35 Downpour

♔Eustacia (P.O.V)

The safe house is a large underground storage unit. The walls and ceiling are coated with metal plates. The food that was once stored here is pushed far against the back wall. At least 50 adults, 20 elders, and 30 children litter the area.

Leah and I purposely entered last so we would be close to the door.

Bam! Bam! I pound against the solid metal door, keeping us inside. "Let me out," I groan at the guards, my face against the cold door.

"We can't do that, Miss Eustacia," the one on the right side of the door speaks up. His voice is somewhat shaky as he speaks, it's clear fear is bothering him.

Surely he would be eager to leave if I asked for something. No harm in trying, I shrug gently. "Well can one of you guys go get me something to snack on, all that's in here are canned items," I ask sweetly.

"I'll do it!" The one on the right shouts and quickly the sound of running sounds through the air.

"Lady Eustacia, I know you want to go help, but I have strict orders from the king. So please, don't try anything," the guy on the left of the door says softly. I can't see what he looks like or what he's wearing, the metal door doesn't have any sort of window. I can only tell he sounds young from his voice.

"Yea, about that," I breathe in deeply, pressing myself against the door, "I am so sorry."

"Sorry for what-" Quickly, I slam all my power into the door and swing it wide open, causing it to hit the man standing on the left of it. With a loud groan, he thuds against the ground.

I look over at Leah, who had been standing behind me in the same clothing as earlier, her face wide with shock. "Damn, girl!"

A smile slips across my lips, and I pull her in a tight hug. "I love you," I whisper to her and quickly dash off toward my mate.

♔Tristen (P.O.V)

Three-o-clock and it's still dark outside. I have no fear for my followers since we're werewolves, we can see in the dark.

"We have no time to waste!" I shout to the crowd of followers behind me, raising my fist into the air.

Over one hundred lycans stand behind me in their wolf forms, already fitted with the claws Gedeon helped us make. Nearly 50 regular werewolves line the front, Gedeon leading them already in his large black and red wolf. They're smaller than the lycans, but their strength is equal to that of those we will be facing. Evelyn was able to gather nearly twenty witches, most of them low rank. They stand at the back, ready to heal and provide aid when needed.

"Let's go!" I shout as I run forward toward our border, where Gedeon stated they would come from. With ease, I shift into my wolf mid-run, my red paws clash against the grassy ground.

It's time to end this.

Gedeon and I exchange a concerned glance. This man has lost his mind!

"Gedeon, you traitor!" he shouts, rage filling his voice. "I trusted you!"

Flynn motions around him, instinctively I growl. "I'll make it short and sweet. Seeing as I'll be speaking to a bunch of dead meat soon," he cackles wildly.

"I don't originally belong to the Rushing River pack. Theo, our mate's father, had told me my mother was killed by my father. Eventually, Theo turned my father into one of the monsters you saw in the fight pit and took me on as his own. After all, he only had a female heir," he states bluntly, walking back and forth.

"The thing is, it was more than just that. Theo abused me, forced me to do things that have scarred me for life. He's the reason I am how I am. So I hated her for being apart of him, and once I found out she was my mate- I snapped. So I might have done a few things I'm not proud of," he whispers, rubbing his free hand through his hair.

Eustacia's father beat him? Does Eustacia not know this? Of course not, she said she had no idea why. Although we haven't spoken much of her father, she's never said anything ill about him.

"That's beside the point after I turned eighteen, I started digging into my mother's life. Trying to figure out who she was, I landed on one name, Sophia," he pauses and waves his arms around in the air like a madman.

"I found out my father wasn't her mate, but her pack claimed he was. My father was a fling she had and dumped me off at his pack after I was born because her real mate refused to raise a bastard," he sneers, kicking the ground below him.

"The name sounded familiar, so I kept digging, and it turns out, her married name is Sophia Clark! My father never killed my mother, as Theo claimed, and he knew that!" Flynn howls as he taps his head with the end of the syringe.

That's my mother's name, but it couldn't be here. My father and mother have never mentioned anything like that. Nor is it in any of the documents I searched. It doesn't make sense.

"Theo was smart, he intended to use me to take over your pack while our mother was still alive. He just died before he could get around to it. Once I knew for sure our mother was the same person, I flew into a rage and ordered rogues that Theo had recruited to kill her," he shrugs his shoulders slightly, "Oops."

No one outside that incident knows that rogues are what killed her. Anger fills my throat as a large growl leaves my body. He's telling the truth.

"That dear younger brother makes me a lycan, and like you, I have a right to that throne!" He screams as he slams the syringe into his thigh. A large pain curdling scream fills the air as his bones violently break and form into his werewolf counterpart, a dark red wolf highlighted by bright yellow eyes.

"Go!" I howl into my pack link, signaling my pack to start.

Chaos unfolds around me, fireballs and arrows whirl around the battlefield, as werewolves launch at each other. Brown, black, white, red-colored wolves smash against each other sending blood and fur flying everywhere.

Gedeon's large black and red wolf bolts after a peppered gray wolf, and tackles it down. Effortlessly he rips its throat out, sending blood flying as he quickly bounces off toward more enemies.

A shiver runs down my spine at his capabilities, I would have hated going against that man if he was on the other side.

I catch a small gray wolf sprinting towards me, its teeth bared and its claws honed with the silver claws. Quickly, it launches itself off its hindlegs toward me. With lightning reaction speed I roll out of the way, and bull rush into the smaller wolf, knocking it off balance.

Without hesitation, I sink my teeth into the petite neck, blood oozes into my mouth as I hastily yank out its throat, crushing it in my mouth. I can feel as the blood drips down my mouth, matting my chest fur.

"Tree, behind you!" Felix shouts into the pack link, quickly I spin around.

A large white and red wolf pelts toward me, its face slender like a female. Unprepared, she bulldozes me down, her fur glows red as shes being buffed by the witches on her side. We roll, fighting for dominance clawing at each other's exposed stomachs. I quickly nip at her throat, but she throws her head forward, bashing into mine. Disoriented, she lands a blow on my muzzle, sinking her teeth as deep as my bone will let them.

A loud cry escapes my body as I try to fling her off of me, I start smacking at her face with my paws, hoping my claws will snag something. Within a few tries, my right paw snagged on something causing a large cry to vibrate from her body. Her grip loosens, and I free myself from her teeth, I slam into her with the side of my body, knocking her off balance. Swiftly I climb on top of her, her eye a bloody mess matting her snow-white fur under her eyes. With one brief motion, I crunch into the flesh covering her throat and smash her windpipe. Blood spraying me once more.

I let out a loud howl of triumph, challenging anyone who dares come after me.

"Tristen!" A familiar voice shouts in the distance. Eustacia. Panic flows over me, what the hell is she doing out here?

"Leave!" I shout in our pack link.

"Tristen, look out!" She shouts, panic in her voice, as a piercing pain shoots through my chest. A loud howl of agony escapes my blood-stained lips.

♔Eustacia (P.O.V)

The battlefield is chaotic, and I can't see Tristen anywhere.

"Tristen!" I shout, scanning the crowd for him.

"Leave!" His voice shouts into my head. Right, I almost forgot a pack link was a thing.

I spot his solid red wolf staring in my direction, his muzzle covered in blood. A few steps away from him stands a hunter, his bow aimed right at- Tristen!

"Tristen, look out!" I howl through our bond, sprinting forward, I shift into my wolf form, rushing toward him. A loud howl of agony rippled through the air as pain rushes through my chest, and my body begins to shake.

Tristen. They got him. Panic swells in my chest as I watch his wolf stagger, an arrow sticking out of his body. A darker red wolf rushes toward him, and for some reason, I know it's Flynn. I barrel toward my injured mate as fast as I possibly can, my paws pounding like a thunderstorm against the terrain.

I watch as Tristen falls to the ground, Flynn over top of him biting at Tristen's neck. Tristen claws at him with his back feet, trying helplessly to get him off, blood splatters everywhere as Tristen's back feet shred the underneath of Flynn's belly.

Flynn howls back in pain, and he bites onto the arrow sticking out of Tristen's chest and pulls wildly. The wooden arrow breaks in half, causing Flynn to lose his balance. Tristen weakened, takes advantage, and tackles him to the ground with his teeth bared. Tristen goes in for the kill, but Flynn briskly rotates his neck, so Tristen lands on the side of it. Quickly Flynn pushes Tristen off sending him rolling, a howl leaves Flynn's bloody body as he braces himself for more.

I wail in desperation as I sling myself toward my first mate, knocking him further away from Tristen and to the ground. My heart sinks as the electricity rushes through my body from touching him. I forgot that we hadn't completed the rejection.

I easily pin him to the ground and watch as his eyes grow wide and as he starts beating his tail against the ground. I bite deeply into his neck and get flung off like Tristen had, as he rockets his back feet against my stomach.

"Eustacia, stop," Tristen weakly states in the pack link.

"No," I growl at him, trying not to cry at the ache in my heart from hearing his voice so weak. "I'm going to protect you!" I shout as I rush toward him and lay protectively over him. "I can't lose you," I cry.

My senses on high alert, I hear paws clashing against the ground toward me, Flynn. I growl loudly as he rushes toward me, blood oozing from the wounds on his neck, his teeth bared. He rushes past biting my scruff, and tugging me off of Tristen, he barrels around in a circle and sinks his teeth into the back of my neck once more, rolling me over. His once yellow eyes are now a bright blood red.

A large fireball slams into Flynn, knocking him off me. Surprised for nearly a second, I leap onto Flynn's body and sink my teeth deeply into his neck. I crunch down causing a flow of blood to seep into my mouth, and pain swells in my heart, as I felt the mate bond being fully destroyed.

It almost felt as if I was losing them both.

I tilt my head upward and howl a loud, desperate, howl for the loss of my mates as everything fades into darkness.

♔Eustacia (P.O.V)

A large blinding white light burns my eyes as I open them. I roll my head over to my right, beside me lays an unconscious Tristen. His hair falls over his face, which is stained red from crying. The gentle rise and fall of his chest, says he's alive allowing relief to flow over me. A large smile takes over my face as I scoot closer to him and start rubbing my left hand through his hair, the mate bond sending chills up my spine.

His eyes flutter open, surprise rushes through his face. "Eustacia!" He shouts as tears start to flow down his face. Before I know it, I'm snuggly in his embrace, his chest heaving in heavy sobs.

"What happened?" I squeak my throat raw.

"You killed him. You ended it," he whispers.

"How long was I out?" I question, enjoying the safe feeling of being in his arms. Something I thought I'd never feel again.

"Four days," he states, "Eustacia, there's something you need to know."

"Can't it wait? I just want to be in your arms," I sigh heavily.

I can feel as he shakes his head gently, as he rubs his hand through my hair. "It's important."

I look up at his face which is plastered with a serious expression. "Well, then, get on with it," I tease.

"When I got to you, thank god the arrow missed my heart, you weren't breathing. You died, and I didn't know what to do. I thought- I thought I was going to lose you too," he cries softly.

"Then why am I here?" I question confused.

"I marked you. I- I panicked and I thought- I hoped it would work."

Shock floods through my body as I touch my neck. Sure enough, it's there, I can feel the heat coming off of it. It doesn't feel like I thought it would.

"I know I did it without your permission, but if it means you get to live I would do it again. . . Even if you decide to reject me," he whispers burring his head into my chest.

I quickly bounce out of the bed and rush to the bathroom sink. The elaborate blue tattoo swirls around my neck and forms into two wolves howling at a moon. Tristen's name shines effortlessly under the design. My once bright blue eyes are now a stunning yellow.

As I trace the tattoo along my neck Tristen pops up behind me. "Your eye color changing, I didn't know what it meant at first. So I looked it up while you slept. Turns out you are indeed a lycan like Nichole thought. You are a certified member of this pack," he smiles proudly. "Now you don't have to have any doubts about yourself."

"Thank you, Tristen," I smile brightly as I hug him tightly, my hair falling into my eyes.

"S-so are you going to stay?" He questions brushing the hair out of my face, I can sense the fear from him.

"Of course," I whisper quietly into his chest, "can I?"

I can feel him as he gently nods his head, I can even feel the happiness flowing through his body. "I'm yours," he says as he lifts me closer to his neck.

I easily sink my K-9s into his neck, sealing our mate bond. I watch as the elegant blue lines appear as the same design as mine, except my name shines beneath his. "Now, you're my smartass," I smile brightly, as I hear him chuckle, he got it.

"I love you," I whisper.

"I love you too," He states, pulling me up he kisses me deeply. "I have been waiting to do that since we met!" He howls in triumph.