"Kill them," Aiko repeated, with her voice as void of any emotions as her expression. "They're monsters who need to die."
Hunter's mouth twisted into a snarl, however, the loud growl that followed didn't come from his direction. It came from my left, where Alpha Brie still had a knife pressed to Elena's throat.
"Watch your mouth, human!" he growled. "You and your hunters are still working for me, so the next time you say something like that, it's going to be your head I bite off."
For the first time since Aiko exited the cell, her face twisted into something other than indifference. The fierce glint, however, disappeared before I could even be sure it really happened.
"Let go of my mate." Alpha Brie ordered Hunter, who still had his elongated claws wrapped around Krystal's throat. "Or I'll tell the hunter to shoot your mate."
Hunter's black eyes flickered to mine and I wordlessly nodded. While neither Edria nor I liked the inferior position we were in, we had no other choice but to follow Alpha Brie's orders. At least until we found a window of opportunity which would grant us our freedom.
With a snarl Hunter reeled his wolf back in, and backed up a step. The moment Krystal was free she twirled around and slapped Hunter across his cheek. A low growl vibrated inside my chest, however, neither the blonde she-wolf nor Hunter paid me any attention.
"You deserve so much more for what you did to my brother." She raised her arm again.
"Stop it." Alpha Brie barked, forcing her hand to stop midway to Hunter's cheek. "He's still an Alpha, and I don't have the time to protect you from his wolf."
Krystal lowered her arm and moved back to the older she-wolf I almost forgot was still present inside the room. She had been motionlessly leaning against the wall, reminding me more of a corpse than a living and breathing werewolf.
"Good," Alpha Brie continued. "Now, let's go. We're wasting time."
"What do we do with them?" The question came from right behind me, where a hunter still had a gun pressed against my lower back.
"We're taking them with us. They might still prove useful. But," Alpha Brie's eyes scanned over Hunter, Elena and me, "if any of you try anything, I won't hesitate to kill you."
A solid window of opportunity jumped at me the moment the hunter removed the tip of the gun from my back, but I forced myself to remain motionless. The presence of three werewolves and at least one gun had me rethinking our odds. Despite my speed, I doubted I was a match for an actual bullet.
In the end we had no other choice but to follow right behind Alpha Brie as he led us out of the Silver Moon dungeon. Instead of walking back up the dark staircase, however, we turned a sharp right and entered what looked like an underground tunnel.
"What are you doing here?" Hunter positioned himself so he was walking right beside me.
"I came to get you out." I lowered my voice into the barest whisper. "But apparently Ren was right. Your door wasn't locked."
"You don't understand." He grabbed my hand and pulled me even closer into his side. "Iâ"
"No touching."
The order came from the male hunter, who was walking with Aiko a few steps behind us. Hunter and I both glared at him, however, the sight of the tip of the gun pointed right at us, had us letting go of each other and turning back to the front.
"The Alpha Kingâ" Hunter's whisper was barely audible to my werewolf ears, which made it impossible for the two humans to hear.
"I know. I don't know all the details, but I heard it was all part of a ploy. And that the Alpha King is in on it too."
However, I couldn't help but wonder if us getting captured was part of the plan as well.
"Why is the Beta Female of Silver Moon here?"
"It's a long story." I glanced at Elena's back, where she was walking a step ahead of us. "What matters is that she's here to help. Everything else we can deal with later."
"Can we use her to mind-link the Beta or the Alpha King?"
"No." The barely audible whisper came from Elena herself. "I can't reach any of the Silver Moon members."
"Hunters." Hunter and I hissed at the same time and our eyes flickered over to the two still walking behind us.
We knew that behind a werewolf's inability to mind-link a mate or a pack always stood a sleazy hunter. They had long ago gotten their hands on a spell to disable mind-linking.
The rest of our way down the web-covered tunnel passed in eerie silence, which unsettled both Edria and me. The only reason we managed to remain relatively calm was because our mate's presence beside us.
After countless twists and turns we stopped in front of a rusty ladder that ended with a thick metal latch right above our heads.
"You, hunter, you're up first." Alpha Brie pointed at the male hunter and then to the ladder.
Instead of jumping at his order, the said guy's eyes flicker over to Aiko. For a second nothing happened, but then Aiko inclined her head a small nod. She took the gun from him and Edria rolled her eyes inside my head when she pointed it back at me.
The male hunter, on the other hand, shouldered his way in between Hunter and me. He climbed up the ladder and once on top reached for the latch's round handle. The thick metal, however, moved only for an inch and then snapped back into its previous place.
"For the love of theâ" Alpha Brie exploded at the hunter's fourth failed try. "Are you humans really that weak?"
The hunter's shoulders stiffened as he moved into his fifth try. With a piercing squeal the latch finally opened, and he climbed the rest of the way out.
"Krystal, you go next," Alpha Brie said. "Then help your mother up."
The said blonde she-wolf grimaced at the rust-covered ladder and then touched it only with the tips of her fingers. Because she was a werewolf, the minimal contact still enabled her to climb out. Then once outside she leaned back down to help the older she-wolf, who still shook like a scarred pup facing her first shift.
"Tate, you go next."
"No." Hunter shook his head and met the other Alpha's stare without a hint of defeat. "Molly and the Beta Female should go first."
"You think I'll listen to you?" Alpha Brie scoffed. "Get up the ladder or I'll put the knife through your mate's heart."
As if he could ever come anywhere near us, Edria growled. Let me out, so I can bite his head off.
No matter how much I wanted to comply with her wish, I was still painfully aware of the deadly weapon aimed at me. This is why I gritted my teeth and turned toward Hunter.
"Go. I'll be fine. Elena and I will be right behind you."
His dark eyes clashed with my denim ones and for a second I thought he would refuse. A moment later, however, he clenched his jaw into a sharp point and turned toward the ladder.
"The other Alpha's coming out," Alpha Brie called out to the opening above our heads. "So watch out."
Hunter ignored his warning to the others and swiftly climbed up the ladder.
"Go." Alpha Brie motioned to Elena next.
The said girl locked eyes with me as well, and only after I nodded in agreement did she turn toward the ladder. While she made her way out, I found myself glancing back at the other two remaining occupants. Or more exactly only one of them.
My eyes were drawn to Aiko's thin figure, and I was surprised to find her looking at me as well. Not as surprised as when I noticed that the gun wasn't pointed at me any longer. Instead, it was carelessly tilted toward the ground.
"You're part of that pack, aren't you?" She tipped her head to the side, while her empty eyes bored into mine. "Hers."
So, she finally remembers, Edria huffed.
I waited for her to add something else, but she continued to motionlessly observe me.
"Aren't you going to ask about Naia? You did, after all, try so hard to 'save' her. Don't you want to know how she's doing?"
Another flash of something dark flickered through her empty eyes, however, it was again too quick for me to gauge what it could mean.
"My sister is dead." Her emotionless voice sent a shudder down my body. "She has been dead to me since the moment she chose you monsters over her own family. My only regret is that I failed to actually kill her."
Even before the last syllable left her lips, I lunged. One moment I was four steps away from her and in the next I had my hand wrapped around her neck.
Kill her, Edria cheered me on. She deserves to die for what she did and for even thinking about Naia dying.
My fingers dug into her skin as I began to tighten my hold. I ignored the cold metal I felt pressing into my lower stomach. All I could focus on was the way her skin turned pale while she clawed at my arm.
Kill her. Edria's words echoed inside my head, pushing every other sound into the background.
An iron grip grasped my shoulder and in the next second I flew backwards. I crashed head and back first into the stone wall and then slid down onto the ground. A warm sensation coated the back of my hair, but I ignored it. All I could focus on were Aiko's soft coughs.
"Go," Alpha Brie ordered.
He positioned himself, so he obscured my vision of her, and when I tried to crane my neck around, he moved. He grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me up, while the sound of Aiko's footsteps echoed in my ears.
She's getting away, Edria growled.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Alpha Brie spat into my face. "You are nothing but a worthless Luna. So, watch it, unless you want me to help you get rid of your head."
"You lay one finger on her," Hunter's voice boomed from above, "and I'll make you watch as I kill your mate."
Alpha Brie kept his hold on me for another second and then let go. Thanks to my trained reflexes I landed on my feet and caught my balance before I would tumble onto my butt.
"Your turn."
I didn't wait for him to tell me twice. I grabbed the highest step I could reach and pulled myself up. The moment my head peeked through the surface, Hunter grabbed my arm and pulled me the rest of the way, until my feet were once again firmly attached to the white blanket covering the forest ground.
"Are you hurt?"
His eyes travelled from my forehead to the tips of my sneakers, however, before I could assure him that I was fine, he turned me around. The second a low growl escaped his mouth, I knew he had caught the red liquid sticking to the back of my hair.
"You!" he tried to lunge at Alpha Brie when his head appeared through the opening in the ground.
"I'm fine," I plastered my hands against his chest and used my strength to keep him pinned to his spot. "Really. The bump isn't anything I haven't dealt with. Remember, I'm a warrior. I know how to take on pain. Youâ"
My words died on my throat when I noticed the two dozen scentless figures emerge from the sleeping forest. They formed a wide circle around our group and even with their scents absent I knew what they were.
Hunters.
"Good, you brought back-up." Alpha Brie grinned and flicked the latch close. "We need to move fast before the others get a whiff of what's going on."
None of the hunters, however, even blinked at his words. They all remained motionless.
All except for one.
Aiko lifted the human weapon still in her hand and aimed it at Alpha Brie.
"What are you doing?" His eyes darkened. "I saved you."
"And we appreciate it," the male hunter standing beside Aiko snickered. "But did you really think we'd ever work with monsters like you?"
"You owe me!" Alpha Brie boomed.
"Ha!" The male hunter snorted.
"Shut up." Aiko's empty voice wrapped itself around the surrounding forest. "We can't leave any traces. So, kill them. All of them."
***
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- E