"NO!"
A roar rips through the estate.
A growl, so deep and ferocious, tears through the silent air, and another follows, one that is on the opposition.
Travis is gone.
The rational part of his best friend is so deep under right now that Liam has no option but counter the side that wants him dead. This version of Travis is growling, raring, and Liam counters it with his own, as they fight and tousle throughout the now room.
A storm looks like it went through the whole place.
Good thing that he had a mind to convince Travis, while he was in his right mind, to stay in the dungeon he keeps. Otherwise, there is no way he would have kept his friend from going where he wants to go right now.
Travis charges after him, his paws bloody and jaw dripping with blood and saliva, eyes glinting. The wolf is huge, the fur a reddish brown, eyes fully crimson as it eyes Liam.
The other alpha, in his natural form too, his light grey fur that looks almost white, only now is matted with blood in some parts of his body, still holds the front.
He will not let Travis out. If he goes out, only blood will be left in his wake.
Travis challenged another alpha tonight, in request of his mate's hand. And then the mate was taken away from him.
He lost his mind, looking for him, but he couldn't; he wouldn't go because of what he had done.
A challenge must be accepted. As of now, Marcus is Day's mate.
He has not claimed him, but he has him, and until Travis either kills him or challenges him, he cannot do anything.
That's why he had to watch his best friend go through all kinds of hell and constraints as Day was being harassed by that stupid boyfriend of his.
They don't live by the same rules anymore.
But Travis is the head alpha, one of the strongest alphas on the continent. Add to the fact that he is the descendant of one of the two royal bloodlines, which means all the old ways are ingrained in his blood.
If he is to dishonor any of them, he will bear a heavy repercussion.
He knew it when he was in his right mind, that's why he accepted Liam keeping him in check. Lock him here in this basement.
That is why Liam isn't fighting back, maiming, or hurting his best friend because he needs him right now. It's not about who is strongest, but to save Travis.
Even though it is taking everything in him, a normal Travis is okay. He is ruthless and cold; he charges headfirst and can barely be taken down.
This Travis is another thing. He is feral, he sees Liam now as his enemy, and Liam has a mind to keep himself safe, all while protecting his best friend.
Ebacse as much as he wants to do this, he knows Travis can kill him if he isn't careful, and he won't feel any remorse even when he gets out of this. He will understand that Liam was keeping him away from his mate, the mate he lost and must now get. He will only be a means to an end.
No hard feelings, sure. But still. Fuck it, he doesn't want to die tonight.
Well, if only he could survive the night.
He hears it as someone comes running towards the dungeon. Its mouth is right above what used to be a cave, the rest of the dungeon descending further inside the earth. So whatever is coming is coming right above them.
Both Travis and Liam see the man, one of the guards and a friend, charging toward the entrance of the cave.
Fuck, this is going to get bloody.
"Liam! We have trespassers!"
FUCKING FUCK!
If he shifts now to his human form, he is toast, Liam knows this. But fuck it, he needs to know what the fuck is going on. He can only hope the brotherhood runs deeper than Travis's feral madness and does not eat him.
He bets his ass he will be in his jaws even before he completes it.
Ah shit, he is fucked.
"I will open the gates, you must run faster than him!" the other one shouts, also seeing the predicament he is in. He closed the gates he closed himself, and threw the keys outside.
He literally locked himself in the gates of hell with the devil right beside him.
Hah, if this were another time, he would laugh, but no time for that!
The other one takes the keys and starts to fiddle with them quickly, twisting the lock.
Travis knows what the fuck is going on. His eyes are on killing the boy in front of him, then the other one who is opening the gates, and then running to his mate.
He must save his mate tonight.
He must be by his side.
"Better hurry, Liam! Or you won't make it!"
Oh, Liam knows. He knows so well because Travis is eyeing him, advancing him like he will not be stopped. Not now, not ever, and Liam knows that to make it out, save this and whatever the fuck is going on out there, he has to play dirty.
Travis, by nature, lies dirty. He is shrewd and manipulative. Cunning too, and Liam knows this. But, how do you best someone who is already this way?
"Duck!"
A gunshot rings the air and he has little time here he goes and hits Travis right on his middle, causing the wolf to be pushed aside enough that he has no time nut run like his life depends on it on the now opening gates, hitting them as he jumps out, some of his far getting left behind in the claws of Travis as he jumps together with him, but then the gates are shut on him, so hard that the push him back.
Long, sharp teeth that glint in the moonlight snap through the bars, and Liam takes a step back, the man who has helped him falling on his ass as he scrambles back.
Fuck.
Liam doesn't waste time, shifting back to his human form. It's painful.
He is hurt even more in this form, but no time to be whiny.
"What… happened?" he asks, gasping for air.
"There are trespassers. Six men, with guns, all spread out in the estate. They are hunting."
"Hunting what?"
"Travis," the guy swallows, and Liam notices how pale he is. He is sweating too. "They are here for Travis."