Tess
Panic overwhelms me when growls and snarls come from every direction. The Luan pack—my pack—is changing into their wolf forms, but since I’m a human, I can’t help them win against the Safir pack. I can only stand and stare while trying hard to continue supporting Claudia’s weight.
“Ughh... ugh!” Claudia makes a barfing sound and suddenly bends forward to empty her stomach right on my white shoes. I stare at them in horror, and she gives me a small apologetic smile. “Sorry... I’m drunk.”
“I can see that,” my attention is quickly brought to the fight scene when I hear whimpering coming from all around us. The club is packed with wolves, but my pack isn’t winning because everyone seems to be drunk.
I can feel Claudia’s weight becoming heavier, her body slumping against mine. I know I need to get her out of here before things worsen. I carefully maneuver us both through the crowd, trying to avoid any stray claws or teeth and make my way towards the exit.
As we near the door, a hand grabs my shoulder, and I spin around, ready to defend myself. It’s a werewolf woman from the Safir pack in their human form.
“A human?” she looks surprised before smirking. “Interesting,” her eyes travel to another werewolf. “Dimitri, seize these two. One of them is a werewolf, and the other is a weak little human. They will be perfect hostages.”
Dimitri nods and shape-shifts into a human, lunging forward to grab Claudia and me. I scream while struggling against his grip, but it’s no use. I’m not strong enough, and I can feel Claudia slipping away from consciousness, her body becoming limp in my arms before another enemy werewolf grabs her.
“Give her back!” I snarl, but the big man who took her ignores me and throws Claudia over his shoulder.
“I’m taking this one with us,” he tells Dimitri. “You okay taking the human? Might want to keep her here until the Alpha comes so we can show him that we mean business.”
“Exactly my plan,” Dimitri says before whistling at the other werewolves fighting in the background. It makes the intensity of the snarls grow, and the fight becomes more brutal. Pack members of the Luan pack are dropping like flies.
I can breathe as I watch the Safir pack systematically slaughter every single member of my pack inside the club until the floor is filled with lifeless bodies. Tears stream down my face as I witness the death of my family. This isn’t how it was supposed to be. The Luan pack is supposed to be powerful and strong, but now every single partying werewolf is dead. Most of them are teenagers, and sadness overwhelms me.
My screams echo throughout the club but quickly become muffled by Dimitri placing duct tape around my head. In the background, the other man takes Claudia outside, probably to throw her into a car. I don’t know what is going on, to be honest. I’m too broken to look and sink down to the ground while Dimitri is tying me up with tight ropes.
“There, now you’re all tied up,” he says, and I blink a few tears from my swollen eyes.
The lively nightclub that was full of music and laughter is now a graveyard for lost souls. My heart aches for those who have been taken away from me too soon, but what hurts the most is that I couldn’t help them.
“Stand up straight!” Dimitri yells at me, pulling me up to my feet in a way that makes the ropes cut into my wrists. I whimper at the pain, but it comes out muffled since my mouth is behind duct tape.
“I think the Luan Alpha is on his way,” someone says. “You should take the human outside.”
“On it,” Dimitri replies and kicks my back.
I stumble forward, eyes widening when I place my foot wrong and fall like a domino brick. I’m certain I’m going to faceplant on the floor, but a pair of hands grab my shoulders, easily straightening me to my feet. My heart performs a little somersault at feeling their touch, and I raise my chin with hope spiraling in my chest.
Lucas?
I slowly raise my chin...to meet Freddy’s red eyes. He is staring down at me and swallows thickly upon making eye contact. I’m unsure what his expression means, but I don’t get to ponder on it as his eyes flicker to Dimitri.
“Do you really need to bring this one with you?” he asks.
Dimitri snorts. “I plan on killing her when Alpha Wesley comes to prove a point: the Safir pack wants his territory, and we are here to show our strength.”
“I see,” Freddy replies. “Well, I wouldn’t expect anything less from the Beta,” he looks down at me again, lips twitching when he notices me glaring at him.
‘Relax, Tess,’ his voice rings out inside my head. ‘Your beloved mate will come and save you before this idiot can kill you.’
‘And if Lucas doesn’t show up?’
Freddy freezes. I get the feeling he didn’t expect the despair in my voice, and if I didn’t know better, I would say he looks uncertain. Something that looks a lot like guilt flickers in his eyes, but Dimitri kicks me again to force me forward, so I don’t get the chance to say anything else.
“Hurry up, you little human slut!” Dimitri orders. “Walk!”
Freddy tightens his jaw when he sees the werewolf hurt me, adding a stern look to his face that does nothing but make him look more beautiful. I curse myself inwardly for finding him attractive at a time like this before turning away from him, my gaze landing on the entrance as Dimitri pushes me toward it.
I’m brought outside and turn to stone when I’m suddenly grabbed from behind by Dimitri. A knife gets pressed to my throat, right over my pulse. I don’t dare to breathe. If I do, the knife will cut into my skin, so I stare ahead, eyes landing on the street where I see werewolves gathering—my pack!
A smile forms behind the duct tape. My pack is finally here to save me and end this once and for all. I will finally be free and—
“Stop right there, or she dies!” Dimitri suddenly yells from behind me, and the Luan pack immediately listens. They are all curiously watching me in their wolf forms, some of them growling low in their throats until Lucas steps forward.
“This is the Luan pack’s territory,” he says, arms crossed over his mighty chest as he stands there, surrounded by the warrior wolves of the Luan pack. “Attacking our club and killing our pack members in cold blood will result in another war. You realize that, right?”
“Ah, you must be the Gamma, Lucas. And yes, a full-scaled war is the plan,” Dimitri replies. “We want a future war...unless you would like to surrender? You see, this is but a mere display of the strength of our pack. We have many more members than you do, and we have no qualms about getting into this war if you force us to. But if you give up your territory and recognize the Safir pack as the new dominant pack, then we can call a truce.”
“You don’t want to do this, Dimitri,” Lucas breathes out, eyes glinting with determination. “There’s no way you can win.”
Dimitri chuckles. “We are the Safir pack, Lucas,” he says. “We don’t lose.”
Lucas grits his teeth. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t end your sad little life right here, right now.”
“Because then your mate dies,” Dimitri tightens his grip on me and presses the knife to my throat, carefully slicing my skin just enough to make me bleed. “You see that?” Dimitri asks. “I’m not afraid of hurting this one.”
Lucas’ eyes darken dangerously, and he takes a step forward, growling lowly. “Let her go.”
Dimitri smiles. “What do you plan to do if I don’t?” He asks, pressing the knife a little deeper into my skin. “Kill me? Kill all of us?”
Lucas doesn’t respond. He just glares at Dimitri, who laughs maniacally.
“Tell you what, if you turn yourself in and become our prisoner, I won’t hurt this little human,” his free hand travels up to grab my cheeks, making me pout like a goldfish with my lips as Dimitri laughs again. “Just turn yourself in, and she gets to live. Sounds fair?”
Lucas’ gaze turns to me, his blue eyes so beautiful but filled with regret and shame. I can read his face like an open book: he won’t turn himself in to save my life.
My heart breaks into a thousand pieces, and tears sting my eyes as I realize this is it; my mate isn’t going to save me. Inner pain overwhelms me while Dimitri laughs.
“Really? You won’t save her?” Dimitri whistles behind my back, still holding me in his cold grasp. “I won’t wait, Lucas,” he says, tightening his grip on me and pointing the knife to my throat. “You have until I count to three.”
The Luan pack watches with bated breaths as Dimitri begins the countdown.
“One...”
“Two...”
Lucas casts his gaze aside in shame, then slowly walks away from the scene without looking back at me. He doesn’t turn himself in, and I know that he won’t be able to save me now. My eyes close, and I say a prayer, expecting to die within the next second.
The cold steel of the knife against my throat sends a chill down my spine. Dimitri pulls back to thrust it in, but he’s frozen mid-action by an unseen force that slams him into the brick wall behind us with such force that his head explodes in a sickening spray of blood and brain matter.
I stand motionless in shock, mouth agape, as Dimitri slumps lifelessly to the ground. I’m shocked, and my eyebrows shoot into my hairline when my eyes travel to the person who killed him: Freddy. He is brushing imaginary dirt from his pants and grins mischievously when I give him an inquisitive look.
‘W-what are you doing? Why did you kill him?’ I ask inside my head, hoping he will pick up on my thoughts.
‘Why?’ he snorts. ‘Isn’t it obvious, Tess? I couldn’t have the idiot kill my favorite girl.’
Flutters run riot in my belly as I continue to gawk at the hybrid, unsure if I heard him correctly. For a second, it feels like Freddy and I are the only two people in the world, but the moment gets interrupted when the Luan pack yells, “It’s the traitor! Seize him!”
Freddy hisses at the approaching werewolves, showing his sharp vampire teeth. ‘Looks like I will have to leave—’
I shriek behind the duct tape when a large werewolf suddenly lunges forward and tackles Freddy to the ground. It’s white and luscious, and I immediately recognize it as Wesley. And he isn’t alone—a black wolf helps him seize Freddy by biting his leg, and I know it’s Lucas thanks to the mate bond.
Both werewolves growl at the hybrid, and Freddy laughs despite the situation he is in. “Alpha Wesley and Gamma Lucas, fancy meeting you two again. Have you been well?”
Freddy’s former friends and pack members respond by growling and biting into his skin. He cries out in agony, and chills prickle over my skin when I see Lucas going crazy on his leg. He is throwing his head from side to side while Wesley’s sharp teeth sink into Freddy’s neck.
Tears gather in my eyes. I shouldn’t care about Freddy. He is the enemy, yet I’m so upset seeing him get hurt that I don’t even notice Lily walking up behind me. She says something in her calm voice and removes the duct tape from my mouth, and the first thing I blurt out in a scream is, “NO! DON’T KILL HIM!” but it already might be too late.