Beyond the Pack’s Law: My stepsister or nobody else

Hayley’s POV

The next morning dawned under a light-colored sky, the air colder than seemed possible and casting long shadows through camp. Fresh on my mind were the occurrences of last night. The answers we needed to keep our pack safe walked across the border with Marcus.

But our mission could not be more urgent. We simply could not let him get away, for the safety of all those we loved.

“Aiden, come over here!” Hayley shouted the latter part of her words enough so that they were audible above the camp’s morning bustle. When I looked back, he was by Alpha Lucas and Luna Elara with a somber expression that also held resolve.

I ran to it at full speed, my heart racing with anticipation. “What’s the plan?” Who did all of this work? I asked, squinting between them.

“Tell them to ramp it up,” came the ironic voice of Alpha Lucas. “We can’t let Marcus get far. He knows too much and might ruin everything.

Luna Elara followed it up, “We will split you guys into search teams. The coverage team will cover two zones in and around our territory. We need to be thorough.”

Aiden nodded, his jaw tight with resolve. “We’ll find him. We have to.”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

I felt the adrenaline run through me as we started formulating who would search where. This was it. This is our opportunity to bring Marcus down and defend the pack against him. I was assigned to one of Aiden’s teams and sent into the West Woods, which is thick with vegetation. It has lots of tree cover, including bushes that can wrap around a person, like being in an isolation suit.

“Stay alert,” Aiden ordered as we went. “More than anyone who has ever lived, does Marcus know it? He comes with all the tricks.

We stepped cautiously through the woods, alert and with intention. The forest was silent now, devoid of wildlife, and the woods themselves could feel how dangerous it had become.

One of the scouts whistled and nodded to a set of tracks heading back further into the woods. “These look fresh.”

We followed them, our eyes seeking any sign of Marcus in the brush. We followed the tracks to a little patch of forest where it looked like someone had been rather recently.

He must have stopped right here,” I said, looking at the area. “But where did he go?”

Aiden got to his knees beside me, scrutinizing the footsteps. He could be trying to mislead us. We need to be careful.”

We searched on and went deeper into the woods. The temperatures dropped and the trees thickened, creating a canopy of leaves that unfortunately blocked out much sunlight. Someone could easily lay low here and utilize the inherent cover.

Creeping along, it was the sensation that eyes were on us. My heart leaped, the hair behind my neck rose, and I shivered. I looked around, checking for something that seemed off.

“…Aiden…” I couldn’t even hear my voice. “Do you feel that?”

He glared around but nodded. “Yes. Stay close.”

One of us went up the hill, casting our trail to the wind. Man, we are moving slowly now. It was like every rustle in leaves or snap of a twig. Sent me and Mr. Nerves out into long stretches. The forest closed around us on all sides, shadows growing long as the light slowly faded.

“Wait,” I said as we ground to a halt. “Do you see that?”

At that time, Aiden saw where I was looking and pointed toward a diminutive door near the roots of an old, massive tree. The entrance was hidden behind the trees, but a dim light shone forth from within.

Aiden said, in a voice of realization, “The way is TUNNEL.” It needs to open up beyond the territory of the pack.

I felt a surge of hope. Well, this could be the lucky break we were waiting for. If Marcus were in that tunnel, then it would only be a matter of time before we could catch him and before he was able to get too far.

There was only one thing to do: “We have to investigate,” I declared.

Aiden bobbed his head, concerned in his eyes. “Be careful. There could be anything down there.

We carefully approached the entrance, pulling away the leaves to expose a small path leading down into what? The only light came from some kind of bioluminescent fungus growing on the walls, and the air was cool and damp.

I will go first,” Aiden said as he entered the tunnel. “Stay close.”

In silence, we progressed through that tunnel, the noise of our feet muffled in such confinement. As we continued down the passageway, it began to twist and wind, its walls closing in. Which would have been fine, but I was a bit disoriented, so it required some effort to keep myself grounded.

The tunnel finally broke out into a small room that, to me, felt like it took an eternity. It was dark, of course-but not pitch black; the fungus provided a faint glow that gave an idea of what little this space contained: tunnels stretching off at quirky angles in every direction.

There must have been an escape route before these walls were built, Aiden guessed. “likely used by our ancestors.”

“Which way do we go?” Holy sh*t, all this?! I asked.

Aiden looked around and narrowed his eyes to the ground. “There are tracks here. They look recent.”

We kept to the tracks-ddeeper into that goddamn network of tunnels. As the chilling air moved through my spine, pressure was placed on us. Marcus had to be tracked down before he made himself scarce.

Being dragged through the tunnels, I knew we were near. They could follow leads, and there were hints of recent human activity.

There, I pointed to a piece of fabric stuck on the sharp rock. He must have caught his clothes on it.

Aiden let out a nod, grimacing. “We’re on the right track. Let’s keep moving.”

We pushed on, the tunnel becoming narrower as we proceeded. The walls started to squeeze tighter on us, and the atmosphere chilled and became more stifling. And the feeling that she was being watched intensified.

“Rhage,” I said softly, my voice quivering. “Do you hear that?”

He paused, leaning his ear toward the machine. There was a faint murmur, almost as quiet and remote as the echo of footsteps farther down in the tunnel.

“Another person’s here before us,” he whispered under his breath. “We need to move quickly.”

We hurried our steps, the sound of them echoing through the tunnel. The footsteps became louder, and I felt a thrill of excitement. We were getting closer.

We rounded a corner, skidding to a stop. The tunnel widened, and Marcus stood in the middle of an expansive cavern.

Aiden’s voice came from the chamber and echoed around the hall.

Marcus whirled around, his eyes going wide in shock. He paused, clearly torn between us and whatever darkness had put him on this hill.

“Marcus,” I said, in a firm tone of voice. “It’s over. You can’t escape.”

He took a step back, growing more serious. You aren’t going to stop me, he said defiantly. “The fate of the world is at stake.”

“We know enough,” Aiden responded, his voice not wavering. “You’ve betrayed the pack. Y’all put everybody in danger.

Marcus’ eyes blazed with fury. You don’t even know what you’re talking about. The pack isn’t what it seems. There are secrets.”

“You have had more than enough.” I broke in and stepped closer. You decided to betray us, for whatever reason. Well, you went and consorted with the rogues.”

Marcus appeared to falter for a moment, his features betraying an expression of regret. Then he steeled himself and turned back to the tunnel, sprinting.

“After him!” Aiden yelled, and we ran into the tunnel.

It was a crazy chase, and it was hard for us because the corridors were so tight. Isaac could not even catch his breath as he moved among them, charging into their midst with the same speed and fluidity Marcus displayed-Marcus, who was quick in these tunnels no matter what happened and had every twist memorized to gain ground on Isaac.

“He fell through; he’s escaping.” I bit my lip and stamped on the floor.

We can’t allow him to. Aiden answered defiantly and decisively in voice. “We have to stop him.”

Our breath ragged in the dead silent night, we pressed on. It was a dark void, with the front and end of it disappearing into pitch-black eternity. But we couldn’t give up. Not now.

The next thing we knew, my path suddenly opened up into another room, and I spotted Marcus bolting towards a passage on the far side.

“There!” I shouted, pointing. “He’s trying to escape!”

Marasha and I sprinted to the passage, but Marcus was already sliding through it, vanishing in the darkness on the other side.

“Hayley, hold on,” Aiden encouraged me as I began heading towards them.

I flipped around, and my eyes set like steel. “We can’t let him get away.”

“Let’s be intelligent out here,” his voice clarified. “Who knows-iif we go barrelling in, maybe they are led straight into a trap.

Yes, I answered and then inhaled deeply. He was right. We had to be careful. It’s possible that this is the last opportunity we have to get in on Marcus, who will soon be dead and sealed up tightly. There was no time for any diversions.

C mon, I told him with determination in my voice.

The air was very still inside this hall, and the darkness was closing in on us. There was a chill in the air as I turned to look at you, and my heart sank. This was uncharted territory, and the stakes had never been higher.

It came out to a long, narrow canyon where towering walls rose above either side of us. Last frames fading traces were hardly lighting exit dawn creeping up and over the horizon next, casting long, stark shadows sprawling crags.

“Where did he go?” I asked, scanning the area.

Aiden gestured at a group of footprints entering an opening in one cave wall. “There. That guy went from there; he must have gone that way.”

Then we got on our knees and went through the crevice. The channel was shallow, with the walls closing in on either side. It was nearly impossible to see, with the feeling you were being watched appearing stronger than before.

Aiden spoke quietly, his voice full of worry. – Hayley? “We need to be careful. This could be a trap.”

I swallowed back the hard lump in my throat and answered resolutely, “I know.” “But we have to keep going.”

Further back in the passage, we went deeper, and it became colder, with even more of a sense that nothing was right. On one occasion, they felt like they were closing in on us, and the darkness crept closer, almost until it felt suffocating.

Then the passageway widened into a large chamber, and there was something that took my breath away. A concealed door, half hidden by a pile of rocks at the far side of the chamber,.

I winced, the mix of excitement and reluctance to hear from him tainting my tone. “Aiden.” “Look.”