and her pony tail setting off to the east of us before she came back to us running and not stopping as my sister held out her pack.

“Don’t stop,” Annette growled at us but she wasn’t cruel in her tone or annoyed.

We let our feet pound into the dirt and I was sure I’d collapse but we kept going more shots followed us and I heard my sister cry as the came but we had to keep going.

A bullet whizzed by and I felt burn in my arm and howled. “Haaa!” But I kept going. I wouldn’t stop or I’d die and Ashley didn’t need to see that.

We kept going running as best we could and eventually I smelled the gas from the truck as ran. “The truck go!” 1 explained to Annette and she nodded.

Before I could understand her movements she picked up Ashely who was slowing down with her small legs and surged forward I went on as well running as best I could. Another shot ran out and I felt it tear through my shoulder. “Aaaahh!” I hissed. Keep going. Annette got into the can of the truck Ashely in first and then jumped in keeping the

door open.

I got into the truck and the old man took off without a second warning, his son leaning out the passenger door returning fire with a shot gun.

It wouldn’t matter if we were gone and soon these men would be too. I looked at Annette and for the first time I saw

her smile at me.