Chapter 254

Chapter 254
Hazel's POV

When Steven told me he was heading to the battlefield, instructing me to organize evacuation procedures before joining him, I felt a momentary relief.

I was pregnant—my secret still unshared—and couldn't shift. In human form, I'd be slower. If Steven saw me, he'd immediately know something was wrong.

I pushed myself to run faster, my human legs straining with each step. As a wolf, Lupa could cover this distance in minutes, but my two-legged pace felt excruciatingly slow. The closer I got to the battlefield, the stronger the scents became—blood, gunpowder, fear, and determination mixing in the air.

We need to hurry. Our pack needs us.

I mentally counted the hunters as I approached, their stench making it easy to track their numbers.

When Steven connected through our mind-link, I answered immediately.

"Almost there. I counted—there are 5,002 hunters. The ratio of werewolves to hunters is nearly 1:5," I told him, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I pushed my human body to its limits.

When I heard them planning to divide their forces, I knew I couldn't fight alongside Steven. I needed to join my Guardian sisters. Only together could we turn the tide.

Even before I reached the battlefield, Thalos's battle howl pierced the air.

The fighting erupted instantly, and almost immediately, I felt pack bonds snapping like brittle threads.

"Lupa, we have to hurry! We're losing our people!" I cried out, each broken bond sending waves of anguish through me. When Callum's connection severed, one of the first to fall, I felt Maggie's devastation slam into me like a physical blow.

Faster! We must go faster!

When I finally reached the clearing, the brutal reality hit me—Steven's fears had been justified. The hunters weren't winning just because they outnumbered us; their weapons were lethal in ways we hadn't anticipated.

Silver bullets melted on impact, sending liquid death straight to the heart. I watched in horror as wolves collapsed around me, silver poison seeping from their wounds.

I rushed toward Grace and Skylar, breaking their connection and grabbing each by the hand. As the power center, I needed to stand between them, drawing strength from both. They'd been trying to shield William's pack as they engaged the hunters head-on.

With our connection complete, we unleashed our combined auras. Purple energy tore through hundreds of hunters at once, but they kept coming in endless waves. Their bullets moved faster than we could kill them, and with each wolf that fell, our collective strength wavered.

I wasn't fully accustomed to Skylar's aura yet, having only merged with it once before. It took several precious minutes to locate and isolate her power, distinguishing the blue energy from her yellow healing essence.

I'd practiced channeling healing energy with Justin, and while I wasn't sure it would help, I held onto it desperately.

Fusing our auras created the same devastating purple energy I'd used at the championship. When I released it, more hunters disintegrated into dust.

But as we focused on the attackers, Skylar and Grace's protective shields around Grace's pack weakened. Grace began feeling her pack bonds breaking, while tears streamed down Skylar's face as she sensed her own pack members dying.

I didn't have time for tears. I had to save our mates, our packs, my child.

I released another blast of our combined energy, obliterating hundreds more hunters. But our efforts seemed futile against their overwhelming numbers. We'd killed nearly a thousand, and the wolves had taken down just as many, but we'd already lost almost half our warriors. Those who weren't dead lay dying around us, their agonized whimpers piercing my heart.

I was preparing to draw on Grace and Skylar's power again when a hunter took aim at Grace.

As the bullet flew toward her, Thalos leaped in front of her, taking the shot meant for her.

"No!" she screamed, tearing away from our formation and rushing to Thalos, who had shifted back into William. I could see silver liquid slowly spreading toward his heart. He cupped her face in his hands, whispering something I couldn't hear before their bond shattered. Grace's grief exploded outward, her aura instinctively shielding Skylar and me as she cradled William's body, begging him to come back.

I released another blast of energy, but without Grace's power, it was noticeably weaker. Looking up, I locked eyes with Hati across the battlefield. Even from this distance, I could see he was injured. I reached along our bond and felt it fading.

"No! No, no, no!" This couldn't be happening! I was supposed to save everyone.

I was the key, the one who could channel power and courage. But there were too many enemies, and each pack death weakened us all.

I watched helplessly as a bullet struck Hati's chest. When I heard Steven's gentle "I love you, Hazel" through our mind-link, I felt my own heart stopping.

Hati collapsed, his body beginning to shift back to Steven's human form.

Almost simultaneously, Skylar fell beside me, clutching her chest.

"Ethan!" she cried out.

I surveyed the battlefield in shock. We had lost. Our packs were dying. Our mates were gone. Numbness washed over me, everything seemed to move in slow motion, the horror of it all making it impossible to breathe.

My hand instinctively pressed against my stomach.

My child—the baby I'd wanted so desperately—would never be born. This thought ignited my rage.

These people, these hunters, would not win. They would not take everything from us.

I closed my eyes, drawing Grace and Skylar's auras to me. I reached deeper, sensing what seemed like candles flickering in my mind, each representing a pack member's life force. I knew drawing on their power would weaken them further, but I had no choice.

I separated Skylar's healing energy—the yellow glow in my consciousness—and merged half of it with our combined power.

Lupa, do you understand what I'm trying to do?

Yes.

Protect our child. I'll handle the rest.

I began drawing power from every member of all three packs, channeling their energy, strength, and grief. I formed two massive energy spheres—one for destruction, one for salvation.

When I released this power, I felt Lupa wrap protectively around our unborn child, shielding it from what I was about to do.

I screamed as the energy tore from me, feeling like my body was being ripped apart from the inside out. Deep purple energy surged toward the hunters, instantly killing them wherever it touched, shattering them into dust. The wave swept across the battlefield, unstoppable.

My yellow-purple energy spread to every wolf, even those whose life lights had already gone out. I felt the healing power surrounding the silver within them, forcing it from their bodies. I pushed harder, pouring every remaining ounce of strength into each wolf—dead, injured, or grieving.

I fell to my knees, struggling to maintain the healing flow, knowing it was the only way to save everyone. Then I heard Grace's weak breathing beside me, Skylar softly calling Ethan's name, and felt my bond with Steven reconnecting.

I held on until I sensed every single life light reigniting, one by one.

When I was certain Steven could hear me, I sent through our mind-link: "I love you too, Steven."

The moment the words left me, darkness claimed me.