Mute

Chapter 40

Aria’s POV.

As I bolted for the door, something hard slammed into the back of my head. Pain shot through me, and I crumpled to the floor, my vision blurring. One of Ethan’s sisters had struck me with a heavy candlestick.

Before I could gather myself, the other sister kicked me in the ribs, sending waves of agony through my body. I gasped silently, trying to crawl away, but their relentless assault continued.

Ethan stood back, arms crossed, a satisfied smirk on his face. “I never wanted to kill you off so quickly, Aria,” he said, his voice cold and calculating. “You were my favorite. So young, innocent, and beautiful. I wanted to have first.”

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I writhed in their grip, but his sister held me firm. Ethan crouched down to my level, his eyes gleaming with a twisted kind of pleasure. “It was no coincidence that I met you outside the party that night,” he said. “You were my next target. And when I came to visit you at the resort, gifted you those things, it was all part of the plan. To make you like me, to think I had genuine interest in you.”

My heart pounded in my chest as his words sank in. Every gesture, every smile, had been a calculated move to deceive me. Fury and desperation surged through me. I struggled against the sister’s hold, my eyes darting around for anything I could use as a

weapon.

With a burst of strength, I wrenched freg and grabbed a heavy bookend from a nearby shelf. I swung it at the sister’s head, and she staggered back with a cry of pain. But before I could make a run for it, Ethan lunged at me, his fist connecting with my face. The blow sent me falling, and I crashed to the floor, tasting blood.

“You think you can escape?” Ethan snarled, standing over me. “You’re not going anywhere.”

I fought with everything I had, clawing and kicking, trying to fend off the relentless assault. The second sister grabbed my arm, but I twisted free and lunged for a nearby table. My fingers closed around the handle of an axe.

Ethan’s eyes widened in surprise and rage as hurled the axe at him with all my strength. It struck him in the shoulder, and he roared in pain, staggering back. “You b**h!” he cursed. “I’ll kill you horribly for this!”

The sisters rushed at me, but in their haste, they collided with each oth. brief wind

of escape. I bolted for the door, my heart

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Chapter 40

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muscle screamed in agony, but I pushed through, fueled by the need to survive.

The night air was cold against my battered skin as I burst out of the house, running blindly into the darkness. The realization hit me like a slap: I had thought I would be safe and at peace there, but I had been lured into the enemy’s web. The betrayal stung almost as much as the physical pain, but I couldn’t stop. I had to get away, had to warn the pack.

The cold night air whipped against my face as I sprinted through the forest, my heart pounding in my chest. The howls behind me were getting closer. I glanced over my shoulder to see Ethan and his sisters, now in their wolf forms, barreling through the

trees. Their eyes gleamed with murderous intent their powerful bodies moved

with lethal grace.

Panic surged through me as I shifted into my wolf form, my legs pushing me faster and faster. This was the nightmare I had just escaped from in my sleep, now playing out in horrifying reality. Every muscle in my body screamed with effort, but I couldn’t afford to slow down. Ethan had fooled me completely, and now his true nature was revealed- a rogue, a murderer, who had infiltrated the Lightshadow pack to kill its members.

I weaved through the dense underbrush, leaping over fallen logs and ducking under low-hanging branches. Despite their larger size, I was faster, but they were gaining. I would not be their next victim. I would not let them win.

The forest was a blur around me as I pushed my body to its limits. But just as I felt I was losing them, Ethan’s sister, the larger one, lunged at me from the side. I barely dodged her, skidding on loose dirt, but the close call sent a jolt of terror through me. I had to find a way to escape.

Desperation

fueled my movements as I spotted a dense thicket ahead. I dove into it, my wolf form small enough to squeeze through the tight branches. I emerged on the other side and quickly shifted back into my human form, pressing myself into the mud under a large, fallen tree. The cold, wet earth clung to my skin, and I smeared it over my body, hoping it would mask my scent.

I held my breath as Ethan and his sisters, still in their wolf forms, skidded to a halt near my hiding place. Their noses twitched as they sniffed the air, growling lowly. They shifted back into their human forms, their faces twisted with anger and frustration. Ethan’s shoulder bled heavily from where I had struck him with the axe, his eyes burning with fury.

“Where is she?” Ethan growled, his voice rough with pain. “She can’t have gone far.

“We wouldn’t be in this mess if you had kept a better cye on her,” one of his sisters snapped, her eyes darting around nervously.

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Chapter 401

“Shut up!” Ethan barked. “We need to find her and kill her quickly. If she escapes, she’ expose us to the pack.”

“We can’t let her slip through our fingers,” the other sister agreed, her voice trembling with urgency. “She’s seen too much.”

I watched them argue, my body trembling with fear and cold. They were right above me, so close I could hear their breathing. My heart pounded so loudly in my chest, I was sure they would hear it.

Ethan’s face twisted into a snarl. “Spread out and keep looking. She can’t have gotten

far

They shifted back into their wolf forms and began sniffing around, moving further away from my hiding place. I waited until their footsteps grew faint, then carefully crawled out from under the tree. Every muscle in my body was tense, ready to spring

back into action.

Taking a deep breath, I chose another route, avoiding the path they had taken. I ran, my human legs carrying me as fast as they could. The night was my only cover, and the thick canopy of the forest shielded me from the moonlight. I would not let them catch me. I would not be their prey.

As I ran, the reality of my situation sank deeper. I had been lured into the enemy’s web, but I had also escaped their clutches. For now, My heart hammered with determination to survive. I had to warn the pack, had to make sure Ethan and his sisters were exposed for what they truly were.

My breath came in ragged gasps as I pushed on, each step taking me further from the nightmare and closer to safety. I wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t. Not until I was

far away from the rogues who had nearly ended my life.

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