Page 91 of His Lycan Luna Queen

‘There are tunnels in the woods! There’s a bunker not far from here!’Clarice yells through the mindlink, and I scoop up Oliver as he slows while Clarice clutches Logan’s hand. Our feet pound on the stone floor to the double doors that lead toward the gardens when an explosion goes off directly behind us. The roof crashes down around us, and I am tossed into a wall.

Darkness momentarily steals my vision, and my ears ring loudly. Harsh fingers grip my arm and my eyes fly open to see Tandi, her grip strong and urgent as she yanks me to my feet. The stone floor beneath me is rough and uneven, causing me to stumble as I run. I can see her lips moving, but I hear no sound. I see Peter grab Oliver as he chases after Clarice. The air is thick with the stench of smoke and burning debris. The metallic scent of blood and the acrid smell of gunpowder fills my nostrils. When my hearing returns, I clutch my ears, explosions and screams fill the air, punctuated by the sound of our pounding feet on the stone floor. The roar of the collapsing roof and theshattering of glass grows louder as the castle is continuously blasted.

‘Where are you?’Trey yells through the mindlink just as someone outside opens the doors. Everyone screeches to a halt, and Clarice shifts, snarling savagely as she puts her body between us and the door. Yet when the doors open, it is Trey.

He rushes in, his eyes scanning everyone’s faces with relief when they land on me. “We have to go!” he shouts over the chaos. “They’re coming back!”

He waves us forward, and everyone rushes out as he points toward the forest. Servants rush out, ducking their heads, and I see Abbie behind me, clutching Tyson. She is bleeding, looking dazed, struggling to hold his thrashing body. Trey takes him from her before we all start racing toward the tree line and the cover of the trees. Without hesitation, we follow into the gardens. The once beautiful landscape is now a battlefield, littered with debris and bodies. I see hunters running and shouting in every direction, some trying to escape, while others continue to fire at us as guards fight to keep them back so we can get to the bunkers.

Trey leads us towards a wooded area on the edge of the property, but the path to the bunkers means running across an open field by the cemetery. We sprint across the open area, dodging bullets and ducking behind tombstones when necessary. The sound of gunfire echoes all around us as we try to run toward safety.

Kyson, I can feel he is injured, yet with everything going on, I don’t have time to worry. Shouting and screaming ring out loudly, and the place has turned into a war zone. It is challenging to tell our guards from the hunters, except for the insignia emblazoned on their chest armor.

We race up the small incline behind Trey, and I push Abbie forward as we try to escape the chaos behind us. I see Claricestop up ahead, her hand held by Oliver, until Peter takes him and runs off. Tandi stands beside Clarice, her eyes wide with panic. Just as we reach them, Tandi’s expression changes to one of pure terror, and she lets out a blood-curdling scream.

I turn around to see what has caused Tandi’s reaction, and my heart stops. Time seems to stand still as my eyes scan the scene in front of me. Logan wanders around the carnage like a little boy lost, dazed, covered in dust and blood. I don’t think, I just react and take off for him, dodging Lycans and men fighting all around us.

Reaching for him, my heart pounding in my chest, I wrap my arm tightly around his waist and pivot on my heel, our bodies melding together as I tuck him close. The soft wet grass beneath our feet betrays us, causing my foot to slip just as the deadly whiz of bullets fills the air, their menacing trajectory narrowly missing us by a hair’s breadth. Out of my peripheral vision, I can see Gannon on the flat terrain before the hill down to the stables, fighting alongside his men. Kyson, I can’t see, but I know he is alive.

Trey’s screams pierce my ears as he shoves Tyson into Clarice’s arms. My feet slap the grass as I race for the meager protection of the building’s side. Abbie waves urgently, her eyes wide with fear. My shoes slip on the dew-slicked lawn and Logan tumbles from my grasp. I blink, momentarily dazed, and reach for his flailing limbs just as Abbie’s shriek splits the air.

I look up to see her sprinting toward me when a bullet’s hot kiss burns my shoulder. Hissing, I grab Logan with my good arm. Growls and snarls tear through the air as Abbie’s horrified eyes fix on something behind me just as she reaches me.

Her body crashes into mine, arms enveloping me in a tight embrace, spinning me around. My gaze locks onto the hunter behind us. In his hand, he grips a gun that was once aimed at me but is now aimed at Abbie.

The deafening sound of the gunshot splits the air. Abbie jolts against me, her sharp intake of breath slicing through the chaos, becomes the loudest thing I’ve ever heard.

A wave of warmth spreads from where she clings to me, my heart halting as the metallic tang of blood taints the air. Her hushed, garbled words graze my ear, “More than my life.”

Horror rises within me like a torrent, a guttural scream tearing through the silence as her blood sputters out her lips and sprays across my face.

“Abbie! No!” I scream as her weight slackens in my embrace. Logan remains trapped between us. Gannon’s mournful howl splits the sky, the sound slicing through me.

“Abbie! Abbie!” My cries ring out desperately, willing her back to life, as Tyson’s anguished wail echoes in the background. My eyes lock onto the hunter as he raises his weapon once more. Yet, it is Trey who intervenes, crashing into him with force. Despite everything, I am frozen, caught in an endless moment of agony as I clutch her lifeless form. Abbie’s blood stains my arms as her gaze drifts skyward, crimson tears trickling from her eyes, as blood spills from her parted lips as she gasps, blood bubbling out her lips which lose focus, then lose their light.

Chapter

Forty-Nine

KYSON

Thirty minutes earlier.

Tanner’s lifeless body lies splayed on the rack, his unseeing eyes fixed on the ceiling as the last wheezing breath escapes his lips. I scrub the blood from my hands and face, not wanting to startle the staff or children with the gory remnants. The copper tang of blood fills my nose despite my efforts. I must act quickly, strategize our next move because his last words mean the hunters are close.

I need to send out some scouts to ensure that there are no hunters or council members on the premises. As for Tanner’s body, it will have to be dismembered and disposed of in the furnace by Gannon and Liam.

I head to the stairs when the ground rumbles violently, knocking me unbalanced. Choking smoke and dust billow through the air as debris rains down. My ears ring from the thunderous noise above. Blinking through the haze, I spot Gannon and Liam’s hazy figures. Bruised and bloodied but alive.

My ears finally stop ringing as I get to my feet in fear for Azalea. I sprint for the stairs when white-hot pain rips throughmy side. The acrid scent of wolfsbane fills my nostrils. Hunters - they are in the tunnels with us. Rage boils up inside me and I shift, my vision coming into focus through the red haze of my rage.

They have taken enough from us - made orphans of our young, refugees of our people. I see Gannon and Liam shift too, their golden eyes burning with fury. We move as one, ripping through the hunters, shredding them until no heartbeats remain but our own. I scream to the others through our mindlink, ordering them to the tunnels and bunkers.

Gannon and Liam rush to protect Azalea and the others, not that they have a choice with the pact oath. It would be instinct to them, leaving me to check the tunnels. I stalk through the back tunnels, making sure there aren’t any hunters left hiding, while all I want to do is find Azalea.

I get no reply from Azalea, yet I can feel she is alive, although panicked. Trey, I know, is trying to get her and gives me a run-down of what is going on above while I scour the tunnels, ripping the wires from bombs planted beneath the castle everywhere.

The ceiling above explodes, sending rocks and debris crashing down on me as I hit a fork in the tunnels. I turn to my left, wanting to take the tunnel that comes out by the river, when the tunnel starts exploding, I am forced to run in the opposite direction toward the tunnels leading to the stables and forest.

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