Reuben POV
“Noah, on your six!” I yell at Noah, dossing him a sword in the air that he manages to catch and then slice through a rogue’s neck. We wouldn’t need the back up weaponry, things were almost finished here.
They had no leader here, nobody to spur them on…to encourage them. They were pigs sent to the slaughter.
Some were already surrendering. Knelt down on the muddy ground with their hands held up high. Nate and Donnie were already restraining them, not leaving anything to chance. If they are down, they stay down.
Noah had remained by my side for the entire fight so far. He hadn’t moved away from me once. I’m not sure whether to find his closeness sweet… clearly Evelyn had told him to keep reporting regular updates and stay close, or whether to be insulted that he thinks there’s a small probability that I would get injured. If my hands weren’t preoccupied with rogues, I’d bloody kill him myself.
“Alpha, their numbers are depleting. There doesn’t seem to be a second attack.” Nate’s voice rings out in my mind as I finish ripping out the heart of an arrogant prick that thought he would be able to kill me.
Several remained, keen to get close to Noah and myself. Taking their orders seriously whereas the rest now realise they’ve been completely manipulated. Well Vicky was the Queen of manipulation. Is this really the best she could do? Some poorly trained rogues? It’s as if she found them on the streets and gave them basic combat training, if even that.
“Keep your eyes peeled Nate, this just seems too easy.” I reply to Nate before growling at a kid that must have only turning eighteen. My menacing growl causing him to flee towards Nate and Donnie, his hands held above his head as a sign of surrender.
“Well, if this is how she trained at the Red Stone pack…I should have encouraged Evelyn to invade your lands years okay…” Noah teases, as he watches the same kid run away.
“Fuck off!” His banter made me chuckle but I wouldn’t be much of an Alpha King if I didn’t put the beta in his place.
He turns to me, a mirroring laugh on his face when he completely freezes… his body stiff as his eyes glaze over. She needed to trust us to do the job. To stop mind-linking him.
I keep my eye on him, we weren’t completely out of the woods yet and he seemed to be in a deep mind-link. It’s the only way he would miss the rogue running up behind him, being completely mentally elsewhere. The rogue wasn’t stopping, he was gathering pace. Launching himself to snap Noah’s neck, going in for the kill.
I shout to Noah but he doesn’t acknowledge me, it’s as if he’s zoned out on the spot.
I run up to him, lunging at the rogue mid air, to take out the threat. Blood squirts all over Noah, including his face. That’s how close the rogue was.
The blood seems to knock him out of his spell, as his eyes refocus..finding me now in front of him with a dead decapitated rogue at his feet.
“What the fuck? You need to watch your back…” I start to yell in his face before I notice just how pale he has become.
“What’s wrong?” I ask throwing the head away from me.
“I can’t feel her…I mean I can feel her, I can feel the mate bond but she’s unconscious.” His eyes widen as his hands grip at his hair. His worry for his mate visible from his body starting to react, his wolf wanting out.
“Can you feel Evelyn?” His words don’t sit well with me and I push on the mate bond, I had my block up keen for her not to feel my emotions during the fight. Pushing on it, I can feel it but it isn’t as strong. It feels as if, it feels like Evelyn is in pain. I could feel her struggling to breathe. It felt as if she was…drowning.
My mind becomes a complete mess, struggling to focus on the battle any more. I need to get to her…now.
“Beta Nate is in charge.” I shout at my warriors, my legs already running in the direction of the Lake House, not waiting for a response. Fuck!
“Silver Moon warriors with me, your Alpha is in trouble.” I order for their alpha, my Luna. Noah doesn’t wait either, he’s running behind me, my Alpha King speed pushing me further ahead. Donnie was leading the Silver Moon warriors closely behind us.
I shouldn’t have left them, no wonder she wasn’t at the fucking Silver Moon lands. She must have known Evelyn would have stayed behind. Stayed with the twins.
My wolf howls in my mind, pushing me further ahead..his own fear for our children at the forefront of his mind.
“She’s fucking tricked us.” I growl out as I start to see smoke in the distance.
I reach the Lake House first, my heart sinking when I see it completely on fire.
No…
My body and mind struggle to register the fire before my eyes. The heat burning into my vision. Where are my family?
I try to run into the house but am pulled back, I fight against the arms around my chest.
“No Reuben…look on the decking.”
Noah points. I was so determined to enter that house to find my family that I would have likely perished. The fire was relentless with its angry flames.
We both run to the back, by the decking to find Cassandra unconscious with Elspeth sobbing next to her, trying to wake her up.
“Princess?” Noah bends down to pull Elspeth off her to examine his mate.
“Oh Daddy, she was shot.” Elspeth wails, I pick her up pulling her tightly in my arms as I watch Noah find a green bullet wound to Cassandra’s stomach.
Fuck.
“Where’s Rex, Elspeth? Where’s Mummy?” I asks her, my desperation and the smoke inhalation making my voice hoarse.
“The lake.” She sobs before she starts to cough. I pass her to Donnie, putting him in charge of one of my most precious thing.
“Keep her away from the fire.” I order at him and he understands immediately, holding her tightly to him and walking away.
The lake? She must have tried to get them to the water, away from the fire.
I run around the back of the decking towards the lake when I see a body laying on the floor.
Malcolm…
A loud growl rumbles from my chest.
He had been shot numerous of times in the head and chest. One bullet hitting him straight in the eye. What the hell had happened?
My panic was only increasing as I searched the waters of the lake… looking for a boat…for anything that Rex and Evelyn could be floating on.
An almighty roar escapes me like a lion, they planned this…the battle was a misdirection to get Evelyn and the kids alone.
“Dad?” I hear Rex’s voice calling out to me somewhere on the lake shore line.
“Rex? Rex where are you?” I call out to him as I jump over the decking and break out into a run.
I finally find him, huddled over something…someone.
Evelyn!
“Rex, Rex what happened son?” I grab the back of Rex’s neck, placing his forehead to mine. Thank the goddess that he and Elspeth were okay.
“We were attacked…she saved Mum…” His fingers were ice cold…trembling as they continue to pump on Evelyn’s chest. His clothing was drenched, he must have pulled Evelyn out from the water.
“Who did?” I move his hands aside, taking over the CPR…my mate’s lips blue and freezing cold as I place my lips to hers…blowing oxygen into her air ways.
“Auntie Lib.”
