Byron:

Ron and I lunged toward the direction the voices were coming from.

The screaming kept getting louder.

I recognized Madeline’s scream.

She sounded angry from the way she was yelling and screaming.

There were other people around her, but their screams sounded more fearful, like they were planning an attack.

At least, that was the only thing I could think of.

When we finally reached the area, I was stunned by the horrific sight before me.

People had gathered around with what looked like pitchforks and torches.

Some of them carried large knives.

And then there was Madeline.

She was tied to a tree, covered in blood, almost completely drained of it.

I had warned her this would happen, but sometimes Madeline got herself into

trouble by being too nice to everyone.

Kindness did not always go a long way.

People took advantage of kind people, and I guessed she had finally realized it.

“Step away from her!” I screamed at the people, whose attention now turned toward

us.

They looked at Ron and me as if we had no business being here, like they were supposed to torture Madeline.

Madeline’s eyes shifted toward me, and then I watched them begin to close, almost like she was finally ready to rest.

But the people surrounding her were so intimidating that she could not even close her eyes in peace.

“Put that stuff down,” Ron hissed at them.

I noticed that many of these people were not from one pack alone.

They were from all around the world, almost like the entire woods were filled with them.

And then there were children.

Some of them were still coughing blood from whatever had happened, while others were crying.

Their parents had strange bite marks on them. None of it was making sense. “No, she’s not gonna help us anymore,” a woman said, pointing at Madeline.

I noticed she was holding a bottle full of blood.

They had fucking drained her, and yet she still had the nerve to act entitled.

“And you think killing her will help your children?” Ron hissed at them while my fists clenched.

Those people looked offended by Ron’s words, as if they were the only victims here.

“Well, it is like we are stuck in a loop now, a loop we cannot survive,” a woman stepped forward, and I frowned at her.

I noticed Madeline clenching her jaw as if she knew her.

“Step away from her,” Ron warned, pointing at the woman holding a silver dagger.

The others had also pulled out their silver weapons.

It was completely unhinged.

Just because they thought Madeline was not helping them, they wanted her dead.

“No, she is the reason our children

are biting us now. Her toxic blood did this to us,” the woman screamed and raised her dagger to attack Madeline.

Well, I was not going to let that happen, even if I had to die for it.

So I bolted forward, stepping between the woman and Madeline.

I only had a split second to shove the woman’s hand away, but by then, she had

already slashed the dagger across my stomach.

“Ah!” I screamed as the silver cut into my stomach and split my skin open just enough for blood to gush out.

“Enough!” Ron screamed.

I guess he was struggling to accept that people could be this insane, even parents of these little children.

So many of them still could not understand something so simple. This kind of chaos would never guarantee their survival.

Ron stepped forward and pointed at the crowd, signaling everyone to stop.

“Do

huh?”

you think this will save you, shouted. “After this, theree no place left for you to turn

will be

to Don’t you understand that

If anyone there had a sane mind left, they would have listened to him and realized

the danger they would bring upon themselves by hurting Madeline.

However, these people were far beyond redemption.

en

“How can you still threaten us over her?” the woman screamed, pointing at herself. “Dran’t she fail to save your mate too? Isn’t your mate dead because of her?”

The woman was truly unbelievable, accusing Madeline of something that was clearly not her fault.

My eyes stayed on Ron.

I did not want him to be manipulated by their words.

Lately, everything had become so negative that I had started expecting people to

turn against us.

However, Ron aggressively shook his head.

“No, it was all of you. You stopped her from finding a cure for my wife. How can you

still not see where you went wrong?” he roared.

Everyone glanced at one another before shaking their heads.

“Screw you. We don’t fucking care. It’s not like we haven’t already committed

enough crimes. We might as well finish it properly.”

As the woman said those words, I shook my head in disappointment. These people

were truly unhinged.