"MICHAEL COLLINS." Just hearing his name brought chills running up and down her spin. They had to get out of here. This place, this pack was going to be a graveyard after everything goes down. Harlow couldn't believe this was happening, obviously she had a vague idea that it would happen but not this soon. Besides, she thought the Alpha of this pack was prepared for this sort of thing, but she guess he wasn't.
"Harlow sweetheart, we need to leave." She heard her nan say, it was then that she realised that her mom was no where to be found. Everyone she knew was here; her nan, Mia and Ryan...so where was her mom? When she had gone to sleep she was in the house, downstairs.
"Where's my mom?" Harlow asked, her voice breaking slightly. Already her brain was thinking the unthinkable, had her true mate obliterated her from existence. She hoped not.
'Oh God!'
Where was she? Is she okay? Is she safe? A million question filtered her mind at that exact moment. She knew she could take care of herself, but that didn't mean she wasn't in any danger right now.
She always used to tell her she was always the best fighter when she was young, but things had changed since then. First of, she had left her training in the past, she barely even trained anymore and if she lacked train how could Harlow be sure she was okay. Back then, there was no Michael Collins around. It was easier than to think that, who knows what he would do other mom if she fought along side this pack. Was she really going to be able to defeat Michael Collins if she was presented with that path?
She was well aware of her friends and her nan pulling her somewhere but she wasn't co-operating. All she was thinking about was her mom, the only person who had stuck by her side through the good and bad times, how could she abandon her now. Harlow needed to know if she was alright or if she was safe. She needed to help her whether she would risk putting her own life at risk, in a danger. She knew her mom would do the same.
When she was young, she made a promise to her mom that no matter what happens, our first priority would be to make sure the other person is safe with no harm.
"C'mon Harlow, we need to get out of here like...right now!" Ryan commented pulling harder at her hand.
"B-u-t my m-om, where is my mom?" She asked him. His dark brown eyes flickered her for a second before they shifted to the ground.
"Ryan?"
"She's gone with the soldiers to defend the pack and try to get rid of Collins." He quickly explained not pausing once to take a breath. "Each member of a household has to participate."
Her mind was in a frenzy trying to take in what he had just said. She looked over at her nan and Mia looking for confirmation that it was true, that her mom was giving her life to defend the pack, to defend the people, to defend her. Mia gave her a look that established everything and for a second time today her heart clenched, but, this time, in worry.
She was going to die...by the hands of her mate.
She felt it.
She was going to lose her, the only person who had never abandoned her.
Tears pricked the edge of her eyes at just the thought of a life without her mom. Sure, she was overprotective, conceited and just a total pain in the arse but sh just couldn't image a life without her. How could she do this to her?
Harlow sniffed back the tears that were threatening to spill and tried to break free from the tight grip Ryan and Mia had around her wrist.
"What are you doing?" Mia asked looking over at her. Her red hair was glowing brightly in the dim light of the moon.
"I need to find my mom," she explained adding more effort to try and escape their clutch.
"Are you crazy? Do you have a temperature or something?" She asked her brown eyes wide with pure shock at what her friend had just said. In the days that Harlow has known Mia, she has never seen her so pale and scared. Obviously, she understood why. It was Michael Collins who attacked and there is a high chance this whole pack could be dead by the end of this battle, but she just couldn't shake off the fact that happy and hyper Mia stood in front of her looking like a terrified two year old who just saw a monster under her bed. Then again, she kinda did.
It frightened Harlow to no end as well as confirming how dangerous and evil Michael Collins was. Even though she knew he was her mate, she couldn't help but still feel like he was a dangerous being walking this earth.
"Please Mia; I just need to check if my mom is okay." She was practically begging her right now, if she was able to go on both her knees she would.
"Harlow, mer and you both know that I can't let you do that." She replied giving her a sympathetic smile.
"Ugh!" Harlow couldn't help but groan. She knew her friend cared about her but she wasn't going to stand here and receive some news later on that Michael had killed her mom. She was going to have to find out on her own, just just needed to think of a way of escaping Mia and Ryan, as well as her nan who seemed awfully quiet.
In a matter of seconds, an idea made its way through her mind and she knew if she didn't go through with it now she'll never have the chance to later.
"Mia." She turned her face towards Harlow. "You are hurting my wrist, can you please remove your hand?"
It was a stupid idea, but she had to at least try.
Mia look far from impressed, she gave her a scrutinising glare. "No! I'm not stupid, you're going to runaway." 'Damn it, just let me go!' She wanted to scream at her friends.
But, her mind of stupid idea's didn't end there. Harlow put her best horrified face on and shouted, "Oh my god! I-It's Michael!" pointing at a random direction Just as she had suspected, they three of them turned their heads away from her and looked in the direction she had pointed to. Their hands quickly left hers and formed into aggressive fists ready to punch the devil himself. Although, if Michael had truly showed up they wouldn't have stood a chance.
It was perfect for Harlow, the perfect opportunity for her to follow her vague plan. They both looked like they had forgotten she was standing right next to them. It was just too perfect. She didn't bother wasting anymore time, time in this moment was precious especially since her mom's life depended on it.
Harlow shifted into gear, she ran in the opposite direction. Her thoughts were all focused on her one thing, her mom. Where was she? Since, her mom never took her to participate in any combat training- scared that she might have a sever panic attack- she wasn't fast enough, especially since her mom's life hung by a thread.
'Come on, push harder,' her mind prompted her body, pumping her arms even faster but her legs didn't seem to get the message. They ached, and were beginning to slow down even more. She hated having short legs, she hated being short period. Situations like this, she wished she had longer legs only so she could run fast, be stronger but she was blessed with shortness.
Just as she was about to continue her search, something caught the corner of her eye, making her stop in her tracks. Everything around her, the trees, the wildlife were completely destroyed. Nothing but a pile of ashes. She couldn't help the small cry that escaped her lip. Harlow couldn't only hope that her mom was in a much better condition to what was presented in from of her.
A sudden rage took over her, how dare he? How dare he just barge in and attack her family? How could he just kill innocent people within this pack of hers just because he can? How dare he ruin her new pack and the villages here? How dare he live?
Her mind was poison by vicious thoughts and it didn't help to know that even though she felt like that within the moment, her mind couldn't ignore the fact that Michael was her mate and knowing that hurt her even more, made her angry.
How could she be mated to someone like that?!
If only she could get the chance of tearing him apart, ripping his organs out and then boring them. Her mind was racing with despicable ways of hurting him but the loud bang had her head swivelling around to face it, it was in a direction of somewhere, a clearances of some sort. Not wasting any time, her body dashed towards it with no fear. She knew what she was doing was dangerous and she knew if she went he would hesitate to eliminate her. It didn't matter though, her mom was in the brim of death.
"Why are you doing this?"
Voices. She heard voices, it meant that she was closer than she thought and when she felt herself getting closer and closer. That voice sounded familiar but she couldn't- Oh my God, it was her mom.
It felt like the weight was lifted off her shoulders when she knew she was safe, that she was alright. Well, she was alive and that is what matters, for now. They hadn't killed him yet but she still had that nagging feeling that they eventually would. Running faster, she cringed at the sight of all the dead bodies of members from her pack. Most of them were in their wolf forms which means they must've shifted trying to defend themselves but failed.
Her mom was the first person she spotted when she reached her destination but she quickly hid behind a tree when she saw the scene in front of her.
Two bulky guys had her mom pinned down, unable to move. The soldiers were crowding in fear to the side to watch the whole scene go down, 'what the hell where is the Alpha?!' She thought, why was her mom the only one who seemed to be held responsible for this; Harlow watched as another guy, bulky and tall had a silver gun aimed at the crowded group- people from Crescent-pack were...dead. Silver guns were a weapon no werewolf in the world could heal from it, it was just as deadly as wolfsbane. Once a silver substance touches your insides, you were a goner.
Harlow gulped, her breathing coming out in heavy pants. Just watching her mom look so vulnerable was like a brick thrown at her heart, her expression seemed to shatter it- destroying it completely.
Harlow feared her mom's life, she didn't want her to be in such a life threatening position, but the world was cruel. Tightening her fists as rage pulsated throughout her body, her every intention was to step forward and interfere but his voice stopped her. His deep voice.
"Shut up!" He spat out, a vicious tone that sent shivers running up and down her spine. It was then that she realised it was none other than Michael. He had a dagger within his hand- or it looked like one, she wasn't quite sure due to the darkness that engulfed the space around her. For someone like Michael he saw the dagger as a tool, no more, either for noble defence or evil cold hearted deeds. It was obvious it was aimed at her mom, it made her wonder how he was able to get ahold of all these weapons.
Even though, there was a nose-holding quality to the way he treated the people around him, as if his brain was some rotting fish and his thoughts were equally foul. Harlow couldn't brush away the allures of his voice, she couldn't help but want him to speak again.
'No! Stop it! His disgusting!' She knew this was the effects of the mate bond, and she wasn't allowing it to blindside her judgement on how much she disliked him, especially now. Now that he held a dagger at her mom's neck.
"You can't d-do this..." Harlow watched as her own mother beg for mercy. She had never seen her so weak, so defenceless. It hurt seeing it, it melted her heart into hot liquids, only to become mush.
"Shut it," Michael ordered, looking more and more unbothered about her mom's previous statement.
Harlow had never really seen him without his hood on, she didn't expect him to be handsome. She'd always thought him to be repulsing and ugly just like his personality, rotten and just plain terrible. Ugh! She couldn't believe herself, was she actually smitten with the enemy, the same enemy that held a dagger at her mom's head.
"Fuck you, no!" Elena stood her ground, her mom was always fearless but in this moment Harlow wished she just would have stayed quiet. As much as she loved her for it, her striking bravery, even when she was weak and under control, somehow she still oozed power.
Michael took slow dangerous steps towards her; the dagger in his hand, sharper than any dagger she had seen. Harlow's eyes instantly widened at the sight and she noticed the coat on it she almost fainted knowing how deadly it actually was. Silver. The one thing werewolves couldn't come back from. "What did you say?" It looked like Michael wasn't excepting what her mother had just said, and honestly neither did Harlow.
"I said, fuck you ." She repeated much slower.
What was she doing? Was her mother finally losing her bloody mind?
Michael gritted his teeth with fury. She watched as he got his dagger ready aiming it at her mother's through, with a sadistic smirk he was about to partially throw it at her. Harlow wanted to scream, but her throat just didn't manage to utter a sound. 'This wasn't happening!' She thought, disbelief clearing clouding her better judgement.
"Actually, Fuck this." He threw the dagger on the ground, inch away from him and gave her mother a look that even Harlow couldn't quite distinguish. "I want to rip out your throat with my teeth."