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"Tonight will be the night your perish, Willow De Luca!" he said with pride. "Mother Moon has all this hope! Hope in a child who knows nothing of our world. You should have just died by Roberto's hands, but no. You decided to be a stubborn bitch like your mother. To not crumble when the world discarded you!"
His words boomed with his anger as I opened my eyes and avoided his fist. I spun around to block another attack from his other fist, the two of us duking it out with me in defense mode as he went all out.
"To think the royal family would be such sneaky bastards and manage to make those rich California fuckers run for that executive deal. A deal they created, knowing damn well you'd be willing to stop that male act and come join!" He punched me in the face, which sent me flying, but I was already up and kicking him down to the ground.
I pushed off the ground to body slam him, but he was a blur of movement again - leaving me to push off the ground like a push-up and jump to my feet. My arms were up in a defensive position once again, and I desperately tried to locate him.
"Roberto had one job: to kill you. Yet he couldn't even do that. He made you into a prized possession. Grooming you to be strong enough to fight the cruelty of this world. He went against his word, and with the Pink Moon's arrival on the 25th year, he's failed to fulfill the contract he agreed upon!"
I ducked when I sensed something darting my way, avoiding his attack before I rolled to the left and scrambled to my feet once again.
"All those times we tried hard to kill you with those contracts from Dubai, Russia, and Germany. All the money wasted to get rid of one pink-haired girl who likes to play dress-up to make all those clueless fans squeal. The moment the truth comes out about who you really are, you'll be a laughing stock. No one will care if you die. You'll disappear like you were supposed to all this while. With the discovery of those suicide notes, all I have to do is kill you. Then the case is pushed under the rug, and we'll continue to rule this city!" He laughed and added, "After we murder Roberto next."
I saw his fist coming from my right, and I rotated to protect myself.
The strike of a blade left me gasping for breath, as rushing pain flooded through me and spread, like a prick of a thorn that carried thick poison and aimed to leave its mark throughout my entire body.
My eyes were wide with shock, while I slowly took in the realization that I'd been struck with a weapon that had been invisible to my sight until now.
As I took in the black hilt of the weapon, I absorbed the details of the hand gripping it for dear life - the thick lines of tatted marks on his arms that came to light, as if he were showing his true colors now that my life was truly on the line.
My lingering gaze was followed with my eyes shutting close as the blade exited my body and ignited the outward flow of the dark red liquid that kept me alive.
I should have submitted, but that was a quality I'd never been one to give in to, and yet again, my body revolted against letting this end me. My fist moved swiftly until it punched my opponent in the nose.
The crack gave me satisfaction as I lifted my leg to create another blow to his stomach. He flew back, a grunt escaping him as he crashed into the ground and skidded further back.
As I lowered my leg and widened my stance, I was left in a flinching mess as I immediately clenched the wound in my stomach, fighting for breath. It felt as though my lungs were suddenly filling with liquid.
My body shook with adrenaline and the response of approaching death, but I ignored it as my fixed gaze settled on the man who fought to rise to his feet.
He looked at me in shock, as if he never expected a woman as frail-looking as I could survive this long, but that was always the first mistake of every opponent I'd faced. He was no different, especially now that he had some relation to the deceptive plan against my awakening.
He readied himself to strike again, but his nostrils flared as he suddenly took an extra second to sniff the air. His eyes widened like he'd seen a ghost, and he threw out a mix of curse words as he looked around as if there weren't a way out.
I watched his frantic change of behavior while fighting the urge to fall back in defeat, but I would never allow myself to do that in front of a man who played dirty. From what I knew here and now, he assumed killing me would leave a hollow wound in the heart of Roberto, that the announcement of my demise would ignite the perfect opportunity of mourning that would leave him open for the blade of death.
The mere thought threatened to make me laugh at the idea of that man even shedding a tear for me. Now that I knew the truth, maybe I'd been missing his true intentions. His torturing wasn't solely to make my life a living hell and push me to the edge of death.
He was preparing me for this. Seasoning me up for a world I clearly wasn't ready for. A world beyond wolf shifters, money, and power. A world of blood and royalty. One I'd been shunned from for my own safety..
I expected him to run, but what he did was completely unexpected and left me attempting to run while I mentally cursed myself for not paying attention thanks to my damn imagination.
The loud sound of a gunshot roared through the forest, and my scream left my throat before I could stop it. That high, shrilling sound preceded the shot of pain that forced my body to crumble as I began to fall backward.
I hit the ground with a thump, but my eyes were wide open as they now stared up at the starry sky. I searched for the Pink Moon until I locked eyes on the delicate beauty, and the fear of death suddenly faded away.
How could such a sight be so calm and peaceful when it saw me begin to struggle against the fight towards living? My gasps were quick and breathy, while my eyes fought to stay open as they looked from side to side as if more enemies were ready to pounce on me at any minute.
I heard the footsteps rushing towards me, and I braced myself before I gathered my strength to combat the next attack. I may have been wounded by a blade and bullet but bring in a close combat moment and I'd prevail without measure.
As if the very ground had heard my silent declaration, my opponent arrived at the scene, ready to stab me one more time with the blade that still dripped with my blood.
My lips somehow managed to curl up in a smile as I lifted my hands up to stop him from his swift attack. That shocked him as he sucked in a heap of air, but this was my golden moment to show him what a true sport I was being in letting him damage me to this extent.
My fists moved quickly - almost blindingly - as I disabled the hand that held the blade and managed to get it into my possession.
The next thing either of us knew, I was stabbing him in the eye. His scream of agony was followed with a grunt as I kicked him with enough force to send him back. I couldn't roll over, but I quickly shot up and with a twirl of the very blade between my fingers, I sent it flying straight into the other eye.
