Chapter 581

Finn let out a strangled sound of agony, collapsing to the floor, clutching his crotch. The dagger slipped from his hand as he writhed in pain.
Zara didn’t waste time and bolted for the door. But just as she pulled on the handle, a whistling sound ripped through the air and before she could react, a searing pain exploded in her back.
She screamed in pain, her body slamming against the door. The silver-laced dagger protruded from her back and a wave of burning agony coursed through her veins.
That little bastard.
Behind her, Finn staggered to his feet, his lips twisted with satisfaction.
“You’re getting old, Luna Zara. You should’ve run faster,” He taunted her.
With her lips pressed together in grim determination, Zara reached behind her, and grabbed the dagger’s hilt.
“Ahh—!” she groaned, her teeth gritted as she yanked the blade free from her back.
Hot pain seared through her body, and her vision became double but she forced herself to stay upright. Blood stained the spot, some trailing down her back.
Zara turned to face Finn with defiance. She bent her legs, squared her shoulders and grabbed the dagger firmly this time. She might not have her wolf, but she still had her will, and that was enough.
Finn saw her fighting pose and threw his head back with a mocking laugh.
“I don’t beat women,” he sneered, “but for you, Luna Zara, I’ll gladly make an exception.”
Zara didn’t flinch.
“Come then,” she hissed, her voice like steel. “Let this old woman teach insolent pups like you a lesson.”
Finn’s lips curled into a dark smile. “We’d see.”
And with that, Finn charged at her with all the rage of a bull, intending to barrel her straight into the wall.
Zara twisted at the last second, dodging him. Thanks to that, his shoulder slammed into the empty space where she’d been, and he stumbled forward with a snarl.
Finn turned, his eyes blazing with anger.
Again, he lunged at her, but like before, she slipped past him, barely evading his grasp.
If she could keep dodging him long enough, Finn would tire himself out. Wolves always underestimated patience and strategy.
Finn lunged for the third time, missing her by just a hair’s breadth. Zara danced backward, her chest heaving, a plan forming in her head. If she could bait him into overexerting himself, he’d make a mistake.
But Finn wasn’t a fool.
A sinister smile spread across his face as he suddenly halted mid-charge, reading her like an open book. “Ah, I see what you’re doing. You certainly didn’t think I’m your son’s beta for nothing.”
Before Zara could react, Finn lunged again, but this time, he feinted left, then suddenly cut right. As expected, Zara miscalculated and Finn tackled her full force to the ground, the air knocked from her lungs.
“No!” she snarled, stabbing upward with the dagger.
Finn’s reflexes were faster, and he knocked the blade clean from her grasp. The weapon fell far from her reach, at the same time, Finn’s fist connected with her face.
Pain exploded through Zara’s skull, and she swore she heard a splitting sound in her ear as her world tilted violently. Stars burst behind her eyelids, while the room spun, and blurred. For one horrifying moment, Zara thought she might pass out.
Before she knew it, Finn’s hand closed around her throat. Zara’s eyes bulged as he began to choke her, his full wolf strength pressing down on her neck mercilessly.
She clawed at his wrist, her legs kicking uselessly, wanting air. But without her wolf, she was nearly human and defenseless against him.
Finn’s face twisted into a mask of pure cruelty as he leaned down, his breath hot against her face. “I wonder what Alaric will think when you wind up dead,” he taunted her.
Zara thrashed harder, her vision starting to blur at the edges.
“I mean, you did try to erase his memory,” Finn continued, relishing every word. “Would he even care for the mother who tried to rip him away from his mate? Or would he simply let you rot in the ground?”
He laughed, “Would anybody even miss you?”
Then Finn plunged his claw deep into Zara’s side, tearing her flesh open.
“Aaahhh!” Zara screamed as white-hot ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ͟.net
pain rippled through her. She could feel the warm gush of blood spilling from the wound, pooling beneath her body.
Finn grinned darkly, savoring her suffering. “All you’ve ever caused everyone is pain. Your sons, your husband, your pack, you’ve destroyed them all. Now you get to feel the same.”
He twisted his claws deeper and Zara’s cry turned into a broken sob.
She was going to die. And worst of all, Finn was right. Who would miss her? Caspian? No. Alaric? He despised her. Even Ace, her youngest, had grown to resent her.
Would anyone even shed a tear when she was gone?
“No Zara gasped, desperation flooding her. She didn’t want to die like this. Especially, not at his hands.
With a scream, she summoned the last of her strength and drove her fingers straight into Finn’s eyes.
“Arrghhh!” Finn howled, his grip loosening.
But that slip was all Zara needed.
Gritting her teeth against the blinding pain, Zara rolled to the side and lunged for the fallen dagger. Finn, half-blind but fueled by rage, reached for it at the same time.
But Zara was faster, and with a ragged scream, drove the blade into his throat.
Finn froze.
His eyes widened in shock, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Blood bubbled up past his lips, and for one fleeting moment, disbelief flickered in his gaze.
“Shit he croaked.
But Zara wasn’t done.
She yanked the dagger free and with all the pain, fear, and fury inside her, stabbed him again. And again. And again.
Zara kept stabbing Finn long past the point of death, such that not even a miracle could bring him back.
By the time her rage finally ebbed, she was drenched in blood, and the dagger fell from her hand.
Zara stared blankly at the lifeless body beneath her, and broke into tears.
Dear lord. She was a horrible person.
She didn’t want to lose her family, or her pack.
Staggering to her feet, Zara pressed a blood-soaked hand to her wound and stumbled toward the door.
She would not die here. Not today.