Chapter 107: STANDING BESIDE ME WAS A MAGNIFICENT, MAJESTIC WHITE WOLF

Chapter 108

Ren

The rain poured down harder, soaking through my clothes as I crouched in the dark trees behind Julian and Darren.

The old mill sat in front of us, dark and rotting, with five armed guards standing near the front doors.

My wrists were hanging limply at my sides, and the suppressant in my blood was still blocking my wolf.

But I couldn’t wait outside another second. Lumi and my sister Neve were inside that building, and every breath they took was in danger.

"I’m going in," I whispered to Julian and Darren, my voice low and firm.

Darren turned his head quickly, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Ren, you can’t go in there like that! Both of your hands are broken, and you don’t have your wolf. It’s suicide!"

"I don’t care," I said, looking him straight in the eyes. "Callum and Lumi’s father are in there with them. Including my mate and his mate. I need you two to take out those guards at the entrance and cover me from the outside. Keep any reinforcements from coming in behind me." Julian gripped his rifle tightly and gave me a grim, steady nod.

"We’ll clear the door. Go get them, Ren."

Without another word, Julian and Darren raised their weapons, stepped out from behind the trees, and began firing into the shadows.

The sound of rapid gunshots shattered the quiet night. The five guards near the door yelled out in panic as bullets hit the wooden walls around them.

Two of them fell immediately, and the remaining three scrambled for cover, returning fire blindly into the dark woods.

Taking advantage of the sudden chaos, I broke into a fast sprint, staying low as I charged past the gunfire.

I pushed through the side entrance, slamming my shoulder against the heavy wooden door to force it open.

The inside of the building was massive, smelling strongly of old pine, rust, and damp dirt. Rain dripped through holes in the high roof, dropping onto the cold concrete floor.

At the far end of the wide room, sitting at a wooden table beneath a single hanging lightbulb, was Lumi’s father. Beside him stood Callum.

The moment I stepped into the dim light, Callum started clapping his hands together slowly. The hollow, mocking sound echoed across the empty room.

"Look who finally showed up," Callum said, a cruel, arrogant smile spreading across his face.

"The great Alpha Ren. You really thought you could hunt me down, ruin my plans, and walk away clean, didn’t you? You thought you were always two steps ahead of me. But look at you now. You’re broken, weak, and completely powerless."

Lumi’s father chuckled raspy beside him, leaning back in his chair with a cold, hateful grin.

"He looks like a beat-up dog, Callum. No wolf, no pack, and no hands to fight with."

I didn’t answer them. I didn’t care about their words. My eyes drifted past the table, scanning the floor behind them, and my heart completely shattered into a thousand sharp pieces.

Lumi and Neve were lying on the cold concrete floor.

Neve was lying on her side, pooling in blood from a deep wound on her shoulder, her face pale and her body trembling.

Beside her was Lumi. She was tied up, her face covered in dirt, and a dark stain of blood was spreading across her side from a terrible wound.

She was breathing in short, shallow gasps, her eyes barely open.

A wave of grief slammed into my chest, so heavy it made it hard to breathe.

The world around me seemed to freeze. If anything happened to Lumi, if her life ended tonight in this cold, dark place, then there was no reason for me to live either. My life meant nothing without her.

"Lumi..." I choked out, my voice breaking.

I took a heavy step forward.

Callum’s smile vanished, replaced by a dark, angry scowl.

"Stop right there, Ren! Don’t take another step!"

I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. I lifted my heavy boot and took another step toward her, my broken hands hanging uselessly by my sides.

Callum pulled a dark handgun from his belt and pointed it directly at my chest.

"I said stop!" He pulled the trigger.

BANG.

A bullet slammed straight into my left shoulder. The force of the impact knocked me back half a step, and hot, burning pain exploded across my chest.

Fresh blood immediately soaked through my shirt. But I didn’t fall. I gritted my teeth, locked my jaw, and took another step forward.

"Are you insane?" Callum shouted, his hands beginning to shake slightly as he saw the look in my eyes. "Fallback!"

BANG.

Another bullet drove into my stomach. Hot agony flared through my entire body, making my vision go blurry and dark at the edges.

My legs felt heavy, and my knees wobbled, but I refused to let my body hit the floor.

Not when Lumi and Neve were there. I didn’t have any plans but I refuse to be a coward when my mate and sister are laying there, almost lifeless.

What was the need of being alive without them in my life. What? I’d rather go with them but not after finishing them.

I forced my feet to keep moving, dragging myself across the hard concrete floor, inch by inch, step by step, getting closer to Lumi.

"Ren, please! Stop!" Neve sobbed from the floor, her voice raw and filled with terror as she watched the blood spill from my body. "He’s going to kill you! Please, Ren!"

Callum raised the gun one last time, aiming straight for the center of my chest...a spot that would end my life for good.

"Die already," he snarled.

BANG.

The bullet struck me deep in the chest, right near my heart.

The strength completely left my legs. The world spun upside down, and I collapsed forward onto the cold, wet concrete, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

I couldn’t move my body anymore. Darkness began to creep into the corners of my eyes, cold and heavy, pulling me down into a deep sleep.

I was lying just a few feet away from Lumi. We were so close, but the distance felt like miles.

With the last tiny bit of strength left in my fading human body, I dragged myself forward on my elbows, inching through the blood on the floor until my face was right beside hers.

I lifted my head slightly, struggling to reach out, desperately wanting to touch her one last time before I closed my eyes forever.

"I love you, Lumi," I whispered, the words barely leaving my lips as tears slipped down my cheeks.

"And I’m sorry for not being able to protect you. For letting you go through so much pain even after promising to protect you. I’m sorry that I failed you. But I want you to know I love you so much. So much more than life itself."

Lumi’s eyes opened softly, meeting mine through her tears.

"I love you too, Ren," she sobbed softly.

My eyes began to close. My heart gave one final, weak beat. Everything was turning quiet and dark.

I made a final prayer that Julian and Derreal get here in time. To finish what I failed to do.

I tried to reach my wolf one last time because only him can help me now. And giving up wasn’t what I should do.

Please mate. We need to save our mate together and maybe die after that too. Please wake from your sleep buddy.

And then, I heard Lumi’s voice loud and clear, echoing directly inside my head and in my ears, ringing like a silver bell through the quiet darkness.

"Wake up, Ren!" Lumi called out, her voice filled with a powerful, desperate strength. "Wake up!"

Suddenly, a strange, overwhelming feeling rushed through my body. It felt like a warm, powerful river of light exploding into my veins, pushing away the coldness of death and burning away the chemical poison in my blood in an instant.

It felt like powers were transporting into, through and around my. Like there’s a link and two powers merging together to form one.

I had no idea what was going on.

I felt something touch the skin of my broken wrist. It was Lumi’s small, warm hand, reaching through her bonds and holding onto me tight.

The moment her skin touched mine, pure, raw energy rushed from her hand directly into my heart.

It was a power I had never felt before in my entire life...bright, warm, and endless.

My heart began to beat again, hammering against my ribs with incredible speed and strength. The dark walls inside my mind shattered into a million tiny pieces.

My eyes flew open.

A bright, glowing white light burst out from where our hands were connected, filling the dark, dusty timber mill with a blinding radiance.

The wounds on my chest and shoulder began to heal, the silver bullets pushing themselves out of my skin and clattering onto the floorboards.

The broken bones in my wrists snapped back into place with quick, painless pops as the pure energy restored my entire body.

Callum backed away in terror, shielding his eyes from the blinding light.

"What is this? What is happening?!"

I pulled myself up off the floor, feeling larger, stronger, and more powerful than I had ever been.

The energy surrounding us didn’t just feel like my wolf...it felt like something far greater, something ancient and unbroken.

I looked down beside me, and my jaw dropped in complete wonder.

Lumi was standing up.

She was no longer in her human form. Standing beside me was a magnificent, majestic white wolf.