Chapter 331
Pursuit in the Mist
Third Person POV
:
73
+8 Pearls
Several dark figures chased hard after Aubrey. She didn’t dare shift into wolf form–remaining hidden was her only advantage. Her pursuers also stayed in human form, sprinting low and fast through the underbrush, their movements sharp and predatory.
If not for her agility and quick reflexes, Aubrey would have already been overtaken.
Branches whipped across her face and hands, leaving streaks of blood on her pale skin. Knowing her blood could draw unwanted attention, she tore the innermost layer of her clothing and wrapped it around her face, muffling both the scent and the sting.
Above her, the pounding thrum of rotor blades swept through the mist. Aubrey’s heart tightened–Alpha Henry must have gotten the alert and was closing in. But with enemies glued to her heels and terrain so convoluted, she couldn’t risk dividing her focus, let alone pin down her exact location over the mind link.
She clenched her jaw and pushed forward.
At last, thick banks of white mist rose before her, rolling in waves through the trees. Relief flickered in her eyes. The fog would be her shield, her cover.
Yet the deeper she pushed, the darker the world became. Dusk bled into shadow, the fog turned dense, and then–her old curse struck.
Night blindness.
The Kajit virus had left her vulnerable, her sight useless once light thinned. What others saw as pale haze, she saw as billowing black smoke pressing in on all sides. Her head throbbed; she shook it hard. She had to find cover before the darkness swallowed her entirely.
She stumbled into a clearing where a long–abandoned campsite lay. A collapsed tent sagged against the ground. For a moment, she was tempted to hide there–but footsteps rustled close behind. Too risky. She moved on.
Before leaving, her sharp gaze caught something: an ancient model of a cell phone, forgotten in the dirt. Without hesitation, she snatched it up and vanished into the brush again.
Moments later, four men emerged into the clearing. One crouched low, brushing fingers across the soil where the grass thinned. A clear imprint of her boot.
“She’s close,” he growled. “We get to her before Alpha Henry does.”
The men spread out, armed and ready.
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12:47 Thu, Sep 25
Chapter 331 Pursuit in the Mist
73
+8 Pearis
This stretch of forest was rough, treacherous. Even Shadowmoon Pack wolves avoided it–its twisted ridges and sudden ravines too unpredictable. Which meant the ambush had been chosen with precision. This was a trap laid well in advance.
Aubrey had thought to climb into the trees, but her hunters carried thermal scanners. A rookie mistake nearly got her caught. Only the choking fog saved her. Still, a silver round grazed her, tearing into her left arm.
She pressed her back to a thick trunk, biting down on pain. With grim resolve, she dug the bullet out with her bare fingers. Blood welled, metallic and hot, before she wrapped the wound with a strip of cloth.
The Kajit virus had crippled her healing. Wounds that once closed in seconds now lingered. And worse, her body still carried remnants of experimental serums–chemicals not yet fully purged. She was running at half her strength.
Half strength might dispatch one or two betas. But four trained killers, armed with and
silver?
Her lips thinned, eyes narrowing.
If they wanted her life, they’d pay in blood.
Minutes later, the four men closed in on her location.
“Wait-” one hissed, pointing.
guns
The others followed his gaze. There, in the grass, lay a scrap of white cloth, stained with fresh blood. Proof their quarry was near.
“She’s here,” the leader said, his tone sharp with triumph.
They tightened their grips on their weapons and moved forward, unaware that the hunter they sought was already watching them through the mist, waiting for her moment to strike.