Chapter Thirteen

Serenity's POV 

My body felt cold as ice, and I knew my heartbeat was nonexistent. And yet, even knowing this, a smile still rested on my face. Suddenly, one thunderous beat of my heart came with a wave of strength I had never felt before. I knew I was strong when Artemis took over our body, but this was entirely different. This strength was equal to what I had when Arty was in control, yet I could tell that this wasn't the strength that came from her. 

‘How?’ Artemis asked in amazement.

‘How, what?’ I questioned.

‘How did you awaken this ability, this strength?’ 

Before I could answer her, I felt an expanding pain as Garrick tightened his grip on my throat. 

“Garrick, did you seriously kill her?!” The woman vampire shouted. “We were supposed to bring her back to his Highness alive. What are we going to do? I don’t know CPR, do you?”

When one answered her, I assumed their answers were identical to hers, and they, too, were unable to do CPR.

“My mistake. I forgot that mutts have to breathe to live.” Garrick said as his grip on my neck loosened, and he dropped me. 

Only to his dismay, I didn't crumple to the ground in a lifeless lump but landed on my feet. 

From the time he released my throat to the moment I landed on my feet, I could feel everything within my crushed larynx heal completely and heightened my senses. It almost felt like I could see everything around me without even opening my eyes.  When I did open my eyes, I found Garrick staring back at me in astonishment. 

“How is this possible?!” The female vampire asked as she stepped behind Garrick. He stared at me, unmoving, “I may not know much about mutts, but I do know that this one,” she jabbed her finger in my direction as she continued. “The one standing before us should be dead! She doesn't have a heartbeat!” 

I could see her trembling as she tightly bit her lip, causing a small amount of blood to slip from the corner of her mouth. At that moment, I could see every vein within her body as if neon lights had highlighted them. 

I could feel and see the fear that consumed her as it rolled off of her in great waves. “So how is it that she is standing before us?” Her words trembled with fear, and I could feel two of the other three vampires take a slight step back with the realization that I didn’t have a heartbeat.

I continued to watch Garrick as he glared curiously at me. As I stared at the light blue-eyed Garrick, I began to hear voices.

‘What the hell is this, Garrick? We were sent here to abduct a teenage girl, not some creature that we have never encountered before!’ The voice that spoke was shaking from terror as he spoke.

‘SHUT UP! I have to think.’ Garrick’s voice said, but his lips never moved. 

At that point, I realized the vampires were speaking telepathically, and I could hear them. I wanted to ask Arty if she could hear them too, but I was afraid that if I did, then they might discover that I could hear them. So, I decided to remain silent and continue listening to them. 

‘Heck! I didn’t sign up for this!’ Said the same nervous voice.

‘Neither did I! My parents are high-ranking officials! I don’t have to put up with this! I’m out of…’ 

There was a rush of wind from behind me, followed closely by the sickly sweet smell of blood. Garrick ran his hand over his face and through his short brown hair. “Did you have to kill him, Alec?” Garrick said out loud as he shook his head with disapproval. 

“So what if I killed him,” A hulking, muscular man walked towards Garrick, his long, tight braids dancing across his broad shoulders with each step. “He was a rich prick and insanely irritating. He’s lucky he lasted this long.”

“I’m not saying he wasn’t, but what do you expect me to tell his parent?” Garrick asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Don’t know, don’t care,” Alec stated as he turned to face me. With a slight smile, he darted towards me. 

I knew he was moving incredibly fast, yet to me, he almost seemed to be moving in slow motion. His crimson-red eyes almost seemed to glow, and his perfect white teeth stood out against his dark skin. He reached his hand out towards me and effortlessly dodged him. A shocked look contorted his face as he continued to try to grab me.

‘I thought that this thing was supposed to be weak!’ Alec mentally shouted.

‘It appears that Jullian didn’t tell us everything about this thing. However, that still doesn’t change our mission. Get her NOW!’ Garrick telepathically exclaimed.

Without warning, as Garrick watched, Alec continued attacking me, and the remaining two joined in. I dodged effortlessly, moving in and out over and around. In all my years, I had never moved so gracefully. I could feel the irritation grow within the vampires as they tried unsuccessfully to capture me. 

I could feel my confidence rising with each move that missed me. ‘Look at me, Arty, I’m untouchable!’

‘You are quite impressive. I’m unsure if I could keep up with you if we weren’t a part of each other.’ There was a proud tone to Artemis’ words as she spoke them.

With a huge grin, I dodged their attacks with more flashy, evasive maneuvers. I flipped out of their grasp and slid between their legs. I decided to do a little par-core, ran up a tree, and flipped over their head, shouting, “Par-core!” 

I did so only to be caught in Garrick’s vice-like grip around my arm. Before I even realized what was happening, Garrick punched me in the side as he tightly held my arm. A loud crack rang out as he shattered my ribs, puncturing my lungs and causing a couple of my bones to tear through my skin. I coughed up blood as I glared daggers at him.

A soft chuckle escaped his lips, “I've changed my mind about you.” His smile widened as he continued, “I originally assumed you were a weak werewolf that could not shift, but now I see you are not anything like that. You are so much more than a mere werewolf. You are strong, confident, and beautiful, and I have decided not to hand you over to Jullian.”

“What do you mean you aren’t going to hand her over to his majesty?” The female vampire questioned, suspicion thick in her tone. 

“How could I give her to that smelly, old skeleton when I want her for myself this badly?!” He looked at the female with pleading, puppy-dog eyes.

“Even if you do, we can’t just…” 

Before she could finish her sentence, howls vibrated through the trees.

“Times up,” Garrick said, nodding to Alec. “Take her.”

As Alec grabbed me by my hair, Garrick let go, giving me the chance I needed to escape. I grabbed his hand and twisted to face him. With one swift movement, I broke his nose and raced toward the direction from which the howls had come. 

‘Crap!’ Garrick telepathically shouted as Alec tried to stop his broken nose from bleeding. ‘We can’t go after her. If we do, we won’t return to our domain alive. We will have to come back for her later, but at least we know what pack she is a part of now.’ 

I paused my escape, realizing that they were no longer following me, and I saw them race towards the board of our lands, taking the sickening smell of Alec’s bloody nose with them. I stretched my arms over my head and let out a huff when I realized that there was a wet, tacky feeling on the side where Garrick had punched me. I placed my hand there, expecting to find my rib tearing through the skin, but I felt nothing more than a faint tingle. I pulled up my shirt to find scars had already formed and had begun to fade. As I examined my newly formed scars, someone grabbed me from behind.

I twisted out of their grasp, ready to fight, but I found Alpha Derrick staring at me with a slightly shocked look. He shook his head, regaining his composure until he saw all of the blood covering my clothes and the dried blood that dotted my exposed skin. Without warning, he scooped me up in his arms and raced past Jace, Elder Reiner, Quinn, and my dad in wolf forms. 

 ‘She is covered in blood. Make sure that the pack doctor is ready to receive her!’ He shouted via-pack link using his Alpha tone. 

I was going to object but decided not to. Once he got in this state, there was no talking to him, so I let him race me to the pack doctor, waiting at my parents' house to receive us.

Dr. Proke began examining me, only to realize I was completely fine. 

Jace released a shaky breath, “So, will she be okay?”

Proke nodded his head, “She is completely fine.”

Alpha Derrick glared at the doctor, “How can she be fine? She is covered in blood!” His tone shook the room, causing Dr. Proke to cower in fear. 

Knowing that Derrick was overly worried, I placed my hand upon his, drawing his attention from the doctor to myself, “Alpha Derrick, I’m fine, and this blood…”

“It isn’t yours,” He interrupted, letting out a  sigh of relief.

“No, it is mine, but it has already healed.” I glanced over at Dr. Proke with a smile to find a shocked look on his face.

“How long ago were you injured cause your shirt is extremely soaked in blood? And what was your injury?” He curiously questioned as he pushed his glasses up with his finger. 

“Maybe fifteen minutes ago, and I had a couple of broken ribs where my bone poked through my skin as well as punched my lungs. Why?” I wondered as his mouth gaped open.

Jace grabbed me by the shoulders, turning me to face him, “Because Ren, even though werewolves can heal quicker than a normal human, an injury as severe as yours would take hours, if not days, to heal, not minutes.”