Chapter 11

Kiara learned to fight at a young age. Kian and Rommik made sure she knew how to protect herself, but nothing had prepared her for this moment. Fighting wolves, in theory, was one thing, but applying it in practical knowledge was another.

Kian never allowed her to fight him in his wolf form because he first shifted only two years ago and still didn't trust his wolf enough to fully take over and feared hurting her accidentally. Kiara, first-hand, learned she was no match to the brute strength of a shifted werewolf.

After the man had shot the wolf fighting Kian and effectively distracted the others, two wolves lunged for him. One of the bullets caught the wolf’s flank while the other missed the target and shattered a lamp on the table.

The wolf that got hit turned its head to the source with a snarl. Kian had used the opportunity to rip the wolf’s throat out. But another wolf was on him immediately.

The man screamed, drawing her attention to him. He was down fighting a wolf with his rifle. It was too close to aim and shoot. Kiara tried to help by pulling the wolf away from the man, but it simply threw her off. However, the force of the throw had knocked the breath out of her.

The man lodged his rifle between the wolf's clenched jaw, wrestling it on the floor. The other wolf had the disarmed woman cornered. Layla lunged at the wolf, wrapping her hands around its neck. The wolf growled, trying to throw her off him. The blanket covering Layla fell to the ground, and they continued to wrestle.

The young wolf was no match for a shifted wolf with years of experience. The wolf tackled her to the ground, and the woman was right there hitting its head with a vase before he could clamp his jaw around the girl's neck.

Kiara struggled to climb to her feet, pain shooting through her ribs. She clutched her side, looking for something to distract the wolf. To the side, Kian was engaged in a head-on battle with the other wolf, and she could tell he was bleeding. She whipped her head to the wolf fighting Layla and her mother.

Shit.

She grabbed the first thing she saw and threw it at the wolf. “Hey, asshole! You came for me, didn’t you? Come and get me if you can.”

The wolf snarled at her, easily giving in to her taunt. However, Kiara didn’t even take two steps before the wolf was on her. She fell forward, hitting her head on the floor with a pained grunt. Fear clawed at her chest as it dug its paws onto her back. It was heavy, and it wasn't Kian.

Kian had always been careful with her, but not this one. She could smell its nasty breath and hear the rumble even closer. She let out a whimper. This is it. It’s all over. She would die here without finding the answers.

Kiara shut her eyes tight, anticipating the final bite but heard another gunshot followed by a whine. Something wet splattered on her face. The wolf slumped over her, and she gasped for breath, unable to move from under his weight. Wetness, which she assumed was his blood seeped to her skin. She turned her head to see the gun in the woman’s trembling hands.

The man screamed behind them. "Dad!" she heard Layla's scream as she struggled to push the dead wolf off her back.

Fuck!

Kian’s pained howl echoed from the other side.

“Kian?”

She writhed under the wolf, wiggling and crawling away. When she had managed, though, she saw her life flashing in front of her eyes. The tracker had Kian's wolf pinned to the ground, and Kian was barely breathing.

“Kian!”

“Dad!”

So much happened at that moment. She heard bones popping and cracking to her left. Kiara watched wide-eyed as Layla charged at the wolf that was attacking the man, who was now unconscious as well.

It was a tangle of limbs and fur. Growls and rumbles echoed throughout the room. The woman who was down crawled to the gun once again, trying to aim but couldn't because she couldn't tell which wolf was her daughter.

The wolf who had pinned Kian lifted its head to see the commotion. Kiara staggered to her feet, scrambling to the woman. Her brain worked faster. She grabbed her arm, directing it toward the other wolf. She didn’t think twice before putting her finger on the finger that was already on the trigger and pressing it. To her luck, the bullet hit the wolf.

“Kian!”

The third wolf went down in a heap, and Kiara jumped to her feet, rushing to Kian's side with a cry. As she watched, Kian's wolf lifted himself one last time, clamping its jaw around the wolf on the floor. With a loud growl, it tore its throat before slumping back on the floor, eyes rolling to the back of its head.

Layla and the wolf continued to fight, but Kiara couldn't bring herself to care when Kian was dying on the floor. Her fingers flitted over him, tears flowing freely as she called for him.

"Please…" She pressed her hand over his chest, and her shoulders slumped in relief when she felt his beating heart under her palm.

A whine drew her attention away from him, and she whipped her head to see Layla's wolf ripping the throat of the other wolf. It seemed like an unexpected move given her vulnerable position from under the heavy wolf pinning her down.

The wolf slumped to the floor as Layla’s wolf rolled over with a growl and limped to her mother with a whine. The woman threw her arms around her neck with a sob. Kiara looked around the bloodied mess as her adrenaline drained.

***

“Are you sure you can trust him?” Kiara asked as the doctor treated their injuries.

After the fight, Layla had desperately called someone for help, and the man arrived shortly with a bag. What surprised Kiara was that the man didn't even flinch when he saw the dead wolves in the front room.

“I guess so,” Layla replied. “Mom and Dad always asked me to call this one if something went wrong.”

Kiara nodded but still eyed the man warily. She refused to move an inch when he treated Kian, ready to protect him if needed.

Once done, the man stood, gathering his things. “It was mostly flesh wounds. They stopped bleeding, and I've stitched them, so you have nothing to worry about. I've given them the necessary shots and painkillers. They won't wake for a couple of hours because of the sedatives I used. I’ll come back tomorrow to change their dressing and check on them.”

Layla nodded.

His glance slid to Kiara, and she tensed. "I'll take care of the mess downstairs. You be careful."

Layla nodded again. “Thanks, Doctor.”

He wrote a prescription and handed it to Layla. “Here. Follow this for the next couple of days. I’ll come over tomorrow to change their bandages.” The man pivoted on his heels without waiting for their answer.

"He knows about wolves?" Kiara whispered to Layla, who was frowning.

“It appears so.”

***

The bedroom was once again big with a sleeping area and a sitting area. The humans sure loved big places, though Kiara couldn’t relate.

Why do they need such big places to live?

The silence that stretched was uncomfortable and weighed heavily in their chests. Layla stared aimlessly at the far end of the wall while Kiara knelt beside Kian where he lay on the couch. Layla's parents were on the bed.

Kiara held Kian’s hand, silent tears trailing down her cheeks as she watched his chest rise and fall. Her chest tightened. He hadn’t so much as stirred. Kian had always been a part of her life. She couldn’t even imagine a life without him.

I’m sorry, Kian. She sniffled. If only I had shifted, none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry. She rested her forehead on his bloodied knuckles, sobbing softly.

“Are you a werewolf as well?”

She looked up at the young wolf, something stirring in her chest. Layla looked so lost, eyes red and puffy with how much she cried in the past hour, but she had pulled herself together and stopped crying.

"Yeah," Kiara whispered. "I don't know…I mean." Her shoulders slumped. "I thought I was.” She stared at her hands on her lap. “I was supposed to shift on my eighteenth birthday, but I didn't. We wouldn't be here if everything had gone well."

Layla nodded thoughtfully. “Is he gonna be okay? He was bleeding a lot earlier. Those gashes on his chest looked nasty.”

It wasn’t a pretty sight. The gashes were deep and required many stitches. However, thanks to his werewolf genes, he would recover faster now that they have stopped his bleeding. Once he was up, she could give him an herbal concoction that would quicken the process.

She had rummaged through the satchel earlier and found some salve and herbs they could use. Thanks to Rommik teaching her the basics, she knew how to take care of an injured wolf. Should I give some to Layla? Though her injuries weren’t as bad as the others, she still looked worse.

Kiara sighed. “Yes.” She gently pushed the hair away from his face. “He’s a wolf. He will heal faster.” She eyed the girl. “Have you always known about werewolves?”

Layla nodded. “My parents are Lune Hunters,” she said. “They trained me from childhood to fight the werewolves. But I’ve never seen one before.”

Kiara sucked in a sharp breath. A cold chill ran down her spine. Lune Hunters? Oh, no. She swallowed. What are they doing here? She eyed the unconscious humans. Didn’t they say they found Layla here?

“I’m worried for them,” Layla continued. “They’re all I have.”

"It will take at least a few hours for them to wake up and even more to recover,” she almost snapped but reigned in her anger. “What did your father mean when he said they found you here? Who lived here before?”

Layla's expression fell, and she swallowed. "I-I don't know." She looked away.

Kiara noticed her throat working up and down as fresh tears slid down her cheek. The silence fell between them once more, and she could only imagine how it would feel to learn that the people you grew up believing to be your parents were not actually your parents. She had so many questions but decided to give Layla some space while they waited.

“There are some things in the basement," Layla suddenly said. "We don't usually go there. Once mom said the previous owners of this home left those here, and she kept it in case someone came back."

Kiara perked up at that. She jumped to her feet. “Could you show me that? Maybe we will find something.”

Layla frowned. “I can, but there’s no light there,” she said. “We will have to wait till morning. Besides that place is infested with spiders. I’m not going in there without light.”

This wolf is afraid of spiders?

Kiara scoffed internally and tried to fight the smile tugging at her lips. She cast an incredulous look but nodded half-heartedly. There was nothing either of them could do. She didn’t want to leave Kian’s side either. As much as she hated waiting, they had no choice.

“Are you hungry?” she asked instead.

Layla perked up. “Yeah. I don't know how to cook, though."

“I do.” Kayla turned on her heel. “Can you show me where you cook?”

Layla hopped off the window ledge she was perched on. "Sure."

***

It was late morning when Kian woke from his sleep with a start. Kiara was immediately by his side.

Kian growled and grabbed her, holding onto her with a wild look. “Where the hell are we? Where are the hunters?”

“We are safe. They’re dead.” Kiara tried to assure him. “We are still here.”

His gaze fell on the humans on the bed. “Dead?”

“Yeah.”

He ran a hand down his face and began to pace the small sitting area. “We need to leave. Are you sure all four are dead?”

"Yes," she assured him. "Sit down, Kian. You're in no position to leave. Besides, we have to find our answers."

He paused briefly to eye the humans who were still asleep. “I need to talk to them. Wake them up. They're Lune Hunters, and they know something for sure." He whirled around to face Layla, who was watching him with wide eyes. “Your father was saying something before those jerks attacked us.”

His chest heaved. He paced again, muttering to himself, followed by Kiara with medicine in hand. "Will you please stop pacing for a few minutes and let me take care of your wounds?" she almost shouted, getting irritated by his behavior. "I concocted this to speed your recovery. Drink this first and let me take a look at your wounds."

He growled in warning but silently took a seat after looking at her angry face.

“You need to calm down. The humans won’t be of any help now. The doctor who treated you last night gave them some sedatives. So suck it up and wait for them to wake up,” Kiara chided while handing the concoction to him.

He took it and drank it without further ado, grimacing at the bitterness. Kiara took the glass from him and set it aside. His thoughts raced as he turned his attention to Layla again.

“She doesn’t know anything,” Kiara said as if reading his line of thoughts. “But there is a basement where they stored the items of the previous owners. We need to see if we can find something useful.”

Kian perked at that. “Where is that? Take me there now!”

Layla let out a whimper, hunching her shoulders.

“Easy there, wolf. You’re scaring her,” Kiara chastised. “We were waiting for you to wake up. Layla…”

Layla stood with a curt nod. She eyed Kian warily as she skirted around them to leave the room.

"Stop growling at anything and everything," Kiara hissed under her breath.

“I can’t help it. They’re fucking Lune Hunters.”

“They’re also the only people who can give us answers. You need to keep them alive until then,” she replied as they walked out of the room.

Layla was waiting for them. She began to move further when she saw them. Kian took a deep breath. He knew he was pushing the young wolf, who looked shaken, but there was nothing he could do about it. He only cared about Kiara. They were running out of time, and he needed to solve the mystery behind Kiara’s birth.

"Try something funny, and I'll make you regret it," he growled, following Layla.