Chapter 126
Chloe's POV
Tyler's command hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest.
"Take Chloe back to the pack house for reflection!"
His voice held not a trace of hesitation. Before I could react, the honor guards had already surrounded me from all sides, their wolf eyes glinting with cold light in the moonlight.
Flashwing roared within me, her earth-shaking cry making the very air tremble.
She wanted to burst out, to tear apart these fools who dared harm our mate, but I held her back with all my strength.
The beast tamers wouldn't give us any breathing room.
The magic circle's glow suddenly became blinding, countless runes spinning wildly across the ground, those chains tightening like living things, digging mercilessly into Flashwing's body.
The elemental spirit let out a pained shriek.
"No—" I growled, rushing toward the edge of the formation, trying to find a way to destroy it.
I pressed my hands against the circle's light barrier, attempting to use Flashwing's power to forcibly tear open a gap, but the damned magical shield wouldn't budge.
The sensation from deep within the bond made my entire body run cold.
Ivan's trial had reached its most critical moment. I could feel his consciousness struggling in the void, the lightning element merging with Zeus.
If this process was interrupted, not only would all his efforts be wasted, it could cost him his life.
And the beast tamers were frantically tightening the formation, trying to completely seal Flashwing before the fusion was complete.
I had to stop them.
No matter the cost.
"Chloe, stand back!" Tyler's voice came from behind me, carrying naked threat. "This isn't your business to interfere with."
I turned to look at him, this father I had once revered, his eyes now filled only with greed for power.
"You don't deserve to be Alpha," I said, word by word.
Tyler's face turned iron-blue, but he said nothing more, merely raising his hand in a gesture.
The honor guards immediately pounced.
Before I could think, Flashwing had already taken over my body. Her speed was astonishing, almost instantly tearing through the encirclement.
But we were outnumbered. I had just knocked down one guard when two more attacked from the flanks, their sharp claws tearing a bloody gash across my shoulder.
It hurt, but I couldn't spare attention for it.
The formation was still tightening, Flashwing's cries growing more agonized, I could feel Ivan's consciousness fluctuating violently.
"Stop!" I roared, trying to charge at the formation again, only to be blocked by a massive shadow.
Tyler had entered the fight himself.
He shifted into his powerful Alpha wolf form, his body a full size larger than Flashwing's, radiating suffocating oppression.
His eyes glinted with cold light in the darkness, as if looking at a disobedient cub.
"I didn't want to hurt you," he growled. "But you're forcing my hand."
Before the words had finished, he had already lunged.
Flashwing met him head-on, and we collided in mid-air, the tremendous impact nearly knocking the breath from me. Tyler's strength far exceeded my imagination. With one swipe he knocked me to the ground, then pressed down hard on my throat. I struggled desperately, kicking hard at his abdomen with my hind legs, finally managing to push him back a bit.
My combat skills were on par with his, but the strength gap was too obvious.
Tyler was a mature Alpha, while I was just a young she-wolf who had recently awakened. Even though Flashwing was incredibly powerful, it was still difficult to gain advantage in pure strength confrontation. We rolled and fought on the ground, blood spattering everywhere. I bit down on his foreleg, he slashed at my face, nearly clawing out my eyes.
Pain blurred my vision, but I held on with my jaws locked, until he slammed his other paw hard into my spine, forcing me to let go.
Just then, the beast tamer team completed their final incantation.
The formation's light reached its peak, those chains wrapping around Flashwing's body like serpents, about to seal it completely.
No.
I couldn't let this happen.
I couldn't lose him.
A mad thought flashed through my mind, and Flashwing made her decision almost simultaneously. We knew what to do, even if the price was—
I closed my eyes, pouring all my consciousness into the mate bond.
It was a golden thread, connecting mine and Ivan's souls. I could see it flickering in the void, could see Ivan battling the lightning in that pure white world, could see his soul being torn apart and reassembled again and again.
I took a deep breath, then began to burn.
Not my body, but life itself.
Golden light surged from within me—my life energy, my soul's fire.
It flowed along the mate bond toward Ivan, toward Flashwing. The light grew brighter and brighter, nearly illuminating the entire canyon, and then—
Boom!
The formation's nodes shattered under the impact.
"She's burning her soul!" one beast tamer cried out in horror.
Tyler's claws released my throat, he stared at me in shock, fear appearing in his eyes for the first time.
"You're insane!" he roared. "This will shorten your lifespan!"
I knew.
But I didn't care.
The golden light grew more intense, battering every node of the formation, those runes trembling and twisting in the radiance, and then—
Shattered.
The entire formation broke apart with a tremendous crash, the chains snapping inch by inch, Flashwing regaining freedom. It threw back its head and howled, thunder exploding across the sky, the entire canyon shaking.
And I collapsed to the ground, utterly drained.
My life force was rapidly weakening, I could feel my heartbeat slowing, my vision blurring.
Flashwing let out a mournful cry, trying to support me, but even she had been gravely wounded by this burning.
Tyler stood frozen, shocked and furious, but no longer able to fight.
The beast tamers were equally terrified by this sudden turn of events, never having imagined anyone would be mad enough to burn their own soul to destroy the formation.
The formation was broken, they could no longer stop Ivan's elemental trial.
I had won.
Even at such a price, I had won.
Just then, heavy footsteps sounded in the distance.
The ground trembled, a scorching heat wave swept in, the sky turning red with flames.
I barely managed to lift my head, seeing an army surging from the canyon's edge, led by a valiant commander clad in armor and wielding the flames.
Crimson Flame Warlord Xavier.
He had arrived with his forces.