Chapter 51 Silver Ghost

• Liyah's POVIf I wasn't so scared of being bit by an insect, I would have sat in the grass and enjoyed the scenery. So I decided to walk instead although it was getting a little late. Margaret and I had made a little trip to the other side of town earlier today to treat some members of another pack who had gotten badly injured. I still wasn't used to the freedom, and so I told Margaret to go ahead. I wanted to take a little stroll, enjoy the scenery and such, before going back home. Now I was here, I didn't regret it one bit. I had never seen anything so beautiful, so refreshing. The lake, the small river, the meadow, the birds, the clean space. Everything about it was perfect.I started to worry when it began to get really dark. I had gone so deep into the woods that now I couldn't find my way out. Every path I took only led to a dead end, and I started to suspect that I was only moving around in circles."Oh no," I facepalmed as I came to another dead end. "My first time out alone and I've gotten lost already." Why was I so dumb sometimes? I sighed. I had never been to this part of town, but still I hadn't thought it was a bad idea to stay this late. And the worst part was that no one knew where I was. If I'd told Margaret she'd know where to look for me if she eventually noticed I was gone.After what seemed like hours of searching for an exit, I finally found a path I hadn't noticed before. I immediately regretted my decision when the path turned out to be longer than I expected. It was then that I began to feel scared. I bit my bottom lip to keep from cursing every time I stubbed my toe trying to find my way.A ruffle in the trees ahead of me made me freeze in my tracks. There was someone else here. Additional footsteps told me it was more than one person. I quietly inched back into the trees, clapping a hand over my mouth to stop any sounds. I stayed this way for a few moments, and that's when I heard it; a group of men discussing. I couldn't hear much of their conversation, but I gathered enough to know they were wolves.Fear gripping me, I shuffled backwards, not caring where I was going. I just needed to get away from them. I could find a place to hide till morning. Using the pale light of the moon to find my way, I found myself in a wide, open space. The first thing my eyes caught was a weird but familiar vehicle I never even knew still existed; a jail wagon.Curiosity getting the better of me, I carefully made my way around the the back of the wagon. My heart dropped when I saw what it contained; a group of about sixteen people, whom I could tell were wolves from the silver cuffs which burned into their skin. They looked so weak that it hurt my chest to wonder just how long they had been tortured with the silver.I needed to get help. But how? I was already in enough trouble myself, and who would I call anyway? I hadn't gotten myself a phone yet either.As I slowly began to back away from the jail wagon, I felt a heavy hand fall on my shoulder and hold me in a firm grip. I fearfully turned around to see a tall brute, his teeth bared and his nose sniffing me.But that wasn't what scared me.What scared me was the fact that I recognised him. He was one of Father's trusted scouts. I felt myself begin to shake. I was more worried about what he would do if he recognised me. Would he take me back home? At this point in my life, I would rather he killed me.But to my utmost surprise, he didn't recognise me."How did you get out?" He growled, roughly pushing me to the wagon and taking out a pair of silver cuffs which he clamped around my wrists and my neck. For a moment I wondered why he was watching me curiously, and then I realized.Thinking quickly, I faked a cry, struggling to try and get the cuffs off me. Silver was supposed to hurt me, and if he saw that it didn't, he would either think I was human, or worse still he would recognise me. When he laughed and pushed me into the wagon, I began to calm down. I took the time to look around me. It was obvious that they had been kidnapped.For years the incidents of kidnapping and trafficking of werewolves and sometimes even humans had been a huge problem. Nobody had ever dared to point fingers because they weren't sure who it was. But a few had bet their lives that it was Father. Of course I hadn't believed it. I knew Father could be harsh sometimes, but he wasn't downright cruel.But tonight I had been proved wrong. His scouts and probably a few other from our pack were here. I felt tears sting the back of my eyes as I watched the people around me weaken by the second. How could someone be so cold-hearted? This was plain evil.I moved my hair away from my face as I thought of a solution. As I began to move my fingers around to probe for an opening in the wagon, I heard the sound of slashing, and then a hard thump that sounded like something falling to the ground. I instinctively shrunk back from the door. This was the second time I had been kidnapped. What had I done to deserve a life like this? Just when I thought everything was going perfectly.I scoffed. Why was I even surprised?As I moved back into the wagon, I heard the clanging of silver chains as some of the werewolves moved closer to the door and peeked through the bars."It's the Silver Ghost!" I heard a hoarse but excited voice call out. "He's here to save us!"A little uproar began to ensue as the weakened werewolves began to cry out and rejoice in excitement. I couldn't help but be curious as well.The Silver Ghost.There had been rumors and stories about a werewolf who had taken the mission of saving the kidnapped werewolves and taking them to a safe place to recuperate. No one had ever seen him clearly, neither were they sure who he was. But he had become a sort of legend amongst the people.I put both palms together in prayer. If the Goddess let us be saved this once, I would be eternally grateful. Not just for myself, but for all these helpless people. It broke my heart to see even children who looked about Eve's age, caged like animals.We all shrunk back in fear as the door of the wagon began to push open. There was a heavy grunt from the other side of the door, and then with one last blow, the door fell open.I gasped in shock when I faced the man who stood in front of me. And from the surprise in his eyes I could tell that he recognised me too.I could recognise those eyes anywhere. Now I understood why they called him the Silver Ghost.It felt like the world had stopped for a second as Nikolai stared right back at me.