Olivia’s POV
I could hear the howling of wolves, sending shivers down my spine. I had been transferred to a different place in the Raiden Pack. Andre had formed an alliance with them, and they had also joined in the fight.
I couldn’t see what was happening, but the cries, screams, and howls were excruciating.
Each time, I would wonder if one of them belonged to Andre.
Alvida had been moved with me and she had been at my side all day. She watched me like a hawk and did her best to assure me that everything was going to be alright.
I didn’t trust what she said.
“I need some water,” I said weakly.
She nodded and left the room. This was my chance. It was a crusty plan, but it was all I could think of.
As soon as the door clicked shut, I got out of bed and jumped out of the window.
It wasn’t a long fall but I timed it just right and shifted into my wolf at the last second and landed firmly on my paws.
I didn’t waste a second and sprinted to the battlefield. I could hear Alvida calling out to me, but I didn’t pay her any attention.
I ran as fast as I could and could already see dead bodies the closer I approached the heat of the battle.
It was a mix of the enemy and our men. The number of casualties brought tears to my eyes. All this was because of me.
I saw three wolves charging towards me, and I braced myself for the fight of my life.
They pounced, but I was nimble, even with my pregnancy, and got out of the way.
My teeth sank into the left flank of the lead wolf.
He howled in pain and turned around to bite me. I was well out of biting distance and struck at him repeatedly with my claws.
He howled in pain as his blood dyed our coats.
I smacked him away with my heavy paw and found myself surrounded by his other two comrades.
They circled me like their prey, waiting and watching for an opportunity to strike me.
I snarled at them furiously. The fur on my back stood on end.
It slowly dawned on me that I couldn’t take the two of them on at once.
I flinched a little. The baby was kicking.
They noticed and headed straight for me. I wasn’t fast enough to evade the heavy claw that struck my backside.
I was forced to the ground; my fur was stained with my own blood.
Another heavy paw smacked my face.
I howled in pain. I tried to find an opening, a way to escape this torture.
The beating continued. My assailants took the pleasure of making me suffer as they drew me closer and closer to death.
I was weak and could barely keep my eyes open. I heard Nima call out to me.
“Use your powers!”
Her voice was loud and clear. I opened my eyes, and my gaze caught my assailants. They were locked in my stare, and their assault stopped.
“Kill each other,” I commanded with my mind.
It was like a switch had flipped in their heads. Comrades turned on each other in the blink of an eye.
I manage to crawl away from their heated battle and find a place to rest.
My wounds were healing, but it was just a matter of time before I was assaulted again by another one of Jonas’ men.
I tried to concentrate on my body, but I didn’t have enough time. The two other wolves were still fighting tooth and nail when another three appeared in front of me.
My wounds were still deep and painful. I couldn’t walk or even get up.
They surrounded me and snarled but did not attack immediately.
They saw their comrades fighting each other and put the numbers together. They knew who I was.
I was scared. I should have stayed back in the safe house with Alvida. I was to die with my child and never see…
One of the wolves began to howl in pain. He fell to the ground and writhed violently. I watched him froth at the mouth, and then, he was still.
It was gory and bone-chilling to watch. The other two fell as well, and the same thing happened to them. I watched them die quietly, with blood oozing out of their eyes and nostrils.
I noticed the arrows lodged in their flanks. They had been shot. But by who?
I was fearful that the same fate awaited me. I closed my eyes and waited to feel the same piercing pain, but instead, I heard the sound of feet running towards me.
I looked up and saw Hailey. She ran toward me, past the wolves who had fought each other to the brink of exhaustion and death.
She ran up to me, and I managed to shift into my human form.
I lay weakly on the ground, and she grabbed my body and pulled me to safety, away from the open battlefield.
“Hailey?”
“Don’t talk. You are very wounded.”
She opened the satchel that she slung over her shoulder and took out a bottle of clear liquid.
“Olivia, listen to me. I am going to pour this on your open wound. It will make the injury heal almost instantly but it is going to be excruciatingly painful. I need you to brace yourself.”
I gave her a nod to show that I was ready, and she poured the liquid on my injuries. I felt nothing at first, and then, in an instant, it burned like liquid fire.
Hailey had to gag me to keep me from shouting so loudly and exposing our location.
It felt like the pain went on forever. Steam rose around me, and the strong smell of the liquid seeped into my nostrils.
However, it soon ended. I was crying, but I felt no pain anymore. I looked at my arms, chest, and legs. I was all healed up except for my torn clothes.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her.
“I’m doing what is right. I won’t watch my brother’s madness. It has gone on long enough.”
She lowered her head and started to cry.
“Your mother was a wonder woman. I looked up to her as a mother. You have no idea how happy I was when I heard that she had picked Jonas to marry you. I would finally have a mother figure and a little sister. But after the wedding was called off because of my family’s greed, I knew that they wouldn’t take it likely.”
Her tears increased, and her body shook with each sob.
“They killed her, and I couldn’t do anything about it!” She wailed. “I didn’t watch her being cut down, but I saw the smoke rising from her home, and I knew that she had perished. It was like a hole in my heart had been torn open. I still regret not leaving my home and throwing myself in front of her. I wouldn’t have saved her, but I would have tried and would have been happy dying there with her.”
I pulled Hailey close and hugged her. I couldn’t help but shed tears as well. Why couldn’t they all be like her? Why did they have to turn against my family?
“You are a spitting image of her, Olivia. I wasn’t able to save her, and I pray that I can make it up to her if I save you.”
She opened her satchel and took out a bottle of purple liquid.
“I made this. It’s a potent poison for wolves. I can’t shift into my wolf, in not nearly as strong as you or even the weakest soldier on the field. But my aim is too notch. The poison is coated on all of my arrows. I can sneak through the ranks and shoot down as many wolves as I can.”
I was immediately filled with worry.
“Jonas? He will find you…”
“He won’t. He thinks I’m a coward and that I would go and hide just like I did the day you attacked us. But I will not stand and watch him commit this atrocity again. Maria was right not to give you to him. He doesn’t deserve you. Our family doesn’t deserve you.”
I am still worried about Hailey. We hear footsteps running our way, and we brace ourselves. Hailey takes out a poison arrow, and I prepare to use my powers.
“Olivia?”
“Sephora?”
She is covered in blood and is surprised to see me here.
“What are you…”
“No time. Is Andre alright?”
She nods.
“He is fighting fiercely on the front line.”
Relief washed over me. He was safe.
I looked at Hailey. My mother wouldn’t have wanted her to die.
“Sephora, please get Hailey to safety.”
“Of course.”
She grabbed Hailey’s arm, but Hailey slapped it away.
“I will not leave your side. I will fight in this war. I owe it to your mother…”