Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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The rogue horn blared again, louder this time. The sound ripped through the packhouse walls and made every face in the chamber snap toward the ceiling. My stomach dropped. I was still in Damien’s arms, his body curled around mine like he could block the world with his shoulders, when the first screams started outside. Not distant screams. Close ones. Real ones.
Damien pulled back fast, eyes hard. “Stay here.”
“No way.” I grabbed his shirt, fingers twisting into the torn, bloody fabric. “I’m not hiding while everyone’s fighting.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, and honestly, I was ready to argue back like my life depended on it, but the shouting got worse above us. Feet thundered across the floor. Something crashed so hard dust fell from the chamber ceiling. Damien cursed under his breath and kissed my forehead quick. “Stay close to me then.”
We ran out of the chamber together. My legs were still weak from whatever my body had just done, but I forced myself up the stairs with one hand dragging along the stone wall. Damien stayed half a step ahead, looking back every few seconds to check I was still there. The packhouse was chaos. People were running in every direction. Some warriors were missing, the ones who had abandoned their posts earlier. I heard them yelling in the hallways.
“Half the border is open!”
“They left us!”
Damien’s wound was still bleeding through his shirt but he didn’t slow down. His jaw was clenched, and every time his foot hit the floor, I saw pain flicker across his face. Then he shifted mid-run, bones cracking, turning into his black wolf before my eyes. The force of it made the air move around him. I stayed right behind him, heart pounding.
I refused to hide. I ran toward the main hall where the kids and servants were rushing in. They looked terrified, some barefoot, some crying, some dragging bags they clearly did not need. A little boy was crying, holding his arm. Blood was dripping down his sleeve.
“Hey, come here,” I said, dropping to my knees. I kept my voice soft even though everything inside me was screaming. I ripped a strip off my hoodie and wrapped it around his arm tight. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
He sniffed hard, eyes wide. “Is my mum coming?”
I swallowed and tied the cloth tighter. “She’s coming. But right now you stay with me, okay?”
A servant lady was limping past, one hand pressed to her hip. I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the safe room. “This way. Stay inside.”
She stared at me like she didn’t expect me to touch her, like she had forgotten I was a person and not the problem everyone kept whispering about. Then she nodded and let me guide her in.
Some pack members watched me. Their faces changed a little. Not fully kind. Not yet. But less hateful, maybe. One older woman nodded at me as I helped another kid inside. I remembered her from the hallway, the one who had said the pack was fine before me. She looked at the blood on my hoodie and then at the
11:47 Thu, May 21 ♫
Chapter 92
child tucked against my side, and for once, she said nothing.
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I kept moving, grabbing anyone who looked hurt and pulling them toward the safe room. My fingers slipped on door handles, on sleeves, on the edge of the table as I pushed it aside to clear the path, but I didn’t stop. A girl no older than six tripped near the stairs, and I scooped her up before anyone stepped on her. She wrapped both arms around my neck and sobbed into my shoulder.
“You’re okay,” I told her, even though I wasn’t sure any of us were. “Don’t look back. Just hold on.”
A loud crash came from the hallway. A rogue burst through the window, glass shattering everywhere.
Everyone screamed and ducked. It was huge, eyes glowing, shoulders scraping broken wood as it shoved itself into the main hall. Its head snapped toward the safe room where the kids were.
I didn’t think. I grabbed the nearest thing, a heavy metal candle holder from the table, and ran at it.
“Get away from them!” I screamed, swinging the candle holder as hard as I could.
It cracked against the rogue’s head. The shock of it ran up both my arms. The thing snarled and turned on me, lips peeling back from huge teeth. I swung again, hitting its shoulder. It lunged and knocked me back. I hit the wall hard, air punching out of my lungs, but I kept the candle holder up.
A little girl behind me started crying. The rogue tried to grab her. I jumped in front and swung again, catching it in the jaw.
“Leave her alone!” I yelled, voice cracking.
I kept swinging, breathing hard, blood from a cut on my hand dripping down the metal. The rogue snapped at me but I dodged and hit it again. My shoulder burned, my knees nearly buckled, but every time I heard a child cry, something in me got louder than fear.
Damien’s wolf crashed through the door right then. He tore into the rogue, teeth sinking into its throat. The fight was fast and brutal. I pressed the little girl behind me, blocking her eyes while holding the candle holder. The rogue went limp in seconds.
Damien shifted back, naked and bloody, and ran to me. His eyes went wide when he saw the blood on my hands and the little girl clinging to my leg, face buried in my side. His hand lifted like he wanted to touch me everywhere at once to check what was hurt first.
The pack members who had been watching from the hallway stared in shock.
The little girl looked up at me, eyes still wet. She hugged my leg tighter and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, “Thank you, Luna.”
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