Their Saviour
Chapter 113:
He launched forward, faster than the human eye could track, crashing into the first hunter before the man even raised his weapon. The impact sent both sprawling into the mud. Lucien’s claws flashed, one strike, then another, and the forest went still for half a second.
And then… chaos.
Shouts erupted through the trees. Bolts flew in every direction. Aria ducked behind a fallen trunk, pulling Kael down beside her. Her heart hammered so loud she almost couldn’t hear the storm anymore. The Rune under her skin burned, too bright, too hot, as if trying to tear its way out.
Lucien tore through another two hunters before the silver found him. A bolt slammed into his shoulder, the impact jerking him sideways. He staggered, growling through clenched teeth, snapping the shaft clean even as blood leaked from the wound.
“Lucien!” Aria screamed, moving toward him.
“Stay back!” he snarled, his voice half-man and half-wolf, “Stay…”
He turned, blade arching through the air, just as three hunters broke through the brush. The first lunged, Lucien sidestepped, slammed his elbow into the man’s jaw, and sent him sprawling into the mud. The second raised a silver-tipped spear, but Aria was faster, her dagger spun through the air, burying itself cleanly in the man’s thigh. He screamed, crumpling to the ground.
Kael took the third, though he was still unsteady. His blade caught the man’s forearm, drawing blood, but another arrow whizzed past his head, forcing him back.
But then she saw it. From the right, a new line of hunters emerged, ten more, forming a circle around them. The glow of their lanterns turned the water red against the mud.
“Lucien…” Aria began, but he already knew. His eyes were flashing gold.
“Get behind me,” he said. “Now.”
Kael swore softly. “We’re surrounded.”
Lucien stepped in front of them, bleeding but steady. “You take the left path,” he said, voice cold and low. “Run when I tell you.”
Aria's wolf stirred beneath her skin, panic clawing up her throat. “Lucien, there’s too many… You’ll die if you stay,”
“I’ll die slower than you will if you hesitate,” he responded flatly. “Now–”
A howl cut him off.
Not his. Not Aria’s.
Lucien froze, his eyes narrowing.
It came from the trees; deep, guttural, shaking the air. Then another, and another.
The hunters froze.
The forest seemed to be vibrating.
And then they were there.
Dark shapes slipped between the trees, fast and silent, eyes glinting red and gold through the rain. The first one hit like a shadow, a massive black wolf crashing into a hunter and dragging him screaming into the dark. A second tore through the flank, and the neat human formation broke apart in seconds.
“Wolves!” one shouted. More than half a dozen of them, from the looks of things, their coats streaked with mud and ash, eyes bright with that wild, hungry glint.
Aria gasped, “Rogues!” Rogues were coming to save them?
She didn’t have time to reason the logic of it all, cause another rogue slammed into a man, snapping his neck before he could scream. Another tore through two archers at once, their crossbows clattering uselessly to the ground.
Panic erupted. Crossbows fired wildly. Lanterns dropped, sputtering in the mud. The air filled with snarls and screams.
Aria’s breath hitched. “Lucien…”
“I see them,” he said quietly, his voice unreadable.
Aria stood frozen for a heartbeat, watching as the spectacle unfolded before her eyes.
The rogues didn't move with any planned attack, they were wild, feral and uncoordinated. Yet, they tore through the hunters with ruthless speed, working together like a pack and yet not. Within moments, the clearing was a mess of mud, blood, and broken bones.
The rogues circled back, eyes glinting warily as they focused on Aria, Lucien, and Kael.
Lucien stepped forward slowly, golden eyes narrowing as one of the rogues, a tall female with gray fur streaked in white, shifted partially, standing upright in front of him. He raised his blade, tense. “If you’re looking for a fight…”
The lead female tilted her head, her throat rumbling low, not in threat but recognition.
She raised her hands, palms open, her voice a rough whisper.
“Alpha of Alphas,” she said. “We came to find you.”
Lucien didn’t lower his blade. “You’ve got the wrong wolves.”
The rogue’s mouth twitched, something like a smile ghosting across her lips. “No,” she said. “We’ve been tracking you for days. The hunters were meant for you, not for us. The woman with the mark…” her gaze flicked to Aria, “...she’s the reason you’re still breathing.”
Aria blinked, cold rain sliding down her cheeks. “You were following us?”
“Watching,” the rogue corrected. “Not all rogues are lost. Some of us remember what came before the Council’s rule. Before the Goddess chose her puppets.”
Lucien growled low in his chest, stepping forward. “If you’re trying to test me—”
The female’s gaze didn’t flinch. “If we wanted you dead, Alpha, you’d already be lying with the rest of the hunters.”
For a moment, no one moved. Only the rain spoke, hammering against the leaves, dripping down their faces. Then Kael coughed, half-laughing, half-groaning. “She’s got a point.”
Lucien’s eyes snapped to him, but Aria was the one who stepped closer. “Why save us?” she asked, her voice steady despite the tremor beneath it.
The rogue turned her head slightly, studying her. “Because the Moon’s mark doesn’t belong to the normal wolves anymore,” she said. “It speaks for all of us."
Her gaze dropped to Aria’s arm, to where the Rune pulsed faintly beneath soaked fabric. “You’re changing what we are. Whether you mean to or not.”
The words sent a chill down Aria’s spine. “I didn’t ask for this.”
“No one ever does,” the rogue murmured. Then she turned, motioning to the others. “You shouldn’t stay here. More hunters will come when these ones don’t report back.”
Lucien hesitated, scanning the forest. “You expect us to follow you blindly?”