Talia's insides jolted at the sight of a dark gray wolf coming from behind Lulu, and Talia rushed to intercept that one, hoping to lessen Lulu's burden.
The moment Talia's wolf collided with the dark gray wolf, her control of aura slipped, and the five wolves she was holding down moved to jump into the fray.
Talia gave Liseli control and focused on suppressing rogues that were mobile.
Talia tried not to think when Liseli twisted her body and got her fangs into the neck of the dark gray wolf. The sensation of ripping the flesh of a live creature was nauseating, but Talia managed to keep it together and not disturb her wolf. This was not a game.
Once the dark gray wolf stopped moving, Liseli released him and turned to find her next target.
A yelp escaped Liseli's maw when two light brown wolves jumped on her from behind, making her lose her balance.
Talia could feel Liseli's rage mixing with adrenaline as she got back to her feet, and then the whole world slowed down.
Lulu pounced on one of the two light brown wolves that attacked Liseli, pushing him to the side. In the next moment, Lulu was back in the air, about to jump on the second light brown wolf, when two other wolves came from behind Lulu and slammed into her, effectively changing her trajectory.
Lulu's wolf rolled, and before she could stabilize herself, those two wolves were on top of her.
'No! NO!' Talia screamed mentally at the sight of two wolves tearing with their fangs into Lulu's body at the same time.
Talia yanked control from Liseli and dashed toward Lulu as the surge of silvery light exploded in all directions, sending the nearby rogues flying.
Damon was on the verge of losing his mind. Where the hell were Talia and Lulu?
He followed the pull of the mate bond, but then it was gone.
The whole forest was eerily quiet, which was never a good sign.
To make things worse, his mind-link was broken, and he was not sure if it was because of those devices Talia mentioned or because Talia and Lulu were engaged in fighting, and they shut down the mind-link so they wouldn't be disturbed.
Damon's anxiety was amplified whenever they bumped into rogues. He could barely sense them, and when spotted, instead of fighting, they would run. What the hell was that?
Damon would chase them if not for the priority of finding Talia. He hoped that patrols of the Blue River pack would discover those loose rogue units.
'Don't!' Damon mind-linked Maya, who started chasing two rogues who were running away. They discovered that even with their mind-linking obstructed, it still worked when they were close by.
'They might have answers,' Maya said to Damon.
'And they might run for reinforcements,' Damon grumbled. 'Our priority is to find Talia. Let's not separate.'
Maya didn't like that they were running in circles without knowing what was going on, but she knew that Damon was right.
A blinding flash of light exploded through the trees, and Damon rushed that way like crazy. There was only one person capable of doing something like that.
'It's my Liseli!' Sapa shouted in Damon's mind. 'She is amazing! And she is angry.'
Damon didn't like it. Talia used her ability, flashing for everyone to see. Didn't he tell her to stay inside and not reveal her powers? But he knew that Talia wouldn't do that unless necessary, which meant she was facing a crisis.
'Faster, Sapa!'
'Any faster, and my paws will come off.'
Keith was right behind Damon, regretting that he didn't have some super-boost or teleporting ability like those witches. He would be there already and see the situation and help Talia and…
'I told you, Keith…' Lulu's voice sounded in Keith's mind through their mind-link. Why did she sound so weak?
'What's going on, Lulu?' Keith asked.
'I told you that I don't need the oath to prove my loyalty,' Lulu said, ignoring Keith's question. 'I always proved my loyalty with actions. Like now…'
'Lulu?' Keith called. 'Lulu!?'
Another silvery flash was seen, this one even stronger than the previous one, and Keith wondered if it was because they were closer or because Talia had increased her power output.
Damon and Keith nearly tripped on a rogue sprawled on the ground. Maya, Caden, and Caleb were right behind them.
"Waaah!" A scream reached them, and they all dashed toward the sound.
Damon's heart tightened at the sight of crying Talia. She was enveloped in silvery light that extended to Lulu's body. Talia was holding Lulu's head in her lap, there was a lot of blood, and he couldn't pick up Lulu's heartbeat.
Damon's urge was to comfort Talia, but his reason told him to first ensure there were no dangers.
Several rogues were unmoving on the ground, most of them were in their wolf forms. Damon guessed that Talia knocked them out somehow, and he frowned when he realized that they were dead.
Damon killed many, and he wouldn't think much about it, but he knew that was not Talia's style, and he was concerned about her mental state.
The pulsating silvery light from Talia's body was dimming, and she sobbed, unaware that Damon hugged her from behind or that Maya, Caden, Keith, and Caleb were also there, on their knees, looking at Lulu's lifeless body. Maya cried silently in Caden's arms, and Keith and Caleb stared at Lulu, having difficulty accepting that she was gone.
Damon held Talia and rocked her gently, letting her hold Lulu and cry it out.
He stared at the tree canopies above them that released some of the early morning light to illuminate the world that was darker compared to yesterday.
After an unknown measure of time, Talia became aware of her surroundings.
Somehow, she was wearing a t-shirt. There was no memory of her putting clothes on, but she was in Damon's embrace, and he was wearing a similar t-shirt also, and she guessed that Damon dressed her up while she was out of it.
Talia didn't register when Caden fetched t-shirts and sweatpants for everyone from the nearby stash of clothes.
Damon's presence enveloped Talia, and she knew he was there, yet she couldn't calm down. Lulu's mutilated body was covered with a dark green t-shirt, and her hands were resting on her chest.
Talia looked at her bloodied hands.
"I tried to save her," Talia said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I couldn't."
"Shhh," Damon shushed her. "It's OK. You did what you could."
"It's not OK," Talia said. How can this be OK? "Lulu died because she protected me. Rogues attacked me, and she jumped to save me and… ah… waaaah!" Talia was crying again. Gory images of rogues tearing into Lulu's body replayed in Talia's mind.
"Lulu's name will be etched in the wall of warriors who made sacrifices for their pack," Damon said, his voice solemn.
"Lulu died with honor," Keith said while struggling to keep his voice from breaking. "She had no regrets." He hoped this was the truth.
Keith knew that Lulu was aware everyone doubted her, yet she still came here and performed her duty like things were fine.
'You did it, Lulu,' Keith spoke into the mind-link, even though he knew Lulu couldn't hear him anymore. 'You proved your loyalty. Luna and Alpha acknowledged you and are mourning your loss. Did you hear you've got a spot on the wall of fallen warriors? That's the highest honor a warrior could have. Your father will be proud.'
