I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second, I merely blinked out of instinct before opening my mouth to speak, but that was enough for it to happen. I heard a 'whoosh' sound, like the wind suddenly blew harder and ruffled some leaves, and the next thing I know, blood is trickling down from the corner of Sam's mouth.
52 - Arrow
Jason
Both mine and Samantha's eyes widen in shock, while our brains, or at least mine, is trying it's hardest to understand what the fuck just happened. One second we were kissing, enjoying the warmth of each other's embrace, and the next I see blood trickling from the corner of my mate's mouth. I look down and see the silver tip of an arrow almost touching my chest. I blink, in my mind registering that the arrow just pierced through my mate's fragile body, while I was next to her and failed to protect her. I quickly inspect the wound and see it's through and through. I have no way of getting the arrow out of Sam's body without causing more damage. And it just had to be silver, for fucks sake! Can't this poor girl catch a break? She has been through so much and now she gets hurt while literally being in my arms. What a failure of a mate I am.
Stopping the guilt trip I was on, I gently but firmly call her name, still holding Samantha up by her shoulders. “Sam!” I am too afraid to let her go, as she might fall and make her injury become worse. “Sam, look at me. Right into my eyes. Just stay with me, OK, you have to be strong.” She blinks once, letting me know she hears and understands me. Her eyes are bloodshot and still opened wide, and I know just how scared she is right now and not to mention the horrible pain she must be in.
“Sam, baby, I need to lay you on your side and figure out what happened, OK?” Another blink comes from her as I scan our surroundings with my peripheral vision, using my sensitive wolf hearing to see if I pick up on any noises that aren't natural in the forest.
“I'm so sorry, Sam. You are so strong, just stay awake. No matter what, do not close your eyes, baby.” I gently whisper as I do my best to turn her body and lay Sam on her side. Truth be told, we are exposed in this clearing, literal sitting ducks, surrounded by trees, and I am expecting a second arrow to hit me any minute now. I'm actually quite surprised as to why that hasn't happened yet. Or maybe, just maybe, it's all an accident. But who the fuck would be out here shooting arrows?
“It's them.” Sam croaks out coughing up some more blood and I can feel my own panic level rising. We are completely alone here and although Sam's a wolf, she can't heal with the fucking arrow still in her body.
“Shh, it's alright, you're going to be alright. I promise.” Luder is using all the power that is in him to find whomever did this, without me actually leaving Sam's side. I can't leave her alone just yet.
“Jason, you.. you don't understand. This..” She tries to touch the tip of the arrow but can't coordinate her hand to do so “It's my dad.” As soon as she said that, I understood what she meant.
Holy fuck, how didn't I see it? My wolf nearly takes control and shifts feeling angry, but we need to be careful with Sam and make sure she's safe first.
Mister Bayley was our top Commander when he was in the Crescent Moon pack. His biggest skill, something that's quite unique and uncommon amongst wolf shifters, was, or I guess it still is, archery.
After we fought Marie's army we couldn't find Mr Bailey or his wife. Seeing how everyone helping my cousin surrendered and did not want any part in more fighting, we just assumed that the Baileys parted ways with Marie after the first attack. I should have known better than to just 'assume'. But a part of me still refuses to believe that the people who raised Sam as their own are able to do such a heinous thing.
For everyone that ever saw their little family, they were very good parents raising a happy child. Sam herself said that she never felt like they didn't love her. Sure, they weren't all about expressing their feelings all the time, but they also had to keep up with appearances and not seem soft due to their position in the pack. They were our Commanders, but were good parents to Sam and always protected her.
Sam takes me by surprise by grabbing my forearm and forcefully making me lean towards her until I almost fell on the ground next to where she lay. In that moment that she cries out in pain because of the fact that she moved and the arrow inside her shifted, I feel a sting on my shoulder which quickly made me become aware of the fact that my mate just saved me. Sam used all her strength to make sure I won't be in that arrow's way, saving me and giving us a better chance of eventually saving both our lives.
In this moment, with anger boiling inside me, it's decided, I would kill those motherfuckers, adoptive parents of my mate's or not. They have gone too far and I won't even pause to hear their pathetic explanation. I will kill them and this whole fucking circus will end now.
Laying low in the grass next to Sam, while she's barely keeping herself awake, I gently kiss her on the forehead. “Baby, I have to go. I'm so sorry for doing this, but if we want to make it out of this alive, I need to shift and go hunt down those bastards. You need to stay strong for me. You need to stay awake and I will be back in a flash. I need you to not give up. You have come too far to be taken down with a stupid arrow.” I do my best attempt at a pep talk and she offers me a small smile in return.
“If you had this thing in you, you wouldn't say it's stupid anymore, tough guy, but go and make them pay for ruining our date.” How she can till keep a sense of humour is besides me, but that's one extra reason to make me completely fall in love with Samantha.
Thinking that a distraction might be my best chance of making it to the treeline without a silver coated arrow in my back, I slowly take off my shirt and plan to throw it to my left. It will only give me a split second to shift and start running, so I ready myself making sure Luder is also set. I look again at my mate's face and she blinks at me. I instantly lift my arm and throw the shirt, at the same time jumping up and shifting, taking off in the opposite direction.
Sure enough, the sound of arrows pierce the air, but luckily none come in my direction just yet. As soon as I reach the nearest tree and jump behind it's trunk, looking for a safe place I can use as a lookout, another arrow shoots past me, gently grazing the fur on my head. Fuck, that was close, but is was also worth it, because I've spotted the infamous Mr Bailey, our disgraced Commander, just a few hundred feet away from me. He's far, but Luder is motivated enough to use his vision and hearing to the maximum of it's potential.
I quickly mind link Brian and explain in just a few words what's happening and where we are. I don't want to be mind linking for two long, because that skill, no matter how useful it can be, it also leaves you completely disconnected from what's happening around you. And that's exactly what it did to me now. As soon as I'm done telling Brian our whereabouts, I snap back to reality only to see a big reddish wolf pounce on me, aiming straight for my throat. It doesn't take me long to figure out that is Mrs Bailey. Luckily for me, no matter how skilled she might be in combat, she doesn't have any new tactics, and I happen to know all of her old ones.
By far the most difficult opponent I have ever faced was Bolder, so I don't take long to identify this wolf's weakness and jump when she leaves it unguarded. She is nowhere near as skilled as a former Royal Guard with Alpha blood, so her fate was sealed the moment she attacked me.
I noticed earlier that one of her hind legs doesn't have as much fur on it, so it means she's just healing after a severe injury. Once my sharp teeth got hold of the injured leg, I didn't let go until I heard and felt the bones crushing. She howled in pain, but that only fuelled my anger. How dare she cry in pain? She brought this to herself. What kind of a devil tries to kill the girl they raised and called 'daughter' for 15 years? There must be a special place in Hell for souls that are so deeply corrupted, and I plan on sending her straight there.
I dodge another arrow that was shot my way, before I zero in my current target. I can tell she's tired and in a lot of pain, so I circle her like a predator before I take my chance and with one swift motion, my sharp cla
ws catch hold of her neck. Like 4 swords cutting her neck at once, the damage is too much even for the fast wolf healing, and Mrs Bailey collapses on the ground. She's not dead yet, and I have no intention on doing the humane thing and putting her out of her misery, so I just let her to bleed to death.
I can already hear the howls of my pack mates that are rushing to help Sam and I. Catching a glimpse of my mate and seeing that she's still on the grass in the clearing, I pray to the Goddess that Mr Bailey keeps aiming his deadly arrows at me and not her.
It's easier for me to duck and swerve from incoming arrows, and harder for him to aim. Just moments after I left his wife for dead, bleeding on the ground, I am face to face with a large grey wolf. Seeing approach, the bastard abandoned his bow and arrow and shifted into his wolf. Due to the many years of training, Mr Bailey's wolf is comparable in size to an average Alpha, but that doesn't even phase me. The image of my mate with an arrow painfully impaling her, is enough to enrage me to the point of blacking out and for my wolf to take full control and go wild.
53 - Epiphany
Samantha
I didn't know what to do, what to think or how to react. I have been stuck here on the grass, unable to move or do anything other than pray to the Moon Goddess that Jason is safe. I didn't really care about my own wellbeing, I only want my mate to be alright. It's a weirdly amazing feeling putting someone else above you, but over the past 24 hours, Jason has shown me just how much he grew and changed for the better, over the past year. If anyone deserves a chance at a long and happy life, that's him, and I am cursing myself for not jumping into his arms and seizing the moment when I saw him at the pub yesterday.
I'm starting to feel drained, completely drained, and I am slowly losing the will to stay awake, stay strong and stay alive. By all means, this wouldn't be such a bad injury if I was able to remove the stupid arrow and allow my body to heal. But Jason was right to look concerned, because the tip of the arrow is silver and the tail is spiked in such a way that it would rip through me like a bitch if I tried to remove it. I need something sharp and strong to cut the arrow clean and then I can just slide it out of me. Easy peasy, well, maybe I wouldn't do it myself, I'm not sure I can be that hardcore.
I can still hear the sound of arrows being shot in close proximity. It's a chilling sound that scares me because I don't know what to expect. Feeling like I'm going crazy, and starting to hallucinate from the pain and blood loss, I gain a bit of hope once I hear the howls in the distance. They are wolves from Crescent Moon for sure, I would recognize their howls anywhere, which means Jason made it to the treeline safely and managed to mind link someone and ask for help. Another surge of adrenaline rushes through me and the pain subsides just slightly, but enough for me to become fully alert once more.
When I hear someone approaching, I freeze, thinking that for sure this is how I perish, and for a second I think that I will soon be met with the one who I once called father. My skin crawls at the stench of blood that soon surrounds me, and I know it's not from me. What I'm smelling is like a rain of blood fell on someone or if they bathed a river of it, but what I see is even more terrifying.
They are dead, I just know it, I don't need to ask the question, although the blood on Jason is enough of an answer. He has shifted back to his human form, but is covered from head to toes in blood. It is a gore scene, and my mind can't help but picture what he did to the people I once called family, my adoptive parents. I don't think I want to know, and he doesn't look like he would ever want to discuss it with me either. I'm quite fine with that, I'm just glad he's alive.
Jason kind of scares me right now. He came next to me as if inspecting to make sure I'm still alive, and then left again. I can't help but slightly panic when I'm left alone, but I can already hear voices close to us, which gives me hope.
“Shit!” I hear Tyler's voice in the distance, and instinctively I try to call out to him, but a mere squeak comes out.
“Wow! I've never seen any... “ I hear another male voice that gets interrupted by a loud growl. I already know it's my mate, but I don't understand why he's so upset with the guy.
“Did you bring what I asked?” I hear Jason and it sounds like they're all coming closer to where I am.
“Oh, Sam. What the fuck?!” My Beta freezes when he sees the arrow sticking out of me. For some reason I don't think it looks that bad. I mean, he should have seen Jason earlier, now that's something that could hunt him for the rest of his life, I know it will hunt me.
“I missed you too Tyler.” I manage to croak out, feeling pleased that I formed actual words and not just random sounds, but Tyler doesn't relax. He still looks in shock. Could it be that my condition is worse than I thought?
I notice Jason is clean of all the blood and smells more like him now. He must have gone to the small stream that's nearby to get himself cleaned out, which I'm sure everyone appreciates. His body is wet and the tiny droplets of water are glistening in the afternoon sun. Forgetting I'm almost at death's doorstep, I follow one of those lucky droplets as it trails down my mate's chest and gets lost in the material of his shorts. If I had any more blood left in me, I'm sure my cheeks would be crimson red by now.
“Hi Sam, how are you feeling?” I tear my gaze from Jason to see someone I haven't seen in a very long time.
“I'm... alive.” I try to smile politely at the woman in front of me. Her kind eyes instantly make me feel better, like medicine. Some people are just naturals at what they do, and that includes this woman. She's been kind with me before, after Rianna had her goons assault me at school, and here she is again, trying to see if she can save my life.
“That great, now let's make sure you stay that way, alright sweetie?” She gently caresses my forehead, although I think she's trying to take my temperature, and her gently holding my hand, I think has more to do with taking my pulse. But she is lovely, anyway, she makes me feel safe.
As I thought that I'm in good, gentle hands, emphasis on the 'gentle' part, I see the nurse pull out something that looks like a cross between giant scissors and pliers. Oh, hell, no! My eyes widen at the sight of that monstrosity and I can't help but think I won't like whatever she plants on doing with them.
As on cue, Jason kneels next to me, taking my hand and whispering in my ear trying to calm me down. I can't focus on Jason because I see the nurse taking the scissors and Brian coming next to me avoiding to look me in the eyes. I'm not stupid, I already know they want to do, but that doesn't mean I'm OK for them to go ahead.
Do I know it's my best chance of staying alive? Yes, I do.
Do I like it? None one bit.
As the nurse positions the scissors at the head of the arrow, trying to cut off the silver coated tip, I feel someone pinning my legs down. It doesn't take me long to find out it's Tyler, because he keeps apologizing and cursing over and over again, not necessarily making much sense. Jason, I haven't noticed before, but is somehow holding me by my arms firmly, while still talking to me, trying to keep me distracted. His tactic is not working, by the way. I am much too aware of what's about to happen and I'm scared to death. You see, pain is not that bad, sudden pain, but the anticipation of pain is what messes your brain up the most. The feeling of knowing you are about to be hit with overwhelming physical pain is the scariest thing ever.
“Sam, I love you. You are the strongest woman I have ever met, and I want nothing more than for you to let me prove myself...”
I didn't feel the nurse cutting the arrow, not the vibration it caused. Hell, I didn't even feel Brian pull the arrow out of me. I know Jason said something also after, but I completely spaced out after 'I love you'. He loves me, he just told me he loves me and at this moment I don't care about anything else. I don't care about Marie, about my dead adoptive parents, I don't care about the fact that I almost died or that I'm not healed just yet. I only care about those magical 3 words that just left Jason's sensual lips. I don't care about how complicated this would be, about who's Alpha and who's Luna.
It's like I had an epiphany and the result of it is that I finally accepted that the Moon Goddess paired me with Jason, and we should thank Her and enjoy our bond like every other happy couple out there. If others could do it, so can we. Damn it, I want to be that disgustingly sweet couple that everyone hates that they love. I want to be goals like Jen and Ryan, heck I want my own babies with Jason. I can't believe I'm having such selfish thought, but I want the whole relationship thing, and I don't know anyone that would deserve happiness more than us 2 at the moment.
I try to find Jason's face so I can look into his eyes and tell him just how much I love him, and how tired I am off these stupid little games. I wanted to tell him that I want nothing more than to bear his mark and be together like our Goddess intended, everything else be damned. I really wanted to tell him that, but complete darkness takes over me before I even find his gaze.
I really hope I haven't died. I mean, what's the point of having the revelation of your lifetime if you just die like that without having the chance to play it out or even to tell the love of your life just how madly in love you are with him? And If I'm alive and will somehow wake up from this, I sure hope I'm not going to chicken out from telling Jason the speech I had prepared earlier. No, More. Games.
54 - Marked
Samantha
I am forever stuck with 2 round scars, marking the entry and exit ways of the arrow. Not even my fast healing could help them for staying on my skin, but I intend to wear them proudly. And it's not like I walk around with only a bra on, so for the most part, my new scars are hidden. I completely refuse to allow the mental scars from forming in the depths of my mind, though. I really don't need more shit to push me in the cold and deathly arms of lady depression. I took a very important decision that day, as I was thinking that surely I'm about to die. For a good minute there, I kind of thought I kicked the bucket, if I'm being honest. All that blood loss made me lose consciousness in the end, and my body was too tired to allow me to wake up too soon. I was asleep, or more like knocked out, for 2 days straight. But you know what they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so here I am, another day, another, stronger, me.
Fight For The Highest Wolf Rank Page 26