Chapter 47
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Freja blinked through the blur, letting out a sigh as she looked at the dead witch in front of her. The moment her life slipped away, the doors busted down. A large silver wolf ran up to her, immediately shifting back to his human self and setting his gaze on Freja’s wounds.
“Freja.” Hunter looked at her with worried eyes, flicking his gaze between her side and her shoulder.
“Hunter. You’re alright. I was worried about you,” Freja whispered. She stepped into Hunter, leaning into him for support. “Myra’s advisor is the traitor. She’s the one who warned them.”
“Shhh … just rest.” Hunter held her close, his eyes brimming with tears. He hated that she was hurt.
Freja let out an airy chuckle. “These aren’t mortal wounds.
I’ve had way worse.” She allowed him to support her weight more, though.
She was drained. That battle took a toll on her body, physically and mentally.
She refused to lose consciousness, though.
Not now. She would sleep well tonight. But she didn’t mind leaning into her mate’s arms for extra support.
“I’m sorry, Freja.”
“You shush,” Freja said. She peered over his arm and looked over the others. She noticed the wolf that was in the cage was free and by Tony’s side. “That’s Sadie. She was caged downstairs.
“Oh, and did you know we can hear them too? I can hear their mindlinks. Pretty amazing, huh?” Freja felt his arms tighten around her.
“Yes, it is.” Hunter pressed his lips onto her head and sighed. “When I heard your scream … I was terrified.”
She smiled. “Sorry. I wasn’t prepared to not make a sound.”
Hunter let out a low growl. “Don’t you dare suppress those sounds. I need to know if you’re hurt.”
“Okay, okay.” She smiled. She saw Chasen was now holding Jin next to him. “Let’s get out of this house. We still have a lot to talk about. I wonder why the witches never joined us. We need to figure out what happened there.”
“You just take a moment and relax. I’ll handle the rest.” Hunter turned and looked at his pack members. “Get your things and shift back. We’re getting out of this place.” He then looked over at Chasen and Jin. “Come with me. I need you to look after Freja for me.”
Erica and Reed, along with the witches who were supposed to join them, were waiting for them outside. They were both holding a few bags and looked immediately relieved to see Hunter as he walked through.
“Thank goodness,” Erica said as she and Reed ran up to them.
Erica looked at Freja and grabbed a blanket from her bag.
“Here, put this on her. I also have some bandages and stuff in here. Reed has bottled water and some other things. We didn’t know what you would need.
As soon as we heard our witches couldn’t get in, we rushed over.
Meryl somehow knew about everything. She made it so other witches couldn’t come into the manor. We were so worried. What about Meryl?”
Sam jogged up to his aunt and uncle, having shifted back to his human form. “Thanks for the stuff. Just give them a quick second.” He nodded to Hunter, who smiled at him in appreciation. “Dad is back at the vehicles. He broke a bone in his shoulder, but his wolf is healing him up.”
“We are so sorry, Sam,” Erica said.
“It’s not your fault. And we’re all going to be okay. Don’t worry about it.” Sam looked back at Hunter, knowing Hunter wouldn’t blame them for this. It wasn’t their fault.
Hunter wrapped the blanket around Freja’s shoulders, rested his arms around her, and pressed his forehead against hers. “Do you want Chasen and Jin to go ahead and take you home?” He knew she was going to say no, but he was worried about her. She needed to rest so she could heal faster.
Freja smiled. “I’m not going anywhere without you.” Their eyes met, his gray and hers emerald. He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose.
Hunter turned and looked at Erica. “We’ll have to talk in more detail later.
I need to take my mate home and tend to her.
You’ll find the witches’ bodies inside, along with Meryl’s.
Also, it was Myra’s advisor who leaked the information about us coming.
I’m assuming you guys wish to deal with this? If not, I’ll be happy to.”
“She will be dealt with. Of course, go and take care of yourselves. You look a bit rough, too. We can talk tomorrow.” Reed smiled and Hunter nodded back.
“Yes, tomorrow then.” Hunter wrapped his arm around Freja.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Freja said quietly.
“What am I supposed to do? I’m mated to a stubborn queen who looks like she’s ready to collapse.” Hunter smiled gently at her. “Let’s go home and get cleaned up.”
She nodded, and they walked back to where they had left their vehicles. She saw Sadie standing with Tony, wearing a man’s shirt and joggers. Ander approached them when he saw them coming. “How is everyone?” He looked over Freja and Hunter. They had gotten it worse than everyone else.
“We’re okay. You guys?” Hunter asked, looking over everyone as well. It seemed like everyone else ended up okay. A few scrapes and bruises, but that was nothing with werewolf healing. He still needed to talk to Caden. He couldn’t believe how hard he was trying to get to him.
“Good. Tony is very good. He found his mate.” Ander looked back at his friend. “Who would have thought she’d be locked up in a place like this? I guess the two of them can relate there. They’ve both been held captive before.”
“So that’s why he ran off like that,” Jin said from behind them. She and Chasen had been quietly trailing Hunter and Freja. “Well, that makes more sense now.”
Adam, Winston, Caden, and Sam walked up to Hunter’s side. “I’m glad we all managed to make it out of that trap alive. But I wonder if my nose will ever be the same.” Adam frowned as he tried to smell. His nose was still a bit numb.
“It’ll be better by morning.” Freja smiled and leaned against Hunter for support.
“Alright, let's head home.” Hunter looked at Freja from the corner of his eye and then back at the others. He needed to get her cleaned up and in bed.
Freja stepped back and noticed how Hunter still had a few spots that were dripping with blood. She furrowed her brows. “You aren’t healing.”
“It’s not a big deal. I’ll take care of it at home.” Hunter wasn’t concerned about it right now. He would get Freja taken care of and then dig out the silver shards inside of him.
Freja backed away from him and frowned. “Let me see.” She quickly lifted his shirt to inspect the wounds.
There were a couple of deep gashes that were oozing red.
She could see a fleck of silver, and she bit her bottom lip.
He had to be in so much pain right now. For some reason, silver didn’t bother her.
She wasn’t sure why. Hunter was a tribrid, too.
Maybe it was the witch part in her? But Hunter had fairy in him.
She guessed it must be one of her special abilities.
In either case, she knew that it was debilitating to werewolves. And he had it lodged in his skin.
Caden saw them inspecting Hunter and walked up from the car. He looked at the young alpha and clicked his tongue in anger. “We’re getting you taken care of first.”
Hunter looked over at Caden. “Thanks for trying so hard to get to me earlier. How’s your shoulder?”
“I’m fine. I’m in much better condition than you are now. We need to get the silver out.” Caden looked back toward the cars. They had medical bags in there that they could use.
“I’ll be okay. I’ll take care of it after we get back.” It was incredibly painful, but he was worried about Freja. He wanted to see her back home and resting. His needs came second.
Freja looked up at Sam. “Sam, get what we need. We’re getting these out of him before we leave.” She then turned and glared at Hunter. “Don’t you dare try to argue with me. Alpha or not, this is a fight you’re not going to win.”
“I’ll hold you down if I have to, Hunter.” Chasen agreed with Freja and placed his hand on Hunter’s shoulder.
Hunter relaxed his shoulders and shook his head, smiling. He knew it was useless arguing any further. “Fine. But I want you sitting in the car.” Hunter raised his eyebrows as he looked at Freja.
“Hunter, I’m not going to—”
“You want me to do this now or not?” Hunter smirked as she rolled her eyes. She wasn’t the only one who had a stubborn side.
“Well, who’s going to hold your hand and give you a lollipop afterward?” Freja smiled as he chuckled.
“You can hold my hand on the way home.” Hunter pointed at the car. He grinned as she let out a puff of air, creating a foggy cloud. She walked back toward the car, Jin bouncing by her side.
“Alright, Hunter. Let’s get these out. Sorry … it's going to hurt,” Sam said with a frown.
“Let’s move to the back side, behind the other vehicles. I don’t want Freja to be upset.” Hunter looked at the car. He knew that it would bother her to see him in pain. They were mates, and it was only natural. She had been through enough tonight.
Sam spent fifteen minutes removing the shards from Hunter’s body, finally removing the last piece of silver. “There … that’s the last of them, Hunter. You should be able to heal up now.”
Beads of sweat were dripping from Hunter’s forehead. His breathing was heavy as he pulled his shirt back over him.
“How are you doing?” Chasen asked him as he let go of Hunter’s shoulders. He’d insisted on helping with the pain. It was the only thing he could do. He was just shocked at how painful it was. He couldn’t imagine how badly Hunter was suffering on his own from the full effects of it.
“I’m ready to go home. It’s been a long night.” Hunter yawned and looked toward the car where Freja was. “Let’s go home and get some sleep.”
Hunter walked back to the vehicle with Chasen. They were both looking forward to getting cleaned up and having a good night’s sleep. Anyone who woke them up before noon would have a death sentence.
Chasen shot up from the bed. The early morning sun was shining in.
They had only been asleep for a couple of hours, and yet something had snapped him awake.
Furrowing his brows, he glanced back to see Jin still sleeping.
He quietly left the room and walked down the hallway, finding Hunter by the stairs.
Gray eyes met brown eyes. They both looked confused.
“Something feels off. I feel like I need to be somewhere. I have this horrible feeling right now,” Chasen said as he held onto his chest.
“The energies inside me are fluctuating. Something’s wrong, but I don’t understand it.” Hunter ran his hand through his hair as his breathing became ragged.
Something was wrong. Their insides were screaming at them, but they couldn’t figure it out. That’s when it happened.
SNAP.
Chasen collapsed to the ground and Hunter flew backward into the wall for support.
“No. No. No. No,” Chasen kept repeating, over and over again.
Hunter felt the emptiness inside as a light was leaving him. No. It had already left.
“SHIT. brODY!” Hunter screamed and collapsed onto his knees.