AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Ten at least,” Weyland snarls. “I can smell their hate.”
We sensed them too late to act. The door explodes inwards, chips of broken wood flying at us like daggers. Rook snarls, waving his hand, and they stop midair before turning slowly and flying outwards through the now gaping doorway. There’s a scream and a thud before everything goes quiet.
Too quiet.
My hand tingles in Kaito’s grip as my power awakens. Electricity seems to fill me, moving below my skin as if preparingfor the attack. I could have used this a long time ago, but now is not the time to dwell on the past.
We are being hunted, and I no longer want to be prey.
“Stay here,” Rook commands as he moves through the shadows.
“No,” I hiss, reaching for him, but he’s already out of my grasp and slipping out the door. My eyes widen in worry, my heart hammering.
“I’ll help him,” Weyland promises, kissing my cheek before hurrying out after Rook.
Dade moves to my other side, sandwiching me between him and Kaito to protect me. I almost leap from my skin when a roar sounds outside—Weyland. Despite Kaito’s grasp, I rush through the door, ignoring their calls to come back. As I break through the doorway and get a good look at the scene before me, my heart stops.
Weyland’s head is tipped back in a roar of anger and pain. One of his feet is caught in a metal bear trap we used to use around the village, and blood gushes from the wound where the teeth sink in. It had clearly been hidden, a trap set for a wolf. Covering my mouth in horror, I stumble toward him to help, thinking there must be something I can do. When he kicks the trap off with a feral growl and throws himself at the hunters heading his way with spears, I stumble to a stop, unsure how to help now that he’s free.
I can see his injury, but it doesn’t seem to slow him down as he barrels into them, Rook hurrying to his side to offer support. Shadows wrap around the hunters as he moves and swallows their screams.
“Kai!” My name makes me whirl. I hadn’t realized I had gone so far from the cabin in my panic, and I gasp when I see Kaito and Dade fighting their own hunters while trying to get to me.
Torn between my men, I hesitate, and it’s my downfall.
Arms wrap around me from behind, locking me into an unwanted embrace. “Shh, I’ve got you. Let’s go.”
The familiar voice startles me, which is why I don’t react at first as I’m dragged toward the trees. When my brain kicks in and I realize what’s happening, I start to struggle, screaming and kicking out at the man who holds me. My powers surge through me, my anger fueling them. “Damn it, Kai! It’s me! I’ve got you. Let me save you from these monsters. I swear you’ll be safe. I’m here to rescue you. It’s me.”
Merryl. The man who hadn’t rescued me when it mattered. The man who thinks to rescue me now when I don’t need it.
I struggle until my elbow connects with his side and he grunts, his hold weakening enough for me to slip from his arms and whirl to face him.
“It’s me.” He holds out his hand as if placating a wild animal. “Come on. Come with me.”
A scream of agony rips through the air and I turn, searching. Kaito is staring down at his hands and his stomach, where a spear sticks from the muscle there. The hunter yanks it free, and blood spurts from the wound. Kaito’s hands cover it as he falls to his knees in shock.
Panic tears through me at the sight and, ignoring Merryl’s outstretched hand, I race toward Kaito. “Rook!” I scream without looking, but luckily, he hears me and understands. His shadows race to Kaito, wrapping around him protectively and obscuring him from the hunters while Dade quickly grabs the one who stabbed Kaito and snaps his neck, effortlessly tossing him aside.
I race across the familiar ground faster than I’ve ever been able to move before. My dress flares behind me as my skin glows with my powers. A hunter rushes toward me, but I lift my hand, my powers flaring brightly from within. He flies backward, hiseyes wide in shock, before I plunge into the welcoming shadows and drop to my knees before Kaito.
“Kai,” he groans as he starts to fall.
I catch him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and lowering him onto my lap. Panic fills my heart as I cover the wound on his stomach with my hands, feeling his warm blood pump through our joined fingers.
“So beautiful,” he rasps as he stares up at me with wonder.
“Shh, I’ve got you. You’re going to be okay.” I don’t really know if he will be, but I do know I can’t lose Kaito.
He saved me, but more than that, he brought me back to life.
He’s mine.
Tears fill my eyes as the shadows fade away when Rook and Weyland rush over, the hunters dead where they were fighting. Any who are left race toward Merryl where he stands, staring at me. I meet his gaze briefly before dismissing him. Instead, I drop my eyes to Kaito to find he’s pale.
He’s blinking too fast now, and his heart is thundering so loudly, it echoes in my ears.
My head lifts, my eyes glassy with tears as I meet Merryl’s gaze one last time while his men rush back into the forest with panicked yells. I know there’s anger reflected in mine, and there’s surprise in his. My hands are coated in Kaito’s blood as I try to staunch the flow, and for a moment, as I meet the eyes of the man I once loved, I see his hatred there. I see his hatred for the monsters. I see his hatred for what I’ve become.
