Freeing Starr

Leon’s POV

Empty.

The cell was empty.

Besides the dead bodies that were left behind, there wasn’t any sign of Starr.

I could feel my body tremble as I glimpsed the blood splattered on the chains attached to the wall. It was her blood.

I could smell it.

What had she endured in this cell over these last few days?

“It looks like she escaped,” Lomar commented as he inspected the room, a grimace plastered on his face. “She couldn’t have gotten far.”

My legs moved before I could think.

I turned around and quickly left the chambers. I had to find her. Based on the blood and scent of wolfsbane that coated the air she’d probably been through a lot.

I sniffed the air for any sign of her and felt my heart rate pick up when I found a faint trail. I followed the scent to a storage door but when I opened it, there was nothing but dead bodies inside. This was Starr’s doing. She was fighting her way out.

“She’s wearing a guard’s uniform. She probably blended into the crowd to leave the building.” Lomar noted as he kicked the naked body of a female.

The guide shuddered as he eyed the damage done to the humans. “The queen is brutal. She tore their heart out.”

“She had no choice,” I growled in frustration and left the room. “We have to find her.”

I stepped back into the busy halls and frantically pushed through the crowds. The humans spewed protests and curses my way but I completely blocked them out.

We were beginning to gain attention from the guards in the area but I didn’t care. I had to find her.

Because of the many different scents, it was hard for me to pinpoint hers and it drove me mad.

A group of guards cautiously approached us and just as they were about to engage, the guide hurriedly jumped in front of me and began talking to them. He knew that I’d have killed them without a second thought if they’d obstructed my path. I continued on my search, bypassing them with ease.

I heard Lomar tell the guide to handle the guards as he quickly ran to catch up to me.

“Where are you going?” He asked.

“To see if she’s already left the building. If it’s her, she wouldn’t try to leave from the front. There are too many people there.”

He nodded in agreement. “So she probably left through the back or side entrance where we came from.”

Something instantly clicked and to confirm my theory, I instantly turned around and rushed back to the side entrance we came from.

I was right.

Knowing Starr, even if it was a risk she wouldn’t give up on trying to contact her father. Meaning she’d follow the guards back to where Ryan was.

My hand trembled as I reached out and grabbed the thin fabric that was hooked onto the doorframe. This was her sign to me. To tell me she was fine and that she had made it out. I closed my eyes and brought the cloth to my nose to inhale her scent.

Relief flooded my system, yet at the same time, my anxiety increased. It wouldn’t calm down until I had her in my arms. Starr wasn’t just a mate to me anymore. Ever since we made those vows at our ceremony, I knew. She was my moon on the darkest of nights.

“She’s gone towards the fight,” I said as I looked in the direction of the city wall.

Lomar nodded. “Then we’ll go to. It’s better to travel by car to avoid notifying the city guards. I’ll go get the guide.”

“There’s no need.” The guide jogged towards us. “But we’ve just been hit with a perfect opportunity.”

“What?” We turned to him.

His lips curled in excitement. “The mayor. He’s here. He just arrived out front. He’s heading towards the chambers where Starr was held.”

This was our chance. Our chance to end this entire fight and take Glacial City as our own.

I looked in the direction of the city wall with conflicted emotions. I didn’t want to leave her to fend for herself. She’s been through enough already. At the same time though, I had to kill the mayor myself. As the King, I had to show my people that the enemy was mine to take.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I knew this was a long shot but it was the only way for me to decide. I felt around for our bond. That delicate string of fate that wrapped around my soul snuggly. It was there, however, it was faint. Fainter than it was supposed to be. This was the effect of the wolfsbane.

I was even more assured. The mate bond was still there, or more like it was slowly growing stronger. Before, I couldn’t sense anything at all. It was just an endless void of nothing. Now, there was something to hold onto.

As if he sensed my hesitation, Lomar placed a heavy hand on my shoulder. “You’ve seen what she’s done. She managed to escape all on her own. She didn’t need our help. You have to remember that Starr isn’t weak. She’s our Queen Luna. Trust in her.”

Trustinher

I exhaled and nodded. He was right. I promised Starr that I would let her take revenge on her father herself. It would be selfish of me to steal that because I was afraid of her getting hurt. This was her fight. I needed to accept that.

“Wait for me,”I called out over our mind link, though I knew she couldn’t hear me.

I quickly turned back to the guide and ordered. “Lead me to him.”

I was going to put an end to this fight once and for all.

Starr’s POV

Pain.

Dust flew as I slammed into the ground and rolled a few feet away from my father, who had managed to shift midair as we fell. His fall was worse than mine as he hit his head against the wall when he landed.

A growl escaped his muzzle.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins. To the point where I couldn’t feel the pain of my hind leg that seemed to be broken.

I shook out my fur as I struggled to my feet, claws digging into the ground with my legs crouched and ready to pounce. My fur bristled as I snarled at my father, who was also getting to his feet.

He shook his head, as if dizzy and growled in annoyance.

When I felt the pressure in my mind, I allowed him access.

“Are you going to kill your father?”His voice came out guttural.

“I’ve never had a father,”I growled as I limped cautiously towards him.

He was backed up against the wall with nowhere for him to run. This was my chance. My only chance. My body was exhausted. My wounds were reopened from the fall and I was still slightly drugged. I wasn’t at my strongest. I knew that if I dragged this fight out any longer than it needed to be, I would be the one to die.

“I could’ve hurt you while in that cell Starr. I didn’t.”

“Congratulations. You did one good deed for once in your life.”

“You can’t beat me.”

“You’re not that strong, father.”

I pounced, my jaws wide open as I aimed to pierce his neck. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. My father quickly ducked out of the way and swiped his claw against my shoulder, piercing through my skin and drawing blood.

I slammed into the wall and quickly shook off the pain. I turned around and charged straight at him, not giving him any room to breathe.

Our snarls filled the air as we rolled and tussled. My fangs clamped around his tail and yanked it until it tore off, the metallic taste of blood instantly flooding my mouth.

My father growled and kicked me in the stomach to throw me off of him. I rolled on the ground and dug my claws into the dirt to stable myself. Then I pounced at him again. He met me mid-air and managed to sink his fangs into my back neck, causing me to snarl and try shaking him off.

I landed roughly on the ground with him over me, growling and pouring his dominance down on me in waves. It had no effect.

I glared right back at him in defiance. Drool hung from his mouth as he snarled in my face, his ears pulled back flat against his head.

I snapped my jaws up at him in warning, my legs trying to kick him off of me to no avail.

“I told you you can’t win against me, Starr! I MADE YOU!”

His paw swiped across my face and drew blood.

I could hear the growls and angry shouts in the distance. It seemed that everyone was paying attention to our fight. Not just the humans on the walls but even the wolves in the distance.

I could faintly hear them frantically calling out to me, urging me to overcome this. To fight. To end this once and for all.

I wasn’t a weak pathetic little girl anymore.

At that very moment, a faint memory came to mind. I was young at the time and I was having a picnic with my grandma. I was laying on her lap, looking up at the sky absentmindedly while she played in my hair.

“Nanna?”

My grandma hummed. “Yes, child?”

“Why doesn’t daddy love me?”

Her fiddling fingers paused and I watched as a sad smile tilted her lips. She avoided my gaze.

“Did I do something? Have I been bad? I wanna be a good girl. So daddy can love me like you do.”

My grandma sighed and bent to rest her forehead against mine. “You are a good girl. You’re the best girl in the whole world.”

“I’m not. If I was the best, Daddy would like me.”

“Don’t say that!” I found myself flinching at the reproach in her voice. When she saw my reaction, she softened her voice a bit. “Don’t ever say that. You don’t have to change yourself to make anyone like you. I like you. You’re more than enough for me, Starr. You’re my precious granddaughter and I love you to the moon and beyond. What’s your name?”

“Starr.”

“And what does it mean?”

I giggled. “It means star.”

She chuckled and rubbed our noses together. “And that’s what you are. You’re a Star. A star so bright that there isn’t a single thing in this world that could ever dull your light. You’re smart, beautiful, and strong. Don’t worry about if your father loves you. As long as you love yourself, you will always be loved.”

“Always?”

She promised. “Always.”

A tear slipped from my eye as my father continued to sink his teeth further into my neck. Any careless move and he could rip my head off.

“This is why you should’ve listened to your father, Starr. I always win.”

I rolled us over to try and throw him off of me but he was hooked onto me tightly. There was no way out of his grip. I growled and tried rolling again, stopping abruptly when I heard the ticking sound of something under the ground a few feet away from us.

Was that the bombs that the city had planted?

A crazy idea formed in my mind.

“Give up! Submit!”My father growled as he finally sunk deep enough to deal me some real damage. I heard the sound of my shoulder blades breaking.

I howled in pain and snarled back.“I WILL NEVER SUBMIT TO A MAN LIKE YOU AGAIN!NEVER!”

I threw us both over the bomb that was buried underground.

I could hear the many screams of my people as they shouted to get out of the area. My father panicked and unlatched himself from me, giving me enough time to use his body as a spring to launch myself back out of range of the bomb. This all happened in just a matter of seconds.

I felt the blast heavily as my body got thrown out and slammed against the wall. I hit my head, black dots immediately dotting my vision. This was it.

I could feel my consciousness slipping away. I was going to die with my father.

The sound of another bomb going off filled the air, then another. What was happening? My mind was scattered.

Then I felt it. The bond within the void ignited. It was coming back so quickly that my emotions and his collided at the same time.

There was fear, anxiety, and relief.

Warm hands caressed my broken body as I slipped further and further away. I could barely make out the words ringing in my ears as I was lifted into those tender arms.

I knew that I could rest now.

Just before I fully lost consciousness, a shaky voice murmured in my head.

“I’m here.”