"So much for what?"
A cracking sound resonated throughout the quiet forest as Xavier landed a punch on Max's face, successfully breaking his nose. Max's hand cupped his now broken as he screamed in pain. Another kick from Xavier on the middle of his chest had him skidding a few feet back falling on the floor.
Selena stood back and watched this until a sudden realisation hit her. Most of the hunters were down. Max was right in front of his eyes, alone. So where the hell was Leon? Her eyes widened and she started looking around frantically.
'Alpha, Luna. Asteria and Saanjh, the two witches in the hospital just told us to inform you that Leon might have fled the scene. They only found Max there and no sign of Leon,' Roy linked them. He had opened the channel to both her and Xavier knowing how important capturing Leon was.
"This can't be happening," Selena whispered. When she looked at Xavier, he knew exactly what her next move was going to be.
As Selena ran into the forest in search of Leon, Xavier didn't run after her. But he knew how dirty Leon could play. He turned his head towards his beta.
Max was left amazed as he stared at them. He knew these creatures could communicate telepathically, but to see it first hand? Moreover, this time, he was sure they weren't even saying anything. The beta moved before the alpha could have finished his sentence.
Maybe this was just what happens when you have known a person and worked with them all your life, he wondered.
Xavier saw Max looking up at them with wonder, but his blank face didn't budge. Pulling Max up by his collar, Xavier punched him again, and the third time he punched, he let go of his collar, making him fall on his ass with a thump.
All the warriors remained silent as they saw their alpha's eyes release the glaring old on the hunter as he stepped over the man on the ground and looked at the forest with worry shining in them. With a heavy sigh, Xavier turned back and squatted down to look at the man.
"I should keep you alive," he muttered after pulling Max back up so that he was staring right at Xavier's glowing silver eyes. Xavier made sure that the hunter could see in his eyes how serious he was before he continued, "That way you can die every second of every day. I can then make you relive every nightmare that you made my kind go through for years."
Max's eyes widened in fear, Xavier revelled in the fear of his prey. His inner predator was growling to be let out, to play chase with this pathetic excuse of a human being. The beast wanted blood, and the only weapon Xavier could use to stop Zion from ripping Max to shreds was to promise torture.
"Death is too easy of a punishment for you. You should suffer, get a taste of what it is like to be on the receiving end of the whip."
The alpha almost looked crazy the way he was talking, half of his words were distorted because of the growls a very furious Zion was letting out. But who could blame him?
This man, along with another, used and abused his soul mate for two whole years. Of course he was furious, and nobody dared to question him.
Xavier sighed, once again looking away. Looking at max filled him with disgust like he never knew. However, with that disgust was blinding hot rage.
It wasn't just his soul mate anymore. His mother was currently in the hospital bed fighting for her life; his best friend's lover just gave her life to help them and she didn't even know them! So many warriors are dead. Just because a few humans had a hard time grasping their existence? As much as the witches were to blame, these guys could have taken some smarter decisions too.
Max relaxed for a second as he was released from Xavier's intense stare but his relief was short-lived. Before he could blink his eyes, a burning hot sensation of pain flowed through his body as he screamed and sobbed in pain.
His hand was twisted at a very awkward angle. His screams had turned into sobs when he noticed the condition of his hand and for one second, Max regretted ever going after the Ferocious Shadows Pack.
"Seth!" Xavier said, his voice had the knees of the warriors trembling. If he had addressed any of them in this voice, they would be down on their knees with their heads bowed before they had even noticed. "Get him to the dungeons."
Max was crying on the floor in fear as well as pain but. Xavier could feel the pleasure of his beast on hearing those sounds but worry took over his mind when he received no answer from Seth. He looked back and his eyes went through all the warriors standing there. Seth was standing at one side with his head bowed, a hand over his stomach, looking very much in distress.
Xavier got back up on his feet, a concerned frown etched over his face, "Seth?"
Seth looked up, the frown on his face falling, "Yes alpha, I will take him to the dungeons."
"Are you okay, Seth?" he asked again.
Seth nodded, this time with a small smile and walked to where Xavier was. He picked Max up roughly and dragged him without waiting for him to get on his feet.
The alpha observed how Seth walked away. The warrior was carrying himself with strength but Xavier was known for his observant nature. He knew for a fact that something was wrong and made a point to ask him when he returned. When Seth left, Xavier looked around the field, his eyes falling on all the fallen soldiers.
Evelyn placed a hand on his shoulder making Xavier let out a tired sigh. He brushed his hand over his forehead once and looked at all of the warriors who were alive.
"Take every fallen wolf into the hospital. Clean them up, we will be paying our respect to them tomorrow. Also, if you have any injuries, big or small, get them checked. It doesn't matter even if it's a knife cut. I want every one of you inspected."
Xavier closed his eyes before he opened his shining silver eyes, "This is one of the darkest days in the history of our pack. But on this day, I must say that I am honoured to have led this pack today. The bravery and loyalty that you all have shown today fills me with pride to call you my pack."
The wolves could feel the pride in the voice of their alpha, which in turn filled them with pride too. One by one, each and every wolf fell on their knees and bowed their heads.
"We are proud to be a part of your pack and serve under you, alpha," they all said together making Xavier give them a sad smile.
"You okay?" Evelyn asked softly.
Xavier sighed, "No, but let's go see how mom is doing."
"What about Selena?" Evelyn asked confused.
"She and Ryan went to look for Leon in the woods. After everything Leon has done to her, it is fair that she gets to kill him. I am happy just to have Max to myself."
"Are you not worried that she is all alone?"
He looked at Evelyn, "She isn't... Ryan is–"
"I meant with you here and not with her. Connor is freaking out inside the hospital. I imagined you would have gone with her," Evelyn explained interrupting him.
Xavier scoffed, "Did you see her while in complete coordination with her witch? Add Izzy to that and she will crush Leon like a fly."
Evelyn chuckled but soon the seriousness returned again, "When you were talking to Max... You sounded sadistic."
Xavier looked at her, "I meant every word of it. I wanna see his life flash before his eyes and bring him back from there to health only to repeat it all over again. He ruined the pack of strongest wolves, my mate's pack, tried to ruin mine, killed one of my best friends, had my mother stabbed... Lorcan is devastated! Moreover, did you forget about Kennedy? They mutilated a pup... a pup! " His eyes glowed once again, "So yes, Evelyn, I want him dead, but before that, I want to see him suffer, begging us wolves, whom he hates so much, for mercy. I want to see him die mentally before his body gives up."
Evelyn nodded. Nothing she could have said would have changed his outlook and she knew it too. Moreover, a part of her wanted the hunters to suffer as much as Xavier did if not more. So with Xavier's arm now around her, they started walking to the hospital.
Aiden and Jayce saw the whole scene unfold. They turned to look at each other when the warriors started removing the bodies of their fallen brothers.
"Is it really over?" Aiden asked in a small voice.
Jayce smiled at him, but there was a certain sense of sadness in his voice, "We won."
"I almost lost you," Aiden whispered, his voice shaking. Jayce placed a hand on his mate's cheek, using his finger to wipe away the tear that escaped his eyes and Aiden placed his own hands on Jayce's chest to feel his heartbeat. "My mother..."
When Aiden trailed, afraid of voicing out the reality, Jayce leaned in to place a kiss on Aiden's forehead. The man was terrified and the former could smell the fear of his mate. Jayce whispered as softly as he could, "C'mon, let's go see how she is doing."
The two walked towards the hospital in a hurried way.
On the other hand, Selena was wandering the woods in her wolf form, looking everywhere for Leon and growing more and more aggravated when she couldn't find him. When Ryan approached Selena, he couldn't help but be in awe of the beauty of her wolf. Her brownish-red fur now seemed more vibrant than before, almost shiny, and her eyes were purple even in her wolf form.
"Luna, we should head back," he whispered gently. Izzy was in charge and considering how aggravated she was, he didn't want to get on her bad side.
'I need to find him,' the voice answered in his head.
"He isn't here, there is no scent of him anywhere, Alpha needs you," he whispered with sadness.
She stilled and before turning to face Ryan.
'Adriana?' she asked in concern, a tinge of fear in his voice.
"The doctor didn't say anything yet, but it doesn't seem to be in a very good state. Xavier... he isn't okay."
'Come back to the hospital! FAST!'
Evelyn's voice rang in their head. Both of them shared an alert look for a millisecond before Ryan also burst into his wolf and both of them rushed back towards the packhouse.
When Selena skidded to a stop in front of the pack hospital, she saw how two werewolf warriors, who were very much alive and okay when she left, were now lying on the ground with their eyes wide open and lifeless, their veins pushing out for everyone to see and black patches on their skin like their body was burning from within.
Selena didn't answer Izzy and changed into her human before looking at the scene with her head tilted, her purple eyes enough to show the presence of Inara just below the surface.
However, Selena didn't linger around there and entered the hospital. When she entered the hospital, everyone was in a rush.
"What happened?" she asked one of the doctors walking by her.
"Some of the werewolves were injected with poison. Wolfsbane along with something we can't quite recognize."
The doctor walked by without waiting and Selena too followed the scent of her family.
When she entered the floor where she could sense Xavier, her face paled as she noticed the scenario. Damien was standing facing a wall, his head against his hands on the wall and he had his eyes closed. Xavier was pacing around the hallway Evelyn was sitting on a chair, her face void of any emotions as silent tears ran down her face.
"Evelyn," she called, her eyes still on her mate. Xavier stopped pacing and looked at her. The desolation in his eyes was enough to break her heart but whereas Xavier looked distraught, Evelyn looked numb and that scared at her. However, Evelyn's eyes shifted to hers and when she saw the flicker of emotion, even if it was pain, Selena sighed internally.
"All of them... all of them-" Evelyn broke into sobs and Selena's eyes widened.
She pulled Evelyn into a hug as she cried onto her shoulders while her widened eyes remained on Xavier.
"Somehow a few of the hunters injected some stuff into some of the wolves," Xavier said out loud answering his mate's silent question.
"Injected?" She repeated confused.
"There is no other way. Some of them even remembered feeling a pinprick but they didn't pay attention to the little things when there were knives slashing away at them."
Selena's eyes instantly went to her mate's side, where there was a long, angry red line diagonally from a little below his shoulder to his stomach.
When Evelyn stopped sobbing, Selena gently made her sit. After making sure she was okay, she walked to Xavier.
"Why isn't Connor with her right now?" She muttered to herself but Xavier answered.
"Connor, Seth, Aiden, Jayce... they are all down, Evelyn said they injected something into her too. But we are assuming it was Lorcan's girlfriend who healed her."
"Wait, Lorcan's girlfriend was here?" She asked surprised. But when Xavier didn't answer, her face fell and she closed her eyes, remembering the warlock's crestfallen face, "Is that why he looked so..."
Xavier nodded. He looked up at his mate's eyes, the care in them for their friends and family reminding him of one of the reasons why he adored her so much.
"Are you okay?" he asked and placed his palm gently on her cheek, stroking.
Selena seemed to think for a second before answering, "I couldn't find him. Leon. He is gone."
Xavier scoffed, "I am not surprised he fled."
"I am worried he will come back again."
"I am sure he will. I am also sure that you will crush him like a fly."
Selena sighed but she couldn't smile. She was worried. "Even after all this, will we really lose so much to them?"
Xavier gently pulled her in for a hug and tried to provide her with as much comfort as he could.
The door to one of the rooms opened and instantly Damien was in front of the doctor.
"Christopher," he said and stared at the doctor with an intensity that was enough to make a grown man pee his pants. Even though the doctor held his own pretty well, he was this close to losing it.
"T-the knife was soaked in poison, the same one that all the others have been injected with. We still don't know what that is so I had no way of knowing how to heal her."
"Get to the point, Christopher," Damien growled.
"I deeply apologize, alpha. We tried to suck out the poison but it had already attacked a few of the major organs. The Wolfsbane slowed down her healing and... even though we have sucked out the poison, her organs are already failing, there was just no way. I am so, so sorry."
"Son of a bitch!" Xavier growled as he punched a hole in a wall, making the nurses and other doctors gasp in surprise and terror.
Damien pushed past the door and entered the room silently when another door opened and a different set of doctors walked in.
Xavier had taken a step back and was now leaning on the wall, his eyes shut tightly. Evelyn sat crying on the seat.
Selena cleared her throat and looked at the doctors, "What's the news?" Her voice was shaky but no one was bothered about that at this point.
"We could suck out the poison from Jayce, Aiden and Connor but they didn't wake up yet. They weren't breathing either so we had to put them on life support."
"They weren't breathing?" Selena asked in a small voice, the only other sound was of Evelyn sobbing.
The doctor shook his head, "We hoped they would wake up, but we cannot find anything wrong with them so we don't know yet why they weren't waking up or why their heart stopped."
Selena closed her eyes.
"Seth?" Xavier asked as he looked at the doctors from where he was leaning.
The doctor visibly gulped.
"We couldn't save him alpha. Seth... the poison had reached his heart and brain. It basically fried his organs. There was nothing we could do."
"Goddammit!" Xavier breathed out roughly as he lowered his head, pulling on his hair as he slid down against the wall.
Selena fell on her knees, "So much for what?"
Their full family, all of them were in shambles, and there was nothing for them to do. Nothing.
"Take me out," she whispered suddenly, making Ryan who had just entered the floor look at her, "Take me outside..." she whispered again, "Do it, Ryan!"
Xavier and everyone else looked at them with concern as Ryan held Selena tightly and sped outside the hospital, Xavier was right behind them.
When they stopped a few metres away from the hospital where there were lesser trees, he started panicking, "What is happening?"
"I don't know," Selena gritted, her hands shaking. A loud groan left her lips and she clutched her head to find some comfort through the headache that seemed to tear through her brain.
"Selena? What is it?" Xavier asked now concerned, his eyes were completely silver.
"Move back."
"What's happeni-"
"Move!"
"I am not leaving you!" Xavier shouted back. The wind had picked up speed. The roaring sounds of it made it hard for them to even hear themselves speaking.
Selena was visibly shaking now. Ryan, slightly scared, took a few steps back as he stared at the scene with wide eyes.
"Xavier! I cannot control it! Please!" She screamed but she didn't have the time to hear what Xavier was saying.
She threw her head back and a strong wave of silver and purple exited her, throwing both Xavier and Ryan against the trees. She rose above the ground and levitated.
"What is happening?" Xavier screamed.
"I don't know!" Said Ryan.
The place turned immensely windy as the leaves swayed harshly and a few branches broke. Ryan and Xavier stayed on their hands and knees to keep their balance, barely holding on.
Selena seemed unconscious as her head swayed as she levitated. She remained in that position for a few long seconds before the silver light overpowered the purple that was coming out from her whole figure. Three seconds of utmost brightness before it all stopped and she fell to the ground harshly after a second.
"Selena!"Xavier exclaimed and both him and Ryan rushed to her, but they got no response.