Chapter 209: The Hybrid Onyx awakens

Samantha shut her eyes, thinking this was the end. In that split second before the rogue finished her off, her entire life flashed before her eyes.

Suddenly, a brown Lycan slammed into the beast, knocking it off her. It took her a moment to realize it was Alec’s Lycan.

She watched him dig his claws in and rip out the black heart, then snap his fangs around the creature’s neck and tear it in two.

Now bathed in black blood, he turned and hurried to her side, his brown eyes glowing eerily.

[Are you okay? Are you hurt?] he asked hastily, using his head to gently nudge her. Even through the mind link, his voice was filled with frantic worry.

She rose to her feet, staggering slightly. When he leaned his body against hers to steady her, she almost cried.

[I’m okay,] she replied finally. [I’m not hurt.]

[Can you fight? I have to find my brother and the Alpha.]

She shot him an annoyed look that he instantly recognized, despite her being in her wolf form.

[Of course I can fight. Go! Find Alyssa and protect her.]

Alec’s Lycan nodded and took off, throwing himself back into the thick of the battle. As for Samantha, when another rogue lunged at her again, she was fully prepared to fight back and defend herself.

Alec slashed at the rogues as he forged deeper into the clearing, searching for Jake. It didn’t take long before he found him fending off several rogues at the same time.

With a vicious growl, Alec lunged at one of the creatures, biting hard around its hind leg and flinging it away. Jake finally got the opening he needed, digging his claws into the rogue above him and crushing its chest.

He tossed the dead carcass aside and climbed to his feet, his eyes searching for his mate.

A few meters away, Henna had just killed two rogues and was hurrying toward him.

[Are you okay, my love?] he asked, noticing the slight limp in her left foot.

?[I’m fine,] Henna replied breathlessly. [I just didn’t see one creeping up behind me.]

After making sure she was unharmed, Jake turned to his twin. [We were fooled! The rogues were already hidden inside the kingdom.]

[Where is the Alpha?] Alec demanded, ducking quickly as another rogue flew overhead. [We need to find him and the Luna!]

[Find him!] Jake yelled. [Make sure the Luna is safe.]

?[What about you?] Alec yelled back as he slashed at an oncoming rogue. [And where is Anthony and Pandora!]

[I will find them and alert the army at the borders! Just find the Alpha and Luna.]

They dispersed, running in separate directions. Jake ran toward the edge of the clearing with Henna, battling the rogues that began to surround them, while Alec searched desperately for Dorian.

Halfway across the clearing, he came across Anthony and Pandora locked in brutal combat with dozens of rogues.

Without hesitation, he joined in, striking the nearest beast. One rogue jumped over his back, trying to clamp down on his neck, but Pandora kicked it off and finished it in one fluid motion.

In her distraction, she didn’t see another rogue take off after her. Anthony lunged at it before it could strike, but he miscalculated.

The rogue spun around suddenly, leaped toward him, and bit down hard into his neck. Anthony let out a furious roar as they crashed to the frozen ground, biting and clawing at each other.

He finally managed to rip the rogue’s head off, but immediately collapsed, weak from the severe bite wound and massive blood loss.

His body shifted against his will, forcing him back into his human form as he lay there clutching his bleeding throat.

Pandora shifted back instantly, screaming his name shrilly. She rushed to his side, dropped to her knees, and pressed both her hands hard against his neck to staunch the flow of blood.

"Oh, goddess," she cried, tears streaming down her blood-smeared cheeks. "Anthony... Anthony, look at me." She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her face. "You’re going to be okay..."

?"Pandora..." he choked out, barely able to speak. He was in too much pain and losing too much blood.

Pandora stared in horror across the clearing. It was drenched in blood, the ground buried beneath piles of dead Lycans and rogues. If they didn’t get reinforcements immediately, they were all going to die.

Alec was fighting the advancing rogues as best as he could, protecting Pandora and Anthony in their human forms. But the creatures multiplied by the second, and he was quickly becoming outnumbered.

Just when he thought it was over, Jake and Henna raced in, closely followed by Samantha.

?[We’ve made contact with the army!] Jake yelled through the mind-link. [They’re on their way! Have you seen the Alpha and Luna?]

[Not yet!] Alec replied, breathing heavily. [Anthony is badly hurt. I couldn’t leave him and Pandora alone.]

[Go!] Jake urged him. [We will protect them and keep the rogues back until the army arrives. Find the Alpha! Now!]

Alec took off without hesitation, sprinting through the carnage. Suddenly, an enormous rogue–larger and more savage than the rest–charged after him and knocked him sprawling to the dirt.

Alec staggered backward, baring his fangs and snarling at the beast. They circled each other before lunging, claws clashing viciously.

Unbeknownst to Alec, it was a trap. The massive rogue was Ragnar himself, trying to stop Alec from reaching Dorian. As they wrestled, two other rogues crept up directly behind Alec, growling as they prepared to strike.

Samantha caught sight of them from where she stood guarding Pandora. She glanced fearfully at Alec, realizing he was in danger.

With a furious roar, she bounded across the clearing, her paws pounding the frozen earth. As the rogues lunged, she leaped, throwing her own body directly into their path to shield Alec.

The rogues slammed into her with brutal force, the momentum sending all three tumbling to the ground. Samantha let out a sharp, agonized howl as blood began to gush from her side.

Alec heard her cry. He whipped his head around, his gaze locking onto her as her body forcefully shifted back into human form. Seeing her go completely still, a blinding rage eclipsed all reason.

With a deafening roar, he slashed his claws across the rogue’s face, kicked it away, and scrambled to Samantha’s side.

He shifted instantly back to his human form, leaning down to pull her into his arms.

Samantha cried out from the searing pain, her hand clutching the front of Alec’s bloodied shirt like a lifeline. Her eyes were wide open, tears spilling down her pale cheeks.

"How bad is it?" she forced out through clenched teeth.

Alec looked down at her side. The rogue’s impact had stabbed her deeply, and the wound was bleeding profusely. If the pain didn’t kill her, the blood loss would.

He met her eyes without speaking, but the horrifying truth was mirrored in his gaze.

"Terrible, right?" she breathed shakily, her voice broken. "I’m going to die..."

"I’m not letting you die!" Alec swore, cradling her tightly against his chest. "You’re not dying, Samantha! Not today!"

"L–Look around, Alec," she choked out, blood trailing down the corner of her mouth. "We... we’re outnumbered. The army... isn’t here yet... we won’t survive this..."

Alec glanced up at the bloody massacre around them. The rogues were closing in. Hundreds of Lycans lay dead. Anthony was unconscious while Pandora wept bitterly over him.

Jake, Henna, and a handful of surviving Lycans were the only ones left standing, fighting desperately to drive the rogues back, and they still hadn’t found Dorian or Alyssa.

It looked like they were all going to die.

Suddenly, thunder cracked loudly across the sky. A heavy wind whipped up over the clearing, churning into a massive, violent tornado. The clouds bled into a deep crimson red, and right before their terrified eyes, the full moon mutated into a sickening, blood-red orb.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" Pandora screamed over the howling winds as lightning bolts struck the earth. The wind raged furiously, spinning violently around a single spot a few meters away.

The advancing rogues suddenly halted and began to retreat, terrified by the unnatural phenomenon unfolding before them as if they instinctively knew what was coming.

Then, a shrill, inhuman scream pierced the air–a scream so loud it forced the remaining Lycans to their knees, blood dripping from their ears.

?A massive shockwave followed instantly, slamming outward and blasting the surrounding rogues backward.

Alec leaned over Samantha’s form, shielding her from the shockwave with his body. A short distance away, Jake and Henna had shifted into human form, desperately shielding Pandora and the unconscious Anthony from the blast.

Then, suspended in midair before their shock-filled eyes, Alyssa’s body emerged. Her eyes burned an eerie glowing red, perfectly mirroring the blood moon above.

A red force-field hummed around her, radiating an overwhelming power none of them had ever witnessed.

The Hybrid Onyx had finally awakened.