Chapter 5

Ethan’S POV

Sophia screamed, fear paralyzing her and the other females in the hall. The guards were immediately alert, scrambling and drawing out their swords. A muscle feathered in my jaws as I sprang to my feet, claws erupting out of my flesh. “Who dares to interrupt my party?” I growled, eyes scanning the room.

The supposed shadows had a distinct smell. Ethan’s eyes narrowed; they were werewolves, rogue wolves. They came in multitude, and though all able lycan males were already engaging them, we were outnumbered. The defenseless ones were forced to stay in the middle of the hall. This had never happened before; it was not anticipated.

Anger bubbled in my chest. After allowing those pathetic werewolves to live in my kingdom, they betrayed me by attacking unexpectedly? They must pay… with their lives! I leaped in the air, instantly shifting to my mighty lycan form. I landed on a couple of rogues that dared to approach my throne, claws tearing through the flesh of the attackers, my inner wolf snarling. Janio hated the intrusion more than I did; it made us feel vulnerable.

The females In the hall yelled, rallying my wolf. I howled, anger blinding me as I frantically attacked the cloaked rogues. With little aid from my subordinates, we subdued the attackers, killing the majority while leaving a few to be tortured.

Finally, when it was over, I shifted back to my human form, bathed in blood, inhaling sharply. I growled at the five remaining rogues assembled before me, all on their knees. “Which pack do you hail from?” I asked, but the stubborn wolves refused to speak. I bared my teeth. “Oh, you want me to do this the hard way, right? Fine, I’ll do it the way I love most.”

Screams echoed through the hall as I dug my claws into the gut of the nearest rogue to me. I twisted my fist and pulled out his heart, then I looked at his fellow comrades, now unmasked. “I won’t ask again, so listen carefully. Who instigated this pathetic coup?”

Again, there was no answer. Before I could move to the next wolf, a piercing yell reached my ears followed by another behind me. I swiftly turned around to find Sophia in a compromising position with a rogue; his claws were pressed dangerously against her neck. “You will let all the slave wolves go, or I will end the life of your Luna!” The rogue threatened, and to show his seriousness, he drew blood from Sophia’s neck.

I gritted my teeth, fists clenching so tight that they turned white. Another yell reached my ears, causing Janio to rip through the fog in our brain. “It is our mate, she is in trouble!” He roared. Images flashed through my head; Tara, alone in the garage, surrounded by a number of rogues.

Panic clawed at me. Simultaneously, Sophia whimpered, reminding me of the choice I had to make. But the mate pull was stronger; I couldn’t stand idly by when my mate was in trouble. I had to pull myself out of this chaos to help Tara. Guilt gnarled at me, but the warning from Janio kept me going.

I sprinted to the nearest window and jumped out of it, leaving Sophia to my beta and guards. Mid-air, I shifted to my midnight dark lycan form and landed on my two feet.

I burst into the moonlit clearing in the garden. There, Tara stood frozen, swinging her cane at the rogues who surrounded her. They were a total of ten rogues against one blind girl? Something was not right, but I didn’t have the luxury of time to find out.

A figure stepped forward as all the rogues turned to me, eyes gleaming with malicious intent from the darkness of his cloak. From his size and confidence, I could tell that this rogue was the leader. He glanced back at his comrades. “Capture her; it is important to the bastard,” he gnarled.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I warned the rogues, but it seemed as if they were deaf or couldn’t feel the power of my alpha dominance. It made my wolf angrier; nothing an alpha hated more than disregard. I howled as I lunged at the leader of the rogues, my large claws ripping his flesh. I didn’t want him dead, so I gave him a fatal injury on his neck to keep him busy while I fought his companions.

They were strong, but they were no match for me. However, I was outnumbered; they all coordinated an attack against me, coming all at once. Amidst the chaos, Tara stumbled, the moonlight catching her face. Her blind eyes gleamed with an inner light; a faint blue fire.

My eyes widened as confusion etched into my soul. “How is that possible? I was certain that I locked her powers; how did she get freed? Who freed her?” Those unanswered questions churned within me. There was a shift in the atmosphere that came with Tara’s eye shift, but it dissolved after a few seconds, and the rogues were as distracted as I was by the display of power.

Amidst that distraction, a number of silver arrows whistled through the air and pierced the hearts of the remaining rogues except the two I was beating. I knew it was the doings of the lycan shadow guards on the allure.

Relief washed over me as I jammed the skulls of the rogues together. Tara was safe… My mate was safe. A memory flashed; I left Sophia to come help Tara. Immediately, I mind-linked my beta, Jayden, “Jay, what is the situation over there like?”

“The Luna is safe; you need not worry,” he replied. I inhaled sharply, but before I could exhale, small hands were thrown on my waist in an attempt to hug me in my lycan form. I stiffened as the sweet scent of my mate polluted my lungs.

 “Thank you for saving me, mate,” she rasped. 

Mate… the word rang endlessly in my ears and heart.