Chapter 97: They found her

Pandora paced endlessly across the living room, unable to stand still for even a second. She chewed at her thumbnail, her fingers digging into her hair as she yanked at the strands in pure frustration.

Beside her, Henna sat curled on the sofa, completely silent since Jake left. The poor girl looked utterly fragile, terrified of losing the mate she had only just found.

The other warriors had returned from the forest hours ago. They had immediately summoned Nina when they discovered the perimeter guards sprawled across the training grounds, knocked unconscious by a heavy dose of wolfsbane.

It hadn’t been enough to kill them, but it was potent enough to paralyze their inner wolves.

According to the head guard, a woman who looked and spoke exactly like Pandora had brought a massive tray of roasted meats to the training field, inviting them to indulge.

Trusting their Alpha’s sister without question, they had eaten. Minutes later, everyone of them had collapsed, convulsing as foam bubbled up their mouths.

Pandora had to explain the horror of the shapeshifter to the furious guards, proving it was a monster wearing her skin. Fortunately, wolfsbane wasn’t fatal to Lycans. Nina had whipped up a bitter, concentrated antitoxin potion, forcing it down their throats to kickstart their inner beasts.

Now, they waited in the thick silence of the living room; Pandora, Henna, Alec, Nina, André, and a handful of recovered guards, while the rest of them patrolled around the mansion.

In the shadow of the hallway, Samantha sat huddled against the wall, her knees pulled to her chest, tears silently tracing paths down her face. The skin around her throat where Dorian had nearly crushed her windpipe was a bruised, angry purple, slowly healing back.

The silence lengthened, as if the entire house were walking on shattered glass, waiting for news no one was strong enough to hear.

Just as the clock chimed past midnight, Alec’s sharp eyes caught the distant silhouette of two massive figures walking toward the mansion.

He squinted against the darkness, holding his breath until he was certain of what he was seeing.

The moment he recognized Jake, and Anthony carrying a limp, blood-soaked Alyssa in his arms, he shot up from his seat.

"They found her!" he announced.

Pandora whirled around and bolted for the front door, flinging it wide open with Henna trailing behind her.

Pandora sprinted across the driveway toward Anthony and Jake. A wave of overwhelming relief washed over her when she saw that Anthony was standing on his own feet, unharmed. Beyond her terror for Alyssa, the sickening fear of losing Anthony had been strangling her all night.

Before logic could stop her, she closed the distance, reached up to grab Anthony’s face in both hands, and pulled him down into a desperate, deep kiss.

Anthony stiffened in absolute shock, his eyes widening for a second before he melted into the kiss.

When Pandora finally pulled back, gasping for air, the realization of what she had just done flooded her chest. Tears spilled over her lashes as her face burned.

"I’m... I’m sorry," she stammered, backing away slightly. "I was just... goddess, I was so terrified for you."

Anthony quickly composed his expression, a soft look softening his harsh features.

"Don’t apologize," he whispered gently.

Beside them, Henna and Jake were lost in their own world, holding each other so tightly it looked as though they would fuse together.

Pandora’s eyes shifted down to Alyssa who was cradled safely in Anthony’s arms. She looked deathly pale, her skin icy cold, her head limp against his shoulder.

"Goddess above," Pandora gasped, her voice breaking as she hurried alongside him toward the steps. "What did he do to her?"

"It’s a long story," Anthony muttered grimly as they crossed the threshold. "I’ll explain everything later. Right now, we need to get her to the hospital. We need Nina."

"Nina is already inside," Pandora said, her hand slipping naturally into Anthony’s elbow. "But what about Dorian? Where is he?"

Anthony stopped, looking at her with an alarming gaze. "He isn’t back yet?"

Pandora shook her head, fighting back a sob. "No! And if you found Alyssa, that means Dorian went after Pilate!"

"He will come back," Anthony said firmly, though the raw tension in his voice betrayed his own doubt. "Dorian is untouchable. You know that."

Nina met them in the driveway as they hurried into one of the cars to take Alyssa to the hospital.

"Someone needs to stay back," Anthony said urgently. "To tell Dorian everything when he returns and keep an eye on Samantha."

"I’ll stay," Alec volunteered, stepping forward. "Go. Save the Luna."

Jake and Alec exchanged a brief, fierce embrace, twin brothers silently communicating their relief. Seconds later, Anthony, Pandora, and André sped off in the armored SUV, while Jake, Henna and Nina followed right behind them in another car.

...

The first pale rays of dawn were just breaking over the horizon when Dorian dragged himself through the estate gates.

He was in his human form. His clothes were shredded and soaked through with dark blood, a mixture of Pilate’s and the black, poisonous seepage from his own spinal wound.

He looked pale, black veins faintly visible along his neck where the aconite had tried to attack him from the inside out. His eyes burned with a fierce, unstable gold.

A single name in his mind urged him forward, forcing one foot in front of the other. Alyssa.

Halfway up the driveway, Alec sprinted out to meet him.

"Alpha!" he called, his voice thick with pure relief. "Goddess, what happened out there?"

"Where is Alyssa?" Dorian rasped, his voice rough as gravel, ignoring his own shattered body.

"Anthony took her to the hospital. She lost massive amounts of blood, and they’re..."

Dorian didn’t hear the rest. He didn’t wait. With a deep roar that ripped through his throat, he forced his body to shift, exploding into his wolf form and bounding back out through the gates at terrifying, reckless speed.

He reached the hospital in minutes, shifting back swiftly to his human form and bursting through the glass front doors. The nurses on duty bowed in terror as he stormed past them, but he was completely blind to their presence.

He pushed through the doors of the top floor, stepping into the private ICU corridor. Anthony, Pandora, Jake, and Henna were all standing near the observation glass.

"Dorian!" Pandora gasped, launching herself into his arms.

Dorian hugged her back briefly, but his wild, gold eyes instantly swept the hallway, searching.

"Where is she?" he demanded, pulling back, his voice raw with desperation. "Is she alive? Is she okay?"

Pandora opened her mouth to speak, but her throat locked up, and her eyes dropped to the floor.

Dorian’s heart skipped several wild beats as panic began to claw up his throat. He slowly stepped towards Anthony. "Where is Alyssa?"

"She’s alive," Anthony said quickly, placing his hands on Dorian’s shoulders to ground him. "She’s stable"

Before Dorian could push past him, the doors to the private room swung open. Dr. Dylan, an elder physician with thinning grey hair, stepped out into the hall, flanked by Nina.

"Alpha," he bowed deeply, his expression solemn.

"Dylan," Dorian turned on him, his chest heaving. "Tell me she’s okay."

"The Luna is responding to the blood transfusions, Alpha," Dylan reported softly. "It’s a good thing Anthony brought her when he did. The stab wound severed an artery. Any second longer and the blood loss would have been irreversible."

A profound, staggering relief slammed into Dorian’s chest. His knees nearly buckled, his cold, terrifying mask finally crumbling into raw, human emotion.

"I need to see her," he breathed, moving toward the door.

"Alpha, wait," Dylan stopped him quickly. "There is something else you should know."

Dorian stopped dead. He turned back slowly, his eyes narrowing as he caught the way Pandora, Jake, and Anthony looked away, unable to meet his gaze.

A cold, sickening dread wrapped around his throat.

"What is it?" he demanded softly.

Dr. Dylan swallowed hard, bowing his head in profound sorrow. "Luna Alyssa was nearly four weeks pregnant before the attack. The trauma from the blade, combined with the poison... I am so deeply sorry. The fetus did not survive."