My Mate, My Executioner

9.No way out

[Twenty-Three Years Ago – The Ruins of Oakhaven]

A scouting squad from the Eclipse Sect moved silently through the trees. They stopped at the edge of the village.

It was no longer a village. It was a complete scar of ash,smoke and fire. Bodies lay of men, women, and children scattered all over the village. The Ouroboros Cult and the Gloom Pack had left absolutely nothing breathing.

"Check the ruins," the Sect Master ordered quietly.

The ninjas moved through the smoking wreckage looking for any survivor. Near the center of the village, under the collapsed roof of a small cottage, a ninja stopped. He heard a faint gasp.

"Something is Here!" he called out.

The squad rushed over. They grabbed the heavy, burning wooden beams and threw them aside, their hands turning black with charcoals.

Deep in the rubble, they found her.

Rhiannon was covered in blood. Her clothes were torn to rags. A massive claw mark tore across her side where the Gloom Pack shadow wolf had struck her. She could not speak. She could barely breathe.

A few feet away lay Boran, his neck snapped cleanly.

"She is alive," the Sect Master said, pressing two fingers to her soot-stained neck. He felt the weak, stubborn pulse.

"To survive all this wreckage, she is indeed of a strong will". The leader exclaimed.

The sun rose higher, but the ninjas did not leave. They respected the dead. They spent the entire day digging graves and burying Boran and the rest of the villagers so the wild animals would not get to feed on their bodies.

When the last grave was filled, they tied pieces of salvaged wood and cloth together to make a stretcher. They lifted Rhiannon. the last survivor of m******e and carried her away.

[Present Day – The Eclipse Sect Armory]

The underground armory was dead quiet. Rhiannon stood in the dark, packing her gear. A small leather bag of supplies sat on the wooden bench.

The Sect Master stepped through the doorway. He looked at her, then looked at the old scar visible on her side.

"It burns," the Master said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," Rhiannon replied, her voice cold and steady. "It is reacting to a massive surge of power. The prophecy has started."

The Master walked to a heavy wooden chest in the corner and unlocked it. He pulled out a long object wrapped in thick black silk. He walked back and held it out to her.

Rhiannon took it and pulled back the fabric.

The katana was sleek and perfectly balanced.

"This blade was forged from pure wolf-bane. Given to me by my father. I believe it will serve your purpose better". The leader said and Rhiannon took the blade from his hand bowing her head. Strange, acid-etched runes ran down the flat of the metal as she held it.

"ancient symbols etched on it are specifically to break Alpha healings. Treat it as your partner and not just a blade".

"Thank you master". Rhiannon replied bowing her head.

"When we pulled you from the ash twenty-three years ago, I knew you would not stay here forever," the Master said softly. "You have trained every single day for this exact moment. Go find what was stolen from you."

Rhiannon gripped the hilt. She did not smile. She simply bowed to the Master again, turned her back and walked out into the night.

[The Pine Borders]

Draven and Arya finally broke out of the Seam.

The sulfur-choked smell of the wet tunnels vanished introducing fresh air to their nostrils. They stepped into a quiet forest of towering pine trees. Thin rays of morning sunlight cut through the branches, hitting the soft dirt floor. They had reached the edge of the human borders.

But Draven didn't stop to breathe.

He spun around, facing the dark mouth of the tunnel they had just exited.

Raising his boot, he delivered a devastating kick to the rotted wooden support beams holding up the entrance.

The wood splintered with a deafening c***k. The earth groaned. Tons of rock and dirt crashed down in a thick cloud of dust, completely sealing the entrance.

The Carnifex were trapped inside.

Breathing heavily, Draven turned away from the rubble. He slid Arya off his shoulder and set her on the ground.

Her knees buckled instantly. Draven had to catch her arm to keep her from face-planting into the dirt. She slumped against the thick trunk of a pine tree, her face terribly pale. Her skin was still hot from the purge, and her breathing was weak and shallow.

Draven stood up straight, rolling his stiff shoulder.

Then, he froze.

His wolf senses flared. The clean smell of pine needles was suddenly gone. In its place was the thick scent of wet fur.

Draven immediately pulled his steel combat knife. "We are not alone."

Arya’s eyes went wide with panic. "The Carnifex?" she whispered, looking at the pile of collapsed rocks.

"No," Draven growled, his empty eyes scanning the tree line. "My pack."

The shadows between the trees shifted.

Vane stepped into the clearing. Garrick and Torin flanked him, spreading out

like hunting dogs to block the only path forward.

"Look at him," Vane drawled. He stared at Draven’s torn shirt, the dried blood on his knuckles, and the dirt on his face. "The Pack’s golden boy. Reduced to a stray dog protecting a human."

Draven did not move. He stepped slightly to the side, shifting his broad shoulders to completely shield Arya from their view.

Arya pressed her back against the tree, her heart hammering against her ribs.

She was terrified of the monster standing in front of her, but as she looked at Draven's broad back, she realized a terrifying truth: he was the only thing standing between her and a brutal death.

"Go back to the mountains, Vane," Draven said, his voice a flat, gravelly warning.

"I waited twenty-three years for you to fail," Vane sneered. He pulled a short curved blade from his belt. "The Elders sent me to clean up your mess. I am taking her heart, and I am taking your head."

"You don't understand," Draven growled, tightening his grip on his knife. "We are bound. If you stop her heart, mine stops too. We have been anchored.". He said stretching out his wrist for him to see.

Vane laughed. It was a dry, bitter, bloodthirsty sound.

"You think I care?" Vane asked, taking a step forward

. "You think I give a damn if you die with her?

If you drop dead, the Pack is finally rid of a traitor, and I take my rightful place. Her death is all that matters."

Draven’s jaw tightened. He lowered his stance.

He was completely outmatched. His inner wolf was locked by the soul-chain. He was facing three fully-powered, trained executioners in his fragile body, and he had a dying girl to protect.

Vane raised his blade to charge.

BOOM!

A massive explosion rocked the clearing. The ground violently shook.

Vane stopped in his tracks. Draven spun his head around.

The pile of rocks sealing the tunnel had just been blown apart. Dust and stone shrapnel rained down across the grass.

From the thick, settling smoke, four heavily armored Carnifex stepped out into the sunlight. Their spiked iron chains dragged across the dirt. Their faceless iron visors locked directly onto Arya.

The suffocating aura of the Cult iron clashed violently with Vane’s shadows wolf aura

The lead Carnifex ignored Vane completely. He pointed a massive iron mace directly at Draven.

"The vessel belongs to the Ouroboros," the Carnifex’s voice boomed from behind his helmet. "Step away from her, shadow wolf. We are taking her to the High Shaman."

Vane’s lips pulled back, showing his long, lethal fangs. He glared at the armored soldiers.

"Hold on, I think you have mistaken the elephant in the room. The girl dies here," Vane snarled, completely unbothered by their numbers.

"I am ending the prophecy today. If you dark freaks get in my way, I will kill you too."

"You will try," the Carnifex replied, raising his mace.

Draven stood dead in the center.

In front of him stood his own Pack, ready to butcher them. Behind him stood the Cult, ready to drag the girl to the altar. He tightened his grip on his single steel knife, trapped between the two deadliest Wolves faction.