Page 54

Wolfaraine shifted to his mountain lion form, leaped away from the bullets that came in his direction, then shifted right back to his male form, dived back into the cell.

Picking up Ismena, who was stirring awake from the sound of gunfire, shoved her out of the cell to the back of the huge counter located a few steps away from the cell.

"Stay here, stay down!" He commanded, had the satisfaction of seeing her nod vehemently before he shifted form again.

The cougar leaped away from the counter, drawing the gunfire away from that direction as it did so. The cougar was so huge that it could have easily caught a bullet, but it was light as hell on its feet.

The big animal pounced on all the officers piled up at the door; three of them passed out cold from the breath being knocked out of them, and two others got their heads instantly separated from their necks, blood splashing everywhere.

Its moves faster than lightning. It gave two other heads the same treatment, successfully taking out seven officers within the space of a few seconds.

The last officer at the door tried to run, but the cougar leaped forward with its mouth wild open and bit its head off. Footsteps echoed ahead, an indication that more soldiers were coming.

Wolfaraine made a half-shift to his wolf form, stood at the door, and waited. He loves the half-shift because the male has more control in that form than the full-shift, and he has the animal with him too.

Within seconds, armed men flooded into view, and the sound of gunfire filled the air.

Wolfaraine dodged as many as he could, caught the ones that came directly to him, and threw it right back to his attackers. His reflexes were as fast, as sharp as ever. More came, and he threw back at them, having the satisfaction of watching them drop like a sack of potatoes after being hit.

This continued for a few minutes before his head whipped to the side. Something else being thrown at him caught his attention. It looked like a ball, and it was coming fast too.

He dodged the bullet he was supposed to catch, and instead he caught the 'ball' flying towards him and threw it right back without examining it to know what it was.

Turns out to be a bomb and it exploded shortly after he threw it back. The body of all the soldiers standing there a second ago were splattered everywhere.

Wolfaraine wanted to do the hunting instead of waiting for them to come to him, but he didn't want to leave Ismena unprotected. He has to stay and wait for his Alphas to arrive before he goes hunting.

He vowed that not even a single human will leave this place alive.

More soldiers came, and he killed them. They fired bullets, threw knives, and even shot tranquilizers at him, but none of them made an impact. Some were thrown back to them while the others rested on the ground behind Wolfaraine Daminor Throne .

Ismena, on the other hand, was shaking in terror behind the counter, her hands pressed to her ears to block out the sound of flying bullets.

Her left arm hurt, blood dripping down from where she'd caught a bullet.

It happened at the first shooting before Wolfaraine helped her out of the cell and hid her behind the counter. But she was determined not to make any sound, not to make any move that will draw their attention to her.

"Got you!" A voice snarled, grabbing her by the hair and forcing her to her feet.

Ismena recognized him as Dr. Gideon. She screamed as she struggled wildly in his arms. Where did he come in from? Wolfaraine was blocking the door.

The sight of the broken window at her left told her where the man came in from. Ismena screamed and thrashed wildly to get the man away from her, but her attempts were futile. Wolfaraine couldn't hear her scream either, because the sound of gunfire dominated hers.

"Stay still, you whore!" Her attacker roared and angrily punched her belly.

Pain like she never felt before shot through her head and Ismena cried out. Her eyes caught the sight of a knife at the counter and at that moment, she remembered all the teachings Eline gave her.

Operating on survival instinct, she punched the soldier on his dick and as the pain distracted him, she twisted away, grabbed hold of the knife, twirled around, and stabbed the man in the chest. She made sure to dig the knife deep before she stepped away from him.

"What the..." Gideon's eyes widened, and blood gushed from where he was stabbed. Blood came out of his mouth too.

Letting go of his victim, he fell to the ground.

Ismena was crying as she crawled away from the dead man. She tried to stand, but everywhere hurt. Everywhere.

She crawled away from the counter, searching fanatically for a place to hide. Her eyes caught a drawer on another counter and she crawled towards it. It was big enough to contain her small form.

After she successfully curled herself into a ball inside the drawer and closed the door, she bit her lips hard to stop herself from crying out.

Her arm hurts. Her stomach hurts.

But she bit down hard anyway, knowing she can't afford to draw the attention of any soldier to where she is. She can't afford to burden her man further.

Ismena grew lightheaded. Her belly hurts too much.

Wetness dribbled down her thighs. Tears filled her eyes.

Oh God, I'm losing my baby! She screamed inwardly as she felt the blood coming out.

"Not again. God, please not this time..." She whispered tearfully before she slipped into unconsciousness.

Cronus cursed again. If only his damn hands will stop shaking, dammit!

He was loading his gun with the four remaining bullets made with the Segillaria Leaves and rhodium, but his damn hands wouldn't stop shaking.

He escaped. The King actually escaped!

Now, everyone's life is in danger.

He'd been getting a much-needed nap when he heard that Summon Howl. He wasn't a leading Alpha, but he was an Alpha nonetheless, so he felt that authority of that roar all the way to his knees.

For the Alpha King to make that Howl, it means the other Alphas are nearby.

He has to kill Wolfaraine and escape before the others arrive.

He can't just leave without killing Wolfaraine.

It's like signing a death warrant on his own back because the Alpha King already knows of his own involvement in this.

"I will kill that son-of-a-bitch. I will kill him." Cronus hissed, "I just need to find the perfect opportunity."

He made his way toward the warzone, sneakingly to avoid being seen. His eyes widened at the number of dead bodies on his path. Some bodies were mutilated, and some couldn't even be called bodies anymore. And so much blood everywhere.

"Holy hell..." He muttered, shocked at the sight of sheer horror, "The humans are right. He is a monster. We have a monster as our ruler, and I'm going to put an end to him."

When Cronus finally found his target, he hid behind a pillar. He watched Wolfaraine in a half-shift as he effortlessly picked up a soldier in a horizontal manner, raised his right leg, and smashed the man's back on it, breaking the soldier's spine before he threw his victim away.

Cronus waited until he was focused on another soldier before he pointed his gun at his target and released the four bullets simultaneously.

His plan seemed to have worked because Wolfaraine didn't see those bullets coming.

The first one made impact with his shoulder, but he caught the last three and threw them right back in the same direction they came from.

Cronus saw their return too late. All three went right into his belly.

"Holy shit," He cursed.

Instantly, his body started going numb from his head to his toe. He tried to move, but he couldn't get his body to follow his command. Instead, his body grew heavy, and he fell in a heap.

"Traitor. I have waited a long time for this." Wolfaraine was suddenly standing over him, his deep voice filled with menace and satisfaction.

He reached down, grabbed Cronus's right hand, and tugged hard, pulling it straight out of its socket before using it to beat him mercilessly. Wolfaraine beat him until the weapon—Cronus's hand—shattered completely before he threw it away.

"That is for what you did to my woman and for betraying your own kind." Wolfaraine growled, glaring at the paralyzed, bloody man. "I will leave you here to bleed out while I go and hunt for Onaries. When you're on the verge of death, I will come and make a meal out of you."

"You made a mistake when you chose to walk down this path, Cronus, and you will reap the fruit of your mistakes." Wolfaraine placed his hairy, hind-like leg at the open wound on his belly and pressed down hard, watching in sheer fulfillment as Cronus tried to shout out his pain but couldn't.

"It feels good, doesn't it?" Wolfaraine drawled, pressing down harder.

Cronus began convulsing. His skin was ashen. The poison has traveled all over his body .

Wolfaraine bent down and ripped his jugular. He watched Cronus with bloodshot eyes until he stopped bleeding.

"You don't need to hunt for me. I'm right here."

Wolfaraine stilled at the familiar voice of Onaries behind him. Slowly, he turned, and his breath caught in his throat at the sight before him.

Onaries was carrying an unconscious Ismena in his arms. She was bleeding from her arms and from her...

Wolfaraine threw his head back and roared to the sky in so much rage and anguish. Onaries's eyes twinkled, and he enjoyed every sound of that pain.

"What did you do to her!?" The Alpha King raged, taking a threatening step forward.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you, Alpha King." Onaries growled, his hands tightening around her. "Come any closer, and I'll shove my hand into her belly and rip out her intestines."

Wolfaraine stopped. He glared at the Wild Psychopath with blazing eyes.

"Good. I haven't done anything to her." He stared at the woman in question, "Not yet, anyway. I had no idea she was pregnant in the first place. Tsk tsk tsk, all these would have been easy if we knew. Then we wouldn't have gone through all these troubles keeping you alive."

"Now, she's losing the baby. Look at your woman, Alpha King. How does it feel watching the blood that would have formed your child dripped down her legs while you stand helplessly, unable to do anything?"

"I will not make your death an easy one, Onaries. I swear to the Moon Goddess." He vowed, his body vibrating with uncontrolled fury .

"You never planned to make it an easy one anyway. I mean, I killed fifteen of our people over the past two years. Five children, seven adult males, and three females. I enjoyed every bit of it too. Sadly, you began ruining the fun when you started sniffing around my tale."

"How could you murder your own kind? Your own kind!? You wiped out a family from your own clan! " Wolfaraine snarled.

Onaries shrugged, "It's not as serious as you're making it seem, after all, I did them all a favor. Death is a blessing, not a curse. It's peaceful. Everyone deserves peace. It will be my utmost pleasure to give your woman peace too."

His fingers went threateningly around Ismena's throat. He glanced at Wolfaraine and smiled, his eyes blank and cold. "If I pressed down just a little bit, I'll cut off her air. I bet she will look so beautiful gasping for air..."

"Don't do it! Don't!" Wolfaraine hated the helplessness. He hated the angry tears that were threatening to fill his eyes the more.

"You can have me. I give you my word. Just let her go." He bargained.

Onaries grinned like a maniac, "Nah, I think I enjoy this one better. Seeing you in so much pain, seeing that helplessness in your eyes, knowing that you can't do anything to save her."

He pressed down a little. Ismena's body jerked, she made a whimpering sound, but she didn't wake.

"You know that you will never get out of here alive if you kill her, right?" Wolfaraine's voice was low and deathly.

"I know, and I don't care. As far as she's going with me, I don't mind dying—"

A gunshot rang out. Wolfaraine and Onaries froze at the same time. One of them has been shot.

Looking at them, a bystander will be confused about which of the males just took a bullet. But only momentarily.

Onaries let out a grunt and fell to his knees. Wolfaraine rushed forward, taking Ismena from his arms before he could drop her. The male has been shot in the back from behind.

Wolfaraine rose with Ismena, holding her with relief and tenderness before he glanced ahead to see who shot Onaries.

Five of his Alphas stood there. He saw Alphose lower the gun.

Wolfaraine let out a deep sigh of relief. It's all over. His people are here.

"How is he? Is he dead?" Alpha Asissy asked as they moved closer.

"I made sure not to hit any vital organ. He does not get to die easily. We will take him back to Naturiah with us." Alphose answered.

"Alpha King, we've killed all of them. They packed this place with soldiers, hundreds of them." Degar was saying as they got closer, "We've killed every last one of them."

"Except this one," Adanel said. That was when Wolfaraine noticed the bloodied-up, half-dead human Adanel dragged along with him.

"Who is he?" Wolfaraine asked hoarsely, his arms around Ismena tightened.

"He said his name is Doctor Beloca. He's their leader. We are going to take him with us to Naturiah and torture him until he gives us the location of all the other labs. "

"Good choice." Wolfaraine approved. He glanced down at a pale Ismena and his eyes watered.

"We win, yet again. We are going to burn this lab to the ground." Ratinus said smugly, ignorantly, "I enjoyed this fight. It's been a damn long time since we had a great fight like this."

"We have to get her home." Wolfaraine's voice cracked.

That was when their eyes settled on the small bundle their Alpha King cradled in his arms. Horror blanketed their eyes when they realized what was happening.

"Oh hell. She's... She's..." Ratinus began, horrified.

"She's wounded. Miscarrying too," Alpha Asissy finished for him. All Alphas have that look of sorrow and pity in their eyes.

Except for Alphose.

He looked downright heartbroken—tears and rage in his eyes. Ismena was pregnant?

Only he and Degar knows how much of a miracle baby this child is.

And now, they are losing the baby. They won the war, and they rescued their King and his mate, but at what price?