Chapter 288
Chapter 288
Lucien’s POV
The storm broke too suddenly.
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Rain lashed against my back, soaking through cloak and shirt until the weight of it dragged at me. I could take it. I’d endured worse hunts, worse wounds. But Riley… Riley was fragile, already wounded, and the thought of this cold seeping into her body twisted my gut with unease.
This rain came at the worst possible time.
There was no shelter, no cave, no outcropping strong enough to withstand the tempest. The only way was forward.
Thunder cracked overhead, splitting the sky. The mountain path narrowed beneath our boots, treacherous and slick with mud. Then came the blinding flash -lightning spearing down, striking a tree ahead with a sound like the gods themselves snapping bone.
The oak exploded into fire and ash, splitting in half, the smell of char thick in the downpour.
Riley stiffened against my back, her pulse a quickened thrum where her chest pressed my shoulder. I could feel the unease radiating from her, and my own wolf bristled in response. Danger.
Caelum’s voice cut through the storm, sharp and commanding: “Alpha, we need to move faster. Too many trees around us. We’re exposed p>
He was right. Our vehicle was too far behind, left at the foot of the mountain where wheels could still turn. Here, among these cliffs, only our legs could carry us forward.
I adjusted Riley on my back, my grip tightening on her thighs. “Hold on,” I muttered, pushing my pace, my boots splashing through water and mud.
The storm roared, hammering at us. Then-
A low, ominous rumble. Not thunder. Deeper. Heavier.
8:28 pm
Chapter 288
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Caelum’s instincts saved us again. His shout was a wolf’s snarl in human form: “Slide! The mountain’s giving way p>
I jerked my head up-and saw it.
The hillside above us heaved, earth and stone and entire trees tearing loose, rolling toward us in a monstrous wave.
Before I could move, Riley slipped from my back. My heart lurched.
She twisted, her strength faltering yet her will like tempered steel, and shoved me with everything she had.
I staggered forward, my footing breaking against the mud, unprepared for her strike. By the time I righted myself, she was behind me, her face lifted, smiling through the rain-smiling at me like it was the last gift she would ever give.
“Lucien,” her lips shaped the words, though the storm swallowed her voice. “I wish you a long life… with a mate at your side, children at your feet, peace until your final breath p>
The world blurred, water and grief burning my eyes.
‘No!” My roar split my throat raw. My wolf surged, a storm within a storm, and I lunged back for her.
The landslide struck at that moment, a beast of earth and stone crashing down.
I threw myself over her, arms locking around her body, driving her to the ground as the avalanche swallowed us whole.
The impact ripped the breath from me. Stones and mud battered my back, each strike like a spear. Pain blazed down my spine, a thousand knives digging to the bone. I snarled, biting back the sound, forcing my body to shield hers.
Every muscle screamed, arms shaking, veins bulging as I braced myself against the weight of the mountain. My wolf howled inside me, pouring strength into limbs that should have already broken.
Caelum’s shout cut faintly through the thunder and chaos. “Alpha! Riley!” His voice, strained, desperate, chasing us even as the storm tried to bury us alive.
Mud splattered, trees cracked, the roar of sliding earth swallowing the world.
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3:28 pm ED
Chapter 288
In my arms, Riley wept-silent tears mingling with rain on her cheeks.
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“You shouldn’t have saved me…” she whispered, her voice fragile, torn away by the
storm.
I tightened my hold, forcing the words through gritted teeth, through pain that threatened to split me apart. “Don’t be afraid, Riley. I’m here. I’ll always be here p>
The weight grew heavier. More earth. More stone. My arms began to bend, inch by inch, the strength bleeding from me. But I would not let her go. Not to this storm. Not to fate.
A boulder crashed against my back, the shock a white-hot fire that ripped the air from my lungs. Blood filled my mouth, copper sharp against my tongue. My body buckled-just for a moment-then slammed down hard against Riley.
Her hands reached for me in the dark, trembling, searching until her fingers brushed my cheek. Even blind in this chaos, she sought me.
Her touch carved pain and solace into me both.
The storm buried us. Darkness pressed in. But my wolf’s vow burned fiercer than the thunder above:
If the mountain wanted to take her, it would have to crush me first.
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