Screaming. The screams from Mrs. Hollow were the only sound I could zero in on in the grand ballroom. They were so anguished, so heart-tugging, and I was the cause of them. I was the reason she was hovering over her son still choking on the blood protruding from the middle of his throat. His body jerked in spasms while his father was shouting for his son to hold on.
A numb feeling seeped into my fingertips and traveled up throughout my body the moment I saw that shard pierce in Maddox's neck. I—I don't know how to explain it! I honestly don't understand what happened!
One moment, I was hearing him shouting at me, deciding for me that I was going to join the Society. At first, all I felt was confusion... and then I felt so annoyed. But after that distinctive ringing in my ears took over, I couldn't remember what happened next. I didn't see myself doing any of those things leading up to Maddox getting hurt.
That is until Mrs. Hollow screamed and that haze I was in vanished instantly.
My gaze lifted from my trembling hands to the Hollow family. Mrs. Hollow was holding her son's wide eyed, mouth-gaping face, shaking her head for him to not panic. His father was shouting at the rest of the Advanced Hunters, ordering them to radio in immediate help.
Turning away to my aunt and the Weres, my bottom lip and chin quivered. My mind couldn't process what I had just done to Maddox. The guilt was eating away at me as I quickly turned my gaze to the Alpha's son. "Auric..." I whimpered.
Those gray eyes took one look at my panic and flicked his now narrowed gaze at the Ray family. I looked their way, my vision blurring as they stared at me in awe. I could see the increasing interest in their eyes.
"Why—Why'd you do this to me?!" I shouted through a sob, gasping a small breath before glancing through blurry tears at the Hollow family.
When I faced them again, Donovan and Sora looked like proud parents; holding one another close and sticking their chins up. Donovan proudly announced that I was their granddaughter, and that I was no longer going to be looked at as inferior with the Hunter bloodline activated.
Sora hummed behind her lips in thought, pulling from her husband a bit as she stepped forward. "Absolutely remarkable..." she murmured.
Frowning, I shook my head, looking down at my trembling hands then at the glass on the floor. When I looked at Sora, I whispered, "What is...?"
"Why you, Thea Darling. You are what is remarkable. With only half of the Hunter bloodline, it's truly astounding how skillful that throw of yours was. With a piece of glass, too. It certainly works thoroughly with a bit of a temper, I noticed."
Skillful?! Maddox was dying in the middle of their ballroom, and the Rays were complimenting me on my throwing capabilities?! Are they serious right now?!
With her fingers clasped in front of her, Sora smiled. She shook her head, sighing, "Makes me wonder, Donovan—" not taking her eyes off me. "If perhaps our granddaughter is more like Emeel than we predicted. Maybe even more."
Donovan nodded, stepping beside his wife with a proud grin. "We'd have to have the medical team test her out before the initiation."
They were totally having a full-blown conversation with one another like it was a Sunday brunch while the rest of us were freaking out over what I just did! And now they were talking about having a medical team 'test me out'?
I shook my head that there wasn't going to be any testing on me for anything, and that I could only assume their initiation was to become part of the Society, but that was not going to happen either.
"I am not like you guys! I don't kill werewolves!" I shouted, curling my fists at my sides. "And how dare you give me that drink without my permission! I will never forgive you for ruining everything!"
Donovan raised an eyebrow, glancing down at my now tightly closed fists before his gaze met mine. He grinned a bit, pointing out, "Remember your temper, Thea. YOu still need practice to control it."
"Fuck your practice! This isn't a game! This life isn't who I am! I was a happy teenager back in Blood Moon Falls! And now---now I have no fucking idea what's happening to me or—or what the hell I just did to Maddox!"
I looked over at the family again; Mrs. Hollow sobbing out for her son to keep breathing while Mr. Hollow finally turned his gaze over to us. Mr. Hollow shouted over at Donovan that I needed to be punished for what I'd done to Maddox.
"All in due time, Daven," the older man responded, eyeing me in wonderment like a display at a museum.
"Dammit, Master Ray! She attacked my son! And I want justice now! Or I'll take care of it myself!"
He rose to his feet after a sobbed out plea from his wife still holding her son. But Mr. Hollow slapped at her hand to release him and turned his attention to me, and after his threat, I wasn't surprised when the group of werewolves all growled, getting into their fighting stances with their teeth elongated and claws out.
Mr. Hollow narrowed his eyes at them, sneering that they couldn't do anything to save me. Mr. Hollow sneered, briefly stating how it was prohibited for a Werewolf Hunter to attack another without being in the training ring, but that he'd take whatever punishment came to that Societal rule after I was dealt with.
Snarling, Auric lowered his chin with his golden eyes shimmering. Through elongated and bared teeth, he warned Mr. Hollow in a low tone, "Touch her... And I'll finish your son off for her."
Mr. Hollow sneered while I looked at the Ray family. It wasn't hard to notice their curious attention to the protective stance Auric had of me. I swallowed, knowing they'd flip their shit if they found out about my relationship with a Werewolf. The last thing I wanted was for Auric to get hurt.
Donovan was the one who brought this to light, raising an eyebrow and announcing to the room how protective "that" particular young werewolf was of me. And how odd the man found this. I didn't say anything, just frowning back at him while still very much irritated about that drink messing with my bloodstream.
"Not that it's any of your business," the Alpha growled, drawing the Rays' attention. "But Thea has saved my son once and that automatically places him as her official protector to return the favor."
"Is that so?" Donovan's raised eyebrow rose more as he grinned. He cast a side glance my way, his dark eyes gleaming. "We'll have to fix that, Thea Sweetheart. Can't be having you out on the field and feeling sorry for the enemy."
"STOP IT!" I shouted, stepping back with my fists curled. "Stop talking like I'm part of your Society! I never will, do you hear me?!"
"Not yet..." Donovan sneered, his features hardened as he relayed to me that I was going to have to accept who I really am, who I could be, and that I'd be needing his help with that. He kept ignoring Mr. Hollow's aggravated pleas for the olderman to sentence my punishment, and instead held out his hand towards me.
My gaze dropped to the extended hand, swallowing hard as he kept trying to convince me that this was the best solution for me. That I'd be safer with them than a pack of werewolves who would turn on me eventually, if they haven't already.
I looked over at the Weres, their stances still defensive. They turned their heads in the direction of the double doors that swung open and smacked into the walls; a group of armed suited men and women filed into the room and made an arc formation that blocked the doorway. Each one of them held their weaponry up at the ready, eyes set on the pack of Weres in the middle of the ballroom.
Facing Donovan, I narrowed my eyes while he softly smiled back at me. "There is no escape, Sweetheart," he tells me calmly. He nods in the direction of the Weres. "Not for them, anyway. It is part of who we are to rid the world of vermin like them..." Donovan raised an eyebrow, pausing a moment. "But... I will make an exception just this once." He gestures to my group again as he provides an ultimatum. "I will let them walk off the property, Thea. I will let them go---unharmed---but you will have to stay."
"No!" my aunt cried, turning to the Alpha and pleading with him to do something.
Donovan wasn't paying any attention to her as his dark gaze kept mine. He held out his hand more, nodding silently for me to take it. "All you have to do is stay. And they will be safe."
I slowly broke my gaze from his to glance at the Alpha's narrowed eyes on the armed group. He looked to be calculating something, while I shifted to Auric beside him whose eyes never left me. His jaw locked, slanting to the side. Auric's eyes narrowed, his lip curling with a low growl.
When I looked at Donovan and his extended hand, his wife was now stepping beside him and gave me a stern nod. "Come along, Dear. No need to prevent the inevitable."
Out of nowhere, an aggravated, "Fuck this!" from Mr. Hollow had me turning just in time to see the man reaching down to pull out a dagger from the side of his left leg and threw it in my direction. A small scream escaped me and I ducked as the knife flew over my head, but that was the breaking point for the Weres.
They snarled and broke out of formation into various directions; some towards the group of armed Hunters charging forward, and then there was the Alpha rushing Mr. Hollow with Jonah and Auric at his sides. I looked around me, wide eyed at the snarls and gunshots echoing the room. Some of the Hunters cried out when clawed across the chest or stomach, a few howls of injured Weres echoed when attacked back.
I noticed the Ray family disappeared from the chaos, and I turned away when I could see a few hunters and Mr. Hollow taking on the Dennisons. My gaze landed on Mrs. Hollow holding her son close—- completely oblivious to what was going on around her. I pushed myself up to my feet, running in her direction.
A bullet shot my way and I gasped, ducking to the floor again before keeping my eyes open to my surroundings as I was running over. When I approached her, Mrs. Hollow turned her tearful violet-blues to me.
I bit my lip, knowing that at the moment was no time to apologize. "We gotta get him out of the way," I told her, reaching over to stand around Maddox to lift him up, but Mrs. Hollow shouted for me to get away from her son. She was no longer crying, but her eyes were blazing just as her husband's.
"I'm trying to help you!" I shouted at her, glancing around in case of any stray bullets.
Mrs. Hollow looked conflicted, her eyes falling to her pale-faced son still gasping for breaths with the glass still lodged in his throat. I let out a frustrated groan before ignoring her and reaching down to hold Maddox under the armpits and shouted at her to take hold of his legs.
The woman blinked a few times, staring at me and it wasn't until I yelled, "Get him!" that Aunt Penny appeared; blood trickling down the side of her forehead, and shoved Mrs. Hollow out of the way. She bent to grab hold of Maddox's legs and helped me move him to the far end of the ballroom.
I grunted each step of the way with his weight and my aunt spoke through grit teeth that I wouldn't be able to save Maddox and stick around at the same time.
"You're going to have to trust me on this, Thea, that they'll try to help him. But we have to get you and the others out of here! Now!"
I set Maddox down for a split moment. My guilt of hurting him was eating at me already and it was going to consume me not knowing whether he'd be okay.
Aunt Penny's eyes widened and reached over, pulling me to her while shouting, "Look out!" just as two knives pierced into the crimson wall behind where I had been standing. The hilts of the knives are still wobbling up and down from the throw.
Aunt Penny and I whipped around seeing Mrs. Hollow sneering at us. She reached down to pull out two more knives and pulled them upward with her arms crossed at the wrists before flinging her weapons at us.
I cried out when there was a sting across my right cheek, turning away to hold my hand to my face. My eyes looked down at my hand with a bit of blood on it and I looked over at Aunt Penny shrieking from the knife pinned into her left shoulder. Her hand shook as she reached up to grab the hilt and yanked it out.
Locked on the blood dripping from her shoulder, staining her blouse, there was this itching in my fingertips seeing my aunt in distress. She leaned forward with the hand of her uninjured arm pressing against her wound.
And then I heard a pained, growled cry. I went wide-eyed when seeing Mr. Hollow pulling out a long dagger from Auric's side.
"AURIC!" the Alpha shouted, his gold eyes wide before having to dodge a Hunter's swing.
A jolt of something unexplainable was vibrating through me. I could feel the itching spread from my fingertips and shoot up to the middle of my chest. My teeth clenched as a familiar ringing in my ears had my hardened gaze snap to Mrs. Hollow who stood across from me.
My lip curled into a snarl the moment the woman's snarky response of, "Eye for an eye, I suppose."
Her fingers were quick to lift her leg and pull out a thick bladed knife and throw it in my direction. But mine were quicker.
I straightened, spinning to the left before my arm straightened out to the side and backwards; my fingers catching the knife by the tip. I narrowed my eyes, snapping my head back to Mrs. Hollow whose eyes widened and took a step back before I flung the knife back at her. The woman was experienced enough to duck, but another Hunter in the middle of a scuffle with Violet and Langley had the misfortune of taking the knife to the back of their head.
My blood was pumping with every running step I took---ignoring my aunt calling out to me---and I pulled my arm over my other shoulder, bringing my elbow to the middle of Mr. Hollow's back. The man jerked forward, spinning around with his arm in full swing, but I ducked backwards, coming forward to punch him in the face. His chin went back as I leaned forwards and crossed my arms at the sides of his legs; my hands grabbing onto the hilts of the knives strapped to each leg.
While I was tugging them out of their holsters, Mr. Hollow's eyes widened in surprise. He looked down then up at my fired up gaze. I took the knives up, flipping them in my hands before dragging them down into both of his thighs, only retracting one to spin away from his anguished cries and throwing the other knife I still had into another Hunter's back.
Blinking a few times, I stepped back looking between the fallen Hunter and Mr. Hollow kneeled on the floor with his hand pressed against his wounds. Blood dribbled down his dark pants and onto the floor and his hands. He cried out when trying to take out the knife still jammed into his leg.
My shaking hands curled to stop them from doing so as I looked away to the Alpha holding up his son who growled out that he was fine. Aunt Penny hurried over to us, still holding her shoulder and winced to the Alpha that we had to escape now before more reinforcements came. Mr. Dennison nodded, ordering his younger son to hold himself together until they got me out of there. Auric's eyes shifted to mine before he nodded to his dad.
The Alpha threw his head back and howled; echoing a powerful order that made the other Weres simultaneously turn our way before some of them shifted in mid-air and bolted for the door after Aunt Penny led the way.
Auric reached over and grabbed hold of my hand, tugging me with his long legged run. I looked over my shoulder once more at the Hollows; Mrs. Hollow holding her husband, Maddox, still where I had left him earlier... And then I felt a strong gaze on me from somewhere else.
Looking up at the balcony, Donovan and his wife stood there with their chins held high and eyebrows raised. The old man's tight lipped look turned into a satisfied smirk before his dark eyes hinted that this wouldn't be the last of seeing him.
Rounding the corner, I faced forward, panting heavily from the speed I was running. Aunt Penny shouted, "This way!" while looking over her shoulder at us.
The Alpha shouted that the only way out was through the front, but Aunt Penny replied through her panting that there was a back route through the Estate property. That it was just going to take a little longer to get through.
"We can make it if we hurry! Donovan is going to have the others tail us!"
I swallowed down a gulp of air, looking over my shoulder and widened my eyes. "Auric!" I gasped.
He looked behind us and cursed under his breath at the new group of people taking chase. He faced forward, heeding warnings to the others in wolf form and to his father and my aunt.
Aunt Penny frowned, "Shit!" then waved, "This way!" while making a left turn. We ran down a corridor until the very end of it where she pushed against a wall and it slipped open. She ushered us in, giving orders for us to take the flight of stairs to the first floor and then make a right. Once we were all through, she used her good shoulder to close the wall back up.
"Quick!" she shouted, trying to wedge her way through to the front. "This will only give us a distraction for five minutes tops!"
The pathway wasn't very well lit so I tripped a few times but Auric squeezed my hand to hold me steady between him hissing in a breath. The wolves in front of us quickened their pace at seeing the lighting from outside at the very end of the hidden hall. They took the lead while the rest of us in human form were behind. The Alpha was helping Aunt Penny and Auric was doing the same for me.
Once we reached the end of the pathway, Aunt Penny grabbed the keys that hung by the barred door and quickly unlocked it. She shoved it open, waving us through while looking behind the group. The door slammed shut after everyone was through.
I felt some relief when spotting our vehicles where we had left them, but my eyes looked at the gated entrance where other Hunters were trying to push open their automatic gate faster. The Alpha shouted for us to hurry and pile into the cars; the wolves shifted back to their naked human skin and tugged open the car doors.
Jonah hopped into the front seat, shouting at us to get in while he was starting it up after snatching the keys off the dashboard. Auric shoved me into the backseat before climbing in after me, then the rest of the Six did the same. The older Dennison twin didn't wait until the doors were fully shut and pulled into reverse; the tires spewing out gravel as the car revved backwards and screeched as the driver whipped the vehicle around to chase after his father.
I looked behind us, the property to the Society getting smaller as were the Hunters who all stopped at the entrance of their fortress.
Facing forward, I leaned my head back to close my eyes and catch my breath. My heart pounded loudly in my ear drums the longer I kept still, that is until I looked at the ceiling and remembered about what happened back at the Society.
Sitting up, my hand lifted to my face and pressed my fingers to my cheek where I winced before looking at a bit of blood still fresh from the cut I had. It was then that I took the moment to look over the others in the car with me.
From what I could see in the rear view mirror, Jonah had a cut on his brow and bottom lip. The hulk-sized guy seated beside him was faced away so I couldn't really see anything but the bit of blood on his ear and side of his head. Then there were the siblings in the middle seat with Violet; Easton leaning his head against the window and through his reflection I could see a few cuts on his face and bruising, the same went for Langley who happened to turn her head enough for me to see the side of her pretty face when she looked at her tired brother. Violet was leaning her head back, eyes closed and hair ruffled from its normally perfect volume. Her nose had stopped bleeding and looked to be broken.
Lastly, I turned to Auric. His usual scowl was plastered on his face as he stared forward. There was a cut on his bottom lip like his brother, and a bruise around his left eye. But my eyes lowered between us to where the side of his t-shirt was a bit torn and drenched in blood; a gash where Mr. Hollow had stabbed him peering through.
I shifted myself, eyebrows furrowing as I reached over and took the hem of his shirt.
"Whoa! Thea---" Auric was startled, scowling at me as he tried to move back from me.
But I wasn't listening. I lifted his shirt up and scrunched my nose at the look of the gash he had. It was still bleeding a little and was a reddish-purple outline around the open skin. Auric's hand came into view after my fingertips lightly brushed the edge of it. His stomach muscles contracted when I did this and he gripped my wrist. I looked up at him as he shook his head for me not to worry, that he was going to be fine.
"He could have killed you, Auric..." I frowned, telling him that this wasn't just a scratch.
Auric shook his head that Mr. Hollow didn't kill him, and that it wasn't even that big of a cut to cause permanent damage. He pushed my hand away, tugging his shirt back down and sighed out a long breath while shifting himself to face me.
His hands went up to my face, his thumbs brushing lightly against my cheeks; the one on my right made me wince from the cut I had. Auric frowned at it, shaking his head that he was supposed to be watching me. I tilted my head, a small tug from the corner of my mouth making me grin that I was fine. That it didn't do any permanent damage other than a definite scar.
"Smartass," he bit out through a curled lip.
Auric stared at me, his thumb caressing my non-injured cheek. "What was that back there?" he whispered.
I knew he was referring to when I had attacked Maddox and the Hollows, but I dropped my gaze from his. I stared at his chest, swallowing down the lump in my throat and I whimpered out that I didn't know; that it happened so quickly I didn't have a chance to process it yet.
"Something's happening to me, Auric. And---" I bit my lip, gripping his wrists tightly since he didn't pull his hands from my face. "And I'm scared! What am I going to do?"
Auric didn't say anything. His eyebrows furrowed.
This new turn of events was something I was going to have to sit down with the Weres and figure out what the next step from here was. And whether what was happening inside me was going to be a problem in the future. The thought of what I was capable of back there had me worried. I've never been violent before today after I pretty much killed two people. Killed. And Donovan Ray and his family looked impressed by it.
Auric lifted my chin to gain my attention. He lowered an eyebrow, shaking his head that we were all going to have to take things one step at a time, and that it was important that the Six were constantly around from now on. He explained that though they were werewolves, they were still growing teenagers. The Six only had so much training and experience with other werewolves, but that the Advanced Hunters had been stronger in some aspects.
"I have a feeling this is just the beginning, Thea," he gruffed out.
I bit my lip, closing my eyes and resting my forehead to his chest. Auric kissed the top of my head and I looked up at him. He pressed his mouth to my forehead, sighing against it that whatever was going on with me, Auric would be there to help me through it. He reminded me that he'd be keeping his promise.
"I'd told you that I would always want to choose to protect you. No matter what. This Donovan ass-wipe isn't going to get you without a fight on my part. I'll be damned before I see him turn you into one of them."
I looked down, eyebrows furrowed as Auric's words sunk in. The truth of the matter is that no matter how much of a fight Auric can put up because of his supernatural abilities, he was still a teenager. He wasn't as experienced as Donovan Ray or the other seasoned Advanced Hunters. There was a reason he wasn't Alpha yet. Auric still had training to do before Mr. Dennison felt that he was ready. Whenever that'd be.
I sighed, shutting my eyes and shook my head that I didn't want to talk about this anymore. "I just want you to hold me, Auric," I pleaded through a whisper.
Auric's eyebrows furrowed, looking my face over before pulling me closer. He lifted me onto his lap so that he had more room to shift himself into my spot and stretch his legs out on the back seat. He wedged me between his legs, pulling my back to his chest and wrapped his arms around me.
There was immediate comfort with this embrace and I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Auric squeezed my middle a little and pulled me up better on his lap so that he could bury his nose into my neck. I raised my shoulder, giggling a little from being ticklish, but then relaxed when his growl vibrated throughout my body.
His nose grazed up the side of my neck and until he reached my ear and kissed it before whispering, "I love you, Thea. And I'll always feel this way about you... No matter what." Then he cuddled into my neck again, holding me tighter as I stared out the window across the way.
My heart squeezed at those words of his. I don't think I could take it if I ever lost Auric.
I turned my head to look him in the eyes. He rested his forehead against mine, his eyes shutting for quite a while until I could hear him slightly snore. My heart clenched, knowing how much in love with Auric I was and then having this new dilemma of my "activated bloodline". And I was afraid of how much it could come between us.