Part 8 NOOOOOOO! …

Playlist

Levanter (English version) → Stray Kids

In the end → Lincoln Park

The Unforgiven 2 → Metallica

Minho

The Doctor told me that Hanul should be awake within the next hour or so. I returned to his room looking through the small window in the door. There was still no movement within, I blocked out all the noise around me and listened to Hanul's breathing only to find an eerie silence.

"Doctor! He's not breathing. Help!!!" in my panic I rushed to the door trying to get to Hanul, only to find a pillow-stuffed bed. I almost collapsed from relief.

Reality hit me like a hammer on the head. He is gone.

"5 give me the communicator quickly." The mercenary ran into the room handing over the earpiece.

"All units be advised asset A is not contained, unsure of current mental and physical condition. Nightshade 1 please activate the location device on asset A's mobile phone." I returned the earpiece to 5 and held out my hand for the mobile tracking monitor.

A small blinking light appeared on the monitor, I zoomed in on the map, he was still in the building. I looked up at 5.

"He is still in the building, looks like the entrance. Approach with caution! Do not frighten him, we don't know what he might do"

5 rushed to the door. Before he could leave Minho stopped him handing over the monitor.

"Sedate him if you must, we can't afford any mistakes, I can feel my father breathing in my neck. We all know that he will give a 'kill on sight' order if he knows Hanul is still alive."

5 gave me a nod "understood Sir" he relayed the orders to the rest of the team.

I looked through the window noting that the sun has set, and darkness is descending. Ten minutes later Nightshade 1 rushed into the room holding Hanul's phone in his hand. "Sir we have a problem, it seems that the asset became aware of the tracking device in his phone, he gave the phone to a young teenage boy as a false trail."

I took the phone from Nr 1 wondering if Hanul was safe and if someone is helping him. "Nr 1 give me a com device, I need to speak with dispatch."

Nr 1 handed me a small earpiece, I tapped on it twice.

"Nightingale 2, responding," a young female voice said.

I quickly walked to a more private spot in the room so as not to be overheard by the nonteam members.

"Nightingale please activate the secondary tracking device on asset A"

"Secondary device activated" the young girl answered. "Sending location to handheld devices now!"

"Copy Nightingale." I tapped the earpiece once to sever the connection with dispatch but not the team.

"Asset A found, looks like he just entered Dragon's edge national park, all members please approach with stealth and wait for further instructions" with this said I ran to the van in the basement parking area with Nr 1 on my heals.

Hanul please be safe.

The nightshade team was waiting for us at the entrance to the park.

"I will speak to him first to see if he will come with us willingly. The tranquilizer is an absolute last resort, do you understand"

"Sir!" the team responded as one.

"Fall in" with that we ran towards the open area moving very quickly and quietly.

Halfway, I picked up Hanul's scent and moving to follow it I also heard the sounds of a waterfall. Reaching the edge of the clearing I indicated to the team to stay well hidden in the darkness, if Hanul's first shift is eminent all his senses will be enhanced, and he would see and hear the team.

Stepping into the clearing I saw Hanul standing on a flat rock near the edge of the waterfall looking down, my heart completely stopped.

"Hanul, please don't," I utter these words softly so as not to startle him.

Hanul spun around, fear all over his face.

"How did you find me? I got rid of the phone with the tracking device. The inhibitor should have masked my scent as well and it is dark" he said touching his right earlobe.

It was a full moon; with my enhanced dragon sight, it looked like daylight out.

I lifted my right hand indicating where the wedding band he gave me now rest. "I had tracking devices embedded in our wedding rings before we got married. I saw you still wore yours although not on the hand that I put it on."

Hanul looked at the ring, with so much hate on his face, he took it off his finger and threw it at me. I didn't expect the strength behind the motion and the ring cut my left cheek leaving a thin line of fresh blood.

I took a step towards Hanul, and he took a step back, I stopped my forward motion out held out my hand to him.

"Hanul, please come with me, you are not safe here. I will...." Before I could say another word Hanul started laughing diabolically.

"Please don't give me the line about how only you can keep me safe Minho. Who the hell do you think we've been running from; did you really think I didn't know about the kill order out on me?" He tilted his head slightly to the right as if he was talking to a child. "I'm not that naïve 22-year-old you left in the rain that night you walked out of my life. Keep me safe? Don't make me laugh" throwing his head back giving that skin-crawling laugh again. He suddenly stopped mid-laugh and pinned me down with a cold stare.

I saw his eyes change from light blue to Emerald green, his fingernails elongating into talons.

"You took EVERYTHING from me, my heart, my soul and now you took my reason to live! Give me one good reason why I should go with you, why I should trust you?" Hanul had unconsciously moved into an attack stance.

A sudden flash from a high-power sniper rifle caught the corner of my eye, before the sickening sound of a bullet hitting flesh could be heard.

The world stopped moving at normal speed, as I saw the bullet piercing Hanul's chest right where his heart was. Blood spread on his shirt like a blooming flower. The impact of the bullet threw him backward, his eyes found mine, and the right corner of his lips pulled up in a smirk. The look on his face screamed "told you so", before falling over the edge into the rushing water below.

Linex roared in my head, whipping around to see who fired the shot. The glint of a brass casing being picked up in the distance caught my eye. The sniper looked at me and gave me a cheeky grin and a two-finger salute before disappearing.

I knew it would be useless to try and find him, that was my father's best assassin JJ. It felt like a lifetime has passed before the world returned to normal speed, but everything happened in less than 15 seconds.

Linex pulled me towards the edge, shifting to my dragon form. "NOOOOO! ….. Hanul, I can't lose you" I roared at the same time as Linex shouted for his mate. We flew over the edge to reach Hanul. This waterfall is over 900m high. It fell into a pool at the bottom, the mist from the water made it impossible to see the pool.

Reaching the pool Linex and I scanned the area around the pool to see if Hanul's body washed up ashore. We did not find a body or any indication that someone left the pool. Diving into the water we almost got swept up by the strong undercurrent that fed an underground river. There was no way Hanul would be able to break free from that, even if he was not shot through the heart, not in his human form.

We flew back to the cliff, our hearts shattering with every beat of our wings going upwards. Landing in the open area I shifted back to my human form. Still, in a crouching position, the last piece of our shattered hearts turned to stone; this is not only for self-perseverance but also for revenge. My father would pay with his life.

It is true that a mated dragon can die from a broken heart if they lose their mates. Even though Hanul and I were fated mates we were not yet mated, I never marked him.

Number 1 handed me a set of clothing and my spare boots. I shook my head at the unasked question. They all saw Hanul being shot through his heart and knew that a dragon that has never shifted before will not be able to heal from a kill shot.

I looked at my team after I got dressed. "Back to the compound, operation Armageddon is now a go!" Walking back to the vans I saw the ring Hanul threw at me. Picking it up I knew that our daughter would like to have it.

Clutching the ring tightly in my hand I didn't allow myself to break down. It only strengthened my resolve to end my father's reign of tyranny.