SWNOVELS Chapter 30 Chapter 30
Six hours later,
I sat between Max and Leo with my head resting on Leo's shoulder as we drove. Their shoulders were kind of encroaching into my space and I've seen bigger cars in my life but it was warm and snuggly. At some point, I must have dropped off because when I woke up we were no longer in a mountain range but amongst the tall trees of a forest.
"Do you hear that?" I heard Leo's voice say in a hushed whisper.
"Hear what?" Max asked.
"I can hear footsteps less than a mile away. Maybe two hundred people. They're running,” he replied as I sat up straight and tried to listen too. We sat in total silence for a few seconds straining our ears. All I could hear was the gently swaying of the trees above us and the engine. "Stop the car,” Leo ordered about ten seconds later.
The driver brought the car to a halt and Leo opened his door.
"Stay," he ordered looking at me before slamming the door.
A fraction of a second later, he opened the door again and this time looked at Max.
"Make sure she stays," he added.
I rolled my eyes before Leo shut the car door once again.
"Do you hear it?" I asked Max.
"Faintly,” he replied. "He isn't going mad if that's what you're wondering. Just super good Alpha hearing.”
There were another thirty seconds more of agonising silence before I was now able to hear the footsteps. It sounded like an entire army charging towards us and charging very fast.
I exchanged nervous looks with Max. We have so many enemies. There are endless possibilities of who this could be.
Before long, figures began to emerge out of the forest including that of the Descendant of Hecate.
"Shit," I cursed as more and more angry soldiers, both men and women, appeared from the darkness.
After grabbing the Praesidium Deae Astra from my bag, I opened the car door and stepped out.
"Ella, I told you to stay in the car,” Leo said frustratedly from about five metres away.
"Yeah but that was before I realised that these are my enemies,” I replied as Max got out the car and stood by me. "And you need all the help you can get, Leonardo,” I added looking at the extent of people surrounding us.
"Why are you here?" Leo bellowed into the forest.
The descendent's face seemed slightly shocked as if he wasn't expecting Leo to be with us. Maybe a hint of fear too. He took a few moments to collect himself before his face recovered to its usual evil, twisted smirk.
"I believe your pretty little Luna has something that belongs to us,” the Descendant replied. "We want it back.”
"If we are going to get technical, it actually belongs to me. The Goddesses gave it to my direct ancestor 2000 years ago. I'm a far closer descendant of Donatia Chiaramonti Loren than you," Leo replied.
"Your pack discarded it 300 years ago. You didn't want it and we have been taking care of it ever since.”
"Well, times have changed. Get over it," Leo said with a shrug. "Unless you want to fight for it... but it's a fine army you have here. It would be a shame if every one of your soldiers ended up dead. I suggest that you take your people and leave. This can never end well for you," Leo said. "You are one and we are two hundred. You may be the mightiest Alpha in the world but we don't fear you. You are too outnumbered,” he replied.
"I am three actually,” Leo corrected. "I have an ex-Megestanis and my Luna with me too."
"You may have knocked up your Luna but it's not a full moon anymore. She is back to being a defenceless little girl," he snarled. "Do you really think you can take my army with a girl?"
"Does your army really think it can take me?" Leo asked a smile creeping onto his face. "And my Luna is not defenceless. Far from it in fact.”
"I will be the judge of that,” the descendant growled.
"Come on then. Let's get this over with,” he said.
"This will be the end of your reign, Loren.”
The wolves circling us began to close in and the driver came to join us. "I thought you could use some extra help,” he said in a very thick Russian accent as he wielded a baseball bat. "I keep this in my car at all times.”
Leo nodded before the first brave woman launched towards us. She was aiming for me but Leo threw her to the ground so hard that she was left completely motionless. I looked down in horror at her open, lifeless eyes before I shook myself out of it in and snapped into warrior mode.
There is no space for remorse here. These people are trying to kill us. "Max behind you!" I cried as I heard a weight jump over the car and land directly behind my cousin.
The battle was long and gory. No matter how many we struck down, they kept coming at us. For what felt like hours on end, we fought without any breaks and it was exhausting.
The driver was surprisingly skilled with his baseball bat, Leo, of course, was as powerful as ever and Max and I, who had been fighting alongside each other for months, were well practised in the art of teamwork.
For the first half atleast, we stood back to back, protecting one another's blind spots. Death was dodged multiple times: an axe came only inches from Max's head before I caught it and on another occasion, a particularly feisty woman got very close to cutting my throat out before Max cut out hers.
As dark began to fall, the army was growing sparse in numbers.
I'd been separated from Max and Leo was over two hundred metres away when it happened. The man had a particular wickedness in his eyes that brought me discomfort as they glinted at the sight of my pain.
The knife was plunged deep into my lower abdomen and the pain was excruciating.
"You son of a bitch,” I whispered before viciously and much to his surprise thrusting my knife into his neck.
The sadistic sneer was wiped clean and replaced by the coughing and choking of blood. He dropped to the floor already or very almost dead and I felt a moment of relief.
It was short lived though. I soon remembered the knife still penetrating my own flesh. It screwed my eyes up and freed myself from it only to feel a gushing sensation. Big mistake. Blood was flowing out of my body so quickly that I could hardly stand up straight.
"Leo," I whispered bringing my hand to my stomach in an attempt to stop it. "Leo," I repeated sinking to my knees.
Through the tears in my eyes, I saw him on the other side of the road snapping the neck of the last soldier.
He then turned around and immediately began to scan for me.
His eyes eventually landed on me amongst the sea of other bodies. "Ella!" he cried.
He reached me in a matter of seconds and crouched down to my level and ripped his already torn shirt from his chest before placing it on my stomach.
"You're going to be okay," he reassured placing his hand behind my head as I began to lose the strength to sit. "Just stay with me, Ells." "The dagger went too deep. The baby," I said frantically as he lay my head on his lap.
"Try to stay calm. Everything is going to be okay," he said. "Josef! Max!" A few seconds later the driver appeared, limping and bloody.
"She needs a doctor. Is there a pack nearby?"
He nodded.
"I'll fetch one,” he said limping towards the car.
"Be quick. She's bleeding a lot," Leo urged.
"Where's Max?" I asked weakly once the car had sped away.
"I don't know but he'll be alright. That man always fucking lives. He's as much of a cockroach as his cousin.”
I smiled and took Leo's hand that was resting on his lap. The pain had weirdly numbed despite the amount of blood that was still cascading out of me. Maybe this is what death is like. Peaceful.
"I love you, Leonardo," I said in a broken voice. "I love you so much.” "No, no, no. Don't you dare leave me, Ella," he said shaking my body slightly as I felt myself fade. "Keep fighting.”
"I have no fight left," I said softly as I looked up into his eyes
I could tell that he was holding back tears. His eyes were red and puffy which only enhanced the vibrant blue of his irises. My eyes began to automatically drift closed as my body shut down.
"I love you too, Ella," he wept before sniffing up his tears.
A drop of red blood dripped from his nose, where he had been punched, and landed on my lips. I felt it soak into my skin and oddly, I was able to keep my eyes open for another few seconds.
"Your blood," I croaked squeezing his hand.
"What?"
"Your blood," I repeated.
His eyes widened and he reached over to the dagger that had been plunged into my stomach. He cut his wrist and his blood immediately began to flow.
He brought it to my mouth and forced me to drink. It was warm and rich and filled with life. I brought my hand to his forearm and pulled myself in closer to the cut in an attempt to get it into my system faster. My heartbeat began to pick up again and my muscles started to reactivate. I had been on the brink of death and his blood was saving me.
His blood was saving me.
His blood...was saving me??
He stroked my hair with his other hand and held a slight grimace on his face as I drank.
I stopped the second I realised I was hurting him but he urged me to drink more.
My mate then lifted his shirt off my stomach to reveal the would. The bleeding was stopping and I was heeling. He looked at my stomach and then back to me in disbelief.
"My blood is..." he began. "How is it..?"
“Nothing surprises me anymore,” I whispered before I lost consciousness- this time not in a death like way.