Page 90 of His Lycan Luna Queen

My other hand twitches, but Gannon swiftly grabs it, preventing it from descending upon Tanner’s head. He growls fiercely, his voice filled with warning. “Keep your damn head or get out!” Gannon roars.How can he say that? He killed Claire and tried to kill my mate – he had killed my nephew!

“The Hunters. What are their plans?” Gannon demands, his voice commanding as he begins turning the handle on the rack, stretching Tanner’s limbs to their limits. Tanner’s screams pierce the air, echoing with unbearable agony. As much as I desire to end his miserable existence, Gannon is right. Killing him prematurely will yield no answers.

“Plop,” Tanner laughs, just as Liam nonchalantly descends the steps, whistling a tune. His presence seems incongruous amidst the grim scene unfolding before us.

“The storm has passed. Look at you, growing like a weed!” Tanner taunts, his laughter punctuating the room.

“I’ve always liked you, Liam, such a shame about Claire,” Tanner chuckles, his voice laced with a twisted kind of fondness. Liam tilts his head to the side.

“What did he say about Claire?” Liam asks, and I see him stagger back.

“Liam, get out if you can’t handle it. I am already trying to stop Kyson from killing him. Out or stay the fuck back!” Gannon warns him. Gannon twists the handle beside me, forcing Tanner’s body to stretch even further, tearing his skin under immense pressure. His screams tear through the air, filling the room with an ungodly symphony of pain.

But I have listened to enough of this vile creature’s taunts. I need answers now. Pushing Gannon and Liam aside, I thrust my hand into Tanner’s diaphragm, plunging deep into his innards. I fish around, searching for his spine, until my fingers close around it. Tanner chokes and gasps, his body convulsing in agony as I halt my movement just before he succumbs to shock.

“Wait!” he rasps, lips turning gray. My claws pierce through his abdominal aorta, blood pooling around my hand.

“Where are they?” I roar into his face, watching as terror flickers in his widening eyes. His mouth opens in a silent scream as I maintain my grip on his spine, refusing to release him from his excruciating torment. He smiles, his eyes fluttering, and I know he is teetering on the edge of unconsciousness or bleeding out. Despite lying on his deathbed, a twisted smile adorns his face, and my heart pounds erratically in my chest at his final words.

“They’re already here,” Tanner breathes.

A primal growl escapes my throat as I clench my teeth, squeezing my fingers around his spine, and with a savage jerk, I rip my hand out, tearing his spine away from his body. Blood sprays in all directions, and drenches us.

Chapter

Forty-Eight

AZALEA

Dustin firmly grasps my arm as we cautiously descend the steps, his grip hindering my steps. Annoyed, I repeatedly attempt to shake him off, I am feeling much better now that the painkillers have taken effect. The throbbing in my head has subsided.

“Dustin, I assure you, I am perfectly fine,” I assert, my voice echoing my frustration. The storm outside has finally abated, allowing a few of the servants to gather near the doors, their curious gazes fixed upon the aftermath of the destruction it unleashed. Just as we reach the bottom of the stairs, near the entrance to the bustling kitchen, a guard approaches us.

“A tree has crushed the main gates. A few of us will go out with chainsaws to remove it. Damian wants us to check the town to see if anyone needs help,” he tells Dustin, who nods, waving him off.

We start walking down the corridor toward the ballroom when we spot Rachel, one of the servants that works in the kitchen, peering out the enormous windows that run along it.

“Bloody storm was wild,” she remarks, her attention momentarily diverted from her duties as she turns her attention back to the windows.

“It obliterated the east wing. It will need re...” Before Rachel can complete her sentence, a deafening explosion roars through the air, staining my face with splatters of crimson as shards of glass erupt from the window where she stands, along with an entire section of the wall. Chaos ensues as debris and stone hurdle in every direction. Damian’s voice cuts through my consciousness via our mindlink, piercing my thoughts and sending my blood cold.

‘We are under attack.’Damian booms, warning everyone through the mindlink.

Reacting instinctively, Dustin shoves me aside, narrowly averting the impact of a second explosion. I duck for cover, barely avoiding falling debris.

“Head to the tunnels!” Dustin’s urgent command reverberates through the air, reaching anyone within earshot. Meanwhile, gunfire erupts outside, its thunderous echoes mingling with the sound of shattering glass as bullets mercilessly pierce through the remaining windows, transforming them into a cascade of shards.

‘Azalea!’Kyson screams through the link, and I can feel him racing to get to me. I feel his presence getting closer when men in armor start coming in through windows, doors, and blown-out walls. Dust clings to my body, obscuring my vision, and it is then that I realize my hands are inexplicably wet. Blinking away the haze, I glance down to discover that I have unwittingly tripped over a severed piece of Rachel’s torso. Limbs litter the corridor, a gruesome sight that elicits a horrified scream from deep within me.

I scramble to my feet and run toward the doors at the end of the hall.

“Get inside and lock the doors!” Dustin snarls before turning and racing to join the fray as hunters come from every direction.

“Abbie!” I scream desperately, praying that upon opening those doors, I won’t be confronted with the sight of lifeless children and staff members. As I approach the massive doors, they swing open forcefully, allowing a flood of daylight to spill in from a demolished wall. Clarice emerges from the chaos, her eyes wide with alarm, as the children race towards me.

I wave my arms frantically to get their attention, knowing they are running straight into the action. Clarice swiftly seizes their hands and redirects them towards the corridor on her right.

“Get to the tunnels!” I yell at her, and her head whips up and turns in my direction just as Abbie and Tandi rush out the doors. We meet and take off along with the servants that survived the blast toward the back doors.

---