Freeing Anvi

Chapter Thirty-One

I've underestimated Cannon. He's an incredible fighter. Agile, quick, and stealthy, he reacts swiftly to my shift and pounces on me. His wolf shreds through his clothes and the fighter's instinct that is embedded in every wolf's system kicks in.

June is slower in her reaction. She's still wiping her eyes as Bea runs into her. Ben joins her in the fight as June's lethargic shift takes over her. I feel Oscar behind me, waiting for the right moment to use whatever contraption he and Jackson have been building.

You bitch! I hear Cannon clearly through my open link. He swipes at me and I just barely manage to dodge. I unsheath my claws and strike back, nabbing him on the nose. I don't respond to his insult. I have no energy spared to do so. All of my concentration is put into the fighting, but Cannon, who's much older than me and therefore more experienced, continues to hurl insults at me. The words form a rope around my mind and squeeze tightly, like a cobra, and I'm given a massive headache as a result. The throbbing pain confuses Ama and distracts her. Cannon takes the opportunity to leave a long gash on my arm, eliciting a howl from my muzzle.

Jackson reacts to the attack faster than anyone else can. I don't know where he's been while I've been fighting, but he jumps on Cannon and pulls him away from me. The two wolves begin to fight each other, and there's a deeper, darker rage that forms in both of their eyes. If that is what death looks like, then surely it has found a home in his head. Both of their pupils are enveloped with black rage and it burns so brightly that it seems to hurt anybody who looks in their direction.

I'm pulled away from the fight when I see Bea fall into a corner. She shifts back to her human form, naked and clutching her stomach. Ben rushes towards her, and June almost makes an escape towards the bushes had Oscar not been behind her. In his hybrid form, he pulls her up to her hind legs and locks her head in his arms. June can fight, but she's obviously exhausted from the emotional damage that I most definitely gave to her. It makes me feel even worse, and guilt laughs and grows bigger in my chest, like a blob of mucus.

"Anvi!" Oscar shouts for my help, and Ama reacts readily. Without letting me think of what he's asking for me to do, Ama forces me to pounce. I push June out of Oscar's grasp and we both tumble to the ground, rolling into the bushes. To anyone watching from a distance, it would look as though two young pups are playing, but that's far from the case. Unbidden fury storms inside my body and I pin her down by squeezing her neck. I'm reminded of Sara and her death, and that only makes my anger worsen, whether it's towards June or myself, I'm not sure.

It's like my body has activated self-destruct mode and I'm unable to control it. Ama, having been denied freedom and power for so long, takes advantage of her time and pummels June to the ground. She hardly lets the poor woman back up before she's making me push her to the ground again. It's constant and rough and it drives me to nearly create a hole around June's struggling body.

As Ama begins to grow tired, though, I feel less and less angry. The suffocating flames of fury subside into an even bigger guilty conscience as I stare down at the nearly lifeless, pleading woman. We're both covered in sweat, dirt, and bruises and she opens and closes her mouth repeatedly, like a fish gasping for air.

"Please..." over the sound of the men fighting behind me and Bea whimpering, she begs me in her dry, raspy voice. "Please..." her eyes harden. "Please fucking kill me."

I scowl and press her down. "I'd love to." My wits find me and I'm overflowing with confidence all of a sudden. "But unfortunately for you, you have to face your punishment before you go down."

Lifting her up to her knees, I hold her down while Oscar ties her hands and legs with some rope from Bea's backpack, which he tells me they had gotten while I was bringing the couple that's now bound before us. June and Cannon glare at Jackson with all of their might as he helps Bea rise and we all brush the dirt off our bodies. It's a little awkward that we're all naked in the forest, and I'm such a coward that I use Bea to hide my nudity. She laughs, then groans, clutching her side.