Chapter 180 Episode 179: Getting Attacked

“Calm down, Rue… Don’t be scared; you can defeat it,” Rue said to herself.

She whispered the words aloud, hoping her own voice would magically make her feel brave. It didn’t work at all. Her voice sounded thin and shaky. It bounced off the cold stone walls of the dark kitchen, sounding like a frightened mouse.

She backed away from the hyena. She placed each bare foot on the floor with slow, careful precision. She tried to dodge the sharp, broken pieces of the clay milk bottle scattered across the smooth stones.

The giant beast didn’t rush. It took slow, heavy steps forward. It enjoyed the chase. It liked watching its prey tremble in the dark.

The hyena smelled like rotting meat and wet fur.

The awful stench hit Rue right in the face, making her stomach churn violently.

The smell was so thick and foul she had to breathe through her mouth just to keep from throwing up. Thick, black drool dripped from the monster’s crooked yellow fangs. It hit the floorboards with a nasty, sizzling splat.

The beast’s eyes were wild and starving, glowing with a sickly yellow light in the pale moonlight pouring through the broken window.

Rue’s heart hammered a frantic, painful beat against her ribs. Her prey instincts screamed loudly in her ears. They told her to turn around and run.

They told her to hide in a dark corner and pull her knees to her chest. But she had nowhere to run. The heavy wooden counter blocked her path to the left. The blazing hearth blocked her path to the right. The monster blocked the only way out into the living room.

She was getting closer to the far wall. The beast was getting closer to her, trying to corner her.

She took one more step backwards. She didn’t look down at the floor. Her eyes stayed locked on the hungry monster stalking her.

Her heel caught the heavy wooden leg of a kitchen stool.

She suddenly tripped.

Rue fell backwards. Her shoulder slammed against the cold stones, knocking the breath right out of her lungs. She let out a sharp, painful gasp. She scrambled in the dirt, pushing herself backwards with shaking hands. Her fingernails scraped against the rough floorboards.

The rogue lunges at Rue.

The beast didn’t waste another second. It launched its massive, heavy body through the air. Its paws pushed off the floor with terrifying speed. Its jaws snapped open wide, revealing rows of sharp, stained teeth aiming straight for her bare leg.

She ducks, scrambling backwards as fast as she could. She tucked her chin to her chest and rolled sideways into the dust.

Just as the beast snapped its jaws at her leg, the shadows in the hallway exploded.

A massive black panther tackled it through the wooden dining table.

Knox didn’t make a single sound. He didn’t roar a warning. He just hit the feral hyena like a falling mountain. He slammed his thick shoulder right into the beast’s ribs before its ugly teeth could touch Rue’s soft skin.

The impact was deafening. The two giant predators crashed into the living room. They smashed right through the heavy oak dining table. Thick wooden planks splintered and shattered into a hundred jagged pieces. Wooden bowls, plates, and cups flew into the air, raining down on the woven rugs.

The hyena tried to fight back, snapping its jaws wildly in the dark room.

Knox didn’t give it a chance. The giant panther pinned the rotting beast to the floor. His golden eyes burned with a bright, terrifying fire in the dark shadows. He raised his massive, sharp claws high in the air.

Knox ripped the rogue apart.

It was a brutal, terrifying display of raw predator strength. He didn’t hold back. He fought with unhinged, violent power. He tore through the thick grey fur and rotting muscle in seconds.

He wanted to make sure the monster could never stand up again. The loud, wet sounds of the fight made Rue squeeze her pink eyes shut. She covered her ears with her shaking hands, trying to block out the awful noise.

The snarling finally stopped.

A heavy, thick silence fell over the ruined living room. The only sound left was the ragged, deep breathing of the victorious panther.

Rue slowly opened her eyes.

Knox stood over the dead beast. He shook the dark blood from his massive paws. He turned his head toward the kitchen. He shifted back into his human form in the blink of an eye.

He ran over to her. He fell to his knees on the cold floor right beside her. He didn’t care about the broken glass cutting his bare legs. He didn’t care about the dirt smearing his dark trousers.

He checks on Rue, his golden eyes wide with panic.

“Are you hurt?” Knox demanded. His deep, rumbling voice shook badly. He reached his large, callused hands out. He checked her arms. He ran his hands down her legs, searching for any sign of a bite mark or a deep scratch. He tilted her face up, checking her pale cheeks for cuts.

“I’m fine,” Rue gasped out. She grabbed his thick wrists. Her hands were still trembling, but she held onto him tight. “I’m okay, Knox. It didn’t bite me. You got it.”

Knox let out a massive, shaky breath. He pulled her forward and wrapped his huge arms around her. He hugged her so tight her ribs ached, burying his face in her silver hair. He smelled like sweat, pine trees, and fresh blood. Right now, it was the best smell in the world. He just held her for a few seconds, grounding her racing heart with his steady, solid presence.

Then, a loud, agonizing shout echoed from the front yard.

It was Axel. The white wolf was yelling for help. The swarm of sick beasts was pushing the line again. They were losing ground.

Knox pulled back. His golden eyes darted toward the broken front door, then back to the shattered kitchen window. He hated leaving her alone in the dark house. He hated it more than anything. But his brothers were bleeding in the dirt. He had to go back out there to hold the line.

“Hide somewhere safe,” Knox pleaded. He touched her cheek one last time.

After making sure she was okay, he left through the shattered window.

He vaulted over the wooden counter and disappeared into the cold night air, rushing back to the bloody war raging on the lawn.

Rue sat on the cold floor alone. She took a deep breath. She survived. She didn’t get eaten. Knox saved her life.

Then her heart stopped.

The babies.

She left them in the master bedroom. She promised Theron she would only be gone for a second. She spent way too long dealing with the rogue beast in the kitchen. She didn’t even grab the milk. The house was no longer safe. The hyenas knew how to break the windows now. They were getting inside the fortress.

Pure, frantic terror flooded her veins. It wasn’t the freezing fear of a trapped prey animal anymore. It was a fierce, burning mother’s panic.

Rue pushed herself up from the floor. She ignored the sharp pain in her bruised shoulder. She ignored the tiny cuts on her bare feet from the broken clay shards. She just ran.

She ran back down the long, dark hallway. Her bare feet slapped hard against the cold stones. She didn’t care about being quiet anymore.

She didn’t care if another monster heard her footsteps. She just wanted to reach the heavy oak door. She needed to hear Seika’s fussy cries. She needed to see Theron holding his heavy book. She needed to know Mochi was safe on the fur rug.

The hallway felt like it stretched on forever. It felt like she was running through thick mud. The shadows clung to the walls, hiding invisible monsters in every dark corner. Her lungs burned for air. Her legs felt heavy and weak. She pushed herself to run faster, praying to the stars they were still hiding right where she left them.

She reached the end of the hall. The dark wood of the master bedroom door sat right in front of her. She reached her shaking hand out, ready to grab the iron key and unlock the heavy deadbolt to get back inside.

Rue ran back to the master bedroom, only to find the handle and the door cracked open.