Chapter 3

Raven POV

“Well, well, well, look at what we have here. Two beauties sure to fetch a pretty price at auction,” the leader drawled, looking at his mates who nodded with wide smiles on their faces.

Human traffickers. It’s almost a relief. I would rather face them than rogues or hunters. Marissa doesn’t share the same sentiment, gripping my shoulder, her voice high, “Please don’t kill us,” she whimpered.

“Kill you?” the man scoffed, “we’re not going to kill you. We need you alive or there won’t be any money in it for us,” he added darkly.

Marissa gave a sob. I rolled my eyes. For somebody who possessed a white wolf, said to be the rarest of our kind, possessing the strength and agility that was rumored to surpass even an Alpha’s, she was acting cowardly. I hadn’t expected anything less.

“We can do this the hard way, girls, or the easy way,” the man closest to us, the leader, gave a chilling smile. “I would prefer the easy way. It would be a shame to mark your beautiful skin,” he added, raking his gaze over us as he licked his lips.

“What if we don’t want to?” I said quietly, folding my arms and tilting my head.

They withdraw knives from their pockets. “I doubt we need guns for the likes of you. This should be enough to make you cooperate,” the leader growled.

There are four of them. All males who looked fully prepared to use their weapons if the need arose.

“I don’t want to die,” Marissa howled, her voice so high-pitched it causes me to wince.

Instead of shifting and taking them on, she did something else entirely. I felt her hands on my back, violently shoving me as I desperately tried to avoid stumbling into the leader and then took off running, heading directly towards the forest in the same direction that our driver had bolted. She didn't even look over her shoulder or show any remorse for leaving me to die or be taken.

“Get her,” the leader snarled.

One of the men took off running in hot pursuit, leaving three behind for me to contend with. The leader gave me an unpleasant smile.” Hopefully, you aren’t as stupid as your friend is.”

I held up my hands in surrender, holding my breath. Taking that as a sign of agreement, the leader started forward, knife still in hand. When he got within inches, I moved, stepping quickly to the side and grabbing his wrist as he stared at me stunned. I used my momentum to yank his wrist back, breaking it. He dropped the dagger as I turned my body, kneeing him hard in the groin. As he gave a shout and fell to his knees, I grasped his head and swiftly turned it, breaking his neck. I dropped him to the ground. The other two men gaped at me, shocked.

“Fuck,” the second one shouted, lunging towards me and gaining his composure.

I dodged side to side as he brandished the dagger at me. One came within an inch of my face, and I gasped, before blocking his next attack with my forearm as he brought the dagger downwards. I headbutted him, sending him backwards and onto his back. I stomped on his stomach and grabbed the hand still holding the dagger, turning it on himself and plunging it quickly into his chest. His eyes opened wide, and he gave a gurgling sound, the light fading from his eyes.

Another one down.

The third one eyed me warily. I had put up a fight instead of resisting as they had expected. I saw him glance towards the car inwarly debating with himself.

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little girl,” I said icily, antagonizing him.

“I’m afraid of no one, especially not a bitch like you,” he shouted, lunging directly at me.

It was stupid. He was frantic, no grace to his movements. He lashed out blindly, over and over again. He cut my arm as I stepped back, a twisted smile on his lips. He tripped on a stone and stumbled. I pulled his arm over me and elbowed him in the head, forcing the dagger out of his hand. I brought my foot down on his left one and then threw him with excessive force over my shoulder. He fell, gasping for air. I moved closer and then paused as I heard the sound of more cars heading in our general direction.

“More of your friends?” I hissed.

Fuck. I couldn't take on that many. Not even with my skills.

He wildly shakes his head, trying to scramble to his feet. Car doors opened and slammed shut. He managed to stand and attempted to turn, intending to run. The sound of a shot rang out, and he fell, a bullet hole directly between his eyes.

I could do hand-to-hand combat, but I couldn’t fight against guns. I turned and held up my hands as a man and several men came striding towards me, their eyes so intense it felt like they were looking into my very soul. Shifters. A fair few of them.

I stared at one in particular, absolutely mesmerized. The man in the lead was unlike any other man I had ever seen. His hair was dark, a slight shade lighter than mine. His eyes were hazel, reminding me of the forest, and his body was large, towering over me. A scar ran along his left cheek. He was beautiful. A male adonis in my eyes. Even the way he moved was highly masculine and arousing. He stopped directly in front of me, his eyes carefully observing my expression.

“Are you Marissa Sinclair?”

The question surprises me. Realization dawns. I gape at the man. “You’re Alpha Hades.”

It's like a bucket of ice water is thrown over me. I shiver, realizing I'm speaking to the man himself.

He dips his head. “I’m a little confused. I was led to believe my fiancée was blonde?”

“I’m not Marissa. I’m her maidservant, Raven." My voice is a little touchy.

“Then where is she?” he demanded suspiciously, starting to eye me as though I had done something to his precious fiancée.

Screams erupted from behind us. Two warriors dragged a frightened Marissa out of the forest nearby, their grip surprisingly gentle as she sobbed, looking a complete mess. I pointed at her, my expression rueful as Hades swiftly turned his head.

“That’s your fiancée, Marissa Sinclair,"

God help him, I thought slightly maliciously, enjoying the stunned look on his face.

Silence. Marissa is released and stands there, rubbing her arms and looking pitiful.

“We found her hiding while a trafficker tried to hunt her down. He’s dead now,” the warrior’s voice is calm as Hades nods in affirmation.

“Thanks, Jackson. Get the men to clean up this mess and make sure there are no traces left behind. Marissa,” he speaks gruffly to her as she looks up, her eyes still filled with tears, “you can come in my car. Raven,” he turns to me, “Jackson will drive you back to Blood Moon Pack. I apologize for this unfortunate incident. If I had become aware of the situation sooner, you wouldn’t have had to suffer such grievances.”

Marissa sniffles. Comprehension has dawned on her to who this man is. She falls against him, putting her hand on his chest. His expression is inscrutable.

“I was so scared,” she whimpered, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

He gently dislodged her hands. “Let’s get you back to my pack and situated. You’ll feel better when we get there.”

He strides off, leaving a stunned Marissa staring at his back. Nobody had ever resisted her feminine wiles before.