44- The Legacy of Blood and Shadows
POV Lunara Grimwald:
I placed my hands on my hips and watched the pups, who smiled with excitement, eager to begin the challenge.
"I would love to find mine," I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper. "It would be so much easier."
Lyris nodded.
"Most would like that."
I lifted my gaze to her.
"But not you?"
She pointed with her chin toward Celindra.
"I already found mine." She smiled, her eyes glowing. "She’s everything I ever dreamed of."
As if she sensed our conversation, Celindra turned to us and waved.
"Lyris and Lunara, you’re in charge of the boy, Ruda. You will follow him without interfering in his activity. Ruda needs to find a piece of lamb’s meat."
Lyris nodded.
I noticed some mothers looking at me, a little hesitant, whispering among themselves. Ruda stepped forward, ready to begin his task.
He was a tall, thin boy, around twelve years old. His skin was light brown, his hair chestnut, and his big green eyes shone with expression.
"I’m ready, Miss Celindra," he declared with determination.
Celindra smiled warmly at the young wolf and pointed in the direction he should follow.
"You’re cleared, Ruda. Find the lamb’s meat to complete your task."
Smiling, full of energy, he began to run in the direction she had pointed.
Lyris moved, and I followed her, ignoring the piercing stares.
I could smell the meat and knew exactly where it was hidden—twenty trees away, on the left branch. I also smelled other fresh foods, like cheeses and poultry and beef.
We advanced through the forest, moving far beyond Edric’s territory.
"I didn’t know we could leave the territory," I said, leaping to the side to avoid a branch.
I tried to make as little noise as possible, so I wouldn’t distract Ruda. Lyris and I were responsible for the pup, so I hoped he would win the challenge.
"It’s the only way to accomplish the task. Too close to the village and they could get confused with the scents. It’s done sort of in levels. This is their first time, so they look for something with a strong, specific smell, far from anything that could interfere. Next time it’ll be closer to the village and nothing so obvious."
Ruda stopped halfway, lifted his face, and flared his nostrils, inhaling deeply. He waited a few seconds before running in the direction the scent carried him.
I looked around, feeling… strange, for being so far from the village. The shadow of Alessio’s wolves still terrified me. Only then did I realize how used I had become to the protection Eldoria offered me.
The boy veered off, disappearing behind the thick trunk of a tree. He was going in the wrong direction. My tongue burned to correct him, but I didn’t interfere, just as Celindra had ordered.
"We always get confused the first few times," Lyris mocked.
We quickened our pace, trying to catch up to him. My heart pounded when another wolf’s scent hit me. It wasn’t Ruda’s, nor did it belong to the Eldoria pack.
Lyris sensed it too. She looked at me with wide eyes.
We crossed the trunk where Ruda had disappeared.
He was there, but not alone.
A tall, strong male held him, covering his mouth with his hand. He looked at me and smiled.
"Finally, Lunara. You have no idea how eager Alessio is to see you."
I couldn’t move, frozen in panic.
Being caught by Alessio was my greatest fear, the thing that terrified me most in life. Of all the fates that awaited me, this was the worst.
Another wolf leapt down from the high branches behind me, grabbing Lyris tightly. She screamed, trying to break free.
"Edric will tear you apart!" she roared, fighting the male.
She kicked and punched, trying to hit him. He dodged every strike. He wasn’t like the others—he was trained for this. Alessio saw how difficult it was to bring me back and had sent trained, prepared males.
Panic coursed through my veins, raising my hackles and draining the blood from my body.
"Come willingly, darling, or I’ll kill your little friends," he threatened, yanking Ruda’s head back.
I stretched my arm and took a step.
"No, please," I begged.
I would never plead for my life—not to Alessio. But… Ruda was just a pup, a young wolf on his first mission, just learning to track scents.
The alpha holding him was a bloodthirsty monster, heartless, ready to kill him—to steal the life of an innocent boy—if it meant he could get his hands on me. All to please an alpha with no morals, no soul.
"Then hurry. We don’t have time." He glanced around, and I saw fear in his eyes.
He feared Edric.
My stomach churned. The food inside twisted, threatening to come back the way it had entered.
He pulled Ruda’s neck tighter. The pup looked terrified but tried to remain firm, refusing to scream or beg for his life—just as a true alpha would.
Ruda was brave and still had so much to live for.
"Let him go, and I’ll go with you," I said firmly.
"No!" Lyris protested, still fighting against the wolf holding her. "Lunara, don’t do this!"
I took two slow steps closer. The hands around Ruda eased a little, releasing the boy’s head. I took another step.
In one sudden move, he shoved Ruda aside, slamming him against a tree, and lunged at me.
My heart stopped for a second, fear for the boy making me erratic. The moment the wolf laid hands on me, I punched him square in the throat.
I hadn’t thought, hadn’t planned—I just acted.
Ruda hit the trunk hard but kept his eyes open, conscious. He sat on the ground, blinking. Alive. He was alive.
The wolf clutched his throat, stumbling back, gasping for air, his eyes blazing with rage.
I threw myself toward the pup and pulled him to me. I heard the snarl of the other wolf as Lyris kneed him viciously in the groin, crushing whatever he had there.
"We need to run back to the pack!" she shouted.
I laced my fingers with Ruda’s and began to run, just behind Lyris. The boy had long legs but didn’t yet possess all a wolf’s powers. He was slower than us. But I would not abandon him. Not for anything.
"Come on, Ruda," I urged, pulling him along.
"He’s coming," he whispered in panic.
"Run! Run!" Lyris ordered, terror in her tone.
I felt the male’s scent drawing closer. Then his hand tangled in my hair, yanking me back. I shoved Ruda forward, giving him one last chance to escape before the wolf overtook me.
"Now you’ll learn the legacy of our pack, bitch."
He roared and slapped me across the face so hard my head whipped to the side. Pain burned across my cheek, the taste of blood filling my mouth.
"You’ve been with these animals so long you forgot a female NEVER raises her hand to a male?"
I blinked, tears rising in my eyes.
"Fuck all of you," I hissed. "I hope Edric tears you to pieces."
He smirked and inhaled, sniffing me.
"Are you fucking him?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes at me.
"I smell his weak scent on you. So that’s what you like? Jumping from bed to bed of every alpha?" He laughed cruelly. "Lucky for you, I’m an alpha too, and I’ll fuck you in every way until you learn how to behave while we drag you back home. Alessio doesn’t care enough about you to stop me."
I would kill myself at the first chance. They wouldn’t break me. Not more than I already was.
He gripped my neck and pulled me close.
"You’re kinda tasty," he muttered, squeezing my breast with his free hand before sliding it down between my thighs, dragging his fingers over my pussy through the fabric of my pants. The touch made me shudder in pain. "Not as curvy as I like, but you’ll do."
I squeezed my eyes shut, a sob escaping me.
At least Lyris and Ruda were safe. They didn’t have to pay for my mistakes, my sins. Alessio was my burden alone.
"Leave her!" The pup’s voice rose beside us.
Ruda hurled himself at the Eclipse male, punching him in the crotch. The alpha released me, bending over, roaring in pain.
I smiled at the pup and prepared to run with him again.
Lyris was a few meters away, still wrestling the second wolf.
"Ruda, run!" I ordered.
The wolf shoved me so hard I flew back. I crashed to the ground with a dull thud, pain flaring along my side. My head slammed into something hard and sharp, and the smell of my own blood spread.
I blinked, fading.
I tried to rise but had no strength.
I looked at Ruda, desperate. He was coming toward me, his green eyes wide. He was getting close, close enough that his scent reached me.
Then the wolf loomed behind him, seized his neck, and twisted. A hollow crack echoed.
Darkness overtook the pup’s eyes before he collapsed lifeless on the ground.
Dead.
The scream trapped in my throat finally tore free.