Rescue Mission
1071 Words
CHAPTER 16
Eva's POV
“No one moves!”
The voice boomed across the clearing like thunder. I stood frozen, every nerve in my body braced for an attack. Trent’s hand shot out instinctively, placing himself between me and the figures that emerged from the woods. At first, it was only one, Isak. The Lycan King’s son.
He strode into the open with his usual confident air, his silver eyes scanning the scene with calculated precision. But behind him, a dozen warriors fanned out in formation, their armor glinting beneath the moonlight. Each one bore the emblem of the royal house.
Reinforcements had arrived.
“Isak?” I breathed, hardly believing he was here in the flesh.
He caught my eye, nodded once. “Eva.”
Trent tensed. His grip on my arm didn’t loosen. “You brought soldiers into my territory without permission.”
“I brought help,” Isak said. “Your pack was about to fall.”
“Don’t exaggerate.” Trent’s voice was cold, measured, but I could feel the current of fury pulsing beneath his words.
I stepped between them. “This isn’t the time for a testosterone war. We need to talk, somewhere private.”
“Agreed,” Isak said smoothly.
Trent didn’t move.
“Trent,” I said, tilting my chin toward him. “Please.”
He finally relented, nodding stiffly. “Let’s go to the war room.”
The war room in the Moonstone Pack house was quiet when we entered. Only the three of us remained. Trent shut the door behind us, locking it. I sat at the long oak table, my hands trembling slightly as I stared down at the map of the territories.
Isak leaned against a nearby wall, arms crossed. “You received my message, I assume.”
“I did,” I said. “But I didn’t think you’d come in person.”
He smiled faintly. “You were in danger.”
Trent scoffed. “She was under *my* protection.”
Isak’s smile faded. “And yet her son was nearly kidnapped. Again.”
The room turned cold.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, standing up.
Isak reached into his coat and pulled out a scroll, tossing it onto the table. The moment I unrolled it, my knees went weak.
“This was found in the hands of a rogue,” Isak said.
It was a drawing. Of my son. Nathan. With the word “TARGET” scrawled in red ink.
“Where was this found?” Trent asked, stepping closer.
“Two towns east. They were closing in, Eva. They knew his face. His habits. His schedule.”
My voice cracked. “They’ve been watching him.”
“I believe someone from inside the Moonstone Pack is feeding them information.”
I sat down heavily. My world was caving in again.
Trent growled, his aura flaring. “I’ll find the traitor.”
“You better,” Isak said. “Or you’ll lose more than just warriors. You’ll lose *them*.” He nodded toward me.
There was silence. Then I stood again. “We need to move Nathan. Now.”
“I already took care of that,” Isak said. “He’s with Dale.”
Trent stiffened. “Dale? I thought he...”
“He’s alive,” I said, my voice quiet. “He never died.”
Outside, chaos reigned. The rogue attacks were escalating. Fires burned on the far ridge. Warriors scrambled across the compound. I raced through the hallways with Trent and Isak on either side of me, the urgency driving our every step.
When we reached the safehouse, I burst into the room.
“Nathan?”
“Mama!” he cried, running into my arms.
I squeezed him tight, heart pounding.
Dale stood behind him, his expression guarded. “We have to get out. They are flanking from the west now.”
Trent glanced toward Isak. “Split up. We’ll draw them off. Eva and the boy go with Dale.”
“I’m not leaving...” I began.
“You will,” Trent cut in. “Protect him. That’s your job.”
I saw something flash in his eyes pain, longing, something more. I nodded, biting back tears.
Dale moved fast. We slipped out through the east tunnel, the sounds of battle echoing behind us. We emerged into the woods, thick and dark, running.
“Where are we going?” I asked breathlessly.
“There’s a portal,” Dale said. “Isak opened it. It leads to a sanctuary.”
Meanwhile, back at the compound, Trent was fire incarnate.
He slashed through rogue after rogue, his wolf barely contained. Every roar was a vow: *No one touches my family.*
Isak moved beside him, a blur of silver and fury. “On your left!”
Trent spun, taking down two wolves with one strike. “You still think she loves you?”
Isak didn’t answer. “That doesn’t matter now. Just fight.”
But Trent’s heart did answer. She’s mine.
In the sanctuary, I sat with Nathan sleeping beside me. Dale crouched nearby, keeping watch.
“I never thanked you,” I said.
He shrugged. “Don’t. Just stay alive.”
“Why did you help me, back then?”
Dale looked at me, his gaze intense. “Because I saw something in you. A light. And I knew if you were protected, you’d change everything.”
My breath caught.
“But now,” he added, “you’re going to have to be stronger than ever.”
Suddenly, a deep rumble shook the earth beneath us.
Dale’s eyes widened. “They found us.”
I leapt to my feet. “How?!”
He didn’t answer. Just handed me a dagger.
And then, like shadows out of nightmares, they came.
Rogues. Dozens. No longer just wolves, but something darker. Twisted. Enhanced.
Dale yelled, “Protect the boy! I’ll hold them!”
I shook my head. “No. We fight together.”
The first rogue lunged
And that’s when I felt it. My wolf. Athena. Awakening.
Let go, she whispered. Let me protect our son.
I screamed as light burst from my chest.
The power surged, and the ground split beneath us.
As the sanctuary crumbled and the
air tore with battle cries, I saw a face among the attackers I never expected to see again.
Sandra.
She was alive.
And she was leading them.
- Writer
