Freeing Starr✔️

Chapter 42 ~ Clean up

Starr's POV

It was time.

The scent of blood permeated the air as bodies collided with snarls and growls. I stood beside Leon, my eyes taking in the disaster as the wolves fought viciously and without regard for their own lives.

I was conflicted, knowing that some of these wolves were simply ordered to participate and didn't deserve to be teared down like this, but there was nothing I could do.

I kept in touch with a few royal soldiers, keeping my ears peeled for any news of finding either my father or Zion but there was none.

I took a step in a random direction and gasped when Leon suddenly clutched my hand. I looked back in confusion and met his worried gaze, "be careful." He muttered.

I nodded, "I know. I'm just going to try and limit the damage as much as possible. I'll do as I promise and won't fight unless I'm forced to."

He hesitated slightly then nodded, gesturing to a few men standing behind us, "if anything happens to her, prepare to have your hearts ripped out."

They nodded and formed a protective shield around me as I broke away from Leon's group and branched out on my own. I knew why he didn't stop me from leaving, despite being so overprotective.

I could literally feel the anxiety radiating out of him since we first entered pack grounds. He must have already caught wind of Zion's location but didn't want to engage with me nearby. I chose to leave on my own to make it easier for him. I'd already agreed that Zion wasn't my target and I planned to uphold that agreement.

I took a deep inhale of the forest, my eyes glowing as they took in every single detail, from the torn limbs dyeing the ground red, to the limping wolves crying for help, I saw further than I used to. My heart raced as we ran into a few enemy wolves who didn't hesitate to attack, but before I could jump into action, the guards had already handled it for me.

"Wait," I called out to a guard who was about to deal a killing blow to a dark brown wolf that attacked us.

I narrowed my eyes in recognition as the guard held the wolf to the floor with his hands. Yes, they didn't bother to shift into their wolves and it made me all the more amazed at the power the royal army and the direct packs beneath them were.

I approached the wolf as he snarled and tried to fight his way free to no avail.

"I know you," I murmured, "shift."

The wolf growled his disapproval.

I bent down on one knee to level our eyes and stared into them intensely. Bright hazel glowed at me but the more I looked, the more that color twisted and turned into the faint image of a wolf that cowered in a corner, knowing that it was going to die but refusing to show the enemy that it was affected by their power.

I poured my dominance out to press down on his figure and ordered again, "shift."

The male paused as his body trembled and forcefully reverted back into his human form, blood rapidly leaking from the claw wound across his chest.

After seeing the man's face, a bitter smile tilted my lips, "so it is you."

The faint image of a young she wolf running through the forest with me entered my mind and then the image changed to that very same she wolf lying on the ground, bruised, battered and with cold beady eyes that looked out at the world with scorn and despair.

Guilt tugged at my heart as I remembered the way I tried to justify her suffering and I couldn't help the tear that slipped down my cheek.

The guard beside me asked tensely, "Your highness?"