The Salvation Trials ✔️

Chapter Thirty-Six

Winnie Melbourne

Morning comes early, the sun shining brightly onto the cabin and reflecting off the snow. Ezra and I stand on the front porch waiting for James and Bronze to show back up. I'm anxious as my wolf growls, whispering in my mind that something's not right.

"Something's wrong.", I voice.

Ezra nods. "I feel it too. Bronze and James have been gone for far too long. We should head out and search for them."

Just as I agree with him and step off the porch, James and Bronze burst from the treeline in their wolf forms. As they near the porch, they shift effortlessly and keep their fast stride.

"In the cabin!", James yells.

I step back into the porch just as wolves pour from the treeline behind them, snarling and growling. All four of us scramble inside, slamming the door shut and locking it just as a body slams into it and shakes the door violently in its frame. Bronze yanks a small table in front of it and leans against it. "The Clans.", he gasps.

Yanking a hand through my tangled hair, I snarl loudly. "Fuck!", I curse.

A window shatters as a wolf flies through, landing on the floor before scrambling to his paws. His eyes find mine and he snarls again and then lunges.

I dive to the side, shifting into my black wolf as the male lands in the kitchen somewhere. I hear his paws on the linoleum and I dive over the kitchen counter separating the rooms, landing on the surprised wolf and forcing him to collapse. Growling, I wrap my jaws around the back of his neck and apply a crushing force, hearing bones shatter as he whines pathetically. I leave the wolf as I hear more wolves fill the small cabin, snarling and growling as my mates and I fight back.

Bronze has long abandoned the door and the knob turns, the lock shaking as somebody puts pressure on it before a large female walks in. I shift into my human form and meet her head on, both of us falling over the couch as we grapple. Her fist makes contact with my eye and sends me back a few steps, stars blinding my vision. The stars clear just as she tackles me through a window.

Shards of sharp glass sink into my skin and I hiss in pain. The female is back to her feet as I get myself up onto one knee. She stares down at me with contempt and hatred. "I will deliver the Shadow Wolf to the Goddesses and they will shower me with their blessings.", she announces strongly.

I chuckle, a low sound promising pain and she falters. "Yeah fucking right.", I say just as I lunge.

My shoulder connects with her chest, knocking the air out of her lungs. I feel the bones crack under her pressure as she growls in pain but I keep my momentum going forward, shoving her to the ground. Her hands grip my hair and yank me down with her and I land on top. I pull my fist back and punch her, my knuckles slamming into her nose and shattering it. Blood gushes down her face and I grin at the sight of the red liquid as I call the Shadows forward.

Black veins creep up my arms and my grin grows wider as she screams in fear. Tilting my head as my brothers come closer, covering her arms and legs, I bare my sharp teeth. "You fucked up.", I whisper before flinging myself off her.

The Shadows cover her completely, engulfing the female in a blackness that absorbs all light. Her screams are high pitched in fear and agony before there's a squelching sound and the Shadows recede, leaving nothing behind.

Bronze, James, and Ezra clamber out the broken window and rush towards me. Bronze grabs my arm and pulls me with them as we run into the woods. "The Clans have fallen back and are waiting for reinforcements. Now's our chance to get a head start and start taking out wolves for the Salvation Trials."

"How many wolves are left?", Ezra asks as he dodges a low hanging branch.

James does the math quickly, grinning. There were a few more howls throughout the night and if my calculations are correct, which they normally are, there should be fifteen wolves left. Four Alphas, the rest pack wolves. That includes us."

"So only eleven?", I question.

"Technically yes.", James answers.

I nod and shift, never breaking stride. My three males follow my lead as we run through the woods.

And straight into Purple Mountain.