"Maya RUN!"
Maya screams and goes bolting off the way she came but Hunter follows her, stumbling on his feet but still going after my daughter. No. I'd rather be dead before I allow him to lay his hands on her. I scramble off the floor and run as fast as I can to intercept him. He's still drunk so his steps are slow but he's almost at the door to her room. I beat him to it and slam it shut. "Hunter, leave Maya out of this! She's never done anything to you, it's me you want to hurt." My husband grabs me by the neck before I can even realize it and hauls me up, choking me as he does so. "You'll get your turn, stupid cunt. You think I don't see the way you dote on her, your precious daughter, while I'm made a mockery of by everyone around me. I'll kill her today, and then fuck your brains out, maybe the death of one child will get your body to bring out another, and if you still refuse, I'll kill you too." Hunter throws me with the strength of an Alpha and I crash against the wall, my body screaming out in pain as something pops out of place. Horror blinds my vision as he opens the door to Maya's room and steps in and immediately, all I can hear is the sound of Maya screaming. "Mummy!" "Mummy help me!" "Mummy help me!" She screams again and this time she's crying heavily. I hear something crash and Hunter's grunt is mixed into the fray of all that sound. Maya screams again and as she screams, cold rage fills my bones. I pick myself up despite the pain in my ribs and I walk into the room. Hunter has our daughter by the hem of her dress and even though he's swaying on his feet I can tell he's going to do it. He's going to kill her. I grab the lamp on the drawer by the door and advance bravely. He catches my movement and his eyes narrow at me. Menacingly. "You wouldn't dare." I burst into a run and slam the lamp right down on his head. Hunter goes down cold and Maya runs to me, sobbing and hiding her face in the folds of my yellow dress. I'm heaving and looking at my husband on the floor but my daughter's sobbing is what catches my attention the most. I kneel to wrap her in my arms and let her cry into my hair. We need to get out of here. Looking at Hunter's form on the floor reminds me we don't have much time. He'll never allow us leave when he wakes up and he's only going to continue from where he stopped. I can't allow that to happen. "Mummy?" Maya sniffles and I turn to her, wiping her tears off her cheek and trying not to cry myself. "Yes, darling." "I'm scared." I nod at that and hug my daughter once more, she starts crying again and her tears hurt me more than any pain I've ever felt. She isn't meant to go through this. It isn't her fault she was born a girl. "I need you to be strong Maya, okay? We'll leave this place tonight and go somewhere else." She nods and sniffles again, wiping at her tears. "Okay." I get up the minute she says that and take my daughter out of the room. The key is still in my pocket and I lock the door when we go out. Breaking it down won't take him two minutes but it will give us some warning. There's a first aid box in the kitchen and I bring it down, taking care of a bruise Maya has on her leg and applying some lotion around her neck. Hunter wanted to strangle his daughter. It makes me work faster and soon I've tended to both of our injuries. It's well past eleven on the clock when we slip out of the house with nothing but the clothes on our backs and Maya is trembling as she holds my hand. I look down at her and smile. "We'll be okay, my love." She nods and I lead her to the back of the house. No one should be wandering around the pack by this time except for some of the warriors going on patrol. Their patrol routine is one I have observed and we pass the first batch of them easily enough. When we get to the next stop we pass by more carefully. Maya is as silent as I am and I can see the pack entrance. I can see our escape when a hand grabs me and pulls me into the woods around us. Panic flares and I want to shout but there's a hand over my mouth. "Shhhhhh, it's me, Aria." Aria lets go of me and when I turn she's standing there, her dark hair identical to her brother's, and the fact that she's Hunter's younger sister sends a chill down my spine. She directs a leveled stare at me. "What are you both doing outside by this time of the night?" A lie pops into my head and I make the mistake of blurting it out. "Maya couldn't sleep, so I'm taking her for a walk." My chest is tight with emotion and I watch as Aria Tyson cocks an unbelieving eyebrow up at me before her look softens. She moves closer and touches the new cut on my cheek. "He's hurt you again hasn't he?" Maya sobs lightly against my skirt and tears slide down my face. I sniffle and wipe them off. "It's nothing serious. It's the same way he's always been. We'll go back now." Aria grabs my arm and stops me, her eyes darting around. "The entrance is guarded by Hunter's head warrior. He's very watchful and he's much more on guard than the others." She drops something into my hand and I see it's a car key. "Take my car. The windows are tinted so they won't see you, but they won't stop you either. I'm famous for late-night outings." The sob that escapes my body is sudden and I hug her "Thank you, Aria. Thank you." She hugs me back and pulls away before kneeling to hug Maya. "Be a good girl, okay?" Maya nods and Aria stands up to look at me. "You should have run the minute he started hitting you, but there's no time like the present so go. The car is parked just behind that house you passed." I nod and carry Maya, taking off with her and being careful not to make any noise. We don't encounter any warriors on patrol as we go to the car, and by the time we're inside, I can see Maya yawning. I place her in the back and start the car, hoping in my heart that this isn't some cruel joke Aria Tyson is playing on me for the sake of her brother. My heart hammers in my chest as we get to the pack gates and as I drive the car past, I don't see anyone coming out to stop me. I keep a steady pace for a few more minutes until I turn a bend. The car jolts forward as I hit the accelerator and wind down the windows. The night air makes me laugh through my tears and the free roads make me cry even more. I look at the back seat to see my daughter sleeping and emotion swells in my heart. I should have done this a long time ago. But as I've heard there's no time like the present. And I can smell it now, the smell of freedom.Hi wonderful readers.First of all, I’d like to say thank you for reading so much and so far. Thank you for the time invested into this book.Without you, nothing would have been possible, so thank you for that.We have come to the end, and while it is a bit abrupt, I’d like to clarify some things.The book is already at 290 thousand plus words, I was really worried about its readability because anything longer would probably scare readers off. I don’t know how everything usually operates because I am a mildly new author on the platform and this is my first completed book, but it felt like Luna Scarlett was getting long, and if I was to go further into settling some other points in the story….. It’d have been way longer.Now to pick up some of the points I left unfilled in the story (Without giving any spoilers of course.) (Okay, maybe one spoiler, or two :)The fact that Hunter’s mother killed Oliver: I’d say this would have led into a whole other story, and it will, it’s basically
Roman carries me in his arms.Diane is helped along by the mage.We’re laid on beds and the pain from the contractions almost makes me pass out.“Your body’s burning, Scarlett.”I feel water enveloping me and I hear Diane’s low low grunt as she’s laid into the pool too.The contractions make everything feel hard and painful. My mind slips in and out of a haze and the water is red, so red, but through it all Roman stays with me.His red eyes are as clear and pure as two scarlet moons.The indoor swimming pool is converted into a labor room the moment the doctors arrive. I open my eyes weakly to see a whole team of them, strange faces in blue overalls, and the smell of the hospital lingering in the air.The contractions hit again, and this time Roman helps me onto a table as I grunt and cry my way through them.This is stronger than anything I've ever felt.I hear one of them tell Roman firmly, “If you want to be here, wear one of these.”Roman is back at my side in less than a minute,
Scarlett’s pov.Each blast of energy I let out makes me grit my teeth in pain.The doctor and Myrtle watch me with calm eyes and though it rips my heart to see them standing there like that, I don't stop.The shield over me shimmers with each blast of energy I release and I can see the impatience filling them because they can’t touch me while this is still going on.There’s an impatience to the way Myrtle grits her teeth but I can't bring myself to be happy at that…. because I'm killing him.Hot heavy tears flow down my cheeks and I burst into a sob because I can hear the sound of his pain each time I release my power.His shield is directly linked to his power, to him.I’m like a bomb in a can. He is the can.He can’t contain me.He can’t keep me in.I will go off as many times as I need to. I am a woman. My energy is endless, but while I do it… he suffers.It’s either I stop and get my stomach ripped open, my baby… my child will be killed.I would never forgive myself because it wou
The scarlet glow in his eyes grows in strength and all the dots come together in my head.Elara was never abducted. She orchestrated the attack.The strangeness of the wolves that attacked us was because she had infused them with the gene mutation she stole from me, and Ironclaw warriors weren’t able to do anything but die at their hands, because they had never met anything like that.They couldn’t take over the pack totally, because, like everything that’s stolen, it’s never stable. The look in Elara’s eyes makes me chuckle as another truth hits me and I let her get himself to full strength. I let the shift take him over, and in a moment of nostalgia, the scent of jasmine comes carried on a gentle breeze as little lines appear in the wind.They blaze to life with bright but silent lights, each one swaying as if blown by a light breeze. I see the lines extending through the wall behind me, the room where all those in the packhouse are being held currently. I see them in my mind, from
Roman’s pov.The bond between me and Scarlett stretches taut due to the distance and it’s the first time I've felt something like this between us.Feeling her and barely feeling her at the same time.The cars pull up to the gates of the mansion and I can tell my packhouse has been taken over by foreign forces. No one makes themselves visible when the gates come open, everyone is hidden but the moment we drive in, the gates slam shut faster than they ever have.The feeling of arrows already poised at us sends a light tingle down the side of my neck and I send a message to my father through the mate bond, ~Take the children to the safe house. Drive there like it’s what you always meant to do….Stay safe Father, and keep the children safe.~My father sends a feeling that echoes low on the mindlink, one that tells me he will obey my words to the letter because he is a wolf under my command, and I am his Alpha.But as a father and someone who’s watched me grow into who I am today, he’s
“Scarlett.”A brief silence punctuated by mumbled words and then the word comes again.“Scarlett.”The tone is more insistent this time and my eyes flutter open as a headache burrows it’s way through my head. I groan as i open my eyes fully because my head hurts a lot.Surprise steadily flow s through me when i realise i have been bound. I can barely move my hands or my feet.I try to struggle against the ropes but i can’t, and the voice comes again.“Psst, Scarlett.”I raise my head just the slightest bit, unable to see through the large mound of flesh that’s my belly.I feel my baby moving andd kiclkin, the discomfort stinging me like pins.“No, no need to raise your head.It’s me… the mage.”My fuzzy head clears up enough to remember where i am and what happened to me before i blanked out. I feel my body go rigid as shock courses through mel, a healthy dose of shock and fear.No.I struggle against the ropes.NO. NO. NO.Hunter wouldn’t dare.Hunter would never!“Hunter!”My heart