Chapter 246

Chapter 246
Hazel's POV

Fear. Pure, unfiltered fear flooded my veins like ice water.

I'd always frozen when afraid. When my father banished me, I stood there paralyzed, unable to defend myself. When my mother died in my arms, I remained motionless for hours, too terrified to move forward alone. Even when Steven and I first fled together, that familiar dread had threatened to root me in place.

I thought I'd changed. I truly believed I'd transformed from that fragile, helpless girl into a Guardian—someone who protected rather than needed protection.

But now, as hundreds of gun barrels pointed at my mate, my Guardian sisters, our packs, and the children we sheltered, that same paralyzing terror crept back into my bones.

How dare they? How dare these hunters try to take everything I loved? How dare they threaten the happiness Steven and I had worked so hard to build?

Lupa's rage mirrored my own, building in my chest like a violent storm.

Turn them to dust, she growled within me.

The wild, untamed power inside me became impossible to contain. Golden light blazed from my eyes, cutting through the battlefield haze with unmistakable intensity.

A surge of energy flowed into my left shoulder—Skylar! And into my right—Grace! The invisible energy between us manifested into something tangible, shifting from orange to deep red before transforming into an otherworldly purple glow.

I closed my eyes, and suddenly every hunter's position appeared in my mind with crystal clarity, like targets on a mental map.

"FIRE!" a hunter commander shouted.

The air filled with bullets, a deadly storm heading straight for us.

"YOU WILL NOT TAKE WHAT'S MINE!" I roared, my voice deepened by Lupa's presence. The destructive purple energy exploded outward in a perfect circle.

The shockwave created a deafening boom and a blinding white light that made it impossible to see anything for several seconds.

I felt Skylar collapse behind me, then Grace beside me. Our connection severed, leaving only darkness and emptiness. I swayed, feeling several bullets pierce my body before my legs gave out. Before I could hit the ground, strong arms caught me.

"Hazel! Hazel!" Steven's voice called my name, but I couldn't respond. My strength had vanished completely, my mind floating somewhere above my body.

"MEDIC!" someone shouted nearby.

"Hold on, Luna. You're not dying today." Christopher's voice, I thought.

"Hazel, baby, listen to my voice. Stay with me. Stay with me." Steven's hands cradled my face, his touch anchoring me slightly to reality.

"Get those silver bullets out. They have immunity, but they've all been hit multiple times. They can't heal until the bullets are removed." A voice I didn't recognize.

Chaos continued around us. People calling for help in all directions.

I could hear babies crying, others trying to soothe them.

"Are they okay? Are they hurt?" William, probably asking about his child.

I heard Ethan and William speaking to Grace and Skylar, saying similar things to what Steven was saying to me.

"Where are her wounds?" an unfamiliar voice asked beside me.

I barely felt them removing the bullets. But when the last one was extracted, I sensed changes inside my body as it finally began to heal.

"Hazel, can you open your eyes?"

No, I couldn't.

Steven gripped my hand. "Can you squeeze my hand?"

I tried, but nothing happened.

Someone nearby gasped loudly, like they'd been underwater and finally surfaced for air.

"Skylar, you scared the shit out of me." Ethan's voice, thick with emotion.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Skylar assured him, her voice raspy. "Hazel drained my power and energy, but I'm fine. Just need some time to recover."

"Are they both unconscious too?" Skylar asked, apparently noticing Grace and me lying beside her.

"Grace went down after you, Hazel immediately after," someone explained.

"They'll be fine. I can hear everything, just couldn't move. My healing abilities helped me recover faster than them."

"Baby, if you can hear me, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." Steven's fingers stroked my cheek gently.

"Did it work? Did what Hazel did work?" Skylar asked. A brief silence followed. "Looks like it did."

"Grace!" William's excited voice called out.

"You think you can get rid of me that easily, Alpha?" Grace's weak voice responded.

I heard William murmur something in response, probably burying his face in her neck.

Footsteps approached. "Alphas." Another unfamiliar voice.

"Most of the hunters are dead. A few escaped, but..."

A pause. "But what?" Ethan demanded.

"The hunters... they're in pieces. Like they were thrown into a wood chipper. I've never seen anything like it."

"She channeled too much power, nearly drained us all and herself," Grace explained weakly.

Suddenly, a wave of energy surged through me.

That impossible heaviness vanished, replaced by mere weakness and soreness.

"Hazel!" Steven immediately pulled me into his arms, burying his face in my neck and breathing deeply.

I clung to him just as tightly.

"I'm okay," I assured him. "Like Skylar and Grace said, I could hear you, just couldn't move." I let his scent and our mate bond continue healing my battered body.

I turned toward my Guardian sisters.

"Are you both alright? I'm sorry, I didn't know I was taking too much, but I just wanted to protect everyone."

Steven held me close, covering my face with kisses before pulling back to look into my eyes.

"Baby," he said, his voice thick with emotion, "you did it. You saved all of us."