The Revelation (12 page)

             
To her shock, the wounds she'd inflicted began to heal before her eyes.

             
The Hunters took advantage of her slowing motions to rope her, loops tightening about her neck and arms. Bellowing in anger, Viola shook them off. When she next tore through an adversary, she made sure to separate his head from his body.

             
Let him come back from that.

             
A primal howl escaping her, the woman proceeded to take down a row of Hunters; she wounded only perhaps half fatally, and the remaining of the number bounded into the darkness only to shoot out a profusion of small, spiraling blades that separated several wolves heads into two pieces at the jawline. Viola looked on in horror as several of the enemy began to scale the walls of the manor. Even though a number of wolves leapt after them, they were immediately forced back onto the ground by lines charged with electricity.

             
The bastards were beginning to penetrate the den.

             
Viola stepped backwards, and a loud whirring was the only warning she got before the world went bright yellow and her world was enveloped in pain. Screaming, she collapsed to the ground, watching what appeared to be sulfuric acid eat away at her fur and muzzle.

             
Around her, several of her kind had also fallen victim to the hidden mines, and at least half of their number lay motionless on the ground.

             
Gods. Now would be the time for the Elders to utilize their ancient weapon, if such a thing even existed.

             
Through her pain, Viola gritted her teeth, rising to take on yet another Hunter who threatened her life. She would not fall this night. Not to them.

**

              From one of the manor's towers, high above the conflict, Yuna watched in mounting horror.

             
The Hunters outnumbered the moon-ripened at least two to one. Atop that, her mate's kind seemed to be dropping like flies. Far from being human, as Yuna had expected their enemy to be, the monsters seemed to be something else entirely. They had human faces and human bodies, but they moved with a speed and agility that was frightening. Atop that, they hosted an all-manner of weapons that seemed to be plucked straight from Yuna's nightmares. The young woman repressed a scream as she watched a wolf dissolve amidst a cloud of what appeared to be acid.

             
Even fifty feet above ground, the smells of blood and gore were enough to make her stomach turn.

             
She was locked behind no less than three doors, all of them securely bolted, and Ivita stood at the secret entrance of the tower, ready to tear apart any who might be bold enough to enter. Yuna, however, feared it wouldn't be enough. These Hunters were craftier, more terrifying and more deadly than she had ever imagined. Alone in the tiny stone tower room, she feared for her clan and she feared for her mate.

             
She couldn't spot any faces she recognized among the clashing forces below, and after an hour, the sight was more than she could bear. She left the window to sit on a cold wooden chair, every muscle in her body tense with apprehension. What had happened to Luther? And Viola? If Liam were any kind of decent mate at all, he'd have kept her from fighting.

             
Suddenly, a low rumbling sound began to emanate from beyond the window. As Yuna rose to make her way back to it, she stumbled. It felt like the very foundations of the manor were shaking beneath her feet. She clung to the window sash, pulling herself upright to cast her gaze over the carnage beyond- and her mouth dropped open.

             
Gray Wolves.

             
Hundreds of them. In numbers larger than anything the human woman had ever seen, throngs of the canines were emerging from the woods surrounding the manor. They must have come from miles for there to be so many; and it was their low, fearsome growling that made the manor walls tremble. The hunters fighting moon-ripened below stopped mid motion when they realized that they were being borne down upon by masses of Scottish gray wolves.

             
They weren't, however, given a chance to flee.

             
Within seconds, the lawn was a snarling sea of animals as the creatures flooded over the Hunters. There had to be at least ten to each one of the enemy and the wolves were ruthless as they bit and tore at every inch of available flesh. The triumphant howls of the moonkind rose to color the night air as they found new strength, joining their fellow canines in disemboweling the enemy. Though Yuna had never been one for violence, the sight of the Hunters struggling so fiercely when they'd only moments earlier been slaughtering the Ripened with ease made her heart leap.

             
Perhaps there would be victory for them.

             
She watched for as long as she dared before drawing the curtain over the window and withdrawing back into her room. Her fingers curled into the hard wood of her chair as she prayed with all her might that the tides continued to turn in their favor.

             
Her concentration was only interrupted by a sharp, piercing howl of pain.

             
Yuna's eyes snapped open wide.

             
Ivita.

             
She rushed to the door, pressing her ear to it in a panic. As another shriek of pain, this one enough to make her cry out in distress, emitted, she jerked vainly at the door. Ivita was in trouble. She didn't know how the hunters had already gotten so far into the manor, but they were hurting her companion. Screaming her frustration, the young woman pounded on the thick wood before her as Ivita's howls echoed through the manor.

             
No, no no.

             
It seemed like the moon-ripened woman had been shrieking for hours when her cries were abruptly silenced. Yuna sank to her knees, clinging to the massive oak door before her.

             
God, no. Ivita...

             
Within minutes, however, she realized that the resounding footsteps that reached her ears from beyond the door were coming closer.

             
Someone was ascending the tower.

             
Yuna crawled back as quickly as she could, her bulk keeping her from doing much more than sprawling across the stone floor of the small room, her chest heaving as she listened to her death approaching. Where was Luther? Where were the others?

             
A hand poised protectively over her large belly, Yuna swallowed thickly as the lock on the large door before her scraped... and then the heavy wood swung inward.

             
In the doorway was a man clad all in black. He was tall- almost as tall as Luther, the young woman would wager- with a crop of thick Raven hair and eyes a bright, icy blue. He seemed to be wearing some kind of body armor that covered him from head to toe-and the smile he wore could only be described as manic.

             
In his right hand, he clung to the bloody, matted hair of Ivita's severed head.

             
Yuna was overcome with a mixture of horror, disgust, and fury. “You monster.” The words came out in the barest of whispers, but the man before her appeared to hear them perfectly well.

             
“You should be one to talk.” He returned in a voice both mocking a derisive. “Your people have killed thousands of humans over the centuries.” Tossing what was left of Ivita casually across the room, he stepped forward. “I've come to return the favor.” Yuna shrank into herself as he came to stand over her.

             
Raising her hand, she made to block his blow, but to her surprise, none came.

             
It took her a few seconds to gather the courage to turn her face upward, but when she did, it was to meet eyes wide in shock. Slowly, Yuna lowered her arm as the man stared at her.

             
“You're human,” he finally spoke in a hoarse voice.

             
She nodded hesitantly. “What's a human doing here?” The young woman was unsure of how to answer him. Clearly, he hadn't expected to run into anything but moonkind; mere months ago, he would have been right. After a moment, the man's eyes lowered from her frightened face to her rounded belly. His gaze dimmed for a minute as he stepped back, his mouth going slack. “No. No.”

             
Yuna was confused. Apparently, she'd done something to stave him off without even trying.

             
“What have you done?” he was murmuring above her. The tall figure burried his face in his hands, turning away from her with an agonized sound. He seemed to be battling his own personal demons. The young woman wasn't about to take the opportunity that she'd been gifted with for granted. Slowly, carefully, she rose, cradling her swollen stomach, and moved as quietly as she could past the hunter.

             
She took the stairs beyond the room as fast as she could, taking one or two stumbles that had her heart in her throat before she reached the hidden entrance she'd been brought through. At the sight of Ivita's mutilated, headless body, she stifled a moan of dismay before moving quickly toward the wide open door.

             
She'd barely taken a step into the hall when her arm was taken in a painful, tight grip. Yuna cried out as she was forced to her knees. When she looked up, she met the cold green gaze of a breathtakingly beautiful blonde. Not one ounce of mercy was evident in her features. “What fresh hell is this?” The assassin demanded. “A human?”

             
“She's carrying the Douglas progeny.” At the mention of her clan, Yuna's head jerked around to see the Hunter from the tower advancing on them. “She gave herself to those animals.” Whatever despair he'd been wrestling with in the room far above seemed to have disappeared. Now, there was only frigid resignation in his gaze. “There's always one. One foolish, naive individual that believes that they can change things. And they always fall victim.”

             
“Who are you?” The words escaped Yuna's mouth before she could stop them, her voice trembling over the inquiry. “Why have you done this?”

             
“The monsters that you have seen fit to bond yourselves to have taken everything from me,” the man hissed in reply. “And I'm going to repay every ounce of agony in full. Human or not, you've made the decision to help propagate a race of animals. You've betrayed your humanity.” His hand falling to his belt, he withdrew a wicked-looking knife still stained with Ivita's blood. “I'm going to cut that pup from your belly and watch your lifeblood flow from your body. Then, I'm going to find the Douglas bitch and make her watch as I destroy the rest of her clan.”

             
Who was he talking about? As far as Yuna knew, Viola wasn't closely associated enough with any hunters for them to have a vendetta against her. Even so, the Hunter’s words were enough to make dread curl in her gut and her blood turned to ice. This man was bent on murder, the consequences be damned. “Remember my name, traitor.” He knelt before her to slide the point of the knife under her chin, forcing her to expose the beating point of her pulse. “I am Micah Sawyer. My sister was Laura Sawyer, and her death will be avenged the moment I cut Marilyn Douglas's heart still-beating heart from her chest.”

###