Daughter of oblivion: Claimed by four alpha(s)-Chapter 83 - 82: The moon hunters

Chapter 83: Chapter 82: The moon hunters
He couldn’t run forward...he’d crash directly into them.
He couldn’t turn back, the Moon Hunters were closing in behind him.
"Shit.." he growled in his head, claws digging into the soil.
He had two enemies now.
And one wrong move meant exposure.
The hunters’ footsteps thundered louder. Lights swept closer. Their low voices carried through the trees, though low but enough for him to hear.
The wolf turned left, then exploded into motion again, tearing through a cluster of trees. The Moon Hunters followed instantly, their lights slicing through the branches after him. Thankfully, the humans didn’t see anything, just the flash of movement too fast for human eyes.
Eryx’s chest heaved as he ran, breath coming in harsh bursts.
He didn’t want to go back to Azrael’s house.
He couldn’t.
He’d be leading danger straight to them...
Straight to her.
Athena’s face flickered in his mind and his wolf snarled, protective fury boiling in his chest.
He pushed harder. But the hunters were catching up.
A sudden whizz sliced past his ear.
An arrow. Those fuckers are throwing arrows now.
He tilted his head just in time, feeling the air split beside him. Another arrow shot past. And then another, each one coming faster, sharper, more precise.
They wanted him down.
And they weren’t using normal arrows, he could smell the poison coating them.
The sharp metallic tang mixed with something bitter and ancient.
Wolfbane poison.
He didn’t have to taste it to know, one hit would slow him, weaken him.
More arrows flew...
He twisted, dodged, rolled, skidded under a low branch, leapt over a fallen trunk.
But he was outnumbered.
One arrow grazed his fur.
Another cut across his flank.
Then.
THUD.
Pain exploded in his shoulder.
An arrow embedded itself deep into his side, the shaft vibrating violently from the impact.
A snarl ripped from the wolf’s throat, but he didn’t stop, didn’t even falter. The pain burned, hot and cold at the same time, spreading like venom through his muscles.
But still, he ran.
His vision blurred slightly. His breath shook. But he kept going until...
A break in the terrain.
A shadowed hollow between two massive boulders, covered by thick vines and roots.
A hiding spot. Small. Dark but perfect.
He dove into it, his massive body squeezing into the narrow pocket of earth. His paws dragged against the dirt as he forced himself deeper, hidden completely by the overgrowth.
His breaths were ragged now.
The wolf trembled, fur flickering as the shift took him again. His body shrank, bones cracking in reverse, skin smoothing as fur vanished.
When the transformation stilled, Eryx slumped against the cool rock wall in his human form, sweat dripping from his temple, chest rising and falling in heavy, shaky breaths.
His shoulder throbbed violently where the arrow had been. The poison pulsed through him like fire.
But he stayed quiet. He stayed still.
He waited... they’ve missed him.
He watched them ran pass him and exhaled heavily.
And the night was quiet again.
Athena found herself sitting by the edge of the pool, her legs dangling into the water the same way they had earlier... except everything felt different now. Too much had happened. Too many emotions had slammed into her all at once, and her mind still hadn’t caught up.
Her toes traced small circles under the surface, disturbing the reflection of the moon. The water was icy,so cold it startled her every time it lapped against her skin. A tiny shiver ran up her spine, making her shoulders jump. Cold. Sharp. Almost painful.
But somehow comforting.
Because inside, she felt too hot.
She leaned forward, brushing her fingertips across the pool’s surface, watching the ripples spread out softly. When the water touched her wrist, she sucked in a slow breath. God, it was freezing.
And yet... the heat on her skin refused to fade.
Eryx’s heat.
It still clung to her like fingerprints. Like his body was still pressed against hers. She could still feel the imprint of his hand on her waist, her pulse had jumped when he grabbed her, and no matter how many times she told herself to forget it, her body wouldn’t listen.
Theo didn’t help either.
His cold.
Eryx’s heat.
Two extremes trapped in her body at the same time, twisting her nerves into knots, making her chest tight, her thoughts blurry. She didn’t know what the hell was wrong with her. She didn’t want this. She didn’t want to react to them. She didn’t want to feel anything for anyone except Oliver.
Oliver.
Her chest tightened painfully.
Her man was probably losing his mind right now...searching, panicking, calling her phone that she didn’t even know where it was anymore. He’d be pacing, running his hands through his hair, asking the police what else they could do. He’d be arguing with himself, blaming himself, blaming her, blaming anything except the truth.
That she wasn’t there.
And worse...
That she didn’t know how to get back.
A wave of guilt washed over her, hard enough to sting. She dragged her hands back from the water and pressed her palms together, squeezing tightly.
She hated this feeling.
Hated herself for it.
How could she be here feeling warmth from someone else’s touch when Oliver was worried sick? How could her stomach flip because of another man when she had someone who’d been with her through everything?
Why was she like this?
Why did her body betray her?
Why did her heart feel dangerously unsteady?
She exhaled shakily and stared at the moonlight glittering on the pool.
But what could she do?
She couldn’t leave. Not yet.
The memory of Rhydric plugging his his hands, no claws into the beast’s chest. His claws, his teeth, the cold shock of fear slamming into her. If Rhydric hadn’t been there... she closed her eyes briefly.
She would’ve died. Eaten.
Torn apart.
It wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t an exaggeration. It was reality.
Outside this house?Danger waited.
Death waited.
Maybe that would’ve solved everything. Maybe she’d get to see Dad again. Maybe she’d escape everything she’d been running from. Maybe...just maybe...her mother’s ass soul would finally find peace.
But Oliver...
He would break.
He wouldn’t survive losing her too. She knew that. She felt it deeper than anything else. So she would live. For him.
She would leave this strange house, this strange world of wolves and secrets, and she would go back to him. Back to the man who deserved her loyalty, her promise, her forever.
"Just for him..." she whispered, voice barely audible. "He deserves that much."
Her legs swayed slowly in the cold water, but the heat under her skin refused to fade, crawling through her veins like a secret she didn’t ask for.
She didn’t know what tomorrow would bring.
She didn’t know what would happen next.
But for now...
She stayed by the water, trying to make sense of the storm inside her.
Athena kept her feet in the water, letting the cold numb her skin while her mind drifted in a thousand directions. She didn’t even blink, just stared at the ripples, breathing slowly, trying to keep her emotions from swallowing her whole.
But then...
Her breath faltered.
It wasn’t gradual. It was sudden.
Sharp and unexpected.
Like something invisible had wrapped a hand around her lungs and squeezed.
Her breathing turned uneven, shallow, shaky.
Her heart skipped...no, it slammed so violently against her ribs she actually winced. For one terrifying second she thought it might just stop.
Then a breeze swept across the pool.
Not a normal night breeze.
No. This one was unnatural, cold, too sudden. It rushed through her hair, lifting the white strands as if fingers were combing through them. Her body went rigid.
Her head snapped to the side before she even knew she was moving.
"What... the hell..."
That feeling The exact same dread she felt when that wolf attacked her in the woods.
Like something unseen was breathing down her neck.
Like danger had teeth... and was close.
She swallowed hard, her pulse thundering in her ears.
First the fast healing.
Then the strange vision she didn’t understand.
Now this?
"Why..." she whispered, her voice cracking, "why is this happening to me?"
What was she turning into?
What was she becoming?
But before she could think further...
Before she could take another breath.
Something moved.
A shadow. A staggering silhouette.
A body slumping forward.
Athena’s entire world froze.
Eryx stumbled out from behind one of the stone pillars near the pool, half-leaning against it, half-collapsing with every step. His usually sharp posture was gone, replaced by a shaky, uneven walk like his legs could barely hold him up.
His eyes, normally molten gold were barely open. Red veins lined them. The skin beneath them was sunken, shadowed, bruised.
Dark circles.
Sweat coated his forehead. His hair was messy, sticking to his skin. His breathing was rough, ragged... painful.
Athena’s instinct kicked before thought.
"What..."
Her gaze dropped lower.
The moment she saw it, her blood ran cold.
An arrow.