Saffron

I jump to my feet. The only thing on my mind is helping Logan. He can't take on a dozen guards on his own. Not without our help. What if he's injured? Or shot? Or worse?

"I'm not leaving my mom!" Amaryllis cries. She holds onto her arm with a vice-like grip and her words pierce my heart.

"You're all I care about in this world, Rylie," her mom's voice breaks. "I need to know that you'll be safe."

"And you're all I care about." Rylie sobs. "Mom, please."

I don't realize that I'm crying too until I feel the tears on my cheeks. Then, Jess sniffles, and I look up to see that she's crying, too.

I need to get to Logan, but I'm rooted in place. My feet are glued to the dusty floor and suddenly, I'm 10 years old again... running down the front drive to get to my mom. She's in the back seat of our old car, the one Dad got rid of years ago. Her dress is covered in blood, which soaks into the upholstery. She tries to be strong for me—to tell me she'll be okay—but a scream chokes out of her. She grips her swollen belly and all I can look at is all the blood.

"Mom," I shout, reaching for her, but Dad rips me away. He slams the car door shut, leaving me on the other side, and I never see my mom again. I can't let this be the last time Amaryllis sees hers.

I have to do something! But what? I don't have time to remove the bullet; not while Logan is facing a dozen guards. They'll all come here next anyway, and we'll be as good as dead then.

"Jess, grab my dress. We can press it down on the wound." Jess rushes off to where the once beautiful purple dress is lying in a torn heap on the ground. "How far is it to the pack house?"

"Half an hour." Amaryllis sniffles.

"In wolf form," her mom adds. "An hour on foot—maybe more." She meets my gaze and I know what she's silently telling me. She'll never make it.

Jess tosses me the dress, and I press the silky fabric against the wound. "Hold this down. I'll call for help."

I turn and race toward the giant. I quickly start patting around his back, searching his pockets, but they're empty. He's so heavy that it takes some effort for me to roll him over. Then, I check his front pockets, and my fingers graze metal. I pull out two phones. The small, black one looks identical to Robbie and Kyle's phones, and the screen lights up, asking for a PIN. With the giant passed out, I have no way of figuring out what it is, so I toss it aside and turn to the other phone.

Its pink case is cracked, and when I turn it over, I find the screen completely shattered. I press the power button, hoping it'll turn on anyway. It doesn't.

My hands shake as I try again, moving on to other buttons and getting more desperate with each passing second. I try all of them, twice, and when that doesn't work, I hold each of them down in turn. No matter what I do, the screen stays black.

"It's not working," I cry while the giant's chest rises and falls steadily, as if to mock me. The wound at his neck has already started to scab over and the bleeding has stopped. It might be a while before he wakes up, but he'll live. He will get to see another day, despite everything he's done. He will survive while his body smashed the phone we need to call for help. He will live, while Amaryllis's mom will die... and she will. That much is clear.

"Saffron!" She calls out to me. "Please, just leave me. Save my daughter, like you promised—and go."

"I—" I promised that when I thought I could save them all. But she's right. Even if we carry her, she'll die. Amaryllis shakes her head desperately, but I know I don't have a choice. "Amaryllis. Rylie..."

"No." She shakes her head and jerks away from me. "I'm going to carry her."

"There isn't enough time. We'll try to find another phone and send back help. I promise."

Amaryllis just shakes her head.

"Order her to go," her Mom whispers. "Please, Luna. It's all I ask."

"Luna? I'm not..." I shake my head. Is she hallucinating already? She must be if she thinks I'm Logan's mom!

"Find the power inside yourself and give the order," she begs, her words desperate and laced with pain. She puts the last of her energy behind them and then collapses onto her side.

"Mom," Amaryllis wails.

"Order... her..." She gasps. "Like... with the guards."

"I can't." I shake my head. I'm just a Rogue who learned how to fight off Alpha's and Luna's orders. I definitely can't give them. Dad made it clear that only pack leaders could do that, and that is something I'll never be.

"You can do it. Please, Saffron," Jess begs, her voice shaky. Her pale skin is blotchy, her nose a bright red, and tears continue streaming down her face. "You have to get us out of here. Before the guards come back."

She sounds desperate, but she doesn't move. She doesn't run, or try to pull us toward the exit... she just waits for me to do something... like she thinks I'm in charge. I have been, haven't I? Since I got here? Could that have somehow given me a temporary pack? Made me their Luna? Is that even possible? It would explain what happened to Robbie. I told him not to move, and he didn't. It's impossible, and yet...

"Amaryllis," I say tentatively, and then try giving her an order. "Let's go."

To my complete shock, Amaryllis jumps to her feet. "No, please, don't make me!" she begs.

"Did I just do that?" I gasp.

"Yes," Amaryllis's mom whispers.

"No, no, no, no, no," her daughter shouts. She shakes her head, over and over again, fighting my order.

"You are a Luna..." Jess shakes her head at me, but more like she's still trying to process this. To be honest, so am I.

"No!" Amaryllis shouts again. Unlike Robbie, she snaps out of whatever hold I have on her and falls to her knees.

"Amaryllis," I shout, putting all my strength behind the order. "We have to go. Now!"

Again, she jumps to her feet. Again, she fights off my order and drops back down next to her Mom.

"It's not working," Jess cries.

She's right, but it gives me another idea. I shift and break into a run. Instead of heading for the exit, I race past her to Robbie's cell. When I get there, I find him on the floor, lying on his side. The marks in the dirt from Jess dragging him inside end near his head, like he hasn't even tried to move. He lies still and stares at me, which gives me the creeps.

After how quickly Amaryllis fought off my order, I start to doubt that's what's actually wrong with him. Unless she learned the same tricks Dad taught me and Robbie hasn't? Or maybe he really did hit his head Only one way to find out.

"Give me your phone," I shout. A part of me expects Robbie to continue lying there, but he reaches into his pocket and takes out his phone. Then, he gets to his feet, like it's the simplest thing in the world, and crosses the cell. He sticks out his hand through the bars, holding it out for me to take, head bowed.

I shift and quickly snatch it off his palm. Robbie doesn't protest or try to stop me. He just stays rooted in place as he watches the phone light up in my hand. "What's your passcode?"

"One. Two. Three. Four."

"Seriously?" I punch it in, feeling like an idiot.

"I know," Robbie agrees easily as I turn toward the others. "Wait! Is Sanch going to be okay?"

"Sanch?"

"The other guard." Robbie's voice quavers.

"He'll be fine," I pause, "...in a day or two."

"Thank God." Robbie sighs in obvious relief, but I don't give him another thought.

"Who do I call?" I shout as I break into a run, heading toward the others.

"Here..." Amaryllis's mom whispers. She continues to clutch the saffron dress against her wound with one hand and reaches out with the other. "Just leave me... and... the phone..."

"No," Amaryllis cries. "Please, Saffron?"

"Carry her," I shout. If the doctor meets us half-way, then she might stand a chance. "Just tell me the doctor's number!"

Jess and Amaryllis start shouting out digits, but they don't get far before I hear them. Wolves, racing toward us... their breaths coming out in pants... their paws hitting the floor... their steps synchronizing with the thunder of booted feet. The approach echoes down the hall, the sound multiplying, until it sounds like an entire army coming our way. 

❀ Special thanks to my advanced readers (especially RollinMelon) for editing this chapter! ❀  

❁ Was looking for a phone a waste of time? 

❁ What do you think of Saf's newfound powers? 

❁ Oh, and I need you to pick: Jess or Amaryllis?

❁ I wrote a bonus update from Logan's POV to thank my Instagram followers! But don't worry, I'll post it on Wattpad in a couple days, so keep an eye out. [If you've read it already, no spoilers, plz]