You Wouldn't Dare (Khaos Trilogy Book 1), стр. 89

Then there was the utter carnage that had taken place outside – Nyx and her warriors had come armed with guns and other weapons, axes, swords, knives. You name it, she had it.

They had sliced heads off anyone in their path, ripped them limb for limb. It was unlike anything we had ever experienced.

That’s when I had told Nyx that our business was done. Never again need we contact each other; the arrangement was complete.

She had given me a few choice words, insulting me one last time as she stated she was happy to never have to deal with my pampered, spoiled arse again. Her parting words were ones of stark warning. She was willing to spare my daughter, as a thank you for our help, so long as Violet stayed out of her way.

Oh, Nyx. You needn’t worry about that. I had learnt my lesson here - the apple most certainly did not fall far from the tree, and I would take matters into my own hands to get my daughter back and away from that psychotic son of Nyx’s.

Jasmine

I laid on the floor for hours, surrounded by the dead bodies of my family and friends. Every time I opened my eyes, I was met with the glassy stare of a she-wolf, the pain forever frozen on her face. I wanted desperately to reach out and close her eyes in forever slumber, but I was too scared to move a muscle.

As the door to the safe room crumbled, I pulled a dead body on top of me and hid underneath it, pretending to have killed myself alongside the rest of them. The guards had come round and kicked at us, snapping the fingers of a few to see if they responded to the pain, kicked some in their ribs and an unfortunate few were punched in the face, their bone structure shattering, leaving their faces a crumpled, disfigured mess.

I was lucky that all they had done to me was pull my hair back and shine a light in my eyes, happy with the marble-looking gaze they saw behind my lids.

Even after the last guard left, I continued to lay there, scared that it was a trap. I heard them retreat, heard nothing for hours but the sweet sound of silence.

Through the holes they had blown in the packhouse I saw the night creep into day, and still I remained. Nobody came to check this room, and I eventually plucked up the courage to push the body off me, looking around in disgusted horror. I deliberately avoided looking at the small, skinny arm as it dangled limply off the cot bed. I couldn’t bear to see it.

I limped out of the room, clutching the walls for support, frantically to control my breathing, seeing death and destruction all around me.

Once outside, I slowly made my way around the bodies, closing their eyes and whispering a prayer over them that would hopefully carry them over to their eternal resting place with the Moon Goddess.

I did what I could to reunite families with their loved ones, placing the small pups on the chest of one of their parents, whilst placing the older children nearby, safe in the circle of their parent’s arms.

I also looked for Arthur and the rest of my family, as well as finding the resting place of Erin to make sure she was okay, but the fallen buildings made it difficult, the entire pack grounds looking different as walls and paths were ripped apart.

It was clear that there were no survivors, and if there were, they hadn’t stuck around long enough to offer any assistance. I knew I should get out of here as well, that every second I stayed here was lowering my chances of an escape, but I couldn’t do it.

My soul would not be able to rest without seeing that families were together, never mind the souls of the wolves that would wander around, looking for their babies.

My last stop was to the area where I believed was the Moon Goddess’ garden. I sent one final prayer to her, to add on top of the huge list of prayers I had already made in the past few weeks.

This time I didn’t pray for the pack, for my family or for myself. This time I prayed for Violet and Khaos. I prayed that the Moon Goddess would sooth their pain, that she would not allow them to shoulder the blame for this. I prayed that they would find a way to recover from what had taken place here tonight without any harm coming to them.

My final act was to sever the pack bond, rejecting them as my Alpha and Luna. My wolf screamed as though her heart was breaking in two, and honestly, after everything that had happened, I was hardly surprised. But I could not risk being followed. I could not risk accidently leading them to Violet and Khaos. They didn’t deserve this.

I breathed in deeper, smelling the change coming over me as my scent changed, shifting to that of a rogue.

I was officially a lone wolf.

Eventually, when the sun was at its highest and it was evident that no one was coming, I left the pack grounds and never looked back.