Chapter 35

"Zinns?, Like the Zinns I have been hearing about?"

"Yes"

Earl stepped forward to stand directly in front of Nellie, shielding her with his body, the man in front of him let out a wicked laugh, Earl was still in a daze as to how the Zinns had found this spot. Charlie had made sure that the spot was safe and protected from forces like Zinns, Earl fixed his eyes on the man's face.

The man who appeared to be the Lord of the Zinns took a step closer to where the duo stood, Nellie knew they didn't stand a chance against these dozens of strong Zinns, she had heard a lot about these sets of selfish wolves to know they had no sympathy for anything, human or their kind.

"I see you finally found her." He said moved behind Earl to where Nellie stood defiantly behind him.

"You keep your eyes off her" Earl's voice was calm but it held a note of authority and warning.

"Oh. I see you are very protective of her" The man whose face was hidden behind the cloak spoke again.

Earl said nothing. For some strange reason, Nellie felt a warmth spread through her at the thought of Earl being possessive of her, of course he wasn't, he was only trying to keep her safe because he had given her his word. The man in front of them probably didn't know that, and if he did maybe that might just save the situation. Nellie contemplated informing the man that she had no relationship with Earl, he might have assumed she was his wife and might decide to use that against him or even hold him hostage- Or they might decide to take Nellie as hostage just to spite Earl? No! She had to do something.

'Don't.' It was Earl's voice- in her head.

'Why?' Even if he could not see her face, he knew she had cocked her eyebrow.

'Because he knows you are not Ina'

Then why did he say he was being protective of her? Whatever did he mean by that? Why was he even after them? Earl had told her the Zinns had attacked them once but he didn't look too surprised seeing them here today, was it like a regular thing?

All the while, the men in the black cloak stood there, watching them intently. The one in front of Nellie moved closer to her, Nellie tightened her hold on her pen knives, with one hand on her chin, he pushed her head up to look into his eyes now. Nellie saw part of his face for the first time, he had an animalistic look, this was the first time she was seeing someone far from beautiful in this place, his white eyes had the tiniest eyeball in them, dark and sharp. And his ears… his ears were that of his wolf form, long and hairy, Nellie realized, this man before her was both man and wolf in appearance, she quickly averted her gaze from his face.

"Look at me, Luna!" It was a command.

Wait, how did he know she was Luna? Nellie tried again, she raised her head to meet his face again, his cold eyes stared back at her, it held no emotion.

"You look more beautiful than I imagined"

Now what did he mean by that? Kayel had said the exact same thing to her and here was this ugly beast saying the same thing to her, they all sounded like they had been expecting her for a long time. The difference was that Kayel had said it with admiration, this man here was saying it with a wicked grin, revealing a set of unusually white teeth with fangs, very elongated fangs.

"Leave the lady alone!" Earl sounded angry now.

"I bet you want me to but let's see, I have other plans" The man grinned again.

He was still holding Nellie's face up with his finger nails, pointed as it was, he didn't care if it hurt her. His fingers were beginning to graze her skin and Nellie could not hold it.

"You are hurting me" She tried to keep her voice calm.

"Oh! And her voice is as beautiful as her face" Again, his devilish grin widened.

"Let the lady go!" Earl said again but this time his voice was raised to a pitch.

The man turned to the rest of his battalion whose presence Nellie had totally forgotten, he said something to them in a strange language which had them giving the most heart wrenching sound that was supposed to be a laugh.

With a swift raise of his hands, everywhere became quiet again, he turned his attention to Nellie and raised her cheek to meet his gaze again.

"We believe you will make a good Luna for my pack"

Nellie felt her stomach tighten, what did he mean? She didn't have enough time to think before the man brought his face closer than she could take, this time, he held her face like he was going to kiss her. On impulse, Nellie gave him a hard kick on the groin which had him staggering back, when he recollected himself and stood up straight again, his eyes had grown darker. He was angry.

"You don't fight a man. Definitely not a Zinn" He paused and gave her one of those disgusting grins that made her stomach churn, "I am going to have you and take you with me. That way, the pure Blood will go unharmed"

Nellie panicked, he was going to take her? Make her his Luna? The thought of that made her feel like throwing up, he said he won't hurt Earl if Nellie went willingly with him, Nellie could feel Earl's temper rising, she didn't have to wonder if he would let them take her because he moved now, to stand between Nellie and The Zinn which forced the Zinn to move back.

"You often reach for things you can't have, Konarh" Earl spoke, still standing in-between them.

Konarh, so that was his name. Strange name.

"You are in no position to speak, Alpha. It's not like you have a choice here, you are outnumbered" Konarh nodded towards his men as a reminder.

"You can have the horses, anything. But definitely not the Lady" Earl spoke again, ignoring him.

"Why would I want to go for those when I can easily have your life instead?" Konarh grinned again.

"Then let's die"

Earl said it as a command and everyone of them knew what it meant, it was a call for war. They all attacked at once, some of them transformed while others did not bother, they fought tooth and nail, all coming at them at once. Konarh made a move to grab Nellie but she slipped out of his grip as soon as he held her, he tried again but retreated when he felt the sharp pain of Nellie's blade making contact with his flesh.

"You choose to die with him, so be it!" Nellie heard Konarh cuss before he stepped aside.

The Zinns were a difficult breed to contend with, like many powerful creatures, the only way to finish them off totally was to aim for the heart. Any other cut apart from the heart did not kill them rather they rose stronger, Earl was swift in his attacks, Nellie tried to do the same.

Aiming for the heart was easier with the ones still in their human form, for the ones that turned, it was more difficult. Nellie was getting weaker by the minute. She knew they would die here, they stood no chance against this number of Zinns but glancing at Earl who was still fighting hard, she decided she was going to fight till she had no power in her anymore.

'Nellie, run!' Earl spoke in her head.

'I can't leave you here' She replied stubbornly.

'I'll manage, just run!'

'We did not come out here to die, Earl. Fight'

Suddenly, the Zinns began taking a few steps backward, like they were retreating. Nellie wished they had come out with their swords, it was easier to fight with swords than these damned knives. She only used them as a last resort in the battlefield. Earl too did not have his sword, they were both almost defenseless in the midst of these bloodthirsty beasts.

Soon, Nellie realized what the Zinns were doing by retreating. It was a format they used to trap their victims, they had formed a circle and Earl and Nellie were in the center now. Konarh tore his way through the crowd and came to stand inside the circle with them. Letting out a wicked laugh, he moved to Earl whose back was to Nellie's, both raising their knives ready to attack. He walked around them, looking them up before he finally paused in front of Nellie.

"I see you are a brave warrior, Luna"

Nellie said nothing. She gave him his hardest stare, daring him to touch her. As if he read her mind he gave her a disgusted look and

Facing Earl, he said, "You have killed a number of my men, but I will overlook that and let you go if you agree to leave the Lady with me"

True to his words, half of his men were littered on the floor, some were seriously injured and others lay unmoving, most likely dead. Nellie and Earl had a few scratches on their bodies which they knew were going to heal in no time.

"I already told you, Konarh. You can't have her" Earl spat in his face.

"It's quite unfortunate that a powerful Alpha like yourself will have to die here like a chicken over a Lady that is not yet yours"

"If that is my fate, then so be it"

The way he said it made Nellie's heart melt. He was really going to let them kill him because of her? The man was right, she was not his Luna or even his mistress. She had made him promise not to kill her but not that he won't let others kill her. If it was her fate to die by the hands of these Zinns, then so be it. But one glance at Konarh told her he had no plans of killing her yet, she couldn't imagine him touching her, but she couldn't let Earl die too. He had too many people depending on him and a lot to accomplish.

With that in mind, Nellie dropped her sword and stepped forward. "You can take me. But let the Alpha go"

The night had grown darker now, they were all seeing through their wolf eyes, everywhere was as clear as daylight in their eyes. Earl's eyes grew wide in shock when he saw Nellie drop her weapons.

"What are you doing?" He asked her in a harsh tone.

"I can't let you die because of me Earl, you still have so many things to accomplish, like the Rogues. You have to protect your pack and take back your Luna from Tony, you can't just die because of me" Nellie hoped he would understand.

"You don't know what you are doing Nellie, step back from him!" Earl made to grab her hands but he was immediately held back by more than five Zinns.

"This is a better choice than death Earl, think about it. If I refuse to go with him, he would kill you and kill me too, but if I go with him he would let you go and take me back with him- alive" She winced at the last part

And you might come back to save me, Nellie thought. Would he?

"Nellie…" Earl began again,

"Enough! The lady has decided and you cannot change her decision" Konarh smiled now.

Earl looked from Nellie to him and then his eyes became distant, as if he had seen something in the darkness. But just as quickly as that look settled in, it was replaced by a cold glint in his eyes, "You will regret this, Konark. I promise you"

Nellie could feel the power in those words, they were no ordinary threats. Was he going to take revenge on Konarh for taking her?

"I must admit you are a very clever one, My Lady" Konarh smiled at her this time, "I promise to treat you well, you will enjoy your stay with me, My queen"

Nellie only felt disgusted, He took Nellie's hands in his now, and kissed her knuckles, his lips were cold. As cold as the air around him, Nellie withdrew her band from his immediately. He took it again and held it firmly now.

"Take him!" Konarh barked.

What? What did he mean by saying they should tak him? Two more Zinns stepped forward and held Earl in a tight grip, one man to each shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Nellie screamed at Konarh who only smiled.

"The Alpha and I have a few old scores to settle and he knows that, My Lady. I will let him be on his way as soon as we are done" Even asas he said it, his eyes told her otherwise.

"You promised you were going to let him go if I followed you!"

"I did not promise, My Lady. I said"

"I am not your lady! Let go of my hands now you snaky bastard! You are going to kill him, aren't you?"

"Language, My queen. Now if you can just be quiet. I believe we have wasted enough time here. Say goodbye to your mate" Konarh nodded to Earl.

He is not my mate, you idiot! Nellie thought but she did not say it, it made no difference now. She only turned her to look at Earl, his face held no expression, he just stood there staring at her, there was no emotion in his eyes now. Nellie gave him an apologetic look, Earl only nodded with a reassuring smile, why was he smiling? He probably was convinced and prepared for death already. Why would he give up so easily?

"I believe that is enough, let us go now, My Lady" Konarh's annoying voice cut through her thoughts again. He pulled her hands in a bid to drag her away.

"I said I am not your Lady, let go of my hands you slimy ugly bastard! You promised you were going to let him go. Do that now, tell your stinky men to free him now!"

"Watch your language, woman! You already agreed to come with me, now let us go or I'll have to force you!" He tugged on her hands again, it took her all the effort to stand her ground.

"Yes. We had an agreement, so why am I the only one fulfilling my part? I'll say it for the last time, let go of my hands!"

"You are…"

"Do as the lady said, Konarh."

The voice, it was oddly familiar and different. It held an air of superiority. Nellie turned to see who the voice came from, she was both surprised and relieved to see who it was.

"Kayel!"