Saving Briar

Harlow screamed, unable to stop the sound that was torn from between her lips. Theon had just killed Hux and a flood of emotions had torn through her soul at the sight. Vaguely she realized that first and foremost amongst those feelings was relief. Hux may have meant something to her once, he was the first man she’d ever been with and he was the father of her child, but in the last month he’d done things that he would never be able to take back, even if he’d lived a long life.

Her eyes had shifted, searching for Kayla, the moment the fight that would have decided both their fates ended. It only took her a few heartbeats to find her child, being held at the edge of the great crowd, a silver knife to her throat. Cara’s eyes were on the great gray wolf that was Theon, and she hardly seemed cognizant of anything else.

“Please, Moon Goddess. Save her. Take anything from me, even my own life. Just let her live.” Harlow whispered the words between clenched teeth, afraid to move or do anything that would put her daughter in greater danger. Cara clearly had the upper hand here.

But what could she possibly want now? Would she think she could somehow force Theon to be with her, after she’d taken part in the plot to overthrow him? It was not lost on Harlow, for even a moment, that all of this had happened because of Cara’s lust for power and status.

A strange look passed over Kayla’s face, causing Harlow to struggle to break free of the grip of the man who now held her tightly against his chest. He’d seen the trouble that was coming as soon as Cara produced the knife, and he knew he needed to be on his guard.

When Kayla screamed and then began to fall, Harlow was terrified that Cara had slit her throat. But it wasn’t a spray of blood that descended to the ground. Instead a flurry of white fabric rapidly gave way to fur. At Cara’s feet, in the exact spot where Kayla had been standing a moment before, there stood a small wolf pup. She clamped down hard with her teeth on the older woman’s ankle and then when Cara made to swipe at her with the wicked looking blade, the pup sprang backwards and ran straight towards the large gray wolf, cowering behind his legs.

Harlow didn’t know as much as most of the people present about werewolves, but she knew that they weren’t supposed to shift until they were teenagers. And her five year old daughter most definitely was not a teenager, even if she did act like it sometimes. She didn’t have time to think very much about it though, as the scene in front of her continued to unfold, with Harlow longing to hold her small, fluffy daughter in her arms and comfort her.

“Isn’t the man who pays your salary dead?” Harlow hissed the words as she struggled with the guard, but she was only rewarded with a grim chuckle.

“He isn’t the one in charge here, Miss. I see what he saw in you though. Feisty.”

Harlow sagged in his arms, letting the large man support her, hoping he thought that she was weaker than she actually was, while she contemplated making her next move.

A hiss left her mouth in surprise as Theon shifted back into his human form, tagging a towel that had obviously been left nearby for the winner of the match, and wrapping it quickly around his waist, before turning towards Cara.

“I don’t want you to get hurt in all this, Cara. I remember who you used to be. Leave now and no harm will come to you on my lands.”

Harlow couldn’t help but marvel at Theon’s words. He sounded like the Alpha that he had always dreamed of being, even if she didn’t agree with what he was offering Cara. Harlow’s eyes skimmed over his muscular form. He’d been hurt during the fight, and had several gashes in his arms, and a slash where a claw had sliced his chest, but he didn’t appear to be in pain.

“Don’t want to hurt me? That’s rich. You should have killed her the moment you realized that she was your mate. I shouldn’t have had to do everything that I did. Maybe if you’d done that I never would have gone along with Hux when he came up with this plan so that I could have everything I’ve ever wanted. I wanted you to be my mate, Theon. Not your Beta.” She spit out the words, venom thick in her tone.

“The Goddess decides these things. We had a good thing for a long time, Cara. Until it wasn’t anymore. That’s why I will let you go-” he’d gotten close to her, his arms held out to the side, clearly confident that she was going to see reason. Harlow didn’t see any reason to believe that she would, but Theon was so confident as he moved towards his ex that she thought he knew what he was doing.

Until Cara moved. She slashed at her former lover with the blade, just barely slicing his arm as he jumped back and the long arc of her swing caught his bicep.

Harlow moved then, as everyone else held still, holding their breath, nearly as one, waiting to see what would happen.

Harlow slammed her heel down onto the foot of the man who was holding her, while simultaneously slamming her head back against his chin. That hurt a lot more than she expected it to, but Harlow didn’t stop. She flung herself forward, towards Cara, almost surprised when the man didn’t catch her from behind and haul her back into his vice-like arms.

Cara was entirely focused on Theon, a slow grin spreading across her face, even as he stood before her, several feet further back than he had been a moment before.

Harlow heard him say Cara’s name, but she didn’t have time to register her surprise as she slammed into the other woman, throwing them both to the ground.

A sharp pain hit Harlow in the abdomen, just below her sternum and she cried out, surprised to feel how slick the grass was as she tried to push herself up, off the woman who should have been her sister. It only took a moment for Harlow to realize what had happened.

When she had tackled Cara they had both fallen forward, and slightly to the side as Cara tried to twist away from her. It hadn’t worked, but the knife that Cara had been holding had been long, with a wicked curve, and it had sliced through Cara’s middle, before coming out through her back and poking a few centimeters into Harlow’s side.

Harlow sat back on her heels, surprised when the world around her seemed unsteady. Her eyes found her small pup, already beside her, before turning to see Theon kneeling a few feet away, his eyes firmly fixed on her face, along with a look of pain that surprised her.

“You’re hurt.” She moved towards him, ignoring the small trickle of blood that seeped through her dress.

“Tis but a scratch.” Theon quoted, forcing his lips into a small smile, although the pallor of his skin betrayed his words.

“Help. Your Alpha needs a doctor. Help!” She shuffled forward to close the distance, her hand going to the cut on his arm, confused at the obvious change in his condition.

“Her poison works quickly.” Theon raised his eyes to Harlow’s face, and she realized what he was saying. If the blade was poisoned… she didn’t have time to complete the thought as Theon pitched forward and she barely managed to catch him, lowering him to the ground as he put his head in her lap. “One last kiss,” his voice was hardly even a whisper, “before I have to go.”

Harlow suppressed a sob as she leaned forward, barely managing to brush her lips against his. His breathing was slow, and sounded thick and then she couldn’t hear it anymore, but his eyes continued to stare, wide and unblinking up at her, his pupils so wide that they nearly disguised the blue of his eyes.

A doctor finally made his way to the front of the crowd, kneeling beside the dying Alpha. He pressed his hand against Theon’s neck, holding perfectly still as he waited to see if his initial assessment was correct. Finally he looked up at Harlow, blinking slowly before he managed to say the words that Harlow already knew were true.

“He’s gone.”