Page 92 of His Lycan Luna Queen

As I approach the entrance located directly beneath the charred remains of the stables, the clash and din of battle above echo through the tunnel. Amidst this turmoil, a faint whizzing sound barely registers in my ears before a scorching pain brings me to my knees. A dart is lodged in my torso, another strikes my chest as I collapse onto the cold ground. I wrench it free, and am immediately assaulted by the pungent smell of wolfsbane.

Lifting my head with a growl, I strain to see through the thick smoke for whoever has attacked me. The dose of wolfsbanewon’t be deadly, but it’s enough to hinder me; too many could knock me out. Using one hand against the stone wall for support, I struggle back onto my feet, swaying as the poison courses through my system.

A voice that ignites deep resentment echoes from ahead - Ester’s voice. “You just had to claim that whore as your mate! I would have ignored Crux’s plan altogether if you hadn’t chosen her! It should have been me as your queen!” she spits venomously, waving a dart gun aimed at my heart. “I was ready to abandon Crux’s deal until she showed up like some damned ghost from the past! Should have killed her when we found them in that forest!” She pulls the trigger just as I hurl myself against the opposite wall.

The dart narrowly misses its mark and clatters behind me on impact with another explosion overhead causing tremors throughout the tunnel. Her eyes widen with fear as she realizes we’re about to be buried alive. With a low growl, I retrace my steps towards an alternate tunnel leading into the nearby forest.

Ester’s furious roars echoes behind me along with her relentless tirade, while dust and smoke provide some concealment from her aim. The chances of getting close while she carries that gun are slim leaving me no option but to run. The wolfsbane is burning my veins, draining my strength with each passing moment. I wince and duck as another explosion shakes another nearby tunnel.

‘Trey found the Queen!’comes a voice through the mindlink as I navigate through the debris of the collapsed tunnel towards a new route which will deposit me into the forest adjacent to our bunkers. The metallic echo of Ester discharging her weapon follows by a dart whizzing past my head. In these constricted tunnels, she holds an advantage not only because of her smaller size but also her weapon, which will stop me from getting too close to her. One more hit and it’s game over for me - she knowsit too, hence her relentless mockery as I push myself to keep moving.

“Marrissa told me Azalea was dead. Stupidly, I believed her. Had I known she was alive, I would have finished her off too! Her father ruined me! He used me!” she screams as I try to keep moving. I just need to burn it out of my system. If I stop, I know I won’t get back up.What is in those darts?I curse, my legs faltering as my pace slows.

“I thought he loved me!” She laughs like a maniac, and I can hear her drawing closer.

“Turns out he was fooling around with me to piss off my brother. What better way to get back at his wife’s mate than to fuck his sister? Prick!” she curses and I try to focus on moving, each step, taking serious effort on my part.

“Then he tried to destroy me and take my baby from me! I kept thinking maybe Garret would change his mind once he was born. How was I supposed to know he wouldn’t inherit the Landeena gifts? And he shunned me again, but I made him pay for that mistake! Crux was right. Garret Landeena was nothing but a manipulative asshole!” I hear her rambling like she has something important to say, but do my best to ignore her.

Seeing the light up ahead, I feel another dart skim past me, the feathers grazing my cheek as it narrowly misses me. The sounds of panicked servants reach my ears, and relief floods me, knowing they got out and are near the bunkers to take cover, so I know Azalea must be close by. I just have to get to her. Seeing the narrow opening up ahead, I push harder, forcing myself to run, and drop my shoulder.

This one comes out on the mountainside, with a wire gate blocking the entry. I see kids rush past the exit heading for the bunker with the castle servants, and my shoulder crashes against the mesh, making them jump just as Peter runs by me.

I crash through the mesh just as she growls and tosses the now empty dart gun at me. It hits me on the downfall as I burst through the meshed gate and spill out onto the ground. My body rolls as my momentum is off, and I slam against a tree.

Ester growls, stepping out of the open tunnel, and stalking toward me. Yet, the wolfsbane in my system burns my veins like acid and scorches my insides as it makes its way through muscle and tissue, rendering me incapable of moving forward.

I groan, pushing up off the ground with one hand, knowing I have to get to Azalea, but first I need to end this bitch. My vision blurs as she stalks toward me, and I force myself up, swaying as I clutch the tree I rolled into. Staggering, I swing wildly at her, and she laughs, jumping back as my vision doubles. Yet, I can feel it is slowly and painfully burning out of my system. Whatever she gave me was stronger than just wolfsbane. However, the more I push through the pain, the toxins burn out, slowly. My muscles no longer spasm the way they had been, though my vision is dangerously blurry.

“I enjoyed killing Claire, but I think I will enjoy killing the Lycan King more!” Ester laughs when I see a shadow move behind her. My eyes flick back to her. She flexes her fingers, her claws slip free, and she raises her arm to swing at me. My reflexes are slower yet still, my hand whips out at the last second, catching her wrist, when I hear a scream.

Ester tenses and staggers, forcing me to let her go as she stumbles toward me and falls onto her knees. Only when I do, I notice Peter behind her, a branch in his hand. He lifts it, swinging it again at her head before turning into a frenzied rage and raining blow after blow down on her as I try to remain upright.

“I loved you! I loved you, but you didn’t love me! You were my mother! Why didn’t you love me?” he roars, repeatedly swinging the branch at her head, caving her skull in.

Tears streak down his face as he bashes her head in, crushing her skull into the earth. Brain matter spills out her ears and through the back of her skull as it cracks open like an egg. Still, he swings, the branch breaking in his hands when I grab him, hauling him back with my arm across his chest.

He screams, brandishing the broken branch, and I look down at Ester. Her head is crushed under his blows and no longer distinguishable to the eye. “Enough Peter.” I rasp. “She’s dead, you’ve killed her,” I tell him, and he breathes heavily, taking in her remains. He drops the branch, catching his breath.

“Where is Azalea? Where is your sister?” I gasp, and Peter looks up at me over his shoulder.

“With the others. I will take you,” he tells me as he points toward the castle, and he runs ahead while I stagger, trying to keep up with him. I can hear fighting and the chaos of war.

Peter runs up the incline as more children rush down the hill with staff. I see Clarice standing at the top when she suddenly screams, making my heart splutter in my chest, and adrenaline fuels me to move faster.

I slip on the wet grass, coming up behind her to see Azalea stop, and Trey screams out for her at that exact second. I track her movements to see her go after Logan, who is walking into the line of fire and in the wrong direction. My eyes widen in horror, and my heart pumps erratically.

A gasp escapes me when I see Azalea run directly into the path of the hunters to retrieve him. It feels like everything slows down, time almost stopping for a few fateful moments. Or maybe I think it does as I watch my mate risk her life to save the boy.

Trey shoves Tyson into Clarice’s arms and runs after her just as I regain my footing on the slippery slope when Abbie screams out to her. Azalea lifts her head and looks at Abbie just as Abbie’s body collides with Azalea’s, her arms locking around her in ahug, and at the last second, Abbie pivots. That’s when I notice the hunter with his gun aimed directly at her.

As the echoes of the gunshot tear through the air, a heart-stopping silence falls. I see Abbie’s body jolt against Azalea, their forms entwined. Time slows, almost to a halt, as the dreadful reality unfolds before my eyes.

Azalea’s face, a mask of raw, unfiltered horror, twists in agony as she clutches Abbie closer. Her scream—a soul-shattering wail—cuts through the chaos, slicing into the marrow of my bones. It’s a sound that etches itself into the core of my being, a haunting scream that makes my entire body cold as if bitten by frost.

The profound pain that erupts through our bond is glacial, that seizes my heart and squeezes mercilessly. It’s as if Azalea’s anguished spirit reaches through the bond, clutching my soul, shredding it with her grief. At that moment, my own heart feels scorched, incinerated within my chest by the ferocity of her despair.

Clutching my chest, I can barely keep my balance as I stagger down the hill, each step heavy, drawn toward Azalea’s grieving figure. She cradles Abbie’s limp form, an image of devastating loss painted against the chaotic backdrop of battle. Azalea’s cries pierce the air again, a broken, haunted melody of utter devastation.

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