CHAPTER THREE THE HUNDRED EYES
1427 Words
CHAPTER THREE
THE HUNDRED EYES
“Give us the Guardian's daughter…”
The voice rolled through the darkness.
“…or we'll bury another Carter tonight.”
Mia couldn't breathe.
Another Carter.
The words struck somewhere deeper than fear.
She looked at Adrian.
“Why did he say another Carter?”
Adrian didn't answer.
“Adrian.”
His jaw tightened.
“Mia, get into the vehicle.”
“No.”
“Mia—”
“My parents died twenty-two years ago. That man just threatened to bury another Carter. And you're telling me to get into a car?”
Aiden stepped between them.
“She deserves an answer.”
Adrian's eyes flashed.
“Not here.”
“Then where?”
A low growl came from the darkness.
Hundreds of glowing eyes shifted between the trees.
Mia's blood ran cold.
The wolves weren't attacking.
They were waiting.
Waiting for something.
Then a figure stepped onto the road.
A woman.
She wore a long black cloak that dragged through the rain.
Unlike the wolves surrounding her, she looked completely human.
Her silver hair fell over her shoulders, and a thin scar ran from the corner of her left eye to her jaw.
She stopped several feet away.
Her gaze settled on Mia.
And she smiled.
“There you are.”
Mia's fingers curled around Adrian's sleeve.
“Who is she?”
Adrian's voice was barely audible.
“Selene.”
Aiden's expression darkened.
“Council enforcer.”
Selene laughed softly.
“So the great Alpha twins finally found the Guardian's daughter.”
Mia stepped forward.
“You know me?”
“I know what you are.”
“I am human.”
Selene's smile disappeared.
“No.”
She pointed at Mia's wrist.
“You are what your father died protecting.”
Mia looked down.
The red mark on her wrist pulsed again.
Her skin burned.
She gasped.
Adrian immediately grabbed her hand.
“Don't touch it.”
“It's hurting.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
Adrian froze.
Mia stared at him.
“You've seen this before.”
He didn't answer.
Aiden looked away.
That was enough.
Mia's eyes narrowed.
“What aren't you telling me?”
Before either brother could respond, Selene raised her hand.
Every wolf in the forest bowed its head.
Mia stared.
Adrian moved in front of her.
“Selene, take your wolves and leave.”
“You're giving orders to the Council now?”
“I don't need to give orders.”
His eyes turned gold.
“I can make them.”
The air seemed to change.
Mia felt pressure pushing against her chest.
The wolves surrounding them lowered themselves further.
Selene's smile returned.
“Still arrogant.”
“Still alive.”
“Not for long.”
Adrian's body tensed.
Aiden stepped beside him.
For the first time, Mia noticed something strange.
The twins weren't merely similar.
They moved like they had trained together for years.
When Adrian shifted his weight, Aiden adjusted his position.
When Aiden looked toward the forest, Adrian immediately knew where the threat was.
They were perfectly synchronized.
Then Selene whispered:
“Do you know what happens when two Alpha wolves claim the same mate?”
Mia looked at Adrian.
Neither brother answered.
Selene continued.
“Their bond becomes unstable.”
Aiden's face hardened.
“Enough.”
“And eventually,” Selene said, “one wolf destroys the other.”
Mia's heart sank.
She looked between the twins.
“Is that true?”
Adrian said nothing.
Aiden's silence was worse.
Selene laughed.
“You see? They don't even know which one of them will survive.”
Mia shook her head.
“Why me?”
Selene's expression became almost sympathetic.
“Because your father made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“He loved a human.”
Mia's eyes widened.
“My mother?”
Selene nodded.
“Your mother was human. Your father was a Guardian. Their union produced something the Council feared.”
Mia's voice trembled.
“Me.”
“Yes.”
A strange calm settled over Mia.
For years, she'd wondered why her parents died.
Now she was finally getting answers.
But every answer created another question.
“Why did they have to die?”
Selene's eyes became cold.
“Because your father refused to give you to us.”
Mia stopped breathing.
“Give me?”
“You were six years old.”
A memory suddenly flashed through Mia's mind.
A red moon.
Her mother screaming.
Her father's hands covered in blood.
Someone shouting:
“Take the girl!”
Mia staggered.
Adrian caught her.
“Mia?”
She gripped his coat.
“I remember.”
Aiden's expression changed.
“What do you remember?”
“My mother…”
Mia squeezed her eyes shut.
“She was crying.”
Another flash.
A man's hand.
A silver ring.
A black wolf.
Then—
fire.
Mia gasped.
“My father was fighting someone.”
Adrian's face went pale.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Try.”
“There was a ring.”
“What kind?”
“A black stone.”
Aiden and Adrian exchanged a look.
Mia noticed.
“You know it.”
Aiden's voice dropped.
“The Council's seal.”
Mia stared at them.
“So the Council killed my parents.”
Selene smiled.
“Your father died fighting them.”
“And my mother?”
Selene said nothing.
Mia's heart began pounding.
“What happened to my mother?”
For the first time, Selene looked uncomfortable.
Adrian noticed.
“Selene.”
She looked at him.
“You really don't know?”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Know what?”
Selene's gaze returned to Mia.
“Your mother didn't die that night.”
Everything inside Mia went silent.
“What?”
“She survived.”
Mia's lips parted.
“No.”
“She survived.”
“Where is she?”
Selene smiled.
“That is the question you should be asking yourself.”
Mia's knees weakened.
Twenty-two years.
Twenty-two years believing she was an orphan.
Twenty-two years grieving a woman who might still be alive.
“Where is she?”
Selene's eyes gleamed.
“Bring me the Guardian's power, and I'll tell you.”
Adrian's voice became lethal.
“You won't touch her.”
Selene looked amused.
“You already sound like her husband.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Careful.”
“And you,” Selene said, turning to Aiden, “sound even worse.”
Aiden smiled without humor.
“That's because I'm trying not to kill you.”
Selene lifted one finger.
The wolves surrounding them suddenly lunged.
Adrian shoved Mia behind him.
“NOW!”
Everything exploded.
Wolves rushed from every direction.
Aiden transformed before his feet touched the ground.
Adrian followed.
Two enormous wolves tore through the attackers.
Mia backed toward the SUV.
Damon grabbed her arm.
“Get inside!”
“But the twins—”
“They know how to fight.”
A wolf leapt toward Mia.
Damon pushed her down.
Claws ripped across his shoulder.
“Damon!”
He collapsed.
Mia screamed.
Something inside her snapped.
She reached toward him.
“NO!”
The red mark on her wrist burned.
A pulse of crimson light exploded from her hand.
Every wolf froze.
The forest became completely silent.
Mia stared at her own palm.
A thin red symbol glowed against her skin.
Selene's face changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
“No…”
Adrian and Aiden returned to human form.
They stood several feet away, breathing heavily.
Both stared at Mia.
Adrian whispered:
“The Guardian has awakened.”
Mia looked at him.
“What did I just do?”
Nobody answered.
Then a voice came from behind her.
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Shaking.
A voice Mia had not heard since she was six years old.
“Mia?”
Mia slowly turned.
At the edge of the forest stood a woman.
Older.
Pale.
Trembling.
But Mia knew that face.
She had seen it every night in her dreams.
Her mother.
Mia's lips trembled.
“Mom?”
The woman covered her mouth.
Tears filled her eyes.
Then she whispered:
“Run.”
Mia frowned.
“Mom?”
Her mother looked past her.
Straight at Adrian and Aiden.
Her face filled with terror.
“Run from the Blackwood twins.”
Adrian went completely still.
Aiden's expression hardened.
Mia stared at her mother.
“Why?”
Her mother took one step backward.
“Because your father wasn't killed by the Council.”
She swallowed.
“He was killed by a Blackwood.”
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