Chapter 46: Chapter 46

Adam Heartman

Alpha Heartman had finally had enough. It had been weeks since they had given him any food and he could only hope that Natalia wasn't going through the same fate.  He couldn't take being held captive anymore. He had to get out of there and find out who was responsible for the kidnapping.

They had kept him in a dirty room in a run down house with rodents running around freely. He waited for the perfect moment to strike, and when the brute on guard duty wasn't looking, he attacked him with all the strength he had left. The man who was in his prime and definitely more fit than the old Alpha was caught off guard, and Heartman was able to overpower him, leaving him unconscious on the ground.

He quickly made his way to Natalia's room. His mindlink with her had grown weak, which could only show how weak she had become. It ached his heart as he unlocked the door only to find her lying on the ground, injured and unable to move. She looked different like she had aged over 10 years in the time they had been there.

"We have to go," Heartman said, picking her up in his arms.

Natalia winced in pain as he lifted her, but she didn't complain. She knew they had to get out of there.

With Natalia in his arms, he ran through the corridors as fast as he could, but they didn't get far before they were spotted by more men who hurried after them.

Heartman knew he had to protect his wife, so he put her down and fought the men with all his might. He didn't have so much strength to shift to his wolf form but he was skilled in hand-to-hand combat. He fought as hard as he could for a starved old man but there were too many of them, and before long, they overpowered him.

He looked back at Natalia, who was lying on the ground, bleeding and helpless. He knew he had to make a choice. She was his joy and light but it would do them no good if he remained here captive.

"Natalia, I'll come back for you," he promised, before running away from the men and leaving her behind.

Natalia watched as her husband disappeared from sight and tears streamed down her face. She knew it was the only way he could escape and find out who was responsible for their kidnapping, but it didn't make it any easier.

The men were furious and a few went after him. The ones left behind took Natalia pback to her room, leaving her alone and afraid.

Heartman ran as fast as he could, knowing that he had to get as far away from the kidnappers as possible. He had to find his way back to the Crystal Moon pack, where he could regroup and plan his next move.

As he ran, his mind raced with thoughts of his wife. He couldn't believe he had left her behind, injured and alone. He felt worse than a coward for lacking the strength to protect the one person most precious to him but he knew he had to do what was necessary to save her.

Heartman had been walking for hours through the dark woods, and his only guide was the faint light of the moon shining through the thick tangle of branches overhead. He had lost his sense of direction long ago and had been stumbling blindly through the trees, tripping over roots and getting tangled in vines. But finally, he saw a glimmer of light through the trees and he knew he was close to the edge of the woods.

With renewed energy, Heartman pushed himself forward, breaking through the underbrush and into a small clearing. He felt a rush of relief and hope wash over him when he realized he had made it out of the woods. But as he took a few more steps, his legs gave out beneath him and he collapsed onto the ground.

Heartman laid there, gasping for air and trying to steady himself. He was completely exhausted, his body aching from the long journey through the woods. He felt his heart pounding in his chest, a steady throb of pain that seemed to echo through the clearing.

And then, somehow, he had found himself in the woods. At first, he had felt a glimmer of hope, thinking that the trees might offer him some guidance, some way to find his way out of the darkness. But as he had pushed deeper into the woods, the darkness had only grown more oppressive, more suffocating.

Now, lying in the clearing, Heartman realized that he had been lost in more ways than one. He had been lost in the woods, but he had also been lost in his own mind. He had been searching for something, but he didn't know what it was. He had been trying to escape the darkness, but he didn't know how.

As Heartman laid there with his mind racing, he heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. He turned his head to see a small animal, a rabbit, peering out at him. For a moment, their eyes met, and Heartman felt a strange connection to the creature. He realized that like him, the rabbit was lost in its own way, searching for something it could not name.

Heartman closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He knew he needed to rest to gather his strength and find his way out of the woods. Every second he wasted here was another second of Natalia hurting and alone. He needed to find a way out of the darkness that had been plaguing him for so long and fight off the urge to slip into a depth of unconsciousness.

Heartman's thoughts drifted again to his wife and how he had failed her. He had promised to always protect her but now starved and admitting to his old age, he had to accept the fact that he had failed himself for failing to keep her safe.

With a deep sense of regret, Heartman slowly pulled himself to his feet. He felt the pain in his body and the exhaustion weighing him down. He acknowledged he had failed and was weak but he was going to do everything he could to save Natalia or he'd die trying.

With this determination Heartman took a step forward, then another. He was already at the edge of the woods now and stumbled a few times, his sights blurry. He took another step when suddenly he saw the ground coming closer to his face and finally slipped into unconsciousness.