The Salvation Trials ✔️

Chapter Thiry-Eight

Winnie Melbourne

I land on the female, barely missing her open jaws. She growls as I land on her but doesn't buckle under my weight, her legs holding firm in the soil.

I feel my males scrambling through the bond as they try to figure out my next move. The plans have changed and I've left them grasping at straws but this bitch is going to die by my hands. I wrap my arms around her neck, snarling as she bucks. When she figures out she can't knock me off, she throws her head back. Her head slams into my nose and I feel warm liquid spill over my mouth and down my chin, my hold loosening. She shakes me off and I land in the dirt on my back.

The female lunges and I feel my eyes darken as she nears. My mouth moves on it's own accord, mouthing unintelligible words as my hands slam onto her head, halting her movements as I'm thrown into her head.

...

Her mind whispers as I fly through, seeing thousands of memories as her identity comes forward.

Layla Withers of Purple Mountain. Age 23. Mated.

Her mate has died in a war within the pack. They revolt, and her male is on the wrong side. The losing side.

Alpha Samuel is upon her as she weeps for her lost mate. He's yanking her up by her arms as she screams in rage.

"A fruitless battle you have fought, everything for naught.", Alpha Samuel whispers to her. "Mercy would be killing you, but I won't. I'll do something much worse."

It skips to a laboratory, her screams echoing against the white walls, screams of pain so loud. Her arms, they've replaced them. The steel glints in the bright lights.

"I own you, Layla. You can never run from Purple Mountain.", Alpha Samuel laughs.

She cries and then something switches within her. Alpha Samuel is her Alpha, and she must serve him.

...

I'm thrown out of her mind with a force so strong it leaves me gasping for air. She flys away from me and lands on the soft soil, panting harshly as she stares at me in fear. I sit up and look at my hands in disbelief before fisting them.

"Layla.", I whisper to her. Her eyes widen. "It's in your arms. The switch, it's in your arms. Alpha Samuel does not own you."

She shifts, the metal contorting to take the shape of human arms as she looks at them in horror. "I can be free of him?", she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

I nod. "Yes. The switch is controlled by his lenses. Take his lenses or kill him, and it will flip. You'll be you, Layla. The true you. If you can take my mates and I to him, I can help free you."

She clenches her hands into tight fists and puts them to her side while giving me a firm nod. "I'll submit to you and take you to him. I pray you can save me from my hell."

Layla doesn't give me a chance to answer, exposing her neck to me quickly in submission before shifting and running further into Purple Mountain. I shift quickly and follow her, feeling my males follow the sudden change in direction. I can feel Alpha Samuel's power before I see him, but once he comes into view, I'm taken by surprise.

He's a large Alpha, dirty blonde fur. His hangs his tail low and swishes it back and forth slowly as he watches my mates and I enter the lawn in front of the packhouse. There's a male standing behind him who growls viciously, baring sharp teeth at us.

Ezra, Bronze, and James fan out behind me and Alpha Samuel's eyes shift to take them in, the lenses feeding him information. We stand stock still for a few tense seconds before I sprint forward, going low to take out his legs.

His lens shift and he anticipates my move, sidestepping me and nipping at my exposed flank. I growl as there's a sharp pain and then I feel a small trickle of blood. There's a snarl and Ezra appears, lunging for Alpha Samuel. The Alpha of Purple Mountain thwarts his attack, going for Ezra's exposed chest, digging his claws in.

While he's busy with Ezra, I lunge forward and grab him by the tail, yanking him away from my mate as Bronze and James engage the other male. Alpha Samuel yelps and turns around fast, snapping his jaws in my face. I backpedal and dodge his attacks while Ezra slams into him, knocking him off of his feet.

Ezra and I regroup as we watch Alpha Samuel slowly climb to his feet. "We're going to have to fake our attacks. Act like we're going one way and then move in a different direction. While one draws his attention, the other attacks. If I can claw his eyes, he'll be blind. His lenses give him advanced vision, but it can't fix being blind.", I say.

Ezra doesn't get a chance to respond because Alpha Samuel is lunging at his, jaws open. We separate and Alpha Samuel follows Ezra. I take the open and jump forward, clawing his side before falling back as he turns his attention on me. He changes course and follows my backwards movement. I'm not quick enough and he catches me, jaws clamping down onto my shoulder, teeth meeting bone.

I let out an ear splitting howl and Ezra jumps on Alpha Samuel, sinking his teeth into the scruff of his neck. The Alpha doesn't let go of me, only snarls and shakes me from side to side. My body goes limp in his jaws and I shift, the pain too much for my wolf. Before I realized what's happening, fifteen wolves slink out of the trees and advance on Alpha Samuel and Ezra.

"Ezra!", I yell, my heart pounding in worry and fear.

"They're mine. The dead have come to assist us.", Ezra whispers, his voice strained. He jumps off of Alpha Samuel and comes to my side, nudging my arm around his neck. I cling to his fur as he pulls me back. "Give them space. Let them take their vengeance."

I watch in awe as the wolves circle Alpha Samuel. His eyes shift back and forth, attempting to figure out what each wolf is going to do, but he can't. There are too many of them and he can't predict the moves of the dead.

"Hide your face, Winnie. I know you want to watch, but please hide your face. The spirits don't fight like you normally would see. They're more... gruesome.", Ezra says.

I do as he says, hiding my face in his fur just as there's a chorus of growls and then Alpha Samuel's snarl. I hear the sound of claws tearing through flesh and then there's a very human scream filled with agony. I flinch at the disgusting sound of wet squelching and then there's nothing. Slowly, I pull away from Ezra and stare at the wolves who sit in a circle around us. Ezra shifts and looks at each one of them before speaking.

"You have gotten your revenge on the wolf who hurt you. May you live forever in the Goddesses arms.", he says strongly.

One by one, each wolf stands and nods at him. They turn and walk back into the woods, each disappearing with whispers of gratitude. I swallow the lump in my throat and look over at my males, wincing at the throbbing pain in my shoulder. "Rest here for the night, and then we move on. I need proper food and to heal if I'm going to make it."