Greykin Valley

| 61 | To The Pit

⥐ ⋞ ☽ ⋟ ⥐

| Jackson |

It was chasing him. Jackson could hear its thumping, pounding paws and its heavy, snarling breaths. It wanted his blood, and if he didn't keep running as fast as his legs could carry him, it would grab him and toss him around like a ragdoll. He'd seen what that thing could do; he wouldn't stand a chance, inimă or not.

He raced through the forest, getting further and further away from the battle. He didn't really know where he was going; he just headed in the direction he'd seen Damon point out. The cadejo pit was around here somewhere...right?

The Amarok's deafening roars cut through the tense silence, shaking the snow from the trees, and unsettling the frost lingering in the air. The ground beneath Jackson's feet was shaking, whimpering every time the beast's massive paws slammed down on it. Even the forest felt afraid.

But he kept going. He had to keep going.

He ran deeper and deeper into the woods, and when he looked over his shoulder, he set his eyes on the Amarok. It had its glowing red eyes fixed on him, and despite the bone sticking out of its leg, it was doing well keeping up with him.

And then his sights shifted to Damon, Wilson, Sebastien, and Raphael, who followed not too far behind the beast. Knowing that they were back there gave him a little more confidence, but he had a horrible feeling that something was going to happen.

Jackson glared ahead, frantically searching the darkness for signs of cadejo or any other threat. He leapt over fallen trees, dodged an old, frozen and rusted car, and kept heading forward.

But then a blur of rushing white to his left snatched his attention, and he glanced over there to find Damon running in his Prime form thirty feet away. Was it time to switch places already?

He stared ahead again, focusing on the forest. The last thing he wanted was to lose his footing or crash into something. He glanced to his left every few moments, noticing that Damon was getting closer, and soon enough, the Alpha was running right beside him.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked him.

Jackson nodded, panting. "Y-yeah."

"Raphael said you've got to break off slowly; head to the left and join them," he instructed.

Would that work? Wouldn't the Amarok just follow him? "What if it follows me?" he asked worriedly.

"The inimă," Damon said hesitantly. "You need to give it to me."

Jackson frowned strangely. "What?"

"He said that thing is after the inimă's aura, so when you hand it to me, the Amarok will stay on me. But he insisted that you have to want to give it to me," he explained.

His frown thickened, but he trusted Damon, and he was sure that Raphael knew what he was talking about. So, as he ran, he reached into the bag he'd put the amulet in, and then he handed it off to his mate.

But then he felt something strange. A feeling of loss; a feeling that he'd had something or someone torn away from him. And he felt the inimă's pull. It pleaded that he took it back, almost shrieking at him the longer he left it in Damon's grip. He couldn't take it, though. Damon needed it to lure the Amarok, so he disregarded the amulet's cry and looked up at the Alpha, ready to break off.

"Slowly," Damon repeated with worry in his voice. "Don't dart away."

Jackson nodded, his heart racing in his chest as his anxiety enthralled it. He didn't want to move away from Damon—what if the Amarok didn't care about the inimă? What if it wanted him? He frowned in panic and looked back at it, but he noticed that the creature had actually shifted its gleaming red eyes to Damon. Maybe it really was locked onto the amulet's aura.