Marked By Destiny: Claimed By Three Alpha Brothers

Chapter 186: Stopping the hunter

"Leia tricked me into believing that she’s coming alone," Aaron muttered under his breath. He pressed the device fitted in his ear."Let’s withdraw. Keep the vehicle ready," he said and slipped swiftly to the other side of the dense forest.

Meanwhile, Lucien raised his head slightly to scan the unnervingly calm surroundings. The silence seemed odd to him. He ducked back down immediately, his instincts on edge.

"You stay here. Only I will transform," Lucien stated firmly.

"What? No! What if you get hurt? I-I can fight too," Leia protested, eager to help him.

"I think Aaron isn’t alone. And they carry silver bullets. You can’t expose yourself. I trusted you, now it’s your turn to trust me," Lucien said calmly, placing a steady hand on her shoulder.

"Just bring Ronan and Kieran for your assistant," Leia insisted.

"I don’t have time for that. I can take them down. Don’t come out," Lucien said as he gently pushed her back into the car’s rear seat. Regret flickered in his eyes, he should have brought a bulletproof car. "Keep your head low. I’ll be back soon," he added.

But Lucien wasn’t reckless. He had already called for reinforcements. Through his mindlink, he gave an immediate command to Draven.

’Enter the Southern Border,’ he ordered before shutting the car door.

Then the shift took him.

Leia gasped at his massive wolf’s figure, her heart skipping a beat. Then, in a blur of speed, he vanished into the forest like a streak of light.

’Zei, we shouldn’t stay behind, right?’ Leia asked her wolf.

’Yes, we should help Lucien. Theron is powerful, but a hunter is a hunter. Let’s go out. We can’t stay hidden just because Lucien has asked us to,’ Zei urged.

Leia nodded and opened the car’s door carefully. She stepped out of the car and ran in the direction Lucien had gone. Her body shimmered and shifted as Zei took control. Together, they chased Lucien’s scent through the thick underbrush.

But Lucien’s voice snapped through her mindlink, sharp with frustration.

’Leia, I told you not to come here!’

’I couldn’t stay behind. Did you see the hunter? I think it’s only one. I can’t sense more than one scent of them,’ Leia replied, her heightened senses sharpening in her wolf form.

’Yes, it’s only one. But be careful, hunters can climb trees with ease,’ Lucien warned, slowing as he felt her drawing near.

Theron turned his head the moment Zei approached. His red eyes gleamed with menace, while Zei’s ocean-blue gaze flared in defiance.

A gunshot cracked through the falling evening. Both wolves reacted instantly, darting aside as the silver bullet hissed past them.

High above, perched in the branches, Aaron adjusted his aim with a cold grin. He had put on his night-vision glasses.

’I have only heard Lucien has a massive wolf. Witnessing it with my very own eyes made me believe it.’ He pulled the trigger again, sending another silver round slicing through the air.

Lucien’s ears twitched at the faint whistle. He lunged, shoving Zei out of its deadly path. She collided with a nearby tree, while Lucien barely evaded the bullet himself.

’How good his ears are, that they heard the slightest sound of the bullet passing through the air,’ Aaron thought, impressed, his eyes darting to catch a glimpse of Leia. But the thick forest concealed her well. The only wolf he could see was Lucien’s hulking form.

Zei had barely recovered when her legs were suddenly yanked upward. A hidden trap snapped tight, dragging her into the air. She snarled and writhed in fury, but the net cinched tighter with every struggle.

Aaron’s smirk deepened as his eyes fixed on her.

"So, Leia’s wolf shows herself," he murmured in victory as he aimed the gun in her direction now.

Lucien looked up, his eyes widening in alarm.

’Theron, jump as high as you can. We have to protect her before any mishap,’

Lucien urged through the mindlink.

Theron leapt with all his might, his massive frame soaring upward, but the trap had been set too high. His claws swiped the air, falling short of Leia’s writhing figure.

A sudden gust swept through the forest, shaking the canopy. Leaves rustled violently, and Aaron was forced to steady his grip, lowering the rifle for a moment.

’Glad that the trap worked well,’ he thought, watching Lucien launch upward again in a desperate attempt to reach Leia.

The hunter quickly regained his focus, raising the weapon once more as the wind calmed. He aimed squarely at Leia, his finger curling on the trigger. But when he squeezed, there was nothing. The bullet jammed.

’Fuck!’ he cursed inwardly. He dared not let even a whisper escape, careful not to give away his position to Lucien’s sharp senses. With swift motions, he reloaded, sliding fresh silver rounds into the chamber.

This time, his aim was precise.

’I only need to wound her. A leg shot will do,’ he calculated coldly, steadying the scope on Leia’s struggling body.

But just as he was about to fire, the tree shuddered with a thunderous impact. The rifle jolted in his hands, and the bullet veered harmlessly into the night.

Lucien’s ears had already picked up the faint hiss of the projectile. A loud growl ripped from his throat as he imagined the shot striking Leia. His glowing eyes snapped toward the source of the disruption, another presence in the forest. It was unmistakably a foreign wolf.

Clinging tightly to the branch, Aaron ducked low, his heart hammering. His eyes widened as realization struck.

"Another wolf!" he muttered, this time out loud despite himself. What unsettled him most was not its sheer power, but a flicker of recognition. He knew this wolf, or at least, he had encountered it before.

Lucien realized the wolf beneath the tree wasn’t an enemy, it was helping them. Without wasting another second, he shifted back into his human form and sprinted to the massive trunk where the net trap was suspended.

His body moved with agility as he scaled upward, his fingers digging into the bark until he reached the thick, high branch that held the rope.

The moment his hand touched it, a searing burn shot through his skin. A hiss escaped him, but worse than his own pain was the wave of anguish he felt echoing from Leia. The wolfsbane-infused rope was torturing her inside that net.

"Just wait a moment! I’ll save you," Lucien called, his voice strained, panic bleeding through as he fumbled for his knife.

He sawed at the rope with reckless determination, ignoring the sharp sting that spread up his arm. The wolfsbane scorched his skin raw, but he didn’t care, not while Leia was suffering.

At last, the fibers snapped under the blade. The net sagged, then fell open, releasing Zei. She landed heavily but safely on the forest floor, her body trembling but free at last.

Lucien leapt down right after her, landing beside her. Zei sat weakly on the ground.

"I told you not to come behind me," Lucien murmured, his arms wrapping around her furred form. He held her close, transferring his warmth into her body, willing her pain to ease as his heartbeat pressed against hers.

"Is Leia alright?"

The voice came suddenly, and both Lucien and Zei stiffened. From the shadows, a man emerged with hurried steps. He dropped to his knees beside them without hesitation.

"I’m Renzo, Leia’s uncle. Sorry, I was a bit late," he said.

Lucien froze, stunned. Even Leia, still in her wolf form, let out a startled whimper.

Her uncle?

Renzo didn’t waste time. From a small glass vial, he shook out a tablet and turned to Leia.

"Open your mouth," he instructed gently.

Lucien instantly stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. "Don’t," he warned, suspicion dripping from his voice.

Renzo met his glare without flinching. "It will ease her pain. With this, she can transform back without strain."

Lucien’s jaw tightened. He didn’t trust him, not yet.

So Renzo calmly placed one of the tablets on his own tongue, swallowing it right in front of them. Then, reaching for another, he pressed it into Lucien’s palm.

"The wolf beneath the tree over there, stopping the hunter, is Leia’s father," Renzo added, his voice softening. He held Lucien’s gaze, offering the pill without pushing. "Give it to Leia."

Lucien gulped and looked at Zei, who had opened her mouth. He placed it on her tongue and she swallowed it. Merely, within seconds, Zei and Leia felt the pain vanishing and her strength returning.

"Thank you," Lucien said as he felt her mate was in a better condition. He glanced at Leia, who wanted to transform and asked Renzo if he could go away. "Help Leia’s father. The hunter shouldn’t make out alive from here," he pronounced.

Renzo nodded and ran ahead before transform in into a wolf.

"You can transform now," Lucien said as he quickly took off his coat to cover her.

Leia did and to her surprise, her clothes were intact on her body. "Lucien!"

"It’s strange!" He exclaimed, kneeling before her. "How do you feel? That was painful," he said, holding her hands.

"I don’t feel any pain. But my father and uncle... Are they really here?" Leia asked with a confused gaze. She did feel a strange feeling in her heart that she never experienced before. Standing up with Lucien, she saw two wolves ahead, hitting the large tree.

"So, he’s really alive," Leia murmured as a tear escaped from the corner of her eye.

Just then, the warriors from their pack entered the forest, following Draven’s lead.

They all stopped seeing Lucien and Leia.

"Over there," Lucien instructed them.