Half-Blooded | The Dark Child Prophecy Series [✔️]

Chapter 69: She's Alive

Once I came to the end of the hall, I found another, smaller staircase that looked like a servant's stair. Desperate, I began to ascend the steps, leaning my good shoulder against the banister for balance as I continued to hold my arm, cradling it against my torso. My feet stung from hard running and climbing. With one glance behind me, I saw the trail of blood droplets. I inhaled another breath and kept going.

I tried to quiet the panic in my body as the flight instinct overtook the need to fight. But I couldn't run any further; and I hoped with a house full of hungry lycans, Page and his men would be overrun.

I got to the second floor, the chaos around the chateau sounding slightly farther away. Limping down the corridor, I began to push against doors, but they were locked. Frantic, I found an open bedroom that served as guest lodging. Once I was inside, I pushed the door almost shut and found a hiding place in the closet. I leaned back against the wall, hoping the dark would hide me. I placed my injured arm across my chest, my right hand holding the pistol as I propped it and my wrist on a bent knee, perfect for lining up and aiming a shot. I grimaced as I tried to move my fingers of my left hand to touch my stomach when my abdominal muscles contracted.

Oh god, I hurt, the thought whispered across my mind. I barely recognized my own voice. I reached out for Jason's influence, my head pounding with the effort; but instead of reaching the meadow, I was met with a static buzz as my mind failed to find our own plane of existence.

Gunplay continued somewhere else in the manor, and I could hear distant hollering of commands. Page's forces must have been met by the hybrids. I closed my eyes and continued to breathe as evenly as possible.

Suddenly, I heard the door shift as it was touched. The hinges squeaked softly, and my heart leapt up into my throat. Tears sprang to my eyes. I clenched my teeth to keep my mouth from quivering as the rest of me tried not to make a sound. The pistol in my good hand became hot to the touch as my grip on it tightened. I heard the sound of four footfalls come into the room, followed by sniffing, and my heart stopped.

Hybrid.

Jason, I love you, I thought silently, hoping he could hear me. I tried.

The steps moved further into the room, the sniffing continuing. A tear dropped down my cheek, feeling like a bullet. The hybrid continued smelling the bedroom, trying to find my hiding place. It would only be a matter of seconds before the trail of blood led them right to me.

Please go away, please go away, please go away, the little girl in my mind began to chant, fear in her voice. Please go away...

Serenity?

The voice was rough, a mix between a growl and a whine, in my mind. I held my breath.

Serenity, where are you?

The paws moved towards the closet and then stopped just shy of the sliding doors. I could see the tip of a nose appear next to the latch, sniffing softly. My grip tensed on the gun.

The red muzzle and snout moved forward hesitantly so it was a little more into my line of vision. Serenity?

"Thomas?" I sobbed in question, my voice weak.

The red wolf-hybrid stepped into the entrance of the closet, and I could see his dark auburn fur and hazel-green eyes. His ears were forward and his mouth was closed in a show of calm control.

Relief filled me, bubbling up in my chest and throat, making it hard to breathe. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I dropped the pistol to the ground. I nodded over and over, as if answering his question that it was me.