Chapter 89: Chapter Thirty-Six

**Roxanne’s POV**

***Mom? Dad***? I tried to reach them over the many voices in my mind.

Every single link between the pack members was left completely open tonight, and I could hear just about everything and everyone. The war cries and calls for help piled on in my head as the wounded, the fighters, the scared, and the young shouted, begging and praying.

Families were torn apart all over Blackwoods as our death toll soared at breakneck speed. No one was ready for an attack of this magnitude, that much was clear, and without Benjamin, Ryan, or Anderson, many of us were left confused and without direction. The Lycans were deadlier and stronger than anything we had ever faced, and the pack was rapidly losing control.

***What the hell are those things***? I heard someone say.

***They’re fucking killing the humans too***! Another screamed.

***Help me! My brother’s hurt! He’s bleeding***!

***Goddess, where did they come from***? 

***Are you sure we’re safe here? Are they gone***?

***Mom? Dad***? I desperately tried again, watching the six Lycans in front of us advance.

***Roxy? Roxy, can you hear me***? I heard a familiar voice say. ***Roxanne? Where are you***? It asked again, barely audible through the racket in my head. 

***Mom? Mom! We’re stuck! The Lycans have us trapped in the car! Mom, help us, please***! I screamed, panicking.

***Honey, I can’t! So many of the injured have come to the house, and I’m the only one here to help. Your father went to fight at the southern perimeter***. She replied before shouting orders to others. ***Block that door; these things keep coming back! Rita, help me drag Susie off the ground and everyone else, get ready! They’re going to break inside anytime now***.

***Mom***! I yelled at her words..

***Roxanne, I have to go! Stay in the car and keep your distance. You’ll be okay***.

“Roxy?” Mina’s voice pulled me out of the link just as my mother’s had disappeared.

“We can’t let them close in on us, Mina. If they do, we’re as good as dead.” I warned my best friend in a strained voice. 

“I guess we’re not making it to your parents’ house, are we?” She asked in turn, her eyebrows knitting as she fought back the tears. 

I shook my head and watched her fingers tighten around the steering wheel as she let out a long, drawn-out and shaky breath. She was swimming in cold sweats, and like Ophelia and myself, she was lost and overwhelmed. We were at a dead end—the perfect prey, alone and defenseless. Mina was human, Ophelia had yet to go through her first shift, and I was too far along in my pregnancy to turn. Jaya had been sleeping soundly in my head for weeks, tired and weakened by our baby's increasing demand for energy, so as far as we knew, the three of us were nothing but sitting ducks.

“What do you mean?” Ophelia screamed as the Lycan beasts were now only fifty yards away. “Drive! Run them over! Do something, Mina!” 

“She can’t!” I shouted back. “They won’t die like that, and worse, they’ll hold on to the car. No, we need to get out of here. Back up, Mina, before it’s too late!” I barked at her as I grabbed the truck's transmission.

It didn't take long for her to step on the gas pedal, and the car flew back with a screech, thrusting us forward. Yet, the beasts followed closely, picking great speed as they went, undeterred by the moving vehicle.

“Turn the truck around, Mina!” I yelled, fearing that they would catch up soon. “We won’t lose them like this!” I told her as my heart threatened to beat right out of my chest.

Mina listened again and pushed the truck's revving engine to its limit without looking up. She remained focused on the road as we dashed across the pavement, but her eyes had narrowed considerably, and her jaw clenched tightly, forming an expression that, although I rarely saw on her face, I recognized far too quickly and well. The last time she had looked so decided, she had brought us both to the rogue Alpha’s gates.

“We’re going to die! Goddess! I don’t wanna die!” Ophelia bawled, holding on to the back of my chair, panting and gasping.

“Stop crying, okay, O?” I yelled, whipping my head to her. “We’re not going to die. Just-” I started to say but stopped dead when I noticed through the back window the beasts seemingly shrinking. “Ha! Yes!” I frantically laughed as Mina had finally put some distance between them and us. “Keep driving, babe. We're losing them!” I cheered on.

Ophelia smiled nervously as her tearful eyes followed mine to the window. The Lycans were gone, and for a moment, a glimmer of hope rose inside of us. Mina, on the other hand, kept a straight face, silent and steadfast. I straightened back into my seat and, at the sight of her, wondered where she could have been leading us. It took me longer than expected to figure it out, but as she rushed down a familiar turn, I realized we were heading for Benjamin’s house. 

“What’s your plan here, Mina?” I questioned, confused and full of doubts.

I didn’t understand why we were back here. I saw no difference between the empty house and the truck. Indeed, we would be just as alone and unprotected in one than the other, and I believed our only best chance was to stay on the road.

“To go inside.” She replied in one breath as we entered the driveway.

“Mina, we have to stay in the car.” 

“Listen to me, Roxy. There are six of them chasing us, and who knows how many others are out there. We have no wolf and no gas, so really, how far do you think we’ll get?”

“At least we’ll have a chance! What’s the alternative? Go inside and die within ten minutes?” I answered back incredulously. 

“I knew it! We’re going to die!” Ophelia cried, hugging herself.

“No!” Mina screamed as she brought the car to a stop. “We’ll go down to the cellar. Benji once told me he had a cage there.” She said, climbing out and reaching around to my door. “It’s made out of silver, right?” She asked as she helped me down and pulled me toward the front door. “If we go inside of it and lock ourselves in, maybe we stand a chance.”

“Mina, I don’t know.” 

“What other choice do we have?” She asked before leading the way through the lobby.

***Carson! There’s another coming to your left***! Ronan’s booming voice caught my attention as we scurried through the house. ***Hold on, buddy! I’m coming***! He warned my father. 

***I can take him, Ronan! Just stay where you are! Don't, Ronan! No! Turn around***!

***Watch out, Beta, behind you***!

***Ronan, nooo***! My father’s last deafening wail soared above every link as Ronan’s agonizing moans came to an end.

I couldn't believe what I had heard. It couldn't have been true. I didn’t want it to be, yet hearing my father's cries, I knew it was. My heart sank, and my breathing stopped as the ground suddenly heaved under my feet. Ryan's father was dead, and I felt like I was dying with him. My vision tunneled, and my legs began to let go.

“Mina!" Ophelia called out to her as she grabbed my arms to keep me from falling.

“What happened?” Mina asked, turning to us.

“I don’t know! She was walking, and then she stopped.” 

“Roxy?”

“Ronan… he’s dead.” I struggled to answer. “Ryan… Ryan….”

Mina squeezed her eyes shut before taking a deep breath. “I’m so sorry, Roxy. God. But we can’t stay here; we need to move. Right now! Do you understand?” 

I nodded my head in agreement, but in all reality, my body wouldn’t budge. Thoughts of Ryan filled my head as I mourned his father, and for that, I was no longer of any help, both physically and mentally. Sorrow and dismay had rendered me numb, so the girls lifted me as much as they could and dragged me with them the rest of the way. 

“Are you sure this is gonna work?” Ophelia said in a small voice after helping Mina close the heavy cellar door behind us.

“I’m hoping.” She answered truthfully. “Don’t touch it, O!” She warned the teenager already reaching out to feel the cage. “Don’t touch anything in it either. It’s going to burn you. Here, let me.” She said as she tiptoed up to snatch the dangling keys near the cage and struggled to open the clunky silver trap. “Get in, quickly!” 

Ophelia and I did as told and slid inside the space, careful to stand away from all the bars. Mina joined us a few seconds later, keys in hand.

“Okay, it’s locked.” She sighed. “Hopefully, silver hurts them as much as it does you guys.”

“What if it doesn’t? What if they get here and just laugh at us? Goddess, they should really teach the people about Lycans in school.” Ophelia uneasily joked as tears ran down her face.

Mina held her close but chose not to say anything this time because, in the end, it didn’t matter anyway. In a few minutes, the Lycans were going to appear, and our fate would be sealed. As the sounds of broken doors and smashed windows echoed throughout the house, I rubbed my stomach one last time and dreamt of my daughter's face like I had million times before. Even though I felt cheated, robbed of the life I was promised with her, I smiled, knowing that I would at least get to cherish forever the months we did share.

“We were going to name her Claire, after Ryan’s mother.” I brittlely whispered as the sounds of footsteps and rattling grew louder above us.

“Give her a kiss for me, will you?” Mina smiled after a little while, letting go of us to unlock the cage door. 

Before we could even think, let alone react, she was closing the heavy silver door behind her and hastily locking it back up.

“Here!” She said, throwing the keys our way. “Come out only when you know it’s safe. I’m going to lure them away from here.”

“Mina-”

“What-”

“No, it's okay, I promise.” She cut us off before running out of the room. “Just tell him I’m sorry.”