Chapter 381: No one mourns the cruel 2
CIAN
I lifted my hand and placed it over hers, where it gripped my arm, not to remove it, not yet, but to ground the mont, to make sure she felt the certainty I was trying to give her.
"But I will never forgive myself if he escapes out of here," I continued, holding her gaze as I spoke, letting the truth of that settle between us before I added, quieter but no less firm, "Help my uncle. I will be fine."
She didn’t release
imdiately, and for a mont it felt like ti stretched in that space between us, her grip still tight, her eyes searching mine as though she was trying to find sothing she could trust enough to let go.
I could see everything happening behind her expression, the fear that refused to loosen its hold, the doubt that lingered no matter what I said, and beneath it all, the instinctive need to keep
close, to stop
from stepping into sothing she believed would take
from her.
For a mont, I thought she might refuse.
Then, slowly, her fingers loosened.
Her hand slipped away from my arm in stages, reluctant and unsteady, as though every inch of distance between us was sothing she had to force herself to accept.
I didn’t give either of us the chance to reconsider.
The mont she let go, I turned and ran.
The broken window ca up fast, its jagged edges catching what little light remained, but I didn’t slow as I reached it, launching myself through the opening with enough force to send the remaining shards scattering as I passed through.
I landed hard outside, my boots crunching against the glass that covered the ground beneath , the sharp fragnts shifting and grinding under my weight, glinting faintly in the fading light of the evening.
Straightening, I lifted my head and looked ahead, my focus narrowing imdiately as I took in the scene unfolding beyond the walls.
The sentinels were already deep within the tree line, spread out in a loose formation as they moved through the woods, their movents coordinated but urgent, all of them tracking the sa target.
Aldric.
Between them and , two bodies lay crumpled on the ground, their forms twisted at unnatural angles that made it clear they had gone down hard and fast.
Their throats had been torn open so violently that there was no mistaking the force behind it, the earth beneath them dark and soaked through with blood that had already begun to seep into the soil.
My gaze shifted forward again, following the direction of the pursuit, and this ti I caught the trail more clearly, the uneven splatters of blood cutting through the grass and leading deeper into the woods, marking his path in a way that made it impossible to lose.
They had hit him.
He was wounded.
Slower than he had been before.
But still moving.
Then he looked back.
Our eyes t across the distance, and in that instant, everything else seed to fall away: the noise, the movent, the bodies, the chaos behind , all of it fading into sothing distant and irrelevant as my focus locked entirely onto him.
It was just him.
And .
Nothing else mattered.
He turned and ran.
Sothing inside
gave way, not gradually, not with hesitation, but all at once, like a line snapping under too much strain.
The world narrowed instantly, collapsing into a single point of focus that left no room for anything else, no space for doubt, no space for anything but the need to close the distance between us.
I had to catch him.
I had to end this.
The shift began before I consciously chose it, my body already moving ahead of my thoughts, committing to the change without waiting for permission, as if so deeper part of
had already decided what needed to happen.
Pain tore through
as it always did, sharp and consuming, my bones breaking and reforming beneath my skin, my muscles stretching and tightening as they reshaped, my skin pulling apart to make room for the fur forcing its way through.
It hurt.
It always hurt.
But it didn’t matter.
I let it happen, dropping forward and giving in to it completely instead of resisting, allowing the transformation to take over until there was nothing left to fight.
The mont it settled, everything sharpened.
My speed surged imdiately, the ground beneath
no longer sothing I ran on but sothing I devoured with each stride, the distance between
and my target shrinking faster with every movent.
The world ca into focus in a way that was almost overwhelming, every detail sharper, clearer, more defined than before.
Sound sharpened first, separating into layers I could pick apart without effort.
Then scent followed.
Blood, fear, and sweat.
It all flooded in at once, filling my senses until there was no space left for anything else, no distraction strong enough to pull
away from what mattered.
And beneath it all, clear and unmistakable was he.
I locked onto it instantly, my body responding without hesitation as my legs drove
forward, each stride carrying
faster, stronger, and closer.
The trees blurred past
as I moved.
The ground vanished beneath my paws.
Aldric was ahead of , still in that half-shifted state where his body carried both forms at once, still running despite everything that had already been done to him.
But I was faster, and the distance between us disappeared quickly under the force of my stride, each step driving
closer until there was nothing left but the mont I chose to take him down.
I launched myself forward, my body committing fully to the attack as my jaws opened and my teeth bared, closing the final gap between us in a single, decisive movent.
I caught him at the shoulder.
My fangs sank deep into flesh, tearing through muscle and sinew as the resistance gave way beneath the pressure of my bite.
Aldric scread, the sound ripped from him as he twisted violently in response, his claws slashing across my side with enough force to break my hold and throw
off balance.
I hit the ground hard and rolled with the impact, forcing myself back onto my feet almost imdiately because I simply refused to give him even a second to recover an advantage.
He turned to face .
His shoulder hung at an unnatural angle, the damage severe and unmistakable, blood pouring steadily from the wound and soaking into his side, but none of it dulled the focus in his eyes or the fury that still burned there.
He ca at
again without hesitation.
His claws cut toward my face in a fast, deliberate strike, but I dipped under the attack and lunged forward in the sa motion, shifting my aim lower as I drove in.
I went for his leg.
My teeth closed around his thigh, locking down with force.
He roared and brought his fist down on my skull in retaliation, the impact landing hard enough to rattle , sending a burst of white across my vision as the force of it disrupted my focus.
I released him and stepped back, shaking my head to clear it as I forced myself to reset before he could press further.
By then, the sentinels had caught up, spreading out around us in a loose circle with their guns raised and trained on Aldric, their hesitation obvious as none of them fired.
They could not risk hitting .
Aldric noticed, his attention shifting toward them as his lips pulled back in a snarl, blood staining his teeth as he assessed the new threat.
One of them fired anyway.
The bullet struck him in the chest, the impact forcing him backward a step before two more shots followed in quick succession, one hitting his stomach and the other catching his side.
He dropped to one knee under the force of it.
I did not wait.
I charged forward again, slamming into him with everything I had and driving him backward into the dirt, the force of the impact carrying us both down as I went straight for his throat.
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