Chapter Six

Life seemed to come back in my eyes. It must have been a couple of hours since I was under the influence of the medicine that was infused with the syringe. The sun broke through a cloudy bank we were crossing a wide field with nothing  but the open sky and heavy snow as far as the eyes could see. I was tied down to a sled and wrapped in heavy blankets and heated pads that was keeping me warm.

"She's awake," I heard someone announce that came into my view and looked me dead in the eyes as they walked beside me.

The sled came to a stop as the same faces I remembered from earlier surrounded me. Their clothes were the only thing recognizable. How long have I been out of it? Where are we? How am I still alive?

"It's not time for you to be awake," I recognized the leader's voice from last night come from a man that stepped into my view. "Put her back to sleep," he commanded.

"No!" I shouted as someone I recognized as the same from before came into my view with another syringe. "Don't!" I begged. "I'll behave! Don't put me back under!"

"Shut up!" The leader yelled at me as he cringed from my whining. One of them suddenly fell to the ground. The scent of blood released into the air as they all looked toward the one that fell over. I sat up just barely enough to see blood covering the white snow and knew- the person was dead. I lowered myself in the blankets for cover as I watched another one of them fall to the ground in the same manerism before they realized what was happening. With no cover in the open of this field it was hard to make out where exactly the bullets were being fired from.

I heard a howl as if a promise to me. It came from the edge of the field in the position I was facing, meaning wherever we were leaving from. I didn't recognize the howl though.

Before the men around me had a chance to take out their guns they fell to the ground as they were snipped from the edge of the field. I flinched slightly at their precision. It must had been planned? I went to get up but realzied I was strapped to the sled.

"Josephine?" I heard Artyom asking for me. "Are you hurt?"

"No!"

"Good! You're on a lake," he warned me. "Make your way to me slowly."

Lake?

My heart raced as I looked down toward the ground where no hint was present of what I was hovering over with an unknown amount of inches between me and cold dark death.

"I-I can't!"

"Don't be afraid!"

"No, what I mean is I can't get up. I'm stuck!" I arched my back slightly only to be held down to the sled.

"Ok. Nobody panic," he said. I could barely see them as they merged to be standing by Artyom from the tree line but did not go to far. He went to step out but a few yanked him back with fear in their eyes. "Let me go!" He barked at them. I had a feeling it was a command as they backed away with worry on their faces. "Josephine! I'm coming don't move!" I watched as one of them passed him a knife.

I heard a gurgling couch from beside me before a small groan let out. I widened my eyes as I watched one of the accomplice start beating at the surface. He must have heard everything. Oh god! He's going to kill me! I squrimed in my bounds.

"NO! NO! NO DON'T!" I begged him.

"Josephine!" Artyom yelled as he started to run for us then.

The accomplice broke through the surface and like a disease it spread across, cracking open rapidly. He fell in as the cracks made their way to me and the right side of the sled began to sink through the cracks as it toppled over and slung me with it.

"Artyom!" I cried out as I began to panic.

"ALPHA!" The pack shouted.

I fell into the water and sunk into darkness as the ice broke out from under me. I only had a little bit of breath in me as I went under. My body dropped below temperature as the heat from the pads disolved through the water. There was nothing but darkness around me and I knew I was sinking farther in as the surface light disappeared.

It settled in me, the thought: I'm going to die here.

I felt my lungs giving.

I slowly was loosing consciousness.

The bonds around me loosened as hands wrapped around my waist and I was freed feeling as firm hands shook me.

'SWIM!' I heard Artyom urging me.

A hand grabbed mine as he let me go and began to drag me toward the surface I kicked as I fought to swim with him. We breached the surface and I was fighting by then for air. I gasped as he pushed me out of the water and onto firmer ice. When he was out he took my arm and dragged me with him as we ran for the others, where the lake stopped. They were cheering as they saw we made it. He tossed me at them when we were close and collapsed into water mere inches from us. They reached out to him in order to pull him out of the water.

"Come with us," one of them urged me as she held me up and dragged me toward a fire. A few of them began to take their clothes off to offer to me.

Artyom was beside me suddenly as he growled at everyone.

"Look away!" He yelled at them and they were avoiding looking at but still offered their clothes. "You need to get out of those clothes," he urged me as he took a few they were offering and avoided looking at me as he held them out. Artyom was naked as if he had ran all the way here as his wolf. He was hot beside me with steam rolling off his body. He was a natrual thermas. I on the other hand was on the verge of loosing my fingers from how blue they looked. I stripped on comand and took the clothes he offered.

I couldn't help but look at Artyom. It was unintentional at first but slowly became curiosity.

Artyom wasn't much older than me. I could tell that from just his scent alone. His hair was matted in crystals and were a frozen blackness so I couldn't tell if it was his real color. His body towered in comparison to all of those around us he was tall. His muscles were big and his thing hung between his legs thick and limp. It was huge and not even aroused. I blushed as I shamed myself for looking at him.

Cas struck my mind and I grabbed Aryom's shoulder to make him look at me as I was now dressed.

"Where is he?" I begged. "Where is Cas?"

"I'm sorry," he whispered as his sunset colored eyes turned dark and mysterious as his face saddened. "He's gone," he mumbled.

"What do you mean gone?" I begged as I shook his arm. "He- He's not dead. He's not right?"

"Josephine," he whispered. "There was a lot of blood lost."

"No," I whispered in disbelief. I stumbled back from him and felt heat rising on my back as I was falling toward the fire. He caught me quick as he brought me away from it. "Show me!"

"We will when we find his body," he promised me.

"H-His body? What happened?"

"We're not sure."

"What of Aimee?"

"She was hospitalized. I don't think she'll pull through either."

I felt my knees buckling and he swept me off my feet and into his warmth.

"I'll find his body," he promised me as he looked around us. "Nobody rests until they find Cas." His order made them flinch as they all agreed with his order. He forced my head against his chest as he began to walk over to a running dune buggy.

"Who were they?" I asked him as I pointed toward the lake. "Why would they-" He cut me off as he glared out into the forest.

"Josephine as soon as I know you will as well."

"Where were they taking me?"

"They were taking you back across the boarder. I think its safe to assume they were some of my cousin's deciples. But they had no scent attached to them so whose to say?"

"Camren," I growled angrily. "You mean this is all his fault?"

"It's something I've known him capible of."

"I hate him," I whined as I felt tears breaching the surface. I hate him so much.

"Something we have in common," he muttered to me.

"Where are you taking me now?"

"To my pack house."

"No, I want to go see Aimee. I owe her after what she done. You have a damn good beta. She stayed loyal to you and protected me to her capibility."

"Yes... she's a good beta. Though I think you should wait to see her. She's not allowed visitors right now." He put me in on the passenger side of the dune buggy and hopped onto the drivers side.

"You should put some clothes on," I muttered.

"Does it disturb you?" He laughed out as he found something of that amusing. I set in silence refusing to respond to that. I kept going back to the last moments I had with Cas in my head. How could I have done that differently? How could I have assured his survival? And if they didn't find his body... Does that mean he lived? Even after all that blood loss? It's impossible. He's dead somewhere out there.