Chapter 137 The Price of Rescue pt 3
Lucian
"Jason, Paul, scout ahead. Make sure the guards are still down and Amelia is behaving." They moved forward, ensuring our way was clear. We reached the lobby with no issues, and Sebastian already had a set of keys out, his hands gloved. He walked over to Seren and undid the cuffs, placing them on the desk. She briefly rubbed her wrists, no doubt happy to remove the burning metal. Rings of reddened skin marked her now, but at least that seemed to be the worst of it.
"Can you feel Kara now?" I asked her. We could really use her abilities.
She shook her head. "She's there, but I can't reach her. It's like she's buried under a fog. It's gradually clearing, but not enough. And my connection to my powers seems to be suppressed completely. I can't access them at all. I'd have teleported home already if I could, believe me."
"Okay. We'll just have to sneak back out of here the hard way, then. Gideon's on his way with a squad, but he'll probably be another hour at a minimum. It's been about two hours since he left Crescent Moon."
She nodded, then looked around at all of us, finally landing on Alexis and Amelia. "Are you girls up for this? We're going to need to run and run hard."
"Just point me in the right direction. I never want to see this place again," Alexis said. Her voice was warm and fluid.
Amelia nodded quietly. "I'm ready. I'd rather die than stay here any longer."
Jason slipped out the front, then signaled for us to follow. Paul went next, then Amelia, Alexis, and Seren. Sebastian and I brought up the rear, keeping an eye on all three women. I called up the wind, creating as much of a barrier as I could for us as we moved, but quickly realized it wasn't something I could maintain at the pace we were going. The best I could do was scatter our scents so we wouldn't raise an alarm.
We had almost reached the edge of the forest when someone yelled out. A quick glance back showed several warriors heading our way. "Run!" I shouted at the group. They took off, not caring about staying hidden any longer, angling for the corner of the forest where we entered. I picked up speed behind them, but the pounding steps of the warriors were gaining on us. It wasn't long before the seven of us were surrounded.
Iason snarled in my head. 'Let them come. I'll rip them apart.' We boxed Seren in, Alexis and Amelia with her, as we took up defensive stances.
The warriors closed in on us. The forest exploded into motion.
The first warrior lunged for Seren. I caught him mid-stride, slamming my shoulder into his chest and sending us both crashing through brush and saplings. Bone cracked under the impact—his or mine, I couldn’t tell—but I was already shifting as I rolled, heat ripping through my veins as fur tore free of skin.
'Now,' Iason roared. The world sharpened. Sound went crystal clear. I came up on four paws, jaws snapping, and tore into him before he could recover. Blood sprayed hot across my tongue as I crushed his throat. He gurgled once and went still.
To my left, Sebastian fought back-to-back with me, blades in his hands, blood slicking his arms. Another wolf slammed into him, and I leapt, catching the attacker by the spine and flinging him away hard enough to shatter a tree trunk.
I shifted back half-way—hands, claws, teeth all at once—wind screaming around me as I drove it into the nearest pair, knocking them off balance. One went down. The other recovered faster than I expected, silver flashing as his blade sliced across my ribs. White-hot agony exploded through my side. I staggered, breath ripping from my lungs. Silver burned like acid, poisoning every nerve it touched. Iason howled inside my skull, fury and pain tangling until I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.
'Kill him,' Iason snarled. 'Kill them all.'
I obeyed. I grabbed the warrior by the wrist and twisted until bone snapped, then buried my claws in his chest and ripped upward. He screamed. I silenced him with my teeth.
Another blow slammed into my back. Then another. I went to one knee, silver biting deep, my vision stuttering at the edges. Through the chaos, I caught flashes—Paul shifting, Alexis bleeding but still standing, Seren screaming someone’s name. Sebastian shouted something I couldn’t hear.
A blade slid between my ribs.
I froze.
For a heartbeat, everything was impossibly quiet.
Then pain detonated, so absolute it stole my breath, my balance, my will. My legs gave out. I hit the ground hard, leaves and dirt filling my mouth as blood poured from the wound, hot and unstoppable.
'Lucian!' Iason roared, panic cracking through our weakening bond. 'Get up. Get UP.'
I tried. My hands wouldn’t work. The forest spun, stars bursting across my vision as another kick drove into my side. I tasted iron. Silver. Death.
I heard running, heard someone shouting my name. I felt hands on me, dragging, shaking. The sky above the trees blurred and darkened. The edges of the world folded inward, sound dissolving into a distant roar. I felt the cold earth beneath me and the sick, creeping numbness spreading through my chest. Then everything went black.