Chapter 173: Pain....
*~Hazel’s POV~*
"No. No... this isn’t possible." My voice broke into a whisper. My chest tightened as I turned to my mother. "You run. I can take him down. I’m a crescent."
Her hand snapped around my wrist, pulling me back. "No. There’s no way you can take him. He has the strength of all the crescent combined... he is our Alpha... You can’t—Hazel, we can’t."
I shook my head fiercely. "Look!" I pointed to the trees, thick and twisted, forming an impenetrable wall. "He’s blocked every path. There’s nowhere to run. He’s just a few feet away. If anyone’s going to die here, it should be me. You have to go."
Her eyes flared, filled with both fear and fire. "No. I am the mother, and you are the daughter. If anyone waits behind, it should be me!"
"You can’t!" I snapped, my voice cracking. "You’re bleeding, you’re weak—"
"And I am also a crescent," she cut me off, her tone trembling but hard.
I swallowed hard, my heart splitting. She was too hurt to fight him, yet she would rather die in my place. I couldn’t let that happen.
"Then why don’t we fight together?" I whispered. "It’s our only chance. Side by side."
I closed my eyes, reaching inward. Please... wolf out. Please...
She reluctantly agreed...as we both wolfed out.
My body snapped, bones breaking and reforming as my white wolf burst free. My mother shifted beside me, her wolf’s coat a darker hue—closer to Jonathan’s, though not nearly as corrupted.
Jonathan loomed ahead, no longer wolf, no longer man—something horrific in between. His body writhed with unnatural strength, his voice a guttural growl as he grinned, "Come, then."
We pounced together.
But he was right. He was stronger than anything we had ever faced. With a single blow, he flung us across the clearing. My back smashed into the wall of trees, pain flaring white-hot through me. I staggered up, just in time to see my mother launch again.
Her claws tore across his face, blood spraying. For a moment, victory sparked.
But then Jonathan’s massive hand snapped around her neck. Her wolf howled in agony, legs kicking against his grip.
"No!" I charged, claws slashing.
But he caught me too, his grip like steel closing around my throat. Both of us choked, our wolves flickering, fading, retreating under his crushing power. Our bodies shuddered, forcing us back into human form as his strength threatened to snuff us out completely.
And then—
A crack. A thud.
Jonathan’s body lurched forward as if struck by a boulder. His grip loosened. My mother and I collapsed to the ground, gasping, clutching our throats. My vision blurred, my head spinning.
I couldn’t see clearly. Couldn’t breathe.
Through the haze, I heard footsteps. Steady. Fierce. And then a figure stood between us and Jonathan.
I pushed the wet hair from my face, my vision finally clearing—just enough to catch sight of Cayden.
He stood before Jonathan’s half-shifted form, growling in his human stance, though his wolf lurked just beneath the surface. Jonathan’s body twisted unnaturally, caught between man and beast, his voice a guttural snarl.
"Oh, how dare you touch my mate, Cayden Groud." His eyes gleamed with madness. "She’s mine—mine alone! If I can’t have her, then no one will."
Cayden’s chest heaved as he snapped back, "Hazel is my mate. I’ve marked her. Who the hell are you to claim her?"
Jonathan’s lips curled into a grotesque grin. "I am her true mate. The reason she was born. Her bastard mother broke our bond, twisted fate, and forced you and your cursed brothers into the role that was meant for me. But she belongs to me. Always has."
"Impossible," Cayden growled. "I don’t care what lies you spit. You will never have her. She is mine."
Jonathan’s laughter tore through the air. "We’ll see."
And then Cayden shifted.
His wolf erupted forth, massive and powerful—dark fur bristling, eyes burning, fangs flashing in the moonlight. He was nearly as large as Jonathan’s form had been before. Agile. Deadly. Everything an Alpha should be.
But Jonathan completed his transformation too.
And the sight made my blood run cold.
His wolf was monstrous—larger than any creature I had ever seen. Broader than the trees themselves, towering like a mountain, his black fur swallowing the night. Compared to him, Cayden looked like an ant before a beast.
My stomach knotted. Oh goddess... could Cayden even win this?
Jonathan snarled, his massive paw striking the ground, splitting the dirt. But Cayden didn’t back down. His wolf’s eyes flicked toward me, sharp and commanding.
Run.
My mother clutched my arm. "We need to go, Hazel. Now."
"No!" I cried, yanking against her grip. "I can’t leave him. He’ll die. My babies need their father—I won’t let them grow up like I did, without a parent."
Her face twisted in pain. "We cannot help him, Hazel. Look at him. He’s too strong."
"I don’t care! If I fight beside him, maybe—just maybe—we can stand a chance. I refuse to abandon him." My voice cracked with both fury and desperation. "What kind of mother would I be if I can’t even protect my children’s father?"
My wolf stirred, exhausted but ready to rise again, when my mother grabbed me harder, forcing me back. "No, Hazel. We have to run. We have no time!"
I thrashed in her hold, tears stinging my eyes. "No! I won’t! I’ll fight with him—I’ll stay!"
Cayden’s wolf turned his head then. His massive body stood tall, but his eyes softened as they locked on mine. A sound rumbled from his throat—not a command this time, but something else. Something gentler.
A farewell.
My heart broke. "Cayden..."
And then my mother dragged me away with all her strength. My nails scraped the dirt as I tried to resist, but she was stronger. My voice tore through the night, hoarse and desperate.
"Cayden, please... stay alive!"
We were finally out of sight. But the sounds still found us.
Heavy thuds. Trees crashing. The ground itself trembling beneath our feet.
And then—the screams.
My heart stopped. It wasn’t the deep growl of Cayden’s wolf. It was his human voice. His wolf had given up. He had shifted back. And Jonathan was killing him.
My vision blurred red. My pulse thundered in my ears, drowning out everything else. The thought of him—my mate, the father of my children—dying before me... I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I could only burn.
"No!" My body surged forward, but my mother caught me, her arms locking around me from behind.
"Hazel, stop! Please, don’t—"
I thrashed violently, slamming my hand against hers, trying to rip myself free. "Let me go!" My voice broke. "I can’t—I won’t lose him!"
Her grip only tightened. Her tears hit my shoulder as she whispered frantically, "I can’t lose my daughter. Please. Please, Hazel—don’t go!"
But her words barely reached me. My ears rang with Cayden’s scream. My mind screamed with him.
"No... no, no, no!" My nails tore into my own palms as the rage swallowed me whole. My wolf clawed at the edges of my skin, furious, desperate to be unleashed again.
I roared into the night, my voice cracking with agony.
"Cayden!"