Evelyn POV
I was chasing him back into the carnage. I wouldn’t let him leave, no matter what…he wouldn’t be leaving these grounds again. Not for what he has done in the past and in the present. I also needed to prevent any plans he might have against us in the future.
My body was wounded, I could smell my blood, feel my body needing some help. But the adrenaline was keeping me going, I’d crash at some point but not now, not until I had his neck in between my hands. My tight hands.
I didn’t look at my wounds, I knew if I looked at them they would hurt more. That my mind would finally catch up with my battered body, no thank you. The adrenaline was keeping me going and I was using that to push my body further.
The rogue that had been under house arrest was fast, but I was faster. I was the alpha, the stronger predator. But, and I was now feeling this but as I chased after him….my body was weakened from having fought against the first and then second wave of rogues.
He was heading back towards the main fight. I was jumping over bodies, pushing past rogues and even warriors, as I became a hand’s width away from catching him. As soon as one finger touches him, I’d ensure every finger was wrapped around his throat.
I could feel my pack member’s deaths through the pack bond. Thankfully not as many as I had feared, however, even one death is a death too many. Even though I want to break down from the deaths I couldn’t stop, I needed this. For their deaths to not have been in vain.
I stretch my arm out finally placing a finger on him when he shifts into his wolf form. His wolf’s mouth clamps down on my stretched out arm, his teeth piercing through skin and muscle …hitting and cracking through bone. The pain is excruciating but I close my eyes, refusing to watch his wolf’s pleasure from mauling at my arm.
I refuse to let him win. Refuse to let him get away. I slam my free arm into his side, forcibly pushing fingers through his rib cage..hurting him where it hurts.
It does the trick, his wolf whimpers as he releases my arm from the pain of his bite. He then starts to run again and I have no other choice, I follow. I’m almost off the pack grounds when I hear running behind me.
“Evelyn, wait…” Reuben has chased after me and was gaining on us.
“He can’t get away!” I roar back, determined not to fail my own assignment. That’s when Reuben knocks me to the ground. My legs not expecting it, causing me to tumble head first. I whip my head up off the ground to see the assailant in the distance, I won’t catch up with him now.
No! All that for nothing.
“What did you do that for?” I turn to face Reuben, my anger laced in my voice. “Look at yourself Evelyn, there’s no way you’d be able to defeat another batch of rogues….alone.”
“That’s not your choice to make! Anyway, he was alone…I nearly had him.”
“You don’t know that!” He roars at me, but his anger is ineffective as he pulls me up off the ground, his concern clear in those sea blue eyes.
It’s the shine of the sword held in his hand that finally catches my breath. Not the fighting, the blood or the countless rogues that invaded onto my land…but that sword which is identical to the one that still haunts my dreams.
On closer inspection, it’s covered in blood. I can’t tear my eyes away from it. He must follow my line of vision because the sword is slowly moved behind his back, out of my sight.
“Evelyn…you’re injured.”
“I’m fine!” I coldly respond. I can’t believe he got away. I’ve failed them, failed their memory, I couldn’t let him get away. I could track him, follow his scent, Somehow Reuben reads my thoughts as I take a backward step readying to turn and run.
“No!” He leaps for me and slams me to the ground, his weighty body pressed on top of mine.
“Do you hear me… NO!” His nose was touching my cheek, he was that close.
“Get off me…” I start to to push at his body.
“I’m not letting you go!” He grips my hands that had start to lash out at him, my mini episode resulting in claw marks down his chest. The smell of his blood knocks me out of my madness caused by exhaustion as I start to sob in his chest. He holds me tightly, not giving me an inch of allowance to relaunch my attack.
“Evelyn, it’s over! Where are you?” Noah’s voice enters my mind and I reassure him of my safety.
“I was chasing after the rogue Donnie returned with. Where are you?”
“I’m at the alpha house…Evelyn…” His voice sent raw unbreathable terror through my body.
“The children.” I gasped to Reuben as he understands my panic, pulling me up off the ground and holding my hand, not letting me go as we run back to the alpha house.
I can’t take in the destruction of the homes and families until I hold my own children safely in my arms. As we reach the alpha house I find Noah trying to break through a shutter, trying to get to them.
“Noah?”
“The shutters are broken Evelyn, they won’t retract.” He shouts at me in blind panic.
“Move!” Reuben commands as he takes Noah’s place.
I’ve never seen anybody so strong, he doesn’t stop until a shutter is pulled away, which gives us access to one of the sitting room windows. He smashes it with his elbow and screaming starts to erupt from downstairs.
It’s Elspeth.
My heart breaks wanting to get to her, wanting to reassure her. “Where are they?” Reuben asks but my mind can’t focus due to her screaming.
“Evelyn!” He roars at me.
“The basement…I’ll show you.”
I climb through the smashed window first, not taking care that the broken glass is cutting through my already bloodied skin.
The house was pitch black except for the small glow of light now coming in from the broken window. I head to my office, Reuben following closely behind. The entrance was hidden under my desk, which was back in its correct position. A fail safe of the design to ensure the entrance remained hidden. I start to push at the desk but in my loss of blood, it seems heavier than normal.
“Move!” He growls, his own need to see the children safe taking over him. He moves the desk with ease, which then shows the secret door and steps down to the basement. His head snaps to me, some sort of impressed expression forming on his face.
We are banging on the basement door within seconds as I mind-link Miss Smith to open the door. As she opens it, Reuben takes a strategic step in front of me.
“What are you doing?” I whisper into his ear from behind.
“You’ll scare them, you should have waited outside.”
I didn’t know what he meant at first until I look at my arms and torso..I was a walking blood clot. He was right I should of at least sought medical attention. Especially for my arm, skin was flapping off. the
“Reuben?” Rex slowly comes out from behind Miss Smith.
“Hey kiddo! You all okay?”
Rex’s head nods to Reuben before his eyes turn to me, as he takes in my state. A sob from behind him makes him turn to show Elspeth curled up on Harry’s lap on one of the beds.
“Elspeth?” Reuben slowly moves into the basement, keen to check on her, as am I.
“Bunny…I left Bunny upstairs all alone.” Her little voice cracks.
“Shall we go find him together?” He offers, placing his hand out to her. He remains gentle in his approach to her.
“Is it safe?” Harry tenses, which I thought would annoy Reuben but he just pats him on the back.
“Thank you for keeping her safe.” Reuben nods to Harry, who nods back in return.
“Mummy!” She runs into my arms. The impact, even from a child causes me to wince in pain. But I don’t care, this hug meant everything. I even pull Rex in to join the embrace. Squeezing them both too tightly.
“Mummy?” Elspeth asks with concern.
“I’m okay darling, it just looks worse than it is.” I give her my most reassuring, sweetest of smiles. Which I keep only reserved for her. She turns and puts her hands up in the air to Reuben, indicating that she wants to be carried. He slowly bends down, picking her up and placing her safely into his chest.
“Did you come back to help Mummy?” I hear her ask as they climb the stairs together, her held tightly in his arms.
“I did, I came as quickly as I could.” I hear him respond with a chuckle.
“Mum?” Rex’s hand touches my arm which for the first time makes me properly look at it. Nausea cascades into the pit of my stomach, as it slowly starts to burn at the back of my throat.
“Let’s get you all out of here.” I muster what energy I have left as I escort Rex, Harry and Miss Smith up the basement stairs and out through the broken window.
Donnie is waiting for Harry and as soon as his son is out, he pulls him into his embrace. Noah takes Rex and I, sitting me down to assess my injuries. When Elspeth and Reuben finally come out of the house, Noah rushes up to hold Elspeth.
“Daddy!” She squeals practically jumping into his arms.
“Oh my princess, I was so worried.” He strokes the back of her hair, before looking at Reuben. I was expecting some sort of reaction from Reuben but he surprises me when he simply nods at Noah, before handing Elspeth her bunny teddy. His eyes pull away from Noah and Elspeth, before finding mine in the crowd.
They glare at me with an emotion I can’t quite decipher. Maybe if I could mind-link with him I’d know what he wants to say.
“What happened? Why are you here?” Noah asked Nate as he continued to cradle Elspeth who seemed a lot happier now just by being reunited with her bunny teddy.
“Our trackers found three rogue groups. We took out the first and then followed the second as they launched their attack.” Nate updates Noah.
Three rogue groups? I don’t think we would have survived three rogue groups. It dawns on me exactly what Reuben has done for me tonight and why he stopped me chasing the rogue. He was worried there might be another group of rogues, and I would run right into their trap.
“Red Stone warriors make sure those fires are out and anyone severely injured needs to go to hospital.” Nate orders at their warriors.
“That’s my cue.” Noah chuckles as he places Elspeth onto the ground by my side.
“Your arm Evelyn, you need the hospital.”
“I’ll be over in a bit, let me get these fires out.” I adamantly say as I stand up, a bit too fast having lost quite a bit of blood now. The wobble doesn’t go unnoticed by Reuben who was by my side instantly, keeping me steady.
“Thank you.” I place my hands in his letting him know I appreciate what he has done for my pack tonight, for me.
Looking down I notice his own hands are bleeding, probably from the broken window or the shutters. I don’t even check if anyone is watching, I don’t care. I pull his hands to my lips and place slow sensual kisses at his fingers before opening up his palms and licking my tongue slowly along each cut, each deep wound. Letting my alpha saliva heal him.
He’d heal in no time being an alpha anyway but a sudden surge for my DNA to be in his blood took over me, and for once I needed to give in to my desires. To finally give in to the mate bond.
