The Lost Princess - Saving Lupin Borealis

Annie's POV The corridor was pitch black, my eyes barely focusing on the passing doorways as I hurtled down it full speed, my wolf form carrying me faster than I have run in 60 years. My wolf, Juno, howled in my ears, celebrating our newfound freedom amidst the looming threat of death. For over a century, this castle had held us captive, subjecting us to unspeakable pain, witnessing countless murders, tortures, and beatings. My nightmares were haunted by screams and rivers of blood. But now, my time as a healer and midwife to the damned was over. I had broken free from the chains that bound my body and tormented my mind. I felt my bones heaving as I moved, broken more times than I could count, knowing all too soon I would be caught and slaughtered, no doubt a merciless death for my betrayal. Yet, it was a sacrifice I willingly made to ensure the escape of the young ones. Though I was old, ancient even when I first arrived here, the wolves who still had life left in them, the children with their whole futures ahead, deserved to taste true freedom. Some of the slaves trapped within these walls were mere pups, and the memory of what the vampires did to them, while their mothers watched helplessly, sent shivers down my spine. We had to keep our captors distracted, buying enough time for the young ones to flee. I focused my mind, urging my tired body to keep running, to keep them chasing. I have lived hundreds of years but somehow I am fast running out of time. The sounds of howls and screams echoed in my ears as my brethren fell to our captors, shifting back into human form either by force or to meet a swifter death. We had spent years planning this escape, and failure was not an option. The flapping of cloaks behind me grew louder, a clear indication that they were closing in. I pushed myself harder, determined to stay ahead, to buy precious moments for the young ones. The potion that had helped carry my old, worn out body through this final stand was waning and I knew my fellow Elders would be falling. I saw a figure in front of me, but I didn’t have the energy left in my muscles to stop. I flew into the figure at full force, but the figure barely moved, an unstoppable wall of muscle in far better condition than my own. I shifted back into my human form, I could feel my wolf Juno trying to take over again, to take the pain of death for me, but she had endured far too much already. I could protect her at least from this. As I struggled to rise from the floor, my shoulder broken from the impact, I saw a familiar face. Vanessa. I had once aided her through the birth of her two sons, who would become the future leaders of the Black Silk Coven. She knelt beside me, her fangs bared. "Annie, I am most distraught that it has come to this," she spat. "Your kind has always been ungrateful, but I never expected you to embrace senseless murder. Perhaps in your many years with us you have become more like our kind than you thought”. Vanessa's words stung, but I knew her intent. “As my thanks for the gift of my sons, I will make this as quick as possible”. Vanessa put one foot down on my shattered shoulder, pinning me in place and I couldn't suppress the yelp of pain that escaped my lips. She snarled in my ear, checking the corridor around us was empty. "Not a word of this kindness, in whatever afterlife will take you." A swift death was the greatest mercy she could offer me now. Any of her kin would subject me to unimaginable torture, prolonging my suffering until I bled out. Vanessa's hands tightened around my face, poised to deliver the final blow, but in her eyes, I caught a flicker of compassion as she gently brushed the hair from my face. In that moment, I tried one last mind link with the pack, but silence greeted me. The link was severed, our pack was ended. It was done. Knowing we had completed our task and given them the best chance we could, I let out one final peaceful breath. I felt death's warm and calming embrace, right before the fatal snap.