Don't Let Him Die

Great fear coursed through her as she ran with all her might.

The damned nightwalkers knew how to blend with the night so much that they could materialise out of it easily.

It was how they had pulled a fast one on Beta Lupo.

“I will kill you all!” Athena wailed in her mind.

I just need to survive first.

Fury bubbled within her, mingled with her throbbing grief and fear.

They would kill her.

She did not doubt that for a second.

She had seen them strike before, and they wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.

“Wish I still had my wolf,” she thought mournfully as she felt the briars scratching her legs mercilessly.

Blood slipped down her legs into the sole of her sandals and made it slippery, yet she didn’t dare to stop.

Tears prickled her eyes as she remembered how her father’s beta and his soldiers had fought, and lost their lives for their trouble.

“You will pay! I swear on the moon goddess, you will pay!” she vowed even as her mother’s dying statement came to her.

“Hatred will poison you, Athena. Let go of it and live an ordinary, happy life.”

She swiped the tears off her face, smearing dirt on her porcelain skin as hatred burnt through her eyes.

“They wouldn’t let me, Mama. They will keep hunting me unless I fight!” she gritted through her teeth.

Her feet hit a stump in the semi-dark forest she had been made to escape into while her soldiers distracted the vampires.

Though she no longer had her wolf, she still felt each of their deaths keenly, like the blades and fangs were piercing through her.

“I swear, you will p…hey!” the outraged word ripped out of her, as something sent her tumbling into the copse of briars that she had been trying to avoid to no avail.

“Are you kidding me?!” she gritted out as fresh pain lanced through her body when the thorns pierced her skin.

Her dress ripped as she struggled to get up, even as she felt the chill in the air that sealed her fate.

They materialised out of the dark like the relentless vermin they were.

“Bold of you to think you can get away from us,” crooned one of them with a hideous chuckle that made his fangs gleam even in the dark.

“Too bad your lackeys had to die for nothing, little pet,”

The pain of her most recent loss, coupled with the grief of the past, made Athena’s fear turn ice-cold.

It lay like a coiled panther in her, as she lifted her head regally and said frigidly, “This little pet will be the end of you. I will enjoy sending every last one of you to the hell you belong to.”

Stunned silence followed her words, then the three vampires laughed mockingly.

The hateful sound caused goosebumps on Athena’s skin as blood trickled down her arm.

As if in salutation, a light breeze stirred through the forest, ruffling the jagged edges of her tattered gown.

“Damned shifters and their spunk. I believe I will enjoy breaking you, little thing,” said the one to her right as he bared his fangs. 

“I am taking you down with me,” Athena thought as the mockery stoked her anger even more.

“No, our instructions are clear,” said the one in the middle. “We are to…”

“Stay away from her!”

The voice boomed through the woods, and for a moment, Athena’s heart leapt as she thought Beta Lupo survived after all.

Disappointment filled her as she saw the features of the young man in the thin moonlight.

He was no Beta Lupo.

This man was younger, closer to her own age and very handsome.

Though Athena was certain she might still die that night, something stirred in her blood at the thought of the stranger stepping up for her.

A knight who was probably a human and would get himself killed just like the rest. 

Not tonight. 

“Keep going. This is none of your business,” she snapped, hoping he would get the idea and leave. 

“Yeah, you heard the chit. Beat it,” said the vampire with the irritating chuckle. 

The man barely glanced at her as he made to leave. 

Athena wondered at the disappointment she felt even though that was what she wanted him to do. 

The next moment, her thoughts backed up in her throat as she felt strong hands on her arms.

She bit back a yelp as she was lifted from the bush of thorns. 

His body jerked against her as their skin touched, and sudden warmth flushed through her. 

“Mate, run!” He growled in a warm tone before he let go of her. 

Did he just call her…?

In split seconds, she was behind him, and he was blocking the vampires’ way to her. 

Realising they had underestimated him as she had, the vampires advanced on him. 

“I told you to stay away from her!” His growl turned to a howl as he shifted into a gorgeous golden wolf with a silver mane. 

The wolf spared her a brief look before it jumped at the circling vampires. 

The message was clear. Run!

Athena could see that more vampires had slunk out of the shadows to attack. 

She longed to stand by his side to fight the bastards who had taken so much from her. 

And knew she would die for her troubles.

“Go!” The command came clear in her mind as the wolf lunged amidst the vampires’ lethal dance. 

Athena tamped down the shame that threatened to drown her. 

And she fled. 

“Please, don't let him die,” she sent a prayer to the moon goddess. 

The same one she had stopped praying to since that terrible night.