Twisted Fate

Chapter 23

Astrid

The whole room erupted with chaos after Derek put an end to that witch. It happened so fast I didn't have the chance to react before Arlo shoved us both to the ground. I gripped a fistful of his shirt as he hovered over me, shielding me from the bullets shattering through the windows. I couldn't see anything in my surroundings over his broad shoulders and firm chest, but I was too terrified to care.

My ears were ringing from the loud gunfire that never stopped coming. It took a moment for the sound to replace with a blood-curdling scream of a female. Her cries of pain overpowered the force of the weapons being used against us. My eyes began to water when the female reminded me of Nicole. She was standing right next to me moments before the attack. What if she or Derek got hurt?

No. Please, goddess.

I managed to somehow peek my head out from Arlo's chest. Some alphas were the first to come in my line of sight. They crouched down, waiting for the shooting to stop so they could spring into action. Meanwhile, I finally saw Derek crawling towards someone who had been shot in the chest. Frank was barking orders to form a plan of escape and protecting the few council members present on the right.

When the woman screamed again, I looked upward to see her sitting a few feet away next to a convulsing body on the floor. She helplessly watched a man turn blue in the face while his body abnormally swelled up. I gasped in horror and buried my face in Arlo's chest when the body finally popped like a balloon, scattering his organs in pieces.

These weren't ordinary bullets. They were enchanted with dark magic.

Panic rose in my chest when I craned my neck in every direction, but Nicole was nowhere to be seen, and the cries only grew louder and louder. I screamed her name at the top of my lungs, hoping she could hear me over all the commotion.

"She's fine! She's with my brother!" Arlo raised his voice. I instantly felt relieved that my beta and gamma were okay, but it didn't settle the panic rising in my chest. I knew tragedy awaited us from the continuous wailing and the raw, metallic scent thick in the air.

"Arlo, there are too many of them for us to take on. We have to help these people before it's too late. Do it NOW," Kane roared with urgency.

"It's too risky. Everyone will die if the fire loses control! We'll have to take a chance with our power together," Arlo shouted over his shoulder. He wrapped his arms tightly around me when a bullet passed over our heads.

"Ready when you are!" Kane responded.

Suddenly, the shooting died down, and Arlo's hold loosened. I could sense the demonic power from his wolf surfacing as he looked down at me. So many emotions simmered in his eyes as he demanded next, "Stay close and do not leave my side for anything. Do you understand me?"

I was in too much shock to reply. My silence only irritated him, and he grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him, "Tell me you understand," He said grimly.

"Okay! Now let me go," I rasped at his ridiculous demands that I wasn't going to follow. Afterall, I was an alpha just like him and I could take care of myself. He glanced down at me once more before he let me go.  As the gunfire came to a halt, footsteps rushed through the halls, and the doors came crashing down. Arlo's eyes turned bloodshot red, standing to his feet. 

"STOP," Arlo roared, lifting his hands in the air. With this motion, the intruders froze involuntarily. Everyone watched in bewilderment as he and Kane took control of their weapons, aiming them in the opposite direction, and fired.

The witches' blood decorated the walls as their limbs and intestines splattered from the impact. The once simple conference room looked like a complete murder house. Long after they stopped breathing, Arlo continued shooting until there was no identity recognition of the bodies. He looked like a savage with a small smile on his lips, the sight of red feeding his insatiable hunger for blood.