Chapter 33 THE PRICE OF PROTECTION
Ginnie
“Lily!”
The scream tore out of me raw and broken as I ran towards the field where she was playing. The world had dissolved into chaos—shouts, and snarls all over the Blood Moon Pack villa, but none of it mattered.
Only her.
My bare feet slapped against stone as I burst through the villa doors. “Lily!” I barked again, my throat burning from the force of it.
“Baby, answer me!”
I scanned the whole field desperately, my heart hammering so violently it felt as though my ribs would split open. Then—
My eyes caught her.
Near the far edge of the lawn.
“Oh! Oh thank God…” I muttered to myself as relief hit me instantly, so hard my knees nearly buckled.
“Lily!” I sobbed, running towards her, “Stay where you are, baby….don’t move—”
CRASH!
Something slammed into me so hard from the side with such crushing force—one of the rogue wolves that attacked the Villa.
My world exploded, air escaping my lungs forcefully as I was hurled violently across the field, my body lifting off the ground before smashing into the stone wall across the field.
Pain shot through me in an instant—white-hot, blinding.
I screamed.
Or maybe I tried to.
But nothing came out.
My vision blurred as I slid down the wall helplessly, blood trickling down in fast motions from my forehead.
“L… Lily…” I rasped.
I forced my arms to move. Dragged myself forward inch by inch, my nails scraping uselessly against the ground as I fought harder to get up.
“Mama!” Lily’s voice shattered through me, “Mama, help me!”
The tears spilled faster now, crawling weakly towards Lily despite the agony of pain ripping through my body. “I’m coming,” my voice came out more than a whisper. “I’m coming, sweetheart—”
“Shut the fuck up, little bitch!”
A hand closed around my ankle.
Hard.
I winced as my body was forcefully yanked backward violently, my grip breaking as I was dragged across the stone like a log of wood that weighed nothing.
“No—no, please!” I screamed, kicking aggressively against his grip. “Let me go!”
A mocking laughter escapes through the rogue wolf—a horrible sound that sends chills through me. “Pathetic,” he sneered, hauling me up by my leg before swinging me with his brutal strength again.
I collapsed to the ground in a heap, gasping, choking, barely conscious now. The rogue wolf towered over me, his eyes glowing dangerously.
“You’re a human, aren’t you? Huh?” His lips curled in disgust. “I can smell it on you. Weak. Useless. Filthy.” He kicked me with his boot, sending fresh agony through my ribs.
“Please…” the words choked out of me as I cried out, clutching my side. “Please, just let her go. Take me instead.”
A humourless laughter vibrated through him this time around, before he then parted his lips to speak. “Take you?” he mocked, “You wouldn’t even last five minutes if I made you my slave.”
“I beg—“
“Mama!” Lily’s scream shattered through the tension, a sound so full of terror it shattered something inside me. “Mama, don’t let them take me! Please!”
I lifted my head weakly, my vision swimming—
Two more rogue wolves had her.
They dragged her across the field, while Lily was kicking and screaming across the grass, her small hands clawing at the ground as she struggled against their brutal strength.
“No!” I screamed, forcing myself up onto my elbows. “Stop! Stop it….please—”
I tried to stand.
But my legs gave out instantly, and I collapsed back to the ground with a broken cry as pain consumed me.
“Look at you,” the rogue wolf hissed. “Can’t even protect your own child!”
“Lily!” I screamed her name again, paying no attention to whatever utter nonsense the rogue wolf was spilling, “Run, baby! Run!”
She couldn’t.
They were too strong.
I sobbed helplessly, clawing uselessly at the ground as my vision blurred with tears. What the fuck? I was going to lose Lily, the only person who made living in this hellhole worthwhile.
I’m going to lose her—
“RAAAARRRGGHHHH!”
A monstrous roar split through the night, something furious that seemed to make the ground tremble. The rogue wolf above me froze, fear creeping into his posture as he turned to know who it was.
Varkos.
Half-shifted into his Alpha form, his eyes gleaming red as rage rolled off him in waves so thick it felt like pressure against my skin. In a blur of speed, he slammed into the two rogues holding Lily, sending them flying across the field with brutal force.
Lily screamed—but then she was free.
Varkos caught her effortlessly, pulling her against his chest before setting her behind him, his eyes still locked onto the two rogue wolves in front of him.
“Stay here,” he commanded, his voice coming out as a loud growl. Then he turned, the rogue that had attacked me snarled and lunged instantly towards Varkos.
They collided with bone-shattering force, while I just lay there, watching in stunned horror and awe as they fought—claws slashing, their bodies crashing into stone as each of them displayed a strength unlike anything I’d ever seen in my entire existence.
Varkos was ruthless. He tore through the rogue wolves with brutal efficiency, his roars shaking the ground beneath us. But they hurt him too, their claws tore dreadfully across his side in a blur of motion.
“No,” I whispered weakly. “Please stop—“
Before I could finish my words, Varkos ended it. With one final, devastating blow that sent the remaining rogue wolf fleeing into the darkness.
“Varkos!” I barked his name the moment he staggered.
Once.
Twice.
Then he fell to the ground, collapsing in an instant before his eyes could even meet mine.
Fuck!
Adrenaline ripped through me as I forced myself to crawl toward him, dragging my broken body across the ground. Every movement was agonizing pain, but I didn’t stop, reaching for him just as he hit the ground. Blood soaked into the grass beneath him.
“No, no, no,” I sobbed, shaking him weakly to get up. “Varkos, wake up—please—“
But his eyes were already closed.
“Get up,” I begged, tears streaming down my face. “You can’t….don’t leave me…” Lily ran to me, clinging to my side instantly as she knelt beside me.
“Mama,” she sobbed. “Is he dead?”
“I…I don't know,” the words tore out of me, pulling her close with trembling arms as fear swallowed me whole.