Mine to Protect Chapter 51: AWOKEN

*Derek

My attention is caught by Elizabeth, standing behind Hazel and fighting three guards; I am amazed at the scene, at the strength of her powers. Motioning with her hands, she has the three guards thrown up high in the air, and then crushed down on the floor, bones snapping at each impact, until they are all unmoving.

She then turns to face me, urgently marking her features.

“Derek, you need to take Hazel away from here, as far as you can. They know what she is, they won’t stop until they get her.”

I nod my head.

“Let’s go!” I tell her, but Elizabeth shakes her head.

“No, I am not done here, there is plenty of werewolves down there, tortured and on the brick of death, I need to save them. And they need to pay, Derek, for what they have done.”

“No, mom, you can’t go back!” Hazel cries, kneeling beside Elizabeth, grabbing her arm tight. Her mom crouches down, cupping Hazel’s face in her hands.

“Honey, I love you more than the moon, and I want nothing more than to hold you in my arms and protect you from the world. But we are white wolves, our powers come with responsibilities, I can’t be selfish and let those people suffer. Hell knows how many more of these establishments are present around the world, we can’t let them continue this massacre. Also, they have killed Josh, and I want revenge, I want blood, I want to make them feel the pain they have inflicted on us.”

That said, she stands up and walks toward the extirped elevator’s entrance.

“Wait, I’ll send my man with you, they will help you rescue the prisoners,” I tell her, before she gets back in, at the same time sending a mind link to my man, to gather here at the back of the building.

They assemble quickly, Damon is with them too, and I order them to follow Elizabeth’s lead.

She nods to me, then addresses the warriors.

“Jump in the elevator shaft after me, I will make us float to the bottom.”

Some warriors look worriedly my way, but I just give them a nod of encouragement. Elizabeth gives me and Hazel a small smile and jumps in the shaft, followed by my warriors.

Hazel screams for her mom, and struggles to get out of my grip, but I don’t let her, she is in no shape for fighting, she will just get herself killed. Overcome by fatigue, she gives up her struggle and I cradle her in my arms, lifting her and running towards the fence, where my warriors have cut a huge hole, I take her to the treeline, and crouch down with her in my arms, waiting for my warriors and Elizabeth to emerge from the building.

Hazel keeps crying inconsolably, while I whisper sweet nothings trying in vain to soothe her. Damon keeps me updated on the situation underground through the mind link, I am grateful for that, one part of me wants badly to be with them, fighting those bastards, but the other part can’t let go of my mate, now that I have her finally safely back in my arms.

The soldiers start coming out of the building, from the garage door this time, thankfully the elevator was not the only way out. They are bringing with them people visibly emaciated, some of them injured, these must be the prisoners. At least two hundred prisoners are brought out of the building, together with a number of guards, when Damon links me to tell me the evacuation is completed.

“Elizabeth?” I ask through the link.

“She said she needs to destroy the building; she can’t let anyone see the proof of what they are.”

This doesn’t sound good. Suddenly, a strong wind picks up, growing fast in intensity, and that’s when I see a small tornado appear in front of us, in the middle of the building. The tornado grows in size, destroying everything in its wake, like a black hole.

I retreat to a farther position, shielding Hazel from the strong wind with my body. A few minutes, and everything is reduced to crumbles, the tornado dissolves into thin air.

“Mom?” Hazel calls out feebly.

Damon comes into view, his face somber, and shakes his head.

No!

“No!” Hazels yells at the top of her lungs, getting free from my hold. She lunges forward, trying to reach the crater left by the tornado, but she is too weak, her legs giving out under her, she falls to the floor, holding herself on her hands. Then she straightens up into a kneeling position, her face oriented towards the sky, and she lets out a long powerful scream, fueled by sorrow and rage. A white blinding light emanates from her, enveloping her into a big white bubble. I need to shield my eyes from the light, the rays so bright they make it impossible to keep my eyes open. The scream turns into a howl, and the light finally disappears. I open my eyes to find a white wolf in the spot where Hazel was kneeling; its fur pearl white, translucent, reflecting the colors around it, giving it different hues. Beautiful and magnificent, Hazel’s wolf has woken.

*Hazel*

I wake up in a field covered by yellow grass, there are green hills in the distance and a blue sky. Not again! I am not in the mood for creepy monks, and it better not start raining again! Can’t the Moon Goddess just leave me the hell alone? She has already taken my parents, what else does she want from me? I just want to wallow in my sorrow in peace, don’t I even have a right to this?

I know getting angry at the Moon Goddess won’t solve anything, but I can’t help it, I am angry at her. Why did she have to put this burden on my mom and on me? If we were just a normal family, none of this would have happened! I would still have my parents by my side. I want to cry some more, but no tears come out, I must have used up my whole reserve already.

A small blinking light floating before me attracts my attention, it is small, the size of a soap bubble, but very bright, blinding if you stare right at it. The bubble gets bigger and bigger, until it starts reshaping itself, like modelling clay, here a leg, there another leg, a head, finally taking the shape of a wolf. The light disappears, and I find myself face to face with a white wolf, its fur a pearly white, its eyes the same shade of green as mine. She gazes at me unmoving, waiting for me to say something, and I don’t disappoint her, like she did me.

“You are my wolf. Why are you showing yourself now? Where were you when I needed your powers to save myself, to save my mom? She is dead because of me, because of you! If we had our powers we could have fought together, come out of that forsaken place both alive!”

I yell at her, unable to control my rage. I feel so useless and guilty, even my mom and Derek think I am useless, that’s why they wouldn’t let me join in the fight. How many more people will have to die to protect someone as insignificant as me?