Kat sounded frantic, and her rapid knocks indicated something was wrong. The twins and I were out of bed in an instant, grabbing whatever clothes were nearby. Maybe there was a downside to sleeping naked.
I wrenched the door open once the twins had at least put on shorts. Kat stormed in, her fiery hair a mess and her eyes wild. I was still pulling on my shirt, having skipped the bra entirely.
“What happened?” I stammered, grabbing Kat gently. I searched her eyes for answers but found only fear and confusion.
“I went down a floor to get some ice,” Kat began, her voice shaky. “I thought it was safe with all the guards posted. I got some drinks at the store when we stopped, but they were warm. I wanted a cold drink.”
Kieran scoffed, but I shot him a look that said ‘not now.’
“A guard followed me down,” Kat continued, “and we were only gone for five minutes. When we came back, the guards were gone. Every single one. The guard who took me down told me to stay in my room. Obviously, I didn’t listen. I waited a minute and came back out. The guard was gone, too-not even on this floor.”
A clatter sounded in the hall, followed by a muffled bang. The twins’ heads snapped in its direction.
“Something’s wrong, don’t you feel it?” Kat whispered.
“I do now,” I nodded, meeting the twins’ eyes.
I walked over to the door, ready to open it, but Ethan’s shoulder slammed against it.
“Don’t,” Ethan snarled, sniffing the air. He glanced at Kieran, eyes narrowed. “You smell that?”
Kat and I sniffed the air, but I couldn’t smell anything unusual. Just the usual hotel scents.
“What is it?” I asked, puzzled.
“Whoever’s here came prepared,” Kieran said, scanning the room. “It’s a gas designed for werewolves. Made by the High Table. It has silver particles in it. The smell is subtle, but it’s sweet and metallic. Small doses cause hallucinations; large ones knock you out.”
I took another deep breath and finally detected the scent. A floral sweetness, masking a metallic undertone like fresh blood.
“What do we do?” I hissed, realizing a hotel door wouldn’t keep the gas out. “Sebastian and Williams are out there, and your parents!”
“We can’t help them,” Kieran said, his voice hard. “The gas will burn our skin and cause hallucinations or unconsciousness.”
“It’s everyone for themselves,” Ethan nodded, his eyebrows knitted tightly.
My gut clenched, and tears sprang to my eyes as I felt the twins’ emotions. They were worried but focused on protecting Kat and me. I took deep breaths to keep myself from falling apart. Survival mode had to take over.
“We don’t have much time,” Kieran said, darting to the window. He checked if we were surrounded. Good news: we weren’t. Bad news: we were on the fourth floor. The windows were our only way out.
Kat, Kieran, and I opened the large bay windows. Ethan pushed a dresser in front of the door for precious seconds.
I heard the steady thud of feet. Ethan stiffened at the peephole. They were here.
“We need to get her out, now,” Ethan snarled, turning from the door. He made it three feet before a blast threw him forward. Splintered wood shot out, scratching my cheek. Even in horror, I reacted instantly, lunging for Ethan. He was stunned but alive.
Kieran’s arms wrapped around my waist, and I screamed in fury. Men in dark clothing filled the room, looking like a SWAT team without the letters. Kieran pulled me away to keep me from the gas, which had entered the room, spreading quickly with a pungent perfume scent.
The gas rushed over Ethan, glazing his eyes. I could taste the scent, my throat raw. The gas was everywhere, my lungs aching. We had little time.
All this happened much faster than it seems. It hadn’t even been three minutes, and everything had gone horribly wrong.
As my vision blurred, Kieran sprang into action. Despite fighting the effects of the gas, he showed no signs of hesitation. Everything around me was a jumbled mess of colors and faces, and the pungent odors made my nose burn and my eyes water.
“I’ll try to break our fall,” I heard Kieran’s voice echo in my ear, barely masking the pain. Gunshots rang out as the men who stormed the room began shooting.
The next moment, I was free-falling through the air. My mouth opened in a silent scream. The fall stopped abruptly, making me grunt in pain as it jolted through my torso.
“This is going to hurt,” Ethan’s voice called out just before we hit the ground again.
Darkness and the deep green of the forest flashed before my eyes. The impact was a dull thud, and all the oxygen was knocked from my lungs. My muscles and bones ached, but nothing seemed broken. If not for my werewolf resilience, my body would have been one large bruise.
I couldn’t distinguish the black spots dancing in my vision from the night’s darkness. My body screamed for rest, but Kieran’s voice cut through the haze.
“Get up and run! We can’t stay here!” Kieran snarled, pulling me to my feet by my arm.
My legs wobbled, but I managed to stay upright as Kieran urged me forward. My torso throbbed with pain, but I couldn’t tell if it was from the fall or our desperate run.
Everything was a blur, distorted by the gas. It was worse than being drunk-my body felt disconnected, and the world around me warped. Hallucinations loomed in the forest, and my throat burned as if I had inhaled fire.
Run, run, run, run, run.
The word became a mantra, a desperate song in my mind, pushing me forward. We ran into the forest, branches whipping against my skin, leaving stinging welts.
“We need to shift,” Kat’s voice came from my left. “Our wolves can fight it off faster.”
“We need to shift now,” Kieran murmured. “It’s going to hurt, but you need to give in to the pain.”
It was almost impossible to summon Silver, my wolf. The gas affected her too, but she was still in my mind, suffering with me. As pain shot up my back and shoulders, I began to shift. Every bone, every muscle twisted and tugged as I transformed.
Silver took over, her four legs propelling us through the forest. I slipped into unconsciousness as she ran. The last thing I remembered was Ethan’s voice coaxing me into the darkness.
I woke with a start, feeling like I had the worst hangover ever. My head throbbed, and my mouth was horribly dry. I spat out dirt and tried not to gag. Looking around, I realized why I was naked and covered in dirt. We were deep in the forest, the trees different and larger here.
My body was tangled with Kieran’s, part of me resting on his chest. We were at the bottom of a large hill, partially in a ravine. The cold water soothed my sweaty skin.
Kieran woke around the same time I did. I knelt by the ravine and drank deeply, wincing as my sore throat ached.
“Ethan?” I called out, raising my voice despite the pain. “Kat?”
“Quiet, sweetheart,” Kieran hushed me, pulling me into his arms.
He gently pulled twigs and leaves from my hair and brushed dirt from my face. His eyes were heavy with worry, and a peek at his emotions made my heart clench. Kieran, usually strong and stubborn, was frightened and worried. I scanned the area frantically.
“Where are they?” I hissed, my voice raspy and broken.
I had heard them with us. They had been right beside me. The gas had distorted everything, but their voices had felt real.
“We didn’t know they never made it out,” Kieran’s voice was low but determined. “We were all hit with the gas. We could’ve hallucinated most of what happened. We’ll get them back, Sophia. We’ll kill every one of them.”
His sorrow turned to fury, chasing away the tears that leaked from my eyes.