Chapter 162: Saviors
Nina
The two werewolves jumped out of the woods. The black werewolf knocked the rogue out of the way just before it was about to get us and went tumbling across the forest floor as they fought. Meanwhile, the silver wolf circled around us protectively. Lori, Jessica and I stopped in our tracks.
I knew instantly that the silver wolf was Enzo. A pained, choked gasp escaped my throat and I stumbled toward him, limping on my injured leg as tears streamed down my cheeks. I held my hands out, then began to fall as my leg gave out underneath me.
Enzo quickly moved forward and crouched down, catching me. I felt myself fall into him and wrapped my arms around his neck, tangling my fingers in his fur as I sobbed uncontrollably. He didn’t shift back, but instead nuzzled me with his massive head as a low, happy rumble echoed in his throat.
But we weren’t safe. The black wolf, who I now recognized as Matt from the night that we all ran through the woods, finally beat the rogue off and returned to us. I watched as Enzo and Matt nodded silently to each other. Matt trotted up to the scared Lori and Jessica and crouched down beside them, indicating for them to climb onto his back.
“It’s okay,” I said as I saw the frightened looks on their faces. “It’s Matt and Enzo.”
Still too shocked to even speak, Lori and Jessica clambered up onto Matt’s back while I hobbled around to Enzo’s side and did the same. I laid down, relaxing into him as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He stood, then in a flash we took off into the woods just as the sounds of rogues crashing through the underbrush and howling came closer.
For a long time, we just ran. I was beginning to lose consciousness from the blood loss, so I wasn’t sure exactly how long we ran for. All I knew was that I was safe now, and Enzo had returned for me. Everything would be okay with Enzo here. It was as though my cry for help was answered, as though our bond was so strong that I could summon him. I knew it was a silly notion, of course, but I felt so connected to him as he carried me to safety that it seemed plausible in that moment.
I never looked up to see whether we were being followed, as I had lost what little strength I had left to do anything more than hold onto Enzo’s back as we ran. But I could hear the sound of the rogues and the Crescents behind us, so I knew that they were in hot pursuit. Matt and Enzo weaved through the forest, evading the rogues and the Crescents.
At one point, as Matt ran alongside Enzo and I, I looked up to see Lori and Jessica on his back. Lori was sitting in the front, her fingers tangled in Matt’s fur with a determined look on her face, while Jessica had her arms wrapped around Lori’s waist. I was so relieved to finally have my friends back, and despite our circumstances, I could feel a slight smile beginning to twitch at the corners of my lips as I watched them. Once more, I couldn’t help but wonder if the euphoria I was feeling was caused by my blood loss.
Finally, we somehow lost the rogues and the Crescents. Matt and Enzo carried us to an alley between two buildings, then set us down and shifted back into their human forms. I immediately collapsed into Enzo’s arms again from the weakness in my leg, but the feeling of the warmth emanating from his body and his strong arms wrapped around me gave me a little bit of strength.
“Come on,” he whispered, nodding toward Matt, Lori, and Jessica, who were beginning to make their way through the alley. “Let’s get to safety. I’ll explain everything then.”
I nodded and took his hand, but I was unable to walk with my leg. Enzo let out a worried sigh and scooped me up, carrying me as he shimmied his large body through the alleyway.
“I knew you would come back,” whispered. Enzo only clenched his jaw and stared ahead, alert for any danger.
When we came out on the other side of the alley, Matt motioned for us to stop. Enzo’s touch seemed to heal me at little, so I felt comfortable enough to walk a little on my own and he set me down. Once Matt looked all around and was certain that we could get across the quad, which stood between where we stood and the front door of Enzo’s dorm building, Matt darted ahead. Lori and Jessica followed, and then Enzo and I did the same, never letting go of each other’s hands.
When Matt reached the door, he knocked on it in a pattern of three knocks in succession, followed by a pause, then two more knocks.
There was a moment of tense silence before the door swung open. Bryce stood inside, motioning for us to come in. We all filed in one after the other. Almost as soon as the door was closed and locked tightly, and the barricade was moved back in front of the door, we all let out an almost collective sigh of relief.
“We kinda took over your apartment, Enzo,” Matt said, leading us up the stairs. Enzo shrugged. “Ha. I’m not using it, so you might as well.”
As Matt led us up the three flights of stairs to Enzo’s apartment, it became clear to me just how empty the once- lively dorm was. Instead of the hallways being filled with students and the sound of music and chatter, they were now dead silent and dark.
Not a single light was on and all of the windows were covered, with only the flashlight in Matt’s hand to guide us. From what little I could make out, the inside of the building had been completely turned upside down in the frenzy from the attack. Backpacks,
loose papers, cell phones, and even lost shoes were scattered around the floor. Thankfully, there were no bodies, but there was some blood from people likely being bitten.
“There were rogues in here at first,” Matt said, almost as though he read my mind. “But this is the taller dorm building, so we knew it would be the best place to hide out. The team and I managed to clear it out and secured it pretty well.”
“I wonder what happened to our dorm,” Jessica said somberly, glancing over her shoulder at me as she held Lori’s hand and walked ahead. “I hope it didn’t get too destroyed.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Lori said. Her voice was low, and if I listened closely enough, I could hear it shaking a little. “Everything will be fine.”
Finally, we stopped outside of Enzo’s apartment. Matt pushed the door open, then let us in. The rest of the hockey team was milling about in the makeshift safehouse with only a small crack in the window to keep watch out of otherwise, the windows were completely covered, just as I expected.
But there was one thing that I didn’t expect, however. James was sitting in the corner, tied to a chair.
