Chapter 31 Claws in the Dark
The mansion’s alarm wailed on, a relentless scream piercing the aftermath. Snow blew in through shattered windows, eddying across blood-smeared floors like ghostly veils. Bodies, wolf and human, lay strewn, some twitching in death throes, others still. Guards emerged from hiding spots, weapons drawn, faces pale with shock.
Alexander stood amid the carnage, chest heaving, blood dripping from his wounds. His partial shift lingered, claws retracting slowly, fur receding along his arms, fangs shortening to normal teeth. His shoulder was a mangled mess, deep gashes from the leader’s bite seeping red. But his eyes were on me, fierce, scanning for injury.
“Are you hurt?” he demanded, voice rough.
I shook my head, pistol trembling in my grip. “No. You?”
He waved it off. “Healing already. Pack wounds knit fast.”
A guard approached, bruised but alive. “Alpha, perimeter breach confirmed. Rival scouts, Moonclaw pack, from the markings. They slipped the outer patrols.”
Alexander’s jaw tightened. “Secure the estate. Tend the wounded. I want a full report in an hour.”
The guard nodded and hurried off. Shouts echoed as more staff emerged, Clara directing medical aid, others boarding windows against the storm.
Alexander crossed to me, pulling me into his arms despite the blood. “You were brave. But you shouldn’t have come down.”
“I couldn’t hide,” I whispered, clinging to him. The adrenaline buzzed in my veins, making everything sharp, his scent mixed with blood and snow, the distant howls fading into the night.
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “We need to move. They might regroup.”
Even as he spoke, a fresh howl split the air, closer, defiant. Shadows stirred outside the broken doors, more wolves, circling in the snow, eyes reflecting like embers.
“Reinforcements,” Alexander growled. “They sensed the divide, Ben’s absence weakened our scent markers.”
He shifted partially again, claws extending, eyes glowing gold. “Stay behind me.”
The wolves attacked anew, four bursting through the doors in a coordinated rush, snow flying from their fur. They were smaller than the first wave, but desperate, driven by the leader’s fall.
One leaped at Alexander; he caught it mid-air, slamming it against the wall with bone-crunching force. It yelped, scrambling up, but he was already on it, claws rending fur and flesh.
Another flanked right, aiming for me. I fired the pistol, click. Empty.
Panic spiked; I backed up, grabbing a broken chair leg as a makeshift club. The wolf snarled, circling low.
Alexander hurled his opponent aside and intercepted, tackling the wolf with a roar that vibrated through my bones. They rolled, jaws snapping, claws flashing in the firelight. The wolf raked his side; Alexander retaliated with a slash that opened its belly.
The remaining two worked in tandem, one distracting with feints, the other lunging from behind. Alexander dodged the first, but the second clipped his leg, tearing muscle. He staggered, pain flashing across his face.
Rage surged in me,primal, unthinking. I swung the chair leg, connecting with the distractor’s skull. Wood splintered; the wolf staggered, shaking its head.
Alexander used the opening, pouncing on the injured one, fangs sinking into its neck. Crunch. Still.
The last wolf, seeing its packmates fall, turned tail and fled into the snow, howling retreat.
Alexander rose slowly, wounds knitting visibly, flesh pulling together with unnatural speed, though blood still flowed. His partial shift receded fully now, leaving him human-shaped but exhausted.
Guards rushed in, securing the area. “Perimeter clear, alpha. They’re routing.”
Alexander nodded, then turned to me. “We need to get you safe.”
But the bond pulsed, danger not fully passed. Distant howls answered the retreat call, echoing from the woods.
“They’re regrouping,” he said grimly. “We move, now. To the woods. I can lose them there.”
He grabbed my hand, leading me through a side door into the storm. Snow lashed our faces; I shivered, robe inadequate against the cold. Alexander shifted partially again for warmth, fur sprouting along his arms as he pulled me close.
We plunged into the treeline, the mansion’s lights fading behind. Howls pursued,close, persistent. The rivals weren’t done; they scented blood, weakness.
Thrilling fear coursed through me as we ran, the night alive with peril.
The woods swallowed us whole, trees skeletal and snow-laden, branches whipping in the gale. Alexander’s hand gripped mine like iron, pulling me through the drifts. My slippers sank deep, cold numbing my feet, but adrenaline kept me moving. The bond thrummed,his focus razor-sharp, senses extended far beyond mine.
Howls pierced the night, closer now, a chorus of five or six, baying for triumph at our flight. They’d breached the estate; now they hunted in earnest, sensing the alpha isolated, vulnerable.
“Keep moving,” Alexander rasped, voice edged with his partial shift, fangs glinting, claws extended for traction. Fur patched his skin against the cold, his breath steaming in the air.
A shadow darted left, flanking. Alexander spun, shoving me behind a thick oak. The wolf emerged, brindle fur matted with snow, eyes locked on us. It lunged low, aiming for Alexander’s injured leg.
He met it with a swipe, claws rending its shoulder. Blood sprayed dark against white snow. The wolf twisted mid-air, jaws snapping at his arm. Alexander dodged, countering with a punch that cracked ribs. It yelped, retreating into the underbrush, but not before calling reinforcements.
Two more bursts from the right, coordinated, one high, one low. Alexander roared, tackling the high one, rolling in the snow as fangs clashed. The low wolf veered toward me; I scrambled back, grabbing a fallen branch,thick, jagged.
It pounced; I swung wildly, connecting with its muzzle. Bone crunched; it staggered, shaking blood from its snout. But it recovered fast, circling with a limp, snarling.
Alexander finished his opponent,throat torn,and hurled himself at mine. They collided in a frenzy of fur and fury, snow churning into red slush. Claws flashed; bites landed. Alexander took a rake across his chest, but his strength prevailed, pinning it, snapping its neck with brutal efficiency.
Panting, he rose. “They’re herding us. Deeper,toward the ravine.”
We ran again, the storm intensifying,snow blinding, wind screaming. Howls flanked us now,three wolves pacing parallel, driving us like prey.
The ground sloped sharply; the ravine loomed,a steep drop into frozen undergrowth. Alexander skidded to a halt at the edge. “Jump,now!”
A wolf lunged from behind; he turned, slashing. It dodged, forcing him back. I leaped first, sliding down the incline, snow cushioning but branches tearing at my robe.
Alexander followed, tumbling with his attacker,a rolling ball of snarls and blood. They hit bottom; he gained the upper hand, claws embedding in its throat. Gurgle. Still.
But the remaining two crested the ridge, leaping down with murderous grace. They split, one on Alexander, one on me.
Mine was scarred, veteran, dodging my desperate swings with the branch, circling with patience. Its breath steamed, fangs bared in a grin.