Rise of the Queen
Chapter 33

The screeching sound of metal pierced her ears. "No!" She tossed in her sleep, beads of sweat formed on her forehead as her eyebrows knitted together in a frown. "No...." She muttered. "No, please.... don't..." her voice choked as tears streamed down her eyes. "NO!" She screamed out as her eyes snapped open. Her body was covered in sweat, her hands were trembling, and she sniffed as she sobbed, remembering her nightmare. She tried to sit up, but she couldn't move. She attempted to lift her hand, but it didn't respond. She tried to move, but her body felt too heavy, and she had no control over it. She panicked. "Why won't-" She tried to speak, but her voice wouldn't come out. "What the hell?" "Alex!" She heard the voice. "Reagan!" she responded. Her feet then moved on their own, and she rushed out of the room. When she went outside, she was greeted by silence. The street was empty, not a single person in sight, and the street lights were out. She stood there in the dark and deserted street. "Reagan?" She called out.

"Help, Alex!" She heard his plea. She snapped her head in the direction of his voice and ran in that direction barefooted. Her feet halted when she noticed the fog, which had come out of nowhere. She turned to look behind and saw nothing but white. She slowly ran her eyes around; she was completely surrounded. "What the hell is going on?" She narrowed her eyes, starting to get suspicious. "Help! Alex!" The desperate voice of her lover caught her attention, and she immediately ran in the direction of his voice.

"Reagan!" She shouted when she reached the woods. Her head hit against a tree. "Ouch!" She rubbed her nose. With her free hand, she slowly ran it over the hardwood. "Where the hell am I?" She frowned. "I can't even see anything!" She shouted in frustration as she waved her hands over the fog.

"Alex!" She felt a hand on her shoulder. She immediately moved away, causing them to fall downhill. "Are you crazy, Alex?" Conner stood up on her feet as she dusted herself. "Conner?" Alexa blinked at her friend. "What were you even doing?" Conner threw a glare at her. "You didn't even respond when I called you, and dude, why were you running like that? I had a hard time catching up with you." She scolded her. Alexa slowly got up on her feet, then looked around. The fog was gone. "The fog's gone now," she muttered.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Conner narrowed her eyes at her. "Argh!" She shook her head. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I..." her eyes then widened. "Reagan!" She shouted as she frantically searched for him.

"Alex!" Conner ran after her.

"It's Reagan, he called for me," Alexa answered her over her shoulders.

"Why would he?" Conner frowned.

"He's in trouble, he was asking for help," Alexa replied.

"Wait, wait, wait," Conner ran ahead of her and stopped, blocking her way. "He did what?"

"He asked for my help," Alexa repeated.

"Your help? You mean he didn't ask for backup but instead he asked you to come to help him?" Conner scoffed.

Alexa felt offended. "Excuse me?"

"Not excused. Are you crazy, Alex? I mean, I get that you're the queen, but why would 'The Alpha King' ask for your help? I mean, you're still training, and if he had to call for someone, he'd have called other members of the pack. He wouldn't have called for you, even if he was dying at this moment. I mean, he obviously wouldn't want you to be in danger by calling you," Conner reasoned.

"But the town was empty, no one was there," she retorted.

"What are you talking about, Alex?" Conner rolled her eyes at her absurd words.

"The street was dark, the town was deserted, and then there was this fog, and I came here running because he called for me," Alexa argued.

"My dear, streets were empty, yes, but that doesn't mean the whole town was deserted. People need to sleep inside their houses, and it wasn't dark, and the fog? There wasn't any-" "What?" Alexa was baffled. "You didn't see any fog?"

"No, I only saw you, the one who ran like a madwoman, not giving a damn about me, who had been shouting your name as I ran after you." Conner narrowed her eyes at her.

"Shh," Alexa whispered. "Now what?" Conner raised her brows.

"Just stay quiet and listen, idiot," Alexa pulled her close and whispered. They heard a rustling sound, some footsteps, and a growl. "Alex..." Conner whispered. "Is this what I'm thinking it is?" "Conner," Alexa gave her a nervous smile. They both nodded. "Run!" They made a run for their lives.

They both yelped when the wolves jumped in, blocking their way. They growled as they stepped closer. "Alex," Conner looked at her friend. "They're..." Alexa's eyes widened. "Going somewhere, my queen?" She heard the familiar voice as the wolves left the way for him, the voice that gave her chills, "Alpha number 2..." She gulped.

***

"Alex! Alex!" She felt someone shaking her. She slowly opened her eyes, adjusting to the dark, her friend's worried face came into her view. "Conner?" She responded.

"Thank God, you're awake," Conner heaved a sigh.

"Where are we?" Alexa sat up and looked around. She noticed her hands and legs were tied. Conner turned her around and worked on her ropes.

"I don't know," Conner shrugged. Alexa then remembered the encounter with the wolves.

"Going somewhere, my queen?" She heard the familiar voice as the wolves left the way for him, the voice that gave her chills, "Alpha number 2..." She gulped. But before she could say anything else, she slipped into darkness.

"There, done," Conner smiled at her. She then stood up and went to the window and peeked outside. "They're not here, now's our chance," She looked over her shoulders. "I've been keeping an eye; there're only two guards here. We can manage them. Ready, Alex?"

"Hmm," She nodded. With the training they had received until now, they could easily manage the guards, and they were confident of that.

They both walked to the door and slowly peeked outside. They both nodded at each other as they tiptoed outside. Conner took a few stones and threw them in the opposite direction. They both separated and hid behind each tree. "Who's there?" The guards shouted. Conner and Alexa looked at each other and counted to three. One of the guards went ahead to check, while the other one went inside the room to check on them. "Now," They mouthed each other and made a run from there. "They're not here," They heard the guard shout from a distance. They looked at each other and then increased their pace. Without looking back, they ran.

After running for 15 minutes, they stopped to catch their breath. "Only a minute, please," Conner panted as she rested her back against the tree. "Hmm," Alexa nodded as she leaned against another tree.

Their eyes snapped open when they heard a rustle. "Damn, they caught up already?" Conner peeked in. "Fine then," Alexa narrowed her eyes at them. "Let's part from here. We'll divert them, and after tackling them, meet here again, okay?" She looked at her. "Hmm," Conner nodded. Before going, Conner called out to her, "Alex! Here!" She threw something at her. Alexa caught it immediately. "A knife?"

"Take care," Conner smiled at her and then dashed off.

Alexa then ran in the opposite direction, luring the other guard. "You thought you could run away?" The guy stood in front of her.

"Who said I was?" She shrugged as she took her stance. Before the guy could come at her, she charged at him, slipping her arms under his, and in the next moment, the guy was on the ground. 'That was easy,' she thought with a satisfied smile.

"Seems like I don't need to go easy on you," The guy stood up and smirked at her. He then lunged at her, turning into his wolf form. She immediately dodged him, she screamed over her shoulders, "That's cheating, you know!"

After a few minutes of their fight, Alexa was tired and injured, but she had managed to injure him too. "Ah, this won't do," She sighed. The wolf then lunged at her, and this time she didn't dodge him. They both fell on the ground. After a minute of silence, Alexa pushed him off her, stood up, and smirked at the wolf, who was writhing in pain with her knife pierced into its heart.

Just when she was about to go, an agonizing scream pierced her ears. Her head snapped in the direction of the voice. "Conner?" She muttered her name as her eyes widened in horror.