Leah's POV
"His Majesty has already left," the soldier informed me.
I wanted to speak with my father, but it was clear he didn’t want to engage. In my silence, the soldier continued, "His Majesty mentioned something to Alpha Lucas about a guy named Lester Swanson."
Darren's brother? Why would my father mention him?
"What did he say?" I asked, dreading the answer.
"He said Leo did something to him, so he would have to kill his brother Darren Swanson," the soldier replied, looking confused.
What?!
"Where’s Lucas now?" I demanded.
"Alpha has already gone to the airport to stop Lester Swanson. He didn’t want you to know. He wants you to go back to the lake house and wait for him."
"Go fetch me a car right now," I commanded.
"Where are you going, Miss Lewyn?" the soldier asked, perplexed.
"I need to get to the airport before everyone gets killed," I said, urgency in my voice.
As I arrived at the airport, a barricade manned by soldiers greeted me.
"What’s going on?" I asked one of them, my anxiety mounting.
"Miss Lewyn, please stay back. This place is too dangerous." The soldier looked panicked.
"Where’s my husband?" I asked, feeling a pang of awkwardness. Since when had I started to refer to Lucas as my husband again?
"Alpha Lucas is in the terminal building... with the Swanson brothers," the soldier replied.
"I need to go in there," I insisted.
"Miss Lewyn, please don’t..." he started, but I didn’t wait for him to finish. I leaped over the barricade and made my way to the terminal.
As soon as I entered, a loud bang echoed through the building. I ducked down, scanning my surroundings. The terminal was eerily empty.
A plane near a boarding bridge was ablaze, flames licking at the structure. And against the backdrop of fire and smoke, I saw Lucas supporting Darren, dragging him out of the inferno.
Darren looked deathly pale, his movements sluggish and uneven. Blood pooled with every step he took. Without Lucas holding him up, he would have collapsed.
A dreadful creaking noise emanated from the air bridge. I realized with horror that it was about to collapse.
Another loud bang sounded from the plane, and the bridge ignited in flames.
Lucas was too weak to carry Darren and run. They would be buried alive under the wreckage of the collapsing bridge!
Acting on instinct, I sprinted toward them, the heat of the flames searing my skin. "Lucas! Darren!" I shouted, my voice barely audible over the roar of the fire.
Lucas glanced back, his eyes meeting mine for a brief, heart-wrenching moment.
With all the strength I could muster, I reached them just as the bridge shuddered violently. "We've got to move, now!" I urged, grabbing Darren's other arm.
Together, we stumbled and half-dragged, half-carried Darren away from the collapsing bridge. The structure finally gave way with a thunderous crash, debris and smoke billowing around us.
Gasping for breath, we made it to a safer distance. Darren collapsed to the ground, unconscious but alive. Lucas and I exchanged a brief, weary glance, understanding passing between us without words.
In that moment, amidst the chaos and destruction, I realized that no matter the turmoil between us, we were still bound by something stronger than anger and pain. We were bound by our shared fights, our battles, and the need to protect those we loved.
But there was no time to dwell on this revelation. We needed to ensure everyone's safety and stop Lester Swanson, whatever the cost.
Without hesitation, I shifted into a wolf and leaped onto the collapsing bridge. “Put Darren on me! Now!” I commanded.
Lucas immediately understood, lifting Darren onto my back. I took a powerful leap, landing safely just as the air bridge crashed to the ground in a fiery explosion behind us.
"Jump, Luke!" I shouted.
Lucas leapt forward, and with a swift transformation back to my human form, I stretched out my arm. He grasped my hand, but the effort to pull him up was overwhelming. Despite my attempts to summon the strength, the previous shift had taken too much out of me.
As the bridge continued to burn and threaten to collapse entirely, another pair of hands grabbed Lucas’s arm.
It was Darren’s. Despite his grievous injuries, he held fast to Lucas. "Pull, Leah," he said, his voice strained yet determined.
Using every ounce of strength, we finally pulled Lucas to safety. Exhausted, we collapsed onto our backs, breathless and relieved.
Suddenly, the sharp crack of a gunshot echoed. With my enhanced Lycan senses, I instantly discerned the path of the bullet-it was aimed directly at Darren.
Without a second thought, I hurled myself in front of him, shielding his body with mine.
"No! Leah!"
Pain seared through my chest as the bullet found its mark. Blood poured from the wound, and I saw Lucas and Darren both roaring in fury, charging at the shooter-a man who bore an uncanny resemblance to Darren. It was Lester.
Struggling to press the wound, the reality hit me—it was a silver bullet. Panic set in as I felt the toxin invading my bloodstream. I had never faced such a lethal weapon before, but the thought of losing my unborn child’s father was even more terrifying.
The world around me spun, but I couldn’t collapse. Not yet. Lester wasn’t just any werewolf; he was an enhanced werewolf, nearly matching a Lycan in strength. Lucas and Darren needed my help.
"I have to join the fight," I urged my inner wolf.
"You’re going to die," she warned.
"I’m a Lycan, girl," I retorted, shifting back into wolf form. "Lycans don’t die."
Summoning every bit of remaining strength, I lunged at Lester, my jaws closing around his throat. Lester screamed and fell.