Chapter 190
Elena’s POV
The run on the stairs was heart pounding. If it was any other day, I would turn around and fight to hell but with my nephew in here, I didn’t want to gamble as much as possible.
First, I needed to make sure he was safe. Only then could I be at ease and fight.
Suddenly, smoke filled the ballroom, slowly filling upwards to the stairs. They’re making a cover.
Without wasting time, I hauled Rafael up the steps.
Then in utter suprise, a loud banging sound echoed in just as the door from the bottom of the stairwell was forced open, slamming it against the wall with brute force.
Even the railing shook from it.
“They’re inside!” Kaelen barked, spinning around on the landing between the third and fourth floors. He looked down into the darkness, his knife gleaming in the faint red light of the emergency exit signs.
We could hear them. We could hear the scrabble of claws on metal, the heavy, panting breaths of wolves in pursuit. They were
fast. Too fast.
“Keep climbing, Princess!” Kaelen ordered, but he didn’t move to follow us. He planted his feet wide on the landing, blocking the narrow path upward.
“Kaelen, no!” I gasped, stopping and looking back. “Come with us!”
“I can’t hold them off if I’m running,” Kaelen said, his voice terrifyingly calm. He looked up at me, blood dripping from the gash on his forehead, and offered a grim, but brave warrior smile. “Get the Alpha heir to the armory. Lock the door. Do not open it for anyone but the Prince.”
“Kaelen-”
“Go!” he roared, turning back to face the oncoming horde just as the first shadow leaped up the stairs.
With Rafael in mind I nodded.
I grabbed Rafael’s hand, swallowing the scream that wanted to escape my lips, and ran. We scrambled up the final flight of stairs, bursting through the door into the Family Wing.
This hallway was closed off. There’s no window and only had warm lighting on it. But with the power outage, it became pitch black. Thankfully, we were werewolves and could see enough to keep going.
“Auntie,” Rafael whimpered, his stamina finally catching up with him. “My legs hurt.”
“I know, baby, I know,” I whispered, scooping him up into my arms again. Thankfully, adrenaline gave me strength I didn’t know I possessed. “We’re almost there.”
I sprinted down the hall, aiming for the heavy oak doors of the armory at the end of the wing. It was the most secure room on this floor, filled with antique weapons and reinforced walls.
But as we passed the intersection leading to the guest quarters, I skidded to a halt.
A silhouette stepped out from the shadows, blocking our path.
It wasn’t a rogue wolf.
It was Glenda.
She stood there, casually leaning against the wall as if she had been waiting for a bus. She had shed her heavy cloak, revealing a
173
Cheapar sa
+25 Bonus
torn cocktail dress underneath, and she held the tranquilizer gun loosely in one hand. But it was her eyes that froze my blood. In the moonlight, they looked completely black, dilated with a madness that had consumed her entirely.
“Going somewhere, Princess?” she drawled, the title dripping with venom.
I stepped back, clutching Rafael tight to my side. “How did you get up here?”
“Service elevator,” she smirked, tapping the wall panel. “Did you really think I’d cut the power without having a backup generator for the lifts? I knew you’d run, Elena. You always run.”
She took a step forward. I took a step back.
“Leave us alone, Glenda,” I warned, keeping my voice steady despite the pounding of my heart. “Deacon is coming. You’re trapped.”
“Deacon is busy playing whack–a–mole with fifty mercenaries,” she laughed, a high, jagged sound. “He won’t be here in time to save you. Or the brat.”
She raised the gun, aiming it not at me, but squarely at Rafael’s head.
My instincts screamed. I turned and bolted to the left, kicking open the door to the nearest room, the Master Suite. It was a tactical mistake to trap myself, but I had no choice; the hallway was a killing field.
I slammed the heavy double doors shut and threw the deadbolt just as a body collided with the wood on the other side.
“Open up!” Glenda shrieked, the veneer of calm shattering instantly. She pounded on the door, the sound echoing like thunder in the large bedroom. “You can’t hide in there forever!”
I scanned the room frantically. The Master Suite was huge, with a four–poster bed, a sitting area, and a balcony. But it had no other exit.
“Rafael,” I whispered, setting him down and pushing him toward the walk–in closet. “Get in the closet. Go all the way to the back, behind the coats. Do not make a sound. Do not come out, no matter what you hear. Do you understand me?”
“Auntie, no!” he cried silently, grabbing my hand. “I have the knife! I can help!”
“You help me by surviving,” I said fiercely, cupping his face. “Go. Now!”
He hesitated, a single sob escaping his throat, before he turned and ran into the closer, siting the door behind him.
I was alone.
I turned back to the bedroom door. The handle was rattling violently. Then, the sound of a gunshot… No, the tranquilizer gun… fired into the lock mechanism, and the wood splintered.
But I didn’t hide. Instead, I picked up a heavy brass lamp from the bedside table, ripping the cord from the wall. I stood in the center of the room, breathing hard, waiting.
The door was kicked open.
Glenda stood in the doorway, backlit by the hallway gloom. She stepped inside, kicking aside the splintered wood. She looked around the room, the silk sheets, the wedding photos on the mantle, the life I had built that she so desperately coveted.
“It’s not fair,” she whispered, her voice trembling with a childish rage. “It should have been me. I was the pretty one. I was the one Bryson wanted. I was supposed to be the one with all this glory,”
She leveled the gun at me.
“You were never meant to be a Luna,” I said softly, gripping the lamp. “A Luma protects her people. You just want to own them.” “Shut up!” she screamed, closing the distance. “You stole my litel You stole my destiny! And now, I’m going to take the only
213
Chapter Bay
+25 Bonus
thing you love more than that crown.”
Her eyes darted around the room. She sniffed the air, her wolf senses tracking the scent of fear. Her gaze landed on the closet
door.
A cruel, twisted smile spread across her face.
“Oh,” she cooed, her voice dropping to a horrifying whisper. “Hide and seek? I love this game.”
She ignored me completely, turning her back on me to walk toward the closet. She wasn’t here to kill me. Not yet. She wanted to make me watch. She wanted to drag my son out and end him in front of me.
Rage, hot and white, exploded in my chest. It wasn’t the panic of a victim. It was the primal, ancient fury of a mother.
“Glenda!” I shouted.
She turned, annoyed. “Wait your turn, Elena. I’m going to-”
I didn’t let her finish. I didn’t wait for her to shoot. I hurled the heavy brass lamp with every ounce of strength I possessed. It flew through the air, a golden blur in the moonlight.
Glenda tried to duck, but she was too slow. The heavy base of the lamp clipped her shoulder, spinning her around and knocking the gun from her hand. It skittered across the floor, sliding under the bed.
“You bitch!” she shrieked, clutching her shoulder.
“I am done running from you,” I snarled, stepping between her and the closet. I had no weapon but my hands and my rage.
And let’s face it, I’m stronger than her. Without the worry of having my nephew dead, she would have been long gone.
Glenda bared her teeth, her nails elongating into claws, her eyes shifting fully to black. She crouched, looking not like a woman, but like a monster wearing human skin.
“Fine,” she hissed. “I’ll kill you first. And then I’ll take my time with the boy.”
She lunged.
I didn’t flinch as my blood boiled. I braced myself, ready to show her who’s the real warrior between us.
COIN BUNDLE: get more free bonus
P
Comments
ப
Support
Share
GET IT
3/3
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
