Sacrifice

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

 

                Sophia tried sinking her teeth into Victor’s neck, but the thick fur of his mane protected him. Victor shook his head, sending Sophia flying off like she was nothing but a minor annoyance. She landed on her side, but immediately sat up, growling at Victor.

                For the moment, Victor forgot about his son, still laying on the ground, as he turned his attention to the alpha wolf. Sophia had not fought against a male lion yet, and she wasn’t looking forward to facing off against the one coming towards her. As tired as she was, she didn’t stand a chance. Not that she would have had a chance at full energy, but at least then, she could have gotten away.

                Instead, she was left with one option – hope she got lucky.

                Before Victor could come close enough to strike, a loud roar came from behind him. Victor didn’t even have the chance to turn his head when Gabriel landed on top of him. The younger lion bit and scratched, and Sophia rushed forward as quick as she could. Together, she knew the two of them could take him down.

                While he was distracted with Gabriel, she grabbed his muzzle, biting down as hard as she could before being flung aside with a swipe of his paw. Victor immediately turned his attention back to Gabriel who had given him a scratch while distracted, and Sophia jumped up, ready to show why it was a bad idea to leave an angry alpha wolf behind him.

                She knew going for his throat wouldn’t work with his mane protecting him, so instead, Sophia went for his unprotected flank, grabbing him in her jaws and biting down as hard as she could. The lion roared in pain, and for a brief moment, she felt victorious, like she had accomplished something. It didn’t last long, however, as he turned towards her, grabbing her with his teeth and flinging her aside.

                The force of her landing knocked the wind out of her, and she was slow to get up. In that time, she saw that Victor knocked Gabriel to the ground. She growled, but she was more concerned about Gabriel’s wellbeing than she was angry at Victor for hurting him.

                With Gabriel out of the picture, temporarily, Victor was able to turn his full attention to Sophia. Gabriel had hit his head, but he knew he would be fine. It was Sophia that he was really worried about. She had started to fight his father already injured and tired, and Gabriel was doing his best to keep her safe. For a while, it had been working, but soon Sophia had become too annoying for Victor to put up with.

                Gabriel knew that his father wouldn’t hesitate to kill Sophia and he managed to get up. He had several injuries, but there would be time for those to heal later. The most important thing at the moment was to ensure that Sophia made it home safely.

                Victor reached Sophia, and for one horrible second, Gabriel thought he was too slow to help her. To his relief, Victor didn’t immediately kill her. Instead, he had something much worse in mind. He grabbed her by one of her forelimbs and shook her, sending her flying as he released her. Sophia’s body bounced along the ground as she hit, and Gabriel hoped she was merely unconscious.

                He surprised himself by putting on a burst of speed to get between his father and his mate. He growled and swiped at Victor as he came closer. Gabriel knew that he wouldn’t hesitate to go through him, but he was hoping that he could hold him off long enough for someone else to come to his rescue.

                If no one did, Gabriel was sure that both he and Sophia would lose their lives.

                Gabriel held his ground, waiting for Victor to make the first move. He didn’t have long to wait, as Victor almost immediately lashed out with a paw, his claws narrowly missing Gabriel’s face as he dodged. At the same time, Gabriel struck, aiming his own claws underneath his father’s chin. As soon as he felt contact, he dug in, tearing the skin open.