Chapter 114 The Warriors arrive 1

Chapter 114: Chapter 114 The Warriors arrive 1

Talia’s POV

The edge of the forest was so close I could almost touch it.

I could see the open field, and the pack house beyond it, and the wolves moving in the distance. My legs were shaking, and my lungs were burning, and Finn’s weight was pressing down on my back like a mountain. But I kept running.

I just had to keep running no matter what, because it was the only way for us to survive.

Then my foot caught on a root, and the world tilted.

I fell hard.

The ground rushed up to meet me, and I hit the dirt hard. My chin scraped against the earth, and my teeth clacked together, and pain exploded through my jaw. Finn slipped from my back and rolled across the grass, crying out as his twisted leg bumped against the ground.

I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees. My head was spinning, and my vision was blurry, and I could taste blood in my mouth.

"Finn," I said. "Finn, where are you?"

"I am here, Luna," he said. He was lying in the grass a few feet away, his face pale and his eyes wide. "I cannot move. My leg..."

"It is okay," I said. "Stay down, and hide behind that log. Do not move, and do not make a sound."

He nodded and dragged himself behind a fallen log. I watched him go, and I prayed to the Moon Goddess that he would stay hidden.

Then I turned around.

Two rogues had followed me out of the forest. They were standing at the edge of the trees, with their black eyes fixed on me, and their claws dripping with blood.

One of them smiled. "The little girl fell," he said. "Now we catch her."

I got to my feet.

My hands were empty. I had no weapon, no backup, and no Kaelen. But I had killed one rogue already, and I could kill another.

"Stay behind," my wolf said. Her voice was calm and steady. "Do not let them surround you."

"I know," I thought back.

The first rogue lunged.

He came at me faster than the one in the forest. His claws raked toward my chest, and I threw myself backward to avoid them. The tips of his claws caught my shirt and tore through the fabric, but they did not reach my skin.

I stumbled, but I did not fall.

He lunged again, and this time I was ready. I ducked under his swing and drove my elbow into his stomach. He grunted and doubled over, and I brought my knee up into his face.

His head snapped back, and blood sprayed from his nose.

But he did not fall.

He snarled and grabbed my arm, and his claws dug into my skin. I screamed and tried to pull away, but his grip was too strong. His fingers were like iron, and his claws were buried deep in my flesh.

"You are nothing," he hissed. "A weak little girl playing at being a warrior."

I looked him in the eyes. "I am not playing."

I twisted my arm and reached down beside his waist in that same moment, to grab a dagger I had spotted when he turned.

I pulled the dagger out of its sheath with my free hand, and tried to pull my other arm off him at the same time, but his claws scraped my arm, leaving long marks with blood dripping out, and he did not let go.

I screamed in pain, and I kicked his knee with great strength.

He groaned, and stumbled forward, but he still did not let go of my arm. Then I wrapped my fingers around the hilt of the dagger, and drove it upward into his throat before he could fight back.

His eyes went wide, and his mouth opened, but no sound came out. Blood poured from the wound and ran down his neck, dark and thick, and his grip on my arm loosened.

He fell to his knees.

Then he fell forward onto the grass, and he did not move again.

I stood over him, breathing hard, with the dagger still in my hand. Blood dripped from the blade onto the dirt, and my whole arm was shaking.

I had killed another rogue. I could not believe that I had killed two rogues, and this time, I did it without the help of my wolf.

My hands were shaking, as blood continued to drip from the dagger onto the grass. I wanted to drop it, to let it fall, and to walk away. But I could not, or at least not yet.

There was still another one, and he was watching, and waiting for me. I raised my head and met his eyes.

The second rogue stared at me from the edge of the trees. His black eyes were wide, and his mouth was slightly open, and he looked at me like I was something he had never seen before.

He was shocked.

As soon as I saw him, I felt the same power which had woken up at Stoneclaw Pack, rising from my chest. But I immediately pushed it down.

"Attack him before he attacks you. Do not give him a chance to pin you down," my wolf said suddenly.