Finally, we make it back to camp. I feel so exhausted from walking. On the way back, we learned the girl's name was Kirsten. She is seven years old. Her dad was never in her life, and AB and Alec killed her mom. Her mom hid her in a trash can, and she tried to fight off the vampires. I feel so overwhelmed with emotion, her mom did such a heroic act.
Kristen seems to be warming up to Ajay. She sits by him while everyone sits around the fire.
"We are no longer waiting for the first attack, the first chance we get to take out AB, we are going to take it," Ajay tells everyone.
"I can't get all those dead people out of my mind," Smoke says.
I sit next to Kiara. The girls are knitting extra blankets, since we have a child among us. Ajay gets up and walks towards the garden, and Kirsten follows him. I watch as he shows her how to pick vegetables. Seeing Kristen smile makes my heart happy. Ajay is such a genuinely kind person.
Kristen laughs and Ajay makes jokes about funny-shaped potatoes. They dump all the vegetables inside the pot, hovering over the fire. I get up from the log. All I want to do is change into my wolf and race. I want the wind blowing through my fur.
I walk and look at the edge of the forest pathway. Closing my eyes, I listen to all the sounds. It is so peaceful.
"I know you want to run free," Dev says approaching me.
I smile. "I miss the wind blowing through my fur, the ground beneath my feet."
Dev rubs my back and puts his arm around me. "Hopefully this will all be over soon," he says.
Too bad I know how it will end.
Two weeks later
I sit on the log and watch the gang play football. Even Kirsten plays along. She has called Ajay Dad a few times, I think Ajay likes the title. Kristen and Ajay have a very special bond. Every member of the pack has grown to love the little girl.
I am nervous. The witches should be making their move soon, and I will give my heart. It is so important to me now. I have my niece or nephew to think of, my mate, and all my friends. I know any day can be my last. My heart is sad, but always full. I know I can be heroic, just like Kirsten's mom.
I feel Chetan's arms around me. He nibbles on my neck. I look up at him and smile.
"I love you."
"I love you so very much," he tells me.
I rub his arm. I feel his lips on my neck.
"You know, I can't live without you Zare," he says.
"What are you talking about?"
"Just making a statement," he tells me.
I feel so guilty. He will. My heart hurts.
"Zare?" He asks, rubbing my shoulders.
I want to tell Chetan so bad, but he will never let me sacrifice myself.
"Sorry, yeah."
"You okay?" He asks.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
I hear the galloping of racing feet. I am shocked when I see Elfie racing toward us. Our last encounter with him wasn't so friendly.
Ajay approaches him first. "Hopefully you come on good terms?"
"Eh, the vampire attacked and killed many of the centaurs, This Means War, and I'm hoping you would join us," Elfie says.
"A few weeks ago, the vampires slaughtered a whole city of humans," Ajay says.
"AB needs to be put in his place," Elfie says.
"That damn AB, he's a mess," I hear a crackling laugh coming from the woods.
Not AB. Not today.
Smelling many vampires, I know the war is starting. Soon we are surrounded by an army of bloodsuckers. We all change into our werewolves and hiss in a warning.
The trees shake, I hear flying in the sky, it sounds like airplanes. Looking up, I see the witches flying on their brooms. This is it. Time, I have been dreading the time I must stand up for my pack.
I quickly move towards where I buried the bottle of potion. My hand digs through the dirt. I threw dirty glops all in the air. I didn't bury it far down.
The hole got deeper and deeper. I feel my hands shaking. What am I going to do?
"Looking for something?" I hear Chetan ask.
Turning around, I see him hold up the bottle. My mouth drops open. How could he possibly know?
"How did you know about that?" I whisper, I can hardly talk.
"That does not matter," he remarks.
"Chetan?" I hear the anger in my voice.
"I went back and talked to the sirens. They told me everything, and you're not Sacrificing yourself, Zare," he yells.
"Chetan, I have no choice."
" Zare, I have lost you so many times, and I am not willing to lose you again," Chetan tells me.
I hear talking and I know Ajay is trying to negotiate. I move around Chetan and walk toward everyone. The witches are on the ground, and the pack seems shaken up.
"My magic will destroy this entire forest," says the witch. She laughs a horrible wicked laugh.
"You created that awful storm," Ajay says.
The witches laugh. "That was just a warning."
Ajay stands next to Kirsten, she clings to his arm. It was obvious that she was terrified.
The witches walk forward, they are three of them total. They wore long gray dresses with orange fire flames around the bottom and pointy black hats. She rushes towards Kristen. Ajay changes into his wolf and growls.
"That does nothing silly Alpha, you are powerless to protect her," the witch laughs that stands in the middle of the three. It is evident that she is the leader.
She simply snaps her fingers and Kristen is gone. She vanished and is instantly out of view.
Ajay changes back into his human form. "Bring her back," he yells.
"That's not the way you ask, such bad manners," the witch laughs.
I look at the vampires, AB is quiet. He seems nervous about the witches, he just watches. The red caps approach from the forest. I see their weapons, they have come to fight.
The witch continues to snap her fingers. More and more members of the pack continue to disappear. I look around, seeing my loved ones disappear. My eyes fill with water.
Soon only Ajay, Chetan, Ash, and I are left. The witch claps her hands, and the vampires disappear.
"You want your friends back, I need the heart of the person who's loved most. The girl. The loved one of the forest," the witch says.
I frown. Looking at Chetan, I see the hurt on his face. This will be goodbye, I know that now because I never drank the potion.