Hunter's Secret

Hunter’s POV

The three rogues throw Titus against the wall opposite from me. He thrashes and swears at them, fighting against them but the three of them easily overtake him and aggressively chain his hands out to his sides and chain his feet to the base of the wall. He has to take a deep breath as the silver burns into his skin, immediately rubbing it raw. He has no wolf to heal him, so this has to hurt him more than it is hurting me, but I don’t know that they know that.

Raine looks up at the commotion and cries, “Daddy!”

Titus snaps his head up and shock covers his face as he sees her chained too. He finally realizes I am here too, and more shock and confusion etch themselves onto his face.

“Rainey, are you hurt?” Titus hurriedly asks which earns him a hard punch to the gut. He loses his breath and coughs in an attempt to get it back. That spurs them on, and they continue to punch and kick him, busting his lip and breaking his nose and ribs. Raine sobs with every punch that lands and even though she does not hold my mark, I can feel the intense pain racking her body right now.

“ENOUGH! He is mine!” a deep voice barrels down the stairs as a set of heavy footsteps descends. An older looking werewolf, probably in his sixties or so, comes into view. Deep scars are visible on most of his exposed skin, especially on his face. He is obviously a rogue, but he also has power. He is definitely the ‘master’ that they have referred to. He was likely a Beta or even an Alpha at some point, but his eyes are red, so he was definitely exiled. He glances at me, smirking, before turning his murderous eyes to Titus.

Titus’ head hangs down as he struggles to breathe. Blood is dripping off his face and I can tell he is in misery from the pain. The leader walks over to Titus and forces his head up so he has to look him in the face.

“L…Liam?” Titus hoarsely whispers, disbelief lacing his tone.

Liam? Why do I recognize that name? I don’t have time to really think about it because “Liam” lets out a dark haughty laugh. The sharpness of his laugh actually hurts my ears and I involuntarily flinch. Raine turns her head away from them too. Her eyes find mine and I mouth, ‘It’s okay,’ and she offers a small smile which I return.

“Hello, Alpha. Miss me?” Liam spits before sending a blow to Titus’ stomach. He coughs and this time blood falls from his mouth.

I look back at Raine and mouth, ‘Don’t watch. Look at me,’ and she briefly nods. She keeps her eyes on me while Liam keeps hitting Titus, not stopping even though he is throwing up blood now. There is no way Titus can survive much more of this. Come on, Cameron!

Suddenly a blast of cold air enters the room and Ash appears. She is levitating in the air and all eyes turn to her, except for Titus’ because I am pretty sure he is unconscious. I can’t even tell if he is breathing or not, but I just choose to believe that he is still alive.

When Ash’s eyes land on the other witch, they widen with recognition, “Aiden?”

He smiles darkly, “Hello, my dear sister. Long time no see.”

What the hell kind of messed up family reunion is this?

Her face returns to one of pure anger and she waves her fingers and Blaine, as well as the three other rogues fall to the ground. Unmoving. Unbreathing. Dead.

Liam chuckles darkly again and brings his fist back to hit Titus again but Ash suspends him in the air, “Touch him again and see what happens,” she warns as she holds Liam in the air with one hand.

Using her other hand, she sends a small soft yellow light over to Titus and he visibly relaxes a little as it covers his body. She turns her attention back to the other witch who is apparently her brother. He is standing there dumbfounded.

“How did you do that, sister?” he asks, with a hint of amazement in his voice.

“Don’t call me that. You don’t deserve my time,” Ash responds, her voice emotionless.

Liam is still flailing in the air, but Ash is easily holding him there. Titus groans and slowly lifts his head. Ash notices and glances over at him. Aiden takes the opportunity to send a flying purple whip toward Ash. It wraps around her wrist, and she cries out in pain. But only for a second because the next, she wraps her fingers around it and pulls. Hard. Aiden falls to the floor in front of me and I try to keep my face expressionless.

He scrambles to his feet and sends a flying blast of magic at her. She easily creates a shield and blocks his attack. He lets out a frustrated sigh and sets up another attack, but she is faster. She sends a fiery ball of purple magic at him, and it hits him square in the chest, sending him flying back into the wall. I have no idea how that doesn’t render him unconscious, but it doesn’t, and he staggers back to his feet.

I can tell Ash is getting tired though. She has been holding Liam in the air this whole time and has been fighting her brother with one hand and so far, I think she is winning but her face is getting paler, and her hands are starting to shake.

“Ash,” Titus calls for her, his voice barely above a whisper.

She snaps her head in his direction and tears spring to her eyes. Aiden uses her distractedness to prepare another attack, but Liam whistles and Aiden glares at him but obediently drops his hands.

Ash painfully turns her eyes away from Titus and slowly lowers Liam to the ground. She steadies herself by leaning against the wall, but she keeps her eyes on Liam. I can tell she is running out of energy but that is only because I have known her for a while. Her purple eyes are glowing with anger and determination as magic swirls around her, ready for her next command.

“Don’t. Touch. Him. Again,” Ash harshly demands.

Liam sneers as his voice drips with disgust, “I can’t believe Lillian was right, Titus. You did choose this whore over your own mate.”

Titus’ whole body stiffens at Liam’s words, “You…saw…Lillian?” He pants out, struggling to form a whole sentence. Ash sends another soft light toward his stomach, and he takes one normal breath before he goes back to panting.

“I didn’t just see her Titus. I claimed her as my own. I took her as my chosen mate after you decided to rip her heart out. She is mine now. You never deserved someone like her. You cheated on her and left her to deal with the loss of her baby all by herself. At least until I stepped in.”

Titus’ chest heaves with agony as he whispers, “Why?”

“You exiled me. You took my position. I was supposed to be Alpha! It belonged to me, and you stole it from under me and then gave it away to him,” he spits in my direction.

He continues, “I needed to make sure that you felt the pain I felt. So, I watched and waited. For twenty years. Until you seemed happy. It is unfortunate that your poor daughter had to be roped into your mess but when I realized that she was mated to him I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get what I wanted unless I got to him first.”

“And what is it that you want, rogue?” I spit back, anger dripping from my voice.

“For you to die so I can get my rightful position back,” he pauses dramatically and picks up the gun from the table, “It is too bad that she has to die for that to happen.”

“NO!” I scream and he laughs at me while he cocks the gun and aims it at Raine. I desperately fight the chains that are holding me back, ignoring the searing pain that comes every time I move my wrists. I have to get to her. Liam laughs again as he places his finger on the trigger.

“Master! You said I would get to do that. Let me do it!” Aiden demands, half-whining, and Liam pauses briefly before firing it at him, shooting him directly in the head. His blood splatters the wall and lands on me as he falls to the floor. Ash stands there in shock, her eyes focused on her brother’s body. Liam smirks at me and cocks the gun again, pointing it back at Raine who is avoiding looking at Liam and is looking at me instead. Silent tears run down her face again as she whispers, “I love you.”

Liam cackles as he places his finger on the trigger and just as he is about to pull it, Cameron bursts into the room and quickly looks at me. Liam sees the look we share and changes his mind and shoots Cameron instead. He immediately falls to the ground, holding his stomach. The second gunshot is enough to break Ash out of her trance and she regains enough strength to levitate Liam in the air again before slamming him against the ground, effectively spitting his skull, his blood coating the floor.

Ash waves her fingers at me, and using the last bit of magic she has, my chains fall off and she collapses to the floor in utter exhaustion. I know Raine is terrified, but Cameron is actively bleeding out, so I go to him first. I mind-link as many people as possible to tell them where I am and to bring medical supplies. I ripped off my shirt and held it to his stomach, his blood quickly soaking through and coating my hands.

“Locks? Open your eyes. I am here. Please, open your eyes,” I beg, tears falling from my eyes.

He slightly opens his eyes and attempts to smile, “Hi, H. It’s okay. It doesn’t even hurt.”

His eyes start to close again, and I shout at him, “No! Keep your eyes open! You found me, Cameron. Don’t die on me now!”

“It’s okay, Hunter,” he pauses, moving his bloody hand on top of mine before taking a breath, “I got you. Always. I love you.”

His eyes close and his head falls back. I feel for his pulse, but it is gone, and he isn’t breathing anymore. I use my knee to hold my shirt against his stomach and use my now free hands to give him CPR. I don’t know how long I give him CPR before I am pulled off of him by my pack. I see one of the doctors shake his head and I painfully fall to my bruised knees, backing away. Emma comes running down the stairs next and when she sees him, she lets out a soul-shattering scream before dropping to the floor and pulling his head into her lap. Her tears drip onto his face as she desperately kisses him and shakes his shoulders, trying to wake him back up but I know he is already gone; I felt our bond break.