Chapter 42

JACK~~~~~

FIVE MONTHS AGO


"Where are we going?!" I asked Royce as we sprinted through the woods. The crunching sound of dried leaves on the ground resounded through the quiet woods as we trampled on them. It bothered me because if all I saw tonight was real then we were in a deep mess if we continue running like this. Werewolves have enhanced hearing and great vision at night. The sound made by these stupid leaves is like an indication of our location at all times. I really hope Royce has a plan. A really good plan.

"Royce, where are we going?" I asked again as my legs began to ache but both Royce and his mother showed no signs of fatigue. "You seem to be forgetting that I'm a human!"

"Just keep up with us!" he replied. "We need to get as far as possible from here so I can think straight!"

My mind went blank at that statement. "Huh?" I asked. "You mean you aren't thinking straight?! We've been running for almost an hour!"

"If you have the strength to whine then shut your mouth and use it for running!" his mother snapped at me. "You're as good as dead if you get caught and your voice is giving our location away! You are always a danger and a liability to us since we have to slow down so you can follow!"

"What?!" I thought to myself. "You call this slow?! I'm running faster than I ever have in my whole life! What kind of monsters are in this family?!"

We've been running for almost two hours now and they're showing no signs of stopping. My legs were screaming at it and every motion hurts at this point. I couldn't feel my toes and I was soaked in sweat even though it was autumn. I can't take it anymore. I just can't. I'd rather die than continue like this. I'm human for fuck's sake!

"Time out! Time out," I breathed as I fell to the ground panting and heaving deep breaths. I was clutching the dry leaves hard as I tried my best to steady my breath. My heart felt like it was about to burst open as it pounded hard in my chest at probably triple times the normal heart rate. Any more and I think I would have had a heart attack from how much effort it was taking me to breathe. My lungs felt like they were on fire. It took what I would assume was a good five minutes for me to get my heartbeat to normal but the ache in my legs was so strong that they can't stop shaking as they supported my weight kneeling on all fours.

"Bro, you good?" Royce asked placing his hand on my back.

"Tsk," his mother clicked her tongue. "This is why I never liked the fact that you associated with weaklings like him."

"Mom!" he yelled at her. I was too spent to even look up at their expressions but I was beginning to hate Royce's mother. If mothers nagged this much then I think I am good with the fact that I didn't have one.

"I am right," she replied. "We're still within Jimmy's range. He would find us anytime soon and I don't think your little friend here would be of any help after he slowed us down this much."

"He's human, mom. Human," Royce emphasized. "He did well to have kept up with us for this long as a human."

"And now he's gonna kill us, can't you see that?" she retorted. "Let's just leave him here and get away. He's of no value to Jimmy so he just might let him live."

"What are you saying, mom?" Royce asked. "He killed one of Jimmy's men. We both know that your brother won't spare a man or woman who hurts a single one of his men."

"Well then, he dies," she said easily and my heart constricted. She was so comfortable saying I would die that it scared me. I wheezed and coughed as I tried to regain my composure. "We both know that his life is nothing compared to yours. He is a mere human. He is nothing but prey we let live. He should be grateful you haven't killed him yet. His life is even less than worthy as a sacrifice for the life of an Alpha."

"Mom!"

"Shut your stupid mouth and keep your voice down," she ordered. "We are supposed to be fleeing away from Jimmy. Your stupid loud voice would give off our location."

"No, you shut up!" Ryder stood, towering over her easily. I was better now, enough to sit down and steady my breathing as I watched the drama in front of me unfold. "Unless you've found a different pack, you should remember that I'm still your Alpha," he growled as his eyes glowed and his fingers extended into claws. He bared his fangs at his mother and surprisingly, she bowed her head in submission.

"How are you feeling, bro?" he asked looking at me as his form reverted to normal.

I let out a deep sigh. "Out of danger but I still can't run just yet."

His mother hissed. "If you had stayed away from drugs and focused on being healthy like the fragile human that you are then you would have recovered by now. I don't know why fragile beings like you still endanger your life even more in the name of drugs."

"Mom," Royce glared. "Please refrain from scolding my friend. He's not your son."

I had wanted to drop a snide remark seeing Royce keep her in line but I was too scared to. I doubt she would let me live if I disrespected her and after I've seen Royce fight so hard to save her, I doubt he would let me live if I did. Right now, all I could do is stay mute and leave it to Royce to shut his nagging mother up.

"What do we do now?" she asked. "Wait around for Jimmy to find us?"

"No, we've spent too long here as it is," Royce said helping me up. "I'll carry Jack on my back and we keep running."

"Such loyalty. I'm touched," a deep voice said from behind us. One I've come to recognize quite well for the terror it instilled in me even though I've only heard it for the first time about four hours ago. Royce's uncle's terrifying voice made me shudder in fear as a chill ran down my spine."

Both Royce and his mother got into defensive stances while I shuffled behind them taking cover. They snarled at him as they bared their fangs and their nails sprouted claws.

The man raised his hand in mock surrender as he smirked at us smugly. "Let's talk," he said.

"I have nothing to say to you, Jimmy," Royce growled at him.

"Ha, so we're on a first-name basis now, huh?" he laughed. "We'll get back to your discipline for that disrespect later, but first I must commend you, Royce. For all your talks about wanting to live a normal life and not be an alpha, to think you were actually raising the pack from scratch all on your own. I'm quite surprised. Impressed even. You have exceeded my expectations by a huge margin. Good job."

Royce and his mother stayed silent as they kept their eyes on him, careful not to let their guard down. I don't know why but my instincts are screaming at me to run as fast as possible away from this scene. If these people were to fight while I'm still here, my death was guaranteed.

"When did you plan on telling me?" he asked.

"When it was strong enough to take your head and destroy your pack," Royce replied and I paled. I don't know what's up with Royce but he has always been scared of his uncle and has told me a lot about his strength. This isn't the right time to be provoking him even more. We're all going to die at this rate.

He let a loud hearty laugh like he heard the joke of the century and ended it as abruptly as it started. He then strolled towards us and both Royce and his mother shuffled backwards along with me.

"Agnes, did you know about this?" he asked Royce's mother.

"What do you care?" she retorted bravely but I could hear the fear in her voice. I'm pretty sure the monster in front of us can hear it too.

"You know, I'm feeling really betrayed and disrespected right now so I wanna be sure that this betrayal and disrespect has nothing to do with you," he said still walking closer while we kept moving backwards.

"Leave my mom out of this," Royce warned. "Your beef is with me and me alone."

"Beef?" his uncle asked. His tone was cold and threatening, scary infact. "Did you just say Jimmy Lennon Jarred has a beef with you? Who the fuck are you?"

"Then leave us alone," he replied. "You wanted a pack, there you have it. I built up the pack. The Zhuquan de pack is back and your wish is now fulfilled. Let me be now."

"I would but something you said earlier doesn't quite sit right with me," Jimmy said taking off his jacket.

I knew he was huge standing at 6'5 feet, but in addition to his intimidating height, he was ripped. Even more than Royce. His physique was pristine. Through the tight black T-shirt he wore, his firm chest and abs were pretty much up for display even in the darkness. From the little illumination we got in the woods, his biceps scared me as he flexed them. He would make it big in the modelling industry even at his age with that body. For a moment, I was as amazed as I was terrified.

Royce gave me a gesture with his hand for me to stand up and run while his eyes were focused on the monster in front of us. He was obviously intimidated also, but he did a good job hiding it.

"You're not thinking of running, are you?" he asked as I stood up. "Even if you are, you aren't thinking of taking that burden with you, right?" he asked pointing at me. I couldn't even be offended by it since survival was all I couldn't think of.

"I'm not running," Royce said. "I think I've run for too long now. I'll face you."