The Mercenary Queen Strikes Back (Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 33

75

65 vouchers

Chapter 33

Nova’s voice was cold and sharp, sending a chill through everyone’s spine.

It was as if she’d just announced she was going to assassinate a world leader–something so impossible that no one knew how to even react.

A low growl rolled out from the darkness.

The wolves on the opposite side bared their fangs, lips curling back as they watched the humans warily.

The pack, led by the alpha, bared their fangs, lips curled back to show razor–sharp teeth.

They held their ground, staring down Nova and the rest, but didn’t rush in just yet.

“You’re out of your damn mind,” Hannah shouted.

Hannah was the one who’d just called Nova crazy.

And she was also the one who said Nova’s life or death meant nothing to her.

Yet when danger struck, Hannah was the first to grab Nova’s arm and yank her back–faster than even Maxwell moved.

Just like that day in the school cafeteria when Logan and his gang came to pick a fight with Nova, Hannah had cursed the loudest but stepped up first.

Nova didn’t resist. She let Hannah pull her back behind her, only to hear her sister snap angrily, “Even Max wouldn’t say something that reckless. You think you’re stronger than him?

“I swear, you’re hopeless. Next time you want to get yourself killed, do it somewhere else. I’m pulling you back only because I don’t want Mom and Dad to have to see you die right in front of us and feel sad.”

The way Hannah said it, she made it clear she wasn’t protecting Nova out of her own will.

So sharp words would get under anyone’s skin.

However, Nova wasn’t.

Instead, a faint, amused smile tugged at her lips. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you’re kind of cute when you’re like this?”

Her tone was light, teasing–and she still hadn’t taken her eyes off the twenty wolves ahead of them.

Hannah gaped, “Are you seriously joking right now? You’re insane. Maybe you should let the wolves eat you.”

While they bickered, Maxwell stepped forward, placing himself squarely between his sisters and the wolves.

He locked eyes with the alpha.

1/5

14:00 Sat, Jun 6

Chapter 33

AC75

65 voucher

The difference between the siblings and the rest of the group was night and day.

The other students had already gone pale since the moment the wolves appeared.

A few of the girls who’d joined the team later were crying outright.

“Why are there wolves here?”

“Are they going to eat us? I want to go home–I’m scared.”

“They said this was a school survival trip. They promised there wouldn’t be any really dangerous creatures.”

“We don’t even have weapons. How are we supposed to fight them?”

The sound of their trembling voices filled the clearing.

Claire, who had been so sure earlier that there’d be no wild beasts–and had mocked Nova for bringing knives -now stood frozen, her face pale.

She looked like she’d been punched hard in the gut.

She’d laughed at Nova for bringing weapons, yet now those weapons were the only thing that could save them.

It was such a humiliation.

‘If only I’d packed some gear, too.’ Claire cursed herself, heart racing. ‘Wait a second–weapons?‘

She snapped her fingers as the idea suddenly hit her.

Then she shouted, “Nova. Hand over your knives. Give them to someone who actually knows how to use

them.”

She sneered, “Stop pretending you’re some kind of hero. Even with those knives, you don’t stand a chance against twenty wolves. Step aside before you get someone killed.”

Nova’s swift kill earlier had been impressive enough to stun everyone.

Aside from Hannah and Maxwell, only Claire and a couple of veteran martial arts club members figured they might barely be able to pull it off, if they were lucky.

Really, for Claire and the rest of them, it was pretty much hardwired into their brains that Nova had zero real ability.

So when Nova claimed she could handle more than twenty wolves, everyone just laughed it off and treated it like a total joke.

When Claire started riling everyone up, the scared girls immediately started shouting.

“Yeah. Hand over the knives.”

2/5

14:00 Sat, Jun 6

Chapter 33

75

55 vouchers.

“Give them to someone who can actually use them.”

“Nova, just stay out of the way.”

Hearing the same people who’d mocked her now demanding her weapons made Nova’s eyes go glacial.

Her cold, predatory gaze swept over Claire and the girls like a blade.

In that instant, they all remembered the scene from moments ago–the clean, brutal way she’d killed the wolf.

Nova’s strike had been precise. Ruthless. Deadly.

The memory made their throats tighten. They fell silent immediately.

The other students, including a few senior members of the Free Combat Club, Julian, Caleb, Laura, and Claire, still didn’t believe Nova could handle the situation.

But unlike Claire, none of them dared to demand she hand over her knives.

These two blades belonged to Nova. They had no right to claim them.

“I’ve already sent a distress signal to the school via the walkie–talkie,” Maxwell said, his voice steady. “Now, I need everyone to cooperate.

“Hannie and I will lead the front. Nova, Claire, Julian, Caleb, and Laura hold the middle line. The rest stay in the back and defend. We just need to buy time until backup arrives.”

Standing at the front of the group, Maxwell spoke up.

As the team leader, he was giving them the best possible plan.

With his and Hannah’s abilities, retreating alone would have been simple.

But taking everyone safely out was nearly impossible for both him and Hannah.

Even combined, the rest of the team couldn’t stand against twenty wolves.

Their only option was to delay the pack and wait for rescue.

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll hold my position to the death.”

Julian, Laura, and Caleb responded immediately. As members of the Free Combat Club, they had absolute trust in their leader, Maxwell.

The group quickly adjusted its formation.

The wolves seemed to sense the threat and hesitated for a moment.

3/5

14:00 Sat, Jun 6

Chapter 33

75

The wolves seemed to sense that the threat from the humans was fading, and without warning, they suddenly sprang into action.

With claws slashing and fangs gleaming, they lunged straight for Maxwell and Hannah at the front of the line.

The pack’s assault was unstoppable.

Over twenty wolves lunged forward, aiming to shred Maxwell and Hannah to pieces.

Their blood–red eyes reflected a hunger that had gone unquenched for far too long.

Even with the defensive formation, holding out against a starving wolf pack during the wait for backup meant that Maxwell and Hannah would lose blood, if not life, in the process.

Maxwell clenched his fists. At this point, they had no choice but to fight with everything they had.

And then, just a second before the wolves reached them, a cold, deadly female voice rang out. “I told you they’re my prey. I’ll take them down myself.”

All eyes froze.

Then came a voice–cold enough to chill the marrow, like the Reaper herself had arrived.

In the blink of an eye, all anyone could catch was a shadow streaking across their vision.

Two silver flashes glinted for a heartbeat.

Two flashes of silver followed the knives in Nova’s hands, one in each hand, flipped backward in perfect form.

She darted through the wolf pack, leaving a trail of blood in her wake.

When Maxwell, Hannah, Claire, Julian, Caleb, Laura, and everyone else finally snapped out of it, they saw a wolf pack of over twenty sprawled motionless, soaked in pools of blood.

And in the center of the carnage stood Nova, knives reversed in her hands, turning slowly with a faint red arc of murder in her eyes.

Blood, wolves, and the girl-

The pack that had seemed so ferocious just seconds before now lay dead and scattered across the ground.

Each neck bore a single, precise, fatal wound.

4/5