Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 95: 95

I heard more footsteps coming from the forest, and a few Hunter males appeared in our line of sight. It was truly a damn ambush. We were outnumbered, and Fenrir wasn't around.

My nails dug into Anton's skin as panic spread through me, the realization that I would be taken by the Hunters and there was nothing I could do. My worst nightmare was becoming a reality.

"You’re nothing but a lunatic, traitor," I whispered, my voice rough with fear. "What you feel is not love, it's obsession."

She rubbed her tongue over her lips and tilted her head to the side, not at all offended by my words.

"I’ve done much worse things for him, Savannah. Things that hurt me deeply. I caused the death of my best friend to free him from her and stop him from making the mistake of mating with her." She laughed, looking me up and down. "Sending a mutt back to her pack isn’t even one of the worst things I’ve done or will ever do."

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. Anton stiffened in front of me, every fiber of his body recoiling at the information he had just received.

I couldn’t believe what I had heard, couldn’t absorb the information enough to make it coherent.

Marilyn was responsible for Catalina's death? She was the one who destroyed Fenrir's heart and nearly took his soul with it, for killing his destined mate? Her, the best friend?

I felt nauseous, my stomach flipping, and everything I had eaten throughout the day threatened to come up.

"You... what did you do?" Anton whispered, too incredulous to react, just like me.

She sighed.

"That’s not important right now." She glanced at Hunter. "Anyway, here’s your reward. I’ve done my part in the deal. I hope you do yours."

Hunter nodded.

"Don’t kill her until you unlink her from the alpha and prevent her from going back to Dăneşti, because I never want to see her again."

She clapped her hands.

"Well, aren’t you clever? You memorized everything correctly. Get this bitch out of my sight, I never want to hear her name again." She rubbed her hair with her hand, sighing. "Fenrir pulled away from me because of her, he hadn’t even told me about this Selena. And he never had secrets with me. That bitch ruined everything I built the moment she stepped into Dăneşti. Fenrir and I were living a perfect life until you arrived."

She took a step forward, crushing a few dry branches that lay in the snow, glaring at me with so much hatred it almost pulsed.

"I still don’t know what you did to make Fenrir mate with you, but I will find out one day. I’m the best company for him, the right person to be by his side. I should be the one carrying the title of Queen of Dăneşti. Not you, and not anyone else."

I shook my head.

"I hope he wakes up to reality, Marilyn. And sees how manipulative and deceitful you are. And that all the harm you've caused will come back to you."

She blew me an air kiss, taunting me.

"Everything I did was out of love, to protect him and keep him safe. He’s a leader, a born warrior, so he will always understand the magnitude of my actions. I do it for us and for the pack. I’ll never let you or any other bitch get between us. Goodbye, you damn slut." She touched Hunter’s shoulder. "Take her away, before he senses something’s wrong with her and shows up. Vanóia isn’t far, and Fenrir is incredibly fast, he will reach you and intercept you."

Anton grabbed my wrist, squeezing it lightly, like a trigger, a warning for me. I understood the unspoken message behind it. We had to run, escape them as fast as possible at the first sign.

"Sometimes, I forget how this damn bond works," Hunter sighed. "Thanks for your word, Marilyn. Since you kept your end of the deal, I’ll keep mine. Take one last look at the bitch’s face."

Anton pushed me back.

The faint smell of the heads that were frozen reached me. We were close. We just had to pass them and scream until our lungs were out of air, there would be guards somewhere. With luck, someone might hear us.

"Thanks for getting rid of her for me," Marilyn gasped.

Hunter nodded and then started walking toward us.

I shook my head and swallowed hard, seeing my worst nightmare coming straight toward me. My whole body shivered.

Anton shot me a look, his green eyes locking onto mine.

I felt his desperation reverberating through me. It was the same as mine, so palpable it seemed to thin the air around us.

"Now, Sava!" he shouted, urging me to run.

I spun on my heels, ready to fight for my life, for my freedom. Hunter’s laugh echoed through the air.

"Just like you said, if the idiot was with her, he’d do something stupid, typical of him. Fire now!" he ordered.

My legs churned through the snow, each step a battle as my boots sank deep into the powdery drifts, the cold clawing at my ankles. The air burned in my lungs, sharp and frigid, as I pushed forward, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I threw a glance over my shoulder, catching sight of Anton just behind me, his blonde hair stark against the white expanse, his breath puffing out in rapid bursts.

The forest loomed around us, skeletal trees stretching into the gray sky, their branches heavy with frost. Then, a sound pierced the howling wind—a high, keening whistle that sliced through the chaos.

Arrows erupted from the trees, dark blurs streaking toward us with lethal precision, faster than our desperate strides could carry us. My eyes widened, a scream tearing from my throat, raw and exasperated, as panic seized me.

Before I could react, Anton lunged. His body crashed into mine, a solid wall of muscle and resolve, knocking me down as he threw himself over me. The impact drove the breath from my lungs, and we hit the snow together, his weight pinning me beneath him.

Arrows thudded into his back, each one a sickening thunk that reverberated through him into me. He let out a low groan, a sound of pain stifled by grit, his arms trembling as he held himself above me, shielding me entirely.

The snow cushioned our fall, but we landed just meters from the border—close enough to see the grotesque line of decapitated wolf heads on stakes, their frozen snarls a grim sentinel against the wilderness beyond.

I scrambled to my knees, a scream ripping from me again as I turned to him.

Anton was hunched over, his hands pressed into the snow, his face a mask of agony. His eyes, wide with terror, locked onto mine, the usual confidence drained away, replaced by something raw and vulnerable. I crawled toward him, my hands sinking into the icy powder, and reached out, my fingers brushing his pale, rigid face.

His skin was cold, taut with pain, and a thin trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his lips, staining the snow beneath him a faint crimson.

The arrows protruded from his back like cruel spines, their silver tips glinting faintly in the dim light, and my stomach churned at the sight.

"Silver arrows, always good to carry some, for runaway wolves," Hunter’s voice slithered through the air, a hiss laced with venom and satisfaction.

He stepped into view, his silhouette emerging from the trees like a specter, his dark eyes glinting with malice.

"You know, Marilyn warned me there’d probably be a wolf with Savannah—that she’d have bodyguards ever since she let one of my men slip past the border and reach the leader’s house, attacking her in her own room. I’ve been itching for this. Fenrir butchered so many of my men—slaughtered them without a second thought. It’s only fair I take one of his in return."

Marilyn’s laughter cut through his words, sharp and gleeful, a sound that grated against my nerves. She sauntered forward, her movements casual yet predatory, a smirk twisting her lips.

"And I was even happier when I saw it was that arrogant Anton with her, not Andrei," she sneered, her voice dripping with disdain. "He’s always looked down on me, treated me with contempt, like I’m nothing—worthless. Well, Anton, in your next life, maybe you’ll learn to show your queen the respect she deserves."

She scoffed, tossing her head as if savoring the moment, her eyes glittering with petty triumph.

Hunter loomed closer, stepping right behind Anton, who remained frozen on his knees, his body rigid with the searing pain of the silver poisoning his flesh.

The arrows had struck true, each one a deliberate choice—he’d taken them all, every single one, ensuring none reached me. His back was a shield, his sacrifice a wall between me and death, and the weight of it crushed me as I knelt there, my hands still trembling against his face.