Meanwhile, under the dark shadows of a forest near the border of Blackshade City, a female Lycan-kind tumbled over, forcing her comrades to stop in their tracks and approach her.
The wolf of a Lycan is made out of pure instinct that sometimes a few young pups would mistakenly think their wolf as an entire being separately, much like an imaginary friend. In their older years, they would gradually realize that their wolf was a part of them, as if a second self, that is extremely hard to explain to other human-kinds, unless they were a Lycan themselves.
At the age of adulthood at sixteen, the pup would be allowed to take their first shift, and at the age of eighteen to twenty, when everything was stable and the new-to-adulthood pups had picked a pack of their choosing or had prospect packs in mind, they will then actively pursue to find their own mate.
Of course, there are chances when the mate reaches their door at unexpectedly early times, or even belatedly in their years. But one thing is for sure, the wolf will never mistake their mate as it is also within a Lycan-kind's pure instinct to see who is most compatible with them. With that being said, a bond will be made between wolves, strong enough to last for a lifetime, and harder to break than any pack link in existence.
But it doesn't mean that there are no ways for a bond between Lycan mates to break. If a Lycan-kind were to cheat on each other, naturally, the bond would weaken over time until someday the pair would barely feel each other's wolves' presence or track their thoughts.
Another way to break it, was the death of mate, which could easily drive any Lycan into depression or mental disorder.
Her hand covered her mouth, but it was unnecessary. There was no sound of crying to be heard in the dead of the night. Only the crickets dare to sing. A stream of tears steadily fell from her eyes. She opened her mouth, but she didn't know what sound of grief to make, as she felt none of those sobs would sufficiently say how much it hurt her.
Karen's wolf was howling. Her mate was dead.
Yes, Mitchell was dead.
None of her comrades expected that Mitchell had died, as Karen refused to utter a word, and simply stare at the back of her hands pressed to the grass. In truth, she was barely able to hear their words over the quiet grieving of her heart, much less utter one syllable.
Seeing Karen's slumped figure, Laris couldn't help but try to find the traces of that earlier dependable person. Finding no trace of her - this made Laris feel more pressured into action. Karen was undoubtedly strong, her wolf fierce, and yet, witnessing such an immovable person collapse...
I needed to get Mitchell and the others out of there fast, Laris determinedly thought. He could not imagine how much torture they must be in given that as the mate was already this disoriented.
Sadly, it never occurred to Laris that Mitchell may have passed away. And he was too preoccupied with not wanting for his plan to fail that he forgot to do the most basic thing a leader should do; ask what's wrong.
Maybe it might have been too insensitive to do. Maybe it might have been the right thing to do after all. But one thing's for sure; they wouldn't have lost one of the siblings if Laris knew that Mitchell had died, because he wouldn't have brought Karen with him if he did. But things have already passed. It was already too late to turn back the time. They were already running through the dungeon halls, their footsteps echoing along with the blasts of explosives that Letitia's group made.
Their successful infiltration of the guards made Laris' heart thump maddeningly fast.
Can't screw up, can't screw up, he chanted to himself.
When a group of guards were coming their way, Karen reached out to grab him by the collar. Mitchell and Karen were more or less five years older than the twins. Safe to say, they seemed a good pair of older brother and sister to Laris and Letitia, yet when they hid in the dark corner of an empty cell that stank of feces and blood, he didn't see Karen' abnormality.
Laris looked left and right before he continued searching. As if by instinct, he felt a certain thought fluctuation somewhere ahead.
But where?
"You—sir, get me out—I promise to give whatever you want!"
"Don't listen to that broke fool, I'll give you what you want, just get me out of here, you hear? Wait, wait—"
"Good sir, good sir, if you're willing—"
"My name is X, I am the second son of Alpha Y, I'll let my father reward you handsomely, just get me out of here!"
"A thousand gold coins, I'll give you all of my fortune! I'll even give you one of my daughters—"
"Listen, listen, I have something good - wait, come back—!"
Everyone was noisy. The slow whispers became louder and louder as the prisoners in the other cells verbally fought with each other. Eventually, they were near yelling. Not one wanted to be outdone by the other. If they aren't going to be saved, then they'd rather no one be saved. Such is their selfishness.
Just when Laris nervously looked around, he stopped in front of one of those empty dark cells, thinking they could hide here should guards come. Yet he thought the prisoners might give him away just so nobody could leave.
While he worried, Karen suddenly stopped walking to remove her hood. Before Laris could put the hood back, she had already sniffed the air. She smelled it.
Although the scent was faint, it was there. Mitchell's scent, Mitchell's—
Karen choked into a low growl, as she eyes the dark recesses of the empty cell in to her side. Lifting a finger, she pointed to the darkest corner. Laris looked over carefully. The filth in this place made it hard for him to detect the scent of living beings in the cell. Only when Karen pointed them out did he notice them.
Laris pulled out a ring of keys, of which he stole from the guard house when their first disguised teammate falsely alerted them away. The metallic keys jiggled loudly in the otherwise quiet cell, the metal door creaking as it opened outwardly.
"Come out", Laris gently said, as if coaxing children. He wasn't sure, but he wanted to test it out. "You're the Satori hybrids, right?" With only silence as his confirmation, he continued on as if they were in a conversation. "I have really wanted to meet you for a long time now. I suppose I'm curious as to see another hybrid like me." He took off his hood, in a means to gain their trust.
Slowly, a pale dirty foot came out of the shadows, barely illuminated by the light. The other person looked like a malnourished child, but Laris knew that they, the twins, were only two to three years older than the eldest child. And yet, this child looks like he's only twelve. Befuddlement, clouds both their eyes, but Laris hid it much faster, and smiles kindly.
Finally—I finally got to meet you! Laris could not stop such thoughts, but this wasn't the right time to be gushing about it!
"I do not have much time. I need you to make a choice—come with us and you'll be free from these bars", he waved a hand to one side. "Or stay here and continue this life no man or wolf should experience", he said, staring at the plate of bread and cup of water, that which sat near a layer of grime on the floor. Laris reached his hand out regardless, as if he never thought of the other people as dirty, filthy things.
Cautiously, the child walked closer as Laris smiled wider.
Behind Laris, Karen had found the whiff of her mate's scent, but, it wasn't just his scent; Mitchell's blood. All her grief poured and became anger as she moved fast, claws stretched out.
Hiding in the dark, nobody found the strange look Tukare had on her eyes. Now that her brother wasn't looking at her, her gentle, kind act had fallen so rapidly, as she stared cautiously at two strangers. She never trusted anyone, not even herself. Everything she did was for her brother, Videre. She doesn't care what happens to others, as long as Videre is fine.
But... For some reason, these strangers...
Angered, Tukare had already sensed the danger, that which has been honed to a very sharp degree for all the years she had lived in the dungeons. She quickly grabbed Videre's hand that was about to touch Laris', and forcefully pulled her naïve brother back. Unfortunately, Karen was faster; her claws quicker.
Tukare had gritted her teeth as she sacrificed her own arm in place of her brother's. Tukare fell to the floor with a thud as Videre screamed belatedly, clutching his own arm as he desperately crawled to her, terrified at the thought of her sister dying because of him. Remembering that her brother and her still had their senses connected with each other, Tukare feared that she'll give him pain. She struggled for a way to make the connection break, but she didn't know how.
"Karen, stop! What are you doing?!" Laris exclaims as he stops her from doing more damage. He should've realized she wasn't right at all. No human-kind in deep grief and anger is in the right mind.
"It's them! Because of them, Anthony, Beckham, Tony... All of them died before we could get them out, because of them!" Karen pointed angrily at us, tears streaming from her eyes. "M-My mate..." She could not continue as sobs escaped her lips. Sure, she scented her mate on the boy, but the girl had a stronger scent of death and blood in her body than him. The sadder thing was that she knew all those kind wolves.
"I know, I know, but they're not to blame and you know this!" Laris argued, shielding the siblings with his body as he feared Karen may do something worse.
"They killed our comrades!" Karen looked at Laris as if he was a traitor.
Laris saw that look and his face darkened. He lowered his voice and said, "And you know damn well that they had no choice. Unlike us." He gave her a strong look. He wasn't just protecting the siblings; he was preventing Karen from making a mistake that would result in the death of their comrades to become in vain.
Karen bit her lip, her eyes brimming. She couldn't find fault in what the half-lycan in front of her said, because she knew it to be true. It would have been so different if they had their own choices, but they did not. Unlike them. Unlike the rebel camp. They knew they might die, and yet they still do.
We also don't have a choice, Karen thought. She craved for a better environment for her future litter. That's why she joined. That's why despite the dangers, she let Mitchell, who was excited to tell her everything once they lay down at night side by side. And yet, she may never achieve such a simple dream anymore.
"Tukare answer me", Videre shouted in utter panic.
Hastily, Laris covered his mouth as he tried to pull him off Tukare. He put him on his shoulder as he posed to run. The guards were coming and he could smell more blood on their weapons. He clenched his teeth, not wanting to think who else had died just for this mission.
"No... No! Stop it! Let me go!"
The boy struggled out of Laris' hold and fell back to the floor, kicking Laris on the abdomen, who clutched his stomach for a second before looking to the direction of the running footsteps, and then at Karen who understood his silent command. Karen hang her head, her expression unreadable before walking out of the cell to intercept the guards and buy them more time. Laris was sad to do this, but they did not have a choice... No choice...
The guards had finally come. Karen poured all her anger and anguish in killing them. She alone was enough to stop the guards, trying to give Laris enough time to flee.
"We have to go! I can't carry both of you!" Laris was desperate, glancing every now and then at Karen fighting the guards as he kept on prying Videre from his sister.
"Then leave. Leave!" Videre snapped at him.
Laris froze in front of angry eyes, giving Videre a chance to harshly pull his arm out of Laris' grip.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Videre tried to stop the bleeding with his torn shirt but to no avail. He took Tukare's remaining hand placed the back of it on his cheek, crying remorsefully. He could only blame himself.
Tukare wiped the tears off her brother's cheek. Ah, he's adorable when he cries. Reminds me when he was young and clung to me a lot, Tukare thought, smiling lightly. I can't let him feel more pain than this. Don't cry, don't cry, Vid. I have to hurry up.
Tukare had been trying to advance in the cultivation of her power. It was another way to improve it by using it so often. It was another reason why she killed off those people in one go—she wanted to empty her power and breakthrough. Aside from that, she was delighted to feel the pleasure of having the life and death of other people in her hands for once. Tukare imagined their connection like a thin threat, slowly she began unwinding it and cutting it, wearing it down until the strands scattered, save for one more.
She quietly stared at Laris and said, "Please. Go."
Laris did not want to waste this chance as he grabbed Videre and carried him away.
Hey, Videre. We're going to live, so don't give me that look as if I'm leaving you.
Tukare mouthed the word 'live'. Ah, she couldn't help but want it too. She can't help but forgive Videre for being hasty. Even she wanted freedom from this place, and yet it looks like she has no choice. But she intended to fight until the end if she needed to, but she doubted that with her brother gone, the Lycan guards would let her die. After treatment, she'll improve her powers and then find her brother. It would be easier as she can track their whereabouts using the rebels that were caught and interrogated here.
Decidedly, Tukare broke that last bit of thread of their connection.
A~ah. It looks like I have a little fool to coax later. Tukare grinned forcibly as she watched Videre's fainted figure leaving from the ground in which she lay. Slowly, her vision swam, as she was losing a lot of blood. In time, even when her pain tolerance had already hit a staggering high degree, Tukare still fainted from of it.