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 is filled with a cacophony of sounds as the bridal ceremony is 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 messengers words make very little sense. The Stormfang pack is one of the strongest, with the most fierce warriors, second only to the Capital's. How can someone just storm in and pick off the warriors like they are sitting ducks.
"ENOUGH!!"
Under the pressure of his Alpha voice everyone stops their noise and bows meekly, their attention all turned to the Alpha.
"What did you see?" He directs at the warrior.
"Shadows, Alpha." He says, 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 send 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 does not even hide the suspicion in his eyes.
And when I glance around, it is to see a similar look in a lot of other faces.
Alpha Edmund's face hardens. "No scent? that is impossible."
Murmurs rise again, this time not as subtle, tinged with fear.
"If they were enough of them to take down the sentries, how did they all have no scent?"
"Are they using magic?"
"What if they are 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 be the cursed one's fault
I am the pack's bad omen so it stands to reason that whatever is happening somehow has something to do with me.
Alpha Edmund raises a hand, the power rolling off him in suffocating waves, instantly quieting the voices.
"Warriors," He commands. "Move to the eastern border, I want every eye on the perimeter, ensure that there are no breaks in formation and no one can 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 points. "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 land on me, a flicker of calculation in their depths.
"Go," he says, his tone dismissive. "You'll be safer in the chambers with the others."
"No, she comes with me." Alpha Damian stated.
"Ronan," He beckoned.
"She is my bride." Axel retorted.
"She is to be your bride." Father hissed. "Until then, she is 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 mean when I felt a forceful grip on my wrists then I am dragged sharply towards the end of the hall where the Alpha is headed.
I searched for Axel in the chaos, but he was already gone, following my father's command.
To my surprise we move straight to the wall and the Alpha pulls down a tapestry hanging on the wall before pressing his palm against the wall which shifts then to my shock a wall slides wide open.
I'm not the only one surprised as gasps erupt around us and before I have time to wonder why there is a secret door in the pack house's hall, I am already being pulled in through the narrow, dark corridor that looks like it is as old as the pack itself.
There is barely a chance to glance back as the stone wall slides closed and there's only a sliver of light..
Because they are well trained warrior werewolves, the Alpha and Beta confidently move through the dark while I stumble around, unable to see a single thing in the pitch darkness.
"Where are we going?" I ask breathlessly while trying to keep up with their fast strides.
Predictably, none of them answer. I am too unimportant to deserve an explanation.
Another thought strikes me.
Why then is he bringing me with him?
My stomach twists as we get deeper into the tunnel that does not seem to have an end.
After what feels like forever I feel fresh air hit my face and I realize that we have probably gotten to the end of the tunnel.
Then, without warning something slams into me like a blow and I sag.
My breath ceases painfully as the air changes, thick with something intoxicating and unfamiliar, wild. My head spins, vision blurring as my heart hammers erratically.
"What is wrong with you?" Ronan snarls impatiently.
"I…" I gasp and double over as the scent fills all my senses. "I.. I can smell."
Both men stopped abruptly.
"That is wrong." Alpha Edmund mutters, his eyes darting around in panic.
Then I hear a door open and the moonlight lights up the path.
There is no consideration my pain, I am dragged so hard that I fear my arm will be pulled from it's socket.
We run into the woods, past branches and thorns that tear at my dress, making progress hard for me while Ronan mercilessly drags me along as Alpha Edmund takes the lead.
And even though my insides are burning, I am forced to keep along with their pace while the scent seems to grow even stronger, its effects crippling me.
Even though distant, the smell still lingers. And I wonder why all of a sudden I can smell.
Ronan shoves me back hard before he crouches in a defensive mode and faces the direction to sound had come from.
Wolves.
Massive.
Fast.
Definitely not rogues, these wolves are too organized.
They move with lethal precision, eyes glowing silver as one of them lunges.
Ronan shifts mid-run, bones cracking as his wolf tears free, meeting the first attacker head-on. The impact seems to shake the forest floor.
Blood sprays.
I scream.
Another wolf slams into Ronan's side, claws ripping deep. He fights viciously, snapping and tearing, but two outnumber one.
"Get away from here." Ronan roars at Alpha Edmund.
Alpha Edmund hesitates.
Just for a second.
Then Ronan goes down.
One of the wolves clamps its jaws around his throat and twists.
The sound is wet.
Disgusting.
Ronan's body collapses and we lock eyes and the next moment he is lifeless, blood spilling on the forest floor.
I freeze in horror then a sob breaks out of me.
The forest feels silent.
Too silent.
The sounds of the fight has 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 hear the crack of a branch and see Alpha Edmund backing away while eyeing me contemplatively.
His eyes burn with something like regret but it is tiny, disappearing, buried beneath the need to survive.
"Even now," He says angrily. "You still remain useless to me."
Then his hand lifts.
Symbols flare red briefly along his palm, ancient and strange and i gasp.
Magic.
Forbidden magic.
The air warps.
"No!!!" I reach for him, running in his direction.
The forest seems to vibrate, then he is gone.
There is no shimmer. No trace of magic lingering in the air.
Just empty space where he just stood.
I stagger backward, my heel catching on a root, nearly sending me to the ground.
"Father??" My voice breaks on the word.
No answer.
Ronan's body lays twisted at my feet, eyes open and glassy, his blood still warm as it seeped into the earth.
Then I feel eyes in the woods, watching.
My chest tightens.
The killers of Ronan, whoever they are.
Panic surges.
Slowly, trembling, I turn around.
My legs feel weak, unsteady, barely holding me upright as I face 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 take off, running desperately further into the forest, my breath comes in ragged gasps.
Hoping, praying that maybe they have left.
Then I slip. Pain suddenly explodes in the back of my skull.
It is sharp, blinding, as if something hit me from behind. A white-hot pressure blooms behind my eyes, tearing a scream from my throat as my knees finally give out beneath me.
The world tilts violently.
The trees spin.
My last sensation is pain, taking over my entire body as darkness rushes in and just before it is all black, a couple of shadows block the moonlight.