Chapter 36

Y/n's POV.

My teeth sink into the flesh of a wolf I do not know.

He cries in pain, scrambling and limping away. A wooden wheel covered in tar rolls past me leaving a streak of fire behind. It's hard to distinguish between the cries for help and the cries for murder in the Inner City streets.

"I can't see a damn thing!" Beta Seungri shouts a few feet away, shifting to his human form. The fumes and smog make it painful to see through the streets. The Alpha senses coursing through my veins are not enough to focus on the reality of the fight.

I hear a yell for help, "Please! I have a family! Let me go!"

A pair of wolves drag a helpless man down the streets by his ankles, their jaw crushing the man's bones.

Before they can completely drag him away, I throw myself on top of the two wolves attempting to shove them off. They let go of the man's legs and bare their blood-stained teeth at me with fire in their eyes.

I snap my teeth in response while standing over the wounded royal. The two wolves notice my large size and menacing red eyes. They hesitate to challenge and instead scurry away from the fight.

Shifting to human, I help the man on his feet, "You need to get out of here. Go!" and without a second thought he scrambles away to safety.

Turning back around, I see Seungri fighting three wolves at once, his limit being pushed to full capacity as they force him down the streets. My hands scrape against the acid ground as I stagger forward to help him.

My jaw grips the hindleg of a wolf, blood spewing from an artery I punctured. The wolf shrieks in response, trying to tug his own limb away from my hold. I pull the wolf from under himself, he lands onto his back displaying his underside for me to rake open.

Another wolf throws themself at me causing the both of us to tumble towards the fire and bloodshed. The wolf's body lands into a patch of oil and tar, their fur dripping inky black. Before I can return to my feet, one more tent is set aflame, the embers crashing down to the puddles of tar.

A bloody howl leaves the wolf's mouth. My eyes widen while watching his fur scorch in flames with no way to be put out. The wolf backs himself down the streets, yet the flames cannot be extinguished.

Before I could stop him, a silent gasp leaves my lips as I watch the fiery posts collapse on top of the wolf. A cloud of debris spreads from the crash, concealing his death for nobody else to see.

"Jimin! What are you doing here!" My eyes dart to Yoongi desperately holding on to Jimin's frame. His clothes are tattered and burnt with holes.

He coughs trying to get the toxic air out of his lungs, "Taehyung is here...We have to find him. I-I can't leave him."

My heart nearly stops beating.

No. No! I have to find my mate. Why is he here?! Of all places! Why!

"Y/n!" Seungri catches up to me, "I got word from the Luna. She's going to smoke this place with wolfsbane. We cannot stay here any longer."

"What—" I see the dead bodies and crying wolves trying to make it out of the streets, "These people will die. She's going to let everyone die?!"

Seungri coughs, "It's out of control! They will storm the palace if we don't stop them. We don't have a choice!"

I bark at the man, "There are Omegas and pups out here! We can save them. We need more time."

"Our time is up, Y/n!"

Another voice rings in my mind, "Y/n! I found Taehyung. We're heading towards the west side into the Middle Sector. He says Jimin is still there—"

The crushing paranoia lifts off my chest, "Yoongi found Jimin. They're going to smoke the streets with wolfsbane. Get out of there, Jungkook. Be careful."

A hand grips onto my shoulder, Yoongi coughs from the thick smog inhaled through his lungs. I steady him with my arms, urging them to flee the streets.

"Go, get to safety! You two meet up with Jungkook and Taehyung."

He pulls me by the arm, "You too! Come on!"

I lift his arm away, "I have to save these wolves. They'll die otherwise." The air fogs our sight.

"You can't save all of them, Y/n!" Yoongi growls forcefully.

"I have to try!"

Before I could receive a reply, I pushed them away and raced headfirst into the center of the madness. The cries only seem to grow louder and louder like a beating drum. The fires glow brilliantly against the rich fog, revealing the masses of bodies and wounded laying on the floor.

Down beside me, I hear the faint cries of a couple of pups stuck underneath a collapsed pillar. They sob while paralyzed with fear and terror; my arms reach to lift up the planks of wood and chunks of stone.

The weight strains against my grip and my heart beats in my palms. The two pups scramble out from underneath and dart away from the insanity. The debris crashes down from my hold creating another cloud of smog. My eyes burn a fiery scarlet color, deeper than the flames engulfing the bodies.

Another wave of screams fills the streets and my breath is caught in my throat.

No. No! I need more time!

The suffocating feeling doubles over in my chest, searing down my lungs and into my stomach, my eyes water at the torturous sensation encompassing my whole body, a feeling that other wolves could barely tolerate.

A cough seizes up my lungs, the metallic taste of blood surfacing on my tongue.

"Help! Please! Help me! I don't want to die! Oh god, please!" A voice cries nearby.

My eyes tear up as if acid is thrown in my eyes, I lurch in the direction of the voice, praying that I could save one more person.

A young teenage Omega seizes on the ground, her clothes charred and her skin nearly bubbling at the poisonous air. Cradling her in my arms, I wobble to my feet and start running as hard as I can.

Her chest hyperventilates trying to breathe any amount of oxygen, only to be swollen and bleeding, unable to even inhale an ounce of air.

"H-hold on.." I wheeze in pain, "Stay with me!"

Her hands grip onto my arms, nearly digging her nails into my skin, but I cannot feel a thing. The only thought running through my mind is to save her. I have to save her. She cannot die.

The white haze clears, pushing my body to its limit through the cloud of wolfsbane. Finally, I am able to feel the burning sensation of my legs, the bleeding down the sides of my arms and back, and the fire trying to close off my lungs.

It is clear now as the rain begins to pour over the pack, extinguishing the remaining fires and soaking the bloody bodies. My feet slow to a stop in the middle of the solemn streets, my legs practically give up as I kneel on the ground.

But as my eyes lower to the girl in my arms, a final scream is able to leave my mouth.

Her eyes are rolled back, cold and very dead in my arms with foam filling the mouth she was trying so desperately to breathe out of. The nails of her fingers still dig into my skin, almost as if she was still begging death to let her go.

I listen for a heartbeat, but not a noise, not a single sound, escapes her once screaming body. The wolfsbane was too strong, too strong for an Omega or a child to survive. Perhaps the Deltas will live, but their lungs will never be the same.

The endless tears blend into the rain falling down my shoulders, my soul weeping for the dead girl. Her soft brown hair rests against my arms, but the warmth of her body soon fades away. I cannot stop the cries from leaving my lips, the burning feeling in my stomach not making it any easier.

Thunder claps from above, marking this frightful day; the dead ascends to the heavens, perhaps resting with the Moon and among her stars. My whole body trembles and shakes as I carry the dead girl across to a shelter.

A few wolves lift her away and allow her to finally rest for the night. Even then I cannot rid myself of the rotten feeling coating the arms in which I held that dying girl. Her scent lingers on my skin, so painfully sweet and distraught.

"Y/n! Y/n! Where are you!"

My mind feels numb and sick at the same time.

"I found Yoongi and Jimin. The four of us are at a hospital on the east side of the middle sector. Can you hear me?! Y/n!"

I lift my head towards the flashing skies, lightning striking down on the helpless souls of the dead, maybe trying to resurrect them back to life.

Maybe, just maybe. Even the Moon Goddess is powerlessly trying to save these people as well.

Taehyung POV.

"She is not responding," Jungkook replies breathlessly. He looks towards all three of us, but his eyes linger on mine for a second longer with a look of sympathy and pain.

"Try again." Yoongi growls.

Jungkook bares his teeth in frustration, "I am trying! Why don't you—!"

"Ah fuck!" Yoongi's hands squeeze tightly at his own leg, suffering from the aftermath of severe burns. Jimin holds him tighter before burying his head into his shoulder, the worry welling in his eyes.

My heart cannot help but ache with despair, wounded bodies resting all around us while the nurses frantically try to save those slipping away. The storm rumbles even louder, drowning out the cries and screams of the night, washing away all the pain and suffering that plagues this pack.

My body somehow feels lighter and painless. I cannot help but be paranoid about what Minjae told me. There is no way my blood can do that. It's insane! Male Omega blood is weak. The blood of a cursed wolf like me. Nothing more, nothing less.

Two men run past us carrying a sobbing woman on a stretcher, her legs soaked with blood and her arms twisted unnaturally, Jungkook and I scramble out of the way, allowing them to pass through to an available nurse.

"Who the hell called for the wolfsbane!" Jungkook's eyes ignite with fire, his whole body seething with anger.

Yoongi hisses in pain, "It was Luna Seoyeon, that fucking cunt." My eyes drop to the moist skin surrounding the severe burn on Yoongi's leg, "When it got out of control she sent in the wolfsbane to put out the mob."

My voice feels faint yet heavy, "That's unlike our Luna. She would never—"

Jungkook stares at me intently, "There are a lot of things this pack doesn't know about the Alpha and the Luna. Horrible things." I shudder from the look in his eyes.

Jimin lifts his head for the first time, "How do you know?" His eyes look deeply into Yoongi's searching for some answer, some truth. Anything to make sense of this.

Yoongi presses their foreheads together, a stifled cry leaving Jimin's lips, "Do you trust me?"

"Of course! I just—"

Jungkook intercepts, "It's hard for them, hyung. This is their pack. They have every right not to believe us." His eyes flicker between Jimin's and mine.

"I believe you," my voice blurts out, "I believe you guys. It's... It's just a lot to take in." They nod in agreement, letting the silence fill up the air.

Jungkook curiously glances at me, "Who was that..that wolf earlier?"

"Who?" My memory fails me.

His gaze drops to the floor, "The one...the one was mumbling gibberish about you and your blood."

The sight of the Minjae's dead corpse on the ground flashes before my eyes, his bleeding skull painting the ground so morbidly.

"I didn't mean to kill him." Jungkook is quick to interrupt the horrid images going through my mind, "I was slipping at that moment. I could only think about protecting you, our future Luna."

A relieved breath exhales through my nostrils, "Thank you," I place my hand on his arm, "You saved me. I was going to die. It was Minjae's life or mine."

Jimin snarls from beside me, "That bastard tried to kill you!?"

"He was not acting like himself—"

"I warned you about him, Taehyung! I should have ripped out his throat when I had the chance—"

"Jimin, listen to me for one goddamn second!" My veins burn, feeling my wolf course through my mind and soul. Jimin closes his mouth, staring with guilt, looking at me like some charitable case, "He was acting insane. Nothing he said made any sense. His wolf was speaking to me the entire time like he was possessed by some demon."

My hands begin to tremble from the memories, "He i-injected-d my blood into his veins. He did something to it! Mixed it with another wolf's blood or something absolutely crazy. He talked about salvation. As if my blood could heal anybody. As if!"

"Heal someone?" Yoongi furrows his eyebrows, sitting up straighter to hear my words.

"It's madness right?" My voice drops a level softer, the wetness returning to my tear ducts.

"Absolute madness..." 

AU Fact: The Blood Pack royals mainly consist of wolves related to the Alpha family, the Beta families, district and sector leaders, and other wealthy class wolves. 

What do you guys think about this cover? Better or worse than the current cover? I just wanted to try something new. 

Thank you for reading!