Lucy’s POV
As I waited for my supposed death, I shut my eyes, cursing my whole system for failing me right at that very moment. The only problem was that closing my eyes once again threw me into the dreadful past, and once again I was standing right in front of the broken bodies of my family. All that screaming. All those who burned, captured eternally in flames with their flesh eaten up and destroyed. All those houses that crumbled down to the floor like they were made of paper. They all flashed through my mind, trapping me within my own body, and turning me into a prisoner.
I waited for the blow, but it never came. Instead, there was an earth-shattering thud that nearly threw me off my feet. I held on to the earth for purchase, stabilizing myself through the tremors.
Taking my gaze up, I saw that the rogue wolf was in a tussle with another wolf, this one with dark fur as well. For a moment, I thought that it was Shaun, but on closer observation, I saw that he was just managing to push aside the lod of wood that had pinned him down.
A deep sniff confirmed the identity of the wolf that had saved my life. Seth.
Moment of stunned silence filled my mind. How had he found us? I wanted to dwell on the question, but I decided not to, because there were bigger fish to fry.
Shaun joined the fight, biting and tearing with renewed vigor that could be seen and heard. I was at a loss for what to do, and spent a couple of seconds simply watching the whole fight.
After deciding that it was probably better to just stay back and avoid getting too close to the fight and distracting the brothers, I searched for other ways that I could have been of help. I couldn’t get over the fact that I still felt a little anxious concerning everything that was happening, and I hated that fact.
Before I could even take two steps, the beast cried out, with blood gushing from a wound in its chest. Its howl was deeply wounded and almost stirred something inside of me. With a final, resounding howl into the woods for all to hear and witness, it dropped to the ground, lifeless.
It was as though the woods sighed in relief.
Shaun came over to me and nuzzled my neck, while his question filtered into my mind. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“No,” I replied, rubbing my nose to his fur as well. He was bloody, but a very small amount belonged to him. He was safe and sound.
Seth came over to us, and I gave him a small gratuitous nod. It wasn’t enough to thank him for practically saving my life from impending doom, but it was the best I could do for now.
We turned to the dead rogue and the mutilated guard, who was long gone by this time, if he even had a chance of surviving at all. It eas a pathetic death, but one done in service to his pack. He would have been remembered.
“It’s too late for him now, but we will give him a befitting burial,” said Seth, moving closer to the body of the guard. It probably struck him the most out of us three because he and Scott were the ones that usually communicated more with the guards and warriors, and often had training sessions with them.
–
We returned to the palace, where there were more guards waiting, with a few pack members who looked incredibly worried.
Seth, who had carried the dead guard on his back, dropped him on the ground as gently as he could before the man’s comrades, and pushed past them to go inside. Moments later, he came out, wearing pants.
“We couldn’t save him from the rogue,” said Seth, slightly bowing his head. The pain on his face was so evident, and my heart went out to him.
“There are rouges . . . here?” One of the pack members asked, her eyes becoming even wider than they already were. Her body started to shake, and then beside her held her close, whispering something into her ear as he took her back inside.
Regardless, the air was already gloomy and dark. The truth was grim, and in one way or the other, they would all become aware of it sooner than after.
The rogues had finally found us. I remembered the silhouette I had seen in the darkness, moving as swiftly as a snake. The beasts weren’t the only thing that we had to think about, and they didn’t appear to be acting on their own.
“Shaun,” I said to him, waiting for him to turn to me and olace me at the center of his lycan eyes. “That rogue we saw wasn’t alone. There was something else back there in the woods, hiding. Just like that scout said.”
“Are you certain?” he asked, not because he didn’t believe me, but because he was trying to understand the gravity of what I had said.
“Yes I am,” I said, leading us away from the front of the Palace where the guards were still trying to assimilate Seth’s words and the loss of their comrade.
I led us to the little doorway I had passed through earlier when going out into the woods.
As soon as we went through it, I shifted back into my human form, and slipped back into my clothes, which still remained neatly folded on the ground as I had left it. Shaun shifted as well, and before I even knew what was happening, he took me by the arm and pressed me into a hug, pressing his nose into my neck.
Standing there, wrapped in nothing but his warm arms, tears came to my eyes unexpectedly.
I had almost died. That fact hadn’t even completely dawned on me.
“I’m so glad you’re safe, Lucy. I don’t know what I would have done if anything happened to you. That beast almost hurt you, and I . . . I was powerless.”
“It’s not your fault, Shaun. I’m the one that put myself in danger in the first place,” I said, pulling him even closer and brushing my lips against his neck. “I’m so sorry.” I moved his head to face me and kissed him squarely on the lips.
Together we stood, in the aftermath of blood and gore, ready to face the trouble that likely lay ahead.