Chapter 42-

Oriel:
I pace the bunker trying not to look as weak as I feel right now. My mother would know how to comfort those who have lost loved ones and would be able to take charge in the chaos. I have never felt more inadequate as I do right now. Even Irvin has made himself useful meeting with the other men who were sent down here with us, they have been planning the details to get everyone out if things go wrong. A few years ago, my dads had a small group of cabins built a few miles from here, they are meant to be safe houses if evacuation was ever needed. I hope this ends quickly and we have no need to use them. I had thought they were paranoid when they made all the upgrades to our new bunker and built the houses but now, I’m grateful for their wisdom. After another lap around the bunker, I go to the room where Irvin was meeting with the other men needing to be close to him. Irvin has always been my rock and now when I supposed to be strong, I just want to be near him. The other warriors nod as they leave the room. “Is there anything you need Oriel?” One of the men asks as he walks by me. “Just please let me know as soon as my mother and brother return.” “Of course.” When I’m alone with Irvin, he hugs me and I take comfort in his arms. “I’m worried that they arrent back yet. I feel so uneasy. What will we do if something happens to them?” Irvin lifts my chin so that he can look into my eyes. “They are fine. Nothing is going to happen to them. Our entire pack would protect them both with their lives.” I nod and try to calm my racing heart. “I just feel like something bad has happened.” “It’s okay we need to keep everyone calm down here. Mom and Apollo will be back soon. Let’s go make sure everyone is doing okay in the main hall.” “Your right. I need to do what mom would, she would care for her people.” Irvin smiles at me and leads me out to the main hall.
I get drinks and snacks set out on the tables and that seems to lighten the mood a bit, that is until we hear banging on the hatch door. I run to the opening and see a breathless Apollo being helped down into the bunker. “Where’s mom?!” I ask as he pants with his axe held tight in his grip, blood dripping from the edge. “Apollo!” He looks at me and starts to cry, I hold him to my chest and look him over to make sure he isn’t injured. “The vampire, he took mom. He…he hit her and choked her. I wanted to help her, but she made me promise to run.” “It’s okay Apollo you did the right thing. Mom wouldn’t have wanted you to try to fight. Where did this blood come from?” “It was a man…he tried to grab me. He had a sword and wanted me to let him into the bunker. He would have tried to kill the women and children, so I hit him in the head with my axe.” Apollo started crying again. “It’s okay Apollo, you did what you had to. Your safe now.” Irvin looks at me and I know that he knows my plan already. “I have to.” I tell him. “No Oriel mom said to stay here. You promised to be safe.” I give him a small smile. “I have to try. Besides you know I’m going to go anyway. You always watch my back, so I’ll be safe.” “Fuck Oriel dad is going to kill me.” “Which one?” I ask. “Both.” Apollo and Irvin say at the same time. I look at Seth one of the guards. “Listen Irvin and I are going to help my mom. No one else is to leave…especially him.” I point to Apollo. “Oriel your mother wouldn’t want you to go out there…either of you.” He pleads. “I know but we need our Luna. We will be back before you know it. Seal the door back up behind us.” He nods although I can tell he doesn’t like this idea at all.
Irvin and I run through the village as fast as we can without drawing too much attention to ourselves. Irvin insisted that I wear a cloak that covers my hair so that I’m not so easily recognized and targeted by the men who have infiltrated our town. We rush into our house only to find it empty. This was the last place Apollo saw our mom so I was hoping she would still be here. We move from the house to the lodge and then the school, these are the places I thought she might hide if she got away from the vampire man who took her. My whole body is shaking thinking about what was happening to her. I see a crowd gathering in the arena where the warriors and sometimes even I train. My stomach turns and I feel sick as we push through the crowd and I see what has drawn their attention, I go to scream but Irvin’s hand clamps over my mouth silencing me. Both of my fathers are on their knees facing my mother, and a man stands at their back holding a sword to my dad’s neck. My Alpha and my mother both have blades drawn on them and my body begins to overheat and tremble. I have never been so angry in my life, who are these men to come to our home and attack us. To threaten and beat a woman. The vampire who holds my mother hostage is sneering at my dads and has clearly attacked my mother. Her lip is split, and her cheek swollen like she’s been slapped. There is a woman who I’ve never seen before she stands behind the man that’s threatening my family, she has a young girl clinging to her hand that isn’t from our pack. I know ever member of our little community and they don’t belong. When I hear his taunting voice ring out my body shakes even harder, and my heart feels like it will pound out of my chest. “How does it feel James that you can’t protect yet another Luna of this pack? It will be easy to cut you and your pathetic brother down after I rip the heart out of your mate. Although, she is rather pretty maybe I’ll take her as a slave if she talked you two into sharing, she must be a good fuck.” I hear my dads roars fill the arena. “I told you I surrender now let her go! Do what you want to me but release my mate!” Surrender? My father? Tears stream down my face seeing both of my dads so broken and desperate. “How about I kill you and then all the men can take a turn on your little wolf queen here.” I hear another voice speak out, one that when I hear it shivers race down my spine and my breath catches in my throat. “Brother this is not what we agreed on. The alpha has surrendered. I won’t fight in this dishonorable way. Enough of this foolishness!” “Oh, I’m just getting started little brother.” When I see the dagger pressed into my mother’s throat and hear my dads yell out, I see red and suddenly it feels like my body is breaking apart. I hear tearing and everything inside me feels like it’s on fire, my screams turn into howls as rust red fur covers my body and my mouth is filled with snapping drooling fangs. Without another thought I lunge from the crowd and land on my mother captor. I dig my paws into his chest and fit my mouth around his hateful neck and clamp my jaw down hard. My body hums with pleasure as his blood runs down my maw. I feel his hands push at my chest, he is desperately trying to escape but I keep snapping my teeth sinking them into his neck, face and chest over and over until the vile beast still underneath me. I can feel his blood coating my fur and I turn to see the crowd standing in shock. My eyes lock not with any member of my own packs, but with the piercing red eyes of the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. His skin is light in comparison to my tan and he looks fierce with his sharp jaw and muscular body. He is tall, even taller than my dads with long braided chestnut hair. It is one of those moments when it feels like time stands still and I’m frozen staring at the handsome stranger holding the blade to my dad’s back. With a loud voice the man stares at me and shouts “Shift!” As uncontrollable as my first shift into wolf is my decent back into human form. I lay naked and crumpled with my chest heaving, pain radiating through my body. I feel my mother’s soft hands on my back and suddenly see a blur run towards me and hear a voice screeching. “I’ll kill you myself for taking him from me! You took everything else, it’s time for you to pay.” I see now that it’s that woman from before running at my mother with a dagger in her hand. “Mom!” I scream helpless on the ground.