Sold To The Alpha
The Cursed Luna Chapter 23

my Hazel'

At ten o'clock that night, Doctor Nat slipped quietly into Justin's room, closing the door behind him. Turning toward the strapping Beta he walked over and grasped Justin's hand, shaking it. 'Good luck to you and the Luna, Justin' he said in a low voice 'Take care of Justin nodded firmly, he would do all he could to keep his mate safe.

Steeling himself, Doctor Nat drew himself up to his full height, 'Now you need to hit me as hard as you can' he said.

Justin took a step back in shock 'i'm not punching you doctor Nat!' he whispered, looking at the doc as if he was crazy.

'You have to Justin, if I am to make the warriors believe that you overpowered me and fled with the Luna you need to make it look like you did' Doctor Nat insisted, holding the young Beta's gaze. 'Now hit me in the face as hard as you can and maybe a couple to the body, not enough to knock me out if you wouldn't mind, I am an old wolf remember, just make it hard enough to that it looks like you got past me. Once i'm down you will then need to slip out of the room, grab Charity and leave without looking back, i'll give you 20 minutes head start before I start to shout that you have escaped, by then you should have time to get to the border whilst the warriors search for you, understand?'

Justin nodded, looking decidedly unhappy with the request as he balled up his right hand and forced it upwards into the old mans stomach. Doctor Nat doubled over with a grunt, 'Well I have no doubt now that you can look after my daughter should she ever replace herself in trouble' he wheezed trying to catch his breath before straightening up and motioning to Justin to continue.

'I'm so sorry Doc' muttered Justin as he quickly drove his fist into the older wolfs upturned face, the crunch of bones telling them both that his eye would be black before long.

Doctor Nat held his face in one hand whilst desperately motioning to Justin to leave quickly, grabbing the clothes from under the pillow, Justin quickly changed, flinging the gown onto the floor before snatching up his bag from behind the curtain and quietly opening the door. Peeking out, he checked the coast was clear before easing his way into the hallway, closing the door carefully behind him and tiptoeing to Charity's room, opening the door and entering as fast as he could, before shutting it behind him. Turning around he saw Charity already dressed in some of the clothes that he assumed had belonged to Hazel's mother, they were slightly too big for Charity's slim figure but would do until they got back to the pack house. 'Ready?' he whispered looking at her with concern.

Nodding her head, Charity held a grim smile on her face as she stepped toward Justin and together they slipped out of the door, walking quietly down the hallway toward the front doors of the clinic.

As Justin's hand reached for the handle a voice behind them shouted 'Hey! you two!'

Involuntarily the pair looked over their shoulders to see Lucas at the other end of the hall a bandage wrapped around his forearm, a look of recognition flit across his face before anger replaced it, 'PRISONERS ESCAPING' he yelled at the top of his voice as he started to run toward them, Justin ripped open the front doors, dragging Charity behind him as they ran as fast as they could into the freezing nighttime air.

Dodging around rocks and behind small buildings that were scattered nearby, the pair struggled through the thick snow covered undergrowth trying to make their way to the barrier where Hazel was waiting for them. Up ahead shouts arose as word spread that the prisoners were loose, as the cries got nearer, Justin pulled Charity to the left, away from the path they had been told to take, running through thick bushes away from the calls, zigzagging left and right to try and shake off their pursuers until they were lost among the surrounding foliage, unaware of which way the barrier was that would lead them back to the forest and safety.

Ducking down behind a large overgrown bush, the pair tried to catch their breath as they listened to the distant sounds of the Oakridge Warriors calling out to each other as they searched. 'We need to replace Hazel' whispered Justin, fear tinging his words as he glanced around them as if hoping a signpost would be there to tell them the way.

Charity looked at him before saying quietly 'I think all we can do is skirt around the village until we replace her.' neither of them were keen on this plan but with no other option they crept forward, keeping to the shadows of the surrounding plant life, their sensitive ears and noses constantly strained for the sound or scent of approaching wolves.As they struggled through the twigs and stones that were hidden from view by the heavy blanket of snow, Charity and Justin could hear the sounds of their searchers getting steadily closer.

'Get the torches into the bushes, they might be hiding till we move past' came the shout of Lucas, fury evident in his voice as he corralled his men, trying to expedite the search.

Justin grabbed hold of Charity's hand, pulling her onward, silently encouraging her to speed up as they continued to slowly circle round the back of various buildings. Suddenly Justin came to a stand still, listening intently, he quickly pushed Charity down onto the ground, forcing her to climb in among the brambles that were growing nearby before crouching down and behind her, following her into the hiding space before deftly pulling them back into place in front of them. Ignoring the scratches of the thorns to their skin, they both lay motionless, the hoods to their jackets pulled down over their faces to cover their faces as a slow torch curved over the ground that they had just vacated, held by a young warrior barely out of his teens.

'Anything?' yelled Lucas angrily from the path further back, causing the young man to turn around, his light briefly lighting up the pairs hiding spot before continuing to sweep over to the Oakridge warriors leader, lighting up his familiar sneer. 'Nothing sir' the youth replied, striding back toward the warrior and following him back toward the centre of the village.

Heaving a quiet sigh, Justin wriggled his way out of the brambles as quickly and quietly as he could, rolling his body from side to side to try and flatten a route for Charity to use to climb out after him. The Luna carefully followed him out, keeping her hands inside the sleeves of her jacket to try and protect her bare skin from the sharp stabbings of the spikes that were protruding from the various branches.

Standing up, they quietly tried to remove the twigs that had snagged on their clothing before continuing to make their way around the outskirts, listening intently for any invasion from their pursuers.

As they walked, picking their way through, Justin suddenly stiffened, raising his head he sniffed the air, his eyes blackening as the scent of the warriors hit him, moments later Lucas and four of his men appeared to their right, spotting the escapee's, Lucas let out an ear splitting howl as their five adversaries broke into a run, heading in their direction.

'Run Luna' yelled Justin, pushing Charity in front of him, keeping close to her heels as she ran as fast as she could away from the baying warriors. Keeping her in front of him, Justin attempted to use his own body to protect her from any attack that may come from their pursuers. Charity ran as fast as her legs would allow, thankful that her wolf gave her extra speed but cursing the wolfsbane that still resided in her system stopping her from calling forth her wolf and shifting into her faster form. She could hear Justin's breathing, telling her that he was inches behind her, the yells from the hunters behind them were not fading though.

'Keep going;' yelled Justin, urging her to try and increase her speed as they ran blindly on, fighting against the overgrown trees and protruding foliage that lay hidden beneath the ice cold snow, hindering their progress. 'To your left' Justin hollered suddenly, pointing to a path, without stopping to contemplate, Charity swerved left, her feet making contact moments later with the path, though still fighting the slippery ice crystals they were no longer dealing with hidden obstacles underfoot.

Suddenly the pair burst through into a small clearing, the silver shimmer of the barrier in front of them. Charity reached behind her, grasping for Justin's hand, sure that he would need to be in contact with her to be able to pass through. 'No I need to replace her first' gasped Justin, staring round wildly whilst trying to avoid Charity's hand, glancing over his shoulder he gasped to see the warriors a few metres behind them, Lucas' arm raised, a silver dagger glinting in the moonlight as he swung his arm forwards, releasing the blade which flew as if in slow motion toward the pair.

Instinctively, Justin grabbed Charity's arm, swinging her sideways whilst spreading his arm out to try and shield her from the approaching missile. His view was blocked by a streak of brown hair, before a low groan filled the air as they fell backwards. Justin reached out intuitively catching them as they fell, his eyes caught the face of his savior as the moon lit up their face, Hazel looked at him, with a surprised expression etched on her face, before their gazes were drawn downwards to the long silver knife that protruded from the right side of her rib cage, the fabric of her shirt quickly turning crimson from the flow of blood that was running from the wound..

The Oakridge warriors had ground to a halt a few feet from the group, all eyes upon Hazel as she laboured to breathe in Justin's arms.

'No no no no, Hazel, why?' whispered Justin, tears running unhindered down his face as his Mate's eyes struggled to stay open.

'You always said you would give your life for me' she whispered 'I felt the same way. Thank you for not rejecting me Justin, for showing me what a mate is supposed to be. I love you' she murmured before her eyes gently closed for the last time and her head fell back against his chest as her breathing stilled.

Staring at the lifeless form of his mate, Justin howled in pain, glaring up at the surrounding wolves a loud growl filled with grief and blinding fury issued from his lips as he carefully lay her down in the crisp white snow that was already tainted red from her blood. Clambering to his feet, Justin's fists balled up and he took a menacing step toward the terrified warriors, all of whom were unsure what to do.

'Justin' shouted Charity desperately 'take my hand now' she ordered

'They deserve to die' roared Justin, his entire body fighting against the Luna command

'You will get your chance Beta, i promise you' Charity said softly 'but Hazel gave her life for your freedom, don't deny her this please'

Slowly Justin stepped away from the warriors, giving one last look to his fallen mate before grabbing Charity's outstretched hand and stepping back through the barrier, his eyes never leaving the devastating scene or the motionless warriors until they disappeared from view.