Meg lead Talia through numerous twists and turns before the last tunnel narrowed and curved to become an opening between two rocks.
Once Meg and Talia stepped out with Damon between them, they found themselves in the dark lush forest.
"Good that you are out…", Kai called in an urgent whisper while making his way toward them. "Stay low. We don't want to risk being seen."
After giving Meg a quick kiss, Kai got on his knee, and they hoisted Damon for Kai to carry piggyback style.
Talia turned to see from where they emerged. The opening between two rocks looked natural, and if she didn't know that was the entrance to a network of underground tunnels and dwellings, she would just walk by it without noticing it.
She wondered how many such entry points exist. Many, probably.
Talia walked behind Kai and her eyes were trained on Damon's listless body. Her brows came together whenever she saw a black pattern slithering over his skin and she hoped that it was not permanent.
Liseli was growing restless, they had no idea what those runes were doing to Damon, but they could guess it was nothing good. However, this was not the time to act rashly.
'We need to pay attention and not get caught. Everything else will come later. Damon and Sapa are strong. Believe in them…', Talia coxed her wolf.
Everyone was tense. This was not a game.
Talia looked up to see tall trees with canopies connecting to block the sky completely, deepening the darkness that clung stubbornly as the dawn cracked in the face of the sunrise. Luckily, neither of them had issues with seeing where they were going.
The thick tree trunks were surrounded by bushes with occasional patches of grass and wildflowers that filled the air with a sweet fragrance. Talia spotted numerous rare plants she read about in books that Travis gave her, and it was beautiful, but Talia was not in a mood to appreciate any of that.
Part of Talia feared that this might be another trap. At the same time, she hoped that her instincts were right, that Meg and Kai were trustworthy, that Tyler did his part as expected, and that Axel was not watching all this with his parents like it's a twisted survival show.
On a few occasions, they stopped and listened, and then they would take a sudden turn like they were avoiding something.
Talia lost track of time as they navigated through the dense foliage.
Her anxiety was increasing because Damon was not showing signs of waking up, and his body seemed to twitch unnaturally whenever those black runes flickered on his skin. She wondered how far their destination was, wishing that it was close so that she can check on Damon properly, but also wishing that they keep moving as far as possible from that wretched place where Cassandra tried to harm Damon.
Eventually, Kai stopped in his tracks. He turned to glance in all directions before ducking between two bushes on his right and his form disappeared together with Damon who was on his back.
Talia followed after him to find herself in a low tunnel that was wide enough for one person to pass without squeezing. Talia was half-bent while walking toward the beam of light ahead.
Eventually, the tunnel widened into a cave that twisted to the right. The cave walls were made of dark rocks with patches of moss, and the light seeped in through the opening that was on the high ceiling.
At the far end, there was a crude bed made of dried grass and leaves and two backpacks. A wide rock was sticking on the right and it had logs of various sizes stacked on it, obviously to build a fire in the circular area where the ground was charred.
Kai groaned while lowering Damon on the bed, and Talia rushed to help him.
As soon as Damon was down, Talia ran her hands over his face, feeling his temperature was high.
"He is burning up." Talia suppressed a sob that was stuck in her throat.
"It's time for the medicine…", Meg said and moved toward one of the two backpacks.
"Is this your place where you come in case of emergency?", Tala asked while looking around, trying to distract herself so that she doesn't start crying in front of Kai and Meg.
Backpacks were there when they arrived, and it was obvious that this cave was used before.
"Axel prepared these. I brought them here.", Kai said. "There is food to last you a week; dried fruits, cheese, and meat mostly." He gestured toward the left. "There, you will find a tunnel that opens to a small area that has a stream; water is safe for drinking. You have wood there and feel free to light a fire if you want." He pointed up at the opening through which daylight seeped in. "This tunnel branches while going up, so smoke will split and won't be visible. There are dry herbs next to the wood, put some in the fire to conceal the scent of smoke."
Meg found what she was looking for, and she said to Talia, "Watch me do it, so you can do it later."
Talia observed as Meg opened a light green bottle and used a syringe to measure the right amount of whitish liquid before injecting it into Damon's bicep.
"This will stabilize him, but for the most part, he needs to endure while absorbing the power.", Kai explained while looking at Damon with eyes full of awe. "This is more than any of us ever received, and the medication is barely working. I can't imagine how powerful he will be when the process is done."
Talia didn't think this was time to admire Damon's strength, as another black rune flashed on the left side of his ribs. "What are those?"
Kai pressed his lips into a line as he realized that they might have a problem. "I'm not sure. Black runes prevent us from using our powers. It's normally used for criminals while on trial or during imprisonment. However, the runes are drawn around the area where the person is, they don't transfer onto the body like that."
"The pattern Cassandra drew was different from what I saw in books.", Meg said. "These rituals usually require several healers to ensure nothing goes wrong. I don't think Cassandra was just blocking Alpha Damon's powers. I believe that her goal was… more than that."
"I can't believe our Alphas approved. That goes against everything they taught us.", Kai stopped talking abruptly when he saw Talia's expression stiffening in rage.
"Hey…", Meg called softly while putting her hand on Talia's shoulder. "Medicine is keeping him stable which means he will be alright. He only needs time. I'm sorry but we need to go. I'm sure that Alphas know by now that you and Alpha Damon are missing, but they will not start a full-blown search because they want to conceal what happened. However, with the morning coming, people will notice our absence."
