by Elin Peer
“Help! Someone help us!” Mila screamed when a large man picked her up and held a gun to her head.
“Quiet or I’ll shoot you,” he hissed.
I didn’t believe for one second anyone would shoot Mila. The thought was ridiculous, but seeing Mila being manhandled blinded me with fury. Throwing my elbow back in my attacker’s face, I got away from him and was able to attack the man holding Mila. All it did was knock his gun out of his hand and make him let go of her to turn his focus on me instead. He punched me in my face but the adrenaline in my system numbed my pain and I raised my hands to block his next punch.
“No, let me go…”
Mila’s screams made me look back to see her being dragged away by two other men in black. The distraction caused the man I was fighting to take advantage and plant his fist in my face again. This time, I went down and lay flat on the ground with my body not responding.
The man had a black mask covering his face with only holes for his eyes and he was twisting and turning to find something.
His gun. It was dark and I felt something under my hip that had to be the gun he was looking for.
“Come on,” one of the men holding Mila sneered to the man while she wriggled in his arms.
“Nooo.” Her screams were muffled because of his hand covering her mouth. It tore at my soul to see her in danger and I tried to force myself to get up, but my body was unresponsive, like the blow had numbed me somehow.
“Mila…” My voice was weak and my conversation with Mason and the guards came back to me. They had wanted to teach me to fight and I’d insisted I could deescalate a situation with my words. How naïve I’d been, but then a situation like this was unthinkable in the part of the world that I came from.
When a beast came out of the darkness and jumped one of the men dragging Mila, I wondered if I was hallucinating. The menacing growls from the monster mixed with the frightened screams from the man being mauled by the eerie thing. It had to be wishful thinking concocted by my injured brain, but then the monster barked and I realized it was Holger, Mila’s normally calm and loving Great Dane.
“Someone shoot the damn thing,” one of the men wearing black snarled while the man beneath the biggest dog I’d ever seen was kicking his feet and trying to protect his face from Holger’s relentless attacks. I closed my eyes when I saw Holger rip off a chunk of the man’s shoulder.
“I can’t find my gun.” Mila’s first attacker shouted and pointed to another man closest to Mila. “You shoot it.”
A shot was heard, but either he missed Holger, or the dog was too amped up to register it. Mila, however, spread her arms out and stepped between them.
Seeing Mila facing a man with a gun made everything inside me freeze up. No!
With panic spreading inside me, I managed to roll to my side and reach for the gun underneath me.
Another shot was fired but looking up Mila still stood with her arms spread out and Holger was going at the man with as much fury as before.
Taking two decisive steps forward, the man stretched out his arm and pressed his gun at Mila’s forehead. “Three, Two…”
Before he reached one, I fired the gun.
It all happened in slow motion. The way they all turned their eyes and looked to me in confusion. I was a peaceful Motlander and shouldn’t have been a danger to them, but there I was holding a gun.
Another soul-ripping scream came from Holger’s victim, and with resolute shine in his eyes, the man in front of Mila turned his head to her.
He was going to shoot her. I knew it in my heart and without hesitation, I fired my second shot. The bullet penetrated his chest. First his legs collapsed under him and then he fell on the grass with his eyes and mouth open.
I killed him!
With tunnel sight, I stared at the man on the grass feeling bile rise in my throat. I was a killer.
And then the owner of the gun came running with rage on his face. I had the gun in my hands, but I couldn’t shoot him. Adrenaline helped me get up on my knees, but before I could get up on my feet, he was on me, kicking me back down and twisting the gun from my hands.
“Nooo.” The last words I heard was Mila shouting my name. “Jonaaah…”
CHAPTER 30
Mayhem
Mila
All around me, men were shouting as soldiers came running from the house. It felt like Jonah and I had been under attack for an hour but really it couldn’t be more than a few minutes.
I ran toward Jonah who was on the ground with an attacker on top of him.
“Holger!” I screamed. “Help Jonah.”
My great Dane had viciously defended me and mauled another man and although I didn’t like it, I would do anything to save Jonah.
Holger’s bark was a warning to the man and when he looked up and saw the dog approaching, fear showed on his face. Holger was already huge but with his deep barking and the red foam around his mouth, colored from the blood of his last victim, he looked like a hound from hell. The man looked uncoordinated as he stumbled to his feet and ran for his life.
“Stop him.” I pointed after him and Holger took up the chase.
“Mila, are you all right?” Solo shouted to me.
“Yes,” I confirmed and kneeled down next to Jonah who was bleeding from his nose and ear.
Archer and Finn came jogging up and gesturing to Zasquash, Finn called out, “Will you see to him?” He pointed to the man on the ground who was still groaning in pain from Holger’s attack.
“Got it.” Being a special forces soldier, Zasquash was a trained paramedic.
Solo, Hunter, Marco, and Leo were mixed in with a group of soldiers who had quickly overpowered our attackers.
“Holger went after another one,” I told Archer and nodded in the direction he’d run.
We heard shots, and I winced.
“It sounds like Holger found him.” Archer’s face was serious as we all heard screaming. “I’ll find them.”
“Be careful, Holger might be confused and attack you too.”
“Are you kidding me, I’ve known him since he was a puppy.” Archer gave me a I’ve got this and jogged off.
“Is Jonah going to be all right?” I asked Finn who was searching for injuries.
“Hmmm.” Shaking Jonah’s shoulders, he spoke in a demanding tone. “Wake up Jonah.”
To my relief, Jonah stirred.
“Finn, I saw that man kick him hard.”
Slowly, Jonah opened his eyes and blinked as if it was hard for him to focus.
“How are you feeling champ?” Finn stared into his eyes. “Your pupils look dilated but it could just be the lack of light out here.”
“Mila…” Jonah’s hand lifted to touch me and then his eyes teared up. “He was going to shoot you. I had no choice.”
“I know.” Squeezing his hand, I hoped he could see that I didn’t blame him.
“Looks like you got knocked out, but you’re not in any critical condition. You’ve got a bloody nose and a ripped ear, but that’s it, although we should check for a concussion.”
Jonah’s hand went to his ear. “They tried to shoot me.”
“Hey.”
We all looked up to see Zasquash approach.
“Do you need help with the other guy,” Finn asked.
“Nah, not unless you can wake the dead. The dog finished him. Ripped out his throat.”
I paled. “Holger killed the man?”
“Yeah.” Zasquash looked around. “Where is he?”
“He’s chasing another one of the men.” I stood up and whistled for Holger to come back to me, hoping that no one else had been hurt.
“What about the other man?” Jonah asked and looked over to the man he’d shot.
Zasquash followed his gaze. “That one is dead too.” With a frown Zasquash squatted down in front of Jonah.
“What happened to you? You’re smeared in blood.”
Jonah looked down but Finn answered for him.
“Ou
r friend here proved that even a devout pacifist is able to kill under the right circumstances.”
“He was about to shoot Mila,” Jonah muttered.
Zasquash arched an eyebrow. “No need to get defensive. You did what any protector would do. Good for you.”
Hearing the large warrior praise Jonah for killing a man to protect me felt surreal. How had we gone from our wonderful wedding night to this nightmare. My brain was trying to process and replayed what had happened.
“Oh no, Loki,” I shrieked when I remembered how he’d been hurt.
“Mila stay here,” Jonah shouted but I was already running toward the bushes where Loki had fallen.
“For fuck sake, Solo, stop her.” Zasquash shouted behind me.
Solo was fast for his large size and stopped me with two hands to my shoulders. “Whoa, whoa, where do you think you’re going. We’re not done searching the area.”
“But Loki is hurt.” My voice broke.
“I’ll get him for you.” Solo walked me back to Jonah and the others before going after Loki.
A deep bark was heard in the distance and I knew it was Holger, so I whistled loud again.
My large protector came running out of the darkness and came straight to my side.
“Where’s Archer,” I asked him as if he could answer.
“Is Archer out there?” Zasquash asked with a frown. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me. He’s not a soldier.”
It hadn’t occurred to me that Archer wasn’t qualified to go after the attacker. He was one of the best fighters I’d ever seen.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, but Zasquash had already run off and was disappearing into the darkness of the park.
“I found Loki.” Solo was carrying my small dog in his arms.”
“Is he dead?” Reaching out my arms, I took him and tears welled up when I saw the life less body of my fierce little friend. “They shot Loki.”
“Let me see him.” Finn let his hands run over the little dog. “No, he’s still alive. I’m no vet, but I can remove the bullet if you want me to.”
“Pleaaase.” My voice was brittle from tears.
“Give him to me.”
Handing Loki over to Finn as if he was a small fragile newborn, I kissed his head and whispered, “I love you so much Loki. Don’t you die on me.”
Only Jonah and I were left and he stood up from the ground and opened his arms to me.
“Come here.”
As soon as he opened his arms to me, I buried my head against his shoulder and cried.
“Is she okay?” Solo was walking past us with one of our attackers.
I gave a little nod and watched, as the soldiers rounded up a total of eleven men and sat them down in a group.
A moment later Holger, began to growl when Archer and Zasquash came out of the darkness with a man stumbling on his feet between them.
“Holger, stay here!” I commanded when he moved forward toward them. To my relief he listened.
I stood in Jonah’s arms for what felt like ten minutes while the soldiers roamed the park and shed their light into every bush.
“Area secured,” Solo finally declared and a minute later Khan and Magni came out with my golden retriever, Happy, sprinting toward me.
“Oh, I’m so glad to see that you’re okay.” I bent down and hugged the dog.
Marco and Archer came over and stood next to us. “We better leave the rest to the professionals.” Archer was referring to Zasquash, Leo, and Solo who were all police and military.
Petting Happy on his head, Marco informed us. “This guy was scratching the patio doors and barking to get our attention. We were playing cards in the ballroom when we heard noise outside.”
Happy began cleaning up Holger, by licking his friend’s mouth that still had red foam around it.
“You two did good,” I praised my dogs and decided that I’d double their treats from now on.
“Who are those men?” Jonah asked
With the man Holger had tracked down there were now twelve of them. Sitting on the ground, most of them looked down and avoided the hard stares from the armed soldiers who surrounded them. Only a few were brave enough to face Khan and Magni.
“That one to the right with the mask pulled up to his hairline is Jurgen Lopez. He’s one of the candidates for the presidency.”
Jonah’s brow creased. “But why would he attack us like that?”
Archer shrugged, “My guess is that the plan was to kill Khan and Magni and claim leadership of the Northlands before the election. Jurgen isn’t exactly leading in any of the polls.”
“Not the best night to pick for it,” I said as I watched some of the largest and fiercest men of the North stare down at the captured men. “They must have known that our wedding party would involve a lot of strong warriors. Who would want to mess with all of you guys?”
Marco shrugged. “Maybe they were waiting for us to leave and hoping that Khan and Magni would be dead drunk from the party. Sorry for asking, but what were you two doing out here anyway?”
“We were taking the dogs out.”
Marco gave me a confused look. “A bit late for a stroll.”
“We figured that by taking the dogs out they would let us sleep a little longer tomorrow,” I explained.
Archer crossed his arms but kept looking to the attackers. “Maybe it was a good thing. We found explosives in one of the bushes. You two might have saved us all.”
In front of us, Khan was confronting our attackers, but after a while, Magni came over to check up on me. He kissed the top of my head.
“I’m so sorry this happened, sweetie. I guarantee that these fuckers will pay for what they did.”
“Jonah shot one of the men to protect Mila.” Archer sounded proud when he spoke, but I could tell his words made Jonah's head sink.
My dad’s eyes went from Archer to Jonah, as if to ask for him to confirm.
“The man had a gun to my head. Jonah saved me.”
My dad stood for a moment, and then he walked closer to Jonah. “Come with me.”
They only took a few steps away and I could still hear my dad’s words when he spoke.
“Thank you, Jonah. You did the right thing.”
“I killed a man.”
“Yes, but you did it with a pure heart to protect the innocent. I can see that you’re blaming yourself, don’t.”
Jonah was quiet.
“Look at me, Jonah.” My dad waited for him to look up. “That man came to kill us. He made his choice and he paid the price for it. You did nothing wrong.”
“But there’s never an excuse for killing.”
“Bullshit!”
I felt the intensity in my chest from my dad’s words. “I’m proud of you for protecting my daughter and I won’t allow you to sink down in a hole of self-blame.”
Jonah dried a tear away and my dad placed his right hand around Jonah’s nape. “It’s okay to feel bad about it for a while, but then you need to let it go. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Jonah looked down again.
“Good. Now say after me, I did the right thing.”
Jonah’s eyes shone with tears when he spoke. “I did the right thing.”
“One more time.”
“I did the right thing.”
With a satisfied grunt, Magni released his grip on Jonah and walked off to join Khan again.
“Come on.” I reached out my hand to Jonah. “Let’s get the dogs inside and check up on Loki.”
We walked in silence, keeping our distance from the frightened men sitting on the ground.
“My parents kept saying this could happen. That’s why they had my siblings stay in the Motherlands with Athena and Finn.”
“I know.”
“It’s ironic that the same day my siblings return home, an attack happens.”
Jonah sighed and rubbed his face. “I’m still in shock, but everyone is safe now. That’s all that matters.”
“Not Loki.
” My eyes teared up again. “He might die.”
“Milove.” Looking lost for words, Jonah pulled me in for a tight hug.
I could have stayed in the comfort of his arms forever, but with a steadying breath I pulled back. “Will you go with me to find Finn and Loki?”
“Of course, you don’t even have to ask. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“Yes, you proved that,” I whispered and felt Holger push at my hip. “And so did you.” I scratched him behind his ear before looking back up at Jonah. “Thank you!”
CHAPTER 31
Tournament
Jonah
I’m married to Mila.
The thought kept popping up at the weirdest times and each time it released a warm tingling in my body.
With Mila, time flew by so fast that it felt like my life was on fast forward. After the attack it was like we had been given a second chance at life and we couldn’t waste a second. In the week between our wedding and the tournament, we had found quiet corners at the Manor that were perfect for quickies, and most nights we talked until she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. Sometimes, I would watch her sleep while trying to wrap my head around how much I loved her and how lucky I was that she loved me back.
Mean-spirited tongues whispered that the attack on our wedding night had been staged by Khan to gain sympathy. Pearl assured me that it was nonsense and I believed her.
From the interrogations of the attackers the incident was categorized as an impulsive act concocted out of envy and a deep lust for power.
Magni called the attackers stupid amateurs for thinking they could overrun him and Khan with only a dozen men. He also took time for some long walks with me and probed about how I felt about the killing.
I had always been the one trying to make him reflect on things, so it was an interesting change between us. When Solo and Zasquash came to talk about their experience with killing, it felt like an intervention but I didn’t stop them because I knew Magni had sent them and that they were trying to help. Besides, with the scars on their souls, I figured that they needed to talk about it as much as I did.
