XIRA POV
The warrior's words seemed to hang ominously for a long moment of silence before everyone started to talk all at the same time and the place turned to chaos. I stumbled back from Axel, my hand throbbing, my heart a frantic bird beating against my ribs. He let me go without a fight, his attention now fully on the crisis at hand.
Chairs scraped loudly on the floor as people leapt to their feet. The air was filled with a cacophony of sounds as the bridal ceremony was brought to an abrupt stop.
"Is he saying we are under attack?"
"How can he say all the guards are dead? My mate is on patrol tonight, that can't be."
"The barrier has protected our pack for years, how can it suddenly fail us?"
My hands trembled at my side but I remained rooted to the spot.
The messenger's words made very little sense. The Stormfang pack was one of the strongest, with the most fierce warriors, second only to the Capital's. How could someone just storm in and pick off the warriors like they were sitting ducks?
"ENOUGH!!"
Under the pressure of his Alpha voice everyone stopped their noise and bowed meekly, their attention all turned to the Alpha.
"What did you see?" he directed at the warrior.
"Shadows, Alpha," he said, his eyes wide with fear.
"They seemed to be one with the shadows before they slaughtered them all. There was no warning, no scent."
"Yet you are alive," someone shouted.
"Only because I ran to inform the Alpha!" The messenger exclaimed defensively.
His words sent a ripple of unease through the crowd.
No scent.
My hands clenched even tighter around my skirts.
It felt like those two words had lit a warning sign above my head.
Axel stiffened and glanced at me momentarily, he did not even hide the suspicion in his eyes.
And when I glanced around, it was to see a similar look in a lot of other faces.
Alpha Edmund's face hardened. "No scent? That was impossible."
Murmurs rose again, this time not as subtle, tinged with fear.
"If there were enough of them to take down the sentries, how did they all have no scent?"
"Were they using magic?"
"What if they were Rogues?"
Dread settled in my belly, cold, heavy.
There was no need for the words to be spelt out, the words were right there between the lines.
It must have been the cursed one's fault.
I was the pack's bad omen so it stood to reason that whatever was happening somehow had something to do with me.
Alpha Edmund raised a hand, the power rolling off him in suffocating waves, instantly quieting the voices.
"Warriors," he commanded. "Move to the eastern border, I wanted every eye on the perimeter, ensured that there were no breaks in formation and no one could come through."
The wolves snapped into formation, their actions precise and quick as they obeyed their leader without question.
This was my chance. While everyone was distracted, I could slip away. Not back to the packhouse, that was the first place they would look. I would go into the forest, the same forest where infants like me were left to die. It was a bitter irony, but it was also my best chance for survival.
"Axel," he pointed. "Seal the inner corridors. Get the women and pups to the underground chambers and secure them. No exceptions."
Axel's eyes swept the room and landed on me, a flicker of calculation in their depths.
"Go," he said, his tone dismissive. "You'll be safer in the chambers with the others."
"No, she would come with me." Alpha Damian stated.
"Ronan," he beckoned.
"She was my bride," Axel retorted.
"She was to be your bride," Father hissed. "Until then, she was my daughter."
I froze, wondering why my father was suddenly so keen to claim me.
I did not even have a second to fully comprehend what his words meant when I felt a forceful grip on my wrists then I was dragged sharply towards the end of the hall where the Alpha was headed.
I searched for Axel in the chaos, but he was already gone, following my father's command.
To my surprise we moved straight to the wall and the Alpha pulled down a tapestry hanging on the wall before pressing his palm against the wall which shifted, then to my shock a wall slid wide open.
I was not the only one surprised as gasps erupted around us and before I had time to wonder why there was a secret door in the pack house's hall, I was already being pulled in through the narrow, dark corridor that looked like it was as old as the pack itself.
There was barely a chance to glance back as the stone wall slid closed and there was only a sliver of light.
Because they were well trained warrior werewolves, the Alpha and Beta confidently moved through the dark while I stumbled around, unable to see a single thing in the pitch darkness.
"Where were we going?" I asked breathlessly while trying to keep up with their fast strides.
Predictably, none of them answered. I was too unimportant to deserve an explanation.
Another thought struck me.
Why then was he bringing me with him?
My stomach twisted as we got deeper into the tunnel that did not seem to have an end.
After what felt like forever I felt fresh air hit my face and I realized that we had probably gotten to the end of the tunnel.
Then, without warning something slammed into me like a blow and I sagged.
My breath ceased painfully as the air changed, thick with something intoxicating and unfamiliar, wild. My head spun, vision blurring as my heart hammered erratically.
"What was wrong with you?" Ronan snarled impatiently.
"I…" I gasped and doubled over as the scent filled all my senses. "I.. I could smell."
Both men stopped abruptly.
"That was wrong," Alpha Edmund muttered, his eyes darting around in panic.
Then I heard a door open and the moonlight lit up the path.
There was no consideration for my pain, I was dragged so hard that I feared my arm would be pulled from its socket.
We ran into the woods, past branches and thorns that tore at my dress, making progress hard for me while Ronan mercilessly dragged me along as Alpha Edmund took the lead.
And even though my insides were burning, I was forced to keep along with their pace while the scent seemed to grow even stronger, its effects crippling me.
Even though distant, the smell still lingered. And I wondered why all of a sudden I could smell.
Ronan shoved me back hard before he crouched in a defensive mode and faced the direction the sound had come from.
Wolves.
Massive.
Fast.
Definitely not rogues, these wolves were too organized.
They moved with lethal precision, eyes glowing silver as one of them lunged.
Ronan shifted mid-run, bones cracking as his wolf tore free, meeting the first attacker head-on. The impact seemed to shake the forest floor.
Blood sprayed.
I screamed.
Another wolf slammed into Ronan's side, claws ripping deep. He fought viciously, snapping and tearing, but two outnumbered one.
"Get away from here," Ronan roared at Alpha Edmund.
Alpha Edmund hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then Ronan went down.
One of the wolves clamped its jaws around his throat and twisted.
The sound was wet.
Disgusting.
Ronan's body collapsed and we locked eyes and the next moment he was lifeless, blood spilling on the forest floor.
I froze in horror then a sob broke out of me.
The forest felt silent.
Too silent.
The sounds of the fight had faded, leaving only the soft drip of blood soaking into the soil and the distant rustle of leaves swaying in the night wind.
Then I heard the crack of a branch and saw Alpha Edmund backing away while eyeing me contemplatively.
His eyes burned with something like regret but it was tiny, disappearing, buried beneath the need to survive.
"Even now," he said angrily. "You still remain useless to me."
Then his hand lifted.
Symbols flared red briefly along his palm, ancient and strange and I gasped.
Magic.
Forbidden magic.
The air warped.
"No!!!" I reached for him, running in his direction.
The forest seemed to vibrate, then he was gone.
There was no shimmer. No trace of magic lingering in the air.
Just empty space where he had just stood.
I staggered backward, my heel catching on a root, nearly sending me to the ground.
"Father??" My voice broke on the word.
No answer.
Ronan's body lay twisted at my feet, eyes open and glassy, his blood still warm as it seeped into the earth.
Then I felt eyes in the woods, watching.
My chest tightened.
The killers of Ronan, whoever they were.
Panic surged.
Slowly, trembling, I turned around.
My legs felt weak, unsteady, barely holding me upright as I faced the darkness beyond the trees.
The sound of a bird hooting made me wake up. If I remained my fate would be like Ronan's, I had to at least try.
I took off, running desperately further into the forest, my breath came in ragged gasps.
Hoping, praying that maybe they had left.
Then I slipped. Pain suddenly exploded in the back of my skull.
It was sharp, blinding, as if something had hit me from behind. A white-hot pressure bloomed behind my eyes, tearing a scream from my throat as my knees finally gave out beneath me.
The world tilted violently.
The trees spun.
My last sensation was pain, taking over my entire body as darkness rushed in and just before it was all black, a couple of shadows blocked the moonlight.