Chapter Thirty-Four – The Arrows

Ariel didn’t know when her arm had pulled back and released the arrow. It had happened on pure instinct. It had angered her, seeing how Adam and Talia embraced each other like it didn’t matter what he was, or that he had taken her life from her. Shielding her from the outside world, letting her family believe she was dead all these years.

Her arrow had penetrated his side, making blood slowly cling to his shirt as he fell down to his knees, Talia looking around frantic for the source of the arrow. One wasn’t enough to kill a werewolf, so Ariel readied another as she stepped out of her hiding place, watching as Talia’s expression turned from worry to shock to something between anger and disgust.

“YOU!” She jumped to her feet, shielding Adam with her body. It was a difficult task; her frame was half as wide as his. But it did the trick, it made Ariel stop. She didn’t want to hurt Talia, only Adam.

“Why the hell are you shooting arrows?” Talia demanded.

Her hands curling into fists as she tried to calm herself and the whirlwind of emotions inside of her. She felt tricked and betrayed. Ariel was one of the people that caused little children to worry and have nightmares. Who sent people running from what they had once called home.

“He’s a monster!” Ariel shouted back, angling herself for a better shot.

Adam had already pulled out the arrow, the bleeding slowing down. He was healing, and she needed to stop that from happening. But Talia moved with her, shielding Adam with her body.

“He’s a monster – how can you protect him?!”

“You’re the one pointing a weapon on someone who has done you nothing, and you call him the monster?!” Talia spat back

“How can you defend him after everything he’s done to you?! He and his kind are all monsters – and they need to be dealt with!”

Her father’s words echoed in her head. And she hated to admit it, but he was right. They were monsters who took what they wanted and didn’t care how that affected others. Kieran was wrong. Anthony was wrong.

“Done to me? The only thing Adam and his kind have ever done to me is offer me a safe place to stay, space to grow and be my own person. The only one who has ever taken anything from me is six feet under, and he’s never coming back” Talia’s eyes narrowed as she watched Ariel move in circles, knowing full well she was trying to get into a better position.

Adam’s wound had healed. That huntress had done a big mistake and not brought silver to a fight with a werewolf. From what he had seen her to with the rogue he didn’t expect her to be that unprofessional. She merely didn’t consider the possibility of running into a wolf.

“Your family grieved you! Your friends grieved you! What do you think they will say when they find out a werewolf rescued you and kept you from them?!” Ariel couldn’t keep her voice steady; it came out loud and shaky. They had never been friends. But she had been there. Been at the funeral and watched how people fell over in grief. Watched how the entire community was panicking because of wolves, while she was sat perfectly fine in the house on the outskirts, hidden away from all the horror.

“Your wolves killed my mother!” Ariel shouted and let another arrow fly, not caring who it hit.

Talia braced herself for pain, but it never came. Instead, another howl tore through the night. Adam. He had pushed her aside, taking the hit for her.

“ADAM!” Talia shouted as she watched him fall to his knees a second time, this time the arrow had connected with his shoulder, mere centimeters over his heart. She tried to move, but she was too slow and Ariel to fast. From a safe distance she let two more fly, piercing his abdomen.

Blood soaked his shirt quicker from the new wounds. They wouldn’t heal with the arrowhead still inside of him, and for every arrow he pulled out Ariel shot another two. She had the upper hand; she didn’t have to get close. And Adam would have more arrows poking out of his body before he could reach her. And shifting, not a good idea with items sticking out from the body.

“NO!” Her body and brain suddenly reconnected, pushing her off the ground and towards Adam. She didn’t care if Ariel shot arrows at her. All she cared about was removing the ones in him, help him heal.

She positioned herself in front of him, her back turned towards Ariel. She didn’t care that she was an easy target. That any of the arrows could pierce through her at any moment. The only thing she cared about was Adam. Save one, save them all.

“Talia don’t” Adam whispered through clenches teeth. He could take a hit or two but having five arrows penetrating the body at the same time was a bit much even for the alpha. Damir wanted to help, wanted to heal him. But if they healed now, it would only make it worse.

“He’s not worth it. He ruined your life!” Ariel shouted from another place in the clearing. Another arrow was released, hitting Adam in the back. Talia couldn’t help him remove the arrows and shield every part of his body at the same time.

“He’s a monster! They are all monsters! They hunt and kill for fun! You of all people should understand!” Ariel kept on shouting. Anger welling up in her as she reached for her last arrow, inwardly cursing herself for not bringing more. If she wanted to kill the monster in front of her, she had to get to his head. The hardest shot of them all.

“You scream and scream all about monsters, when you’re the one injuring a person just because he isn’t human! You make it sound like the humans are the only good people on earth, when it is in a fact a human who is injuring my loved one. When it was in fact a human who helped injure me!” Talia rose to her feet, looking Ariel dead in the eye. Her hands where shaking, but she could still feel it. The sparks of energy lingering just under the surface.

“Us humans mourned you! Mourned every single person that the wolves killed!” Ariel shouted back, still trying to find the perfect angle.

“And what about your bother? Did he mourn? Did he feel slightly guilty for his part in it all?” Talia’s voice was surprisingly calm. Like the silence before the storm. It caught Ariel’s attention; her arrow dropped just a tad.

“My bother has nothing to do with this!” Ariel shouted. Her hands were trembling, making the bow shake in her hand. She had to keep it still to make the shot.

“Didn’t Noah tell you? He was there. He snuck into my house, hid in a closet and then ran when I found him. He left the front door wide open for the beast to attack me. He made it all possible. He made sure the beast could find me, that he could injure me before I had a chance to fight back. Adam saved me. He saved me. A human let the beast in, and a wolf saved me. Do you still want to talk about who is the monster?”

Talia let her arms fall to the side. Looking at Ariel she felt nothing but hatred. She didn’t blame anyone but Noah for his own actions. Just like she now blamed Ariel for hers.

“You’re lying” Her hands were shaking terribly now. Noah was her good and kind older brother. He protected the weak and put his life at stake for others. He was a good human, not some monster. Wolves where the monsters.

“If you don’t believe me, ask him yourself. And when you’re at it, ask him why, I’d love to know the answer” Talia’s voice was so cold and calm it sent shivers down both Ariel and Adams spine.

“I…” Before Ariel could get a second word in a spiral of blue and white light appeared as a wall between her and them. The strong light was blinding her, forcing her to look away and shield her eyes. But before she covered her face she let the arrow fly.

The light lingered for a minuet or two, it was hard to tell. And once the light was gone, Ariel turned towards the clearing again. Adam and Talia were gone, the only traces left of them the blood on the ground. And on the far end her arrow stood pierced into a trunk, still shaking.

“FUCK!” Ariel shouted into the air, making all the birds nearby flee from the scene. He’d had him. She’d been so close. Then Talia had to fuck up everything. She was enraged. At herself, at Talia, at Adam. And at her brother.