THE WOLF'S DESTINY

CHAPTER 3

The Conversation At The Tavern had reached a dull roar over the appearance OF Lelandi's sister in town when Darien's cell phone called. He believed Lelandi's sister was causing trouble when he saw Tom's cell phone number, which didn't surprise him. He fervently hoped that she hadn't gotten away from him. "Tom, yeah? What's going on right now?

Come on, quickly! Tom's breathy voice boomed through the phone.

“Tom?” Darien jumped up from his seat. Whereabouts are you? "Rifles fired. The Hastings Bed The phone was dead. "Hastings is on fire!" As Darien and Jake ran for the tavern door, Darien's heart pounded in his ribs.

Everyone from the tavern must be hot on his heels based on the deafening clamor of boots tromping down the street behind him. Concern for the woman's and his brother's safety overcame him as he dashed toward the motel with his muscles taut for conflict.

Although the sinister notion that she might have shot Tom raced through his mind.

He yelled to Jake, "Hastings Bed and Breakfast," making it clear that it wasn't Hastings Hardware.

What now, Darien? What the...?

"Firearms were discharged. Heck, I have no idea. Darien was furious with himself for endangering Tom's life when he ought to have left.

He snatched his cell phone off his belt as it rang. "What the hell, Tom?"

"I've been struck," Whereabouts are you?

“Behind…” Tom stopped talking.

Darien held his breath in anticipation as he and Jake came to a complete halt in the eerie calm. Tom, please! Silence. "Gunman with a gun somewhere close to Hastings. Bring in Doc Oliver. To his soldiers, Darien said, "Tom's been shot.

Mason, the owner of the bank in Silver Town, with the gray hair and beard, still in his gray suit, yanked out his phone. I did it, boss.

Silver or ordinary bullets? Jacob queried. The phone was dead.

Farther into the woods, more gunshots could be heard. Darien swore and accelerated his pace as he approached Hastings. "Beware, men. Uncertain of the type of ammunition the shooter is using.

He signaled for some to walk around the B&B's front. Then he turned around, followed by Jake and numerous other people.

"Tom, where the hell are you?" Jacob muttered a question. "Maybe passed out."

I'll kill anyone who is the son of—

From behind a dumpster, there were groans. When Darien and Jake ran around the green trash can, rage erupted in his veins.

Tom was lying on his back with his eyes clouded and cradling his injured head. Where has she gone? My skull feels like a—beard. Odin's

Inform the others Tom has been located! As the soldiers moved nearer, Darien yelled to several of them. Among them

a tissue was offered to him. Darien knelt next to his brother, put his head in his lap, and wrapped the handkerchief around the cut that was bleeding. Whether silver or normal,

Never silver. The bullet is being rejected by my body, yet it aches tremendously. Tom slid his eyes shut. How is Larissa doing?

Two other men rushed up to them in pursuit.

"Dr Oliver is en route." The phone was stuffed into Mason's pocket. Both the child and the shooter are missing. He asked, raising a gray brow. "Are you sure they're not the same thing?"

Darien hoped that wasn't true and turned to Tom for an explanation.

The thunder of Thor Tom closed his eyes and let his gaze wander. "He also shot Larissa."

Darien muttered an expletive. Lelandi's sister's life was allegedly in danger, and this thought tore at his gut. When he wanted more than anything to handle the situation himself, it took all of his strength to issue the following order. Locate her and apprehend the gunman, please.

Any other choice would imply that he cared more about the safety of the red than he did about his own brother or another pack member, which is not a leadership characteristic. He applied pressure to the wound and hoped Doc Oliver would act quickly because, despite what he tried to convince himself, the woman looked too much like his deceased mate for him to be able to ignore his love for her. She had control over his heart even after his death.

Where the hell is Doc Oliver? he yelled, unable to contain his rage.

Lelandi shivered as three more gunshots echoed through the jungle. Shooter must be aiming towards shadows. She wished.

Living off the strongest. That's what she was thinking as she lay in the bushes at the base of a spruce tree with her back pressed against a boulder covered in moss. When the pain from the three gunshots in her heart grew worse, her thoughts began to wander. Her back didn't feel very quick either. She had endured worse. The scars that Hunter had when she was a wolf, the attempted r**e, the almost drowning, and now this. Her guardian angel certainly put in extra effort for her.

Although the anguish intensified, the moisture on her skin that was chilled by the cool breeze and the blood that covered her turtleneck made her feel even colder. Something approached her. She inhaled the aromas and listened intently to the sound of its scrambling. When she baked apple pies, made specialty soups and hot, spicy chili, and decorated with pumpkins, squash, and vibrant mums—colors that complemented her flaming red hair and green eyes—it was a cold, crisp autumn with a hint of wetness in the air. Autumn, her favorite season,

Darien had sable hair, dark eyes, and was chilly and brooding. A chilling north wind. Winter.

Her wandering thoughts were brought back to her current situation as the scurrying halted. She caught a whiff of the strange scent as the creature's little heart and veins beat rapidly. a bunny. She hoped Darien had found his brother and was alleviating his suffering as she had desired someone could do for her as she closed her eyes.

An animal howled. I'm here; are you nearby?

Ural? He would track her down, pursue her, and kill her attacker.

She was unaffected by the gunman's ordinary ammunition, but she needed to recover before she could move once again. Tom had benefited by her moving the shooter away from him, but she was now too exhausted to walk even a fraction of an inch in the direction of Hastings Bed & Breakfast. And to make matters worse, she was lost.

Around a half mile away, leaves were crunched underfoot by footsteps. Those of the shooter or Darien and his men? Only one set of footfalls, most likely those of the shooter, could she make out.

She choked back another groan as her chest continued to ache like it was on fire. Don't fall asleep! She would make a terrible ruckus if the shooter discovered her, but if she fell asleep, he could relocate her and murder her. Regular bullets wouldn't work, but snapping her neck might.

Her thoughts turned to the inn, where she could picture Darien scurrying out with half his followers or more close behind if Tom had been able to make a call for assistance. She berated herself once more for not being more vigilant after discovering the shooter hidden in the Hastings shadows too late.

If the grays learned Tom was hurt, would they waste their time looking for her? They might not, but they would keep searching for the shooter who had shot Tom.

She made an effort to focus on the bullets lodged in her heart. Trying to imagine the marvels her body would perform to remove the foreign objects, halt the bleeding, and close the wounds. It would take some time for her blood to repair because she had lost too much blood and was feeling weak, queasy, and bewildered. She moaned once more.

Closer steps made a pause before moving forward once more. Nobody made any sounds. Who is your enemy?

Between the trembling tree limbs, she peered up. The night sky was pitch-black with a scattering of glittering stars. Starry, brilliant stars... Painful sensations shot through her body, up her arms and legs, down her legs, and back up again, piercing her skull with blinding misery. She clinched her teeth to prevent herself from disappearing as her eyesight began to blur.

Ural was where? She was a royal like him and descended from one of the most pure lines of the first lupus garou. Despite the fact that it was a moonless night, she had the ability to transform into a wolf. Yet in this situation, becoming a wolf wouldn't help. The shooter, however, wasn't looking for one. Yes! She might then howl and answer Ural's cry. Then, he would reach out to her and shield her.

She struggled to unbutton even the first button on her jacket since she lacked the necessary strength. She wasn't even sure she could shapeshift given how frail she was.

The devil was Ural where? He had the ability to instantly take the shooter's life. If not safe, then safer. But she also didn't have faith in Ural's motivations. He may give her back to the pack if he discovered that she was defenseless and frail. Curse him.

She wincingly closed her eyes in an effort to will the pain away.

Had Lelandi been the shooter's target because she resembled Larissa? Or did he presume that she was coming to find out who killed Larissa?

Because the leader of the grays had mated with a red, she claimed a gray had slain Larissa. Or, did her vicious pack leader Bruin lie about finding Larissa? Lelandi wasn't so sure anymore.

Later, she believed she smelled Ural. Ural, please bite the fool and come here! But he remained hidden and made no attempt to stop the shooter. Perhaps it was strong wishful thinking.

“Larissa!” From a good half mile away, Darien yelled.

Here! No, Larissa... Larissa had expired. Lelandi! Here. Lelandi averted her gaze. She felt a slight breeze caressing her face and hair strands tickling her cheek, but she lacked the strength to push them away.

the discomfort. The anguish, my god.

Within a few feet of her, someone shuffled. She breathed very little while tightening her eyelids. How did he approach her so closely without being heard? Her thoughts strayed. Be on guard! He could smell her blood if he were a wolf and downwind of her. He could hear her heart beating frantically.

She could hear his heart racing quickly, his deep breathing, his jaws clenching, and the sound of his fingernail rubbing on the gun's metal. He then backed away from where she was curled up in a fetal position, trying to reduce her body's heat and energy in order to become smaller and less noticeable.

As more responded to the call, they dispersed and moved nearer while yelling Lelandi's name. She grimaced. How did they discover her name? In order to prevent the grays from learning that she already had a pack—and a mate—Larissa would have kept her family a secret.

While moving further away and drawing her attention, the shooter remained too close.

Jake, Darien's moody brother, yelled when the breeze abruptly changed direction, "This way!"

The pain became so intense that she could not concentrate on anything else as she watched for them and almost stopped breathing in anticipation.

Yet no one came to save her.

In front of 30 of his men, everyone of whom was now armed, Darien marched back and forth through the dense forest. The pack had always retained guns—even though they often hunted in their wolf coats—as a backup plan for when local troublemakers overcame them throughout the region's previous 150 years.

"We thought we repeatedly scented her perfume, but the wind isn't being cooperative! Where the hell is she, then? Darien enquired.

We must transform into wolves, Jake said.

Sam told him, "Can't for three more days." Sam, I know that for a fact. I just mentioned... Jake remained silent, sticking the toe of his boot into the earth covered with pine needles while keeping his hands tucked away in his pockets. His face was shadowed by a mix of worry and displeasure.

"We spent hours looking. How in the world is she? Darien again inquired while expressing his own annoyance.

As if she had vanished into thin air like a puff of mist on a hot, sunny day, they hadn't discovered anything—her hat, spectacles, or anything else. He stroked his throbbing temples as the thought that she was Lelandi and not her sister, who was hurt and waiting for him to help her, sent a chill down his spine. He would risk his life to keep her safe for the time being since she was one and the same. right now.

Once he located her and she had recovered, he would send her back to her pack and permanently banish her from his life.

She is unfamiliar with these woods. Without her wolf senses, she could easily get lost, Jake cautioned.

Darien looked out into the forest, remembering how, as wolves, he and his mate had once raced through the woods until they were worn out, mated, and then collapsed like two exhausted dogs. He was able to shake off the paralyzing memories.

"What if he managed to get her?" Jake posed a query that Darien felt certain everyone else was also considering. What if he intended to transport her body and dispose of it elsewhere?

Darien wouldn't think of doing that.

Mason massaged his beard-covered cheek while his hair fluttered in the wind. "We had been looking all night. We are pooped. She cannot perish from such bullets if they are merely conventional ones. Why don't we take a nap and try once more in a while?"

"She kept Tom alive." Jake's jaw muscle twitched just as it would when he was about to strike someone. I'll keep searching until a few of you get some rest and let me go.

Darien smacked his brother's shoulder, knowing he would pursue her until he passed out from tiredness. "We'll complete it jointly."

His guys would have kept looking if she had still been with the group. He couldn't ask them to use any more of their energy without first having some rest without her being one of them. Despite the fact that he had been distant from Darien over the past few weeks, he was grateful that his brother had volunteered. Probably

because of the negative attitude Darien had since the death of his partner.

The men turned to find Silva walking toward them wearing tight jeans, hiking boots, gloves, and a short-waisted corduroy jacket while the scent of her feminine scent drifted through the air. I'll support you. She spoke with a determination that matched Darien's own.

Darien rebuked her for suggesting she join them, saying, "No women." He had a strong voice.

“Why? Do you think I might also want to kill her? Or perhaps you have a little concern for little ol' me? But I can manage on my own. Silva laughed. "The woman is a spitfire, and she deserves our assistance."

Another body that would fill the void couldn't harm, given his options. "At all times, remain with one of the men."

Geez, Darien, you nearly make me believe you have feelings for me. She gave him a kiss before approaching Sam. Would you like to join my team?

"All right, go ahead and carry on your quest. The others snooze for a while. Let's move forward. With a longer stride and the resolve to find her before the night was out, Darien set off.

What do you believe is happening? Jacob hid himself beneath a spruce branch.

"Gunman is a person."

"Why would you pursue our brother? Why pursue the red? You can take my guess as well as yours. Darien came to a stop to feel the breeze. Nothing more but the aroma of other grays, a deer, a rabbit, pine sap, and autumn. "I think he wasn't after Tom. merely the red. If only Tom had been watching her, he would have stood up for her.

"Do you still believe your partner killed themselves?"

Yes, and it was entirely his fault. Whirlwind romance, despite the fact that she had been unsure about being his mate and scared that his people would rebel because she was a red, she had been anxious about something deeper that he could never get her to share. Perhaps if he hadn't insisted that she become his mate. He had been dreaming about her for months, but heck, she was his soul mate. And she finally admitted that she, too, had dreamed about him. How could he abandon her?

He gave a headshake. I'm not sure what to think, Darien continued to feel the same strong suspicion that she had killed herself. When he did acknowledge it, She had previously tried.

Jake's jaw fell open. “When? How come you didn't tell me? "She apologized. pleaded with me not to inform the others and said she wouldn't attempt again.

"Pack rules, Darien, a pack leader needs a strong partner. You ought to have at least informed me.

"I swore to her,"

And that led to her demise. Maybe if he had really paid attention to what bothered her. She experienced sleepless nights and used sleep-aid medication, but she continued to wake up scared, worn out, and out of sorts. Hell, he never questioned the veracity of her suicide attempt when she succeeded this time.

Why did she attempt earlier?

She remained silent. She was a reserved individual. She was terribly exhausted and upset—

“Pregnant.”

Darien's face became hot as his regret and rage clashed. Yes, they are expecting triplets. Which only served to highlight how absurd the entire situation was.

But how would she have been able to take the pressure after the triplets were born if she couldn't handle life before they were born?

I can see why you believe she may have killed herself at the time, but don't you think her sister's business casts a different light on the situation?

“Maybe.”

Despite not being able to see that it did. Unless Lelandi was forced to write the suicide letter by another person. She had not been excited to have the children; in fact, she had been even more miserable about it. He didn't think it would take much persuasion to get someone to compel her, but if they did, they would perish at his hands.

A mile away, shots sounded out, and Darien muttered an expletive. Jake swiftly closed the distance between them and grabbed his arm as he charged in that way. Darien spun around in rage but noticed Jake's worried look. What, he murmured.

“Listen.”

He was as still as a lake that had frozen over in the dead of winter as he stood there listening.

A moan followed by a slower, too-slow heartbeat from a distance.

“Lelandi!”

Jake gave him an aside.

Larissa, Darien screamed, with a ferocious glare on his face.

Darien and his brother scoured the area once more, this time being closer to one another in an effort to not miss her. He stopped. “Larissa!