The Alpha's Prize
Chapter 33: Running out of time

Erik towered over me, and his lip twitched upwards in disgust as his eyes held darkness to them. Idug my hands into the cool earth and backed away from him, but the further I got, the closer hecame. Finally, I tried to get up from the ground, and Erik kicked me back down with his boot.

I stilled, deciding to stay where I was and instead propped myself up onto my elbows. “What thefuck, Erik?” My tone's anger and the hurt of his betrayal only grew.

His upper lip curled into a snarl as he narrowed his eyes. “That cure is coming with me.” He growledout, his tone deep and demanding.

I snorted and then gave him a deadpan stare. “Over my dead body.” Even though I was shitting mypants right now, as he had an advantage over me, I refused to let him take what was rightfully mine.I had earned this cure and gave up a piece of myself in the process, just to get it.

Erik stepped closer, his feet on either side of my legs now, trapping me in my place, before stoppingand sniffing the air. His expression was overtaken with confusion and then repugnance. “You gaveup your wolf for that fucking cure, didn't you? For that piece of shit, Cain.” Erik hollered, his bodynow shaking with anger.

I opened my mouth to respond, but he didn't give me a chance. “How could you? Why do you wantto save that fucking monster? You've been told the same stories as [; the things he has done arecruel and inhumane. He attacked our pack, our families, he killed Mikael and yet, you still want tosave him.” His face turned red as he ridiculed me for my actions.

I pushed myself up, getting into more of a sitting position and scowled at him. “Yes, I do, and youare right; Cain is a monster, but at least he doesn't deny it. Cain doesn't hide his true self; he ishonest and loyal, unlike you, Erik. You were my friend; I loved and trusted you; now look at you. Yousay he is a monster, so what does that make you?” I asked in a grave and contemptuous tone.

Erik's eyes turned black, his expression furious now, and a low growl rumbled from him as he bentdown to sit on my stomach. I raised my arms and tried to smack him, attempting to get him off me,but he gripped my wrists together and pinned them above my head, putting a halt to my uselessattacks.

Erik leaned down, our faces now mere inches away from one another. “I am nothing like him, and ifyou can't see Cain for who he truly is, then I guess I have no choice but to kill you too.” His voicewas low and deadly, sending shivers down my spine.

I twisted under him, mustering up every ounce of willpower I had within me to get free from theman I thought I once knew so well. Erik and I were childhood friends; we did everything together;we were once so close. Now, I didn’t recognize the person trying to take my life, all because I choseanother over him.

My attempt to get free was abruptly halted as Erik's other hand came crashing down around myneck, squeezing my windpipe to the point where I thought he would crush it. The air was slippingfrom my lungs, and I gasped to breathe. Unfortunately, my hands were still held firmly above myhead, rendering me useless and unable to fight him back.

Erik's hold around my neck tightened, and he grinned down at me as he watched the life drain frommy eyes. Then, just when I thought all was over and I was going to die, Erik was harshly thrown offme, sending him flying through the air. I lay there, coughing and gasping for air, finally able tobreathe again. I had known that Gunnar was close by and that he would come to save me, but tomy surprise, when I looked up, the hand that was extended out to me belonged to none other thanEve.

My brows furrowed in udder confusion as I stared into the eyes of the person who had just savedmy life, the very same person who I thought hated me with a passion and also tried to destroy mylife at one point in time. I shook my head and grabbed her hand, allowing Eve to help me up to myfeet. I brushed the dirt and debris from my body before looking up at her. “Thank you.” I said,confusion in my tone, “Why did you save me? I thought you despised me and wanted me gone?” Iasked curiously.

Eve sucked in a deep breath. “I do hate you, and I do want you gone. However, I know that Cain willalways choose you over me no matter what I do or what I say because he loves you. I also heardabout what happened to Cain.” She closed her eyes, and her features were overcome with grief. Eveopened her eyes again and straightened herself, masking her emotions now. “I know you have thecure, and I still love Cain. So, if saving you means saving him, then I'll do whatever it takes. I won'tlet him die, especially knowing I could've done something to prevent that.” So she told me, herwords filled with honesty and loyalty.

I gave her a sympathetic smile, grateful that she was willing to put aside her feelings for me in orderto save the one we both loved. But, unfortunately, before I was given a chance to say anything elseto her, Erik suddenly barreled into Eve, at full force, tossing her to the ground.

Erik released a loud and deadly growl, “You stupid fucking bitch.” He roared, fury evident in his tone.I looked around the ground and spotted a large boulder. I quickly grabbed hold of the world'sheaviest fucking rock and yanked it out of the earth. My grasp on the boulder was slipping, barelyable to hold onto it, but with as much strength as I could muster, I bashed Erik over the head withthe rock. The impact caused him to collapse to the ground, and he was now unconscious, allowingus the opportunity to getaway.

I rushed over to Eve, helping her up from the ground and onto her feet. Then, not wasting anotherminute, we bolted away from an unconscious Erik, heading in the opposite direction. However, Erikcame up from behind me, gripping my hair and tossed me into a tree, face first. He stalked towardsme, a dangerous look in his eyes, but before he could reach me, Eve body checked him, causing himto stumble backwards and away from me.

Erik's nostrils flared, and his jaw went rigid as he glared between Eve and me. Eve's head whipped inmy direction. “Run, Freja.” She hollered.

Eve then charged towards Erik, fist cocked and swung at him, but he caught her by the wrist andspun her around, Eve's back now to his chest. Erik gripped her head firmly in his grasp and twisted,snapping her neck with one swift movement.

Eve's limp body fell to the ground, and her now lifeless eyes stared in my direction. I gasped, myhands covering my mouth, in complete disbelief that Erik had just so easily taken her life. Erik stoodthere, staring down at Eve's body for a moment before his gaze turned to me and a menacing grinspread across his face.

I spun around and started to run in the opposite direction, needing to get as far away from him aspossible.

"You can't run from me, Freja. Especially, being a weak and pathetic human now.” He laugheddeeply.

I ignored his remarks and continued running, but I didn’t get very far, as Erik caught up to me withinan instant. He grabbed hold of the back of my neck and pulled me to him, my back colliding harshlywith his front, knocking the wind from me.

His arm wrapped around my neck, cutting off my oxygen, as he rested his lips against my ear. “Youbetter hope the moon goddess will have mercy on your soul for fucking that monster of a mate ofyours.” He whispered his words like the venom of a poisonous snake.

Erik's arm tightened around my neck, and things were starting to go black. However, I refused todie, not today and not by his hand. I closed my eyes and reminded myself of who I was, that I am afucking warrior.

I lifted my arm and elbowed Erik in the stomach, causing him to release me. He stumbled backwardsand clutched his stomach, but that only lasted for a second before he stood to his full height again,glaring daggers at me. I looked around the ground and spotted a large, fallen tree branch. Ihurriedly picked up the branch and swung it at him furiously. However, Erik found this amusing andstarted to laugh at my feeble attempt to attack him.

I swung at him again, the branch brushing against his chest this time, and his playful expressionquickly vanished. Erik leapt forward, coming straight for me, but he didn't get too far, as suddenly,he was lifted from the ground. Gunnar stood there, black eyes and snarling viciously, as he held Erikby the throat off the ground. Although Erik squirmed in Gunnar’s hold, trying to get free, little didhe know, his time was up. Gunnar tightened his hold on Erik's neck and crushed Erik's throat withlittle effort, taking his life in the process.

Gunnar dropped Erik's body like a wet towel, and he hit the ground with a thump, eyes now lifeless.I stood there, staring between Gunnar and Erik, a little shocked that Gunnar had taken Erik's life socarelessly and without a second thought.

I was glad this was finally over but saddened that so many people died as a result, and I had losttwo people who were once so dear to me. But, aside from everything, I was grateful that Gunnarwas still by my side, fighting with me and supporting my decisions, even though he was againstmost of them.

I ran to Gunnar's side and jumped into his arms, wrapping my arms tightly around him. Gunnarembraced me in his hold, exhaling heavily. “Are you ok?" He asked with concern.

I let my arms fall to my side and stepped back, nodding my head. “Yes, I am fine. Just glad youshowed up when you did.” And I was, although I wished he had shown up sooner, maybe then Evewould still be alive.

He sighed heavily and looked down at Erik's body. “I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. I should've juststayed with you and never left you alone if I hadn't shown up when I did..." I didn't let him finish as Iput my hand up, silencing his words.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Gunnar, you are here now, and that's all that matters. Noteverything is predictable, shit happens, and you can't always prevent it.” I told him reassuringly,trying to ease his internal pain.

He groaned, unsatisfied with my words, and I could tell he was still reprimanding himself for lettingthis happen. Gunnar glanced around before fixing his gaze on something in the distance.

His brows furrowed. “Who's that?” He asked with curiosity while pointing in the direction of his lineof sight.

I followed his gaze, and my eyes landed on Eve's body. I pursed my lips. “That's Eve; she tried tosave me, but...” I didn’t say anything else, feeling remorse that she had lost her life, trying to savemine.

Gunnar rested a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself. She died with honour and bravery.”So he told me, and that was so much easier said than done.

I looked up at him. “Once we get back to the packhouse, we need to send a few people out here toretrieve both of their bodies. Eve deserves a proper burial, and so does Erik. Regardless of what theyhave done, they made a difference in people's lives and were both good people at one point intime.” I told Gunnar, and he nodded his head, agreeing with me.

I looked to the sky and realized that the daylight was almost gone. “We really need to get going, thesun is going to set within the next couple of hours, and our time is almost up to get the cure backto Cain.”

Gunnar followed my gaze, looking to the horizon. “I'll shift, and you can ride on my back; we will getthere a lot faster that way.” He said, and I couldn't agree more, the quicker we got back, the better.I nodded. “Yes, you're right.” Gunnar then stepped back and shifted into his massive, black wolf. Heshook his fur and stretched his limbs before kneeling. I climbed onto his back, entwined my fingerswithin his soft coat and laid my head down onto his back.

Gunnar dashed forward, almost knocking me off his back as he did. The trees whipped past us asGunnar darted around them, thin branches and leafs smacking us in the process. I lifted my head toglance around, and the sun was almost set now. The land was familiar, making me think we wereclose to the packhouse. The trip back was beginning to feel longer than it did going there, as Iimpatiently anticipated our arrival.

Gunnar picked up his speed, his broad paws thudding against the ground and kicking up debris. Icould see the packhouse now, getting closer and closer as we continued. My nerves were nowgoing haywire, my stomach churning, thinking about what could go wrong and what if I wentthrough all of this for nothing, still losing Cain in the process.

We finally reached the packhouse, bursting through the gates. At first, the guards started to holler,attempting to stop Gunnar and apprehend him. Finally, he stopped just before the main door, and Ijumped down. As soon as the guards saw that it was me, they all backed off, bowing as they did.Gunnar shifted back and stood naked in the middle of the yard now. The contents of my stomachnearly made a run for it upon seeing my brother in his birthday suit. I turned around, my back nowfacing him. “Please go get some fucking clothes on, Gunnar. I'm going to the med wing; meet methere.” I quickly told him before running off into the house.

I rushed throughout the house, going up and down the stairs and through the halls, my feet slidingalong the floors, as I made my way to the med wing, hoping I wasn't out of time.

Finally, I reached the hallway that led to the medical wing. The doors were within my line of sight,and I swear, I almost flew towards the doors, unable to get to them fast enough. I burst through thedoors, sending them crashing into the walls behind them. Upon hearing the commotion, Rosestepped into the middle of the wing, a curious yet irritated expression on her face, that was until shesaw it was me.

Rose rushed over to me, embracing me in a hug. “Oh, Freja, I'm so glad to see you. Did you get thecure?” She asked in a rush

I pulled back from her and nodded my head rapidly. “Yes, I did,” I said quickly before moving pasther and heading straight for his room.

I stood outside Cain's room now, grasping the door handle firmly. My heart was beating erraticallynow, and my breaths came out in sharp bursts as I pushed the door open. Cain lay there, motionlesson the bed, his chest barely moving. His skin was nearly white as snow, his hair holding almost nopigment now, and he looked as if death had him in its icy grasp. My lip quivered upon seeing himand my eyes began to burn, tears threatening to spill. I sucked in a deep breath and walked over tothe bed, sitting down next to him. I held his hand in mine, and a cold chill ran up my arm; if this curedidn’t work, then I would lose Cain for good.

I grabbed the items from my bag and placed them on the bed. Rose came to my side, placing ahand on my shoulder and squeezing gently. I looked up at her, and she gave me a reassuring smile;no words were exchanged or needed. I closed my eyes and took another deep breath, knowing Ineeded to do this before there was no time left. I could only hope and pray to the moon goddessfor the guidance I was desperately seeking and for this to work.