After the cold order left Aiko's mouth, she turned her back to us and began walking away. I, of course, had no intention of allowing her to leave. The moment I took a step after her departing figure, a metal click filled my ears.
"Where do you think you're going?"
I turned my head to find an unfamiliar hunter pointing a gun directly at my head. With his finger already wrapped around the trigger. All that was left was one final squeeze and I would finally get the answer to the question of who was faster; me or a bullet.
I can't believe you were ever interested in the petty weapon, Edria huffed.
She had been against me learning how to operate them ever since the first time Jared got the idea to teach Naia how to shoot.
Do you really think this is the right time to scold me about that again?
I might not get another chance. So, if anythingâ
Before Edria could even finish her goodbye, a massive body crashed into the hunter's side. The impact knocked the gun out of the hunter's hand and sent it flying into the undergrowth.
"Don't threaten my mate," Hunter growled.
He rose into a sitting position still on top of the hunter and smashed his fist against his face. A loud crack filled the otherwise silent forest as the human's scull broke.
A second later the entire forest jumped to life. Hunters pulled out and aimed their human weapons, while the rest of us lunged.
I jumped at a female who dared to point her gun in Hunter's direction and sank my canines into her neck. All of that before she could even take aim.
While the humans were turtles compared to our wolf speed, they outnumbered us five to one. Especially since I caught Krystal and her addict of a mother squeezed against the trunk of a tree, while Alpha Brie warded off the hunters surrounding them.
I snapped the neck of my second hunter when I caught the shine of a knife in my peripheral vision. I twisted as far to the side as I could, but even with my speed I knew I wouldn't be quick enough. Just when the tip of the weapon was about to slice against my side, another hand grabbed the hunter's arm.
For a second the three of us froze, with the knife an inch away from my side. The hunter and I stared at Elena whose eyes were coated with an ink black.
She twisted the hunter's arm and with an additional push plunged the knife into his stomach. A cough of blood burst through his mouth, spraying the two of us with drops of the red liquid. The moment Elena let go of her hold on his arm and the knife, he collapsed onto the snow-covered ground.
"You're welcome." Elena smirked at me.
"I could have handled him on my own." Despite my words I couldn't stop myself from returning her grin. "All he would have gotten was a small nick. It was the only thing you prevented."
"You keep telling yourself that." She scanned our surroundings, which caused her lips to sink back down. "There's too many of them."
My eyes collided with a female hunter as she raised her gun and aimed it at the two of us. Without a second to spare I grabbed Elena's shoulder and forced her to kneel onto the ground. The bullet flew right above our heads and embedded itself in the chest of another hunter who had been standing behind us. He collapsed onto the ground without making a single sound.
"I guess we're even," Elena huffed and the two of us jumped back to our feet.
The female hunter was still standing and aiming her weapon. This time, however, before she could press the trigger, Hunter wrapped his arms around her neck and squeezed. Blood spurted all over his hands and a second later he dropped her body into a pile of snow.
Elena's right. There's too many of them, Edria said. We need to shift.
I was just about to give into her wish when I caught Krystal and her mother scurrying through an open patch of land. They were already past the circle of hunters surrounding us, but then another figure blocked their path.
"Bob," Ren snarled, forcing the two she-wolves to edge a step backwards. "I promised I'd rip out your throat if you ever dared to appear in front of me again. I guess today's the lucky day."
"Molly!"
My name had me snapping my eyes away from Ren toward a hunter running at me with a knife in his raised arm. I retracted my muscles and prepared to send him flying backwards. Before he could even reach me though, another body crashed into his side.
While the hunter went crashing into a nearby tree, my rescuer straightened and nodded at me.
"Looks like we're just in time," Blake said, while still wearing his ever present poker face.
"Focus," Dyson growled as he leaped right past us and lunged at another hunter.
Blake immediately followed his lead and joined the fight. I was about to do the same when another sound distracted me. From the tunnels beneath our feet I could hear the thunder of stomping footsteps. They were yet too far away for human ears to catch, which is why none of the hunters were yet fleeing. But I knew that was about to change in matter of minutes.
I spun around from the latch and crouched to lunge for the nearest hunter when Hunter caught my eye. His fist collided with Alpha Brie's face, which sent the said Alpha stumbling a step backwards.
"You aren't going anywhere," Hunter growled, his eyes flickering between black and brown. "You threatened my mate."
The two Alphas jumped at each other, and swung their fists with bone cracking strength. Hunter got another good blow at Alpha Brie's face, but so did he.
We need to help him, Edria urged me the moment the first drop of blood slipped out of Hunter's nose.
Wordlessly I agreed with her and took my first step toward them. Before I could take the second one, someone grabbed my shoulder. I spun around with a snarl, ready to break my attacker's teeth. I came face to face with Elena instead.
"Aiko."
The one name on her lips had me reeling Edria back in.
"Where is she?" I sniffed the surrounding air for her betraying scent.
"She escaped with another hunter," Elena said. "You can hear their running footsteps in the north."
I pushed through the noise of the tearing flesh and the vicious growls, and focused on the more distant sounds. Elena was right. North from our position were two sets of fleeing footsteps.
They must have some kind of vehicle waiting for them, Edria growled. We can't let her get away. Not again.
"Are you still as fast as you used to be?" Elena asked.
"I'm even faster now."
Before she could even blink, I was already sprinting past the hunters. None of them were quick enough to catch me, and even the two stupid enough to run after me gave up after two minutes. I zigzagged between the bare trees into the direction the two footsteps were coming from.
Five minutes into my sprint the sound of their slowing footsteps reached my ears, which was followed by opening car doors.
We can go even faster, Edria howled. Run.
Our combined strength pulsed through my muscles as I contracted them for another fraction. There was no way I was allowing her to get away.
The moment a white SUV appeared in my sight, my canines elongated. I could almost taste her blood on my tongue.
I ignored the sound of the starting engine and grabbed the passenger front door. With the help of Edria's strength I ripped the door off and flung it at the ground several feet away. Then I grabbed Aiko's hand and pulled her out as well. She stumbled for three steps and then landed on her knees in the unblemished snow.
Suits her right, Edria snickered.
"You monster!" the male hunter shouted.
He jumped out of the driver's seat and ran around the SUV. I knew I could have stopped him before he even reached the front of the vehicle, but I held myself back. I waited for him to lunge at me with a knife in his raised hand and then grabbed the said arm. With a sickening crack I twisted it and pushed him toward the SUV.
He collided head first with the window of the back seat. The glass shattered with a loud ping, while he crumbled to the ground in a mess of limbs. A dark color began to stain the white background underneath his head, which crooked Edria's snout into a wolfish grin.
I was about to turn back toward Aiko when a loud shot pierced in my ears. A burning sensation slashed against my lower back, just shy of my spine.
"Ah!"
I forced myself to swallow the pulsing waves of pain and snapped my head around. Behind me Aiko had already risen to her feet and had a gun nestled in her right hand. The deadly weapon was aimed directly at me, while her eyes danced with a light I had never seen before.
As she began to tighten her finger around the trigger once again, I lunged. I collided with her before she could pull the trigger. With one swift flick of my wrist the gun went flying through the air and landed several feet away from us.
Aiko didn't try to fight me as I took a hold of her neck and brought both of us into a standing position. She was smart enough to know anything she tried would be useless.
I lifted her into the air, until her feet dangled a few inches off the ground. She dug her nails into my forearm, however, the sting was nothing compared to the burning sensation in my lower back. Yet I ignored both of them and instead focused on my hand around her neck.
"You don't have it in you. You'll put me in another cell and the cycle will repeat itself. You're just like Naia. Too weak."
"Naia isn't weak," I growled. "She's a strong Luna. And she was human enough to let her little sister live."
I wrapped my hand tighter around her neck, but still the mocking glint didn't disappear from her eyes.
This is our chance, Edria said. Kill her.
I knew she was right, yet when I willed my hand to move, I couldn't. I was frozen with my hand squeezed around Aiko's neck.
Naia, Edria barked. Think of what she did to Naia. And Larry. She kidnapped Larry.
She was right. But then why couldn't I move?
Naia's pup. Our niece. Are you going to force her to live in a world where Aiko can harm her?
The moment Edria thought those words my muscles tightened. She was right. If not for anyone else, then I needed to make sure Aiko could never hurt my unborn niece.
I squeezed my fingers tighter, and for the first time Aiko's eyes widened. The first hint of realization and then fear creeped through them just before I squeezed tight enough to force out her last breath.
She died knowing she had been wrong.
The moment her lifeless body hit the white blanket, my knees buckled and I sank down as well.
Fucking Moon Goddess, Edria hissed.
I could feel the blood-covered mess that was my lower back and the agonizing pain, which made me feel like the bullet was moving even deeper into my intestine.
"Molly!" Hunter slid onto his knees right in front of me and cupped my cheeks. "Don't worry. You're going to be okay. I won't let you die."
"My death isn't up to you." I would have chuckled if it weren't for the burning sensation in my back. "And, of course, I'm going to be fine. It's nothing but a flesh wound. I've had much worse."
There's a bullet inside your intestine, Edria shook her wolf head at me. You've never been this seriously injured.
"What happened?" I asked while ignoring Edria's demands for me to tell Hunter how much pain I was in. "The hunters? Alpha Brie?"
"The Alpha King and his warriors arrived." Hunter rested his forehead against mine and allowed his sweet breath to tickle my skin. "They took care of the hunters and Brie. They also recaptured the older she-wolf, but they were too late for Krystal. Ren killed her before anyone could get close to them."
"Good." Despite the pain the corners of my mouth crooked upwards. "She looked like she deserved to die. I just hope Ren won't get in trouble for it."
My eyes were growing heavy, so I allowed my lids to flicker close. Just for a moment I deserved some rest.
"Molly?" Hunter pulled me away from his warmth. "Molly, open your eyes. You can't leave me."
"I'm not going anywhere." I would have rolled my eyes, if I had the energy left to open them. "Just give me a minute. I want to rest."
"Don't worry, help is already on its way. You're going to be fine."
"Of course, I'm going to be fine. I still need to meet your pack. And you need to introduce me as Black Moon's new Luna."
"You're right." The first trace of a laugh filled his voice. "And I still need to mark and mate with you."
"Men," I huffed. "How can you think about mating when I'm bleeding out in your arms?"
"You're not going to bleed out. You're going to be fine. I need to let the world know that you belong to me."
"Then you also need to inform them that you belong to me too."
"Now and forever."
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- E