A Gold Alpha For A Silver Alpha
Moon-Colored Eyes Chapter 26

The fact that I was about to die climbing the mountain, the tiredness of being awake, the pain in my muscles from submitting them to such a heavy exercise, everything was put aside by my need to get to Rafael.

I was the first of my brothers to enter the cave, my eyes took precise seconds to adapt to the darkness, almost blindly I ran through the long tunnels that were poorly lit by a few torches, following the echo of the sound of my partner's agony. My brothers' footsteps echoed behind me, but I didn't worry about them, knowing they would be following me anyway.

When I reached the end of the tunnel I stopped in shock, for clearly a subway honeycomb settlement was woven into the heart of the mountain.

It was amazing how everything contacted each other by stone paths, suspension bridges, and more architectural wonders that I could not begin to detail.

My eyes scanned the place shaking off the impression, concentrating on the building that occupied the central place.

From where we were we could see all the movement that was going on inside, not stopping to take a breath I continued on my way to reach the huge double doors that closed the place.

I grunted with momentum as I increased my speed and braced myself for impact.

-Julietta, wait!" one of my brothers shouted, but he couldn't stop me.

My body shrank like an impact ball smashing directly into the material with enough force to break it open.

I fell very hard against the floor, nailing pieces of wood, thanks to the goddess the material was not too thick to break something but enough to dislocate my shoulder judging by the pain that ran through my left arm and the wetness of my forehead that confirmed that I had also opened my head.

-You're f*****g crazy," Jack spat coming to my side as he helped me stand up, Julian and Jace were already protecting us from the vampires that were nearby, "This is going to hurt but you need that arm," my brother warned and without waiting for my answer he helped me reposition my shoulder.

I let out a small whimper but my mom's blades were already in my hands ready to rip the necks of whoever got in my way.

Jace and I will distract them, you two go get your partners and our brother at the drop of a hat.

Julian tells us over the link and he doesn't need to repeat it to us for Jack and I to follow the sounds of more fighting along with the scent of our mates at full speed.

The corridors of the building seem to be made to be a maze, we pass through many locked rooms, out of the corner of my eye I notice how the doors are barricaded or jammed preventing the vampires from getting out.

Which explains why there are so few bloodsuckers in our way, but judging by the sound of wood creaking and grinding with angry screams from inside that wouldn't last long.

Stairs, ramps and endless bodies later we finally arrived at the entrance to what looks like an ancient castle ballroom.

Cornered against a wall my partner's wolf tries to shake off three vampires while dodging as best he can five others who don't hesitate to do him as much damage as possible, on the other side my brother's partner in his human form fights with at least a dozen leeches.

Clearly outnumbered we don't stop to think as we each run in different directions to help our respective partner.

The vampires notice our presence before the wolves do, but at least for my part they do it too late, two of them lie on the ground with deep gashes running from their lower back to their shoulders before they turn to attack me.

But they are not my priority, I make my way as best I can hurting and being hurt in the process, but I finally catch up to Raphael by throwing myself on top of him to rip off a bloodsucker that was about to sink its fangs into his leg.

We both roll on the ground and I lose a knife on the way, I jump to my feet locking eyes with my opponent, we attack at the same time, but while he does it with his bare hands I draw a line in the air with my weapon, he realizes his mistake too late and even if he wants to he stops halfway, the edge of the blade manages to sever one of his hands.

His screams of agony fill my ears along with his blood splattering my face, the fur of the wolf next to me disappears and the form of a man takes its place, I take off one of the vampires throwing him against the wall while Rafael turns and with his claws rips out the heart of the other one.

I barely get a glimpse of my mate's beautiful green eyes before I have to turn my back on him to defend myself from another attack, a sense of déjà vu runs through me as without hesitation Raphael and I don't stand back to back to protect ourselves. In the distance I can see that Jackson and Diana are still alive, both are full of blood and a wound or two, but well enough to continue fighting.

We have to hurry as we still needed to replace Max and Leonardo, every second we spent in this place increased our chances of never getting out.

Tightening my grip on the knife handle I redoubled my efforts to tear the bloodsuckers to shreds, but without the surprise factor they were once again lethal predators.

At least a hundred times I wanted to switch to my wolf form but I knew it wasn't a good idea to provide a bigger target in such an enclosed space, so I racked my brain remembering every lesson with Logan, every training with Dannia, every fight with my brothers, every instruction from my parents. My body was only a lethal weapon because of my brain's quickness to react and let instinct with knowledge keep me moving.

Rafael was not far behind, his way of fighting was sloppy and less elegant than mine, but no less effective, he was my perfect balance. Where my knife couldn't cut, his claws would shred, and where he let his guard down, I was ready to cover him. We began to gain ground, little by little.

And hope clawed hard inside me, but it was crushed with intensity when I became aware of a new presence at the entrance of the place, power overwhelming the air of the room.

-Stop!" commanded a hoarse voice charged with authority and all the vampires recoiled from the entity making its presence known.

A man, at least six feet tall, with pale skin, black hair, scarlet eyes and a stocky build paced the room disapprovingly as he clicked his tongue in irritation.

-Sons of the moon, shapeshifters, mutts-" he spat in a charged accent, his gaze filled with hatred as he looked at Jackson and me- "Offspring of Rayna's f*****g bitch in my house. Jackson barks angrily from the other side.

-Don't say my mother's name with that foul mouth of yours," he warns him and a spark of hate with amusement shines in the bloodsucker's eyes as he walks into the room.

-You should note that you are in no position to ask for anything wolf," the vampire says with an obvious tone, his eyes leaving my brother's figure and focusing on mine, "Were you looking for this?

His words make two other vampires enter behind him.

On the left side a vampire with chocolate hair, slender body without many curves and blue eyes holds Leonardo by the neck, who is chained by the hands, with an iron collar with spikes forcing him to stay in human form, dirty, wounded all over but struggling against the grip as he could.

On the other side a vampire with the same obsidian hair color, honey eyes, average height, handsome features but cruelly stretched into sinister grimaces and clearly younger than the pair, held a drugged looking Max by the shoulders as he opened and closed his eyes heavily, his neck moving back and forth barely able to support the weight of his head, his feet dragging as he stumbled several times.

It took me a couple of glances to glimpse the bite marks that dotted both sides of his neck, biceps and forearms.

Only the Goddess knew where else he had been bitten.

-Let them go," Jack said with concern disguised as anger.

A dry laugh left the older vampire's lips.

-Why would I do something like that? Years ago when your mother with the help of your father murdered my youngest son I swore by my blood that I would make them pay, and so I did," a cruel smile formed on his face as he looked at Leonardo, "For years they had to live with the knowledge that their offspring were at my mercy without them being able to do anything about it, So you can understand my disappointment when this little insect escaped- I hissed in annoyance, my half-brother bared his fangs in response earning a hair pull from the vampire- But I didn't expect more of that creep's offspring to come right into our hands, so I can forgive her all the lives she made me spend to get him back-.

We were in a very bad situation, cornered, outnumbered and most likely dead, but that didn't stop all the hate that built up inside me from replaceing an outlet through my mouth.

-I hope my mother made little pieces of your son's body," I exclaimed calling his attention, "I'm sure she rejoiced while she bathed in his blood and laughed with my father while I ended his miserable and dragged existence," the fun disappeared from those scarlet eyes leaving only rancor, "He must have been an inferior and weak presence for my parents to have finished him off so viciously that his daddy has to avenge him because he couldn't." It was definitely not the smartest thing to do, but it was the most intelligent thing to do.

It definitely wasn't the smartest thing to say, and I wasn't just saying that because of the murderous intentions the bloodsucking family viewed me with, but also because of the multiple warnings hammering in my head from Raphael and Jack. -You're pretty brave for a walking corpse, little wolf," the younger vampire spoke for the first time, and I squirmed at the dirty look he gave me.

A shadow behind them caught my attention and Julian's voices with Jace shouted at me through the bond.

I raised my chin in defiance smiling half-sideways.

-I think I'm just a leech, too bad you won't be able to breathe long enough to realize what a bad idea messing with us is.

Before I understood the implication of my words, my twin's axe sliced through the air as it swung in the direction of the vampire's skull, driving hard into the back of his neck.

Immediately the bloodsucker's eyes closed and his knees gave way with his weight, a scream coming from the vampiress at the sight of what I assume is her dead son rips through the place, she raises her hand ready to rip Leonardo's neck but Julian's whip is faster wrapping around her wrist and pulling hard, forcing her to let go of my half brother throwing her on the floor.

We don't need another distraction.

The fight resumes, this time Jack, Diana, Rafael and I look to get to the entrance as quickly as possible.

While we fight our way through this hell, on the other side Leonardo fights with his clawed hands against the woman, Jace and Julian take turns attacking the older vampire and Max lies unconscious on the floor. Juliet, ready for a run?

Jack asks me mentally and I know exactly what he means.

I was born ready brother

I answered and waited for his command, stepping back to gain momentum as I asked Raphael to cover me.

Now!

Jack ordered, and just as I broke through the door, I shot forward warning my partner to get out of the way as I transformed pushing aside the vampires briefly creating a path that Raphael crossed behind me.

Next to me Jack did the same with Diana glued to his heels, the bloodsuckers flew off in all directions and we hurried our pace.

My brother and his partner arrive first, the white-haired girl carries her friend as best she can before Jack takes his place and throws his body over her shoulder.

I'm next, pouncing on the vampire who has Leonardo subdued on the floor beneath her, she can't even blink before my jaws snap shut ripping her head off. -The vampire screams in pain, with a kick he kicks Jace who was about to attack him and runs in my direction.

But before he can lay a hand on me, Rafael is already there to use his own momentum against him and send him to the other side of the place. Leonardo doesn't hesitate to get to his feet and run off in the direction of the exit, all of us fleeing with him.

-Go after them, I want them dead! The bloodsucker shouts and then lets out a string of what I guess are curses in a language I don't recognize.

My brothers with Diana and Max go in front of me and Rafael, I turn to see the distance between us and the vampires and it's not as big as I would like.

Rafael seems to read my mind as he also glances over his shoulder as he grunts and picks up torches anchored on the walls throwing them all over the place. Some of them only splatter sparks, but others set fire to the tapestries that adorned the place, the carpet, I help him by throwing furniture or objects to obstruct their way, his complaints being a clear indication that it was working.

We made it out of the mansion of sorts with our nerves on edge.

Only to replace more vampires standing between us and the only way out.

The footsteps with the back screams are pressing us and I know we don't have time to fight.

I swallow saliva desperately trying to replace a solution.

Rafael's hand intertwines with mine and his green eyes try to reassure me, my heart beats painfully inside my chest, my mate's fingers squeeze me and without words I understand everything his gaze wants to tell me.

I return the squeeze knowing that I understood what he meant.

Diosa loved him so much.

I only regretted not being able to spend more time by his side.

His free hand caressed my cheek and brought our foreheads closer together.

My eyes closed as I breathed in his sweet scent for what would surely be the last time.

With pain crawling through my soul I ask Selene to take care of my parents.

And I wait for the moment when I am consumed by darkness.