Chapter 15: Kiara

Chapter 15: Kiara

The reason why we hadn’t smelled any wolves or dragons in the rest of Dalesbloom territory was that they were all here at the mine. And we had just barged in right as they were mobilizing their patrols.

Aislin, Billie, and I tried to use the presence of silver to our advantage, but it only masked us from the wolves. Dragons in their beast form prowled the mountain-cradled pit, but they were creatures of the day, and in the night, they couldn’t distinguish us well from the dark—all the same, they could smell us, so we tried to stay downwind as we scaled the pit toward the entrance of the mine. I sensed my mother within that cavern. The intense, bodiless sorrow resonated stronger the closer I got to the cavern, warning me that this was where my fated mate had been hiding too. We made it as close as a dozen meters from the entrance before a group of wolves and dragons came outside, being instructed by a human to form groups for their patrol. Hiding behind a boulder, we observed as long as we could but knew we were running out of time. Any moment, one of the dragons might detect us, and if we were caught before even making it into the mine, then we would stand no chance.

“You don’t have to follow me in,” I warned the girls. “Maybe it’s best you head back to your Alphas and tell them where my mother is being kept.”

While Billie looked nervous about being so close to the villainous pack she had left behind, Aislin snorted, confidently unbothered. “We’ve already come this far. No point in abandoning you. We got your back, Kiara.”

That was more than I ever expected from them. Or anyone, really. My prolonged stare upon Aislin almost softened—I was touched by her and Billie’s support—but I couldn’t afford to get distracted now. “Be careful then. They won’t kill me right away, but you…”

“We know what they’re capable of,” said Billie.

Nodding, I clutched the handgun tight and slipped along the wall toward the entrance of the mine. The girls followed deftly behind me. For a fleeting moment, I thought we really had a chance to infiltrate the mine if most of the grunts were outside preparing to leave—until we actually entered the tunnel and found ourselves standing boldly out in the open, where everyone could see us illuminated by lantern light.

Humans, dragons, and wolves alike looked up at us, dumbstruck.

“Hey!” someone shouted.

“That’s Billie!” someone else exclaimed.

“The hybrid!” A dragon shifter pointed at me. “Get her!”

In an instant, the cavern descended into chaos as we revealed ourselves to our enemies. It was a stupid decision, but I supposed I had thought we would have a chance to sneak through undetected. My determination to save my mother had gotten the better of me.

As everyone charged toward us, I raised the gun and fired at the first person I saw. The bullet bit into their shoulder, and they scowled, staggering back. My heart hammered with excitement as everyone recoiled away from the sight of the gun.

“Shit, she’s armed! Everyone get down!”

Mostly it was the wolves of Dalesbloom who dropped to the floor or hid. The dragons seemed unaffected by the danger I posed, and even behind us, I heard our enemies outside turning back around to come for us. “Let’s go, hurry!” I said to Billie and Aislin, rushing past the four people on the ground, firing shots at the two people lunging at us. I made it deeper into the tunnel but heard Billie yelp as somebody grabbed her arm.

“Hey, stop!” Aislin barked at them, leaping to Billie’s defense.

I turned around and fired at the person clutching Billie. By some sheer stroke of luck, I hit them in the temple, their head cocking sideways in a burst of gore. Billie shrieked in surprise and leaped away. While everyone else ducked, immediately acquainted with the white-hot fear of being shot, Billie and Aislin fumbled after me.

Knowing the only entrance was going to be blocked, I focused solely on finding my mother. We could find our way out after. I pushed on, plunging into a tunnel that rang strangely with the shrill cries of an infant, only to stop as a body stood in my way.

An older man with a grey-peppered beard and eyebrows sunken over his blue eyes stared us down. His grey dress shirt, which looked like it might have once been nicely pressed, was unbuttoned two from the collar and stained. His denim jeans were dashed with mud. If my sense of smell wasn’t smothered by the silver, I imagined he would have reeked of body odor. He looked past me at the two girls who nearly crashed into me from behind, and his lip curled. “Billie. You’re back. And you’ve brought friends.”

Billie’s tension was palpable in the air. I reached my arm out, instinctively defending her and Aislin. “Get out of my way, old man.”

His gaze shifted back to me, expression flickering in amusement. “You must be the hybrid, the fated mate of my son. Kiara.”

Dread clotted up in my belly. I pointed the handgun at him despite the masses that were encroaching on us.

“Quite the fighting spirit for someone with unicorn blood,” the man commented. “Allow me to introduce myself before you so rashly attempt to dispatch me. I am David Hexen, Alpha of Dalesbloom. You’ve chosen a rather serendipitous night to intrude, considering we are most in need of a unicorn’s magic.”

“I’m not using my magic to help you do anything. Where’s my mother?” I demanded.

“Your mother is gracious enough to lend her assistance. If you want as painless a fate as possible for her and yourself, I’d suggest you oblige us with your magic.”

It wasn’t unlikely that my mother would help someone in need. She was far softer than I was, but I remained unconvinced. I kept the handgun pointed at David, Alpha of this pack of criminals and miscreants, while I stormed forward with the intention of putting him down.

Only for another person to appear out of the darkness. The infant’s crying multiplied in volume, heralding the arrival of whoever held her in their arms—and I was surprised, to say the least, to recognize that it was Colt. The sight of him cradling the babe froze me in my tracks, suddenly presenting me with a vulnerable, innocent soul in the midst of danger.

“Kiara,” he breathed. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Leaving me no time to think, behind him, I recognized shadows falling off of the pristine figure of my mother, beaten and fatigued from her imprisonment. “Mom!”

“Kiara,” she said desperately, coming up beside Colt.

It had been months since I’d seen her. She was real, finally standing before me. She was just within reach. I couldn’t help the swell of emotion that overtook me, pushing me toward her. As David growled and motioned for his followers to capture my companions, I roared with anger, pointed the gun, and fired.

The bullet ripped into his stomach, sending him stumbling back with a grunt. Bright crimson flooded into his shirt.

I barely saw Colt blanch, but his shock and anger echoed through me. “Dad,” he choked, lunging to David’s side while I pushed past them to my mother.

David gurgled, clutching his stomach. “Don’t let them leave!” he commanded.

I grabbed my mother’s wrist, pulling her while her attention lingered on Colt, the baby, and David. “Mom!” I urged her. Why was she even paying attention to them? “We have to get out of here!” But as I turned back in the direction we came, Aislin and Billie backed into me, surrounded by the enemy.

“Is there another way out?” I asked her, but as she began to shake her head, I denied her answer and looked at Colt, supporting his father while still holding the infant. “Colt! How do I get out of here?”

His blue eyes blazed at me. I suppose I shouldn’t have expected his help.

Another gunshot rang out, and it wasn’t one of mine. “Drop the gun!” one of the dragons shouted.

I pointed it blindly at the crowd amassed around us. They had overcome their fear of the gun, all too quickly reaching for my hands, fighting to disarm me. “Get off me!” I snarled, wrestling to keep the gun before somebody ripped it away from me. I kicked, shoving my heel into somebody’s knee, and elbowed somebody else. Aislin and Billie fought behind me while my mother pleaded softly for them not to hurt us, but her voice was lost in the chaos.

In an instant, we were overwhelmed. They shoved me to the rugged ground, planting their feet on my back and pinning my wrists into the stone. Aislin’s face slammed against the ground beside me. I turned my head but couldn’t see much until David dragged his feet around us and back in the direction he had initially come through the tunnel with Colt beside him. When he stopped and stood before us, I bared my teeth and spat.

“I should have anticipated you’d be a nuisance,” growled David, voice gravelly with pain.

“I won’t let you win, you son of a bitch,” I growled back.

“You don’t have a choice.” David lurched closer. He rasped deep in his throat, standing over me while the people with their feet on my back stepped away. I propped myself up on my elbows, conjuring another insult before David booted me hard in the ribs.

“Augh!” My arms gave out under me.

Colt grit his teeth in pain, leaning against the wall.

“This is the consequence of your idiocy,” David said darkly, kicking me again.

Agony rushed through my abdomen and poured through my teeth. I braced myself against the onslaught, but from the way Colt shuddered nearby, I had the feeling that David wasn’t necessarily talking to me.

“Your fated mate is nothing,” said David, grinding his heel into my spine just below my shoulders. “Do not mistake fate for coming to the aid of anyone. All you have is yourself, and you are weak, and the weak will lose.”

His words rang between my ears, a venomous warning—not just to me, but to Colt, too.