120- The Fall of Anton
POV Lunara Grimwald:
She clapped her hands.
“Aren’t you clever? You got it all down. Make that bitch disappear from my sight, please; I never want to hear her name again.” She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. “Edric distanced himself from me because of her; he didn’t even tell me about this Elowen. And he never had secrets from me. That damned woman ruined everything I built from the moment she set foot in Eldoria. Edric and I were living a perfect life until you came along.”
She took a step, crushing some dry branches underfoot in the snow, fixing me with such hatred it pulsed.
“I still don’t know what you did to force Edric to mate with you, but one day I’ll find out. I am the best company for him, the right one to be by his side. I should be the one to hold the title of Eldoria’s queen. Not you, nor anyone else.”
I shook my head.
“I hope he wakes up to reality, Thalira. And sees how deceitful and manipulative you are. And I hope all the harm you’ve caused comes back to you.”
She blew me a kiss in the air, taunting.
“Everything I did was out of love, to protect him and keep him safe. He’s a leader, a born warrior, so he’ll always understand the magnitude of my acts. I act for us and for the pack. I will never allow you or any other bitch to come between us. Farewell, you damned one.” She touched Alessio’s shoulder. “Take her away before he notices something wrong with her and shows up. Valmorin isn’t far and Edric is incredibly quick—he’ll get to you and intercept—”
Anton clasped my wrist, squeezing it lightly like a trigger, a signal to me. I read between the lines what it meant. We should run—flee them as fast as possible—at the first sign.
“Sometimes I forget how this damned connection works,” Alessio sighed. “Thank you for your word, Thalira. Since you kept yours, I will keep mine. Look into that bitch’s face one last time.”
Anton pushed me backward.
The faint smell of the frozen heads reached me. We were close. If we just passed them and screamed ourselves hoarse, there would be guards somewhere. With luck, someone would hear us.
“Thank you for getting rid of her,” Thalira panted.
Alessio nodded and began walking toward us.
I shook my head and swallowed hard, watching my worst nightmare advance in my direction. My whole body shivered.
Anton shot me a look, his green eyes locked on mine. I felt his despair reverberating through me—it was the same as mine, so tangible it seemed to thin the air around us.
“Now, Lunara!” he shouted, urging me to run.
I spun on my heels, ready to fight for my life, for my freedom. Alessio’s laughter thundered through the air.
“You were right—if that idiot was with her, he’d do something foolish. Typical of him. Fire now!” he commanded.
I was running, my feet sinking deep into the snow with each heavy step. I glanced back to see Anton close behind me. Then I heard something slicing through the wind—arrows shooting from the trees, racing toward us far faster than we could move.
My eyes widened and I let out a desperate scream.
He threw himself over me, shielding me from all of them, letting the arrows pierce his back.
A low groan escaped him.
We fell just a few meters from the border—the line marked by decapitated heads.
I screamed, standing and turning toward Anton. He was on his knees, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at me. I crawled to him and touched his pale face, rigid from pain. A bit of blood slid from his lips.
“Silver arrows—always good to carry a few for runaway wolves,” Alessio hissed. “You know, Thalira warned me there would likely be some wolf with Lunara, since she’s had a bodyguard ever since she let one of my men cross the border and reach the leader’s house, attacking her in her own room. And I was looking forward to this—Edric killed so many of my men, it’s only fair I kill one of his.”
Thalira laughed.
“And I was even happier when I saw it was the arrogant Anton with her, and not Andrei. He always treated me with disdain, as if I was worth nothing.” She huffed. “In your next life, learn to treat your queen better.”
Alessio appeared right behind Anton, who was frozen by the pain from the arrows lodged in his back. He had taken them all, not letting a single one hit me—shielding me with his own body.
I shook my head, tears spilling from my eyes, a sob breaking through my lips.
I brushed my fingertips across his cheek, touching him, desperately pleading, searching for some way to save him.
I grabbed the shaft of one arrow, feeling the skin of my palm hiss and burn from the silver. I yanked it out, tearing it from his flesh. He gasped, and more blood filled his mouth. I didn’t stop—I couldn’t. He had to survive. I had to save him.
Alessio leaned over his shoulder, a lunatic smile twisting his lips.
“What are your last words?” he asked.
Anton coughed blood.
I leapt to my feet, throwing myself at Alessio, driven by hatred, trying to protect my friend. He was much stronger than I was, but nothing would stop me from trying to fight him.
I clawed his face, dragging my nails across his skin, tearing it and drawing blood—an act that brought me fierce, fleeting satisfaction.
I wanted to hurt him—to wound him just as he’d wounded Anton. He was a monster who didn’t deserve to live.
The alpha grabbed me by the shoulders and hurled me to the ground. The snow softened the blow. I blinked, forcing away the dizzying wave, the stars bursting before my eyes.
“Behave, Lunara!” he snapped, touching the wounds I’d carved into his cheek.
“Don’t come near him!”
He laughed.
“You’ll obey my command and stay right there!” he ordered, using his alpha command to subdue me.
A smile crept onto my lips.
“I don’t belong to the Twilight Pack anymore, you bastard! And I never belonged to Eclipse. Your alpha command doesn’t work on me—I’m Eldoria. Only Edric has that power over me.”
He tilted his head, thoughtful.
“You may not be bound by my alpha command—yet—but that doesn’t mean you can’t feel my pheromones.”
The stench of moldy moss and sulfur hit me hard. It was a distinct note of rot and decay that made my stomach twist and the hairs on my body stand on end. The scent carried an aura of imminent danger, flooding me with dread and apprehension. I couldn’t move. I trembled on the ground, paralyzed.
“Last chance, right hand of the leader—what are your final words?” he murmured over Anton, staring down at his back.
I fought to break the trance he’d thrown me into, summoning all my strength. I wanted to move, to reach Anton, to keep pulling the remaining arrows from his back and escape.
His green eyes met mine, and in that moment, I saw that he knew what was about to happen—that he understood its weight completely.
He gave me a weak, trembling smile, his lips stained red with blood.
No!