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Chapter 240
~Zara’s POV~
Astrid bared her teeth, standing firm as he charged. Their collision was thunderous, the force nearly knocking her off her paws. The rogue’s claws slashed across her side, reopening the earlier wound, but she refused to falter.
"You’re mine," Astrid snarled, surging forward. Her teeth clamped down on the rogue’s shoulder, and with a ferocious jerk, she sent him tumbling to the ground. Before he could rise, we were on him again, pinning him with sheer force.
The rogue thrashed wildly, but Astrid held him firmly. Finally, with a decisive move, she drove her claws into his exposed neck, ending the fight.
Silence fell, broken only by the ragged sound of my breathing. Blood dripped from my fur, and exhaustion weighed heavily on my limbs, but the rogues were down. They weren’t getting up again.
Ivan clapped slowly, his mocking applause sending a fresh wave of anger through me. He stepped forward, his smug grin widening as he surveyed the carnage.
"Well done, Zara," he drawled. "Truly. I didn’t think you’d manage to survive this long."
I shifted back into my human form, ignoring how naked I stood before him as I clenched my fist, ready for whatever came next. "You’ll regret this, Ivan. I swear you will."
He tilted his head, as if amused by my threat. "Oh, I’m counting on it. You’ve just had a warm-up... the next round, you won’t be so lucky."
Before I could respond, he gestured to the remaining men who hadn’t joined the fight.
If I thought the leader was tough, I was mistaken as five bigger men advanced and immediately they transformed.
"Astrid?"
"I still have fight left in me, Zara. Let’s go!"
Astrid lunged first as she met the closest rogue head-on. Her claws tore into his flank, leaving deep gashes that sent him howling.
She spun mid-air to avoid the second one, swiping at his face and sending him staggering back.
But they weren’t holding back. The remaining three rogues were already closing in, their snarls echoing in unison.
One leaped, jaws snapping for her throat, while another came at her side. Astrid twisted, her powerful hind legs launching her out of the trap, and landed hard, her claws digging into the dirt.
"Stay sharp, Astrid!" I urged her, my voice trembling in her mind.
"I’m trying!" she growled before springing forward again.
She managed to catch another rogue, her teeth sinking into his shoulder and tossing him aside like a rag doll. But as she turned, the others were already upon her. Claws raked across her flank, her fur matting with blood.
Astrid yelped but stood her ground, her red eyes blazing with rage. She lunged at the nearest attacker, her teeth meeting flesh as she bit down on his foreleg, crushing bone beneath her jaws. The rogue roared, stumbling back, but another one blindsided her, slamming into her ribs and sending her sprawling.
"They’re overwhelming us!" Astrid snapped, dodging another swipe from behind.
"Just hold on," I pleaded. "We’ve been through worse—"
A massive rogue tackled her from behind, his claws digging into her shoulders as he bit into her neck. Astrid howled in pain, thrashing wildly until she managed to throw him off, but the others pressed their advantage.
I felt helpless watching her from her mind and could barely do anything.
The truth was, we were injured—badly.
One rogue struck at her side, his claws ripping through her fur and skin, while another raked at her chest. Astrid barely had time to recover before a third slammed his paw into her face, dazing her.
"I... can’t keep this up," Astrid admitted as her breathing laboured and I couldn’t blame her. She had defended me.
"You can," I insisted, desperation creeping into my voice. "Just focus. We can get out f this. We can link with Snow and Glacier—"
Suddenly, one of the rogues lunged for her legs, knocking them out from under her. She collapsed onto her side, and before she could rise, another rogue slammed his massive body into hers, pinning her to the ground.
Astrid clawed at him, managing to roll away, but the moment she staggered to her feet, a hulking rogue emerged from the fray. He moved swiftly, his massive form towering over the others.
Astrid braced herself, growling in a low voice, but the rogue’s paw struck out with force. Quickly I forced my consciousness through and ducked, narrowly avoiding the blow, but another rogue seized the opportunity and clawed at her hind leg, dragging her down.
"Zara, I—"
Astrid’s thought was cut off as the leader rogue stepped forward, his massive paw arcing down. Astrid tried to dodge, but she was too slow—we were too slow.
The blow struck her head with devastating power, sending her flying backwards. I knew the Lycans were powerful and merciless but this...
Her body slammed into the hill with a sickening thud and before I could hold her body, her head collided with an exposed stone.
Strid shuddered, her breathing coming off slow and laboured as the world spun violently, and then everything went dark.
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I was falling. Or was I floating? I couldn’t tell. The void was endless, pulling me deeper into its cold embrace.
I tried to grab something, anything, to keep myself steady and find out what was going on but even that seemed hopeless.
Where were we?
Did we... die?
No. It couldn’t be.
"Zara..."
Astrid’s voice was faint, somewhat distant. My mind felt heavy and my thoughts muddled. Darkness swallowed everything and the weight of my failure pressed down on me.
"Astrid. I’m sorry."
"No. Forgive me for not protecting you but..."
"Shh... It’s alright. It’s alright."
That was all I could do for her. I had lost.
I got us injured.
I wasn’t strong enough.
I was weak. If only...
And then, faintly, I heard Ivan’s voice, his mocking laughter cutting through the silence in my mind.
"Not so tough now, are you, Zara?" he snickered. "Bring her. We’re going visiting."