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Chapter
Ronan
I saw Allen fall.
It was in that moment I realized we had been betrayed by our allies. This wasn’t a border dispute. It was an ambush.
And I was the target. My men would pay the price.
It infuriated me, and my wolf attacked with renewed vigor as I fought through the dozens of wolves slinking into view, descending down the hill to attack the half dozen of us who had come to the aid of Ferrick, our neighboring ally.
I suddenly realized he was nowhere to be found. He and his men had pulled back. They’d left us exposed from every angle.
It’s a trap. All of you pull back NOW,” I demanded through the mind-link.
They hesitated. They were too fucking loyal. But they were also obedient. They finally began to pull back, heading up the hill behind us just as the wolves began to close the circle around us, escaping as I slaughtered anything within reach. The ground was soaked with blood, their blood and mine a miscible, growing pool across the forest floor.
My men were through, breaching the narrow gap in our flank that hadn’t been completely closed off, pulling back across what we thought had been allied territory.
Return to the pack. Tell Kyle to defend the pack house. Ferrick betrayed us.
I could hear howls fading which meant they were on the move. When I was certain that they were safe, I threw myself into the fray, piling up bodies in the small valley. And then I saw the alpha crest the ridge line.
Gaius.
I knew his wolf from fighting with Ferrick before. I kept eyes on him as he approached, even as a half dozen wolves attempted to take me down on their own. He circled and darted in. I wasn’t going to win this battle, not dozens against one, plus an alpha, as shitty of an excuse as he was of one. The numbers weren’t on my side. We’d prepared for a small skirmish, not an all out pack war.
Gaius snarled and went low. My wolf hit his head on, attacking, biting, clawing. My wolf got him across the face, tearing flesh, but there were three more pack wolves on my back and another sinking teeth into a back leg.
At least my men were safe- for now. My beta Kyle would be able to defend the pack, until he could reach out to our other allies. I had contingencies in place, if anything ever happened to me. He would know how to follow them.
Gaius attacked again and we stumbled as we took the hit.
My biggest regret was that I had never met my fated mate. I didn’t have an heir. I knew the pack could find its way, even now with an untrustworthy pack along our borders. Ferrick had made a huge mistake. He would pay for his betrayal.
My wolf rolled across the ground with Gaius.
I was determined to fight until the very end, and take out as many of the wolves as I could in order to protect my pack on the other side of Ferrick’s lands.
But I was losing too much blood now and my body was becoming less responsive, more sluggish. My limbs felt heavy. I collapsed under the pile of wolves.
He assumed his victory too early, snarling with glee over my body. And in that moment, my wolf made its final move, imbued with all of our remaining strength.
My teeth latched on to his neck.
I clamped down, jaw locked, squeezing, even as my own vision began to fade. I would take this beast to hell with me as a final act of defiance. I sank my teeth deeper, then heard a quick yelp.
Then everything faded into darkness.
Lilka
Most of our warriors had been called to battle. A few mothers stayed behind with the children, as well as the wolf-less. The weaker Omegas had also stayed behind to prepare for the return of the warriors.
And then there was me. I was in a category of my own.
The despised.
It would have been better if I was a rogue. I could have gone freely out to find a new pack. But instead, I was ostracized. The pack had been commanded not to speak to me. I was given tasks to do each day, and expected to accomplish them. If I didn’t, there were consequences, dolled out by our alpha, my father, Gaius. He was hard on me, violent towards me, because I knew his secret.
He was an evil man.
The pack might see him as strong and ruthless. I knew him as a liar, a cheat, a murderer, and an abusive father. He had lied his way into power, and now he held it by killing dissidents. But he wouldn’t kill me. He used torture instead, breaking bones, leaving marks and bruises as reminders that I was supposed to fall into line.
He’d effectively silenced me, after I spoke out about him too many times, wether to implore his beta to keep him in check, or speaking in a more casual context to a friend about my concerns.
He had ears everywhere. He’d created a pack that thrived on snitching. No one could be trusted. No one felt safe. And the more divided our pack became, the more my father’s hubris grew. He thrived on the discord of his own people.
It meant his power would never be challenged.
It was why I stared out to our western border where our warriors had gone, hoping that our enemies would rise up and kill him.
We were a strong pack, physically. And my father was a powerful alpha. I knew he was unlikely to fall in battle. But every day I pleaded to the Moon Goddess to strike him down.
Until I was strong enough to do it myself.
I spent hours every night, training, after everyone else was sleeping, training in the dark gym without lights that would have given me away. Ignoring the pain of whatever bruises had been dolled out that day.
I was nineteen. I had my wolf. I was of alpha blood. It was only a matter of time before I would stand up against him for our people and bring unity and peace back to our pack.
My father knew it too. It’s why he tried to keep me weak and small. But eventually, I knew he would try to kill me. I let him think I was weaker than I was. I didn’t fight back. I took every blow. For now.
I stood in the field, my eyes scrutinizing the horizon when I finally saw movement. The pack began to approach, a mix of wolves and shifted human forms.
They were carrying someone.
My heart froze in anticipation as they drew closer. When I couldn’t wait any longer, I ran to meet them, my bare feet crushing the warm grass that had been basking in the sun all day.
Four large warriors were carrying a large figure, a wolf. He’d been too hurt to shift back.
My face fell when I saw the coloring was all wrong. It wasn’t my father’s brown and grey wolf, but a large midnight colored beast. He was an alpha by his size.
Gaius stepped into view, limping, flesh torn around his eye with three long gashes across his face. There was blood all around his neck, and it was still oozing down his chest.
Fuck. It looked like it had been so close. Like a moment more would have finished him off.
Gaius caught my eye and crossed the field towards me as the others passed by, heading towards the pack houses.
“Have you come to give me a heroes’ welcome?” His sinister voice slid over me like mud oozing over a helpless warrior trapped in a bog. I met his question with silence.
“Sorry to disappoint you, bitch. You’ll have to hold back your celebration for another day.” He stepped passed me, a sneer on his lips.
He turned back again.
“Tend to our prisoner. Keep him alive. He’s my insurance policy with Ferrick. If he dies, so do you.”
